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Apparently someone got video of @Coach Nowlin entering LOS Friday:

Need to add instant replay just so they can bring @Bobrefout of retirement to be Mike Pereira at the Indy State Championship games. That'd be worth the ticket price alone.

Cycle started over this year: (not going to do 1 point sectional champ) 6a, doesn't matter 5a: Valpo earned 4, Whiteland 3, Castle 2, Snider 2, 4a: East Central 4, NP 3, LaPorte 2, Roncalli 2, 3a: Chatard 4, Lawrenceburg 3, WL 2 Monrovia 2 2a: Mater Dei 4, Andrean 3, Linton 2, Luers 2, 1a: Lutheran 4, AC 3, Judson 2, without looking on Harrell's I think that is it So yes, Andrean and Mater Dei could conceivably be in 3 straight 2a state games Lutheran COULD win 3 straight titles before moving up

Golden anniversary State Finals set to kick off Andrew Smith GridironDigest.com Lucas Oil Stadium will host the golden anniversary IHSAA football State Finals this weekend, It features an intriguing mix of blue bloods and newcomers to downtown Indy. This year’s field features two rematches from last year’s State Finals, a Center Grove team going for a three-peat in 6A, and an Indianapolis Chatard team seeking its 16th state title in 3A, and two newcomers to the State Finals in Whiteland and Carroll (Fort Wayne). It also features three unbeaten teams in Carroll and 1A finalists Indianapolis Lutheran and Adams Central. Class 6A: (5) Carroll (13-0) vs. (3) Center Grove (11-2), 7 p.m. Friday This matchup features one of the state’s premier programs in Center Grove against a Carroll squad that is making its first State Finals appearance. CG is in the State Finals for the fourth consecutive year, seeking its third straight title, which would be a 6A record. The Trojans are familiar visitors to Lucas Oil Stadium, as this is their sixth State Finals appearance in the last eight years and ninth since 2000. The Trojans feature the state’s seventh-leading rusher in Micah Coyle, who has tallied 1,941 yards and 21 TDs. Jalen Thomeson moved from defense to offense this season and is nearing the 1,000 yard mark himself. Noah Coy has 1,081 receiving yards, as Tyler Cherry has thrown for 2,124 yards. It all adds up to a squad that is scoring nearly 36 points per game and tallying 412 yards per game. Last week, CG avenged a regular-season loss to Cathedral with a 33-10 victory. The Trojans surrendered the first 10 points and then took over, with Coyle running for 218 yards and four TDs. Carroll also rallied last week to earn its first State Finals berth, trailing 12-7 after a quarter but scoring TDs in the second and third quarters to go up by two scores in an eventual 21-15 victory over Hamilton Southeastern. The Chargers were outgained 295-186 in the game, but got big plays on defense and in the kicking game with an INT and a blocked punt setting up short fields. Jayden Hill had a 69-yard catch to set up a TD, while Braden Steely ran for 64 yards and two touchdowns. The Chargers won a 21-20 game with Lafayette Jeff in the regional - the program’s first regional title - after trailing 20-7 at halftime. That came after sweeping Penn and Warsaw in the sectional and going unbeaten through the tough Summit Athletic Conference. Sophomore Nate Starks leads the Chargers’ rushing game with 1,127 yards, while sophomore QB Jimmy Sullivan has thrown for 2,203 yards - 737 to Camden Herschberger. Carroll’s defense has held teams to 9.8 ppg and 223.7 yards per contest this season for 13th-year coach Doug Dinan. Class 5A: (9) Valparaiso (10-3) vs. (2) Whiteland (12-1), 7 p.m. Saturday One of the many intriguing matchups this weekend features Valparaiso and Whiteland. The Vikings advanced with two close wins in the regional and semistate to make their second State Finals appearance in four years, while Whiteland is making its State Finals debut. Valparaiso went 6-3 in the regular season, but got on a roll in tournament play, winning multiple close games. The Vikings defeated arch-rival Chesterton 14-7 in the sectional final, then avenged a regular-season loss to Merrillville with a 15-14 victory in the regional. Last week, Vikings quarterback Justin Clark eluded pressure and scrambled for a touchdown on fourth down in overtime, then the Vikings went for the win and converted to defeat No. 1 Fort Wayne Snider 22-21. Travis Davis scored the second of his two TDs in the fourth quarter to tie the game and send it to OT. He ran for 277 yards in the contest. Valpo’s defense has carried the Vikings throughout the year, pitching two shutouts and holding 10 opponents to 14 points or less in regulation. It’s led by Alex Rodriquez (82 tackles), Ty Veen (10 TFL) and Tyler VerSchure (7 INT). Clark leads the Vikings in rushing with 950 yards. He’s thrown for 885 as a dual-threat QB. The Vikings’ run-heavy attack averages 243 yards per game on the growund. Davis has run for 863 yards, Thomas Burda 769. Whiteland also has a powerful running game, led by Peyton Emberton, who has run for 1,297 yards and 11 TDs. Jonathan Crowley has rushed for 862 yards and the Warriors average 304 yards per game on the ground. They don’t throw often - averaging eight pass attempts per game - but QB Kevin Denham has thrown for 1,027 yards and four touchdowns. The Warriors’ lone loss came to Martinsville in Week 6, but they’ve responded with multiple lopsided wins. In the tournament, they won the sectional over Terre Haute North and Franklin by a combined score of 87-3, then routed Plainfield 49-14 in the regional before a 21-7 victory at Castle in the semistate. It’s the first State Finals appearance for 32-year coaching veteran Darrin Fisher, who has been at Whiteland for 18 seasons. A victory would give Whiteland its first-ever state championship in any sport. Class 4A: (7) New Prairie (13-1) vs. (4) East Central (12-2), 3 p.m. Friday East Central has long been one of the powers in southern Indiana and it makes its third State Finals appearance in eight years, seeking its first title since 2017. New Prairie returns to Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time since 2014, when the Cougars were the 4A runner-up. East Central made a statement at the start of the season, defeating 3A finalist Lawrenceburg 38-3. And the Trojans made one at the end, blocking a potential game-winning field goal in the closing seconds of Friday’s semistate game against Roncalli. The Trojans then won in overtime 24-21, avenging a Week 9 loss to the Royals. Both teams have strong running games and strong defenses - each allows 10.6 ppg. New Prairie staged a rally of its own in the semistate. The Cougars trailed Kokomo 9-0 in the late stages of the fourth quarter, but Owek Chalik kicked a 23-yard field goal, the Cougars recovered an on-side kick and quickly marched down the field for the winning TD by quarterback Marshall Kmiecik. Kmiecik ran for 69 yards and RB Noah Mungia 71 in the Kokomo contest. On the season, Mungia has 1,868 rushing yards and 21 TDs, while Kmiecik has run for 1,31 yards and 14 scores and thrown for 1,198 and 16 TDs, leading an offense tallying 353 yards and 35 points per game. New Prairie’s lone blemish was a Week 8 loss to Penn, but the Cougars rolled through the tournament, with only Hobart scoring in double-digits in a 49-28 sectional championship game victory. East Central features one of the state’s top rushers in Josh Ringer, who has 2,197 yards and 35 touchdowns. That complements a passing game led by Cole Burton (1,744 yards, 22 TDs passing) and the receiving combo of Ryan Brotherton (841 yards, 11 TDs) and Eli Ashton (612 yards, 7 TDs). Class 3A: (3) Indianapolis Chatard (10-4) vs. (5) Lawrenceburg (13-1), 3 p.m. Saturday Class 3A features two programs familiar with very proud traditions. Chatard is appearing in its 17th state championship game, seeking its 16th title and third in four years. Lawrenceburg is back to Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time since 2016, but it is the sixth championship game appearance for the Tigers, who are seeking their first title since 1978. Lawrenceburg joins East Central as Dearborn County and Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference schools in the State Finals. The Tigers dropped the season opener to EC, but have since ripped off 13 straight victories, led by a defense that leads the state, allowing just 6.1 ppg. The Tigers shut out six straight opponents to finish the regular season and then posted a seventh in a 28-0 victory over Greensburg in the sectional semifinal. Only East Central in Week 1 and Milan in Week 3 have scored more than once against the Tigers. Jake Pierce leads Logansport’s defense with 114 tackles, 10 TFLs and four INTs. Niko Ferreira has 95 tackles, Noah Knigga 79 tackles and 14 TFLs and Zavyn Slayback four interceptions. Lawrenceburg rolled to a 35-7 victory over Monrovia in the semistate after dispatching Southridge 31-7 in the regional and Batesville 33-7 in the sectional final. The Tigers’ running game is led by Teagan Bennett (1,410 yards, 18 TDs) and Alex Witte (1,201 yards, 18 TDs). QB Logan Ahaus has thrown for 1,106 yards and 11 touchdowns. Chatard went 5-4 in the regular season but was still in the top 5 because of its schedule - the losses came to two semistate teams in larger classes - Roncalli and Cathedral - as well as two quality out-of-state teams. In the tournament, the Trojans used a powerful offense to score 40-plus points in four consecutive games, winning a tough sectional field with a 49-13 win over Guerin Catholic in the championship game. They then defeated Yorktown 42-14 in the regional and No. 1 West Lafayette 21-3 in the semistate. QB Drew VanVleet has thrown for 2,732 yards and 28 TDs, completing 68 percent of his passes, with Noah Dudick (816 yards, 8 TDs) and Aiden Duncan (788 yards, 7 TDs) his top targets. The Trojans have a balanced running game that averages 145 yards per contest, as well. Class 2A: (3) Andrean (10-3) vs. (5) Evansville Mater Dei (11-3), 11 a.m. Friday The first game of the State Finals will be the first of two rematches from last year’s championship game, a game Andrean won 21-9 to clinch its third state football title. Mater Dei has climbed one rung of the ladder each of the last three seasons - sectional champion in 2019, regional in 2020, semistate in 2021 and is now looking to add the program’s first state championship since 2000. The Wildcats have been a state runner-up four times since then. Head coach Mike Goebel led the Wildcats to that 2000 title and also has won 12 state championships as Mater Dei’s wrestling coach. Andrean features one of the state’s top players in all-everything back Drayk Bowen, who has run for 1,689 yards and 26 TDs and leads the 59ers on defense with 137 tackles, 19 TFLs, five sacks and two interceptions. The 59ers balance the run and the pass, with Bowen leading the way in the running game and Billy Henry throwing for 1,837 yards and 23 TDs in the passing game, with Patrick Clacks (1,075 yards, 14 TDs) his top target. The 59ers opened the tournament with a 28-6 victory over previously-unbeaten LaVille before defeating two other ranked teams - Lafayette Central Catholic 30-12 in the regional and Fort Wayne Luers 48-29 in the semistate. Bowen was unstoppable in the semistate, running for 358 yards and five touchdowns. Andrean jumped ahead 28-13 at halftime and continued to extend the lead. Mater Dei’s offense was also unstoppable in a 51-28 regional victory over previously-unbeaten Linton. QB Mason Wunderlich was 14-18 for 222 yards, while senior Joey Pierre ran for 181 yards and a score. Mater Dei’s Mason Wunderlich is ninth in the state with 2,565 passing yards and has thrown for 27 touchdowns. Ethan Stolz (676 yards, 9 TDs) and Blake Herdes (567 yards, 7 TDs) are his top targets. Pierre (1,015 yards, 12 TDs) leads the running game. Mater Dei tied for first in the tough Southern Indiana Athletic Conference and after rolling through the sectional, won a 35-28 game over Triton Central - also ranked No. 5 in the coaches poll - in the regional before the win over Linton in the semistate. Class A: (2) Adams Central (14-0) at (1) Indianapolis Lutheran (14-0), 11 a.m. Saturday It’s the one matchup of unbeaten teams in the State Finals and the second rematch. The top two teams in the Class A rankings meet for the state championship. Last year’s meeting was a classic, with Lutheran winning 34-28 for its first-ever football state championship. The Saints are making their third State Finals appearance in four years, while Adams Central’s Jets are seeking their first state title since 2000. Lutheran has the state’s highest-scoring offense, tallying 49.4 ppg, led by the state’s passing leader Jackson Willis. He stepped into the QB role this season and has thrown for 3,890 yards. Micah Mackay ranks third in the state with 1,403 receiving yards. Adams Central tallies 46.1 ppg offensively, fourth in the state. Both teams have also been stout defensively - Lutheran allows 9.7 ppg and Adams Central 10.1 ppg. Adams Central’s Wing-T offense has always featured a powerful running game under 14th-year coach Michael Mosser and this year is more of the same. The Jets tally 316 yards per game on the ground, led by Keegan Bluhm (1,488 yards, 18 TDs), Ryan Black (931 yards, 28 TDs) and Gavin Clark (810 yards, 10 TDs). As the quarterback, Black has thrown for 800 yards. AC’s defense, led by Bluhm (93 tackles, 3 INTs) and Jack Hamilton (89 tackles, 4 INTs), allows 191 total yards per game. The Jets have played one game decided by less than 21 points this season - a 25-21 victory over Eastside in Week 2. In the tournament, they’ve tallied at least 35 points in each game, with identical 35-0 wins over Carroll (Flora) and North Judson in the regional and semistate. Lutheran has rapidly built into a state power under 15th-year head coach Dave Pasch, with Willis and Mackay leading an offense that tallies 457 yards per game. In addition, Joe Davis has rushed for 1,769 yards and 28 touchdowns, complementing the Saints’ powerful passing game. Their defense allows 170 yards per game, led by Jonny Hall (105 tackles, 4 INTs). Like Adams Central, the Saints have played two games decided by less than 21 points this season - a 54-41 victory over Triton Central in Week 3 and a 28-19 win over Scecina in Week 6. The Saints shut out South Putnam, Cloverdale and Covenant Christian to win the sectional before beating Providence 49-7 in the regional and North Decatur 28-7 in the semistate. Davis ran for 207 yards and Willis threw for 220 in the semistate.

Although it pains me mightily to do it, @temptation, fair is fair.

Carroll may have had the biggest crowd among all 12 contenders. Their student section still showed lots of spirit late in the 4th quarter. Ninety nine percent of the fans stuck it out till the end and cheered their team on. With that kind of community support, this could be just the beginning for the Carroll program...............a sleeping giant if you will.

Post your observations here about the Finals experience. What was good, and bad? Suggestions for the future. What went right and what went wrong. What could be added to the weekend next year? I saw all 6 games. My takeaway was that the officiating was very good. Some games better than others. No one worked a perfect game. But unless I missed something, there were no significant controversies, and officiating had no bearing on the outcome of any game. Now I can uncross my fingers … until next year.

@Donnie BakerUs Chatard fans aren’t permitted to support anyone’s “anal budget”. Not judging.

Coached with at least three of those guys and coached the sons and nephews of a couple others. Coached with one of those guys' dad too.

What a great weekend I swear to God it was. Now everyone chip in so the GID can reach its anal budget from donations. About $640 to go

I owe you an apology. I sincerely apologize and sorry that I posted a response... Sometimes, not paying attention to ONE word....can make one become a total idiot.... = @yuccaguy in this case. And yes even perhaps...Yuckyguy also. 😃

About $640 needed to complete this year’s budget.

Im confused Yuckyguy

Final Sagarin numbers are in. Per tradition I have combined the SIAC and PAC and sorted by Predictor here: Here are the the teams sorted by Overall Rating:

Certainly didnt hurt his performance week before with 358 yds I thought MD defense was fantastic. They had a plan to slow Bowen and executed it. To claim injury is a little slap to MD. I watched Andrean a number of times and while very good team I thought they were better last year and year prior. Congrats to them on getting back as its never easy to do also MD QB is really good

Congrats Valpo. It was a long time coming for a historically good program.

Columbus East won it in 4A, won it in 5A, and then took 2 absolute beat downs from Center Grove for 2 years.. I remember East fan’s back in the early 2010’s when they would complain about Cathedral winning it every year, then some of these same fans were complaining because East had to bump to 6A due to the SF. I used to tell them, you can’t have it both ways, you play where you are placed. Chatard’s sustained success is going to be around for a while as you have stated, we will see how it all plays out in the coming years. And then if you don’t win it in the next 2 years you bump back down?

13th Place!! 13th Place!!!! Hoosiers win the Mega Bowl!!

Linton picked up a blue ring versus Pioneer in 2016, after getting a red ring vs. LCC in 2015, before stepping on the SF elevator. Secina picked up a pair of red rings in back-to-back seasons, 2011 and 2012, to LCC and then both moved to 2A in 2013. In both Scecina's and Linton's cases, while SF took them up, eventually enrollment kept them up in 2A.

While one-pointers don't matter for move-up, some of those one-pointers though could be important for STAYING up. Cathedral picked up a regional this year and thus picked up 2 points, so they remain in 6A through the next re-class regardless of what they do next season. LCC and Evansville Memorial both picked up a sectional in 2A and 4A, respectively, and need a section each next season to remain up from their enrollment class. Dwenger needs a regional next season to stay up in 5A.

The final SIAC sagarin ratings are below. Compared to 2020/21 The conference finished weaker at the top. The middle was about the same. The rise of VL added a quality middle tier team to the depth of the conference. The bottom tier was significantly worse then last year but in line with 2020. As for the SIAC vs PAC, Calpreps lists GS and SR as underdogs against half the SIAC on a neutral field. SOUTHERN INDIANA CONF. RANK STATE RANK TEAM OVERALL RATING SCHEDULE STRENGTH RANK RECENT RATING RANK PREDICTOR RATING RANK 1 37 Evansville Mater Dei 76.26 57.90 83 81.93 31 70.42 61 2 43 Evansville Reitz 75.01 58.31 82 72.52 50 75.39 42 3 48 Evansville Memorial 73.26 62.46 63 77.21 38 69.33 64 4 49 Castle 73.26 62.61 62 77.15 39 69.27 66 5 64 Jasper 69.63 62.86 60 74.50 46 64.16 81 6 87 Evansville North 62.38 61.38 70 61.91 90 62.48 89 7 97 Vincennes Lincoln 59.97 64.10 55 58.30 103 63.28 87 8 158 Evansville Harrison 47.41 63.79 56 47.19 156 46.84 158 9 199 Evansville Bosse 37.42 65.59 52 40.46 188 33.44 211 10 243 Evansville Central 26.15 66.42 48 24.67 246 27.32 240

what an electric night in Lucas Oil. My dad is a Valpo grad 1969, so we took in the weekend down in Indy with that being the final event, he had a blast and a tremendous game both sides Backfield for Valpo is troublesome both are coming back I think Just think if the Clark family didn't move from Rensselaer mid 90s!!! Mr. Don Clark was a coach and middle school teacher, then moved north to Valpo when Don Clark JR went on to his D1 offer at Air Force, now Don Jr son, Justin is BMOC and making plays!!! Good Stuff

#12 for Chatard was the difference. Outstanding on both sides of ball Can’t remember that guy’s name…🤪

You just wait until next year when we set the state record for most unsportsmanlike conduct calls

Poor plan all around, and credit to SC, they came out and played with much more passion….and kicked their asses.

I agree. Lawrenceburg came out ready to play with a great game plan. Hats off to to those boys and the coaching staff. Chatard just finds a way to get it done. Overall a great game!

Congratulations to Valpo, great staff, team, and community working in concert.

DK flies drones around all of our houses just to validate accounts with IP addresses. If you don't know, now you know.

2nd this. Hats off to Lawrenceburg. Really good football team that laid it all out there. Absolutely nothing to hang your heads about. That was a state championship caliber team. I hope Chatard wins regional next year, bumps to 4A, and stays there for good.

Congrats to Chatard, talk about a dynasty and what they continually do every single year. Such an amazing program. Also congrats to Lawrenceburg on a great season.

Well…congrats Lawrenceburg. I’m more impressed with your achievement….but that’s just me. edit: Great work and effort by the Chatard kids…not their fault the system stinks.

All true.... What is crazy is that Coach Moore is now starting to coach kids of players from his earliest CG teams. More are coming around the corner. Praying for Coach's health and healing so he can continue to coach his 2nd generation of Trojans.

I have Spectrum TV here in Evansville. I also have a ROKU ultra box... with the Spectrum App, Bally Sports App and IHSAATV app. The 6A game is not broadcast LIVE on Spectrum Cable TV, so the only option was IHSAATV.... which cost money. So I went to Bally Sports app and searched for the LIVE game. It said it was on BALLY+..... which means I have to have a Subscription to Bally+. My point.... if you are going to show all the other Class Games for free on Cable TV.... make arrangements to show ALL of the Classes free on TV. That's not fair to parents and fans. That's unequal. People will say.... but it's only $15 or $20 bucks and it goes to a good cause.... Fine.... CHARGE EVERYBODY $15 or $20 to watch all the ballgames then.

I'm technically a boomer and I'm not happy about it. I was born over 19 years after VJ day! I wasn't created by a post-war celebration. I was more "let's put up the Christmas tree and drink a few beers".

Congratulations to Carroll (FW) on a terrific season. Congratulations to Center Grove on what I would call one of their more impressive seasons. I took a lot of guff for stating that I thought CG would handle Carroll rather easily. It is what it is I only call it as I see it, with Carroll (FW) having that close of a game with Laf. Jeff. (whom Cathedral had beaten rather handily) I felt Center Grove would have no problem with Carroll. It had nothing to do with making the safe pick that didn't even come into my thought process. No matter what HSE was built up to be, they deserved the #1 ranking because they actually beat the #1 team in the regular season. I still am adamant I believe HSE would have lost to Brownsburg by 2 or 3 TD's had Brownsburg's QB (Whitaker) not been injured before halftime and sat the entire half. That being said regardless HSE nor Brownsburg were playing at CG level they had during the playoffs. I know some wanted to bring up CG having a close game with Franklin Central, well FC had a solid defense and their Head Coach Jason West is VERY familiar with CG having coached against them several years at WC. I will say Coach Moore is the ultimate motivator. He stated one thing himself when he stated Center Grove never was ranked #1 this year. They were the defending State Champs yet never were ranked #1 even when their lone loss at one point was to Louisville Kentucky. You better believe Coach Moore likely motivated his team throughout by using this. He also has been on record as saying they needed the loss to Cathedral to use as a learning tool and motivation. Not just the loss itself but likely the way they lost in a comeback 4th quarter fashion. Another motivational tool to make himself, his coaches, and his players better. One of the more impressive seasons by Coach Moore and his staff and coaching their players to be better. BTW what a call and decision to move Thomeson (SP?) from defense to RB after the loss of Wheat. While Coyle may have been a focus, he totally dominated that game. Last but not least for future reference players getting hurt has nothing to do with opposing team just hits harder. I truly hate that thinking. Injuries happen and can happen in a multitude of ways which has nothing to do with the physicality or hitting of an opposing team. Injuries can be freak accidents to be honest.

You will always remember this as the day that you almost caught Coach Mike Goebel!

In his double wide trying to bum Wi-Fi off his neighbor, Clarence.

Purdue quarterback Aidan O'Connell announces death of his brother (indystar.com)

You need an editor. Just a suggestion.