LionKing

Concord is way too much for Wawasee. Concord Big Northwood fairly easily over Goshen. Panthers by 17 Northridge can do as they please with Plymouth. Raiders by at least 4 TDs Hard to pick the Warsaw - Mishawaka game without much info known about the older Fisher. Going to say he plays if it is just the meniscus (he sounds like the kind that would play with that kind of injury). My prediction is Cavemen by 3.

Friday, Sep. 10 Bremen at Triton, 7 pm Glenn at Jimtown ©, 7 pm Marian at New Prairie ©, 7:30 pm Riley at Clay ©, 7 pm St. Joseph at Adams ©, 7 pm St. Xavier at Penn, 7 pm Bremen -- Lions too much in the trenches in the second half. Bremen 34-20 Glenn -- Interesting game. Think Glenn is the better overall team, but Jimtown at home has enough if Glenn stumbles. Falcons 15-13 New Prairie -- New Prairie grinds it out in a fast played game. Watch out for Atkinson though in the return game. Cougars 28 - 13 Riley -- Riley is slightly better in this match-up of poor teams. Wildcats 40 - 12 St. Joe -- Can Adams play mistake free and grind out a couple of long drives? Is St. Joe on the rise up? Maybe the answer is yes to both St. Joe 24-21 St. Xavier -- This will not be pretty. St. Xavier by a lot.

North Judson Pioneer Bremen Culver Clean sweep by the road teams this week. Believe Winamac would have kept it going if that game could of been played. Really a shame that it is not being played. Could have been a good one.

Highland gets by Kn ox Winamac big over Manchester NJSP big over North Newtown Pioneer holds off LaVille Caston hols off a grieving Triton team for a close victory.

Hammond Central over Clay -- Too not so great teams. Hammond Central is a couple TD's better Elkhart over Hammond Morton Jimtown gets into the win column versus Osceloa Grace -- This might be a little closer than expected this year Glenn pulss out a 2 score win vs. St. Joe New Prairie gets it done in a close game vs. Lowell Marian uses its speed and playmakers to get a late score and beat the Lons in a good game. Cathederal names their score against Penn Adams has too much for a poor Riley team KV pulls out a close one over Washington

Bremen at Washington -- Bremen has lots of question marks with some postitions and depth across the board, but what they have is strong line play on both sides of the ball. Clean up special teams and play a realitively clean game on offense and they win Friday night. But they couldn't so give LaVille credit. They have a nice 2A team. Washington's speed and ability for big plays is certainly a concern. Sounds like Washington may have been running out of gas in the heat last Friday and it is going to be another hot one this week. Gonna roll with the Lions this week in a close one. Got to get this game with Marian up in week 3. Culver Academy at Marian, Marian wins this non-public tussle fairly easy. Elkhart at Mishawaka, Elkhart has had tough luck with the injury bug and a visit to Steele Stadium undermanned is not a good thing. Mishawaka by a couple of TD'S. Jimtown at Concord, Concord has too much for the Jimmes, but expect them to battle to the end and make Concord sweat one out. LaPorte at Penn, Penn has to win this one at home, right? Adams at Fairfield, Adams size, strength and speed should serve them well, but Fairfield's system could give them fits for a little while if Adams is not disciplined. Clay at Goshen, Give the schedule maker a shout out for Goshen's first two wins this season. I about fell over when seeing Clay's score from last Friday. Riley at Glenn Glenn has thmeselves a team this season. If they stay healthy they are the team to beat in the South. St. Joseph at Northridge, Northridge keeps it rolling this week. Impressed with their athletes and the schools committment to them. Twin Lakes at New Prairie, Does Cougar Nation believe in their coach? Heard more then once some comments that would question their confidence. Won't matter this week. The running game keeps churning out yards and scores.

I'll give one game on this thread a try: LaVille @ Bremen -- Going total homer pick here with the Lions. Most are predicting a Lancer victory on this thread and on the NIC thread. The most popular reason stated seems to center around the big and physical line of the Lancers. I like Bremen's firepower in the trenches. They have 3 experienced all-conference performers who are seniors along their offensive and defensive front. I have no doubt LaVille's line is formidable and can hold their own, but over the course of the entire game, I will give the edge to the Lions. Bremen has holes to fill in other postion groups and they cannot be careless with the ball and turn it over. I believe the Bremen seniors will be the difference in a close and spirited contest with a score of 21-16.

I attended the scrimmage at Jimtown with Bremen, Fairfield & Goshen The Reed kid did not dress for the scrimmage for the Jimmes, but was on the sidelines and seemed to be walking fine. A couple of people commented that it looked like his hamstring was taped, but he sure didn't look hobbled at all. I would guess more cautionary then anything. They are physical and play hard. The quarterback looked good and was dual threat. Goshen and Fairfield both had some success running the ball against the Jimtown defense. Fairfield was more so because of the scheme they run as I doubt most teams spent alot of time in camp defending it. Fairfield had success early running the ball against Bremen also, until the Lions got use to playing against it. I was pleasantly suprised with the running back by committe the Lions ran out there to replace the Dingus kid from last season. As long as they value the ball and do not put it on the ground, they should be able to run the ball and control the clock behind the line they have. They have some dominant senior lineman on both sides of the ball that are 3 and 4 year varsity players. They have some depth at the position as well. Their two starting defensive ends are special, the middle is strong as well with some big boys at tackle, the middle linebacker returns and a good strong safety. There are some holes to fill at receiver and in the defensive backfield. Hopefully some kids will step up and I saw signs of that Friday.

I can see the postions taken by both Marshall County and Turf Toe. Bremen has the potential to own the line of scrimmage in most conference games. Jimtown and Glenn can give them a battle in that area though. Ecenbarger, Moser and Manges are going to be seniors who will be starting varsity players for either the 3rd or 4th season. Each has conference recognition in past seasons and have worked out religiously since the the end of last season to get stronger and more athletic. Two Juniors to be Schmucker and Reed got lots of reps at center and guard last season and should round out a formidable line on both sides of the ball. An aggressive and strong senior to be who had to sit out last season is hopefully returning to mix in on the defensive line. He could be a huge upgrade for the one defensive line position opened up by graduation. Linebacker and the secondary on defense need at least one newcomer to step up and fill roles to complete a stout defensive unit. On offense, there is lots to replace in the skill positions. It does not appear the two injured speedsters at the end of last season will be returning. Things can change obviously, but not counting on it. Definately going to need a couple of running backs to step up and grind out some yardage behind that line. The Lions are going to have to grind it out and play to their line strength. Hopefully the coaches will be content to do that and mix in the short passing game and utilize the TE. Don't see lots of big plays in the running game or downfield passing game. That could be an issue against the Jimmes and Falcons. I believe the group of senior leaders see the challenge that John Glenn presents. Playing in Bremen on Bunge Field will hopefully add an advantage for the Lions. That advantage could be offset a little by the fact the Lions play Jimtown the week before at their place. That is a tough back-to-back scheduling of games, physically and mentally. I think the John Glenn game is a toss up at this point. The fourth quarter of that game might be special.

Congratulations to Pioneer. They believed and showed up to do what they do. The Lewellen's showed out and the other players did what they are drilled to do so the team can have success. With that said, Andrean should be embarrassed. From the game plan they employed from the start and the attitude they approached the game with. No sense of urgency until it was too late. If they play the whole game the way they did in the last 9 minutes; they win.

This is the same crew that you had an issue with on an earlier post about an inadvertent whistle from the opposite sideline. Mistakes happen, don't care how many state finals you worked.

Was he clearly out of bounds when he got hit? It was a big hit and seemed like the official felt like he needed to call something since it was made with the arms extended near the chest/upper torso area.

Elkhart -- Probably the NIC's only legit shot at coming away with a victory. Mishawaka -- Should pull away over the course of the game to win fairly handily. Marian -- Jimtown can make it interesting for awhile, but eventually Marian's talent and speed will be too much Bremen -- Total heart pick here. It is just as likely Pioneer could run away with it, but got to have faith in the Lions. Pioneer is a tremendous program and this years version is as good as any they have had I believe. Bremen will not be intimitated though and they will certainly match the physicality of the Panthers. Two issues really stand out to me though that could be huge disadvantages for Bremen. One is a major lack of depth. Too many two way players that are simply beat up at this point in the year. Not that both teams aren't feeling the effects of a full season, but Bremen has some players playing both ways that might not even play if this was a regular season game. The other area is special teams. Bremen does try to give some of the main guys a break on kickoff and kickoff return, could this lead to issues with poor field position or giving up a big play?

That will never happen with the current administration in place. They are happy being competitive in the olympic sports and don't really care how it affects basketball. It has been ok for football with the split into two divisions, but basketball playing all member schools is a killer.

Penn -- No drama in this game Elkhart -- Too much for Portage to deal with on the other sideline Concord -- Home field and Adams miscues will get Concord through to the next round Logansport -- Think Logan is better then record might indicate. Too much power rushing and TOP for St. Joe to overcome Marian -- No explanation needed Jimtown -- Will slowly wear them down and pull away. Bremen -- ACE bandages, braces and tape hold the Lions together for another week as they win by a couple of scores.

Give Glenn some credit for stepping up to defeat Jimtown, but didn't the Jimmies have some turnover issues in that game that contributed? Then Glenn loses their all everything QB on the second possession of the game against Bremen and then were never the same offensively. Believe I heard that another top playmaker was lost for the season to injury as well. For some schools with numbers and participation the way they are now, losing two main players is hard to overcome. Sometimes there just isn't someone else to step up and fill in.

St. Joe Logansport New Prairie Marian Jimtown Glenn Bremen Not many intriguing contests. I really only see Logansport/Riley and Washington/Tippy Valley as being close games that could go either way.

If there are any "upsets" in round one, I could see Cass knocking off LaVille. I believe Laville will win in a close game, but Cass has played good competition and don't believe they will be intimidated by LaVille. Maybe Cass has packed it in for the season as mentioned above? Pioneer should dispatch of Delphi, but don't see Delphi laying down in this one. They could make it interesting. Like everyone else in the field, Delphi eventually gets wore down. Bremen is playing well on both sides of the ball. They are simply too big up front, and have both power and speed in the skill the postions that Rochester cannot match. Just received word that Fulton County is re-evaluating whether they are going to allow fans at the game. Could Rocherster keep it close at the start in a plain atmosphere? Hope people come to their senses and at least let the kids families watch them play. I mean it is outside and a few fans should be able to social distance. Wabash has enough to get by Manchester who sounds a little short handed. But by Friday, any team might be short handed because of COVID and contact tracing. I believe this is Pioneers sectional title to lose. Bremen could give them a game if it came to that match up, but Pioneer just seems to be a solid team and program from year to year. Bremen might be a year away from being able to pull the upset.

I agree with you, but I guess it wasn't our decision to make.

Starting quarterbackk and one of the their starting safties? Two of the six I am hearing. If true then probably because of who and not the number. Should have tried picking up a couple more players instead of finding a new opponent.

Bremen at Clay -- Lions claim their share of the South. I think it might be closer then most Clay games have been. Clay must have put up a little fight last Friday vs. Glenn. Bremen should get a lead and step back a bit to rest some players and let some bumps and bruises heal for the tournament run. Elkhart at New Prairie -- Was very surprised at the margin of victory for Penn over NP last Friday. Guessing New Prairie will dig and give a better showing this week, but it will not be enough to make this one real interesting. Elkhart pulls away in the second half. Penn at Adams -- Penn keeps the streak of visiting teams winning games going in this one. Penn is battle tested and Adams is not that good. Might stick with the Kingsmen for a while, but it starts to get ugly by 2nd half. Riley at Jimtown -- Would love to see the Wildcats pull one out here vs. the Jimmies, but just don't see it happening after what I observed of Riley vs. Bremen Friday. The defense kept them in it early and played the run game of the Lions pretty good, but then the turnovers, penalties and overall undisciplined play emerged. Jimtown will wear them down like every other average to good team that Riley has played. St. Joe at Marian -- Say all the cliche statements about rivalries and throwing out the records. Add in the fact that Marian has been off the field for a while, could this one be a close game that comes down to the end? Maybe, but after seeing both teams in person, Marian's overall talent and athleticism will win out. Washington at Glenn -- I have no clue about Glenn from week to week. Not sure anyone does. Will Creed play any more this season? If there are any upsets in the NIC this week, I could really see it being Washington over Glenn. With a share of the conference title at stake, I believe Glenn will come out with a good, focused effort and do enough to get the win. Safe travels and prayers for good health for all teams in this final week of the regular season. Hopeful all teams can start the second season with their full squad intact.

Thanks for the confirmation on that. They have a strong program for a 1A school. Sure wouldn't be upset to see them leave 2A. 🙂 2A North is loaded enough!

How does the success factor come into play with regards to Pioneer and reclassification this off season? Or will they stay 2A based on enrollment? Thinking if they would win regionals they would accumulate enough points to stay 2A. Is that correct?

If it is who I believe you are talking about, don't count on it. Maybe ever again in a football uniform. Word is he won't even be on the sidelines any longer, his choice. We will see what Friday brings in regards to this.

A couple of toss ups and if being completely honest, a couple of games I know little about the opponents. So I am just going to list my picks (guesses in some cases) and say nothing more. St. Joe over CMA Adams over Jimtown Glenn over Clay Elkhart over Marian Penn over NP Bremen over Riley Washington over West Side