Knightsfan_01

Take of two halves in Kendallville, EN dominating 2nd half. All tied up at 32, 8:12 to go in 4th.

EN forces a fumble, 50 yards to go to a tied game.

EN finally gets a stop on D and drives down and scores again, 32-25 Leo, 11:13 left in 4th.

EN scores on opening drive of second half, 32-19 Leo.

Yeah, I feel EN can put some points on the board quick but D has to step up big time.

Leo up 32-12 over EN at halftime. Leo ground game dominating.

Game day! Here’s to both teams playing a clean game and everyone coming out healthy on the other side. It’s going to be a battle for sure! A defensive stop at the end wins it! EN wins 31-27

Summit City Sports will be streaming the game on YouTube.

How are those JH predictions made anyway? Did I read the ratings difference plus 2 pts to the home team? If that’s the case I assume it would be different if the Northwood game wasn’t cancelled.

Extremely comfortable I would say. I know DJ and and their pass rush is legit but I would assume game plan and play calling could alleviate a lot of pressure on him. But I’ve also seen him stand in the pocket and deliver some very well thrown balls with pressure in his face/getting hit. He’s a tough runner when he pulls it down as well.

I think it’s going to come down to defensive play from both teams. Both offenses are going to put points on the board. I think it comes down to some crucial 3rd/4th down stops and maybe some takeaways for both teams. I think one of the defenses will win this game for their team. Leo will run the ball with effectiveness as they always do. EN lost both middle line backers from last year, which so far hasn’t been an issue, but facing the Leo ground attack will be a huge challenge for them. I think that could be a point of worry for EN. I could see Leo going up early then EN having to play catch-up. I know Leo’s run D is stout but I think EN will still be able to move the ball on the ground. So how is the Leo secondary? I know they have Crawford but can they cover 4/5 legit receiving threats at once? EN has a lot of weapons and the offense is wide open compared to their last meeting.

EN doesn’t and I don’t think Leo has their own stream. Decent chance Summit City Sports on YouTube will though. Find out later in the week I guess.

I’m also not trying to be a complete Homer and look at this matchup objectively lol. For now I’ll refrain from a projection. Just curious on others’ opinions.

Alright, the week both teams have had circled on their calendars all year is here! Big NE 8 matchup against two top 10 4A teams with the winner most definitely being the conference champ. Leo is probably out for blood with the way their last 2 seasons have ended in sectionals. Looking forward to the Barstool trash talk lol. However this game ends it will probably be close. Also probably just a precursor to a matchup in sectionals as well. Who ya got?

I’ll comment on these 3 teams, all in sectional 19. Leo — Awesome O-Line with size, a great stable of backs to share the load on carries, great hard nosed defense, great special teams, but a questionable Offensive scheme IMO. This is what I don’t understand about Leo, they have all this size, great backs, experienced QB, and their scheme relies on deception, ball fakes, and confusion?? As soon as they match up against a defense that has the minimum level of size and tackling ability, AND has the scheme to stop their run they’re in trouble. I think Amstutz and EN have that defensive scheme. EN is 3-1 against Leo in the past 2 years with much of the same players on both teams. East Noble — Down in size a little compared to Leo, but an experienced roster. Offensively they are much better than last year, more balanced for sure. Playmakers at skill spots. Defense has been improving since week 1 against Plymouth where for more than half the game, we didn’t have our 1st team D on the field much at all. Northridge — I honestly don’t know a whole lot about them. I expected a little drop off with Coach Wogoman gone but doesn’t appear so. I know their conference is tougher than the NE8 playing the likes of Warsaw/Mishawaka etc. I’ll be following them as they play out their conference schedule for sure. Seems to me it wouldn’t be a surprise to see any of these 3 teams win sectional 19 and move on.

I predicted at season’s start the North 4A rep would be from the NE8, and I’m still sticking to that. Leo/EN will meet in week 5, ultimately deciding the conference championship. Until that game unfortunately the matchups every week are meh… Not much to debate. I really hope the SAC in Ft Wayne adapts their schedule like I’ve heard and EN/Leo can pick up some of those early season games. I know we can compete and look forward to a more competitive schedule overall. But I gotta say it’s hard to make picks when kids are getting quarantined left and right. Are there school districts making changes with the Governer’s new guidelines isssued last week? As of yet EN has not changed anything.. although I wish they would, I hope it doesn’t bite us at the wrong time. Bellmont @ Norwell — No analysis needed, a garbage TD in trash time but 35-7 Norwell. Columbia City @ Huntington North — Not sure what happened last week but If Bolt plays 41-14 Col City, if not 35-14 lol. East Noble @ Dekalb — I’m impressed by the Dekalb QB but they can’t slow down EN’s offense.. 49-14 EN. New Haven @ Leo — Will Leo work on their passing game before the week 5 matchup with EN or just run like they do 99% of their plays? Did they learn anything last postseason? Will Jakar Williams play? Either way it’s a blowout.. 47-10 Leo. Can’t wait until next week.. where the Leo faithful at?!?

East Noble - 35 Huntington North - 0 still first quarter..

Yeah I remember this Junior class at Norwell from middle school. If they’ve matured as they should have they’ll be my pick to win the NE8 next year. Considering what Leo and EN will graduate.

Columbia City @ Bellmont - Not much to say, Col City by 35. Dekalb @ New Haven - Tough year for Dekalb keeps getting worse, New Haven by 14. Huntington North @ East Noble - Sophomore QB continues to settle in, heavy dose of EN run game, EN by 24. Leo @ Norwell - Leo’s powder puff non conference schedule is over but not much changes, different Norwell team than last year, Leo by 27.

That stuff was hilarious!

Yeah I agree with this. Looking forward to an SAC schedule shakeup so that the two conferences can play some games against each other.

Football is back and so are the fans in the stands! Here's to a good and healthy year to all teams in the conference! Couple predictions for the NE8 this year: Still a two team race for the conference title between Leo and EN. Columbia City will be last years Norwell and have a really good year. I'm putting the odds at 50/50 the 4A North State Representative comes from the NE8 ... either Leo/EN Kainon Carico(EN) comes out of nowhere and leads conference in rushing at +2000yds. Week 1 Matchups: Adams Central @ Bellmont -- AC by 21 Angola @ Dekalb -- Angola by 7 Col City @ Churubusco -- Col City by 14 EN @ Plymouth -- EN by 20 Garrett @ New Haven -- New Haven by 17 Huntington North @ Eastbrook -- Eastbrook by 21 Jennings County @ Norwell -- Norwell by 10 Leo @ Woodlan -- Leo by 24

I would lump EN and Leo together, whoever comes out of sectional 19. Leo brings a lot back just like EN. How will Hobart be next year? Who's the favorite in the north? I know Marion is graduating like 20 seniors.

I agree, a couple sloppy plays here and there (EN Special Teams and D) and EN could have easily won that game. I can't speak to the 5A and 6A game but I'm going to pick Hobart in a close one. I was hoping it would be EN to make the trip, even though I'm not sure we could have beaten Hobart, totally different EN team from last year. I was really impressed with the size and physicality of Marion's 2 backs.. Their feature back, Stamps I think his name is, is very fast and obviously great. I was more impressed with their second option guy.. don't remember name.. big, physical, tough. I think he wore down the EN defense more than anyone. And Yucca, dont fret the EN crowd too much.. they're always rowdy lol. Good luck to both teams!

Marion 21 EN 10 Halftime