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It’s time for Indiana to think about co-ops for football, I swear to God it is. If Illinois can do there’s no reason Indiana can’t.

I’d rather not.

The SAC is turning into a yearly crapshoot. What used to be the Snider/Dwenger show has suddenly turned into the Snider/Dwenger/Homestead/Carroll show with a bit of Luers mixed in. And it looks like it might be another one of those years for the Knights. Then you have the new "magnet" school in North Side. Things could get interesting in the SAC, especially 5A sectionals. Alphabetically Carroll: Have the Chargers finally turned the corner? This year will be a good test after losing a D1 caliber, three year starter at the quarterback position. Some of Dinan's teams have severely struggled since joining the SAC in 2015, but they've been no slouch over the past three years. They have the facilities, community support, and student population to become one of the better programs in Northern Indiana. Time will tell how this years team measures up. Concordia: Tim Mannigel is back after a one year absence. His teams were known for giving the upper half of the SAC fits, especially Bishop Luers. He has a victory over Carroll to his credit and a couple of close battles with Homestead. His return only makes the SAC stronger. Look for an increase in production this year after a lackluster 2-8 season a year ago. Dwenger: Poor Dwenger. Dwenger is down. Dwenger lost this guy and that guy. Dwenger didn't lose Jason Garrett. And Dwenger still has a program that continues to reload. Oh, and a D1 transfer from Northrop. Garrett's teams play great defense and are as tough as nails on the whole. And they proved that they are capable of post season success even on a "down" year (last season.) It would be foolish to write these Saints off. Homestead: Homestead's success goes back all the way to the mid-90's. Sometimes they are NHC good, sometimes SAC good, and sometimes state-wide good. But they are always good. I expect that they will reload as usual and plug in a QB that will be among the best in NE Indiana. Count on the Spartans to compete for the SAC title, but don't expect too much when they meet up with Indy........they may still be a few years away from that level of play. But consider this, Homestead is 5-1 against Snider and Dwenger over the last three years. If they run the table on the Panthers and Saints this year, then they'll be the official kingpin of the SAC. Luers: It's my understanding that Luers returns many key elements to a team that should be defending their 2A title. Yes, they were upset in the post season last year........plain and simple. They could have beaten 1/4 of 6A teams last year and 1/2 of 5A. How good will they be this year? I'll leave that to some of the Luers insiders. But then again, most those guys have Lou Holtz Syndrome. North Side: Is this Fort Wayne's new magnet school? They already feature the best player in Indiana and one of the best wide receivers in the country. Now we are hearing of transfers from Dwenger and Luers. This doesn't happen in Fort Wayne. Dwenger and Luers kids don't transfer to North Side. Sorry, they just don't. So how is Ben Johnson getting it done? If he's as good of a coach as he is a recruiter, then the SAC better be on high alert. Last season, Coach Johnson's first at North Side, was pretty rough with only 2 wins. But he only lost to Snider and Dwenger by a combined 5 points. The Legends could be dangerous. Northrop: I've been saying "potential" for years now. I thought the Doerffler's would turn the Bruins into an SAC contender, but that never happened. Why is that? That's a question that may be a little too deep for me to answer. There is talent in the halls at Northrop, just as there is at every other FWCS. But what's it going to take to get them over the hump? Maybe a guy who's been in the Snider system for a couple of decades...........bring in Quenton Bowen. Imagine that....from black/gold to orange/brown. That's comparable to moving from Ohio State to Michigan. Good luck to him. A better Northrop means a better SAC. Snider: The panthers seemingly pulled out of their slump last season and found themselves once again at the top of the SAC. The post season wasn't so kind to them. They squeaked by a 3 win Northrop team, then got waxed by Dwenger after beating them by two touchdowns a few weeks prior. I think the Panthers had their sights set on the likes of Zionsville and Cathedral..........hopefully they don't make that same mistake again this season. They should be in a pretty good position this season with the return of many key positions from last seasons SAC championship run. Look for much of the same this year with a possible deep playoff run. South Side: I'm not sure where to begin here. Again, another school that is rich with talent in the hallway. Bring back Matt Land? Had he stuck around, South Side would have hoisted a couple of state title trophies. They've struggled ever since. Let's hope that Guy Lee is the one to bring this program back to respectability. Wayne: Sherwood Haydock won when he was at Harding and he won when he was at Woodlan. He can win at Wayne too. Others have done it before him, and he will too. Look for the Generals to make a run in 4A regardless of their win/loss record in the SAC.

Mid-Summer Preseason Power Rankings 1. Mater Dei Coming off the 2A State Run in November, Mater Dei is looking like one of the preseason favorites for the SIAC and contender for 2A again. With QB Wunderlich, Stolz, Pierre and Martin returning, MD’s O should be having another formidable offense, although losing McDurmon hurts in the receiving game. Defensively they take a massive hit losing Martin, Ralph, Wolters and Boots, but returns key parts in Darr, C. Martin, Adler, Spencer in experience. Also never count against Goebels in Football, as the Wildcats are gunning for another deep run. 2. Memorial Coming off from another deep run in the 4A SS and 1 half away from being in LOS again, the Tigers are definitely one of the favorites in the SIAC. With another big OL shaping up, receivers in Collins, Brackett, Pearce and more. QB Ellspermann will have plenty to choose from, but questions loom who will be the RB on the season. There are some questions on the Defense, due to it being hit hard from graduates, but Coach Johnson will shape it up. As Hurley and theTigers are hoping to see another deep run in November. 3. Jasper The reigning 9-0 SIAC Champion will be gunning to repeat and contend in the SIAC again, as the Cats have proven they can stay in the race. While they did suffer an unfortunate loss in the first round of the sectional, the Cats will it use for motivation this season. Although losing Foley and Day will hurt on the O, Jasper will find their way. On the defensive end, Blair might be of the best DBs in the conference, unfortunately, Jasper does not provide accessible stats to the public, so my knowledge is limited in returning production. Just a gut feeling that they will place in the Top 3 4. Reitz An unexpected ranking, Reitz is barely 4th in my power rankings, especially coming off last season. However, with the QB situation in Ben Davies solved and weapons in Burnett, Vera, Beal, Thomas and Summers, Reitz O will improve, but with new faces on the OL, Reitz might see a rocky start in the beginning. All eyes look at the Defense due to the Panthers returning nearly all of their starters from last season, there will be a lot of pressure on the defense for improvement. Can Coach Brunson finally get his first winning season in the SIAC? 5. Castle An very, very expected ranking for the Knights in Paradise as Castle was looking like a preseason favorite. While their ranking can change, they currently sit at 5. With confirmation of QB Tilly retiring from football to focus on his Baseball career, an QB competition is underway in Paradise between Gordon and Harper. Who ever is under center this fall will have Guerizini, Harris, Bishop, and Aigner to throw too. Castle’s Defense is going to be one of the best in the SIAC, if they can get their offense set up, watch out for the Knights. 6. North The Huskies are so, so close in achieving an overall winning season, while I do think they are underrated and can pull off an upset or 2. They do lose key important parts in QB Brawdy, RB Hankins, WR Gelhausen and some on the OL. However, with a great RB and WR Mitchell returning with a nice OL, North’s offense shouldn’t be that bad at all. Defensively, they were young with not a whole lot of seniors, but loses MLB Happe. Going to be a tough 4 weeks for the Huskies, which will say a lot. 7. Bosse With 1 play away from an sectional championship appearance, Mullen and Co got their heads high for Bulldog football. With RB Jaiden Thomas coming back and WR Amari Hope returning will be a nice combo for the Dawgs. But losing a lot on the defensive end too. While it may be a while to see Bosse seeing continued success, for some reason I can see them getting to 3-4 wins potentially. 8. Central Seems like the Bears are in a little dark age after continued success. But with a rumor going around saying that QB Herdes might not be done does shed some light for the Bears. However, their problems are far from over as it seems like another difficult season will be coming for the Bears. Coach Z has his hands full, but he is about to challenge. 9. Vincennes Lincoln With an surprising run in the Sectional Final, which came down to the last Quarter, VL surprised people with their Sectional run. However, there is uncertainty whether or not SIAC is great fit for VL judging by reports in February. The future doesn’t look too good for the Alices, but maybe they can grab another win before the postseason. 10. Harrison Nothing much to say about Harrison other than that Brooks Thomas might be the best TE in the SIAC at a whopping 6’6 240. Going to be a long year for the Warriors as many, many questions are high. Losing your best defensive player does hurt a lot.

One player, same guy.

As we prepare for the upcoming season, it is clear the numbers crisis in officiating not only still exists, but it’s not getting any better. We need your help to avoid radical steps like moving games off of the traditional Friday night schedule. What can you do to help? Here are some needed steps: (I first have to point out that this is strictly my opinion, based on my 45 yrs. of officiating experience, in which I’ve occupied many, many different roles: from crew member, to Association leader, to state champion crew chief, IHSAA official of the year, and now IHSAA observer.) In no particular order: Treat the officials better. Disagree with a call or no-call. Voice your opinion or ask a question. But do it in a sportsmanlike manner, and then LET IT GO. The assistants, players, and even fans take their cue from you. Be a good host. Make sure the officials have a secure place to dress and hold their pregame. Decent showers afterward. A towel and some cold drinks are greatly appreciated. Be a recruiter. Talk to your seniors, many of whom will never play another down. Get them interested in officiating. It’s a great way to stay in touch with the game and pick up some spending money, too. If you teach PE, talk to those kids, too. Here’s the tough one: give up the coach’s vote as the primary determinant of crew tournament advancement. In a quiet moment, when no one else is around, admit to yourself that coaches lack the three essential elements of a fair and accurate system of evaluation: training, objectivity, and a standardized method of evaluation. I can tell you for a fact that frustration with the tournament process is a significant factor in the inability to retain officials. Rightly or wrongly, the coaches’ vote is viewed as the principal flaw in the system. Coaches are entitled to have a voice in the selection of tournament officials. But making that voice the primary determining factor is killing careers. My $0.02.

I don't know how this FB suggestion on one of my recent searches fits into the greater complexity of the universe, but I'm just going to leave it here for now.