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And in appropriate fashion, like the Great Pumpkin, they Bears never showed up.

I really am curious to know how you come to the conclusion that regular season games are meaningless. Having played, coached, and parented through more that 30 years of high school football in Indiana, I never found myself sitting there during week 3 or 4 or whenever thinking, "Gosh if only we would have a qualifying format, this game would actually have meaning, but since we don't and the game is meaningless, I really just don't care at all what happens Friday night." By the way, I've also never had anyone I'm connected with express that peculiar thought either.

Seems there are an unusual number of Week 9 big games coming up. 6A is the headliner, of course, with the top 4 teams in action against one another. But there are big games all around the state. East Central vs. Roncalli is quite a matchup. Here in the Region, Hanover Central & Calumet, two resurgent programs, fight it out for the GSSC title. Both are 8-0. Kokomo and Jeff ought to be another good one. And I have to get a plug in for what’s happening to the East of us. Div. 1 #2 and defending champ Lakewood St. Edward travels to Cincinnati to take on #1 Archbishop Moeller. What big game do you have your eye on?

Let’s go!

Roughing the passer (RTP) fouls have been much in the news this week. The NFL is to the point where there is a serious movement toward making such calls subject to replay review. So, I thought a discussion of RTP from a high school football perspective might be timely … because there are important differences between what you see on Friday nights and what plays out in the NFL. The Rules This is the rule under the National Federation Code: “Defensive players must make a definite effort to avoid charging into a passer, who has thrown the ball from in or behind the neutral zone, after it is clear the ball has been thrown. No defensive player shall commit any illegal personal contact foul … against the passer.” Also, under NF rules, a passer is, by definition, a “defenseless” player. Differences in rules at the two levels have major implications for calling, and enforcing, roughing the passer penalties. Two principal ones — The NFL provides certain protections while the passer is “in the pocket” vs. outside the pocket. The NF Code makes no such distinction, i.e., the passer gets the same degree of protection everywhere on the field. Nor does the NF Code have specific protections, such as those against “full body weight” and “below the knee” hits. — In the NFL you can have roughing the passer even though no pass actually occurs (Witness the sack of Brady on Sunday, and the strip-sack by the Chiefs on Monday night. In each case, no pass was thrown, but both resulted in roughing penalties.) Under the NF Code, you can only rough a “passer,” i.e., a player who has thrown a legal forward pass. What goes into calling RTP? First and foremost, the only official on the field who is empowered to call roughing the passer is the Referee (R). It’s always a judgment. But there are some guidelines that can help. — Many Rs use the “two step” rule to determine if a hit on the passer is late. If the defensive player contacts the QB after taking 2 or fewer steps following release of the pass, the contact is not late. — Most Rs give a verbal warning that the pass has been thrown, such as “ball’s gone!” or the like. If I can recognize the pass is gone and verbalize it, by that time defensive players should be holding up rather than continuing toward the passer. — I used the “sliding scale” approach when I was an R. The two variables were the nature of the contact, and the timing of the contact. The later the contact, the less force needed to draw a flag. Conversely, a hit that was only borderline late might well draw a flag if it was a particularly vicious hit. — The passer’s status as a “defenseless” player is important. Forcible contact against a defenseless player above the shoulders will almost certainly draw a flag. It can also be a factor in whether a particular foul is deemed “flagrant,” and thereby cause for disqualification Enforcement of RTP Whether something is classified as roughing the passer or a run of the mill personal foul is significant for enforcement purposes, as RTP has some unique enforcement provisions. — Any personal foul against the passer is treated as RTP. For example, if an onrushing defender grabs and twists the QB’s facemask before he actually throws the pass, it is enforced as RTP if the QB subsequently becomes a passer during the down. — Penalties for live ball fouls by the defense during a pass play are usually enforced from the previous spot. For RTP, however, that 15 yd. penalty is added to yardage gained if the pass is completed. And, of course, RTP also carries an automatic 1st down.

So happy for Eastern Greene. Extremely difficult and emotional week for their program & community.

I was gonna buy one, but no #IB ... What gives? Your son can get that NIL money now, right? Can he and Coach H sign one for me?

O'Neil is a special talent.

I double checked before I typed it!

I'm not gonna lie I double checked that because it didn't seem right. Haha. Congrats on title!!

6A is loaded this year. The North is just as exciting as the South.

Eastern Greene 34 North Central (Farmersburg) 28 (final)

Yes, I'm not taking any of the sectional games as a given. Thinking Snider is the better team in sectional, but anything can happen in a win or go home game.

Hamilton Heights 21, LCC 21 7:52 2nd thumbs getting tired

Penalties killing Wayne. Touchdown called back now penalties aiding Carroll drive.

Cathedral 13 CG 7 5:04 left in the 2nd Q

Not sure why they don’t. They have the hudl setup….jokingly they are probably more concerned with live in game adjustments than a live broadcast haha Boonville 14 Gibson Southern 6 have traded INTs and punts. Boonville about to punt now. Under 8 minutes left until half

Too bad it’s not being live-streamed

Everyone prepares for the postseason, especially coaches. Every coach wants to peak in the postseason, not game 4. It really is not that hard to understand… Even coaches have commented in this thread to point out how wrong you are, yet it means nothing to you. Whatever dude, let it go and live in your fantasy world…

I agree with all you say! I also have not heard a good reason, except other states do it. More football is always good for this old fan!

I guess I would say "So what!"? Why does there need to be a connection between the tournament and the regular season? If someone is unable to see the value and impact that involvement in a regular season of football provides for players, schools, communities, etc. I just don't know what to say. I'm actually intrigued by the concept of a qualifying tournament; I just have yet to hear a practical argument that I could get behind.

Wait, weren't you just lamenting about how the program had taken a swan dive?

I think Doubs and Watson have good enough speed for being deep threats. I just do not think A A Ron can put it on anyone deep any more. His accuracy maxes out around 30 yards in my opinion. Granted, the throw to Watson was on target in week 1, but it just seems that is a rare thing.

Nelson Agholor, Julio Jones, and JuJu Smith-Schuster are all free agents in 2023...

I will be at Corydon wearing stripes.

I think those are a little different because of the groupings of those sectionals. CG and Warren literally couldn't have gotten a bad draw. I was talking more about sectionals where draws can actually impact who ends up winning.

The great thing about calling RTP as a high school R is it’s very hard to criticize the call, since no one is looking there except the R. Everyone else, including the video guy, is following the flight of the ball. You can frequently spot an inexperienced R by watching the movement of his head on pass plays. If you see it turn with the release of the pass, you’re probably dealing with a relative rookie. As an observer, it’s one of the first things I look for when evaluating an R.

Wasn’t my pick last week enough to prove I have no business making prognostications.

It’s a lot like porn, I have a hard time defining it, but I know it when I see it. Bob’s sliding scale is a great analogy, show me you’re not trying to make the “big hit highlight reel”.

Tonight? Two weeks away 🙂

We’ll do it man. We’ll talk football sometime. Well I didn’t have any intention of being in an altercation with I.O. 😆. Just wanna talk football. The man does know some things, and I’m always willing to listen and learn.

While not really an argument; In smaller communities such as Elkhart County, the regular season does mean a few things. Most kids in our area, are friends with kids from other schools. They get to know each other as do the families at football, wrestling and other sports. Not many teams are going to "make noise" throughout the playoffs in football; however, they will wear that conference patch on their jacket with pride. They will rib their buddies for the following year about beating their team. I would argue, to a lot of kids, the conference championship is more important than winning a sectional championship. I could care less about seeding of the playoffs; however, I am for letting the kids who will never play another down of football (other than some beer leagues as adults) play an extra game. As a fan...it shouldn't really matter...its about the kids.

Is there something wrong with that????

Good God it’s almost 1 AM the Friday of rivalry week and I’ve not thrown one jab at my beloved Cats. I hear people in Dubois County make their own bath bubbles and sniff them! Can’t wait to feel the love in 18 hrs at Alumni Stadium! Go Big Green!

Nah, just keep the all in and use a system to seed it. Then the regular season still matters. Luers could definitely be below .500 and be a 2A champion. I'd compromise to even seed the tip half of each sectional and random draw the rest.

The Cleveland Browns are playing Washington in Chicago? That is weird 🤣

He played in 2012 and 2013. It was the 2012 team that upended Penn. Then they lost to Merrillville by 29. Bowed out to Carmel by 31 in 2013. These last two years are easily the best teams Carroll has ever fielded. Warsaw's claim to fame was in 2000 and 2001. Those were some good football teams.

I spent 5 years coaching in Illinois. This is EXACTLY what happened. Great point.

Norwell should win this one handily if they are serious contender for 3A

Here are my thoughts for the last week of regular season: Manchester at Peru 35-20 Northfield at North Miami 28-14 Rochester at Maconaquah 56-28 Tippecanoe Valley at Southwood 35-21 Whitko at Wabash 35-7

I understand - but the topic is Penn vs. Carroll so I'm a little confused. I only brought up Cathedral and St. X when pointing out that I feel like the Kingsmen are not getting the credit they deserve with their 6-2 record and transitioning my post to the Penn/Carroll matchup.

@Titan32 and @Titan76 in the PAC 2022 thread this week (and perhaps others, if you look hard enough...) 😂

I had cataract surgery on my left eye today, so I won't be in attendance for this game. Everything is OK but my doctor doesn't want me out in the night air so soon after surgery. I guess I'll just be a keyboard jockey Friday night.

It was a great game! It was very close to seeing a rematch in Semi-State too. Cathedral lost a close 2 OT Regional game at Avon 37-34. Then after Avon won that 2 OT game against Cathedral, they lost at CG in 2 OT 35-34. Some great football games that year for sure.

Good.

Interesting point. The IHSAA is damned if they do and damned if they don't. If they implemented a qualifier and eliminated half the teams from the field, there would be an uproar. And you'd have loss of athletic department revenue. The only solution in my opinion is to seed the tournament with an all-in format. Sure there'll be lots of blowouts, but like they say, get better or get used to it. I just don't like to see good programs like Penn, Carroll, Brownsburg, and Ben Davis pack their bags after the first week. Those hard working programs earned their way to a deeper run.

Warren Central is going to romp its way to the regional because Sectional 7 is a joke