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Friday, Aug. 30 Caston at North Judson - Gotta admit the Jays surprised me with their offensive output last Friday! In light of that I have to think they'll handle the Comets pretty easily even though Caston will put some points on the board. North Judson 42-13 Culver at South Central - Ditmire got his 200 last week in the loss and he'll get another 200 this week. But I don't know if the Culver D will be good enough to stop the Satellites. I'm going to guess the Cavs will shore up some things on the defensive side of the ball this week. I'm taking them to make it another HNAC victory over our neighbors to the Northwest. Culver 33-22 Knox at Rochester - The Zebras have been no pushover the last two years. In fact, didn't they beat the Redskins last year? Why yes, yes they did! Won't happen this year. Knox by a couple. Knox 21-7 Pioneer at Winamac - Pioneer will get back to their dominating, shut out ways. Pioneer 54-0 Triton at LaVille - I watched the LaVille / Bremen game on the Lancer YouTube Network and came away more disappointed with Bremen than sold on LaVille. But I still think LaVille is going to be a solid contender for the HNAC title and the Sectional 34 crown. Triton did some good things against South Central offensively, but allowed the Satellites 24 points in the last 8 minutes to let them back in it. The Lancers will be too much for the Trojans. LaVille 35-16

A much, MUCH bigger cup!!! Last season was Triton's chance to make a run. But just like LCC, Adams Central, and North Vermillion, we ran into Pioneer and Mr. Kiser - not once, but twice - to the tune of 122-6. OUCH! Triton will be a very long shot to win their sectional this year. Not impossible. But not likely.

Triton spread the field the last couple of years. Sounds like Winamac and Caston are also going that direction this year. It certainly brings a new dynamic to the conference. Teams that won't be run-first offenses. Could be a long learning curve for Caston with a freshman running the show, but it also means they could be pretty darn good at it in a couple years! I think it's good for all the conference schools to see these offenses during the regular season. It should make everyone better come tournament time.

Pharos Tribune article on Winamac: https://www.pharostribune.com/sports/article_bfbaa9e2-c476-11e9-829e-77f651b5182a.html Caston: https://www.pharostribune.com/sports/article_49970656-c3b4-11e9-92c0-0781a740c6a3.html Pioneer: https://www.pharostribune.com/sports/article_b6bbc432-c2d4-11e9-8fc4-eb90b2e0aaa1.html

Here is an Ink Free News article about Triton: http://www.inkfreenews.com/2019/08/22/trojans-retooling-after-banner-season/

I didn't realize LaVille had to rebuild their line from last year. This may be a closer game than I expected! I'd go to this one if I didn't have responsibilities at Triton Friday night. Should be a good one!

Friday, Aug. 23 LaVille at Bremen - I'm glad to see this game back on the schedule. LaVille's improvement in the Hostrawser years has earned them the right to play this game again! And now that LaVille is 2A it's a good measurement for the Lions. I like LaVille's team this year. They should be in mid-season form right out of the gate. Bremen is going to take some time to gel with a sophomore QB and a lot of new faces. I'm taking the Lancers. LaVille 21-7 Cass at Pioneer - Another good Sectional 34 match-up in week one! I don't know much about Cass, but they were a pretty solid team last year as it turned out. I suspect they felt they should have given the Panthers a better game in last year's opener. They'll be on a mission Friday night. But ultimately Pioneer will have too many offensive weapons to try to keep in check. Von Tobel will be better than most expect at QB and the Panthers will reload on the line. The twins will run wild. Pioneer 30-17 North Judson at Culver - Ditmire is going to wear some defenses out this year! He's a Dawson Patrick type load coming through the line and he will punish average defenses. NJ lost too much from last year's team to hang with the Cavs. It's the Zack attack for the win. Look for him to pound out 250 on the ground against a young Jays defense! Culver 27-7 South Central at Triton - Triton had a couple of talented and hard working classes come through, and Coach Brown knew how to get the most out of them! (Good luck to Coach Brown at Elwood!) Those football players are gone and I'm not sure the remaining guys really understand how hard you have to work for success. I suspect they'll find out pretty quick! SCUM also lost their all-state (in baseball) QB, but they have some guys returning. I'm going with the Satellites in a close one. South Central 21-19 West Central at Caston - Don't know much about either team really, except I know the Caston kids have some heart! With only one senior on last year's squad, the Comets will return a lot. I'm pulling for them to get the W. Caston 19-13 Winamac at Knox - Can Winamac be good enough in the passing game to knock off some folks this year? I'm going to say yes. Their sophomore QB will get better as the year goes on. But I don't think they'll have the horses to hang around with a solid Knox team. Coach Hendryx has that program moving along and I don't see them taking a step backward this year. Knox by 3 scores. Knox 28-7

I'm curious who these schools are as well. I can't think of another 1A or 2A school within driving distance that would bring anywhere near the quality or following that Bremen would bring. I think South Central has already declined an invite. North Miami maybe? Manchester?

Very classy move by the Jimmie administration! As a former conference foe, Triton made many trips to Knepp Field. Unfortunately we left with the lower score every single time. There is certainly a mystique around that place. A bunch of tradition there, but nothing to arouse the senses more than those burning leaves! Ahh, good memories despite the game outcomes!

Is there a day coming when helmets will contain a chip that compiles a play count instead of just counting quarters? I think it's fair to say that some 1A and 2A players play more downs on a Friday night than some 5A and 6A players might play in all 6 quarters of eligibility. If player safety is really the concern, a play count (like a pitch count in baseball) would be a much more effective tool in controlling the amount of contact a player is exposed to in game situations. Of course it's ridiculous to think a coaching staff could manually count plays for every player. And it's certainly cost prohibitive to think about using electronics to do the task at this point. But it might not be that far off. And it would definitely be a better method for helping with player safety than just limiting quarters. I know the technology also exists to measure the impact of helmet contact. I believe that if a player using the technology has a head impact over a certain level, it signals a coach who can immediately remove the player for an evaluation. There are things out there to aid in player safety. It's probably just a matter of time until it's mandated.

Bremen, Pioneer and LaVille were the only teams to beat Triton in the 2018 campaign. Of the three, LaVille returns the greatest number of contributors from last year. I've said for a couple of years now the Lancers will be the team to hand Pioneer their first HNAC conference loss. I don't know if that will happen this year, but don't overlook LaVille in this sectional. I expect them to be very good! Pioneer lost 2 top 50 players, but they aren't hurting in the skill position department. Bremen loses a whole host of guys from last year. And they play a very difficult schedule for a 2A team. Their post season success might depend on how well they weather the storm during the regular season. They'll be battle tested for sure. I don't know anything about Cass, but that early season game with the Panthers will be one of great interest!

https://ifca.net/north-south-all-star-game/ Congrats to all those selected to play!!

Triton Trojans facebook page. And @tritontrojans twitter. I'm excited that Coach Younis is going to be taking over the program again. It's a good move for Triton football at this point.

Sorry, I got thrown off by this... http://ifca.net/download/Academic-All-State-Announcement.pdf

Great! Thanks for the info.

Has the academic all-state list been released yet? The IFCA website says it was to come out the week of December 17th, but I haven't seen anything mentioned or a list posted. Anyone know?

He'd get my vote if I had one.

Ron Brown left Triton because Elwood came calling. They came with the intention of getting the guy they wanted and were not prepared to to take no for an answer. Good for him!

I have not heard any updates at Triton. I believe one assistant has been approached about taking over. That's what I would like to see happen. But I would not be surprised to see the job opened up to outside applicants. Triton loses a lot of talent off the 2018 team. It might be an uphill battle in the short-term for a new coach with a new system.