Ballhawk

2 Point Games Benton Central @ Twin Lakes Blackhawk @ Northwestern Hamilton Heights @ Western Rensselaer @ West Lafayette Tipton @ Central Catholic Glenn @ Knox Carroll @ Eastern Tri-Central @ Delphi Clinton Prairie @ Sheridan Bowman Academy @ Lake Station

Just think of what HS football was like 100 years ago. You see a lot of small colleges on the schedules in the early 1900s. Think about WL playing Wabash back in the day. I know Wabash shows up on the Sheridan schedule a few times. Sheridan celebrates their 100th Homecoming tomorrow night. The Blackhawks were reportedly the first school in Indiana to celebrate homecoming. We could probably ask Coach Wright what the festivities were like 😂

I'm a Hamilton County boy now. The ladies in this part of the state are hotter than a fox in a forest fire. They are not impressed with Zimas and inflatable pools. I believe Coach King played on the state champion Tippy Valley team in 1979 that defeated Hamilton SE. He was #50, a C-LB.

I apologize if I took this in the wrong direction. I have long extolled the addition of turf for high school stadiums due to the amount of use that can be added to the field surface without causing damage or expensive upkeep. I was only curious as to whether the stated 'cost savings' were accurate. I knew someone here would be able to answer that, so thank you. I would like nothing more than to see Bud Wright Stadium with field turf. I hope I see that come to fruition one day.

I appreciate you taking the time to present this. I would just want to know the cost savings were real if I were to advocate for a turf field. This breaks it down perfectly.

The statement made is that it will save money on upkeep for the life of the turf. I want to see the numbers to prove that. I stated more groups could utilize it, but that doesn't have anything to do with cost savings. Again, I'm not against turf, but I want to know the truth about cost savings, not that more kids could use it. At a small school, only band and youth football might use it. Does that justify the cost? Does the soccer team want to play on turf?

Attica at Fountain Central - if a Mustang raced a Rambler, the Mustang would win easily, so I'm taking FC. I do ask that FC not be called the Herbies. Herbie was #53 on the program and a much beloved Disney character before the woke days of the 2000's. Herbie will always be the Love Bug. Riverton Parke at North Vermilion - the Falcon racing the Ramber might be more evenly matched. Methinks the Falcons are more than enough for the disappointing Panthers. Seeger at Parke Heritage - is it me or is PH playing more like the Turkey Run half of the school than the Rockville half? These Wolves are playing more like little kitties. They stand no chance vs. the mighty Patriots. Long ago, in Father Ballhawk's time, the Patriots were known as the Indians. Can anybody provide the year in which the name was changed? Were they known as the West Lebanon Football Team until they decided on Patriots? There was the Pine Village Pine Knots, West Lebanon Clippers & Pikers and the Williamsport Bombers. Why the Indians and then the Patriots? Just curious. South Vermilion at Covington - let's just go with SV. No need to elaborate. Finally, I can't believe this Lucy Draper is a real person. If there was a female in Fountain, Parke, Vermillion or Warren Counties that hot, she'd look like 100 miles of US 41 by now. Can't be real.

Carroll at Eastern - Mrs. Ballhawk was a Comet, so I'll take Eastern. Would this be an upset? Clinton Central at Taylor - the Bulldogs are struggling, so this is a game the Titans will remember, for a week or so. Tri Central at Delphi - I can 'see' the Oracles winning their first game of the season. Close win over the Trojans. Saturday night special Clinton Prairie at Sheridan - it is the 100th Homecoming at SHS this weekend. Sheridan was reportedly the first school to have a homecoming, so the tradition was supposedly started by the Blackhawk faithful. The interesting note is that Coach Wright has coached 58% of Sheridan's homecoming games. That is staggering to think of. There is too much history and pride on the line for the Hawks to fail in this one. The Gophers may provide a challenge, but 100+ years of tradition and excellence will prove too much for CP.

I'm not taking sides on this, but could someone please provide a cost analysis on turf vs. natural grass? I'm a little skeptical that installing turf saves money. What does installation and upkeep cost for a turf stadium? What does maintenance of a natural grass field cost? I get that turf allows more opportunities for more groups to use a field without destroying it, but I'd rather see that argument than the one that it saves money over the lifetime of the turf. I'm not convinced that this is true. Someone give me some numbers.

Attica @ Parke Heritage Fountain Central @ Covington Seeger @ Riverton Parke North Vermilion @ South Vermilion Let's go all road teams this week. The Ramblers are the real stretch here, but I can see FC & Seeger winning easily. NV would probably be an upset, but not a big one.

Delphi @ Carroll - bacon or pork burgers? It's like picking between two pretty girls. The game's an easy choice - Cougars big. Taylor @ Eastern - do the Comets enjoy being the big fish in a small pond? They stick it to the Indian Heights crowd. Clinton Central @ Sheridan - Blackhawks win in one of the oldest rivalry games in Indiana (including Sheridan vs. Kirklin). Tri Central @ Clinton Prairie - Trojans might give them a game, but I'll take the Gophers at home.

Twin Lakes @ Rensselaer Tipton @ Tippecanoe Valley Hamilton Heights @ Northwestern West Lafayette @ Central Catholic Western @ Benton Central Logansport @ Tech Fountain Central @ Covington Bremen @ Triton Greenwood Christian @ Edinburgh Guerin @ Brebeuf

Clinton Prairie at Clinton Central - the Battle of Clinton County goes to the Gophers. Eastern at Delphi - Comets were Mrs. Ballhawk's alma mater, so I am obliged to choose them this week. Taylor at Carroll - Cougars will roll the Titans up early. Sheridan at Tri Central - Black Machine whips the Trojans.

Attica at Seeger - Pops was a Patriot/Indian and mom was a Rambler. That made me a deadly combination. I'll take the Pats. Riverton Parke at Fountain Central - Panthers were exposed by Carroll. Mustangs gallop away with the win. Covington at North Vermilion - I haven't been kind to the Trojans so far this year, so I'll pick them this week and they'll probably lose. Parke Heritage at South Vermilion - the Wildcats are NOT the favorite in their sectional, except to their own fans, which they should be. They are favorites over the Wolves.

2 POINT GAMES Central Catholic @ Hamilton Heights Northwestern @ Benton Central Rensselaer @ Western Twin Lakes @ Tippecanoe Valley West Lafayette @ Tipton North Newton @ Lake Station Merrillville @ Crown Point Pioneer @ LaVille Louisville Trinity @ Center Grove Lewis Cass @ Peru

Benton Central @ Seeger - Bison didn't impress me vs. Delphi, but Patriots didn't show a lot vs. CC. I'll just take the home team. Eastern @ Northwestern - sorry Coach P Elwood @ Tipton - Elwood still misses Joliet Jake Central Catholic @ Guerin - the Battle for the Bishop's Cannon goes to the Golden Eagles McCutcheon @ West Lafayette North Montgomery @ Hamilton Heights Rensselaer @ North Newton - Spartans need to get to their Midwest Conference schedule Twin Lakes @ Delphi Western Boone @ Western Scecina @ Speedway

Clinton Prairie at Frankfort - Gopher one, Gopher all, let us hear your Gopher call! Eastern at Northwestern - in the battle of directional schools the Comets top the Purple Tigers. Blackhawk at Taylor - Blackhawk is gonna struggle their first year in 11-man football. The Titans only have about 2-3 winnable games this year, so they better get this one. North Miami at Sheridan - Warriors, come out to play-ay! Mighty mighty Blackhawks get their first W of the year. Riverton Parke at Carroll - a good ole cat fight in Flora. The Cougars will get the best of the Panthers. Tri Central at Wes Del - the Trojans bend but don't break. Twin Lakes at Delphi - the Monticello football team gets their first win over the Oracles.

Benton Central at Seeger - I'll take the home team Patriots over the Bison. Bison weren't that impressive over Delphi and I thought Seeger would be thumped a little more by CC. Crawfordsville at Fountain Central - neither team looked impressive last week while facing pretty decent opponents. The coin toss said take the Athenians. North Vermilion at Paris, Il. - picking the Indiana team. Parke Heritage at West Vigo - even though I can't stand any team named the Vikings, I cannot see the Wolves winning this game. Riverton Parke at Carroll Flora - Who doesn't love a good cat fight!? Sorry RP, but these Cougars are for real (and not the kind Donnie Baker likes). If the Panthers can pull this off in Flora, maybe they are a legit threat in 1A. South Newton at Covington - with a Rebel yell, they cry more, more, more! Trojans have their bubble burst. Sullivan at South Vermilion - the Golden Arrows have had the Wildcats number for a while. The streak continues this week. Tri County at Attica - the Cavaliers visit River City for a brawl with the mighty Ramblers. While this is more like a pillow fight, the losing streak for the Ramblers rolls on.

2 Point Games Benton Central @ Delphi Kankakee Valley @ Rensselaer Lapel @ Hamilton Heights Northwestern @ Twin Lakes Seeger @ Central Catholic South Adams vs Tipton West Lafayette @ Harrison Western @ Tri-West West Central @ Caston Frontier @ Clinton Prairie

North Vermilion at North Central Parke Heritage at Linton Pike Central at Riverton Parke Seeger at Lafayette CC Finneytown (OH) at Attica - are they really playing Finneytown? If you look them up, they sure have a nice football field, but they show playing someone else Friday night. Still can't pick the Ramblers until they break the streak. South Vermilion at West Vigo Tri County at Covington Fountain Central at Southmont on Saturday - why are they playing on Saturday? They are not that far apart. Official shortage?

I'll take a stab, but here is my first question - Is Rossville the best team in Clinton County? If they fielded a team they probably would be. Benton Central at Delphi - Bison get the road win over the Oracles. Carroll at North Newton - Are the Cougars #6 in 1A? Spartans struggled last year and they have a new coach and almost double the players. They'll be better this year, but probably won't win this one. Frankfort at Clinton Central - Is there a decent team in Clinton County? I say no, but someone has to win this game. I'll take the Hot Dogs over the Bulldogs. Frontier at Clinton Prairie - Not sold on the pick of the Falcons, but the Gophers don't really give me much of a reason to pick them. Madison Grant at Tri Central - The Argylls alley oop over the Trojans. Oak Hill at Eastern - Flipped a coin, OH won the toss and elected to win. Simple as that. Sheridan at Western Boone - Stars have had the Hawks number recently. As much as I'd love to see the Hawks win, it's a tough assignment to win in Dover. Taylor at North White - The Vikings over the Titans. While this sounds like a monumental meeting, this is more like the Fluffy Kittens vs. the Bouncing Butterflies.

There used to be so many WRC schools at the top in 1A football, now it seems so many of them struggle. I hate to see it as I enjoyed going to FC, Seeger or Attica to watch a game. What's caused the slump? Are the feeder programs not turning out the talent that they used to? Are kids just not wanting to play football? Let's hope a couple teams break out this year and have a good run. It's good for 1A football and it's good for these communities.

So if I'm faster than you on turf I'm not faster than you on grass? Warren was bigger, faster and stronger. Does grass change that too? Enlighten me.

Donnie Baker said you could get in big trouble for this.....I swear to Gosh he did! Seed sectional top 4 teams and play semistates at neutral sites with turf. Let the rest fall as it may.

They replaced the visitor side and added seating to that side as well.