npcougar15

Bremen, Glenn, Jimtown are leaving. Clay is no longer going to be a school, that means the NIC is left with:

Washington

Riley

Adams

New Prairie

Marian

St Joe

Penn 

Elkhart

7 game conference schedule for the 8 schools. 

Riley vs. NP: First let me say; Riley has a real good ball club, I think they are going to roll past Bremen and Jimtown - They are legit. And honestly I wouldn't want to face them in the sectionals either. The kind of team you would want/expect out of a south bend school. Their run defense is legit, they were in the backfield and attacking the point of line of scrimmage all night long. Cougars rushed for only 81 yards on 31 carries - NP did have a 25 yard run on the their first play of scrimmage so you take away that and Riley essentially shut down the cougars run game. But on the flip side Riley sold out on the run which led to some wide open receivers. Cougars threw for a school record of 306 yards on 9/17 passes, and honestly there were some dropped balls where it could easily been more. NP left some points on the boards; badly missed chip shot field goal, and fumbled snap exchange on first and goal from the 2 on the second drive of the game, Riley just didn't have the offense to keep up. Riley was penalized for holding calls, especially early on, I think that was just a by-product of the competition they have played prior to the game. Overall I came away impressed with Riley, especially their front 7 attacking all game long. 

Amzie Miller Field has become one of the toughest places to come away with a win in Michiana the last decade. With homecoming, 5-1 vs 6-0, and a beautiful night, it will be interesting to see how Riley handles an engaged environment. My guess is Riley is going to come out of the gates trying to hit the homerun or with some trickery to get their kids believing. 

2 hours ago, Bucksweep22 said:

Riley at New Prairie- #13 versus #10 this week. Riley's opponents are 13-23 and NP Opponents are 9-27. NP is favored to win by 10. Can Riley's explosive and stout front 7 force NP to get out of their comfort zone and start airing it out? Rileys starting defense has given up less then 3 points per game and less then 1 yard per carry to opposing defenses. They are no stranger to running QB's this season and have shut down everyone they have faced. On offense can Riley's fairly big line get push up front and create run lanes? New Prairie isn't as big up front as past years. Can Marshall find a lane and explode through it before the front 7 closes in? Can NP defense keep up with Riley's speed at receiver? NP chose this one for their Homecoming. One would assume they circled this one as winnable over next weeks home game against Penn. Most would disagree but I'm taking Riley 27 NP 10

While I wouldn't be completely shocked if this is a tight game or even Riley comes away with a win; but this is a pretty interesting take.

So what's Riley's identity? Run or Pass first? They've had some good athletes at the receiver and running back positions that last handful of years, but haven't quite established what they want to be yet. I'm sure the coaches are going to throw the entire playbook at the Cougars and wouldn't be surprised to see a few trick plays early and often. 

Elkhart at Adams  - Adams didn't look very good at all last week. Massive holes every play for the cougars to run through. Elkhart easily.

LaVille at Glenn - Lancers best the falcons. 

Marian at Angola - Knights beat the 0-6 Hornets. Marian has a chance to salvage an average season

Prairie Heights at Bremen - Don't think the Lions will have a problem this week, Bremen big

Riley at New Prairie - Probably the most intriguing game this week. 6-0 Riley vs. 5-1 NP. Riley has played a HORRIBLE schedule; especially the last 3 weeks. The only common opponent is Adams. Riley beat them 22-12 while the Cougars dismantled them 49-0. All signs point to a NP win but Riley's coach Lee has the one circled on the calendar. Would be a massive win for the Wildcats and the SB publics, but don't think it's going to happen. NP 35 Riley 14.

St. Joseph at Penn - I think this game will be closer than what paper would suggest. Penn still wins 

Washington at Jimtown - Jimmies 

North Newton at Clay - Fun stat of the day, Clay is 1-74 the last 8 seasons against IHSAA sanctioned varsity teams. Jimtowns JV is 1-0 in that same span. NN is horrible, this game is a match made in heaven. 

2 hours ago, Irishman said:

 

In that spot, you run his ass onto the field. I don’t care if it is a penalty or not, you have GOT to have 11. So you give them a yard. You have stopped the, before in short yardage. 

Having 10 on the field is just inexcusable; and the fact they ran into the same situation earlier in the game is ridiculous. Legitimate question though; if Freeman has the 11th guy run out onto the field with 3 second left basically guaranteeing a penalty. Wouldn't that give OSU 2 opportunities to score? They would have a "free play" and then could just decline the penalty if they did score. Then they would have a 2nd chance a few inches closer if they didn't score on the first play and the penalty was enforced. Maybe I'm wrong but, isn't that how it would go? 

NP 35

Adams 0

Few minutes left until half time

after 1

NP 13

Adams 0

4 of the top 5 ranked players are in 4A. That doesn't even include one of the best in the state in Ringer at East Central. 

14 minutes ago, NLCTigerFan07 said:

In the words of Lee Corso - "Not so fast, my friend!" - Warsaw still has to play Northridge at the end of the season, and Mishawaka still has NorthWood and Concord left on the schedule. Yes, the winner of this week's game is in the driver's seat, but still plenty of opportunities for either team to lose a game.

I haven't had a chance to post about last week's game. I'm honestly still in shock. I firmly believed the Panthers air attack would tear up Warsaw, but that Tiger defense is LEGIT! And the resolve and character of the Warsaw team as a whole just speaks to the entire coaching staff Coach Curtis has assembled. It's never been a question, but he is the definition of a HOF high school football coach. When NorthWood scored under a minute left in 2Q to take a 21-17 lead before halftime, I was sure that was going to be the momentum swing that blew the doors open. Instead, the Tigers score on two huge plays and retake the lead 24-21 at halftime.

Hoping for a great game this Friday night, in the similiar vein of those 2020 and 2021 matchups that were great back and forth affairs.

Hard to imagine the winner of this game NOT at least get a share of the conference title. But you are right, the NLC is far from being over with 4 teams that could all beat one another and a 5th that could pick someone off. 

The minute Curtis took the Warsaw job I knew he would get them to being a consistent winner. It's kind of interesting too look at the programs that he has left and where they are at now with New Prairie and Mishawaka. The guy doesn't just get buy in from players but he also gets it from the community and the community is what gets you stable programs. Truly one of the best out there

While I wasn't 100% bought into the Northwood hype going into the season. I am surprised they are sitting at 3-2 and essentially eliminated from an NLC title 3 games into the conference season. I thought they'd be fine until the weather turns bad during the post-season, didn't think it would happen this early. It will be interesting to see what the Panthers are made of going forward. They have an opportunity to learn and grow from the early setbacks and use this as a wake-up call that leads to a nice playoff run (essentially reversing last years fortunes). Or have one of the biggest let-downs of a seasons I can remember from a Michiana area team. 

NP/St. Joe was a pretty entertaining game. St. Joe has come a long way and is getting back to where they should be. 2 contrasting styles. NP couldn't stop STJ quick hit passing attack while the cougars basically were running at will all night long. NP only attempted 4 passes all night and STJ probably was under 40 yard rushing. The Indians have some nice athletes once they get the bal in their hands and can make some plays.

Can anyone give a rundown of the Penn/Elkhart? Surprised it was 0-0 at halftime.

7 hours ago, BLACKGOLD2007 said:

Is this really the 46 game of the week?

Yeah, when you have the Northwood v Warsaw game and the NP v St. Joe game could easily be more entertaining. 

I hope this game goes much smoother than the last couple outings v Elkhart

Yup. The crew does a GREAT job of broadcasting, but honestly I'm pretty salty NP doesn't get featured for a single game this season. They have arguably been the most successful program in the area the last decade and by far the most successful the past handful of years. This year they feature Laville, Bremen, Riley, Adams, Concord, Edwardsburg, Warsaw, Elkhart, Northwood, Mishawaka (x2), Penn (x2), Niles (x2), Northridge (x2). The crew is getting repetitive with who they feature and gravitate towards Mishawaka (they've covered them 5 games the last 2 years), Penn, Warsaw, and Northridge - I'm sure it's viewership related. But why not feature NP vs. Laporte, Knox vs. North Judson, Tippy Valley vs. Rochester, Jimtown vs. Concord, Glenn vs. Jimtown, etc. 

Bremen at Jimtown - I feel like every game Bremen has played in the last 3 seasons has been a close one. I don't expect this one to be any different. I'm thinking Jimmies in a squeaker. 
 

Elkhart at Penn  - A waste of the "game of the week". Penn easily. 

Glenn at Knox - This is a way more intriguing match up that I wish the 46 crew would highlight. 2 coaches with a lot of wins trying to build something at smaller schools. I'll take the redskins 

New Prairie at St. Joseph - St. Joe showing some positive signs but their SOS is horrible. This game will be a good measuring stick to where St. Joe is this year. Still think NP wins here. Since the turn of the century NP is 10-1 against the Indians. 

Adams at Marian - Marian has played a killer schedule for a 3A to start the year. Adams with a pretty bad performance last week. Knights get the "W"

Clay at South Bend Washington - Panthers

Riley at Indianapolis Washington - Riley easily

Congrats to Northridge on the win, they seem to be a thorn in the panther's side as of late. Very impressive when you take into consideration NR was without their starting RB who's going to the best FCS program in the country. East Central appears to be on another level and will be the hands down favorite in Indianapolis if they make it there. But 4A north is shaping up to be an intriguing tournament. Northwood, Northridge, New Prairie, New Haven, Columbia City, Kokomo, East Noble, Hobart all seem to be challenging for that position to get to LOS

Sloppy win for NP last night. Too many penalties and starting drives 1st and 20 isn't going to get it done in the playoffs. One interesting play that happened was with 15 seconds left in the first half NP caught a pass but didn't get out of bounds with no timeouts. NP then has a mad scramble to get the field goal team on and try to attempt a kick, there were kids running around everywhere, they snap the ball with 2 seconds left in the middle of the chaos, but penalty flags fly everywhere for either "too many men on the field" or "false start". This stops the clock. they move the ball back 5 yards which allows NP to get organized. NP then snaps it right when they start the clock again and kicks a 35 yard field goal right before the half. 

NP 7

Marian 7

1st quarter

NP 7

Marian 0

1 quarter

Doyle sucks. I'd go out on a limb and say that Doyel, the IHSAA, Indian Creek, the kids family, and the coaches are all spinning their own story. 

Is there a bylaw in the IHSAA rulebook that addresses a kid leaving a school two months after his sister obtained a restraining order against an assistant coach?  - Aren't restraining order public knowledge? it would be pretty easy and quick to look this up.

“(Coach Gillin) began being different to me (at) weightlifting class at school. He would take pictures of me in between sets to try and say I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to be doing. - I don't understand this. How would taking pictures of a kid resting between sets showing "he wasn't doing what he was supposed to be doing."?

He would always call me or text me just to ask if I’m coming to after school weights. … Since our protective order got approved he hasn’t contacted me one time. - My understanding is the restraining order was against an assistant coach, not Coach Gillin. So why would Gillin not contact him after it was approved? Not saying he did or didn't contact him after; just seems weird.

Someone destroyed the mailbox of an Indian Creek family in early February. - Would be nice to know if this family is somehow involved with the story other than a destroyed mailbox. But at the end of the day a high schooler destroyed a mailbox, who cares

18 hours ago, Bucksweep22 said:

Marian at New Prairie- Still not convinced about NP this season. NP 28- Marian 21
 

It's warranted. The Laporte game is still baffling, but looking back NP had a few key players out, made a few big mistakes, and just didn't get any breaks. Credit Laporte for coming out inspired, playing perfect football, and making big-time plays when they needed too. Sometimes game like that happen. But the last couple of weeks the NP offense has scored touchdowns on 11 of their last 14 possessions with their #1s in. Defense has allowed 1 touchdown in the last 9 quarters (Lowell's TD was a kick-off return) and overall have looked pretty good. I was concerned after week 1 but this team is looking more like the  2021 & 2022 teams as of late. 

Bremen at Triton - This one seems like its going to be a close game. Lions by a hair?
 

Elkhart at Massillon Washington (Ohio) - No idea how Massillon is on the field (I'm assuming they have a good ball team this year). But man that is quite a stadium Elkhart gets the privilege to play in. Seats nearly 17,000 ranked as #10 best high school stadiums according to ESPN. Neat experience. 
 

Morton at Penn - Penn easily in this one. 

Glenn at Jimtown - The Jimmies finally play someone close to their competition level. Going to be a good one, I think the Falcons get it done though
 

Marian at New Prairie - Marian played BJ better than expected. NP absolutely crushed Lowell. NP is looking like the team they've been the past few years. NP wins this one rather easily. 
 

Riley at Clay - Riley big. Riley has the weakest schedule imaginable the next 3 weeks. They will be 6-0 heading into their matchup with NP, I'm sure it's circled on the calendar. 
 

St. Joseph at Adams - 2 question mark teams that will probably leave more question marks after this one. I'm taking the Indians though
 

Washington at Calumet - Washington is doing their best Clay impression. Calumet beats the Panthers. What's going on in the West Side? 

54 minutes ago, Bucksweep22 said:

What is the solution....Penn go independent to accomplish what? going .500 or below every year....Let's face it they will never be on Center Grove's level, until you bring in a Center Grove type head coach. Penn's what 1/2-6 in out of state games in the past few years.....4 loses to valpo....4 loses to Cathedral....2 to New Prairie....barely beat a 4A East Noble 2 years ago....lost to 3A Mish Marian. Penn needs that schedule more then those teams need their once a year ticket revenue. Not like most of those teams can't sell a few tubs of cookies to make up the difference.

There is absolutely no reason for Penn to play Washington and Riley. 

And what is so terrible about Penn going independent in football? Am I suppose to feel bad if Penn goes .500 or below every year vs a level playing field? Trust me I'm not going to lose sleep over it. What is being accomplished when Penn is beating Washington 45-0 at the end of the first quarter every year? a few hundred bucks more in gate money? 

Statement game for NP. Absolutely dominated Lowell. They have everyone healthy and back and I think the Laporte game was needed to humble and refocus them. Still think the conference is Penns to lose but the gap appears to have gotten smaller after this week.