The TW

Luke Hansen went for right at 200 against New Palestine tonight. He started the game with one of the most violent sacks I’ve seen and continued to be a difference maker on the defensive side of the ball all game. He also broke Roncalli’s career rushing record tonight. 

4 minutes ago, snoot said:

Rensselaer 55 North Newton 0

Final. 

Bombers dropping bombs

22 hours ago, DumfriesYMCA said:

The more I follow ncaaf recruiting the more I realize it’s largely about camps and exposure.  
 

and with those camps the players get great coaching and rep against other good players.  
 

 

it should come as no surprise that the same families that send their kids to private schools can also send their kids to camps and make those types of time commitments and this leads to better development of skillsets. 
 

for the most part….every good team in the state and then plenty of others have kids who are 6’3+ 250Lbs+ So I don’t think touting the size of these kids means anything especially if it’s meant to act like team recruit….every school has kids with prototypical size…..most of it just comes down to which of those families can make the extra commitments and then of those which of those kids actually put in the work and make the most of those opportunities.  
 

Especially with lineman….most of them already have the size….it’s about technique and football IQ that comes from coaching.  

Then explain why Roncalli has put two players in a power five conference since 1984. 

I saw this article on Facebook, and my first thought was DT. After reading it, I didn’t think the quality was high enough. Thanks for clearing up who wrote it. 

John Rodenberg was the easiest coach to work with I've ever known. I had a conversation with another assistant coach today where he stated, “John has been an absolute dream to work for!” As for bouncing around, he was at Moeller for twelve years before resigning after two difficult seasons. He admittedly struggled to implement his style of culture at Lawrence Central, but went 25-2 at Roncalli. His kids and grand kids are in Cincinnati, where he has spent his entire life. The community he will be serving is widely considered the most desirable place to live in the Midwest (median household income is north of $215k). He’s likely going to make significantly more money as well. 
 

So, no, Tim he’s not difficult to work with. 

Fwiw, I felt EC was the best 4A team we played last year, slightly nudging out Mt. Vernon. This year’s game was a slugfest, tied late in the 4th quarter. The Trojans are an excellent football team, fully capable of bringing home a title. That said, go Royals. 

The CYO and Catholic grade school system (St. Michael’s, in particular) provides Ritter an advantage over Covenant. That doesn’t mean that CC won’t potentially cut into their talent pool, but this is still an attractive job. 

Most CYO teams are 3rd/4th and 5th/6th. The numbers are huge for 3rd graders and the drop for 4th grade. There is a little attrition heading into 5th grade but a huge drop among 6th graders. 
 

Two reasons:

1. Many of the younger kids are getting pounded by older kids in practice to the point that they lose all interest. The difference between a 3rd grader and 4th grader is typically just experience. But the physical difference between a 5th grader and a 6th grader can be substantial. 
 

2. Travel sports, particularly baseball, gobble kids up by 4th grade with promises of scholarships and contracts. Shockingly, it’s the ones that stick with football that most often play baseball in college. 

I found it surprising, too, to be honest. 

Just now, temptation said:

You could definitely make a case.  I think McCahill should win actually.

Knowing how these things go, I think Huebler is a long shot but is definitely worthy of consideration for the reasons you mentioned.

I agree on all accounts!

7 minutes ago, temptation said:

You answered your own question.  CG could also cite the same issue when it comes to running clocks with Steele.

He still out rushed him by 658 yards.  That means Huebler ran for 40% more yards. And he averaged more per carry. Roncalli’s strength of schedule does not negate that difference (still in the top 40). 

Here are some facts:

Baron Huebler
328 attempts (#3)
2317 rushing yards (#2)
165.5 yards per game (#11)
7.1 yards per carry 
32 rushing TDs (#1 tied)
14 receptions
106 receiving yards
2 TDs
34 Total TDs (#1)

Carson Steele
264 attempts (#6)
1659 rushing yards (#12)
118.5 yards per game (#57)
6.3 yards per carry
31 rushing TDs (#3)
7 receptions
152 receiving yards
2 TDs
33 Total TDs (#2)

The strength of schedule is considerably different, but it is important to note that we struggled to get Baron 100 yards against the worst teams on our schedule due to running clocks and big pass plays. He ran for almost 500 against #1 Mt Vernon and #2 Mooresville and a ton against #6 East Central. 

When you stop to realize that the varsity games were top upperclassmen vs top underclassmen, the JV games were top underclassmen vs bottom underclassmen, and the frosh games were top frosh against what was left down, it is less impressive. 
 

Time will tell. That’s not shade at CG as much as it is an acknowledgment that WC and BD are far from dead. 

Some meandering thoughts:
 

The main separators for consistent success seem to be:

1. Strong feeder program, preferably with the varsity head coach having some influence

2. Access to funding either through the school or the families

3. Program tradition

The schools that are most commonly represented Thanksgiving weekend typically have at least two of these traits. The best private and parochial schools have all three (as does Carmel, Center Grove, Penn, etc.). But all legacy programs HAVE to have at least two. It always cracks me up when I see people from schools with one or none complaining about the P/Ps. Moving the P/Ps up a class would only result in trading one master for another. 
 

It’s worth noting that not all P/P schools even have two, which is why it is imprudent to treat all P/Ps the same.  
 

I have coached at Roncalli, Chatard, Ritter, Scecina, Brebeuf, Broad Ripple, Howe, Beech Grove, and Southwestern, boys and girls. Roncalli is by far the easiest place to coach, even though so few D-1 athletes have come through the program. The kids are loved at home, well-fed, and provided access to supplemental training. They start playing flag football in pre-school and dream of when it will be their turn to run out of the woods. As a coach, you can fall back on the “been there, done that” approach to selling your vision. Those things don’t all happen overnight, and key components can be missed with kids that transfer in. That’s why there have been so few non-south deanery CYO kids starting on the school’s ten state championship teams (this coming from a non-CYO starter on a state championship team). We had 1 player this year from outside of our feeder system - a number I would hold up against any of the other 11 finalists.

There is merit to the fact that P/P schools are mostly filled with involved students who have chosen to be there. While at Broad Ripple, we had over 1,500 kids, but less than 100 seniors (less than 300 juniors). We were a 5A team competing with 2A resources. That’s before we get to the fact that many of our kids were getting picked up at 5 am, dropped off at 8 pm, and largely only eating what the school provided. 
 

Socio-economics factors would be the best way to determine classifications. That will never happen because it’s not easy. In the meantime, it’s not fair for us to say “Get better or get used to it” without acknowledging the privilege we enjoy. At the same time, it’s pointless to complain if you haven’t first taken care of your own backyard to the best of your ability. 

9 minutes ago, coachkj said:

So what's your point?  That Christian schools are Christian?  

Yeah, I’m not following the logic thus far...

9 hours ago, Woody_Hayes said:

Congratulations on the Championship! O-Line was very impressive. I’m still using things I learned from our meeting.

I’m sure that meeting was incredibly cringe-worthy as I did not yet know how much I didn’t know. Had all the answers back then...

2 hours ago, Grandpa B said:

Well said.  Well said indeed.  Had one Son who played in 3 State Championship Games.  Had another Son who never won a Football Sectional Game.  Never sent our kids to Roncalli for trophies but for the other 10 things that are on "the list" ahead of that.   

The latter situation has been remedied. 

Sour Patch Straws, bro...

7 minutes ago, FastpacedO said:

Actually I agree CYO is a huge advantage but not in the same way you have put it. I will use Roncalli as an example (I have no affiliation with them).

Lets say 6 of the feeder schools for Roncalli have Cadet football. Holy Name, Nativity, St. Barnabas, S.S. Francis and Clare, St. Jude, and Our Lady of Greenwood. Roncalli runs a Spread No-Huddle offense and a 4-2-5 defense. Holy Name could be running the Pro formation and a 3-4, Nativity an I-Formation and 4-4, St. Barnabas a spread and 3-3, St. Jude a spread and 4-2-5, SSFC runs a pistol and 4-4, and OLofG run a Wing T and a 4-4. Now I agree they are taught fundamentals and also see many different looks. Where it becomes a solid advantage is the number of players from each team that have learned their positions and move up to the HS and create depth and or battle for positions.

 

Now what Center Grove Bantam has done that Publics schools can emulate to a certain degree (CG Bantam is big). The big advantage is they can set a play book with the Wing T and 4-3 defense the kids learn it from 2nd through 6th grade. They also run the same formations at the middle schools. By the time a Carson Steele (just an example) hits High School he knows those basic plays and the scheme like muscle memory. Sure the expand upon the play book and learn more intricate plays, but the know the basics of the system. This is a model most Public schools should use and yes it does take a lot of work. The other key is keeping them out for the team as they filter from youth to middle school and then to HS. Of course Bantam isn't the only thing at CG Coach Moore has done. He has also done a lot with strength and speed training.

This is spot on. 

Shockingly, 8 of the top 10 teams come from affluent communities. I’m not familiar with Whiteland’s current economics, and Ben Davis has over 4,000 kids.

They also all come from Marion or a contiguous county.

After watching film, Hobart’s Sagarin ranking is not indicative of their ability. Not only are they a very talented team, they play with a sense of urgency that few of our opponents have displayed. It’s clear that these kids want to bring back the program’s glory. I predict this game will be a war. 

19 hours ago, fenderbender said:

2nd awarded was an OL.    I think mainly because he was an IU commit. 

Worst part was that Mike Bohn set the single season rushing record that year ('93) at 3,165 while only playing in 40 quarters and facing 8 undefeated teams.  Roncalli went 14-0 and led the nation in rushing.  Bohn was robbed.

Has anything been released about the number of tickets that will be sold?  I assume they will meet the demand but just wanted to make sure.

4 hours ago, Julio said:

1A, 2A, and 4A all have the longest drive from the North, let them travel and play on Saturday.  Indy schools don’t have to travel so let them play on Friday.

This was what I thought would happen, but I'm good with whatever.

Any word on what the attendance restrictions are going to look like?

Steele has an insane ypc and a bunch of TDs (26 going into last night). 

Who are the leading candidates to take home Mr. Football this year? Admittedly, I have been primarily focused on our team, so I apologize if there is an obvious choice out there. 
 

I would guess Cathedral’s (and St. Roch alum) Nathan McCahill would have to be a strong candidate. 
 

Baron Huebler’s 2,167 yards (7.4 avg) and 31 TDs on 291 carries is also worth of some attention. 
 

Who else?