temptation

Slaughter, 60 yard TD reception. Cathedral - 14 Warren - 0 5:24, 2nd

Pick six. Cathedral 7 Warren 0 7:12 - 1st

To be fair, I was sold on Warren’s defense, lol.

Point of diminishing returns in terms of enrollment, low FRL number means they have that country club/suburban lack of grit? Just spit balling. Never thought I’d be in the position of making excuses for Carmel but here we are.

Just did a quick bit of research on the history of Carmel High School athletics based on limited information and want to pose this question. Are we being fair to the Greyhounds? Take this with a grain of salt and there are a lot of variables (enrollment changes, growth, advancements in sports, etc) but hear me out. By decade, Carmel has won the following amount of team state championships in current IHSAA sports. 1980’s: 27 1990’s: 30 2000’s: 31 2010’s: 60 2020’s (thus far at halfway): 23 Now, Carmel did not become a “mega school” until the late 1990’s unless I am mistaken. IHSAA enrollment data before 2000 is very difficult to find and in that particular update they were Indiana’s second largest school at roughly 2600 students. Translation: They have doubled in size in the last 25 years with much of that growth taking place in the 2010’s, a decade in which they won an astonishing SIXTY IHSAA team state championships. At the halfway point of the current decade, they are on pace for 46 which is obviously still damn impressive but on the surface it appears they will fall short of their 2010’s level success. Obviously, this forum focuses on football, but maybe it’s just possible that for one reason or another, the bar for Carmel is so high that we are unrealistic? Has everyone else caught up? Is it parity? I have spoken at length on this forum about there being a tipping point when it comes to enrollment and I don’t think there is much of an advantage in 5300 over 3000. Carmel is usually a pretty easy target and is sort of like the New York Yankees of Indiana high school athletics because of their high standard, but this makes me think that this is simply a credit to the rest of the state and us having unrealistic expectations for the Greyhounds. That being said, I would be surprised that barring a surprise tournament run, they will make a coaching change this off season.

Cool opportunity for CG tonight for sure. It’ll also tell us a bit about Lawrence North’s place in the national hierarchy.

Immediately after I submitted that post I also remembered that BD gave up two special team scores to Warren and I’m sure 1-2 other “miscellaneous” TDs so maybe average points per game doesn’t tell the whole story. LN’s games against North Side and Tech were also called at the half due to weather so there’s that. Look, I hate anointing a team without proper credentials and I am surely a bit premature in my assessment of LN but with each passing week I get closer and closer to becoming a believer. When they stomped BD…”well it’s not a typical BD team.” Then they stomped Warren…”well, Warren’s offense is pitiful.” Then they rolled CG… Three weeks in a row…and look what BD and Warren have done since LN “woke them up.”

No IMG on the schedule but the 2024 LN defense has given up an average of 15.8 points per game. The 2023 BD defense gave up an average of 18.1. Just sayin.

What about 2023 BD?

Nah, they just gotta beat PSU and then not trip up anywhere else to get their rematch.

Yep. The mob chased him off.

Wow.

Maybe it fits their current crop of players best? The spread is often associated with getting players in space and using their speed advantage in many instances, correct? Based on what I’ve seen in the fall AND spring, Noblesville is one of the slowest (if not THE slowest) teams in the HCC…and probably not so by design.

Not sure if it’s hyperbole but heard that Brownsburg ran less than 10 plays in the first half Friday night due to Noblesville churning up the clock with their running game.

Always appreciate the poll and could not even begin to imagine the amount of research and homework that goes into compiling it. I assume that next level talent plays a factor and LN has it (albeit, not SEC level). Now, I think the two youngsters on their roster (Moore and Sales) will actually be the best of the bunch and will be power 5 guys when all is said and done. They are sophomores right now so they might not show up on national recruiting rankings. CG is facing your #20 team this week and LN beat CG handily last week so maybe that’ll be a good barometer? I’ll shut up for now as I have LN and Brownsburg in a dead heat for IN #1 right now and assume that the gap between US #71 and US #101 is razor thin.

101. Lawrence North (IN) (8-0)

2021 @ Michigan: cold/snow/the flu 2022 vs Michigan: “a few big plays” 2023 @ Michigan: SIGNS! 2024 @ Oregon: PI/refs Ignore that the first big play of the game should have been an INT for Oregon. Is Day still looking for Lou Holtz?

OSU never actually loses…

Ben Davis @ North Central: West siders have revived themselves after the heat breaking rivalry loss to Warren weeks back. They get three in a row. Giants win 34-7. Cathedral @ Warren Central: Both teams riding high after rivalry wins as the Cathedral offense meets the Warren defense. Should be a fun matchup. Warren figured out some things on offense last week too. This will come down to the wire. Irish win 27-23. Lawrence Central @ Carmel: Both teams licking their wounds after blowout losses last week. LC still selling hope whereas Carmel selling desperation. I say they play like it. ‘Hounds at home 24-20. Lawrence North @ Pike: Wildcats have been the surprise story in 6A thus far and have been on a tear, particularly the last three weeks. Gotta be careful here as Pike is good enough to make em sweat. They will…for a bit. LN wins 41-17. St. Frances (MD) @ Center Grove: Don’t let the squad from the DMV’s 4-3 record fool you. They play a national schedule and are LOADED with talent. They have lost to the top ranked team in Texas, the top ranked team in California, and a second California powerhouse. Kudos to CG for scheduling this one. It’ll only make em better. By my count, they have 12 guys (at least 9–10 power 5) that’ll play at the next level. Hope I’m wrong but I’ll go SFA 37-17. What say you?

Avon @ Noblesville: The battle for the cellar of the HCC in the final week of the season. Good to see Avon get back to its ways last week as Noblesville continues to free fall. The Millers end their 10 game regular season conference losing streak at home this week in a rock fight. Noblesville 17-13. Brownsburg @ Hamilton Southeastern: The Bulldogs escaped Noblesville’s pound and control the clock game plan last week after falling behind early. HSE lost a shocker at Franklin Central. The last five between these two have come down to a grand total of 17 points and I don’t expect this one to be much different. Brownsburg knows how to win close ones for sure. They win 23-20. Fishers @ Zionsville: The Tigers going on the road after being humbled last weekend by Westfield. They get a Zionsville squad that was upended by Avon. Both teams need a win here for momentum. Gimme Zionsville in a small upset. 28-23. Franklin Central @ Westfield: Both teams riding high right now as the Flashes completed the HSE district sweep and Westfield continues to roll. I think FC keeps this one close early before bowing out. Shamrocks win 31-14. What say you?

Nah, they are deniers.

Correct on Penn with one caveat. You mention “team speed” and are absolutely correct, but Watson can absolutely FLY. I hate the term “football speed” because speed is speed (if you do enough digging, I think there’s a thread on here about it, lol). Watson is possibly the fastest player in Indiana. Problem is LN has 3-4 guys right there as does CG and Cathedral to a smaller extent. The stars have aligned for Brownsburg, at least as far as the sectional is concerned. If they don’t pull it off this year, some serious reflections will need to take place. Can’t remember a year since the inception of 6A that we have had this much conversation around a handful of teams at this stage. Exciting times for sure.

I’ve noticed a couple of posters that have sat this entire four page thread out thus far… Interesting.

Is there a way to sort that DOE data? I assume not. That’d make it super easy.

I’d love to see someone take the time to break down the numbers and see what this would look like in Indiana. Even if it’s as simple as ranking the teams by FRL and then doing so by enrollment and then taking the average of the two. Not it!