Football Fanatic

Reitz might be the favorite. 10-3 regional team who returns a lot. They return every single lineman on both sides. Which includes their whole DL which led the state in sacks. They return 8 on offense and 7 on defense. Also return their super soph Darrett who came in strong late for them. Mater Dei, Castle, Memorial also will be up there. North - who knows. Jasper will struggle, depending on who they get I guess. Central and Bosse return a lot but how far does that get them. Harrison and Vincennes lose a lot of key players.

Castle at Bloomington South - BloomS is tough to get a read on this year. Their defense has been shaky most of the season but I think they dealt with some injuries. They lost to BloomN by two scores earlier in the year then blew them out in the sectional final and held them to 3 points. Castle has looked really good at times and struggled other times. If the Knights can get their running game going, they win. Long road trip is always a factor too. But I think BloomS will have a tough time stopping McCool. Give me the Knights winning the Regional by two scores. Reitz at Martinsville - Panthers will be making a long road trip into a tough environment. The Artesians have been impressive this season. Their QB-WR duo of Reynolds-Stroud is one of the top in the state and they look big up front. However, I don't think they have seen a team quite like Reitz on their schedule. The Panthers may have lost another starting WR last week but seem healthy besides that. They have been solid on both offense and defense lately. I think their run game could be a major factor in this one. Darrett-McClarney-Ussery is a tough trio of RBs to stop. But can the Reitz defense stop a very impressive Martinsville offense? I think just enough. Give me the Panthers winning the Regional by two scores.

North at Castle - typically a tight contest but I think Castle wins this one comfortably, especially being at home. I will take the Knights by three scores. Boonville at Reitz - the Pioneers are fairly young and don't match up well in this one, especially with the game being at The Bowl. Reitz is healthy and playing well after making some tweaks. The defense is stingy and the offense has come alive. I will take the Panthers by four scores. Memorial at Heritage Hills - it's nice we're getting this one in the sectional championship but most would prefer to call it the state championship game. I think The Jungle does level the playing field and Memorial has not faced a game-changer at the level of Goldsberry this year. However, I don't think it will be enough but it will be close. I will take the Tigers by one score.

New Albany at North - Neither team here is very good but North will have a size advantage. Give me the Huskies by two scores. Castle at Floyd Central - Long trip but the Knights win big to set up a rematch with North. Give me the Knights in a running clock. Bosse at Boonville - I don't think the Bulldogs have much of a shot here as they will finish winless. Give me the Pioneers by three scores. Southridge at Memorial - I don't think this one will be as close as people think. Give me the Tigers by four scores. Vincennes at Heritage Hills - I like what we've seen at times from the Alices this year, but they will be outmatched in every way. Patriots by four scores. GAME OF THE WEEK: Reitz at Jasper - Tough road test for Reitz here. Should be a great atmosphere and the Wildcats will be eager to beat the Panthers for the first time since 2021. It sounds like Reitz is mostly healthy now and might be clicking at the right time. Give me the Panthers by two scores.

It was another awesome installment in the west rivalry. I agree. Reitz looks like a different team with their guys back. I don't think they are at full strength yet but getting Coates and Johnson back is huge for them. Johnson made some big time catches in their win over MD. It also looks like they have started to use their super soph Darrett more which makes their offense way more explosive. Not sure if they were giving him time to learn the offense or simply saving him for late season. Barring a hiccup for the third year in a row, I think they are poised to finally make a deep playoff run. I have also been impressed with MD. Credit to their players and staff as they are much improved from last year. If they were still in 2A we would be talking about them making another state run. Unfortunately, their season probably ends this week.

Vincennes at Jasper - I will take the Wildcats by 2 scores. Reitz at Mater Dei - I will take the Panthers by 1 score. Bosse at Harrison - I will take the Warriors by 4 scores. North at Central - I will take the Huskies by 3 scores. GAME OF THE WEEK: Castle at Memorial - I will take the Tigers by 3 scores.

This is probably their best team in a while, but they can be inconsistent at times. For example they manhandled a good 4A Reitz team but also lost to a borderline 2A/3A Mater Dei team and gave up 30 points to 3A Vincennes who has a losing record. They do have the capability to put up a lot of points and their front 7 on defensive is very good. Their top DL (Benny Patterson) is a four star getting numerous power 5 offers (including Michigan, LSU, USC). Their top LB (Gavin Leach) is a three star committed to Toledo but also getting many D1 offers. Their RB is also getting some D1 looks - runs hard, fast, tough to stop. They are beatable but it will not be easy.

Memorial at Vincennes - I am tempted to put this on upset alert. I mean, Memorial coming off an impressive win, long trip, playing on grass. VL did beat them last year and have an improved offense now. However, Memorial is simply too good and will not have much of a let down. I will take the Tigers by four scores. Harrison at Mater Dei - The only other potential close game here. Harrison has a dangerous offense with their starting QB playing. I don't think they will be able to stop MD much though. I will take the Wildcats by three scores. Reitz at Bosse - Bad time to be a Bulldog. Reitz is in uncharted losing territory right now and will be hungry to get a confidence boosting win here. I could also see Reitz scaling back some of their players and trying to get healthy going into the MD game and playoffs, so it may be closer than some think. I will still take the Panthers in a running clock though. Central at Castle - This one will be over early. Not much to say on this one. Castle needs a bounce back performance and Central is just not good. I will take the Knights in a running clock. GAME OF THE WEEK: Jasper at North - This one could go either way. Jasper coming off an impressive performance against Castle. I think North will have trouble scoring on Jasper. But I do think it could be low scoring both ways. I will take the Wildcats by one score.

North at Vincennes - I don't think North will be able to score much in this one and Vincennes has improved their offense recently. I will take the Alices by two scores. Central at Harrison - The Warriors have shown flashes at times this season. The Bears have really struggled. I will take the Warriors by three scores. Jasper at Castle - This one could be a good battle and high scoring. However, the Knights have figured out some stuff on offense and defense. They look to be a true contender in 5A. I will take the Knights by three scores. Bosse at Mater Dei - This one will be over early and quick. Bosse may score a few times late against the reserves. I will take the Wildcats in a running clock. GAME OF THE WEEK: Reitz at Memorial - Big time game and should be a big time crowd, especially with the weather being nice. Knowing that Reitz is dealing with some key injuries, a lot of people thought there was a chance they would lose to Castle, Memorial, and maybe even MD. After the Saturday games, I think that might be what happens. It does sound like Reitz has cleaned up the dumb penalties but they still struggle with turnovers and have been hit hard by the injury bug. They should focus on getting healthy by sectionals and making a playoff run. The Tigers however are playing very well and are my 1A to Heritage Hills 1B for the 3A title favorite. The Tigers will be celebrating on their homecoming night after they win by three scores.

3:00 for that game

First time I've seen football games postponed due to rain and wind. I guess that's what happens when you get an uncharacteristically strong hurricane in late September.

Any word if PAC games will get moved to tomorrow?

All games will get moved to Saturday. Interested to see what times they decide.

It’s possible but haven’t seen any lightning in the forecast. I’d be surprised if they postpone due to wind or rain unless it’s a grass field already in rough shape. Also the Saturday forecast doesn’t look much better. Gonna be ugly and sloppy but there will be football played!

Not even going to try to predict scores with the weather forecast so I'll just pick winners. Harrison at Vincennes - The Alices have a new weapon at QB and should win this one fairly easily. Harrison may score a few times though. Mater Dei at North - I expect this one to be low scoring with MD coming out on top. Jasper at Central - The Bears will be hungry for the upset here but don't think they will be able to stop the Jasper rushing attack. Bosse at Memorial - The Tigers win with a running clock and set up a potential undefeated showdown with Reitz next week. GAME OF THE WEEK: Castle at Reitz - It sounds like this is the year for Reitz to deal with the injury bug. Already having two QBs injured and slot receiver out rest of season, additionally it sounds like now their MLB will be out a while. I think they're still good enough to beat Castle but don't think they beat Memorial.

Sounds like Reitz will be digging deep down their QB depth chart for this game. I agree with you, the Bears will see a heavy dose of Ussery, McClarney, and company. Creates potential for an unexpectedly close game. However, I don't think the Bears can stop the Panthers rushing attack. And will Central score more than once or twice? Probably not. Bigger question on people's minds might be whether or not Reitz will get their guys back by the time Castle marches into the Bowl for a huge showdown next week.

Most likely not many, if any, close games this week. Could an upset be brewing though? Probably not. Here are my predictions: Lincoln at Castle - I think the Alices can hang around for a half but the Knights pull away in the 2nd half. I will take the Knights by four scores. North at Bosse - Perfect week for the Huskies to get back on track. The Huskies have faced a tough schedule but have shown they have the defense to compete. I will take the Huskies by four scores. Memorial at Harrison - I think the Warriors are much improved this year. If their starting QB is back for this one, they could make it a game for a half. I think the Tigers pull away and win by four scores. Central at Reitz - The big question for now is the health of the Reitz QBs after they both exited the game against North. But even if they have to go with a third string QB, they shouldn't have too much trouble winning this with their running game and defense taking control. I will take the Panthers in a running clock. GAME OF THE WEEK: Mater Dei at Jasper - This year's installment of the Wildcat War should be a good one. Jasper got back in the win column and will be happy to be back on their home turf. Will they defend it though? Probably not. I will take the Mater Dei version of the Wildcats by two scores.

I agree. I honestly can't pick a winner. Should be a close one.

Weather forecast for game time seems to be improving.

Could be interesting. Might lead to lower scoring, closer games.

Reitz at North - hard to predict this one. I could see it being very close but could also see Reitz winning by multiple scores. I think the North defense is good enough to keep them in the game. But can North score on Reitz? I will take the Panthers by three scores. Jasper at Bosse - this one won't be close. Jasper is much more physical and I don't think the Bulldogs will be able to stop the run game. I will take the Wildcats by four scores. Castle at Harrison - I do think the Warriors will hang around in this one. They have proven that they can put up points, but will they be able to get any stops on defense? Could be a high scoring shootout. I will take the Knights by two scores. Lincoln at Central - This could be a good game, especially being at Central. The Bears have the athletes to make this a game, but I think the Alices are a bit too physical for them. I will take the Alices by two scores. GAME OF THE WEEK: Memorial at Mater Dei - heck of a matchup here. Memorial is as good as we thought they would be while MD is better than we thought they would be. This is one of those matchups that is typically close regardless of records or skill levels. This could go either way but I do think overall amount of talent will prevail. I will take the Tigers by one score.

Guessing it won’t be his last. He’s a beast.

I think I read that there has only been one game decided by 35+ in the history of that matchup. I know Reitz has had their number recently, but it’s typically a competitive matchup. That being said, I wouldn’t be shocked if Reitz wins by multiple scores. They should be at full strength and able to open up the offense more.

In regards to the different polls, which one do you guys feel is the most accurate or well versed?

Most of the lines this week seem accurate but -35 for a Jasper vs. Reitz game seems insane.