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Caston will win some games this year! I was impressed with how physical they were and they have a couple very nice players. Triton was up 17-0 with 7:00 to go in the 1st quarter and Caston outplayed the Trojans for the remainder of the game. A very uninspired performance by Triton. But credit the Comets. They played hard.

If the line is THAT good, you could throw the art teacher back there and she could get 5 yards a crack!! Ha!! Seriously though, things look bright for the next few years for the Panthers. And with LaVille and Knox making their exit after this year, the path to the HNAC title is a lot easier.

Caston at Triton - The Trojans will have too much offensive firepower for the Comets to corral. Another long night for Caston fans. Triton 42-7 Knox at Culver - The Redskins will have too much offensive firepower for the Cavaliers to corral. A long night for Culver fans. Knox 42-0 North Judson at Culver Academy - I'm going with the Jays here. It could be close, but I see Knox and North Judson meeting next week with a lot on the line, including undefeated regular season records. North Judson 28-14 Pioneer at LaVille - Even though the Panthers are young, they remember the beatdowns their teams have received from the Lancers in the last two meetings. The boys from Royal Center will be ready for some revenge. I'm going with Pioneer and I'm not calling it an upset. Pioneer 27-24 Winamac at North White - Winamac has a history of putting up a lot of points on the Vikings D. But I think fortunes are reversed this year. Winamac will get their first points of the season, but in a losing effort. North White 28-13

As I watched the Triton / LaVille game Friday night, I saw something I had never seen in a high school game. LaVille attempted a "Fair Catch Kick" as time expired in the second quarter. Triton punted from deep in their own territory and the LaVille returner executed a fair catch at around the 50 yard line with 6 seconds left. LaVille informed the officials they wanted to attempt a free kick and lined up in kickoff formation where the ball was spotted on the field. The Triton defenders were placed 10 yards from the line of scrimmage and the LaVille kicker was given a chance to kick a free kick in an attempt to make a field goal. He was allowed to place the ball on a kickoff tee. The kick fell well short, but I suppose it was worth a try! Triton did have a return man deep, but the ball crossed the goal line, so I assume he was unable to return it by rule. Follow the link for Wikipedia's explanation of a fair catch kick. Interesting play! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_catch_kick

Looks like there could be a couple of good games this week... Friday, Sep. 1 Caston at Triton ©, 7 pm Knox at Culver ©, 7:30 pm North Judson at Culver Academy, 7:30 pm Pioneer at LaVille ©, 7:30 pm Winamac at North White, 7 pm

The winner of the Knox / Judson game takes home the hardware. I wasn’t that impressed with LaVille. Triton had a handful of mistakes that cost them the game. LaVille wasn’t what we have seen out of LaPaz in the last few years.

LaVille 13 Triton 13 half

Friday, Aug. 25 Caston at North Judson - No trouble for Judson this week. They will roll over the Comets and prep for a more formidable opponent in Culver Academy next week. Blue Jays 49-0 Culver at South Central - After seeing South Central last Friday, I think they have enough offensively to score on the Cavs. I'm giving them the nod at home this week. Satellites 20-12 Knox at Maconaquah - Knox will be tested a bit this week by the Braves who put up a lot of points on Southwood last Friday night. But they should have enough to get another W. Redskins 28-21 Pioneer at Winamac - I won't be a believer in the Winamac Warriors until I see them win something. But I'm a believer that Pioneer is on their way back to the top of the conference. (Next year) Pioneer will beat Winamac with a methodical lesson in Wing T efficiency. Panthers 27-7 Triton at LaVille - I would like to think this is the game of the week, but I really don't know how good either teams is. I was surprised by LaVille's smallish offensive output at Bremen last week. Is the Lion's defense good? Or will it take the Lancers a few weeks to find their footing? Shively was good running the ball last week, but he'll need to add a passing game against LaVille to keep the Lancer defense honest. This should be a better game than Harrell is predicting. (jh PREDICTION: LaVille, 31-3) But I'll take LaVille at home. Lancers 21-17

Friday, Aug. 25 Caston at North Judson ©, 7:30 pm Culver at South Central, 7:30 pm Knox at Maconaquah, 7:30 pm Pioneer at Winamac ©, 7 pm Triton at LaVille ©, 7 pm

I just took a few minutes and watched the Pioneer / Cass replay. I have to say that I agree with your assessment of Cass. They aren't winning the TRC this year as some have speculated. They just didn't impress me at all. That said, Pioneer ran their wing T pretty well and that in itself will give some teams fits. But ya, the Panthers are a year away from being at the top of the HNAC. Also watched some of the Judson / Culver game and the Jays looked good. Granted, it's Culver they're playing. But they will definitely compete for the HNAC title this year.

Congrats to Pioneer on the win over Cass! In my mind, that instantly makes them a player for the HNAC crown. I don't think they'll win it, but they will be a factor in who does. Triton was not as explosive offensively as I expected them to be. They were solid and moved the ball well. I just thought we would see some home runs, but it was a lot of singles with a few doubles scattered in here and there. But disciplined teams can win a lot of games that way!

This first week is always a mystery. But here are my guesses for this week: LaVille at Bremen - Gotta go with the Lancers here. I doubt if Bremen is as bad as some of their supporters on here are saying. But LaVille should compete for the HNAC title and they'll get a good tune up for conference play this week. Lancers 28-14 Cass at Pioneer - I'm sure Pioneer will be improved this year, but I don't see them outscoring Cass this week. Kings 21-14 North Judson at Culver - Both of these teams lost some key spots to graduation, but I feel like NJSP probably has more to reload with. Blue Jays 35-7 South Central at Triton - I'm really curious to see who steps up for the Triton this year, especially in the trenches. The Trojans have some exciting skill position players returning from last year's solid team. The line will play a key role in their success this year. Triton should win this one going away. Trojans 42-8 West Central at Caston - I'm sure Caston will be improved this year, but I doubt they will be able to keep up with the Trojans. Trojans 28-0 Winamac at Knox - Knox is my early favorite to win the HNAC in their final season in the conference. They'll get off to a great start by running over the Warriors. I think Knox will score early and often. Redskins 49-13

He posted back in the spring that he felt called by God to pursue ministry over athletics.

I would think the top 4 from last year will be there again. But maybe not in that order. Could this be the year Knox runs the table? Don't they have a pretty good RB returning? Triton could have contended with Schuh, but without him they I'm not convinced they'll be contenting for the top. They do have a pretty good sophomore back to jump in! But I don't see him carrying the load like Schuh would have done. My early guess would put LaVille back at the top, followed by Knox and NJ.

The conference definitely takes a hit when it comes to level of competition. We lose two top half teams and pick up two that will likely finish bottom half most seasons. But teams like Triton and Culver suddenly become relevant in the conference title chase. I hope Triton can keep playing LaVille and Bremen as non-conference games. They are short drives and draw good crowds. And it's great competition for the Trojans. I would assume NJ and Knox will play. But I don't see Knox wanting to schedule anyone else in the HNAC. I'd love to see LaVille keep Triton and Pioneer. But I could see them scheduling Culver Academy and/or Mishawaka Marian if they really want to beef up their schedule.

Now that North Miami has officially announced their move to the HNAC, what do you all think about the way the conference membership has shaken out?

It appears Bremen, John Glenn and Jimtown have dumped Clay from their 2023 football schedule. Tippy Valley is reporting games with these future conference opponents on the weeks they have previously been scheduled to play Clay. I'm wondering if Clay is planning to field a team this fall. With the school closing at the end of the 2023-24 school year, maybe they have already given up on football.

They already have 5 games listed on Harrell's site and they could fill the rest with Tipton (week 4), Western (6), SB Washington (8) and Indy Lutheran (9), who all have week's open. I'd say that's a pretty decent schedule for pulling it together last minute!

I like the way this has worked out for Triton. Since Triton already plays South Central in football, we might be able to keep LaVille on the schedule after they leave. Our two non-conference games could be Bremen and LaVille. That would be ideal in my mind.

The HNAC has soccer too. Missed that one... From a competition and rivalry standpoint, I like Argos better than O-D for filling out the non-football conference spot.

Ya, I can't imagine things coming together much better than this for football.

Track, cross country, baseball and softball, wrestling, basketball, tennis, volleyball, golf. Basically everything but swimming and gymnastics. Not all schools participate in all sports.

I just saw a tweet announcing the South Central move. I like it from a football perspective. The HNAC looses a little ground in the level of competition with these moves, but North Miami and South Central make a lot of sense geographically.

So Lewis Cass leaves the Hoosier in a lurch in order to replace Valley in the TRC. The drama continues...

I understand the rivalry will remain, but playing in different conferences just isn't the same. I would have never guessed that Valley and Rochester would play in different conferences, that's all.