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Curious about this. An 0-9 team playing is an utter travesty, yet you're fine with a 2-7 Luers making the cut. How many games should a team need to win in the regular season to get them into the playoff? This year Pioneer won only 2 games, but is ranked 29 by Sagarin. They would make it in. But their wins were over an 0-9 team and a 2-7 team. If the regular season means something, shouldn't teams have to WIN in the regular season to qualify?

Triton at Pioneer has me a little nervous. I just don't see the Panthers going out without a fight. That program has too much pride to roll over.

I agree with you @AubbeenaubbeeCav. If the Caston kids can get their heads up this week and play with some intensity, I wouldn't put it past them to upset the Trojans.

Looks like everything went as expected this week. Schuh had his lowest rushing total of the season but only had a few carries, maybe 10. On the other hand he had enough yards to break the Triton single season scoring record while going over the 1500 yard mark. Shively looked sharp throwing the ball. The D was a little suspect against the pass. Still some work to do there. But I'd say the Trojans are ready for sectional play. Congratulations to the Lancers on the outright HNAC title. Well deserved! A great regular season! I would love to see a big tournament run by them and a couple other HNAC teams.

Try this link for the Culver game: https://team1sports.com/CulverTV/

If the regular season is so meaningless, why are we all on here every week talking about that week's games?

I don't think they'll be able to stop Schuh. Just depends on how many carries he gets. It might not be that bad if they only give Schuh 15 carries like they've been doing in blowout wins. He scores every 5th time he touches the ball, so I guess 15 carries would only be 3 scores for him.

Right. Missing it by 2 places. Maybe if they beat 2-6 Noblesville this week and the stars align they could still make it! To @Bobref's point, they would be playing a meaningful regular season game.

Coach Curtis to his Warsaw players: "Boys, we're going to leave our conference next year and beef up our schedule! We might not win many games, but by golly, we're going to make the playoffs! So keep your heads up, boys! Winning 3 games and making the playoffs is a lot better than winning 8 and missing out!"

So your not really a proponent of winning. You would prefer that coaches use the Avon model over the Elkhart model. Tell the kids losing is fine, just as long as you lose to the best teams.

Looking at Sagarin today, there are several teams with winning records (5 or more wins) that would be excluded from the tournament. That includes Elkhart at 7-1 and Warsaw at 6-2. There are also several teams with 3 or fewer wins that would be included over some of the 5-6 win teams. What are you going to tell the Lions and the Tigers, @Footballking16?

Correct. Won't happen because it would lead to the qualifier format due to all the lopsided games. BUT seeding 1 and 2 is easily done and would not lead to wholesale changes with the current format.

Nope. No chance. But I believe Caston - who is 0-8, believes they have a chance to beat 7-1 West Central in their sectional opener. Their game on August 19 was an 18 point loss, Caston's closest game of the season. I think Caston's football team is probably pretty excited about playing that game!

I haven't always been on board, but I have changed by opinion to a degree about seeding. You don't have to go to a qualifying system to seed the top two teams. I think it makes sense to seed the top two teams in each sectional so they would never meet until the championship game. I'm also okay with re-seeding the remaining teams after sectional play. So if there is any level of seeding, that would make the regular season meaningful. In my mind, this is a reasonable compromise.

As has been said on here many times already, using a qualifying and seeded playoff system will not eliminate blowouts. Every year under that system there will be several blowout games between 1 & 16 seeds and 2 & 15 seeds, etc. Now, of course, the losing team will have earned the right to be blown out. But still...

That happens so infrequently that it's statistically irrelevant. Ha! 😆 Sorry, couldn't resist!! Carry on...

It appears to be a pretty bland set of games this week. Not much to discuss for the last week of the regular season. Caston at Knox - Knox won't get much of a chance to sharpen their game heading into next week's sectional play. Caston is probably already looking at the rematch with West Central next week. Knox Redskins 56-0 LaVille at Culver - If there is an interesting game this week, this one might be it. I don't expect Culver to make it close, but it will be interesting to see how LaVille looks with a new QB running the show. LaVille Lancers 48-0 Pioneer at North Judson - The Jays have lost 13 straight to the Panthers. This is the year they turn the tide. Pioneer ends the regular season with their worst record in over a quarter century. North Judson Bluejays 42-0 Winamac at Triton - This young Winamac team will find themselves overmatched in this one. The senior dominated OL of the Trojans and the hard running Schuh will pummel the young Warriors. They might get a score off a turnover or late against the JV. Triton Trojans 49-7 Running clocks by the 4th quarter in every game this week.

Currently, every game in the regular season is an opportunity to improve because every team has a chance to win a game or two in the tournament, depending on their draw. My team has been consistently poor, and in 80% of their seasons they would be eliminated halfway through. But the players on the team how have something to play for right up until the last game. And coaches have something to coach toward.

Inescapable maybe. But not inarguable. How does this make football better for every Indiana high school football player? Isn't that the point of high school athletics? It's about players, not fan appeal. If 7,500 players in the state have nothing to play for after week 5, how is that better for them?

Definitely agree. The question is philosophical. But obviously many different philosophical positions on this topic. I really wonder just how many games by week eight or nine have the potential to move a team up or down enough in the ratings to get them in or leave them out. It seems by the last couple weeks of the season very little movement happens in the rankings. Would it be realistic to say that a handful of teams in each class could change their ranking enough to alter their post-season position? So maybe we have 30 games per week out of 160 that could potentially have an impact on whether or not a team makes the playoff? And of course by week eight we then have 150 teams that have nothing to play for. Probably 100 of those teams are eliminated after week 3. Personally, I just don't see how a qualification system makes football better for Indiana high school football players across the board.

Hopefully there won't be much of a drop off in offensive production. I know in the Triton game, LaVille's passing offense broke that game open. And I would suspect they'll need to be a little versatile against Andrean if they're going to win that one. At least Czarnecki will have a couple games to prepare.

West Central's only loss came at the hands of a bottom-half HNAC team by way of a shutout. If Carroll doesn't beat WC in dominating fashion, they'll be a sacrificial lamb at the hands of Adams Central. The deeper we get into the season, the more the 1A north looks to me like a showdown between North Judson and AC.

In 2018 Triton won the sectional by winning all three games on the road. It's not easy, but can be done. Although beating Judson at Liberty Field this year would be a monumental upset!

Only questions for me are if Triton will get refocused after two losses, and if LaVille will have any type of letdown after their big win. Culver is set up for a nice sectional run. They should be feeling good right now.

Nice that you have a positive attitude about the team, but I don't think LaVille has any chance to go anywhere in the 2A tournament without a passing game. Now, if you tell me the backup can chuck it like Plummer, then maybe they have a shot. That Plummer to Smith combo is essential for the Lancers. Without that connection LaVille would have had trouble beating Triton. They won't beat Andrean without it.