NLCTigerFan07

Side note outside of all this banter I highly encourage anyone that is able to make the trip to MAKE THE TRIP! Carroll's stadium/facility is without a doubt in the Top 5 of all Indiana in my opinion. Truly an amazing complex they have. Worth the price of admission for that alone.

Great mock up overall! I would potentially flip flop these matchups and venues. Plymouth would be a better option for 3 of the teams listed at Warsaw (sorry Adams Central), and I think Warsaw's stadium on both sides has more seating than Plymouth. Obviously all 4 of these games will/would be highly attended, but having your matchups grouped as they are, feel like the Ft Wayne/Region schools at Warsaw would make for a great atmosphere.

When exactly did Snider and Warsaw play any time in recent history....????? News flash - they haven't 😉

Congrats to Northridge pulling out the upset yet again this season, but I have to be honest that I'm disappointed NorthWood couldn't get a done. Now a giant "What if?" for the Panthers this year. Would have loved to have seen them at full strength this offseason, and potentially battling New Prairie, Kokomo/Columbia City, and then New Pal/Roncalli. What a heck of a postseason run that could have been. Best of luck to the Cavemen and Raiders this weekend! Would love to see Northridge pull out another repeat from last year on Friday night

And yet - 6A Indy schools will be making trips to Warsaw and Fort Wayne for regular season games in the near future!

Carroll by 28 - Tigers were impressive last week on the defensive side of the ball, but Carroll is an offensive juggernaut. The Chargers blanked Warsaw 36-0 last year in the sectional championship in a game that was over quickly. I will be pleasantly surprised if the Tigers have this game close at halftime. If they do, they'll have a chance. Mishawaka by 21 - I realize the first matchup was close a few weeks ago, and the Minutemen offense has looked more competent 4 of the last 5 weeks, but I simply think the Cavemen are the much better team and will find a way to get it done in an impressive fashion. Pulling for Mishawaka as well because I think it would be fascinating to see them match up with either Snider or North Side in the Regional game. NorthWood by 35 - this game wasn't close in the regular season, and I know that didn't mean much last year. Even with the off-field distrations for the Panthers, I see them rolling before a very unique/interesting matchup with New Prairie next week.

Yeah I assumed that as well - was just curious the impact it would have for NorthWood. We know of 4 players who I assume are definitely out since it's public record. Didn't know if there were any more than that who would be out. Guess we'll find out tomorrow night at the very least

In addition to the 4 players who were 18 years old and were actually booked, were there any other underage players impacted? I guess I don't know what happens to 17 year olds and under who get "busted" at an underage drinking situation

Assuming you meant Carroll here. Most impressive part for the Chargers is their improvement on the defensive side of the ball since 2020. They've had a high scoring offense these past 3 seasons, but this year they have been vastly improved on D. Should be a great game!

@Plymouthfan91 - Can I ask what makes you so confident in this? I will give you that Plymouth likely has had the stronger schedule between the two teams, but the only teams Plymouth have hung with this year are a terrible Wawasee squad and a banged up Goshen team. St Joe's has a Sagarin Rating of 46.53 with wins over teams that have Sagarin Ratings of 43.92 (SB Adams), 40.40 (Marian), and 38.51 (Lakeland). Plymouth has a Sagarin Rating of 24.48. The Indians are about an 18.5 point favorite according to @hhpatriot04 predictor tool. Help me drink the Big Red kool-aid! What makes you think the Pilgrams are going to keep this one close?

Not a chance in the world I would be SHOCKED if this is competitive. St Joe ain't world burners, but they are definitely better than Wawasee and Goshen, and Concord isn't MUCH better than the Indians and the Rockies got smoked 52-0.

Mishawaka would play the winner of the Fort Wayne sectional in Regionals. They would not meet up with Merrillville until Semi-State

Looking back on this post- I was spot on with some predictions, and missed elsewhere. I called the Panthers winning the NLC title, and they looked dominant in doing so. An instant classic game against Mishawaka almost derailed the perfect season for NorthWood, but they win the conference title with their eyes set on a run to Indianapolis on Thanksgiving weekend. Flip flopped between Mishawaka and Warsaw, and I swung and missed on my bold prediction of Goshen coming out the gates swinging in Wogomon's first year. Of course, injuries did not help the Redhawks in that area. I correctly picked Northridge to finish ahead of Concord. The Minutemen swing back and forth between .500 regular season records one year, then compete for a confernce championship the next. Look for Concord to be in the thick of things next season! Best of luck to all the NLC teams in the state tournament. Obviously pulling hard to see my Tigers get a few upset victories, but think NorthWood and Mishawaka both have a chance in their respective classes. I'd love to see Mishawaka battle with Snider or North in that Regional title game, and a NorthWood vs. New Prairie matchup in that Regional would be a darn good one as well. I truly think things set up nicely for the Panthers. They will be on the road their first two games, but would host the Sectional Championship game, and then would likely host the Regional as well (specifically if it's New Prairie that they play against).

Well I called this out after Week 2 - and it looks to have held up pretty well! Just super interesting to see all 4 of the teams in Sectional 2 included in the Top 5 Scoring Ds for 6A through the regular season. You can argue about each of these teams strength of schedules, I don't care, just an neat observation here. Should be some great matchups between those 4 teams! 6A - Scoring Defense 1. Carroll (FW) 7.56 2. Elkhart 8.78 3. Penn 12.44 4. Crown Point 13.56 5. Warsaw 14.11 6. Cathedral 16.38 7. Hamilton Southeastern 16.78 8. Carmel 17.44 9. Lake Central 18.00 10. Lafayette Jeff 18.22

Not necessarily a topic for the sectional games, but just thought it was interesting to see the conference standings be perfectly balanced. I always love it when things like that happen.

Thank you both! @Southside @BTF - I knew it was that way for the 8 team sectionals, but wasn't sure how the 4 team sectionals worked

I know when it comes to 4A-1A, the bottom team in the bracket hosts the next round, but if we get to the sectional championship game and there is a team who has hosted the first 2 rounds while the other team has been on the road the first 2 rounds, the team who's been on the road the first 2 weeks will host. With 5A and 6A - how does it work? As a fan, I am allowed to look ahead, so maybe these scenarios will help understand my question: Scenario 1 - Warsaw beats Elkhart at home, Penn beats Carroll at home - Warsaw would host the sectional championship, correct? Scenario 2 - Warsaw beats Elkhart at home, Carroll beats Penn on the roard - Warsaw is the "bottom" part of the bracket, would they host? Or would Carroll get to host since their first sectional game was away?

Fair enough! They trounced my Tigers that year (and they year before). I guess I was thinking the 2014 team had the Tranquill brothers, but maybe they were there the year before?

I can definitely agree with you on 2020, but last year's Charger defense was pretty stout! 5 shutouts in 12 games, and held two other opponents to 10 points or less. It's semantics either way though, Carroll's team all-around this year is pretty darn good. The 2014 squad might take offense to your best team ever though 😉 However, this year's squad will have as good a chance as ever of winning a Regional Championship since they lucked into being in Sectional 2 and not Sectional 3. Won't be easy, but a potential path through a 7-2 Penn, 9-1 Elkhart, and 11-0 Crown Point squad to do it? SHEESH! Murderers Row there!

I am not sure what the "old Penn" has anything to do with this year's team and their upcoming game against this year's Carroll squad. My statement about Penn having a good defense this year is only about this year. I think it will be a good matchup against Carroll's juggarnaut offense.

I understand - but the topic is Penn vs. Carroll so I'm a little confused. I only brought up Cathedral and St. X when pointing out that I feel like the Kingsmen are not getting the credit they deserve with their 6-2 record and transitioning my post to the Penn/Carroll matchup.

They (Snider) also have at least a 2 year deal with Warsaw in the 2025 and 2026 seasons. I am excited for this game though. I think Carroll is somehow even better than they were last year, and the Kingsmen are getting very little respect outside the Michiana area. They're 6-2, with their 2 losses coming freaking Cathedral and St X! Those two teams ain't scrubs! And are far better opponents than anyone Carroll has faced this season. My hopes are high for a very good high school football game with this matchup! Penn's defense is the real deal and the Charger offense is lethal. Something has to give.

Same as @00NWP - This week doesn't really get the juices going. Every game should be a blowout. Warsaw still has a few people banged up and some suspensions I believe, but with the number of Redhawks injured, no reason why the Tigers can't still win that game by at least 21 points. The sophomore QB that Warsaw switched to will end up being a stud in my opinion. Good for him to get experience this season for following years. Mishawaka could face a bit of a stiff test against Concord. The Minutemen defense is stout enough to give them some stuggles, and the Cavemen could be down a little following last week's loss. Still see them winning though. Plymouth might not score another point this season. Northridge should win that game comfortably while the Rockies will likely head into the 2023 season on a 21 game losing streak! (Depending on the sectional draw) If they open the season with East Noble and Kokomo again next year, with Warsaw in week 3, I have no doubt they'll be looking at a 24 game losing streak before their week 4 game against Wawasee. NorthWood will have a running kickoff against Wawasee coming out of halftime. The Warriors might wish the COVID rules were in effect when the running clock was allowed to start in the first half. Panthers just need to stay healthy these last 2 weeks before a push to Indy.

What about this is "Oh MY"? We're now in Week 8 of the season, and you're talking about Jeff losing to Cathedral in a blowout (not exactly surprising) in Week 1 and then beating a down Michigan City team by 18 points the following week. I'm being genuine here, what makes any of this interesting at this point in the season?

My nomination for "Oh My" team of the year is 1A Madison-Grant. They are currently 6-1 on the year and in each of their 6 victories they have held their opponents to 8 points or less. The beat the biggest school in their conference (4A Mississinewa) for the first time in 9 years (during which was on average a 37 point victory for Mississinewa). The Argylls have not had a winning season in a decade, but that will change this season no matter the outcome of their final 3 games.