oldunclemark

4 hours ago, Irishman said:

This is what was posted on the SportsYou app on the IFCA page

 

Sorry. Irish Man

I had it wrong.  I believe it is Morton that is not playing in week seven or eight...

7 hours ago, Irishman said:

Hammond Central is looking for a game this week. 

Bloomington South is looking for a game for week 8 The game needs to be home as it is set for our Senior Night. Please reach out to Head Coach Gabe Johnson if interested. gjohnson@mccsc.edu 812-606-0145 

To be clear, Hammond Central is looking for a week 8 game.

They are playing Morton this week (week 7) 

1 hour ago, oldunclemark said:

Lavarion Logan (4) has scored 18 touchdowns for Merrillville this fall. Quarterback Angel Nelson (12) has thrown for 18 TD passes.

Lavarion Logan (4) has scored 18 touchdowns for Merrillville this fall. Quarterback Angel Nelson (4) has thrown for 18 TD passes.

Mason McMullen (30), Nate Craft (47), Max Soto (16) and  5A No. 2 Valparaiso have allowed 88 points (14.7 per game) in six wins so far this season, including a 10-7 win over 6A No. 10 Chesterton (5-1)..

2 hours ago, temptation said:

Taking NOTHING away from Valpo as I think they can make a deep 5A run but if Merrillville wants anyone to take them seriously as a threat to represent the north in 6A, they not only need to win this contest, but do so convincingly.

I have mentioned before that I love fresh blood at Lucas Oil and without a dog in the fight think it’d be pretty damn cool to see both Merrillville AND Valpo make the trip down I-65 on Thanksgiving weekend.

The large boy is 320-pound Valpo center Zach Barrasas (72) 

  This one may fill up the 6,000-seat 'Viking Field" in Valparaiso...

The Vikings and Pirates did not meet in 2020 due to Covid ..

1,000-yard rusher Hayden Vinyard of Valpo and 1,000-yard rusher Lavarian Logan of Merrillville.

Valpo's big offensive line vs. Kenneth Grant (a Michigan recruit) on the 'D' patrol for the Pirates...

Valpo hasnt lost a conference game in five years......

...Last meeting: Valpo 29. Merrillville 28  (10-4-19)

Its on.

On 9/20/2021 at 6:46 AM, fenderbender said:

Yes, she is a friend of my son.   At school, the call her the "Lebron James of HS Softball" because of all the HS attention she is getting.

Top ranked So. in the nation last year and no reason for that to change.  

I think all of this underclassmen talk comes down to a question if they can physcially compete.  Are they built like FR or upperclassmen?  The Roncalli kid who started at QB was 6'2" and 200 lbs.  The FR DT who started was 6'1" and 270lbs.   I have seen the weight lifting videos from Roncalli's twitter of the young lady who pitches for Roncalli and she can physically compete with any older girl.

 

 

Keagan Rothrock....was 24-1

364 strikeouts in 162 innings.....

Tell your son to become her agent. She might make some endorsement money when she gets to college

Wow.

That school needs to forfeit the season....

Once the game is over, its over. 

That's a criminal act....and the home school has to pay the price.

1 hour ago, Bobref said:

I recall Highland started a frosh QB all season in 1987, including the state championship game.

Brian Guzek..I dont think he started the season, though.

14 hours ago, fenderbender said:

Roncalli has only had two play in my time following the school.  (One QB and one DT.)  They were playing at a time when the senior/junior  classes were considered "down".

I also know one who is a junior at Cathedral.  He was beating up on my son's teams when they were 4th graders and he was big then.  Going to be playing college TE somewhere.

 

 

Fender.   

Didnt that Roncalli girl who throws the ball 70 MPH lead her team to the state softball title.??

As a 15-year-old sophomore (and she didnt play as a freshie due to Covid) 

10 hours ago, Major said:

That is why you pay the coach to make that call.  He knows better than any one his job is to win....just win baby. And if that call is wrong and they don't win he will be held accountable.  In our community we let our coach make that call not the family members or arm chair QB's on the sideline.  The coaches spend more time in the season with these kids that  those fence line coaches.

 

 

 

and he know that if this decision is incorrect and they don't win he will be held accountable.  

11 hours ago, Knightsfan_01 said:

None of that matters if the kids are buying into the coach and his program.  The best kids should be playing regardless of grade and the best programs do it in a heartbeat.
 

If the other kids don’t agree with that then it’s on them.  It’s always a tough pill to swallow to be told someone took your spot though.  There’s a lot more to coaching than X’s and O’s and the best coaches are even better at the relationships part of their jobs than the “easy” stuff.

 

That Hobart kid seems pretty dang good.

I hear you and, in theory, you're right, but Its not that easy to define who the 'best kid' is, is it?

The best kid or the best leader. ?  The most talented kid or the the one who has earned respect of his teammates. See?  'The future' or 'the winner'? 

Hobart's freshman Noah Ehrlich started from day one.  They are coached by a former NFL player Craig Osika (He played on one of Hobart's 4 state title teams and he has big time respect in the Hobart community) and they apparently made this decision last spring.  I'd bet Osika had a talk with the seniors about it, too.

For the record, Ehrlich is 51 of 80 for 729 yards, 6TDs and no interceptions...against 5 teams that include Chesterton (4-1) and Merrillville (5-0) and Lowell.

He's proven himself. 

By the way, Andrean's 15-year-old sophomore Scott Ballentine is 102 of 156 for 1,175 yards, 12 TDS and 4 interceptions in 5 starts...including Merrillville (5-0) and two-time defending state champ Grand Rapids, Michigan Central Catholic (4-0). 

....Andrean plays Hobart this Friday. 

3 hours ago, southend said:

Usually where I have seen high school football, coaches usually start the best man at any position .. Freshman-senior. 

Here's the problem with that south-man.

If you start a freshman QB, he wasnt even on the team last year, right? But you had a backup QB on the varsity and junior varsity QB and a freshman team QB.  

You have to tell them all, they arent good enough. And if its the JV or the backup, then you have to tell them that even though they may have waited their entire life to play QB for the hometown team,  that they got beat out by a kid who isnt even in high school yet.

You have to tell the entire senior class that their final shot at their football goals will be led by a kid who cant even drive. And if they dont like that, they can learn a new position or they can go run cross country. 

See what I mean?

7 hours ago, fenderbender said:

4 years ago Roncalli started the Leffler kid as a Fr. over some upper class men.   He did not really start playing QB until 8th grade.  He is going to end up owning every Roncalli passing record and is favored to win back to back titles. (Single season and career, will have to try hard for a few of the single game records like passing.)  He currently has the longest winning streak of any Roncalli QB..

If the Hobart kid is playing this well, I expect a similar bright future.  

Isn't this a relatively new thing, though.?

I'm a person of a certain age and, when i was young, you didnt even have freshmen on the varsity unless you were a small school.  Didnt matter how good they were. At schools of lets say, 1,000, freshman played JV and they dint question it.

Now you have freshman and sophomores throwing the ball 20-30 times.  The game has changed.

3 hours ago, fenderbender said:

Doing this paying dividends for Roncalli this year and last.   

???   You lost me there, FB.

More prominent teams are starting QBs very young up here.   Andrean started a sophomore QB this year.  He's thrown for 1,000 in 5 games

Michigan City is starting a soph QB. Tyler Bush  18 of 32 for 356 in his first start.

I think QBs are being 'bred' and lined up to start earlier.

None of the '3' are starting because of injury.,  It was the plan.  That's a change from years ago...

3 hours ago, fenderbender said:

Watched the Lowel-Hobart game.  I think Leo-EN winner comes out of North.  Both teams are physically impressive.  

Hobart's 15 year old freshman starting QB Noah Ehrlich (6) probably (its an old school) the first-ever freshman QB to start for the Brickies.  

I'll be at Hobart, watching the boys come down 'Brickie Hill'

On 9/5/2021 at 2:09 PM, Donnie Baker said:

 

....as Stax has said....   questionable

the key phrases might be......."We had 17 players with division I offers but quite a few decided to go a different route'

"We had five players offered by Army and Navy and they all went to Marion. 

Think about those statements, DB.  

I like Merrillville but think about those statements.

6 hours ago, BTF said:

Let's stop pretending that what they've done the first three weeks isn't impressive. Congrats the the Pirates on a fine start to the season. 

Merrillville all-stater Kenneth Grant (78) blocks for Lavarian Logan (4) in the 50-13 win at Crown Point

3 hours ago, Bash Riprock said:

Uncle Mark...no need for apologies...you are absolutely entitled to your opinions.  We all are...that's what makes a forum fun and interesting.

I really enjoy reading your thoughts....I hope very much you continue to share them.  Your passion for high school football is fantastic.

Happy Labor Day weekend!!!  

I was just playing with Lysander......Bach..  Thanks for the kind words.

He's right. Merrillville had a chance to beat Bishop Chatard last year and they didnt do it. 

I know the Pirates arent the equal of Center Grove.

I was just celebrating the one first place vote..

When I post things on a message board, I expect to get 'Bashed' (excuse the pun) sometimes. 

Going back and forth is interesting to read

That's actually the fun of it.  

2 hours ago, Lysander said:

Just one conversation prior to last years’ Merrillville/Chatard game on the GID.

“Anyone know if Jr. Merrillville RB Lavarion Logan was at at Joliet Catholic last year? Name sounds familiar."

Response: 

"Logan was at Merrillville as a freshman and Joliet Catholic as  a sophomore...yes..you are right”

A conversation from last year. 

I also recall hearing folks from Merrillville beating their chest about Morton kids playing for them last year.

Not a single D1 kid last year played for Chatard in that Merrillville multi D1 kid curb stomp. 

Seriously, my sense was that NE Indiana kids moved between schools for Football pretty much on a daily basis…and often as not openly bragged about it....yet Catholic schools have some unfair advantage when the same kids play for them from 3rd to 12th grade and never leave the system.

Also, for the record, there is a WORLD of difference between Cathedral and the Archdiocese schools like Chatard, Roncalli, Ritter and Scecina.

Lavarian Logan was a freshman at Merrillvile. 

That's the key sentence.  I know you know that Joliet is not Chicago and,even if it was, Logan is from Merrillville.

Bishop Chatard was the 3A state champ last year, right?    Their 15th title.   You dont mean to suggest they have no talent. I know. 

In a rare situation. Coaching change and Covid cancelling Morton's season temporarily.  Merrillville got 5 transfers from Morton, none from Chicago 

I hear you about some parts of the state but for the record, Andrean, a school of 450, has far more talent up and down the roster than most 2000-student DAC schools.

I dont begrudge them  I like it when they win, most of the time. I like it when Chatard wins.

All I did was celebrate ONE lonely first place vote in Class 6A for Merrillville and a torrid of bashing was unleashed. 

I sincerely apologize. I know Merrillville isnt the equal of Center Grove .

I was just happy they got one vote.   Again, please accept my deepest apology 😢

5 hours ago, gonzoron said:

 

 

 

 

Thank you, Gonzo.

No one you just named ever said that Merrillville had 17  D-1 players, as is being suggested now.. 

Merrillville did have as many as 20 college players in the entire program at all levels.

Many Indy area schools do, too, I'm sure.

Thank you for setting Lysander straight. He means well. 😎

4 hours ago, Donnie Baker said:

Some boy named Cody says they still have a hoe bunch of D1 players. I swear to God he does 

Some boy named Cody, DB?  A bunch?

You swear to God.? 😏 

5 hours ago, Lysander said:

A modest Indianapolis Catholic with no D1 players vs. a DAC team roughly 3 X the size loaded up with Chicago region transfer players.  A Region team with somewhere between 5 (seen posted here on the GID) to 15 D1 players.

That chest beating was incessant last year.

To no avail…apparently.

'Modest"?  Bishop Chatard???   Wow.  15 state champs including last year, okay. Okay. Modest.

3X the size? Stop it. Penn is 3times the size of Cathedral Watch for that score. 

The 'chest beating' was exagerrated and NO ONE said the DAC was, is or ever will be the equal of your Catholic schools  

And 'Loaded up'?.  Merrlllville had no transfers from Chicago last year or this year. None. Zero. They had 5 transfers from Morton, 10 miles away

Ly-man. Dont believe everything you see on Facebook or on the GID. 

1 hour ago, Lysander said:

Seriously, go check out the “Indiana HS Football Fans” Facebook page.

Seems like 1/2 of those folks seem to think the DAC is the strongest football conference in the state.

Never been a drug guy (Hell, I’ve never tried the whole “pot” thing) but do people still do LSD?

Apparently they still do there.

Seriously.

No on up here thinks the DAC is the strongest conference in the state.

No one has said that this year. No one has ever said that.  

Just like no one ever said that Merrillville had 17 D-1 prospects last year.

But its funny.