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We have 2 rematches on tap this week. Judson handled LaVille in week 2 and NM beat Triton by a score in week 9. Taylor lost to Carroll 35-0 in week 3.

Sectional finals week. Here we go! Friday, Nov. 8 LaVille at North Judson, 7:30 pm Taylor at Pioneer, 7 pm Triton at North Miami, 7 pm

According to the Pharos Tribune, Van Meter and Rans had over 470 yards rushing... in the first half!!! That's an really bad look for Carroll. How can they be 10-0 and get destroyed like that? Were they missing some guys?

North Judson at Culver - Judson might get a bit of a game next week with LaVille, but this week is another glorified practice. Stay healthy. Blue Jays 62-6 Pioneer at Carroll - This is the most intriguing game of the week. I believe Carroll is as good as advertised, but Pioneer is always going to put up a fight. If the game were at the Pit I'd give the Panthers a bit more of a chance, but I think their 2024 season comes to an end this week. They'll be prepping for the 2025 season next week. And that should be a good one! Cougars 35-20 Southern Wells at Triton - Triton remains focused and won't have any trouble at all with the Raiders. Look for the running game to rack up some good numbers. Running clock in the second half again. Trojans 55-7 North Miami at Fremont - I don't think this will be much of a contest. Fremont is probably the 3rd best team in this sectional, but they're trailing the top two by a good margin. North Miami stays on track with a solid win. Warriors 35-14

Would love to see Pioneer take down Carroll!

Which HNAC teams will be playing for a sectional title next week? Who you got? Friday, Nov. 1 North Judson at Culver, 7:30 pm Pioneer at Carroll, 7 pm Southern Wells at Triton, 7 pm North Miami at Fremont, 7 pm

On to week 2. I was a little surprised by the Pioneer Caston score. I expected the Panthers to run away with that one. Makes me wonder if they'll be able to give Carroll much resistance. Triton was focused and ready to play. Southwood's only score came on an 80 yard run against the JV defense. Granted, the Knights were playing with a freshman backup QB. But this was no contest from the opening kick. Should be much the same next week for the Trojans. All the other HNAC winners won easily. Culver must have played pretty well! Good for them.

Most have been saying since before the season started that North Judson will represent the north. They've done everything to support that opinion since the Knox game in week one. Madison Grant has been the surprise team. I would have guessed Triton would be the North Judson opponent in semi-state, but Madison Grant's resume is impressive! Now I think the Jays will have to go through Fairmount to get to Indy.

South Newton at North Judson - The goal here is to execute cleanly out of the gate and stay healthy. This is one of those games the folks lobbying for a tournament qualifier system use to make their point. Blue Jays 63-0 South Central at Culver - A lot of big plays in last week's matchup. I think this week it will be more of a grind-it-out type of game. That suits Culver better and I think they take this one at home. Cavaliers 26-20 Pioneer at Caston - If Pioneer gets some guys back, this one will be decided early. I don't expect the Comets to hang around long. Running clock in the 4th. Panthers 42-7 Taylor at Winamac - This one should be a pretty good game. From their highlights, it appears that Taylor has some pretty good athletes. If Winamac can control the line, they can win this one. But I'm leaning toward the visitors in a pretty tight game. Titans 21-14 Southwood at Triton - Triton has to be pretty disappointed with last week's result. They struggled early and couldn't claw their way back. While I think this is the type of game some teams in Triton's position could take too lightly, I don't think the Trojans will fall into that trap. They'll come out focused and take control from the start. Triton 49-14 Blackhawk at North Miami - See South Newton / Judson game above. Warriors 54-0

I agree with you! Southwood might be 0-9, but they would likely have won 3 games in the HNAC. This is a trap game for the Trojans. They SHOULD win easily, but they can't just cruise through this week.

First round of sectional play this week. Here are the games: Friday, Oct. 25 South Newton at North Judson, 8 pm South Central at Culver, 7:30 pm Pioneer at Caston, 7 pm Taylor at Winamac, 7 pm Southwood at Triton, 7 pm Blackhawk at North Miami, 7 pm

I wasn’t able to take in any of the games last night so I don’t know the details, but kudos to North Miami for getting it done on senior night. And I’m impressed that Pioneer put up 3 scores on the Jays! A couple of good performances last night.

It's the final week of the regular season. My picks for this week... Culver at South Central - I'll take Culver in this one. I think they are the more physical team and will move the ball on the Satellites. SCUM will put up some points too, but I don't think they'll be able to hold the Cavs in check. Cavaliers 34-20 North Judson at Pioneer - I would love to see Pioneer upset the Jays forcing the HNAC into a 3-way tie for the title. But I just don't see that happening. Judson is just too good in all phases and will shut down the Panther offense. I think it's a running clock and a shutout. Blue Jays 38-0 Triton at North Miami - This is the game to watch for this week. North Miami has been impressive and their running stats are outstanding! But Triton's strength is running defense and they'll have a game plan to slow down the Warriors. This will likely be a one possession game and could hinge on either team's mistakes. The winner this week will have momentum heading toward a sectional final rematch. Trojans 31-21 Winamac at Caston - This could be another pretty good game this week! Caston may have a little more experience at some positions than Winamac. But the Warriors are bigger and I think they'll control the line. Winamac wins this one to stake their claim to the top of the bottom half of the conference. Winamac 27-14 A lot of spoiled Senior Nights this week...

I want to publicly give recognition to Rodney Younis. No one in the Triton community has been as faithful and given sacrificially to Triton athletics as much as this man. Younis took over the reigns as the head football coach in 2002. His teams took their lumps competing against many larger schools in the old Northern State Conference. In spite of that, he led the Trojans to sectional titles in 2007 and 2008. In 2013 he retired from coaching football and handed over the team to John Johns, who coached for two years before unexpectedly resigning just before the start of the 2015 season. Younis stepped up when the team needed it and joined forces with Ron Brown to return to the sidelines. Together they led the Trojans to two sectional title games, winning the 2018 crown. When Coach Brown moved on to accept an administrative position at another school, Younis stepped up to resume the head coaching duties for another four seasons before stepping away to focus on his role as Athletic Director, giving Coach Whittaker his opportunity. Now, under difficult circumstances, it's once again Rodney Younis stepping up for the sake of the kids! I know many schools have coaches like Coach Younis, but I just want to say how grateful I am that Triton has a guy that gives of himself so sacrificially for the good of our kids. Kudos to you, Coach Younis! We're blessed to have you in our community! Thanks for your sacrificial service to our student athletes!

This is heartbreaking for the Triton community. Glad Younis can jump in and give some stability through the end of the season. Hopefully the boys will pull together and not allow this to ruin the good thing they have going this year.

Yup, I agree with you. It seemed some of the Pioneer guys were pretty winded in the second half. Although they gutted out that last drive in the 4th quarter to pull within a score. I could see Rans breaking a big one and putting Pioneer on the board, but I just don't think they'll be able to move the ball with any consistency against that Bluejay defense.

I'm wondering if anyone thinks Pioneer can hang with Judson. Harrell has the Jays winning 42-21. If that holds up I would give Pioneer a ton of credit for keeping it respectable! I tend to think this is another running clock win for NJ, but who knows. Maybe the Panthers will hang around.

It appears there are some pretty good games this week! Friday, Oct. 18 Culver at South Central ©, 7 pm North Judson at Pioneer ©, 7:30 pm Triton at North Miami ©, 7 pm Winamac at Caston ©, 7 pm What do you think?

A good game by two pretty good 1A teams last night! Both had long scoring drives and both had a couple of big plays. No turnovers, but some damaging penalties for both teams. I think both teams have a couple of injuries they're dealing with, but that's pretty typical for late in the season. Pioneer's roster is pretty small and they don't appear to be very deep. I thought they looked pretty tired by midway in the 2nd half. But that's just the nature of 1A football. I think Judson will win pretty easily next week. Triton will have their hands full with North Miami. And then it's on to the tournament.

Final Triton 28 Pioneer 21

Halftime Triton 14, Pioneer 7

Caston at North Judson - This should be another running clock shutout by the Bluejays. It sets up a regular season finale against Pioneer, which will have a bearing on the HNAC championship. Hopefully the Jays can stay healthy for their tournament push. Bluejays 56-0 North Miami at Culver - I don't expect this one to be close, but I think the Cavs will get on the board. If they can score on Triton and Pioneer, they should be able to put up some points on North Miami. But NM will control the line of scrimmage and win this one going away. Warriors 35-14 Pioneer at Triton - This is the game of the week in the HNAC, and maybe one of the best 1A games in the state! I expect this one to go down to the wire! The winning team will be the one that plays mistake-free football for 48 minutes. Every drive will be significant in this one. I'm taking the Trojans at home on senior night. A Workman field goal will be the winning margin. Trojans 24-21 South Central at Winamac - The Satellites will throw it around all night long! They'll surely hit on a couple of big plays, but Winamac will win this one in the trenches. I look for both teams to put up points. Warriors 34-20

Games for week 8: Friday, Oct. 11 Caston at North Judson ©, 7:30 pm North Miami at Culver ©, 7 pm Pioneer at Triton ©, 7 pm South Central at Winamac ©, 7:30 pm

Things went according to expectations last night it seems. I assume the Winamac score was against the JV defense. Or did the Bluejays give up a legit defensive score? Triton was ahead 42-0 at the half and cruised in the second half. Workman had a big night. Culver put up more points on Pioneer than I expected. I know one was on a 70+ yard run. How did the Cavs get their other points? No surprise on the NM South Central score. The next couple of weeks should have some interesting matchups, beginning with Pioneer and Triton next Friday.

Plymouth! Wow!