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You may not be perfect and us parents are sure willing to let you know when we disagree with you but without your time and dedication, none of these young men would get to live out their dreams each and every Friday night. For that I want to thank all of you sincerely.

I want to thank all the Veterans here for their service to help make all this possible !!! Hope you all had a great day so far and it should get even better around 7:00/7:30 this evening ! Godspeed !

If you figure out the answer, bottle it and sell it. I supervise travel SB tournaments in the summer. This has been an ongoing issue for some time. I feel like I’m beating my head against the wall. I see guys/gals come into officiating and in the world of travel sports it’s usually to supplement their income, as you can make decent side hustle cash. At any rate they come into it with their eye on the $300-$1200 paycheck for a weekend’s work. You can usually tell pretty quick, the guys/gals you’re talking about will be expert officials in a couple of weeks once they figure out if anyone disagrees with them, they can just “toss them”. Then as the supervisor/UIC I have to deal with it. Here’s my thing I will do absolutely anything within my power to help a young official. What I’m trying to say is there are people officiating, who like every other walk of life are only interested in the paycheck. They have no pride in what they do, their appearance (proper uniform and looking professional), their performance, or any of the things you aspire to as a normal functioning member of society. They look at the weekend as an “quick and easy” side hustle and it just shouldn’t be that easy if you’re doing a good job. I spend a great deal of time watching hand and helping young umpires. But the uncoachable ones I don’t waste any of my time on. If they do a decent job no worries, if they’re a pain in the ass, I tell my boss don’t send them to my site. And I do hold the trump card, because as hard as officials are to find, decent site directors are even harder! Bottom line what you are seeing is largely a societal issue. How’s your experience in fast food restaurants today vs what it was 10 years ago? What about just your everyday dealings with people in general? I’m nearing the end of my officiating career. I feel like I’m working harder than I ever have. Basically at 57 it requires more than it did when I was younger. I’ve worked more games this fall than I’ve worked in years. I’ve traveled a little to do JV/Frosh/MS games. Driving an hour for a JV game and a $65 paycheck isn’t exactly adding to my IRA. Spending eight Sunday evenings driving two hours round trip plus the hourish long required association meetings doesn’t exactly add 0’s to the bank account either. All the time spent studying film, studying rules, casebook, yea just time you don’t get back. Or just Friday night at a large CI school, five guys get crammed into a little room with five chairs, two folding, one pisser, one shower, five bottles of water and five little Powerade towels. This is inside a gym with countless locker rooms in it. Left home about 3:30 got home about 11:30 for 80 bucks. I’m not whining about what we get paid or how we’re treated, honestly we probably get treated better today than we ever have. But there is this growing stigma out here there officials are all of the sudden getting rich, and it’s just simply not the case. But I will tell you this, the older I get the more schools I drive by to get to schools that take care of the officials, and it’s never been about the money.

Coach Hummer was my freshman coach in 1969 at Rensselaer Central. Coach Siderwitz, Coach Geisman and Coach Hummer all influenced the direction I chose. Coach Hummer was an outstanding classroom teacher and an inspirational coach on the gridiron. I remember his wit and smile as if it were yesterday. My prayers go out for him and to his family! What a great man… George Gilbert, retired coach

Speaking of recruiting, D Tees is on Facebook going all Mel Gibsons on the Catholic and private schools. I swear to The Virgin Mary he is. I gotta go

Wow, where to start. Roughly twenty years ago I was asked by Rivals to get with some other posters on their forum to compile a Top 100 for that site after Dallas Jackson was removed from their staff. That started my interest in compiling the poll for discussion and debate among others with similar interests in the national aspect of the game. Dallas Jackson soon established his own site and requested that I post exclusively on his site, which I did. In the following years, I have added other sites, including this one, to my "customer" base. My methodology is simple. I read, watch, and analyze this game on a daily basis from May to January. I am not smart enough to develop nor do I believe in algorithms. I am constantly viewing MaxPreps, rivals and other forums to gather all the information I can on teams throughout the country. I attend as many games as possible throughout the season and watch games both on TV and streaming services. For instance, next weekend I am going to Massillon, Ohio to watch four of the Cleveland area's best teams play four state champions, including Center Grove from Indiana. This does not only give me a chance to gauge those teams, but also a gauge on each state's strength. The following weekend, I will not only attend a game (most likely Warren Central at Carroll) but also watch the national games being broadcast on ESPN as part of their kickoff weekend. With all that of background, plus empirical data from prior seasons, I compile team rankings for every state, yes that includes states like Wyoming, Rhode Island, and other non-power states. From there I compile a Top 100 by looking at game results, player evaluations and the state's strength to compile the list. Hope this helps.

I think you have the wrong Donnie Baker. I swear to God you do

For those who have not heard, my family and I have decided that the time is right for a change. My wife has wanted to live in Florida for quite some time, but I have always had an excuse of why to not make the move. My son graduated in May, and with that a lot of those reasons disappeared. That being said, I am leaving Roncalli after 23 years. We are in the process of moving to Cape Coral, Florida and I will start teaching and coaching at Charlotte High School in Punta Gorda. My time in Indy was phenomenal - both the experiences and the people that I have had the honor to be associated with. I truly hope that I have left things at Roncalli in a better position than when I arrived and have had a positive impact on all in the football community! Keep making Indiana football better - always raise the bar, never lower it! Coach Stryker

Leaving conference is fine, Leaving Conference without following what I am sure is some sort of by law for time is another. That is always a bad deal for the schools you leave behind. Leave, fine, leave with month left of school, yikes

We may not always see eye to eye but we have one thing in common…our love for the greatest sport on planet earth! Happy holidays and safe travels to all in the GID Nation! - Temp

Sorry guys, I had a busy day and could not make this a priority until after work. We are up and going once again, enjoy.

and you intend to watch this on purpose?

That guest guy is probably getting a stiffie seeing his ode post come back to life. I gotta go

How fortunate I have been to be involved with this man since my playing days. He is going to be inducted this Summer with NFF: Joe Tiller chapter ceremony, which is common choice for many Region 4 coaches blessed to get the nod to the HOF. Last year, it was Kevin O'Shea and John Hendryx for HS coaches of modern era. https://rensselaercentral.com/2023/04/19/meeks-becomes-hall-of-famer/

Lemme first start by saying I’m not a huge fan of court storming. It’s not a mountain or hill I’m willing to die on but it’s a slippery slope when you mix fans, players and coaches. That being said, this looks calculated. Osborn has the wherewithal to guide his players and keep them out of harms way yet then charges right through the crowd students immediately thereafter. It’s almost like he was looking for trouble. Both parties share some of the blame but we should hold a leader of young people/adult to a higher standard. Just my opinion… (Oh, and one more…) This decision comes across as weak as hell from Carmel.

I don’t mind my money going to the IHSAA, but I have problem with my money going to ticket company’s at 30% mark up.

Biggest win in school history and some guy with a man buns is bitching about the refs on Facebooks.

Want to give a shoutout to the game tomorrow night at Gordon Straley Field in West Lafayette. It will be a special night not only because the Red Devils will be playing one of their most respected rivals in the Rensselaer Bombers, and not just because it will be homecoming, but more importantly they will be celebrating 100 years of playing football at West Lafayette High School. There will be many alumni players, coaches and others there to celebrate a storied history. Through 2020, West Lafayette HS had the fourth most wins of any school in the State. They have numerous other accomplishments that are listed in the IFCA record book as well. I hope to take some pictures of some of the festivities associated with this special night and post them on this thread.

Probably half of Merrillvilles. I gotta go

This is what I know, on Bomber Golf practice round, Coach Nowlin Shanked a Wedge, got thru a tree, hit a Tee box and bounced and hit a fella in the buttock. That fella was Lewis Cass Head Coach, I would say that is Karma working !! 🤣

You don't understand Temp...that gives Muda the opportunity to start his other thread criticizing teams that win by large margins. The Beast feeds itself.....

Showing my age, but I played youth football in the era of the "Ickey Shuffle." When I scored my first TD, guess what I did? The referee's flag after I spiked the ball and then the reprimand from the coach quickly got my attention. So my career stats include 1 (and only 1) Ickey Shuffle celebration. My irritation with the clip isn't with the 3rd graders. They are just imitating what they have seen on TV/YouTube/TikTok. It does bother me that a coach and parents allow such behavior.

Please keep retired coach Dale Hummer in your thoughts and prayers. He’s battling the big C and the outlook isn’t looking good. His head coaching career started at Fountain Central in 1973. He led the Mustangs to back to back undefeated seasons in 75 and 76 and playoff spots. In 1978 FC was 1A runner up to Lawrenceburg. He left Fountain Central after the 1980-81 school year and went to Bloomington South. He didn’t have the success there that was expected and from what I remember didn’t have much support for the administration. He ended up at Dekalb and led them to a state title. Coach Hummer was responsible for launching the coaching careers for several successful coaches including, Gene Jellybean Rowe, Rick Malone, Brian Moore and one of the best in Myron Mo Moiarity. I’m sure there’s many more. Thanks everyone ✌️💙

TigerFan20: The All-Metro team beats this team by 2-3 touchdowns. DumfriesYMCA: There goes SIAC fans overstating the talent differential. ThorntonMelon: ermhs gets no respect. They should have had players on the SW Indiana team too. Titan32: How many of the players on the SW Indiana team did EM/MD try to recruit? Jets: Congratulations to Coach Buening. He teaches 87 classes each day too. That's what Southridge coaches do. [Just trying to save a few pages. 🙂 ]

Wait I was reliably informed that only private schools do this

Yea, I don’t even know what most of that shit means, the bottom line is, you’re turning your shit in on Monday, and Center Grove is responsible.

okay bear with me this is gonna be a wild ride. first thing were doing is moving to a 15 game regular season, and forcing out of conference opponents, so we can get proper ratings for all teams. were getting rid of the mercy rule because its shit. were getting rid of the all in format. 10 points required to make it to playoffs 1 point for a win against a school of 400 or more 2 points for a win against a school of 1000 or more no location based games in playoffs, this bracket is seeded all the way from first to last. by sagarin rating. higher seed gets home team every single game. only one tournament all classes duke it out together state championship is a best of three played on the same day (so I still get to watch football all day), since it would otherwise only be one game. Mr. Football exclusively goes to a player from whichever team comes out on top, because lets face it, he earned that shit at this point. edit: I'm aware 'the best solution' is a stupid name for an idea, however I had to change it to that after a sudden realization about the former title.

I'm still alive and well and mostly lurking these days on the GID. I'll be 91 next month. True, I don't post as much as I used to. In fact, I wonder about all the other Miner GIDers that used to post regularly but have seemingly disappeared. I'm still just as passionate about all the Miner sports teams that are doing very well. I think there is a Proverb that says something to the effect that with old age comes wisdom. Maybe that's why anyone else's opinion about my team, good or bad, rarely incites me to respond. But I certainly enjoy reading all your posts. When I feel like I have something meaningful to contribute, I'll jump in. As far as the MD game is concerned, I hope the team is more confident than I am, and I'm pretty sure they are and I know they are looking forward to getting another shot at their nemesis. Linton is very good offensively, led by the running of senior QB Gennicks. I don't know what his total yardage is but it's impressive. But the Miners spread the carries around and three other backs have good totals as well. Less effective is the passing game but it is still a big part of the offense. Run defense is very good but pass defense is suspect, however it has been better through the playoffs even though they have been burned by long passes a few times. It's going to be bitter cold. I don't know how that might impact the play or which team it might favor. My guess it will hurt the passing game more than the run. I won't be there. Too cold for me but I'll be watching on my big TV.

No student at Pike Central had every seen a football playoff win in their entire lives. They did last night.

I'm one of the guys who made the Top 25, as well as created the charts and such. Thank you whoever shared the link. I know the list is wild and out there, and some teams should be on there, like Memorial, Castle, and Boonville, etc. (Castle was close to top 10 on the list week, and dropped after the loss). We base our list on how well the teams are doing in their own divisions. Like are they just dominating their competition. How well they perform against bigger schools, we look at SoS and other indicators. We also look closely at latest success. Its nothing perfect, and of course probably has our own bias mixed in, but we feel that we're getting a pretty good list together. We think of it like a College AP Poll, with a lot of teams moving in and out. Like someone else said above, its a conversation starter. Something we wanted to make to shine light on Southern Indiana teams that don't get to much hype, but are still pretty good. We're fine that's it a topic of debate, and yea, we do mistakes, but we can own that. For us, its all about school and players and getting that spotlight back out. Some of the schools may not be considered Southern Indiana schools, we get that. The way I pulled the data focused on Sectionals, and if we wanted to cover a school that was in a sectional, then we covered that entire sectional. We're trying to remove as many Indy related schools from the list, but some like Triton Central. Every school we cover should be a Southern Indiana sectional group. Anyhow, happy to join this forum. We're Southern Indiana Sports Network and trying to cover sports in the area, our website is www.sisn.me

Back in the day, playing in the mud was fun, and to add on to what Dumfries said, and looking at the picture Thor posted, restoring a field back to good condition is very expensive. That includes the number of man hours involved in the work. And it may take years to fully restore it. Until it is restored, the field is useless. Schools that cannot afford to fully restore a field, will do patchwork repair. That, in my opinion, puts student athletes at far greater risk than the turf. Too many have these visions of their schools having had perfect fields like many NFL and college teams have, and that just is not the case. In the bigger picture, the new turf fields are safer, and save districts money.

Come on now. anyone who has played on grass in Indiana knows that by October/early November it’s basically like playing in concrete. The grass has stopped growing…gets cold and wet….grounds managers can’t really fix anything either. It’s nice on the grass in august when it hasn’t been destroyed and patched up 10x over and everything is level and it’s still warm. 2 months in though it’s just dirt spots and a few ankle killers scattered around

Riprock, Riprock, Riprock 1.2..3... Glad to join the fun and say what STC thinks about IC!!! It wasn't long ago Daddy Gillin was walking those halls recruiting little Braves from schools all around that could throw or catch a ball. Daddy Gillin made the news once or twice, STC is not shocked that little Gilly wasn't far behind! Shame on IC and the good ol' IHSAA, no reason they shouldn't release this kid and let him play. But like before with so many decisions to be made, it just seems like they piss them away!

We could all post on a meaningless forum, too.

FWIW the secretaries are the real unsung heroes of HS Athletics.

The North South All Star game since it inception is a representative game to highlight our state players and coaches from all classes and corners of the state. D1 or not, that has always been the case, for some fans with D1 not participating the last 10 years ish, it has lost its luster for them, but for communities and coaches it really means alot, so I prefer to focus on that and believe that last nights actions by a few isn't going to tarnish the concept and event in the future

The real question I need answered is, in a potential 6A Carmel/CG state title game at Lucas Oil, will the Greyhounds simply concede/forfeit with little to no explanation?

Congrats to the North Posey and Tecumseh girls softball teams for winning the 1A and 2A state titles!! Pretty impressive accomplishment for the PAC!!

I would expect no less from Carmel. I'd add '"hypocrisy" btw along with "pettiness". In fact, one might drown (swimming titles being surfeit) in the hypocrisy - aside from the fact Carmel has LONG been the public version of Cathedral - who they also have long hated. At least Cathedral is honest about just who they are (its not like they hide it) - without all the moral posturing BS....they simply want to win championships (ie. Basketball teams with no single CYO player to be found) and will find a means to accommodate that goal (find $ to pay tuition) whatever state you live in, color you might be or whatever "God" you care to worship....so long as you can help get that State Ring. No doubt Cathedal would wait until 6'9", 30 points/10 rebounds per game "Beelzebub" graduated before they found an even distant need for a postseason exorcist. With that, Carmel appears to love the lazy/easy/sad/DISEASED "trope" that somehow being a single geographic millimeter "North" of your opponent makes you somehow morally superior is more than sickening....and truly false. As someone who grew up in southern Indiana, it makes me puke a bit when Carmel even vaguely tries to use the race card in its favor. I've lived in both worlds...and lived North in Indianapolis since college...some 40 years ago. I'd take Center Grove's ability and quite clear willingness to welcome people of different races, creeds and religions any day of the week over Carmel - push coming to shove....if Carmel is truly forcing me to choose.

I had a roommate that met a smoking hot chick in BRipple back in the late 90s. They dated for a while, but when it became apparent she was also off the charts crazy...he dumped her. Fast forward 6 months, we bump into her at Rock Lobster. They hook up.... My roommate "She's got a new job, now." "She really doesn't go to bars that much anymore." "Guys, she's not really that Crazy". Within two weeks they were back together again. (Narrator in Morgan Freeman voice: "She was, in fact, still crazy.") I have no idea why I would be sharing that anecdote on this particular thread.🤪

Jaylon Smith was a better player in high school than Bowen, on both sides of the ball.

Lots of talk on here about Carroll's dream season, but this was a dream season for HSE as well. One of those years where you ask "if we can't win with the team have this year, when will we ever win it?" That's a hard pill to swallow. Seeing how dejected the Snider kids were last night made me think of the HSE kids. Sports can be utterly heartbreaking.

Please God…let Lawrencburg win against the evil cheating Catholics!

There seem to be a few posters on the GID today that may have over-indulged themselves last night or, through no fault of their own😏, were over-served...

Contracted.

Here is a very good article from Referee magazine on 3 of the toughest judgment calls on fouls — holding, pass interference, and blocking in the back — from the point of view of the official. Fans, coaches, etc., I bet when you read this, you’ll learn something new. For example, the next time you hear someone drag out that tired cliche that the officials “could call holding every play,” you can explain to them, using the information in the article, why that is not really true. https://www.referee.com/3-miscalled-fouls/ Three of the Toughest Judgment Calls In most seasons, false starts are the most frequently occurring fouls and arguably the foul that requires the second least amount of judgment (calling 12 players in the formation doesn’t require much judgment). But every foul requires some degree of discretion before the flag is thrown. For various reasons there are three fouls that seem to be most often called incorrectly. Holding Judging the legality of blocking is arguably the most difficult aspect of officiating a football game. On any given play there are six to 10 blocks and some of them go unobserved by a crew of five. Consequently, holding and illegal use of hands may be the most problematic of all fouls in football because there are so many forms of hand contact between players during constant personal collisions. Complicating the matter is the rules allow defensive players more freedom (push, pull and grasp to get at the runner) in how they use their hands. For a holding foul to be called, a player must prevent an opponent from possibly making a play by using an illegal technique. In other words, there must be a demonstrated restriction. If an opponent is taken to the ground, that is an obvious restriction. That could occur either through an outright tackle, a takedown or, less frequently, the pull-over in which the blocker pulls the opponent down over himself to make it look like he has been run over. An upright restriction can occur if the opponent is grabbed and prevented from moving to participate in the play (grab and restrict). The opponent can also be grabbed and physically manhandled to a different position (jerk and restrict) or be hooked with an outstretched arm to alter his path to the runner (hook and restrict). None of the preceding restrictions are likely to have an impact on the play unless they occur at or near the point of attack — an area in close proximity to where the play is intended to go. Since that isn’t really a “point,” some prefer to call it the “attack zone.” By examining the logic trail an official must follow, we can begin to understand why that foul is inconsistently called. First is the judgment on the legality of how the hands are used. Often the hands are hidden from the observing official and the decision must be made on the effect of the apparent grip. If the hands are deemed to be used illegally, the official must decide if the technical indiscretion actually restricted the opponent. Did the jersey pluck slow him down? Did an arm bar change his path sufficiently to prevent a tackle? Sometimes opponents will hold onto one another while they are moving — the so-called “dance.” Who is holding who? In actions such as that, it is hard for an official to make an accurate distinction. The next step is to assess the impact of restriction on the play. A block may begin legally and then progress to an illegal restriction. In passing situations, that may happen after the quarterback has released the ball. Or it may happen far enough away from the quarterback that an impact on the play is highly unlikely. Some officials will call that; others won’t. Additionally, because the point of attack is not a precisely defined term and is not addressed in the rulebook, there are officials who do not take that into account when ruling on holding. Whether an act does or does not prevent a play may not be taken into consideration. Takedowns by offensive players who are well away from or behind the play pose a particular problem for officials, especially when they are out in the open for all to see. Some officials believe the takedowns should always be called while others make exceptions especially when a touchdown would be negated. Similarly, there is a school of thought that holding should not be called when a defender is double-teamed. The theory is that if the offense is committing two players to one opponent, any advantage gained by holding is negated because a different defender has gone unblocked. Other variations include calling unnecessary roughness instead of holding and declaring a dead-ball foul when the act began while the ball was live. Without taking all those notions into consideration, a simple grab of a jersey — and a relatively quick release — may look like a foul, but it isn’t necessarily so. Consequently, making judgments on holding requires a thorough knowledge of what is legal, plus long study and experience to detect the actual behavior and to determine if an advantage has been gained. Pass Interference The inequities in the calling of pass interference appear to emanate from two elements. The first of those is an apparent lack of understanding on the part of the officials that both receiver and defender have a right to the ball and that “incidental contact” is a legitimate option if both players are making a simultaneous and bona fide attempt to reach the ball. Some officials are unconsciously biased in favor of the offensive player. When you think about it, any favoritism should be for the defender; he doesn’t know what’s happening, while the receiver is following a planned route that has been decided in the huddle. The words “not playing the ball” often enter the discussion by officials on pass interference and although the phrase is not mentioned in the rulebook, it is a legitimate factor — to a point. A player who is not playing the ball is responsible for any contact with an opponent, while a player who is playing the ball — making a bona fide attempt to reach the ball and looking back at it — may be absolved from unintentional contact. The second source of inconsistency is “catchability.” Under NCAA rules, a pass must be catchable for there to be defensive pass interference. However, an uncatchable pass does not excuse offensive interference (7-3-8c). In NFHS play, it is not interference if the contact by team B is obviously away from the direction of the pass (7-5-11c). However, if such contact interferes with an eligible opponent’s opportunity to move toward, catch or bat the ball, catchability is not a factor. The spirit of pass interference restrictions is to apply them to intended receivers and their defenders and not to other players who go downfield. Some prep officials will avoid calling an interference foul when the pass is not catchable and they can be very creative in explaining their rationale, such as, “The play was over when the contact occurred.” That discretion is frequently applied when the ball is past both players when the contact occurs or when both players are or nearly are out of bounds and no catch is possible. Other officials will strictly follow the rule and call a foul. Blocks In The Back The challenge in calling blocks in the back is that contact from the side is legal. If the player who is blocked saw or could have seen the blocker, there is probably not a foul. A block from the side, even though violent and even though it results in a player being put on the ground in vigorous fashion, is not a foul unless for some other reason it is also a personal foul. Frequently blocks from the side are erroneously flagged. The placement of the hands or shoulder during the block is a good indicator. If an official can see both jersey numbers, unobstructed, on the back of the player being blocked when the initial contact occurs, it’s difficult to rule such contact a foul. To be called a foul, a block in the back should clearly meet the definition of contact on or near the numbers of the player being hit. Another guideline is to note how the player who is blocked falls. If the blocked player falls forward, he almost certainly was blocked in the back. That is the type of fall that is most prone to cause injury and a player would not go down like that unless it was unavoidable. If he falls to side, it is a sign he was most likely blocked from the opposite side, but it is not an absolute indicator because in some cases players who are blocked in the back are able to turn to their side to lessen the impact. Another aspect of those blocks that is subject to varying philosophies is whether the blocked player is knocked to the ground. Those should be called as a safety foul and they usually are (if observed). Contact that merely puts a player off stride is subject to advantage/disadvantage. Not every bump in the back should be flagged. A slight brush that does not cause the contacted player to tip off-stride is not a foul. Some contact of that sort is incidental, because the player making the contact may himself have been jostled into another individual. However, slight contact that causes a defender to stumble and to perhaps miss an opportunity to make a tackle is deserving of a flag. Additionally, location is a factor. That type of block may take place far from where a play can be made. If an opponent is tipped off balance far from where the ball is in play, such action may be judged incidental, as having no effect on the play. If the contact occurs away from the point of attack and does not affect the outcome of the play, a verbal reminder.

I concur. And this newfangled forward pass experiment is ruining the game, too. Live Lateral, or Die!