npcougar15

The timezone argument is such a weak argument. You do realize the timezone splits the NP district right down the middle? I'd leave my house at 6am to get to the school at 5:15am for my 5:30am practice before school then after practices ended at 5:30pm I'd hop in the car and hopefully be home by 7pm. Every day, that's just how it is and you figure it out. I'm not suggesting Penn leave the NIC in everything. But they 100% need too in football. A South Bend school hasn't beat them since 1986 (including St. Joe) and Penn is currently on a 164 game win streak against any school that is named "South Bend XXXXXX"....Their current schedule is such a waste of time for everyone involved. Go independent in football. Keep a DAC school week 1, keep Mishawaka week 2, Elkhart will have an opening in their schedule so keep them. You have Cathedral who is Independent, etc. how hard is it to make a schedule that looks like: Valpo Mishawaka Elkhart Cathedral & Bloomington South are independent Dwenger, Homestead, Snider, Carroll, New Palestine, have 5 non-con openings Roncalli, Chatard, East Central have 6 non-con openings Hobart, Lowell, Andrean, all have a non-con opening you have Michigan schools, you have Ohio schools, you have Chicagoland schools These other schools are figuring it out, why can't Penn? Fact is Penn hasn't won state in 25 football seasons and in their 4 trips to Indy since then the scores have been 7-57, 0-54, 16-28, 14-63 against the big boys of Indy. What does Penn have to lose?

Stick a fork in us. We are a terrible team in a terribly uninteresting conference. 0 Interesting games this week and maybe one or two the entire conference season (PennvsElkhart) (ElkhartvsStJoe). Why Penn keeps wanting to participate in this conference is beyond me

Change New Prairies to a Navy Blue facemask and chinstrap

Just save resources and give the trophy to Penn, mark em' 9-0 going into sectionals and have them scrimmage against themselves every Friday night for a couple of months. They made Mishawaka look like a JV team. Only team in this conference that might belong on the same field as them is Elkhart and I'm not even sure of that. This past Friday was a wake up call to where the cougar program is. Last season was going to be a down year regardless who was coaching, we just lost so much production there was no maintaining where we were for the last handful of years. I saw the cougars against Laporte and I didn't think we looked bad at all, we weren't winning trophies but we looked like an average to average 4A school. I figured we'd be competitive against Northwood after what I saw and when I heard Northwood lost 45-7 to Columbia City I was honestly expecting a solid NP victory over the panthers. Being down 37-0 at the half to NW was humbling and raising questions. Also heard from a couple people 5-6 senior starters quit the team, don't know if it's true or not but it would make sense given the on-field product.

Well NP is improved from last season but are probably still a season away from making noise in the post-season and getting back to where we typically are. I'd say 98% of the ball touches were sophomores and juniors and only 3-4 seniors impacting the game in non-skilled positions. Truth is, last year was going to be a down year regardless of coach so it's nice to see improvement. Defense, more specifically tackling and DB coverage is going to be a challenge this season. As far as the game goes it was a lot closer than the 34-21 final score indicates. it was back and forth all night and at one point 21-21 with 5:00 minutes left in the game with LaPorte facing a 4th&7 at the 50 yard line. They went for it and converted and that was the ball game, if they don't get that first down Cougars likely win the game as the offense was moving the ball all game long. For the second season in a row Reed Raymond from LaPorte basically won the game; that kid is a stud. Season outlook I'd have the cougars hovering around that 5-5 mark and being competitive in most every game outside of Penn & Elkhart. If the stars align we enter sectionals 6-3 and if the ball bounces away from us every chance it gets we limp in at 3-6. Laporte - Loss Northwood - Win (Getting shellacked by Columbia City turned this into a "W") St. Joe - coin flip Adams - Win Elkhart - Loss Riley - Win - competitive game Marian - Win Penn - Loss Washington - Win

I'm going to go out on a limb and say even if they didn't play a soft schedule they weren't getting by Luers

On paper this is an awesome sectional championship game, hopefully it delivers!

If this is true New Prairie needs to go all-in for NLC membership. might be some longer drives for the cougs but they would fit like a glove in that conference

NP v Marian - Should be a good game. NP offense isn't bad, NP defense is...... Washington v Adams - another competitive game. I'm thinking Panthers? Riley v St. Joe - St. Joe is looking like mid 2000s St. Joe. They easily get by here Penn v Elkhart - It seems year after year Elkhart never lives up to expectations. If you are a St. Joe fan you might travel over to this match-up and cheer on the Lions. Elkhart has the athletes but my head says Penn

NP is way down this year. A lot of factors. McKim leaving for Lowell is NOT the reason for the drop-off, NP would be 0-4 with him on the sidelines as well. NP lost 10 seniors on the defensive side of the ball; it's tough to come back from that even if Lombardi was leading your squad. the injury bug has been relentless. For a team that was already going to struggle being young, inexperienced and really just not the most athletic they almost have no chance with all the starters standing on the sideline. NP is starting a ton of underclassmen Unfortunately with a good St. Joe team you essentially have 4 losses before the ball is ever snapped (St. Joe, Penn, Northwood, Elkhart), not beating either LaPorte or Adams is going to put NP in some uncharted waters the last few decades. Marian will probably handle the Cougs with ease. That leaves Washington and Riley as the only possible wins in the regular season (and that's no guarantee), there are some a couple weak teams in sections 17 so there might be a win there.

Cougars just aren't good. Holy War is keeping this from being the least interesting week in NIC history

This is the problem with the NIC; there is just no interest or storylines to due to the lack of competitive balance. 95% chance Penn and Elkhart are going to be 1-2, 100% they both finish in the top 3 at worse New Prairie, St. Joe, and Marian are going to be in the next tier with an outside chance one of those 3 elevates themselves and defeats Penn or Elkhart to challenge for the title. Then you have the 3 South Bend schools at the bottom. Next year will be the same, and the next year, and the next year, and the next year. The only "intriguing" thing about the league this year is all the transfers Elkhart is getting and if they finally burst through the glass ceiling that seems to be there for them

I think it depends on the area and what schools are there. I could see Crown Point absolutely dominating "Da Region" market and competing with the Indy schools consistently. But if that happens it might not make for the most thrilling DAC season(s). Elkhart and Penn are obviously the big boys in Northern Indiana. Penn has the pedigree and won't go anywhere but does Elkhart hire the right guys and make a push to become the power they should be? if that's the case they are pulling from Concord, Mishawaka, Goshen, Northridge, Northwood, South Bend etc. I think historically smaller schools in the shadows of bigger schools with history will suffer. Jimtown and Bremen AREN'T in the best positions right now; you have Penn, Mishawaka, Concord, Elkhart, Northridge, Northwood all within a stones throw that run very good football programs (that's a ton of playing time available at "higher levels" than the INSC) I'm just old school and high school sports seemed to be one of the last untouched and pure form of sports entertainment out there. Nothing better than seeing a group of kids that have been playing together for 10 years have a town rally around them go on a run in the postseason. Once the toothpaste is out of the tube it's not going back in.

The gap is going to widen, but it'll probably be between the 6A and the smaller surrounding schools. Athletes aren't going to be transferring from 6A to 6A they are going to be transferring around at all different levels. In this area Elkhart seems to have gotten a few real good transfers that have come from lower levels. If they are pulling the best from Mishawaka, Goshen, Jimtown, Bremen, Concord, Northridge, Northwood, South Bend, etc. Sure Elkhart might close the gap in 6A (but the other top 6A schools will be doing the same, so does the gap really get closed?) and it might be looked at as a success; but is it really a success if now those smaller 1A-5A schools are not near the quality they once were?

Not the fastest TD ever but in an oddity, NP was beating Lowell 21-6 before the red devils took an offensive snap a few years ago. - NP takes opening kickoff for a TD 7-0 - Lowell takes kickoff for a TD 7-6 - NP scores on next possession 14-6 - Lowell fumbles kick return - NP scores on next possession 21-6

x1000. Majority of the assistant coaches you can tie back to the Curtis days in some capacity. They are hard working, loyal, bleed blue & gold and have been around the block, any hs program would kill to have the assistants NP has. Radtke rejuvenated the program and took it to a new level. Those same assistants have decades + of working under some of the best football minds in Northern Indiana. As you said McKim will get the credit for the last 4 years, but anybody with an ounce of knowledge of the program know it was the men behind the curtain running the show. Also spot on with the strength program at NP being a difference maker. While I believe their have been some Xs and Os deficiencies the last couple of years (insane to think about with the success that has been had) the strength/conditioning and talent alone has been a difference maker. and it has spread throughout the school. football state title game appearance in 2014, 2022, Softball has had a great run lately with a state title in 2023, baseball won state in 2024. coupled with the rise in enrollment and other factors NP is poised to be a winner for any coach wanting the job

you're on the right path, now read between the lines.

It wasn't sudden. it's been in the works for a while. the assistant was gone before McKim, it was just announced after.

Maybe I'm bias, but I'd imagine this is a VERY attractive job. Winning culture, community support and a school that has elevated its athletics programs the last 15+ years and going in a great direction. Coupled with the industry boom in the district NP is set up for long-term success. Really a program that is built to win right away. No clue if there are any assistants wanting the gig but there are a couple that I'd imagine are front-runners. Will be interesting to see who is hired.

I'm sure it's been discussed. But not having the finals broadcasted on television isn't good for high school football. I truly miss turning on local television the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving and watching some championship football in the background while you indulge on some holiday traditions. I know a lot of people looked forward to it; just something about it. What I'm not going to do is sit down and watch it on computer when I really don't have any interest in who wins or loses, and if my team is making it to Indy you can bet your bottom dollar my butt is in Lucas Oil and not my couch. Just seems like it will hurt the sport long term not showcasing it for the casual observer

Those are my favorite teams, just a good group of athletes that play as a team. That's what high school athletics is all about. Good luck this Friday as EN is my pick to make it down to Indy

For being so dominate and highly rated, I haven't heard much on East Noble this year. What's their identity? some D1 talent?

Kind of a fun fact. Bart Curtis has coached at 4 schools Maconaquah, New Prairie, Mishawaka, and Warsaw. All 4 teams came home with a sectional championship last night. I believe it was Macanaquah's 1st sectional championship, New Prairies 10th, Mishawaka 17th, and Warsaw's 2nd. I believe Curtis has been apart of 10 of those championships. (2 at NP, 6 at Waka, and 2 at Warsaw)

New Prairie sneaks out a 15-14 win. 4 special teams decided the game. Kudos to Hobart they played damn near mistake free football and was about of even match-up as you can get

New Prairie 7 Hobart 7 about 5 minutes left in the first half. Both teams playing pretty good defense so far. NP with a muffed punt that essentially gave Hobart a touchdown has been the big play so far