npcougar15

Pretty much. Solid run game with a subpar passing is the cougars MO this year. With a QB that is one of the best baseball players in the state you would think it would be better than average, but it's not. Some of it has to do with the routes, it's either a homerun or nothing. No short yard chunk plays for easy completions and loosening up the defense to open up the run. But I will say the NP/Penn game was more competitive than the final score indicated. Haven't looked at the box score but I'm pretty sure the total yards, first downs, etc. were pretty darn similar. NP couldn't finish their drives while Penn put together about 2-3 good drives and got into the end zone, The pick 6 to go up 14-7 going into halftime was demoralizing and changed the game. But I do think NP has the defense to make a run in 4A. Competitive losses to Elkhart & Penn aren't going to hurt come playoff time, but that offensive performance against our Huskies was embarrassing and just looms in the back of my head....

Marian @ Elkhart- I think this is a close game for 2 maybe 3 quarters. Marian is way better than their record indicates. Competitive losses to Penn, Mishawaka, New Prairie, and a 6-1 CMA team will go a long way come post season for the knights. I look for another respectable loss tonight for the knights. Penn @ NP- This one seems more and more like a toss up the more I think about it. That St. Joe game is the only thing keeping me from not picking the cougars. This game will depend on how well NP can move and score the ball tonight. If they can get to 21 points, I'm feeling pretty good. Riley @ Adams- Fly high Eagles, fly high Washington @ St Joe- Not sure Washington scores in this game. I'm more intrigued if St. Joe can score enough to get a running clock

New Prairie 14 Marian 7 End of 1st quarter. Penalty filled game on both sides

Nothing like waiting till after kickoff to look at this weeks line-up of games. But I will say this is about the best week of games the conference can have. All should be solid games with teams that should be playing each other every season

Why is no one talking about this kicker from Northwood? hit a 60 yarder a few weeks ago. Hit a 62 yarder yesterday for an IHSAA record and had about 8 yards to spare. If this kid lines up for a 70 yard field goal, there is a chance he makes it. Crazy. NFL record is 66 yards, both field goals would have been good from that distance.

If I'm reading this right. Basically you are stating because the quarterback started his movement forward; but got spun around resulting in a backwards throw it is basically a forward pass? I know you don't make the rules and just the steward of them. But man does that seem like a VERY tough call at the high school level with no replay. Seems like it would be 100x easier and less controversial to just have the rule state: if the ball is thrown backwards; regardless of circumstance it is a live ball fumble.

Pretty much what this year is. Going to be a tough out but will lose some frustrating games (we already have). Defense had their backs against the wall all night and kept us in it. NIC title is out of the question now, which is unfortunate because we could easily be 3-0 in conference and in the drivers seat setting up a showdown with Penn later. The sectional looks pretty wide open with Hanover Central as the slight favorite. Hopefully we can stumble into sectionals with a 6-3 record and go on a nice run. I'm worried though there are still a couple losses in our regular season.

Looks like Elkhart is going to hold on to win 17-14. Defensive battle the entire game. Elkhart's punter had monster punts to trap NP inside their own 7 multiple times. Elkhart just couldn't shut the door on the Cougars and kept them in the game. It did get interesting on the last drive with NP having a few big plays to set up a last second win but penalties (on both sides) finally derailed the drive.

Don't know if it was reported yet but some kid from Northwood hit a 60 yard field goal with about 5-8 yards to spare. No wind either. Insane. probably would have been good fromm 67 which would be an NFL record

Good one brewing in Elkhart. Elkhart 17 New Prairie 14 about to start the 4th

That's how I feel after our St. Joe game. Went from "Probably enter post-season 7-2 or 8-1 and make a nice playoff run." To "Possibly enter 5-4 with majority of our wins over South Bend Schools and a struggling LaPorte and can get bounced at any time in sectionals."

Friday, Sep. 20 Marian at Penn: Intrigued by this one. Marian appears to be a lot better as the season goes on. Penn seems to be more human as the season goes on. Still think Penn wins this one by 2-3 touchdowns but it'll be competitive. Wouldn't be completely shocked to see an upset either New Prairie at Elkhart: Another good game in the conference (we haven't had many of those). My head tells me the Elkhart Dline is going give the cougars fits. If NP does the standard plays it'll be a long night. But if they throw a few wrinkles in there to keep the lions on the heels it'll be a good one. NP defense has been pretty damn good all season (only 2 offensive touchdowns). How's the Elkhart offense? haven't heard much about them this year Adams at St. Joseph : To help with my sanity please win this one convincingly huskies. Riley at Washington: Can't imagine there is anyone worse than Washington. Riley big

Can you do an entire conference? NIC winners through 2 weeks: 306 NIC losers through 2 weeks: 29 Most competitive game: St. Joe: 7 New Prairie: 0 2nd most competitive game: Marian: 27 St. Joe: 0 This conference is cooked

New Prairie 21 South Bend Adams 6 About midway through the 2nd

Still here. Seemed like the GID was down during Friday night and Saturday as nothing would load for me. Anyways Congrats to STJ they were 100% the better team Friday night. They came in with a game plan and executed to perfection. NP offense was pretty horrid. STJ should be a tough out going forward if their defense plays like that the rest of the season. Fun stat on the season is New Prairie has given up 7 points on defense this season and are 2-1. 🙃 NP came into the game completely unprepared and didn't make any meaningful adjustments. I've said it multiple times but NP struggles when they play a team with athletes and a coaching staff with a game plan. STJ was begging NP to throw the ball, so what does NP do? throw the ball 30-40 yards down field 100% of the time with a defensive line pressuring the QB all night long. Why not throw quick hitters, like 5 yard outs and slants? Pop passes to the tight end when there are 8 guys in the box looking run. I mean STJs Corners were playing 12 yards off the receivers and NP ran go routes the entire night; just insane. No counters, no screen passes, no nothing to deceive STJ. Very frustrating

We kick things off with the first week of the new NIC; in all honesty not many story lines or intrigue this week but here we go anyway. Marian at Adams - CMA is the common opponent here. Marian hung closer but not much of a difference. I'm thinking the Knights offense will carry them to victory in this battle of teams looking for their first "W" of the season. Marian 28 Eagles 13 Penn at Riley © - Sports Michiana game of the week? yuk. What happened last week with Riley? heard they were losing 14-7 at halftime, game got postponed, Wayne tried to reschedule it; even offering to come to South Bend Saturday morning to get it in, and Riley declines? I know there are logistic issues to these things but that's not a good look for a program wanting respect. Anybody have any information on that. But this week probably won't go well for the Wildcats as the Kingsmen look to put last week in the review mirror. Penn 42 Riley 7 St. Joseph at New Prairie NP has dominated this series the last 2 decades, Cougars are 11-1 since the turn of the century vs STJ. NP has beaten up on 2 5A schools that just weren't great quality. STJ disposed of a pretty bad South team. NP has yet to give up a defensive touchdown this season and there offense has looked pretty good. NP 41 STJ 10 Washington at Elkhart Elkhart was able to get a win against NRidge. Washington is coming off a loss vs those southerns in New Albany. Elkhart has the athletes to run away with this one rather easily. Elkhart 45 Washington 6

- NP 56 Goshen 0. Goshen wasn't very good at all. I do hear they have a nice freshman class but last night was rough. About time the cougars start looking for a different opponent for week 2. - Was pretty shocked by the Penn/Waka game. I watched the second half, outside of a real nice fullback (they always have one) the cavemen didn't seem too impressive on the offensive side. Defense looked pretty tough, but Mishawaka has a real nice culture going on over there; really play as a team. What was going on with Penn? - Saw Elkhart got some things going in the 2nd half to defeat Northridge. I saw 1 post about the game and it looked like the defense carried the Lions. Curious about the complexion of this one. - STJ got a win against a struggling FW South program. Next week is a big one for the Huskies - Adams; what else can you say about the eagles?

NP 28 Goshen 0 End of 1st NP probably has 200+ yards too Goshens 2

Well only a couple plays in and you can see Goshen is going to struggle tonight.

Crazy to do that just for athletic purposes. Go from a school that you have played at with your friends for a handful of years, great community support, has a legit shot of winning a conference championship and making some post-season noise in a winnable sectional and beyond. But you go to a school with just promises and will have a very difficult time winning a conference championship (with Penn in the way) and then go to a 4 team sectional with Carroll and Snider

how many Cavemen transferred to Elkhart?

South Side @ St. Joe: Huskies, Huskies, Huskies. Can't be losing to Lakeland if you are trying to get back to your old form. Did hear they were down 21-0 then made a QB change and lose 21-20. Anybody have anymore info? South comes to town looking to avenge a beatdown by the Indians last year. Gotta go with Huskies in this one Logansport @ Adams: How is Adams this bad year in a year out? They have a huge enrollment and are the "it" school for SB, something just isn't adding up. The Eagles welcome a logansport team that throttled Peru last week. Look for the Berries to go 2-0 to start the year. Marian @ CMA: Battle of the privates. Could be one of the better games this week. Thought Marian finally was going to pick off Mishawaka; what happened? love to hear the complexion of last weeks game. I'm thinking the Knights pull off a squeaker. New Prairie @ Goshen: NP started off the year with a nice victory of LP. Outside of the 2 special teams plays NP dominated the entire night. Defense looked tough and the offense showed flashes that it has some athletes. Feeling more comfortable going into this year after seeing week 1. Goshen gotten their B-hinds handed to them by Fairfield. this one has a running clock written all over it. Northridge @ Elkhart: I keep hearing preseason Elkhart hype only for it to fall short. Concord may have some athletes (they always do) and it was only a 1 point loss but if you want to challenge Penn at the top that's a game you have to win convincingly. The sky isn't falling for the Lions but this is a big one for them, starting 0-2 could really spiral a season. Northridge will bring another competitive team to their neighbors house but I'm thinking Elkhart has the athletes to pull it out. Penn @ Mishawaka: Gotta love "The Backyard Brawl". Nice opening season win for the Kingsmen as it looked extremely entertaining from an outsiders perspective. Mishawaka finally got things rolling for the Cavemen in the 2nd half. Despite the Cavemen controlling the ball I have to think Penn will just be too much and win by a couple TDs. Riley @ Wayne: Riley scored on 4 safeties last week; that is ridiculous. Have to imagine Hammond Noll is absolutely horrible if that is happening. No clue what to think of Wayne and also hard to gauge Riley with their schedule. This one seems like a toss up. Riley by a safety?

New Prairie 33 LaPorte 14. Looks like a new cast of characters but same ole' Cougars. Game was not nearly as close as the score indicated. NP goes for about 400 total yards of offense compared to probably under 100 for the Slicers. LPs 2 scores came on the opening kickoff and a bad snap on a punt that they fell on in the end zone (NP had a 85 yard touchdown run called back before the punt). Cougars controlled the game all night long but 2 big plays kept laporte somewhat in it. Looks like a long season for LaPorte; they couldn't get or didn't have anything on offense. NP defense might be pretty good but I think LaPorte is going to struggle to score all season; especially in the DAC.

Elkhart at Concord - Don't know much about either team. But there has been preseason hype around Elkhart for the last handful of seasons and not much to show. Good opening night contest Hammond Central at Washington - Can Washington stop the downhill slide? Conference victories will be tough to come by so hopefully the Panthers can get some "W"s early in the year Bishop Noll at Riley - Riley get's to beat up on an inferior opponent week 1. Big year for the Wildcats though. They had a good team last year but were inflated by a WEAK schedule. This team has to prove Riley can pump out a good team year in and year out or it's back to the basement in the new league LaPorte at New Prairie - One of the better perennial opening week match-ups in the upper part of the state. I think NP takes a step back this season but will still be a tough out and could make noise in the post-season. The floor has been raised in New Carlisle. I'm thinking the Cougars will come out super focused to avenge last years disaster. Mishawaka at Marian - This ones has been lopsided recently and I'm guessing it's going to be that way again. Mishawaka has a system that is tough to stop if you don't have the jimmy and joes and I haven't heard much about Marian this off-season. Adams at Culver Academy - Never know what CMA brings to the table on a yearly basis but Adams has been horrible. Is there any change on the horizon for the Eagles? St. Joseph at Lakeland - If there is one program that I can see taking a step forward it's the Indian's or Huskies or whatever they are these days. A good St. Joe is good for Michiana football Valparaiso at Penn - Another great opening night match-up. is Penn getting back to a perennial power in the northern half? will be interesting to see their changing of the guard. Kind of cool that this is their 3rd football coach in about 549 years

I know my Cougars have outgrown the NSC but it is awesome to see the band getting back together with this conference. I'm jealous as all the schools seem to fit culturally and regionally very well together; I always love a conference that just makes sense (The old NIC just didn't make sense). @MarshallCounty predictions seem pretty spot on. Knox by a margin, maybe TV, maybe LV, then everyone else in a dog fight. Should be a fun conference to follow majority of seasons. Now if only you guys can get to 8. Rochester is such an obvious fit but it seems like politics will keep that from happening for the time being. Fairfield, North Judson, Triton, and Culver wouldn't be horrible adds (although NJ is pretty far). I've also heard that Marian has expressed interest but there is some pushback as they would DOMINATE some sports like soccer, volleyball, golf, etc. Selfishly, I wouldn't mind you guys taking Wawasee so that way NP can slide over the NLC.