FlyingHigh

1 hour ago, NE8Fan said:

AC will be the team to beat until dethroned.  3 straight crowns and 6 of the last 8.

I think it could be a 4 (even 5 depending who Woodlan hires) horse race behind them.

SW is getting better but will still be at the bottom I believe.

I have said it before but I wish there was more of a push for Bellmont to join the ACAC.  I understand the hesitation with our very strong wrestling and volleyball programs but those programs could still play weekend tournaments to prepare them for the postseason.

The ACAC would be a good fit for them in most sports. They would've struggled to win a football game this year outside of Southern Wells and maybe Woodlan depending on when the game was played. Conference play isn't as big of an issue in sports like wrestling, volleyball, baseball, basketball, etc. due to the size of the schedule in those sports. Wrestling is honestly the sport that conference impacts the least due to the nature of the sport's schedule. I can't imagine there would be much support in the Bellmont community to join the ACAC, though. 

The gap in the ACAC will likely be smaller in 2024 than in the last few years, but I still expect AC to win the conference. AC will have a bunch of new faces in new spots, but I think they still have the talent and system to reload. A lot of their success will hinge on the development of the Soph QB Roach. Who replaces Bluhm, Currie and Wurm? They likely don't have anyone on the roster who will truly replace those guys, so can the team find a different way to be successful? Should be a fun season to watch play out.

I think Bluffton will be the 2nd best team in the conference. They lose a decent amount of starters, but they have some really good athletes returning at RB. Heritage lost a lot of seniors, so their upcoming classes will need to fill a bunch of spots. I expect them to be decent, though. 

From there? I imagine SA will be the next best because I think they have one of the best programs in the conference and they'll find a way to succeed regardless of talent on the roster. I don't know how much they have coming back, but replacing Wanner will be the top priority I'm sure.

2 minutes ago, GoIrish01 said:

Luers beat NP 40-3

Heritage Hills beat NP 10-0

 

by your logic Luers is 30 points better than the 3A runner up they lost to Chatard by 28, does that mean Luers would be the clear 3A champ?

 

The transitive property doesnt apply to sports and its kinda cringe to claim that you'd clearly be the champ of a high division when you don't win your own. AC had an amazing season and has a ton to be proud of but this isn't a good look.

I think it means they could definitely beat heritage hills. Direct comparisons aren’t always a guarantee to be accurate, I agree with that. I do however think that AC would beat luers. We don’t have to agree. Glad for Luers, though. Fortunately snider and Luers were able to represent the 260 well, as did the Jets, just in a losing effort. 

1 minute ago, CatholicFootball10 said:

The disrespect to some of the teams in 2A, especially in the North, is quite laughable. Good news for Lutheran and AC, they can prove thed be able to walk through 2A the next two years. 

It’s hardly disrespect when there are easy, direct comparisons

Just now, GoIrish01 said:

lol this is wild

How?

3 minutes ago, scarab527 said:

Think they’d be a toss up vs Leurs. 
 

AC would runaway with 2A as well. 

Lutheran and AC definitely win 2A. AC beat bluffton 24-0 and Luers won 15-7. I think providence and South Putnam win 2A as well. Holding Lutheran to 21 and 14 points is an incredible accomplishment. 

Proud of the AC guys for not giving up. That game went from potentially being a blowout to a one score game because of the determination of those young men. Watching this 2A game, it is clear to me that 1A was quite a bit stronger than 2A this year. AC beat Bluffton 24-0, Luers beat them 15-7. Luers is dominating North Posey. I think Lutheran, AC, South Putnam and Providence would all have won 2A this year and I don't know if a super strong argument can be made otherwise.

I can say with strong confidence that neither of these 2A teams would've given Lutheran a game at all.

4 Semi-state games, 4 home match-ups for NE Indiana teams! John Harrell predicts 4 teams repping the 260 in Lucas Oil next weekend. How do we feel about the games? 

AC finally gets to host North Judson after traveling up there the last 2 years. North Judson is a really good program and they appear to have grown throughout the season after some losses in the HNAC. I expect it to be a hard-hitting ballgame, but I think the Jets are able to do too much for the Bluejays to be able to stop it. This Jets defense is big, tough and fast. Assuming they play disciplined against the North Judson offense, the Jets should be making another trip to Lucas Oil next week.

North Judson's results have been weird this year. Competed really well with Knox who is playing for a chance to represent the 3A North at LOS. Lost to Culver Academy who doesn't look like they were very special this year. Lost to Triton big and then turned around and smoked them in sectional. I'm assuming they have dealt with some injuries??? It's hard to compare seasons, but the losses this year were wins last year with the exception of Laville. 

3 hours ago, Basementbias said:

Played great on defense and certain plays on offense. Others on offense we didn't execute very well, but mostly because Carroll was going to make sure they overplayed them.

I thought that both sides looked equally impressive. At this point in the tournament, we shouldn't expect a running clock to begin every 2nd half. Considering Carroll was the top scoring defense in the state (regardless of the weak SOS), I'd say the Jets did a solid job. The only thing that I was disappointed in was settling for 3 before halftime after 3 failed attempts from the 5. Hard to argue with 200 rushing yards from Bluhm and 128 passing yards from Hamilton against the Cougar defense. I'd say that Carroll's ability to get down into the AC redzone a time or two kept the Jets from reaching the running clock. Defense played great, so don't hear what I'm not saying. Total team effort and one of the best complete games that I've seen out of our guys for awhile.

Go Jets and I can't wait to see the town of Monroe enjoy hosting a semistate after 2 straight years of making the trip to North Judson. 

Adams Central over Carroll: I think it'll be a similar game to last year assuming the Jets are ready to strap it up and play physical football. I have no reason to think that they won't be ready. I imagine Carroll is better than last year, but I think the Jets are as well.

Bluffton over Luers: Some people may think this is an upset, but I think that Bluffton will surprise some people. Bluffton would beat Busco and Eastside by several scores and Luers struggled with both. I imagine Luers just wasn't mentally ready and the scores don't reflect their actual superiority over those teams in terms of talent on paper. This game will be won up front. Bluffton is the only team that AC has played all year that has matched their physicality on both lines. Call me an ACAC homer, but I don't care.

Leo over Mississinewa: I don't know much about Ole Miss, but I know that Leo has some special players and their 2nd year coach looks like his kids have bought into his system.

Snider over Mishawaka: Rematch of last year's regional where Snider won by 14.

On 11/6/2023 at 8:41 AM, kdets89 said:

Each of the 4 regional games this weekend is a rematch from last year.  When was the last time that happened, and will the results be the same?

Harrell Predictions:

North Judson over Park Tudor, 35-28:  Was D.J. Gordon available for this game last year?  Can North Judson shut him down this year?

Adams Central over Carroll, 31-24:  What does Carroll have to do to pull off the upset?

Sheridan over North Decatur, 31-24:  Only prediction I disagree with.  Game is at Sheridan, so if you're traveling from Greensburg, make sure all your taillights work, your license plate is current and keep it under the speed limit once you hit the Sheridan line.

Lutheran over Providence, 38-24:  Providence is having a great year, but has their schedule prepared them for the Saints?

I imagine Park Tudor will have a hard time with the physical run game of North Judson, so it'll come down to the Bluejays' ability to contain the QB. I expect North Judson to (finally) have to make the trip to Adams Central for the 3rd matchup in as many years between the two schools.

AC is able to attack teams on the ground and through the air (a few times a game), which makes them more dangerous than last year in my opinion. The defense will have to be ready to stop the run game again this week I imagine. They've done it well all year outside of 2 drives against Madison Grant last week. If they get off the bus ready to go, I feel good about their chances to make it to their 5th semistate appearance in 6 years.

Sectional Championship week! NE IN is guaranteed to have 3 sectional champions due to local match-ups, but I'm predicting 5 sectional champions from the area.

Fort Wayne North @ Snider (JH 38-17): I could see this one being a larger margin of victory for Snider than JH. North has had a difficult season and has gone a couple of weeks without playing a game. Snider rolls.

Dwenger @ Leo (JH 35-24): There's a separate thread for this one, so I'll just say that I see Leo winning this one by 2+ scores.

Delta @ Garrett (JH 28-17): Garrett will play hard and could give Delta a challenge, much like they did last year at Yorktown. Ultimately, I think that Delta's schedule prepared them better than Garrett's. Delta by 10+.

Luers @ Manchester (JH 35-14): Luers should be able to pick the score of this one, but the Knights have underperformed the last two weeks. I don't expect a close game here at all, but can they take a step forward to prep for regional?

Eastern @ Bluffton (JH 31-24): Bluffton should win by no less than 14 points in this one, setting up a regional rematch from last year with Luers. I think that Bluffton has a legit shot to beat Luers and make it to LOS.

Adams Central @ Madison-Grant (JH 35-21): I would be surprised if MG can score 21 points against AC's defense considering they haven't given up more than 10 points to a team all year. A vast majority of the points that have been scored against AC have been on the JV.  A 76-point total prediction by JH is surprising considering there may be no more than 5 pass attempts total in the game. The clock will be moving quickly.

Let's get this thread back to where it's designed to be and away from local small town drama/politics...

The game of the week in the north is the rematch between Triton and North Judson. Triton got the best of the Blue Jays in a big way in the regular season, but JH is predicting a 1-point margin this time around in favor of Triton. It looks like Park Tudor at North Vermillion could be a good one, but I don't know anything about these teams. I don't expect AC or Carroll to have any problems making it back to a regional rematch assuming they stay healthy and play relatively clean football.

It looks like there are a few good games in the south with North Decatur at Milan and Springs Valley at Providence. I don't know anything about these teams, but on paper it looks like a fun sectional final week.

6 hours ago, Indiansreloaded said:

Mississinewa and Madison-Grant are left out of the CIC.  Good luck to both teams.

 

Mississinewa vs Kokomo--This game is a rematch of last year but is at Mississinewa this year.  This will be a big test for both teams.  Like Columbia City, Kokomo spent a lot of the season ranked inside the top 5.  Mississinewa was ranked 5th in the final polls.  Both of these teams are very, very good.  Kokomo has played the tougher schedule with 5A and 6A teams included in their schedule.  Mississinewa on the other hand has only played 3 4A teams all season.  At the end of the game, Mississinewa pulls away and wins another sectional championship title.  

Madison-Grant vs Adams Central--AC is a very, very good team and have been to back to back state finals.  MG has played very well this year and may have the tougher schedule.  This game is going to be closer than what many think it will be.  With the game being at MG, this will play a factor.  MG is thirsty for a sectional title and this team has the capability of getting it done.  AC wants to make it a 3 peat to the state finals and are looking forward to achieving this goal.  If AC overlooks MG, it will be a very long night.  In the end, MG pulls out a narrow win.

I think the winner of both of these games have a good chance at playing Thanksgiving weekend.  

I don't doubt that MG is a team capable of winning a sectional title, but not sectional 44. Strength of schedule aside (JH has AC 59 spots ahead of MG in SOS), AC has a win that isn't too far from an MG comparison: the Jets beat Bluffton 24-0 in crappy weather (likely would have been more had AC not run the same 2-3 plays over and over) and Bluffton has beaten Alexandria and Eastbrook...both teams that have beaten MG. I haven't seen MG, so it's possible that comparison is irrelevant next week but I think it'll take more than a middling CIC team to knock off the Jets.

Looks like South Putnam challenged Lutheran down to the wire. What’s the word on this one? Was Lutheran just rusty from two straight weeks of byes or is South Putnam just that good?

Another week, another ACAC victory over a CIC opponent! The Jets will go for the trifecta next week.

5 hours ago, RingLeader said:

I thought I was complementing them as a team, I apologize. 
 

I didn't think you were not complementing the team. I just wanted to make the point that they have some special players as well. I hope to see Shively in semistate if AC gets there just to play someone other than North Judson.

54 minutes ago, RingLeader said:

Two cents worth:

have watched all the major players for 1A North. Think it comes down to four teams. No particular order

Triton.  
Triton’s Shively far and away best player and athlete. But he can’t do it alone.

Adams Central

AC most disciplined and prob best coached team. No real outstanding players but play great together. 
 

Carroll has some nice players and play some good defense but not sold as their schedule is really poor. Won’t know for sure till Regional. 
 

North Judson has prob the best 4-5 specimens you will see. Can their supporting cast plug the holes? 
 

 

I haven't seen Shively or any of the other teams in the north, so I'll have to trust your assessment of them. I will say that I hope the rest of the state thinks the way that you do in terms of AC not having outstanding players. Zac Wurm (he may not have played in the games that you've seen due to injury) and Keegan Bluhm are among the best in the state in terms of small school football and I'd argue that a there are several others on the team that would start for most, if not all, 1-3A schools.

11 minutes ago, FinePrint said:

Ha!  Didn't even think about the implications for Triton.  I don't think the Trojans can beat either AC or Carroll.  Maybe not even North Judson or Park Tudor!  (But I think we'll be okay against Culver.)

Why the lack of confidence after the big win against NJ in the regular season?

27 minutes ago, FinePrint said:

Caston at Carroll - Running clock to begin the second half.  Caston's season was made last week.  This week they'll find out how overmatched they are in the first 2 minutes.  I think Carroll has a chance to give Adams Central a run for their money in the Regional.  Carroll 63-0

Sounds like wishful thinking for Triton's state chances to me, but I wouldn't mind if that's the case so we can see if AC is as real as I think they are.

14 minutes ago, Basementbias said:

Like the support but I'm never that confident. Hope we see those 2 in the 1A finals again. AC needs to get healthy & stay healthy.

Your lack of confidence is well-documented.... AC is as healthy as they've been all season with likely only one starter out. Things look a lot better with 78 back. There is a silver lining to the injuries this year...if someone goes down in the postseason, there are guys who have legit varsity experience. I would be surprised if anyone in the north legitimately has a chance to take down the Jets going into the 4th quarter of any of their upcoming games.

10 minutes ago, FinePrint said:

Won't Adams Central also bump to 2A if they make the finals of 1A again?  And if LCC can win the 2A regional, 1A will be WIDE OPEN in 2024.

Yep, you're right. Both Lutheran and AC will bump up to 2A if they make it to state. 1A should definitely be wide open next year.

33 minutes ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

They had a move in that was bigger than their big back, so they moved the big back to HB and the move in to FB I'm pretty sure. Maybe its flipped the other way around. All I know is they got a stud move in over the summer.

I'm fairly certain that the fullback from last year (#8) is still their fullback. Hard to tell what stats look like because, like AC, Carroll doesn't post anything on MaxPreps.

20 minutes ago, khayward said:

Mostly wishful thinking coming out of Sheridan...

Do not know much about AC or what they do other than the few highlights on MaxPreps and their reputation the last few years.

I've seen Carroll in action, pretty impressive size and speed. Do not see many weak points... They seem to be pretty similar too AC in a lot of ways.

I imagine a defensive grind and offenses fighting for 1st downs all the way down the field (1 big play could be the difference), advantage to whoever is ahead in the 4th Q... I think Carroll keeps it a lot closer than the Sagarin spread prediction of AC -14

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 have limited knowledge of any of the 4a-6a NE IN team's chances of winning sectional, but I can provide some smaller class coverage and we'll see if we get the larger class perspectives...

3A: Heritage should definitely cruise to the sectional championship game, although Garrett won't be a pushover physically. How are we feeling about their chances against Yorktown or Delta? It looks like Heritage would host Delta, but would be on the road for Yorktown since their first 2 tournament games are on the road. For what it's worth, JH has Heritage as the favorites for sectional 27.

2A: We should have a fun NE IN matchup for a regional championship in a couple weeks, as I expect Bluffton and Bishop Luers to win their respective sectionals. Busco put a scare into Luers. Eastside is likely much better than Busco, so Luers will need to come ready to play and I expect they will. Bluffton has strung together two nice wins after dropping two straight ACAC games. I think Bluffton is really good and will pick them over Luers in regional. JH has Bluffton as the most likely team from the north to make it to LOS. No matter who makes it to semistate, there are a few teams on the other half of the north that look to be tough. LCC and Rochester play this week in one of the better matchups across the state and Laville finally got over the Andrean hump.

1A: If the Jets don't return to LOS, it'll be a surprise. It looks like they'll be on the road for awhile and there will be some good teams along the way between Madison Grant, Carroll Flora and whoever comes out of other half of the north (Triton, North Judson or Park Tudor). AC has beaten the current 3A sectional 27 favorites (according to JH) and the current favorites to make it to state from the 2A north by a combined score of 62-0. Despite some weaker teams on the schedule, they have taken care of business against good teams even if it did take a while to score against Bluffton. The defense has played lights out. Adams Central has a tougher SOS than North Judson and Triton surprisingly and a much tougher SOS than Carroll Flora. I trust that the Jets will show up in the big games from here on and will have a chance to take down Lutheran in their 3rd attempt in as many years. 

I think Bluffton is going to surprise some people from the CIC.