npcougar15

Not disagreeing with you, unfortunately Penn and Elkhart are pretty much stuck unless something drastic happens. I think Bremen and NP have done a nice job of acclimating to the new competition while swinging above their weight in most sports. Jimtown has done so-so but there was a competitive drop off prior to the NIC move. Glenn I feel hasn't really embraced the NIC, they are probably more of a HNAC school. And while yes, every school has their sport and challenges for the conference title, you are kidding yourself if you don't think Penn (and in the future elkhart) will win or at least challenge for majority of the sports in the conference. I would love for NP to be an NLC member, a lot of comparable schools both in size and community based. But NP is just too far especially with Wawasee and Warsaw.

Bremen runs wild over clay. Elkhart will handle NP. Hopefully the Cougs get some positives out of this game as they head into a winnable sectional. Penn soundly beats Adams. Jimtown whips the wildcats Marian comes out on top of St. Joe. Wouldn't be surprised if Marian is a little sloppy in this one. Glenn sneaks by Washington. I don't know if it was the departure of Mishawaka, Covid, cancellation of the most important game, or just an "off" year but it didn't seam that we had too many intriguing/good matchups this season. I think the schools did the best they could when the old NSC dissolved, but I just don't see this conference set up lasting too much longer (I'm talking all sports, not just football). Unfortunately Elkhart and Penn are two elephants in the room. Do you court Warsaw and talk with some Fort Wayne schools? go independent? Duneland is too far and they don't "fit" the mold. Wouldn't be my dream conference but if Elkhart and Penn left and South Bend consolidated into 2 or 3 high schools; a conference that looked like: New Prairie, Marian, St. Joe, Glenn, Bremen, Jimtown, South Bend "A", South Bend "B" would be a pretty nice conference from a competitive and size standpoint across all sports. won't happen but fun to talk about.

Feel real bad for the kids and community as this was probably the featured game of the year for the Michiana area. I know it's a loooong shot because I just cannot see anyway possible that NP beats both Penn and Elkhart to finish out their season but I'd just be curious how people would crown the north if the final standings were: Marian: 4-0 New Prairie 4-1 Elkhart 3-1 Or would you consider NP the outright champs if the standings landed: New Prairie 4-1 Marian 3-1 Elkhart 3-1 I give about a .01% chance that the above scenarios happen, but it is fun to discuss

Great topic. So back in my middle school coaching days I had a play ran AGAINST me that I thought was absolutely brilliant. My 7th grade football team was beating our opposition pretty soundly 21-0 with about 20 seconds left in the first half. The other team had the ball at about the 17 yard line with the time ticking away. Their coach calls a timeout (his last of the half). The other team comes out and runs a simple halfback toss left where my corner comes and makes the tackle with about 14 seconds left on the clock. (now keep in mind I'm standing on a sideline thinking "why the hell would you not throw the football in that situation to at least stop the clock?"). As the other team is scrambling to get the ball set and hiked before time runs out their quarterback and 2 or 3 other players are yelling "SAME PLAY! SAME PLAY!"...they line up, get the ball snapped with a few seconds remaining...halfback toss left again...my corner comes up to make the play tackle, only this time the halfback stops and throws to a wide open receiver in the end zone. I had to tip my cap to their coach for that one.

Well this week went about as expected. South bend public schools lose by a combine score of 183-7....Yikes.

Angola takes Clay to the woodshed. Different opponent, different week, same result. Bremen takes care of prairie heights. Jimtown should beat Washington pretty soundly Laville picked up a nice win last week vs Knox. I'm thinking the Lancers have it in them again. Laville wins. NP methodically beats Riley. Penn gets a much needed win over the Indians Elkhart has their way with Adams. Not a lot of good/interesting matchups this week. Glenn and LaVille is really the only game that's outcome might be surprising. Outside of that, the average margin of victory is going to be 24+

Week 6 already? Crazy how fast football season goes by every year Bremen vs Glenn should be a fun close game for the communities. Gotta go with Glenn in a nail biter; just a hunch. Elkhart will roll over St. Joe. This one won't be close, Elkhart by 35+ Probably the most intrigue game of the week. If this game was at Marian I'd go with the knights but I don't think they win at Penn. I truly believe NP was able to knock off the kingsmen last year because the game was home. It's a lot mentally to drive to granger, see the hummer plant, their giant school, their very big/nice stadium, their turf, all the accolades everywhere. A lot of times you are defeated before you step off the bus. With all that being said Penn wins 28-21. But I'd love to see Marian knock them off. NP beats Adams by 3 TDs in a game not too many people are concerned about. It's important for NP to get some confidence before ending their season with Penn and Elkhart. Jimtown rolls Clay. nothing to see here Riley/Washington should be a good one in the sense that the score will be close. Something is telling me Washington is going to bring home the "W" to the west side.

Bremen takes care of Jimtown this year with no problem. Which Glenn teams shows up? Honestly any score wouldn't surprise in this one. Redskins with the win Marians discipline elevates them to victory. This game will tell us the most where Adams is at this season. I just don't think anybody is touching Elkhart this year outside of Merrillville or Indy schools. The bigger question is, is this going to be the norm or do they have a real nice team even for "new" elkhart standards? Don't know much about West Side but I'd hope Riley would be able to be beat them. St Joe seems to be better than most thought two weeks ago and the opposite can ring true for New Prairie. Still think New Prairie takes care of business in this one though. Washington beats Clay. I think there will be more points on the board than fans in the stands....

Elkhart takes Washington to the woodshed. Looks like Elkhart is the heavy favorites to win the conference this year (honestly I don't know if anybody else is capable of beating them on their worst day). Will be a long night for the panther pack. Jimtown beats up on little brother. Everyone was flying high with the falcons until the dud of last week. Jimtown takes cares of business. Marian slips by the Cougs. I think Marian has to many playmakers on the edge for the cougars. Andrean pounded NP, Andrean is a very good squad that went toe to toe with Valpo in their scrimmage so no shame in losing, just wish it would of been a little more competitive. Should be a good game in Mishawaka. Penn wins by a touchdown. This one is a toss-up. I don't think east noble is as good as their 3-0 record and state appearance last year indicate. But still a good team none-the-less. Penn makes just enough plays to win it. St. Joe nips the Eagles in an ihsaa record 10 OTs. Is St. Joe good? Bad? mediocre? nobody knows. Is Adams good? bad? mediocre? nobody knows. This game probably won't answer to many questions about either teams ability unfortunately. Riley races past clay. Clay is bbbaaadddd Bremen wins one against the trojans. Bremen wins by 3+ TDs

Adams soundly over Riley - Adams benefiting from a very weak first 3 games. Jimtown crushes OG - not much to say about this one Marian with 2 score win over Bremen - Bremen has a solid team and will have a good season. Marian is just a level above Bremen as this point in time. Glenn over St Joe - Glad to see JG putting it together this season. They are probably one of the most underachieving programs in northern indiana. They should of consistently been at the top of the old NSC and challenged for more sectional titles. Now that the road is a little easier in the south; is this the year of the falcon? and what the hell is happening at St. Joe? KV sneaks by Washington - Saw the first few possessions of the Bremen-Washington game and SB Wash didn't look nearly as bad as I was expecting. did they just run out of gas or what? KV will make just enough plays to win this one. Columbus East gets the best of Elkhart - Honestly know nothing about CE or how they match up against Elkhart. But CE has been a top program in the state for nearly 20 years. gonna go with the olympians until some other teams say otherwise. Cathedral disposes of Penn - The GID is gonna light up when Penn gets beat by an Indy school. Andrean does enough to to clip NP - This is a 50/50 pick. NP defense has only given up 1 touchdown (an 80 yard run) in 8 quarters, but is their offense going to do enough to pull out the W? While the 59ers got beat soundly by likely the best team in NWI and then pounding on an extremely weak 6a school. Should be a good non-con matchup for both programs.

New Prairie - Between, first game/new system/covid NPs offense will surely look a little better week two. Not real close to the program so can't comment on key players missing the LaPorte game. But if true, New Prairie will be in for another good year. Time will tell if the defense is for real or Laporte was just lacking. I think NP has earned enough respect in recent years to go with the Cougs to beat CMA. Penn - Didn't see anything from Laporte that would suggest they can beat penn. Elkhart - Wouldn't be surprised to see Mishawaka win, but there just seems to be a lot of hype around elkhart and how they will be the new kings of the area. let's see if they are the real deal. Marian - Wow, the knights could make some real noise in their first year in the North. Looks like they are taking all of St. Joe's athletes. if last week wasn't a fluke they could be a favorite to make it down to indy. Also, wouldn't mind seeing Knox start off 0-2 Bremen - Bremen looks like they can compete with some solid competition and Washington is not one of them. Bremen in a route Concord - Jimtown isn't close to what they used to be Glenn - JG might be much improved this year but evidence is pointing to a lllooonnnggg season for the wildcats. Northridge - St. Joe playing like they are a south bend public Goshen - Congrats to Clay on the win but man-o-man was that some weak competition Adams - Adams should be 2-0 after this week but still with a lot to prove.

Rumor mill starting to swirl...and it’s a juicy one. Heard it could be public as soon as Monday.

Kudos to Hobart they just flat out put a whipping on NP. Hobart is real good and they just played out of their minds last night. Defense was one of the most active defenses I’d ever seen and NPs lack of deception let them run wild. Your kicker was phenomenal and put NP in terrible position all night long. Offense was EXTREMELY good at faking hand offs. Just all around seemed like a perfect storm for Hobart. Every big play went their way (scoop and score, pick before the half). If Hobart plays like that the next 2 games. They are your state champs.

Can these Hobart fans please answer a few questions for me then? Which team played a tougher schedule? Which team has a better record? Which team has the best player on field? Which team is ranked higher in EVERY poll and computer ranking? I’m sure Hobart is good and could win this game. But holy crap, you guys are making it seem like NP doesn’t know what a football is. Looking forward to what should be a good game tomorrow

Andrean is a quality win for sure. But Lowell appeared to be average at best this season and Morton played one of the worst schedules in 4a. Real tough time calling those quality wins. EC had a real good offense anchored by D1 running back. No shame in losing to a 5a team that was a few points away from being 12-0 right now. Maybe I don’t know enough about Hobarts defense (haven’t heard anyone talk about it all year) but it’s just difficult for me to think NP won’t put up some big numbers on the board like they have all year. The Cougars are much more than a great quarterback. They have multiple weapons around the field and can get you in different ways, they just haven’t had to use them that much.

Valpo - Mishawaka: Gotta take the Vikes in this one. This game will be decided in the 4th (Mishawaka's ball control will keep it close) But I just think Valpo is just too good of a team this year for the Cavemen to pull it out in the end. Another solid season pumped out by the Maroons. NP - Hobart: NP should win this game keeping their season alive. Hobart has quietly put together a nice 10-2 campaign against a down NCC after starting out 0-2 with 2 respectable loses to DAC schools. This game is a hard one to get a feel for and it reflects in the scores of their two common opponents. Both schools beat Andrean 33-10, the Brickies escaped in OT against CMA while the Cougars crushed the Eagles 49-3 just a couple weeks ago. I'm looking for the Cougs to seek revenge against their 2016 sectional championship loss. Marian - Knox: Look for Marian to crush Knox to end their dream season. Knox has been ankle biting all season long to a 11-1 record. Marian's SOS and recent success will lift the Knights to an easy Regional championship.

Another great game between Plymouth and NP. Like I said earlier, I hope these two continue to meet in the post-season as it seems like a natural rivalry during sectional time. Question for Plymouth folks; are there any more Barrons waiting in the wings or was this the last one?

Do I think NP is better? yes. Do I think NP should win by a couple of scores? yes. But honestly, I hope it's just a real good football game and comes down to the last minute (with the cougs pulling it out of course). I think NP and Plymouth could be great post-season rivals for the foreseeable future. Hope to see a good crowd out in the cold tomorrow night.

If both teams play their best games of the season. I think NP wins by 3 scores. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Plymouth take it, but NP looks like their on a mission this year. I firmly believe NP, Mishawaka, EC, and Penn would of all won the NLC this year rather easily. And NP was a dumb play away from beating all 3 in 3 great hard-nose, minimal mistake football games. NP has made some personnel changes to defense the pass better in recent weeks and I can’t see the Rockies being able to slow down the Cougs offense enough to give them a chance.

I’ll take Bremen over the Jimmies. I think “penn” on the sides of the helmets will be to much of a mental barrier for central to overcome. Penn in a close one Glenn wins should be a good one in Mishawaka. I’ll take the cavemen due to their style and the weather. Wouldn’t be surprise to see them lose the ball a few times and Marian comes out on top though. NP will handle Riley my gut says Washington beats big brother tonight. This could be the night the Indians get a W. Honestly they are in discussion for best 0-7 team in the state.

I’ll take Bremen over the Jimmies. I think “penn” on the sides of the helmets will be to much of a mental barrier for central to overcome. Penn in a close one Glenn wins should be a good one in Mishawaka. I’ll take the cavemen due to their style and the weather. Wouldn’t be surprise to see them lose the ball a few times and Marian comes out on top though. NP will handle Riley my gut says Washington beats big brother tonight. This could be the night the Indians get a W. Honestly they are in discussion for best 0-7 team in the state.

Think you have to break up post season and regular season when talking about this kind of topic. Biggest win in the regular season for him? Probably in the top 5 for his coaching legacy. (He has played and won a lot of meaningful games throughout his career). A thrilling win that gives you at least a share of a conference title that only 2 other teams have claimed in the last 40 years? That’s pretty powerful. You can probably come up with a lot of “fun facts” from this game. But at the end of the day, this was just another chapter in the coaching career of Russ Radtke that folks will be talking about long after he retires.