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Wow!  What a night for the HNAC winning 6 of 7 possible games.  I would say every team met or exceeded expectations!  Great job by Caston and Culver to come up big in their games.  Knox with a convincing win!  LaVille gutting out their W.  Triton cruised as expected.  Judson looked good as they took down the Panthers.  

Knox at Lakeland - Lakeland will be one of the best teams Knox has played so far this year.  Sagarin has them right up there with Glenn, LaVille and Triton.  But I think Knox is a notch better than all those teams.  Redskins 36-21

Andrean at LaVille - This is the year LaVille gets past their nemesis!  Not that Andrean is any worse than normal.  I just think LaVille finds a way to win at home.  Lancers 24-21

Winamac at Central Catholic - Winamac's season ends in Lafayette.  Winamac is definitely an improved team since early in the season, but Central Catholic is just too good.  Knights 42-0

Pioneer at North Judson - Probably the game of the night for HNAC teams!  Pioneer stepped it up this year for sure!  But injuries hurt them, and even with the return of Toloza, I don't think it will be enough to extend their season.  I'm going with the home team.  Blue Jays 28-16

Triton at North Newton - Here's a game for those who want seeded sectionals.  It's 1 vs 8 in a showdown!  Trojans 55-0

Culver at South Central - This could be close for a half, but the Satellites will pull away in the 2nd half, mercifully ending the season for the Cavs.  Satellites 34-13

Caston at North White - I think Caston has what it takes to win this game if they play focused and confident football!  They should get a boost from playing the Vikings close in week 6.  I'm going with the upset.  Comets 22-14

I'm not a proponent of a qualifying playoff system that limits the playoff teams to the top half of each class, but interestingly enough, Caston would make the playoff cut in that scenerio even with a 1-8 record (according to Sagarin).  

Opening Week Games:

1. Beech Grove @ Muncie Central

2. Culver Academy @ Lowell

3. Hobart @ New Prairie 

4. Pendleton Heights @ Greenfield-Central 

5. Danville @ Tri-West

6. Lawrenceburg @ Centerville

7. Scottsburg @ North Harrison 

8. Twin Lakes @ Boone Grove 

9. Western Boone @ North Montgomery 

10. Andrean @ LaVille

11. Bluffton @ Alexandria

12. Eastbrook @ Frankton 

13. Evansville Mater Dei @ Tell City

14. Greencastle @ North Putnam 

15. Sullivan @ Southmont 

16. Clinton Prairie @ Covington 

17. North Miami @ Southern Wells

18. Pioneer @ North Judson 

Harrell's Predictions for this week:

PREDICTION: Knox, 35-28.

PREDICTION: LaVille, 24-21.

PREDICTION: Central Catholic, 38-10.

PREDICTION: North Judson, 28-24.

PREDICTION: Triton, 59-0.

PREDICTION: South Central, 38-24.

PREDICTION: North White, 35-24.

Harrell has the HNAC going 4-4.

I won't be shocked if Caston pulls out the upset.  These two played a one score game a few weeks back and the Comets are battle tested playing in the HNAC.

Carroll should win this sectional easily.

Here are the final conference standings.  I think my biggest surprise is seeing North Judson at 4-3 in the conference.  They played everyone tough and could have easily won a couple more with some breaks going their way.  LaVille found a way to win some really close games and came up just short against Knox.  But congrats to Knox for running the table and taking home the hardware.  Most of us thought they would be right up near the top, but they proved to be better than I expected.  

Triton beating NJ like they did was probably the most surprising single game outcome for me.  If they meet again it won't go like that a second time!  Even though Sagarin has Triton a score or so better than both Judson and Pioneer (and ahead of LaVille), I think Sectional 41 is a toss up for any of those three.  I believe the Trojans would get either Pioneer or North Judson at home in the sectional final, so that might give Triton a bit of an edge.

Overall, the final year of the current HNAC configuration was a really competitive year!  Maybe the most balanced year since the formation of the conference.  It was really a lot of fun following the games each week!  Good luck to all teams in their sectionals, and to Knox and LaVille as they join the INSC beginning next year!

I watched the film of the Pioneer / Judson game.  It looked like it was pretty sloppy, both the wet field and the undisciplined play.  Lots of penalties on both sides!  And the turnovers hurt Pioneer.  Hopefully both teams can play a little cleaner game this week.

I'm hoping this is LaVille's year to get past the 59ers!  

Triton up on Winamac 28-0 still in the first. 

Culver at LaVille - Despite the weather, this should be a good senior night for the LaVille crowd.  Hoping everyone stays health as LaVille romps over the Cavs.  Lancers 51-0

Knox at Caston - This will be decided early and finish with a running clock.  McLaughlin will have a crazy big night!  (Isn't is incredible what that guy has done!  School career rushing record in his sophomore season!  Wow!)  Six TD's and 5 conversions.  Redskins 46-0

North Judson at Pioneer - Getting Toloza back is great for the Panthers!  And this week should help the frosh QB get a little more comfortable under center.  You always want to win every game, but this week is about preparing for next week.  However, I think Pioneer will play with a little more intensity at home and win this one by going 2-3 on 2 point conversions, ending the Jay's regular season with a disappointing 4-5 record.  Panthers 22-21

Triton at Winamac - After pummeling Culver and handing West Central their only loss, it sounds like the Warriors had a little trouble hanging onto the ball last week against Caston.  It could have been a much larger margin.  Unfortunately Winamac got a nasty draw having to head to Lafayette to meet up with the LCC Knights.  That won't go well.  So this week is Winamac's chance to turn some heads.  I think they'll play inspired ball and make this a decent game, even without their main RB.  But Triton should have plenty of weapons to take this one on the road.  Trojans 28-14

I'm really intrigued by these two Pioneer / North Judson matchups.  I don't think there's any reason for either team to hold anything back for next week.  They have played each other enough to know what the other team wants to do.  

I am wondering if these two might look to move their regular season game to a week earlier in the season next year when the conference adds two new opponents.  It's certainly not ideal to play a team two weeks in a row.  And this would be a good time to switch things up.  Does anyone know if next year's schedules are firmed up yet?

Harrell's predictions for this week:

jh PREDICTION: LaVille, 49-7.

jh PREDICTION: Knox, 42-10.

jh PREDICTION: Pioneer, 28-27.

jh PREDICTION: Triton, 31-17.

53 minutes ago, CoachDurham said:

I believe they are confusing All-Stars and All-State.

All-Stars are required to have so many 1A and 2A players on the North/South Teams. There is no minimum on actual region teams.

All-State is usually selected based on Sectionals then nominated up from those reps.

Good to know, Coach!  Thanks for straightening me out!  This actually makes a selection to the all-region team from 1A & 2A schools mean a lot more!  

How many HNAC teams have a reasonable shot to be sectional champs?  It appears that all but Triton have tough games in the first round!

5 minutes ago, FarmerFran said:

IFCA All State players are selected by region regardless of class size. The coaches in a specific region get together and nominate their players and give a spiel on why the player is deserving and then all of the coaches vote. When fans wonder why player xyz did not make the team, sometimes it is as simple as the coach didn't show up to represent. Other times it is due to better players at the specific position. 

Can't speak on the AP process.

I believe the IFCA regions require that a certain number of the players be from 1A & 2A schools so the teams are not completely dominated by kids from larger schools.  And the players for the annual all-star game are selected from the IFCA list of region all-stars. 

In addition to this list, there is also an AP All-State by class and a Coaches All-State by class.  I assume both of those have representatives scattered around the state who vote. 

Interesting that all of these all-state teams are done by position.

1 minute ago, Oldschool said:

So let’s hear it Fine Print. Your top 22 by position plus a punter and a kicker!

Not a coach.  I don't get a vote.

12 minutes ago, Oldschool said:

So if that’s the case, can a player be all conference at multiple positions since many of the HNAc ply both ways as well as kick and punt?

Yes, if you really want to recognize the BEST players at each position, then you let them win on both sides of the ball and special teams.  But since I'm a reasonable guy, I would be willing to limit a player to winning at only one position if that makes everyone feel better.  It waters it down a bit in my opinion, but it's a compromise I could live with.

14 minutes ago, Oldschool said:

The higher you place in conference standings,  the more players you can nominate for the all conference team.

In my humble opinion, HNAC all-conference is a joke.  It in no way reflects the best players at any position.  It's simply coaches choosing who they want to have the honor from their own teams.  Whatever happened to coaches voting on the best player at each position to be all-conference?  If you happen to be the second best player in the conference, but the best player also plays your position, then you aren't all-conference!  Sorry.  

I think all-conference offense should be 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 center, 2 guards, 2 tackles.  Coaches vote on the best.  They are the all-conference team.  Period.  If you want to vote on a second team, fine.  But giving every team X number of players (regardless of the position they play) based on their finish doesn't mean nearly as much to me.  It doesn't truly represent the best players in the conference.  

The Judson / Pioneer game should be a good one, but it really doesn't matter who wins it.  Next week is when it matters.  I found it interesting that the frosh QB started last Friday rather than Hill.  Is he the QB going forward?  Or should we expect Rans back this week?

The Triton / Winamac game will be much closer than some might expect.  Winamac is a different team these last few games.  I would guess maybe a 2 score game, especially with rainy weather on Friday night.  Shively is much more effective when the playing conditions are favorable.  

4 minutes ago, Madvamp said:

Knox only has around 40 kids on the team. There are 5 to 7 that go both ways. 

Oh wow!  I would have guessed maybe 3-4 guys playing both sides.  Thanks for the info!  Hoping for a good game tonight!  Welcome to the GID @Madvamp

Caston at Winamac - It's obvious Winamac has improved since early in the season.  Sounds like the coaching staff is making some changes to utilize guys a little better.  I'm taking the Warriors in a low-scoring affair.  Caston will make a game of it for sure!  Warriors 14-8

LaVille at North Judson - Senior night for the Bluejays!  They'll play inspired ball after getting embarrassed last week in Bourbon.  They'll be working on pass D all week to prepare for Plummer.  As others have said, NJ looked pretty one-dimensional on offense last week and LaVille has the bodies to stuff the run.  The Jays will need to be able to spread it out to score on the Lancers.  Weeks ago I would have had North Judson winning this one.  But today I'm going with LaVille.  Lancers 31-21

Pioneer at Culver - Pioneer easily in this one, even if their playmakers need another week to heal up.  This is the blowout of the night.  Panthers 44-6

Triton at Knox - I've been waffling on this one all week.  Triton's ailing running back should return this week.  That should help the running game out.  But I think Triton has to be able to pass the ball to make this a game.  That means the O-line will have to play well in pass protection, and Shively will need to throw some great balls!  (Which he is very capable of doing!)  Knox averages 40 and gives up 13.  Triton averages 30 and gives up 14.  Something has to give on Friday night!  The Trojans seem to rise up when I doubt them, so I'm going with the home team on Senior Night.  Redskins 28-21

18 minutes ago, Trojan67 said:

It was obvious that Judson was more worried about the run. They did a really good job at keeping the run in front of them, but Triton's big shots down the field in the passing game killed them. 

That ain't gonna happen against the Knox D.  They'll be ready.

I'm curious how many guys Knox has going both ways.  I assume they have more depth and can platoon a little more effectively than the 1A schools in the conference.

Harrell Predictions:

jh PREDICTION: Winamac, 24-21.

jh PREDICTION: LaVille, 28-21.

jh PREDICTION: Pioneer, 45-14.

jh PREDICTION: Knox, 35-21.

I'm not sure they'll be any really good games this week.  I hope the Trojans can hang around with Knox, but I'm not too confident.

The Caston/Winamac game might be a close one.

LaVille fans will be cheering for Triton Friday night!  

1 hour ago, Culverfan04 said:

What happened here this score surprises me 

Shively happened.  4 passing TDs.  1 rushing TD.  2 INTs.

Culver at Caston - Caston has had a tough go of it this year!  But they have also shown some good signs against good teams.  They'll be rewarded with a nice win this week over the struggling Cavaliers.  Comets 27-6

Knox at Pioneer - The Redskins will handle the Panthers.  The margin depends on who plays for Pioneer.  At full strength it's one score.  Missing guys it's 3.  I don't think they'll play everyone.  Redskins 35-14

LaVille at Glenn - This game won't be extremely close, but I don't know which team will play well and which team will lay the egg.  I'm guessing the Falcons play with passion on Falloween Weekend!  Falcons 28-14

North Judson at Triton - This should be the closest game of the week.  Sagarin has them about as even as you can get.  Factor in the home field and you get Triton winning a squeaker.  But I still think the Trojans will be down a body or two, so I'm going with the visitors on Senior Night.  Bluejays 21-17

Winamac at West Central - Going with the upset here.  I think Winamac is turning it around and they'll knock off the previously unbeaten Trojans.  Warriors 20-14

Good luck to all HNAC teams this week.  Play strong and stay healthy.