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Some meandering thoughts: The main separators for consistent success seem to be: 1. Strong feeder program, preferably with the varsity head coach having some influence 2. Access to funding either through the school or the families 3. Program tradition The schools that are most commonly represented Thanksgiving weekend typically have at least two of these traits. The best private and parochial schools have all three (as does Carmel, Center Grove, Penn, etc.). But all legacy programs HAVE to have at least two. It always cracks me up when I see people from schools with one or none complaining about the P/Ps. Moving the P/Ps up a class would only result in trading one master for another. It’s worth noting that not all P/P schools even have two, which is why it is imprudent to treat all P/Ps the same. I have coached at Roncalli, Chatard, Ritter, Scecina, Brebeuf, Broad Ripple, Howe, Beech Grove, and Southwestern, boys and girls. Roncalli is by far the easiest place to coach, even though so few D-1 athletes have come through the program. The kids are loved at home, well-fed, and provided access to supplemental training. They start playing flag football in pre-school and dream of when it will be their turn to run out of the woods. As a coach, you can fall back on the “been there, done that” approach to selling your vision. Those things don’t all happen overnight, and key components can be missed with kids that transfer in. That’s why there have been so few non-south deanery CYO kids starting on the school’s ten state championship teams (this coming from a non-CYO starter on a state championship team). We had 1 player this year from outside of our feeder system - a number I would hold up against any of the other 11 finalists. There is merit to the fact that P/P schools are mostly filled with involved students who have chosen to be there. While at Broad Ripple, we had over 1,500 kids, but less than 100 seniors (less than 300 juniors). We were a 5A team competing with 2A resources. That’s before we get to the fact that many of our kids were getting picked up at 5 am, dropped off at 8 pm, and largely only eating what the school provided. Socio-economics factors would be the best way to determine classifications. That will never happen because it’s not easy. In the meantime, it’s not fair for us to say “Get better or get used to it” without acknowledging the privilege we enjoy. At the same time, it’s pointless to complain if you haven’t first taken care of your own backyard to the best of your ability.

Wait there was logic involved? 😆

Well said TW...and by the way, congratulations. While I do think socio economics are a big factor (heck they are in education as a whole, so it stands to reason that would be the same for other areas within a school/district). I would add in the population I described earlier. I do not think it would be too difficult to have a system in place that determines how many students in each building are actually eligible/able to participate in ECA’s and arrange classes based on that number rather than just overall enrollment.

You don't need any metrics to tell you that a team that went 1-8 shouldn't be playing in any playoffs. If you do I got nothing for you. True but it should be obvious that a system is broken if you see 0-9 or 1-8 teams in the playoffs.

Unfortunately, it is fair. Realistically we know neither Cincy nor BYU are top 4 teams. But, in the year of Covid, and considering bowl games are being cancelled right and left, why not go with 8 teams for this year only? Give them their shot. It would be fun to watch! I mean, who would have thought IU would be in the position they are in? They could be in that top 8 in 2 weeks!

Broken is in the eye of the beholder.

You conveniently left out the part that you would be the commissioner of this.

Basketball also?

How does reducing the highest class to 24 bring balance?? Don't think there will ever be balance in 6A even with 24 teams. Center Grove, Carmel, Warren Central & Ben Davis have won 18 of the last 20 high class championships. If you want to bring balance have a 7A class with those 4 and then 6A would have a lot of balance with the 28 teams

We are on the heels of the big four teams in the MIC winning the last four state titles. All four are still relevant. Carmel had a down year by their standards but they won state last year. It will be interesting as always to see how the teams stack up next year. CG may never again have the talent it had this year but the proverbial cupboard is full.

Indiana has had teams go 0-8 in the regular season and make it to semi-state.

2 out of 24 teams making the state finals. 8.3% of the teams in the class will be in the state finals. Inching too close to marching band if you ask me.

Okay...this has been all I could think about when I saw the title of this thread. The only thing missing is Geddy Lee.

Come on man, you know it was a fluke. Just like them other two times too. You guys are just "lucky" that Eastbrook didn't score another 15 points in 2018 and don't even get me started on the "luck" you guys needed to escape the possible 38 extra second half points that could have been snuck in on you. 😀 Lord, I apologize for that.

Based on YOUR premise, the schools don't have to be mega school enrollment to be in the top 24 ... they just have to be one of the 24 largest in the state. Your topic is "Reduce 6A to 24 Schools." Jeff is likely to be passed by Harrison in the next couple of years if not in the next year based on two new subdivisions that are in the leveling stage as we speak within a mile of the school on the campus's northern boundary ... word on the wind is that a minimum of 300 new households will go in those subdivisions alone. What's clearly obvious is that Jeff and Harrison are both candidates for 24 or higher. While 5A would be great for both schools, that hasn't mattered to the IHSAA who has placed them in 6A. Even cutting the lower boundary to 24 might not help these two schools escape 6A eventually. And by your statement they don't belong there from their play ... but the numbers, say they are more likely to get to your 24 lower boundary than not eventually. I don't disagree at all, but the numbers are the numbers and you play where they fall. And, to Jeff's credit, they've played the hand that they've been dealt.

I agree on all accounts!

Am I covered now?

I think you would have many schools/teams defecting immediately to go back to the IHSAA Tread lightly! @Bobrefmight include you in his suit against @Grandpa B for the hate/envy term! 😆 Nothing personal just business Bob needs to protect his brand!

After more reflection, it's pretty simple to me... If it is viewed as a career award, its Steele's to lose. If it is a reflection of the BEST senior player on a championship team in 2020, its McCahill.

Strong showing for the conference. Webo turn around was a great coaching effort. Hard to believe the same team we dominated week 4 went on to win state. How often does a team finish third in conference win a state championship. Solid effort by Danville, but I felt they were a bit conservative against Chatard. Probably wouldn’t have mattered. Tri-West caught the injury bug and COVID quarantines the wrong week. Would have liked to been full strength both times vs Danville. Lebanon entire season was disrupted by Corona shutdown. And they never recovered. The rest of the conference needs to get it together. Frankfort is improving. South and North are there typical selves. And Crawfordsville needs to figure something out. They are getting worse if that is possible.

Agree with all of this. Just looking at freshman/JV records and number of players getting varsity playing time, the current sophomore class is one of the most "down" in recent memory. The next two years could be difficult for Chatard fans, but I think many of the current freshman will get varsity playing time next year, which should reap benefits down the road. I have also been extremely impressed with the coaching staff's ability to develop players and get the most out of the talent on hand. I was skeptical all year that Chatard could repeat 2019's performance with how much they graduated, but they absolutely did so. I'm admittedly biased, but I think the current coaching staff is as good as any in the state, so I'm not going to completely count the Trojans out yet. But I do think Roncalli will be the overwhelming favorite to win the Circle City and whatever sectional they and Chatard inevitably end up in.

So what's your point? That Christian schools are Christian?

I don”t believe both ND and Clemson will get in, simply because they don”t want as a potential playoff matchup, the 3rd game in one season between them. So, as it turns out, the ND-Clemson game a few weeks ago was the biggest meaningless game in history.

The problem is the NCC has enough of those games to begin with.

Congratulations on the Championship! O-Line was very impressive. I’m still using things I learned from our meeting.

Absolutely!

Congrats impressive to have a freshman playing varsity let alone score a td

Quite a few on this forum thought we wouldn’t get to this weekend with HS foootball. I was optimistic but had my doubts. 95% of scheduled high school games in Indiana were played. We still don’t know all the answers for this pandemic, but congratulations to every member school, coaches, staff and players on staying disciplined and being a valuable source of entertainment in your communities. Let’s hope 2021 is closer to normal(whatever that will be) and we are all in the stands cheering our student athletes.

So awesome. Long story short. I was watching the entire game up until roughly 2-3 minutes to go. Chatted w a friend. We both were saying we hoped he’d have another chance in his athletic career to “redeem” himself. Come home. Read the recap here. Had to text them the FANTASTIC news. What a clutch kick. What a great game.

The brush is a bit broad if 1A is getting drawn into that. I've pointed out before that LCC has been around for about 60+ years. They have a total of 8 state titles, which is less than Sheridan's 9. Also, since 2013 and through 2020, when SF started, here's what 1A looks like in terms of multiple LOS appearances: LCC 2 times - 2015 and 2019 - two wins Linton 2 times - 2015 and 2016 - one win (lost to PP) North Vermillion 2 times - 2014 and 2018 - one win (lost to public) Pioneer 4 times - 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 - two wins (two losses to publics) Sectional wins, where it all starts, in 1A since SF ... minimum 3? Lutheran - 6 Pioneer - 6 Adams Central - 4 LCC - 4 Linton - 4 North Vermillion - 4 South Adams - 4 South Putnam - 3 Southwood - 3 West Washington - 3 Winamac - 3 For all the mystique, I'm not seeing the dominance outside of Lutheran with 6 sections ... and, for all the good it got them was one trip to LOS. Pioneer had just as many and finished with 2 blue and 2 red rings for their efforts.

Indeed. Grinding our arses off to make these Cathedral squads. As of now, my oldest has 3 rings as a “role player” w minimal playing time as a junior in two sports. He understands capitalism now and we’re confident he gets his run next year. It’s why I sacrifice to send him there. We’re very thankful for our Cathedral experience. Great families and heritage. Great habits. Great understanding of preparation and expectations. Been bliss the last couple days. I have many other thoughts on this topic though. I think the original post is complete dogsheet. I’ll expound later. Seems like a dig by a Roncalli guy on privates. Roncalli is absolutely not different than Cathedral other than they get archdiocese $ and have absolutely no competition for Catholic kids on the Southside.

Actually I agree CYO is a huge advantage but not in the same way you have put it. I will use Roncalli as an example (I have no affiliation with them). Lets say 6 of the feeder schools for Roncalli have Cadet football. Holy Name, Nativity, St. Barnabas, S.S. Francis and Clare, St. Jude, and Our Lady of Greenwood. Roncalli runs a Spread No-Huddle offense and a 4-2-5 defense. Holy Name could be running the Pro formation and a 3-4, Nativity an I-Formation and 4-4, St. Barnabas a spread and 3-3, St. Jude a spread and 4-2-5, SSFC runs a pistol and 4-4, and OLofG run a Wing T and a 4-4. Now I agree they are taught fundamentals and also see many different looks. Where it becomes a solid advantage is the number of players from each team that have learned their positions and move up to the HS and create depth and or battle for positions. Now what Center Grove Bantam has done that Publics schools can emulate to a certain degree (CG Bantam is big). The big advantage is they can set a play book with the Wing T and 4-3 defense the kids learn it from 2nd through 6th grade. They also run the same formations at the middle schools. By the time a Carson Steele (just an example) hits High School he knows those basic plays and the scheme like muscle memory. Sure the expand upon the play book and learn more intricate plays, but the know the basics of the system. This is a model most Public schools should use and yes it does take a lot of work. The other key is keeping them out for the team as they filter from youth to middle school and then to HS. Of course Bantam isn't the only thing at CG Coach Moore has done. He has also done a lot with strength and speed training.

Happy Monday? Which teams' endzone videographers stood out this weekend in Lucas Oil Stadium?

What happens when Dwenger, Concordia, Luers, Marian, St. Joe and Andrean start dominating the titles?

What we saw Friday was just another chapter in Hobart’s great tradition of losing the state championship game. I can’t imagine anyone has more runner-up finishes than the Bricks. Indianapolis and it’s suburbs are exploding in population. Rest of the state, especially the rust belt north, can’t catch up. Is what it is.

It was an outstanding season for the Irish! I was lucky enough to attend 10 of the 14 games and for that I would like to thank a lot of people, some of those hang out around here. I was also lucky enough to see those other games on tv or a live stream. Zionsville was the best offensive team the Irish played this season. They shredded a very good Irish defense. They seemed to be able to find the open spaces and their QB was able to get the ball to those open receivers. I was on edge until Gomez put that FG through he uprights. They were scary good. The Irish however were able to respond offensively in the second half. I can see that it would be an entertaining game to watch for a neutral fan, but for most Irish fans it was a bit nerve wracking. One of the reasons the Irish had a successful season was the number of turnovers this season. Now I'm working from memory, but I believe the Irish lost only two fumbles all season and threw only five interceptions. IMO, that's amazing considering the type of schedule they played this season. They also beat two state champions, Cincinnati St. X and Bishop Chatard and came within 16.4 seconds of beting 6A champion Center Grove. The also played another state finalist, Westfield, in the regular season. I was also lucky enough to see the 1963 and 1996 Irish teams play and this one was right up there with these two. It's interesting that the 3 were in different eras. I would say that overall this Irish team may have the edge in strength of schedule. It would be tough for me to pick one of these as the best of all times, but it's an honor for this group to be mentioned with those two great Irish teams. I hope that this pandemic is past when next season comes around and I hope I'm still able to attend all the games. At my age you just never know what the future will be, so I'm just going to enjoy being a fan, and an alum, of the 5A State Champs! Never forget NUMBER TWO!

Agree. The winner is the IHSAA for having fortitude and for setting the bar for all states. They had an end game in mind despite the bullsheet. Proud to be a Hoosier and proud we accomplished a 13 game season with a state championship series. Indiana wins. So damn proud of this state.

Does this mean all Indy schools should be bumped up a class??? 😂

Denial? Have you read any of my post?. I have said a hundred times on this site that PP have an advantage and i would support the one class bump up. Would I prefer to see the SF stay in place? Yes. Support playing up a class? Yes. What part of this puts me in denial. Try and be specific if that is even possible. And I agree with most of your last sentence. I think Cathedral could take CG this year with a 2nd try. Would be a great game. CC might hold their own in 2A but no way in 3A. No way. They would get crushed by most of the top teams in 3A.

Automatic one class bump sounds good. I know it would punish some schools but they’d figure a way step their game up.

Agree completely. 6A would be the only class it would work for. 2A - Luers vs WeBo and Mater Dei vs Pioneer 3A - Southridge vs Chatard and Mish Marian vs Danville 4A - Hobart vs Mooresville and Roncalli vs Marion Imagine you could have had Evansville Central and Hobart being a semi-state matchup. Crazy.

It really IS that simple, yes.

Check out this website https://www.mascotdb.com/

How bout them Starfires

Frankfort Hot Dogs and the Logansport "Logan Berries" make me hungry.

Nathan McCahill’s stats are pretty gaudy considering the strength of schedule the Irish played this year. These are his numbers before last night’s Semi-State victory over Castle: 2687 yards passing, 34TDs, 3 INT 842 yards rushing, 10 TDS 12-1 versus State Finalists: Westfield, Chatard, Center Grove, Cincy Lasalle and OH Large School Champ St. X.

If they both win out, then the winner of the ACC championship game goes to the playoff, and that’s the end of it. So, this game won’t matter, then. The chief accomplishment here is that the Irish now know that they can go toe to toe with them. That will stand them in good stead. It also is the first really big game Kelly has won in quite a while. So, it gets that monkey off his back. No doubt a really big win for the Irish. But it merely puts them in position to cash in. They have to finish the season now.

I was actually encouraged by the fact that their 5 star freshman threw for over 400 yds., and the Irish still won. I don’t know how much more than that Lawrence can do in the ACC championship game. But we’ve got to get there first. Oh yeah. Haters gonna hate.