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Last week of non-conference play Decatur Central at New Palestine: (IHSAAtv.org & NewPalRadio.com): Fresh off their 42-28 win over Westfield, the Dragons host another ranked team in a larger enrollment class in Decatur Central. The Hawks jumped out to a 31-17 halftime lead before the Dragons held them scoreless in the second half. A late touchdown pass and an onside kick recovery gave NP a chance to win, but a last-second field goal went wide in a 31-29 Hawks win. DC lost a lot to the diploma but KC Berry had a huge week last week. Mt. Vernon at Franklin: The Marauders lost to Noblesville in their opener for the second straight year, falling in a 43-35 barnburner. Looks like MV won't have much problem scoring with Eli Bridenthal and George Burhenn providing offense, but MV struggled to stop Noblesville's power running game last week. Things won't get much easier with a trip to Franklin, which posted an impressive win over Danville in Week 1 and possesses an excellent athlete at WR - and the nation's top baseball prospect - in Max Clark. Shelbyville at Rushville (WSVX-1520 - Giant.FM): An old rivalry that went away when Rushville left the HHC in 2013 is back. Both programs have struggled of late. Rushville snapped a 24-game losing streak last week with a 41-35 win over Milan. Shelbyville has won two games since 2018. The Bears had a halftime lead against Greensburg last week but fell 35-21. Triton Central at New Castle (WLTI-1550): The Trojans knocked off Franklin County 18-12 in OT last week, their second win over the Wildcats since the series began in 2014. It's an all-green matchup as New Castle faces Tim Able's Triton Central squad. TC has been one of the stronger teams in Class 2A in recent years and beat Cascade 42-14 last week. Anderson at Pendleton Heights (WEEM-91.7): A cross-county matchup that's been pretty lopsided in the Arabians' favor. PH has won six straight meetings and 10 of the 11 matchups since the series began in 2011. Both teams are coming off Week 1 losses. Columbia City at Delta: A matchup of Eagles. Delta's Eagles dispatched Muncie Central 34-28 last week. Columbia City's won 31-7 over Churubusco. Delta won last year's meeting 14-10. An intriguing inter-regional matchup. Greensburg at Greenfield-Central (WRGF-89.7): G-C posted a big 30-28 win at Plainfield that raised a lot of eyebrows in Central Indiana. Coach Travis Nolting faces his alma mater in a game where the Cougars should be a favorite. The Cougars are seeking their first 2-0 start since 2015. Muncie Central at Yorktown (WXFN.com & IHSAAtv.org): The Tigers dispatched Anderson 20-0 last week, but face an improved Muncie Central squad that pushed Delta to a one-score game in Week 1. Yorktown is seeking its sixth consecutive 2-0 start to the season.

Charlestown JV 30 Silver Creek JV 0

Or a blue Ford Escort.

I’m not going to lie….it was a little too close for comfort. What THS did have was size and speed. That Cottee kid is a grown man amongst boys lol I think it showed that GS had a lot of inexperience and there were 3 freshman who saw playing time I believe, maybe 4…some growing pains but you’ll have that on week 1. end of the day….GS can play all the 5A and 6A schools they want and we will still measure them by how they do against Heritage Hills lol

I expected Nicot to be a challenge for HH with his legs His early 62 yard TD run 4 minutes into the game on MV first possession was typical… spread the field and take off…. Glad HH adjusted and Nicot only gained 72 yds for the remainder of game. Both teams had some self inflicted sloppy penalties and few mistakes that can be rectified. don’t see any difficulty for either MV or HH with the ensuing week… both teams ought to be able to get some of the 2’s and 3’s opportunities to get varsity experience

So desperate for new/non central Indy blood in 6A. It’d be great for the sport.

These things happen all the time. Back in the mid 2000’s Indy area schools were good at scheduling out of area teams. They would schedule the first game at home then cancel the second year of the contract citing gas prices/travel expenses. In most cases new games you’re going to want a two year deal. Football it’s a little more common to have single year contracts. The bottom line is most schools adapt and move on, but Jeff sits out the week. Many moons ago we were in the bus pulling into Jeff for a conference tournament game. Pulling into the athletic complex there was a large fire shooting out of a dumpster right behind the school. I pointed out to the assistants sitting near if that isn’t appropriate representation of Jeff athletics I don’t know what is.

I wish John Harrell would add an 8-Man section to his page. That would be interesting to follow.

Gonna try to make this a weekly deal. Not sure if I’ve overlooked a GID poll but if so, I apologize. Critique away! Cathedral Center Grove Brownsburg Warren Central Carmel Ben Davis New Palestine Hamilton Southeastern Westfield Fishers Decatur Central Merrillville Mooresville Lawrence North Roncalli Lawrence Central Bishop Chatard Penn Fort Wayne Snider East Central Andrean Zionsville Fort Wayne Dwenger Franklin Central Carroll (Fort Wayne)

Welcome to The Gridiron Digest Indiana Football Report. This weekly feature will run throughout the season and highlight big games and big storylines throughout Indiana. This brings us back to the roots Tim Adams began this site with, as a place to bring together and presenting news from around the state. "Battle of Broadway" a matchup of No. 1 vs. No. 1 By Andrew Smith The Gridiron Digest One and a half miles of Broadway is all that physically separates Merrillville and Andrean High Schools. But when the two meet up in the aptly-named “Battle of Broadway” matchup Friday night at Merrillville’s Demaree Stadium, the matchup won’t just pit neighbors against each other. It will also pit No. 1 vs. No. 1. Merrillville begins the year as the No. 1 team in Class 5A after winning three straight regional titles in Class 6A, while Andrean begins atop the 2A poll as the defending state champion. “There will be a lot of excitement for the ‘Battle of Broadway’ as expectations are high for both programs. It's always a fun physical game where both teams play hard,” Merrillville coach Brad Seiss said. “We both have a lot of respect for each other's football teams.” Andrean ran the table in Class 2A last season, ending with a 21-9 victory over Evansville Mater Dei in the State Finals. But the 59ers have quickly turned the page. “We haven't talked about last year much except maybe in the context of prepping the body for the grind of a season,” Andrean coach Chris Skinner said. “The seniors are motivated to leave their own unique mark on the program. Everyone is stepping into at least a slightly different role compared to last season. It's a new team with a new leadership group.” Merrillville moved to 5A during the summer’s reclassification due to the school’s enrollment. The Pirates have had recent success, going 33-5 over the last three seasons and advancing to the semistate each year, but falling one step short of Lucas Oil Stadium. “Everyone wants to talk about us going into 5A because of the success that we've had over the last few years in 6A,” Merrillville coach Brad Seiss said. “We aren't really concerned about that until we get to the tournament. We've got the same 2 non-conference games in Andrean and Hobart then we get into DAC play. Getting better weeks 1-9 is the most important thing we can do as we prepare for the tournament in October.” Meanwhile, the entirety of Andrean’s schedule consists of teams in the top three classes. Merrillville is a premier opponent to begin the year. “I love competition. It doesn't matter if it's competition within our program or against competitive opponents,” Skinner said. “I believe in the ‘iron sharpens iron’ mantra. There are certainly challenges in playing a schedule like ours in which every opponent is at least two classes higher than us, but our players accept those challenges. We will certainly be exposed in certain areas by playing that level of competition, but it allows us to make adjustments that end up in growth down the road. I have a lot of respect for Merrillville specifically. Coach Seiss has been able to reload year after year. It's a fantastic Week 1 game that typically draws a good crowd and gets the attention of college coaches and scouts as well.” The scouts will have plenty of top players to see - Merrillville sports two of the top seniors in Indiana in Colorado State commit Justin Marshall - who had 1,088 receiving yards a year ago - and safety Phillip Roche. Andrean features Notre Dame commit Drayk Bowen, who had 965 rushing yards, 105 tackles and three interceptions a year ago. Andrean also has junior QB Scott Ballentine returning after completing 68 percent of his passes for 2,860 yards and junior WR Patrick Clacks, who had 753 yards last year. “Drayk is an amazing talent and certainly one that does a lot for us,” Skinner said. “He rarely comes off the field. He's also a great role model for how to train, how to prep, how to take care of the body.” Opening the year in Indy Another cross-town rivalry will kick off 2022 - but 70 miles down the road at Lucas Oil Stadium. For the first time since 2004, Harrison and West Lafayette - two schools less than five miles apart - will meet on the gridiron. The 6 p.m. kickoff will begin the IHSAA football season at the annual Horseshoe Classic. Beginning the season at Lucas Oil Stadium is always a treat, but both programs have designs on finishing it there, too. “We are excited to start the season in Lucas Oil Stadium,” said West Lafayette coach Shane Fry, whose teams are 94-18 in nine seasons. “This is the first time we have played Harrison since 2004. It is a fierce rivalry in other sports, and most of the players know each other. It is a unique situation with our football fields being two miles apart and us traveling 65 miles to play on the big stage and kickoff the 2022 season. This is a great opportunity for our program, both to play at Lucas Oil and to matchup against Harrison.” Fry’s squad won the 2018 state title and was the 2015 3A runner-up. The Red Devils posted a 9-1 record last season and have won at least seven games in each of the last nine years. Harrison is coming off an 8-2 season. The Raiders won sectional titles in 2018 and 2019, but fell to eventual 5A state runner-up Zionsville in the sectional each of the last two years. The second game will be another marquee matchup, as last year’s 3A runner-up Brebeuf Jesuit faces 3A No. 1 Bishop Chatard in a matchup of top teams from the Circle City Conference. Chatard, which has won 15 state championships, returns to 3A after spending a year in Class 4A due to the Tournament Success Factor. The two squads have been frequent sectional foes, but they will not meet in the tourney this year, as Brebeuf has moved to Class 4A and begins the season ranked No. 5 New coach in Columbus One of the most high-profile coaching changes over the offseason came in Columbus, where Tim Bless retired after 22 years at the helm of the Columbus North Bull Dogs. Logan Haston, a former standout quarterback at Avon and Manchester University, takes over. It’s Haston’s first head coaching position, but he had previously been on staff at Hamilton Southeastern, Fishers and his college alma mater, Manchester. “I am very thankful to be taking over such a well-established program,” Haston said. “Coach Bless has built a strong reputation at Columbus North with tough, hard-working athletes who play the game the right way. I am excited to build upon the tradition & success that has come before me, while also implementing my own cultural identity that meshes with the players & coaching staff.” Haston played for two standout coaches at Avon - Dave Shelbourne and Mark Bless - Tim’s brother - before matriculating to Manchester, where he played for Shannon Griffith. “I'm not sure if I'd be where I am today without my experience at Avon,” Haston said. “Between two years with Dave Shelbourne, to my final two years under Mark Bless, I was mentored by some incredible coaches. I learned what the standard of excellence looks like, and how to compete in a first class manner. I will forever be grateful for my time as an Oriole.” Haston takes over a squad that went 6-4 last season and won its second straight Conference Indiana title. It has a strong non-conference schedule, beginning with a Week 1 matchup at Decatur Central. “I'm very pleased with our growth this summer as a team,” Haston said. “Our players have really bought in to what we're trying to accomplish, particularly the seniors. Their leadership has thoroughly impressed me, and we're going to lean on it during the season. Decatur Central is well-coached and will be a very tough Week 1 opponent, but we're excited for the challenge.” Marauders building off a title Another defending champion is Mt. Vernon (Fortville), where first-year coach Vince Lidy led the Marauders to a 14-1 record and the Class 4A title. It was the Marauders’ first football State Finals appearance after advancing to the regional and semistate the two years prior. MV graduated several key players, but has a pair of building blocks in WR George Burhenn - a Purdue commit - and QB/WR Eli Bridenthal to lead the way. The duo combined for 1,064 receiving yards a year ago. Burhenn and senior linebacker Kellen La Belle are the top returning tacklers, each with 44. La Belle also had eight tackles for loss. “The success of last year is a result of great work and weekly improvement from the players and coaches as we worked through each week,” Lidy said, noting the Marauders’ 37 wins over the last three seasons are third-most in the state behind Center Grove and Cathedral. That has built as the Marauders have more than 110 players in four grades on the roster this fall. “A huge benefit of playing so long in the postseason is the amount of reps and practice our younger players were able to experience as we moved through the tournament. The success was also a great springboard into winter training. Excitement has stayed at an elevated level and this next group of players wants to continue to build on the success of the past three seasons and add to their legacy in the MV football program.” The Marauders open the season at Noblesville, which gave them their lone blemish last season, a 57-36 defeat in Week 1. It will be the first game in the Millers’ new stadium. Lidy said the Millers will bring a challenge with their power running game and large offensive line. “We always aim to play the 'perfect' game each Friday, but the most important thing in Indiana high school football is to find ways to get a little better each week and be playing your best football towards the end of the season. “I feel as though you don't win the state championship based on the result of Week 1. Our program lived through that in 2021. Before we can worry about conference championships, sectional and playoff championships, we have to take care of ourselves and focus on week 1 first.” Other key games 6A No. 5 Warren Central at 6A No. 1 Center Grove 6A No. 4 Brownsburg at 6A No. 7 Ben Davis 6A No. 6 Westfield at 4A No. 2 New Palestine 5A No. 8 Mishawaka at 3A No. 5 Mishawaka Marian 4A No. 6 Evansville Memorial at Jasper 3A No. 3 GIbson Southern at Terre Haute South 6A No. 2 Cathedral at Lafayette Jeff 1A No. 1 Lutheran at Beech Grove 2A No. 2 Evansville Mater Dei at Evansville Central Louisville Trinity at 6A No. 3 Carmel Elkhart at 5A No. 9 Concord 3A No. 6 Lawrenceburg at 4A No. 7 East Central

https://mises.org/wire/college-worth-it Agreed. The traditional 4-year college route, now rife with semi-useless degrees and sky-high debt, needs to stopped being pushed by the majority of government k-12 schools as virtually the only route after high school.

It appears someone clicked New Prairie on the drop-down menu instead of New Palestine (which checks out - New Prairie got 9 votes, and a second-place vote for New Pal would've been 9 points ... it appears NP got 7 first-place and 2 second-place votes, which is 88 points). Same thing happened last week when Martinsville got a first-place vote that appeared to be meant for Mooresville.

i think it’s the most ideal week to bring it up. Carmel just lost 17-7 to KY #1 Trinity. South Warren is probably right around that same level of football as Carmel and the other powerhouses of Indy

I think that will change after the Liptons and Vermillions match up.

How New Pal isn’t receiving all first place votes and apparently received enough 3rd or lower votes to be ranked below Roncalli is head-scratching.

Penn in 2015. But that seems like a LONG time ago...

Offense is REALLY young at Ben Davis. Other than the running backs, most of the key players are going to grow into their roles this year on offense. I just don't feel like the Giants are 23 points better than a Reynolds-led Avon team. Like I said, I hope so, though.

Call me crazy but it just doesn’t feel like a “state championship game” if neither team travels more than 45 minutes to the stadium, especially if it is a rematch of a regular season matchup.

Nope. I'm patiently waiting for Crown Point, Carroll, Homestead, or Warsaw to actually threaten the Hamilton County hierarchy in the 6A North. Penn can toil in mediocrity for all I care.

No. Not yet.

Castle [+14.5] at Mater Dei Central [-28.5] at Bosse Memorial [-15.5] North Reitz [-12.5] at Vincennes Forest Park [-6.5] at Perry Central New Albany [+28.5] at Gibson Southern Pike Central [+25.5] at Tecumseh Princeton [+22.5] at North Posey Southridge [-6.5] at Boonville Heritage Hills [-27.5] at Tell City some of these are tough lines. And while I would love to pick GS….29 points over a team ranked 1 spot lower than THS on sagarin is a lot. THS and New Albany are right next to each other on the rankings….and I don’t necessarily know if home field + 1 week of improvements is worth 21 more points haha I think GS probably wins it 35-14

The OP stated , should the Pirates be in 6A , not will the Pirates win championships every year . If any 6A team wins Regionals 3 years in a row , they belong in the class and are more than likely a top 15 team , regardless what happens after that . Being top 15 out of 32 again says they belong in the class .

It also depends on the type of break. If it’s a fracture, he might be back 6-8 weeks, but if it is broken all the way through, may need surgery and done for the year. I’ve seen both scenarios.

As far as public school education, I believe most teachers that are still around would say that he and Daniels ruined K-12 education as we knew it. Suellen fought as long as she could. The other supers did, too.

You might be the only one out of the Indy area. Most fans are selfishly biased toward their area of the state and prefer total domination. You seem to be a fan of high school football in general and appreciate a good game regardless of geography. I can assure you fans of Northeastern Indiana would like to see a 6a team in our area compete. We were spoiled for a long time with Snider, but declining enrollment and socioeconomic factors have knocked them from 6a to 5a. Homestead and Carroll are 2500 and growing, they are the future of 6a football in Fort Wayne.

Not disagreeing with you at all...but that isn't the name of this thread. It was should Merrillville be in 6A?....not would Merrillville be a contender in 6A. I guess its all a moot point. Enrollment says they are 5A. If they take care of business in 5A for a couple of years or their enrollment increases, they will move up regardless.

In most years at least 80 percent of the top ten ranked teams in 6A are Indy teams and of those, only 4/5 are actually “contenders.” Don't let geography and a sectional/regional trophy case fool you into thinking Merrillville is better than they are. They could compete and probably win more than their fair share against those 16-32 you mentioned, but the gap is so large from the top half dozen to teams 16-32 it might as well be the Grand Canyon. The parallel to college football is the same. Being ranked 10-15 is a damn fine accomplishment but only 3-4 teams have a realistic shot at the title.

Yes , I wasn't jabbing at BD but making a point. Just because teams lose deep into the tourney by wide margins doesn't mean they don't belong in the class . Most often than not , If your deep into the playoffs , your better than the majority of said class .

Noblesville vs. Benet Academy Noblesville and Mt. Vernon was a carbon copy of last year. Noblesville ran at will and Mt. Vernon moved the ball at will. Noblesville had 389 yards rushing on 64 carries. Mt. Vernon Sr. QB/WR (Eli Bridenthal) had 151 yards rushing, 137 yards passing, and 3 receptions for 69 yards. Mt. Vernon has some serious talent at receivers with the big Purdue recruit, Bridenthal, and Jr. Jay Jones. Their offense is scary good. The Freshmen QB they put in when Bridenthal moves to WR is very good. The Millers offense looked about the same as last year. Only difference is they moved Gage Gulley from QB to RB and 6’3 So. Aiden Brewer is now on the OL at TE. The new QB for the Millers is a 6’1 Freshman. He only attempted 4 passes. Curious to see if they open up the passing game a little more if the run game is stalling. He appeared to have a good arm. Benet Academy used to play in the East Suburban Catholic League which has since merged with the Chicago Catholic League for football. Similar to Noblesville, they’re probably better than their record indicated from last year as they played a very strong schedule. I’ll go with Benet Academy this week for no other reason than Noblesville is going to be making a long hike to the Western Chicago ‘burbs. Benet 28 Noblesville 24 Fishers vs. Pike Complete domination by Fishers last week. Is North Central that bad or Fishers that good. My guess is the truth is likely somewhere in the middle. Looking forward to see how Fishers responds on Friday. Fishers 27 PIke 17 Ben Davis vs. Avon Looks like Avon’s offense awoke in the 2nd half against LN for a lot of passing yards. Ben Davis had the advantage vs Brownsburg in first downs, plays ran, and total yardage, but still came up with the L. I’ll take Ben Davis to rebound against the Orioles. Ben Davis 31 Avon 20 North Central vs. HSE HSE survived a defensive battle on East 56th Street last week. I’m expecting their O to break out this week and for North Central to take another beating. HSE 35 North Central 10 Cathedral vs. Brownsburg I didn’t catch the Brownsburg/Ben Davis game last week. Judging by the boxscore it appears Brownsburg was fortunate to win that game. I’ll take Indiana’s best team to beat the ‘Dogs Cathedral 30 Brownsburg 17 Franklin Central vs. Roncalli Interesting Southside matchup. The Flashes took care of business in week 1 by pummeling Perry Meridian. Likewise, Roncalli had no problems with Southport. Is this the breakout game for the Jayson West era in Franklin Township? I’ll take the Roncalli O-Line in a close one. Roncalli 28 Franklin Central 24 Lawrence Central vs. Westfield I have a feeling LC will be a thorn in the side of everyone they play this year. I picked New Pal to beat Westfield and it looks like they had a comfortable lead the entire game. My assumption is New Pal is that good and Westfield is taking a decent step back this season with the loss of their QB and RB. Still, I can’t imagine the Rocks starting 0-2. Westfield 21 LC 13 Lebanon vs. Zionsville I’m expecting the Tigers to respectively compete for the top spot in the competitive Sagamore Conference, but they’re no match for a HCC school. Eagles roll. Zionsville 41 Lebanon 13

And if I had hair and 100 less pounds, I could be a male model, but I'm not.

Ben Davis looked pretty good on defense, and that's encouraging. I'm sure the offense will have some more growing pains as Gotkowski presumably steps in at QB. I thought the Giants and the Orioles both showed good resilience last week by getting down and then mounting charges. I would assume that there will be a big crowd out there to watch this one. Give me BD by 7...Giants 35-28. It seems like the Trojans are probably going to get beat sometime this year, but I don't think it will be this week. I would assume, much like Temptation, that this will be a low-scoring slobberknocker of a game. Last one standing is CG by a field goal. 13-10. Kudos to Warren for scheduling this one. Always love it when Indiana High School Football can show itself to an out-of-state opponent. I know Warren was disappointed in its offensive output last week. Seems like they have that stout D under Coach Tutsie. We'll see if Jimmy Graves side of the ball can respond. Give me Warren 24-21. I wasn't necessarily shocked by the outcome of the New Pal vs. Westfield game, but I was shocked by the margin. Coach Gilbert will get his team ready. Big opportunity here for LC and Coach Patterson's crew to get a big win. I don't know if they're ready just yet to take that step. Westfield recovers 28-14. Lawrence North shot like a racehorse out of the gate and then held on to beat Avon. I have no reason to believe they won't find a way to get by Whiteland. 28-17 I saw @temptationsay the heat was on Kevin O'Shea. While I think it's much too early to put the heat on a guy who just a couple of years ago brought the Panthers their first-ever MIC Championship in football, I would agree that the program's decline has to be concerning. The Panthers were quite lackluster against Fishers, and that was a shock...again...not that Fishers is good but how bad NC must have looked. HSE by 3 TDs. 28-7 Proud of Coach Brevard to get his team into OT with Zionsville. That win would have been huge in his first game at Pike. As it stands, he gets another opportunity against a quality Fishers team that really got hot out of the gate. Fishers by 10, but don't count out the Red Devils. 24-14

Once again, I’m praying they take the next step. Be great for the sport.

Indy's Top 5 has been in a league of their own over the last five years or so. Generally there's a couple of teams that could compete with Indy's 6-10. Last year it was Merrillville and Carroll.

When Merrillville wins 9 State Championships, come talk to Ben Davis about whiffing.

Seeing these sizes is crazy. Especially when a school of 2,000 kids (Castle) has their biggest lineman at 260 and drops off fast after that.

This should be a pretty telling week for a few teams. Is Castle for real? is Memorial or North in a better position to make a run at the SIAC with some help? Is Reitz back?

https://www.tribstar.com/sports/local_high_school_sports/dugger-fb-preview-numbers-dont-lie-bulldogs-going-to-8-man-football/article_7f7fcbbf-8727-5909-8819-10df0f5b6bb5.html I was reading about the tragedy with the ISU football team and stumbled across this article.

Not really, I just know Temp well enough to know that he's bored with Indy's domination of 6A. Both Homestead and Carroll are prime breakout candidates to make that happen. He's been patiently "waiting." First game of the season. They should get a pass.

https://fee.org/articles/the-coming-financial-collapse-of-social-security/

I agree Tanner had a great game! surprised to see a “dogfight” with THS … only 2 seasons in which they won more games than they lost in the last 28 years. I was way off in thinking GS would hang 60 plus on South and South might get a score or two in mop up time. Regardless of THS being 5A …3A GS is well above THS in quality of total program. have no clue on what to expect with New Albany but believe GS can win by 2-3 scores

I think they are a little more aligned than the left is comfortable with, so the story of a "rift" continues.....

Ya we will find out a lot about Triton this Friday as well. Laville is ranked in 2a we aspirations of getting to Lucas OIl in November

Wish I could claim that but both Belichick, and Walsh had that in their books, so I stole it from the best lol. Hopefully everyone involved looks back and remembers how ridiculous their situations were, and growth can occur from it. Part of coaching is realizing kids are kids and they'll do silly things in the heat of the moment. We all have. Offer grace, love the kid(s), and then place the proverbial boot up the backside if necessary. Accountability is never bad.

The Jasper/Tell City rivalry intensified when Gunner was at Tell City back in the early 60s, he had some very competitive teams and was highly respected. I thought that rivalry was probably more intense in football than in basketball. Some time after Gunner went to Vincennes, that rivalry intensified, and it peaked after the controversial baseball sectional final, (2005?) went to 14 innings, Jasper winning. The Tell City rivalry waned eventually, and the Vincennes rivalry isn't what it used to be. I miss the Tell City rivalry the most, it was mutual respect after the game, not so much for Vincennes. I was lucky enough to participate in and witness some amazing events. There was also an interesting story regarding the name "Gunner" came about.

Stop the count!

Also going to throw out there that I really like East’s new football helmets. Torch logo in the back. Oregon O logo on the sides.

I dunno. I’ve heard from more guys than I care to about my sisters abilities.

Yes it's arbitrary but it should be flagged. He's giving you a nice break if he doesn't flag it. I've now seen the play and what he did for the second foul was not a simple first down signal. It was a delayed action that completely warranted a flag. That was a no-brainer. Complaining about it in an online forum and the announcers giving their opinion of the call contribute to the constant lack of respect given to officials when they are doing their job correctly. The announcers were flat wrong but non-officials listening to them treat them as authorities and assume the crew was wrong. This gives fans fuel to complain about it as well.

Is this the answer to the shortage, an untapped resource? From a Facebook post: 🏈 This is significant! On August 26, Mississippi high school football history will be made. SuperTalk Mississippi News reports the state’s first-ever all-female referee crew will officiate a game between (Jackson) Murrah High and Cleveland Central. “This opportunity is absolutely monumental as it is a positive step in the right direction. Women have always wanted a seat at the table. I’ve been told, early in my career as a baseball umpire and football referee, ‘They’re not ready to see a woman in these sports!’ Why limit us?” Referee Adrienne Barnes asked adding, “Men officiate women’s sports, so why can’t women officiate men’s sports? If we have to take the bruises to open doors for more women, this is the crew to do it.” Rounding out the crew with Barnes, who will serve as referee, are the following: Sarah Fleming – Umpire Sherri Vaughans – Head Line Judge Fran Adams – Line Judge Felicia Davis – Side Judge Alona Alexander – Field Judge Dominique Sutton – Back Judge Phylicia Cotten – 40s Clock Constance Clark – Electronic Clock Operator Tamika Lipsey – Chain Crew Timika Morris – Chain Crew Charmaine Smith – Chain Crew