NLCTigerFan07

That technicality will be for Andrean as they are a mile north of Merrillville. Would assume both teams will be down the night before their games, especially since both are on Central Time Zone. I suppose Merrillville could always come down the day of since their game is the last game on Friday night, with an estimated 6PM kickoff.

Thankfully (pun intended) work is slow so far today (and likely this week) and I was looking at the finalist for the state championship games this weekend, and had various thoughts around how interesting it was some matchups featured teams relatively close (Westfield vs. Brownsburg), and others that have quite the distance (Andrean vs. Brownstown Central). Well, I went and looked up those distances, along with some other "fun" tidbits. As the crow flies, shortest to furthest: 6A Westfield to Brownsburg = 20.97 miles 1A Pioneer to South Putnam = 95.67 miles 4A FW Dwenger to Roncalli = 112.28 miles 3A FW Luers to Cascade = 120.58 miles 5A Merrillville to New Pal = 144.45 miles 2A Andrean to Brownstown Central = 193.87 miles After looking those up, I realized we have 3 sets of finalist that are basically a stone's throw away from each other. 5A Merrillville to 2A Andrean = 1.10 miles (right down Broadway) 4A Dwenger to 3A Luers = 7.01 miles (right down Clinton Street) 3A Cascade to 1A South Putnam = 18.53 miles (right down US 40) And not necessarily geographic, but interesting to point out the various matchups that have already occurred this season between the state finalist, including two rematches. 8/22 - FW Dwenger @ Roncalli (Roncalli won 3-0) - STATE FINALS REMATCH 8/22 - Andrean @ Merrillville (Merrillville won 41-14) 8/30 - FW Luers @ Andrean (Andrean won 13-0) 9/26 - Brownsburg @ Westfield (Brownsburg won 14-10) - STATE FINALS REMATCH 10/3 - FW Dwenger @ FW Luers (Dwenger won 27-7)

Another late response - but I think context is always critical. Northridge started the season 0-6 against a touch schedule, but easily could have been 5-1, 4-2, or at worst 3-3 if a few plays broke their way here or there. The Raiders will have a chance to truly show the type of team they are against #7 SB St. Joseph (9-1) this Friday night. I'm not picking Northridge to win, but I think they can make it competitive.

Sorry for the delay in response. I stepped away from the Forum after multiple issues getting onto the site. Seems to be on its last legs, especially with the lack of donations. If you are still interested - here's where you can watch the game. Concord led 10-7 halfway through the 2nd quarter, Warsaw had the ball at the Minutemen 45-yard line following a Concord INT, but then Concord stopped the Tigers on 4th down. After that, it was all Minutemen on both sides of the ball. Concord stopped at least 5 4th down conversions attempts by Warsaw. As you mentioned, the Tiger defense (especially the secondary) has not been great. I don't know if they just don't have the athletes, but I feel like they play extremely soft in the secondary. Concord ate them up hitting easy passes, but also their QB had some big runs when scrambling. Warsaw hosts Concord

Talking to myself in this thread but I'll go ahead and add some commentary for folks to read. Every week is a big week, but this week will determine the NLC championship. Mishawaka can likely claim it outright. The Cavemen still have to go to Plymouth and host Wawasee to end the season, but I'd be hard pressed not to see them going 2-0 by large margins in those games. If Warsaw can spring the upset, there could potentially be 4 teams tied at 4-1 (Concord, Mishawaka, Plymouth and Warsaw). The Pilgrims (I get to use this term again now that the Tigers avenged last season's loss), are unlikely to remain in this spot, but they do control their own destiny with games against NorthWood, Mishawaka, and Concord to end the season. My best guess for how the final third of the season shakes out: Mishawaka: 7-0, 8-1 overall with wins over Warsaw, Plymouth, and Wawasee Concord: 6-1, 8-1 overall with wins over Goshen, Wawasee, and Plymouth Warsaw: 5-2, 6-3 overall with wins over NorthWood and Northridge Northwood: 4-3, 5-4 overall with wins over Plymouth and Goshen Plymouth: 3-4, 3-6 overall with no further regular season victories Northridge: 2-5, 2-7 overall with wins over Wawasee and Goshen Goshen: 1-6, 2-7 overall with no further regular seasons victories Wawasee: 0-7, 1-8 overall with no further regular season victories

Warsaw, Mishawaka, and Wawasee are all running the "Bart Ball", flexbone style of TMT (Triple - Mid Line - Toss) offense in the NLC.

Well after the hiatus - here's some observations through the first 3 weeks: Mishawaka leads the pack after winning the early season battle over Concord. The Cavemen look to be poised for another NLC title and run at representing 4A North. They easily could be 3-0, but let one slip away to backyard rival Penn in week 2. Warsaw and Concord are right behind Mishawaka, in that order, since the Minutemen are already a loss down in the standings. I was very surprised to see the Tigers win on the road over Snider, and equally impressed with their effort in the 2nd half against Warren Central where they almost came back. Meanwhile, Concord looks to have the same firepower on offense as they've had in recent years. They are certainly not out of it yet, with the Tigers on deck for them in Week 5, and Warsaw and Mishawaka still left to battle the first week of October. NorthWood is still lurking, and can jump up this list quickly with a win this week at home against Mishawaka. They've been just as impressive on offense as Concord has been, and only lost to a strong Columbia City team by 3 to open the season. Friday will tell a lot about the Panthers. Are they contenders? Or pretenders? Plymouth looks to be a step above the remaining teams. They've only won 1 game so far, but faced some tough opponents in the nonconference schedule. They'll be able to prove they're the "leaders of the middle of the pack" over the next 2 weeks against Goshen and Wawasee. Then the back half of the season... we'll find out if they can pull off an upset or two. I'll put the remaining teams in order of Wawasee, Northridge, and Goshen. The Warriors snuck out a victory over Jimtown in week 1, and have score more through 3 weeks than they did the first 5 weeks last year. It takes time to get adjusted to that style of offense, and I have faith Wawasee will continue to get better. Meanwhile the Raiders are 0-3, played a tough nonconference schedule, but lost to the Rockies at home last week. Things don't get any easier for them the next 3 weeks. Finally, the Redhawks might have a victory under their belt, but after what I saw this past Friday, they are not a good team. Like Wawasee, I'm hopeful things can get turned around for them, and their visit to the Rock Pile on Friday night will tell us a lot about this squad.

I'd need a little help from a Plymouth source, but I do not believe the well completely dried up for them. I was under the impression that Valley might have had a dip themselves, but could 100% be incorrect. Haven't seen the season preview in the Times-Union for Valley yet (I think it comes out today). I don't disagree. A lot of people like to mention New Prairie as an added option, but I think the time zone difference really hinders New Prairie from seriously being considered. I know the NIC makes things work currently, but they're all MUCH closer to New Carlisle than basically every school in the NLC. Columbia City would be quite the trek for Mishawaka, Concord, and Northridge, but I agree they could/should be in consideration if the NLC ever needed/wanted to add additional members. I appreciate it! Just wish others from NLC schools would post their thoughts and opinions a bit more so it's not just me in this echo chamber 😄

From an outsider from the opposite end of the state, how is everyone feeling going into year 6 of Jasper and Vincennes being added to the SIAC? Have they been good additions? How are we feeling about the full, round robin schedule that closes off the SIAC from non-conference opponents until tournament time?

Unfortunately - looks like I'm the last of the Mohicans in this thread. Somewhat speaks to the state of affairs in the NLC. When I was playing 2 decades ago, every team had a full Freshmen, JV, and Varsity rosters. In many of the past seasons, Freshmen and JV schedules included teams who weren't on the Varsity schedule out of necessity to fill games. I realize Facebook gets a lot of the traffic now, but I miss the days of seeing this thread with posters from every school. Anyway - I'll do my best to do writes ups before each week. I was good about those for a few years and fell off last season. Columbia City at NorthWood: I mentioned this previously, but I love this new matchup to start the year. It was good Warsaw finally got away from starting the season with Columbia City for strength of schedule purposes, but the Eagles have turned into a strong 4A program in northeast Indiana the last few years. It will be weird not seeing the Panthers take on Jimtown, but this is definitely an upgrade for them. I expect this game to be tight... NorthWood by 6 Concord at Elkhart: Going into year 5 of this series and it's split 2-2 with 3 of the games being low scoring slugfest. I think this is an excellent week 1 matchup and hope it sticks around for many years. It will be interesting to see how the Minutemen start the season after last year's "disappointment" of a regular season that didn't amount to any postseason hardware, along with not playing any games on their homefield this season. Elkhart has had a lot of noise this offseason with high expectations, but I'll stick to conference allegiants for now... Concord by 3 Goshen at Fairfield: A backyard brawl that the Redhawks should always dominate has not been the case since it started 9 seasons ago. Fairfield has beaten up on big brother the last 2 years, outscoring Goshen 84-23. The boys from the Maple City need to show some fight and discipline in week 1 if things are ever going to get turned around for that storied program. Finding a way to win 2 games this year will be considered positive momentum, but I'm not sure it happens... Fairfield by 14 Jimtown at Wawasee: With the Panthers kicking the Jimmies off their schedule, they head a little further east on US 6 to find a new opponent in Wawasee in apparently the first ever gridiron meeting between Jimtown and Wawasee. The Warriors start year 2 under Coach Thacker, who has brought a "Bart Ball" style of offense to Syracuse, hoping to put more points up on the scoreboard after being held to 7 points or fewer in 6 of their 10 games last year. I'm hopeful the disciplined style of play will start to show dividends for our Kosciusko brethren. I want to give them the nod playing at home, but will settle for at least a few TDs instead... Jimtown by 15 Marian at Mishawaka: Another backyard rivalry to kick things off, but this one has been dominated by big brother. The Cavemen have won 12 of 13 against Marian, with the only Knights victory coming in their 2020 Semi-State appearance season by a score of 44-43. I anticipate much of the same here before Mishawaka faces quite the back-to-back weeks challenge at Penn then hosting Concord, but they can't overlook little brother wanting to play spoiler... Mishawaka by 21 Northridge at FW North: The rubber match of this series where, interestingly enough, the visiting team has snagged each of the first 2 matchups. The Raiders saw their first losing season since 2019, which is a testament to the program Coach Wogomon created and Coach Eppley has maintained. I haven't seen much news out of the SAC this year, save for some Snider talk. I'll be a conference homer with this pick... Northridge by 4 Tippecanoe Valley at Plymouth: Another local matchup that has apparently never been played before, which is shocking considering their proximity and the fact that they play each other in almost every other sport. The Pilgrims Rockies (earned this right from me after beating Warsaw last year) had their first winning season since 2019, the complete opposite of what occurred in Middlebury. They've progressively gotten better each year under Coach Handley; could this be a year where they are a sneaky darkhorse pick for NLC Champs? I won't go quite that far yet, but like them in their season opener... Plymouth by 13 Warsaw at FW Snider: As stated before, the Tigers have quite the start to their schedule this season, starting with a trip to Fort Wayne to take on perennial power Snider. Unfortunately, this won't be at the Panther's new stadium (opens in 2026). Warsaw lost a bunch from last year's 5A Runner-Up squad, but their starting QB Brock did get some experience under center last season while Sullivan was injured the back half of the regular season. "Bart Ball" starts with the QB, so that will be helpful. However, losing so much in the trenches on both sides of the ball will be tough early against Snider (and Warren Central)... FW Snider by 21

Warsaw lost a ton in the trenches, as well as their starting QB (albeit - who was hurt for a good portion of the season - but he put the team on his back during their 5A tournament run). Taking my orange-tinted glasses off, it wouldn't shock me if the Tigers go 5-4 in the regular season with a difficult schedule. Concord went 10-1 last year and returns back their starting QB Bo Brunner who threw for 1,500 yards and 16 TDs and ATH Char'rese Breveard who 1,500+ all purpose yards receiving, rushing, and returning and 12 total TDs. That combination alone makes them a top 10 5A team at the least, and comfortably a PRESEASON Top 25 team in my opinion.

Interesting that a lot of statewide chatter early has Mishawaka and Concord listed at the top. Who all are the Cavemen bringing back? I know the Minutemen bring back experienced quarterback Bo Brunner and electrifying athlete Char'rese Breveard. Losing Jaron Thomas is a big hole to fill on both sides of the ball for Concord, but I still think they are my pick preseason for NLC champs.

I honestly cannot tell you. I really liked that series and it was a competitive one. I think it was simply just what was agreed to. They had a 2-year contract for Week 2, and then a 4-year contract for Week 1.

Definitely a huge upgrade but nothing out of the ordinary with how things have gone under Coach Curtis. For years, the Tigers opened up with county "rival" Tippecanoe Valley (3A) and then added Columbia City (who - don't get me wrong have really turned into a solid 4A program the last few seasons). After a few years, subbed out Tippy Valley with Homestead, which was a good step up for the Tigers. But when that series ended, Warsaw added East Noble (again - a really strong 4A program) which was a competitive series, but were those two teams really preparing the Tigers for the 6A tournament? Tigers then added 5A DAC programs Michigan City and Chesterton, as well as a single season playing perennial Ohio Division 1 playoff program Dublin Coffman. (They had 2 years of Huntington North as well due to a need to fill a gap after the Columbia City contract ended). Added Warren Central last year, and this year will host the Warriors in Week 2 after playing at FW Snider. These games do nothing but improve the program, and I commend the coaching staff and athletic departments for getting them scheduled.