littledog

3 teams in the regional championship this week. Maybe LaVille and Knox didn't "need" the bigger conference to get them places.

LaVille and Knox taking on teams from the Hoosier Conference. Judson has a rematch with a private school in Indy. All 3 schools have winnable games but all 3 will have to play their best possible game and grind them out.

We have 2 HNAC vs Hoosier games this week. Can either of the small conference schools pull the upset?

LaVille will need their big boys up front to create havoc on both sides of the ball. If they can grind it out they have a chance. 

12 minutes ago, Oldschool said:

Triton got whooped at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

I was very surprised by Triton’s game plan. Not sure why they didn’t try to throw the ball deep more. 

Judson 33-7 final.

Too much smash mouth football.

Lot of game left but Judson is up 20-7 in the 4th.

game could be either way but Triton definitely getting out coached so far.

17 minutes ago, CoachDurham said:

I agree that both would have a shot against PT with their styles of play. But, do not underestimate PT talent even with their strength of schedule. Neither team has seen a QB with the talent of Gordon.

Ya I think PT is the biggest question of the tournament. They are hard to read with their schedule but that QB is the real deal.

Glenn @ Knox- Knox comes out with a sectional championship on Friday night. I previously said they would win out easily until they had a tough matchup with Hanover Central in the regioanals. They had a scare last week but Russ has them refocused.  42-20

Bremen @ LaVille- Lancers win in a grind out battle. Their defense steps up the whole game to win this for them. 13-0

Judson @ Triton- Triton has been making room in their trophy room since the week 7 beatdown. Can judson stop the onslaught? Maybe coach Lambert has made a trip to see his ole buddy in Rensselaer and learned the phonebooth offense to hold the ball all game.   Picking Judson due to being a homer. Score: 2-0 

11 hours ago, Trojan67 said:

Love the optimism @FinePrint, but I am inclined to disagree with you. 3 things that I have noticed about the Jays over the last 3 weeks compared to Triton.

1. Jays kicking game vs Triton's kicking. Triton takes the field position game, extra point game, and fg game all day. Field position will be the biggest factor in this game and the disadvantage is Judson.

2. Judson's offense vs Triton's offense. Judson has shown inconsistencies in the pass game all season. Understanding they are a run first team, the passing game has been has been throw the deep ball and pray that the receiver catches the ball. Triton has shown way more balance in both the running and passing game all season.

3. Defensively both teams have played lights out the last few weeks, no doubt. Unfortunately, I don't know how a 1 dimensional team can stop balance. 

Unless something dramatic happens where turnovers are a problem, I feel like this game absolutely goes to Triton. The score maybe different, but I don't think it will be that much different. 

Yeah, we know Judson are the underdogs and have to play a perfect game to keep it close. Maybe the bluejays can make it a 28-14 game instead.

26 minutes ago, Oldschool said:

I’ve said it a hundred times,  you could have the best skill players in the state but if your line is overmatched,  it will be extremely difficult to get anything accomplished.  It ALWAYS starts in the trenches and lineman NEVER get the credit that they deserve!  That being said, Shively is MUCH more effective out of the shotgun versus under center!  Triton needs dry weather to execute against better teams!

The rain dances have already started in Starke county. 🤣

13 minutes ago, FlyingHigh said:

Has Carroll improved quite a bit from last year's regional matchup and did they return many starters on both sides of the ball? I know the big back and QB are back. You could definitely tell that Carroll was not ready for Adams Central's level of competition last year, but that could have woken them up to what they'll have to do to compete against AC.

I just know that AC's strength of schedule is quite a bit tougher than Carroll's. I wouldn't say that AC's schedule was especially difficult at all, but the fact that their SOS is quite a bit more difficult than Carroll's leads me to believe they have not really been tested at all. Maybe we'll get an indirect comparison next week when Bluffton and Eastern will likely play each other in the sectional 36 final. AC beat Bluffton 24-0 in a tough battle in bad weather and Carroll handled Eastern 47-7.

I don't think Carroll will be much more ready for them this year compared to last. AC is just a much better football team.  

2 hours ago, FarmerFran said:

Knox

LaVille

Judson

Triton

Carroll

All these teams should win fairly easily.

Knox could be the only "close" one if they decide to overlook WN since WN barely beat Lakeland earlier in the year. I don't see that happening with Knox feeling like everyone is disrespecting them in the rankings all year.

35 minutes ago, mumm6866 said:

Then I’m sure it was as they took 4 of them. The problem started when the ref blew an early whistle when the QB wasn’t down yet. That started the events that took so long to figure out. They then replayed the down but Andrean coaches and fans didn’t seem to understand that 

All I know is that the radio guy was losing it at the end of the game when I turned it on. Lol

He was completed dumb founded by what was happening.

Judson up 40-14 in 4th

11 hours ago, Madvamp said:

I see what your saying, I just don't get  what makes them a 3 a school.  There's 38 boys on the team.  Guess we will find out starting this Friday if they're any good. Thanks for the reply. 

I guess you don't understand enrollment numbers? If we use that logic, all Carmel has to do is only allow 25 kids to be on the team and they can be 1a!

Knox at Lakeland- Knox is too disciplined. Think they win this game and win out until they meet Hanover in Regionals.
Andrean at LaVille- I think LaVille can take them this year but it won't be easy. 15-14
Winamac at Central Catholic- CC wins easily. 48-6
Pioneer at North Judson-  NJ pulls this one out. Pioneer looks to come out more physical than last time but having Sanchez and Kozecar clog the middle is the difference maker. 32-16
Triton at North Newton- Triton picks a score and starts prep for the top side of the bracket. 56-0
Culver at South Central- Culver wants a win. 24-22
Caston at North White-  Caston gets the revenge and the upset! 21-14

2 hours ago, Lancernation said:

Lost a ref early to an injury.  When that happens generally things go South. I don’t think they were bad calls in general, just decision making took a while.  Clock situation was not on the refs, sure they were as frustrated.  It wasn’t one sided so not home field intentional- it ran regardless who had the ball.  Just one of those bizarre games that left both sides a little bamboozled. Clock would start before ball set, ref would move ball, clock still ticking….it was one for the memory books🤪

Agreed, it wasn't one sided either way. The refs jus really struggled and it killed the pace of the game.

It's also one of the first high school football games where I don't remember a holding flag was called on either side. 

Culver at LaVille- LaVille can start their prep for Andrean without much worry of the Cavs.  35-0

Knox at Caston- HNAC champs win easy. Hopefully both teams stay healthy for the sectional run. 52-6

North Judson at Pioneer-  This game is about figuring out what works for round 1. Luckily for Judson, Pioneer doesn't pass a bunch. 28-14

Triton at Winamac- Triton rebounds after last weeks beat down. 34-20

LaVille beat Judson 23-20. Hard fought game by both teams. Kudos to both for their efforts tonight. CJ Sanchez makes a big difference for the jays. 

Another week where refs really struggled. Seems like it takes 30 minutes to discuss a call anymore. 

Caston at Winamac - Caston has better athletes but Winamac has the big boys up front. WC 28-14
LaVille at North Judson- Teams have started packing the box and forcing judson to beat them on the outside. Sometimes a good butt whooping will get the mind right but idk if they have enough. LV 28-6
Pioneer at Culver - Pathers finally get a break from the tougher part of the schedule. Pioneer 48-7
Triton at Knox- Knox's weakness is the pass defense but rain could help them out. Rain or not, still think they win by a couple scores. Knox 43-28

21 hours ago, Trojan67 said:

Caston at Winamac

The Comets get in the win column and saw a huge confidence boost last week hosting the Cavs. Winamac also has picked up a few nice wins and called their win last week against WC. I like the Comets in this game simply because of their linebackers. I believe Caston can pull out a huge win and continue building their confidence because they are tired of being bullied. Caston 36 Winamac 22

LaVille at North Judson

The name of the game this week is resiliency. After watching the Jays last week, speed killed them last week against Triton. For the Lancers, do they take big shots down field? Or do they allow the Jays to keep things in front of them and clobber the run game and keep things interesting? You cannot look past the Jays run defense. LaVille 35 Jays 21

Pioneer at Culver

Not much to say. I think the Panthers use this game to help clean things up and get kids healthy. Pioneer 54 Culver 0

Triton at Knox

All of the odds are stacked against the Trojans this week and I think spoiling the Redskins hopes of being the lone conference champion is on the hearts and minds of everyone in Bourbon. Knox is riding high right now and their confidence is at an all-time high for the progrum and the same is true for Triton. I talked about resiliency in my prediction for the LV and NJSP game. I think the same is true for both teams in this game and how they handle things on the field. With rain in the forecast on Thursday and possibly Friday night, this could be the difference maker. I am going to go out on a lomb here and say the Trojans win this game because of the odds. Trojans 24 Knox 20

I'm not sure how any of the HNAC games will go anymore. Just when I thought Judson was figuring it out, they went out and got slaughtered. 

Maybe this is all due to a potential return of Mighty Jones

Culver at Caston - This is the week for Caston. Caston 28-21
Knox at Pioneer-The conference needs Pioneer to get the upset but i don't think it's happening. Knox's big weekness is pass defense and Pioneer isn't going to sling it. Knox 35-14
LaVille at Glenn- If everyone came out of last week healthy, i think the Lancers cruise. LV 28-7
North Judson at Triton - I think this Judson team is starting to figure out their identity. Seeing the mobile QB this past week was a good warmup to the Triton game. Jays 37-24
Winamac at West Central- Winamac is probably the biggest team WC will play this year but i don't think the Warriors can pull it off. WC 28-14

On 9/16/2023 at 7:30 AM, Bobref said:

I was there. I guess this is a rivalry game of sorts. Winamac played like it. NJ, not so much.

Pretty much. Judson looked like they were at a funeral. They don’t have the size they normally do so if they aren’t playing all out they’ll have a tough week.

51 minutes ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

I agree with everything said here. The HNAC is more competitive as far as conference matchups go this year, but I don't think the teams are as strong as they were last year if that makes sense.

Agreed! Top 5 are all pretty competitive but quality isn't the same compared to last year. And that's not meant to be a slight, the top 3 last year were just very good teams.

Knox will have a tough run at their sectional.

I see Judson winning sectional but Regional will be ROUGH if they don't get healthy. Next year, Judson will be tough!

Laville is still a good team and will compete for the sectional. 

Pioneer is continuing to make progress. I haven't seen them yet but they seem to be getting back to old.

Triton is a decent 1a team but injuries have killed them. Triton folks take the Laville words to heart but 1a to 2a is a bigger jump than you think. 

Hammond @ Pioneer - Taking Hammond in a close one due to their school size but could see Pioneer winning this by a score or 2. 38-33

Glenn @ Knox - Knox comes out flat but pulls away late. 35-21

Laville @ Caston - Laville wins easily. Caston could go on a 3 game win streak starting next week. 30-6

Triton @ Culver - Even with all the injuries Triton rolls. 35-7

Winamac @ Judson -  jays 60-0

Bremen at Triton- This should be good game. Triton squeaks this one out. 28-20
Culver at West Central-  Culver has a chance of winning 2 games. It's this one or the Winamac game. Still think WC wins here. 28-7
North Judson at Knox- Even though Judson doesn't have the depth it's had in the past, i think they pull it out again. 26-20
Pioneer at Caston- Pioneer gets back in the win column. 35-14
Winamac at LaVille-Snoozer of the week. 41-0