MICFan34

There was an 8-man clinic that ran concurrently with the normal IFCA clinic two weeks back. I have no idea when the initial pilot season will be, but it looks like the IFCA is all-in on 8-man football and I do know that they have the requisite number of schools ready to feel comfortable starting the program. The only hang-up I have on 8-man football is the amounts of travel that will probably occur due to schools being so spread out from one another. But hopefully people around the state see it as a good thing because it's giving students a new opportunity to demonstrate their talents off the field!

Because who's a legit upgrade, scheduling-wise, for those 6 teams? None. Obviously CG won't continue being a behemoth but an okay CG is still better than 99.9% of all football programs in Indiana. And Carmel has legit football rivalries with BD and NC. Makes no sense for those two schools to get rid of Carmel.

So...in 2023, will any of the MIC teams play CG and Carmel? I figured in '22, due to contracts and the relative lack of time, the MIC would still play CG and Carmel. If they continue playing CG and Carmel, what a joke even kicking them out in the first place lol.

Any internal candidates or coaches with Catholic school experience that would want this job? Hard to imagine any public school teachers taking a significant paycut for this position.

Heritage Christian or Covenant Christian? I know they're both in the Circle City for all other sports but it'd seem like competing in the ICC would be a huge benefit for them, especially since they play a good amount of those schools already.

Albeit lopsided, it still is amazing to me that BD and CG have played each other 6 times in 3 years, with half of those games coming in Semi-State. No matter happens with the HCC, I still hope to see Warren and BD play against CG and Carmel in the regular season. I think to all 4 of those communities, those games still massively resonate. Even if no regular season match-ups, these games will be a blast to attend during the tournament.

But can DC turn into a medium Zville? They are building in Camby rn and these houses are going for $270+. That's not typical DC. Wonder if they can start to pull some money from Perry Township.

Can we just sign your comment as the reason for why CG and Carmel are leaving. It's 100% spot on. And I am also someone who deals with Marion County MIC kids on a daily basis as well.

Like you said earlier, they have still have an old school mentality when it comes to hiring teachers first, coaches second. But don't you think playing in the MIC in every sport will elevate them in their playoffs? Their sectionals almost always include Pike and BD. But softball and baseball would be my guesses?

It's going to be Decatur Central and whatever school wants out of the new HCC. DC plays MIC schools in EVERY sport besides football and to me, they're an easy addition. DC's upside is way higher than Southport, Tech, Perry, Kokomo, etc. The MIC should add a school that looks and acts like them, other than enrollment disparities.

Yet Brownsburg had a few more players in those rankings and still lost, albeit with a "month to prep". WC has a monster freshman class coming in and they'll be top dogs soon enough in the new MIC. WC, BD, LC (Mickens, plus others), and LN(just sent three to FBS programs), will be just fine. Even Pike and NC are sending players to higher levels in the '23 class. Can we stop with the "MIC is dead" narrative. They'll still be high caliber players and programs in the conference and they'll battle with the same programs they've battled with the past 25 years. We have no idea what the next 20 years will look like, the projections and guesses crack me up.

MIC Football Championships (1996-2021) 11 Ben Davis 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000*, 2001, 2003, 2012*, 2013*, 2017, 2019* 10 Warren Central 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007*, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018, 2019* 8 Center Grove 2000*, 2007*, 2008*, 2012*, 2013*, 2015, 2020, 2021 6 Carmel 2000*, 2008*, 2009, 2012*, 2014, 2019*, 1 North Central 2019* 0 Lawrence Central 0 Lawrence North 0 Pike Football State Championships (1996-2021) Warren Central: 7 (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2018) Ben Davis: 5 (1999, 2001, 2002, 2014, 2017) Carmel: 4 (2007, 2011, 2016, 2019) Center Grove: 4 (2008, 2015, 2020, 2021) Here's a final look back at the MIC Conference Championships & State Championships won for each school since the MIC was created.

Let's say the HCC goes ahead and approves both CG & Carmel...and they decide to play a 9 game closed schedule. How will the MIC programs schedule non-conference games? They'll need 4 non-con games to fill up their schedules. This seems like it'd be a major headache for these 6 programs. Do they go after DAC schools, Penn, P/Ps, out of state opponents?

Not sure but DC essentially plays all 6 of the MIC schools in every sport so it wouldn't be a foreign concept for them.

Believe Decatur Central should be added to that list as well. They run tight with the 6 MIC Township schools in admin decisions.

Not talking about DT's specific point... but at several JV & Freshman games in the MIC, I have seen some teams come in with upwards of 50+ players and some of the other teams only having 15-20 players. It's not a varsity issue whatsoever IMO.

You know what year(s)?

Intriguing! Just hard to see them leaving the HCC with the MIC's lack of investment in every sport except for Football, Track, and Boys & Girls Basketball. I know it's probably a no but I would love to see Cathedral in the MIC lol.

If the inevitable occurs, what does the MIC try and do, to replace Carmel and CG?

I mean Brownsburg has been Transfer U the last several years so I'm sure the Brownsburg AD did sign off. It'd be a bad look when you accept a plethora of transfers but don't sign off on players transferring to another program.

I'd assume Merrillville? People kept saying that they'd be in 5A for the next cycle. But they've also accumulated two Regional Championships in the past 2 years, does that factor in as well?

This is spot-on. And it's important to recognize that since 2003, BD has only won 2 State Championships in the past 18 years, yet have been to 3 straight Semistate games and like the above post, have lost to a better CG program (that has won 27 games in a row). It's a more equal fight in 6A than it was 20 years ago, in addition to the rising powers of the HCC.

1A: Adams Central vs Lutheran: I think Adams Central wins this game in a close one. Lutheran has a weird way of not winning games in Semistate or State that they are favorites in, going back to the last 10 years. 2a: Andrean vs Mater Dei: I think Andrean wins this game in a close one as well. This may be one of my favorite matchups of the weekend. Two powerhouse private schools that possess a lot of talent on both teams. 3a: Brebeuf vs Gibson Southern: This is my favorite game of the weekend. Brebuef's D-Line will be the difference in the game and get key pressure on Allen. After seeing GS play Tri-West on Saturday, GS plays a fun brand of football with a lot of team speed on their side. I think this is another game that goes to the wire. Brebeuf's explosiveness in the pass game should be concerning to the GS defense. 4a: Northridge vs Mt. Vernon: Northridge's Cinderalla run ends with a loss to the Marauders. Mt. Vernon is just too explosive for Northridge to contain for 48 minutes. I think this will be the best atmosphere of the 6 games. 5A: Zionsville vs Cathedral: I think this game will end with a final score similar to the New Pal/Cathedral game in the Regionals. I just don't see how Zionsville gets it going offensively against one of the best defenses in the state. 6a: Westfield vs CG: The amount of high-level talent in this game is unbelievable. It'll be a well-executed game on both sides but CG wins this by 2-3 TDs. I just don't see how Westfield will be able to run the ball against the Trojans' stout DL.

Agreed. I'm excited to see how Cathedral does in 6A these next two seasons. This specific year, Cathedral would have easily won their sectional (LC, LN, North Central would be my guess) and then went against CG in Regionals. That'd be an incredible match-up for a Regional Championship.

Yet in the past 20 years, Cathedral has willingly scheduled *checks notes* these 6A powers: Center Grove, Carmel, Westfield, Ben Davis, Brownsburg, Warren Central.... and these out of state powers: Elder, St. X, Moeller, LaSalle, Brother Rice, Louisville Trinity, St. Edwards, East St. Louis. Comparing Mishawaka's situation to Cathedral's is laughable. I have massive amounts of respect for Cathedral and believe they should only be in 6A if they move up to the Success Factor, but if there's one team that should volunteer to play up, it's Cathedral.