irishuncle411

Last week's game Frankton vs Oak Hill per MaxPreps - Frankton was 14/28 in the air with 98 yards. They only had 5 carries for -1 yards. Is Frankton OC an Air Raid guy and they've abandoned the run? Or are some of those ball carriers out right now? If they get back to ground and pound, they've got a shot. If they In last 3 weeks they only have a total of 8 rushing yards. And they haven't scored an offensive touchdown in past two weeks. I pulled all of this off of MaxPreps, so chance for human error that stuff was input incorrectly.

Oak Hill over Alexandria - No defense by the Tigers. Plus Oak HIll has a goal, win out and they can claim their 2nd in the CIC. Mississinewa over Blackford - Blackford will play inspired to make next week mean something (2nd place game), but Mississinewa has an athlete or two Blackford can't match. They pull away in 2nd half. Eastbrook over Elwood - Eastbrook by a lot. But Elwood got the W they need and can point to that improvements are happening!! MG over Frankton - MG in this one. Frankton has shown little ability to put up points. And last week being an anomaly, it looks like MG has a decent D. Sectional Draw tomorrow - Who does everyone hope for a first round matchup?

I think the legit point is IHSAA's role in keeping competitive balance...do they have one? should they? if yes, what should it look like? etc. etc. To me that's the main point of conversation that should be taking place...And I think it is an interesting one. Making accusations against a specific school and/or family to argue points within that conversation obviously won't be tolerated. That being said, New Pal is still well coached and solid. A 4-1 record shows no signs of slippage...But I did raise my eyebrows at the GC score. Are they that much improved?

Mississinewa over Alex - 4A program just proves too much against a 2A team. They've had successful years recently, but what holds them back from consistency? Eastbrook over Blackford - I think Blackford will get it close longer than expected either because they play well or because Eastbrook is trying to test some wrinkles before beating up on Elwood/MG, but Panthers play JV a good chunk of the 2nd half. Oak Hill over Frankton - Based on scores on John Harrell, the Def looks legit. Mississinewa hung 74 on Frankton but only 6 on Oak Hill. Looks like Frankton skill guys might double their turnovers!! MG over Elwood - MG appears to be trending up...I expect Elwood will show up, battle, and find a way to be in it the 4th quarter. But think their first W comes next year once new guy gets a full offseason. Overall Trends of CIC teams based on this crazy year.... Mississinewa - Down...Coming off some 3 straight sectional finals and two sectional trophies, they seem to be back into CIC territory. It'll be a quick out come tourney time Alex - Down...Beat an OK MG and a bad Elwood. Lost to an above average Eastern Hancock. They were trending up last year, but appear to be moving in wrong direction Eastbrook - Up. They play great competition in non-conference. As long as your competing for regionals consistently, you'll always be trending up in my opinion. Blackford - I could go either way. They'd been real down prior to current coach. But recent years has them trending up. Need to find a way to stay competitive and/or win 1 of the next 3. They'll make little noise come tourney time unless they get a good draw. Oak Hill - Up. Have only lost to good teams...and beat Mississinewa. Hope they get a good draw come tourney time and squeeze in an extra win or two. Frankton - Down. Barely beat Elwood. Haven't been in a close game since 1A Tri-Central in week 1 (they lost). I bet they're hoping week 9 vs Alex is a matchup they can win...need a good sectional draw to keep hope for next season. MG - Up. Moderately competitive vs Mississinewa/Oak Hill. Should win the next two before losing to Eastbrook and being 3-4 going into tourney. Will make little noise in the sectional. Elwood - Up. They had nowhere else to go, but scores and media show that right things are being done by players and staff. Long way away from competing in current sectional, but hopefully they win a few games next year.

Good to hear. Hope their recent years have been an anomaly and not the new norm.

Reason for optimism next season? Frankton young this year?

Did they pick up a new week 1, then? Tough opponent to open up the new stadium with...That is a big jump from their previous week 1 of Tri-Central.

So just because the Wigwam is of historical significance, we should try to keep it open to play bad 4A basketball? Anderson past 6 years...(2-22, 7-17, 11-14, 4-20, 3-20, 6-19). I remember watching games there and I'm honestly for keeping it open, but cannot make the argument to contract Anderson HS football b/c of bad records and argue that the Wigwam should stay open with those records I mentioned. Anderson can win in football. Get the right guy in there and they'll be OK. He's had success at the small school level, but I don't think current HC has the necessary experience to win consistently there. They seem to be trending downward in recent years....

All in jest, Eastbrook is clearly well coached and executes their system at a high level. Any ring is worth celebration.

I agree, Eastbrook needs to run more screens and get into some empty sets...I've been saying it for years. It's why they only have red rings

Heritage Christian and Lutheran are two small schools that could be on the list. Very strong performances this year and last!

Eastbrook over Alex - Too much firepower on offense and Alex will put up little fight in this one. Blackford over Elwood - I assume this one isn't being played...but haven't heard anything official. How I understood their schools statement, but they cancelled practices for 5 days. Don't they now have to get five more practices in before a sanctioned competition? Any idea on who Elwood could pick up? Mississinewa over Frankton - New guy uses this as an opportunity to build up confidence within his program. He will win his last 4 against the bottom of the CIC. Oak Hill over MG - Will win their last 4 against the bottom of the CIC. Any remaining games look like they could be competitive? Eastbrook - No Frankton/Alex - Maybe? Mississinewa - No Blackford/Oak Hill - Maybe? Elwood/MG - Maybe? Frankton/MG - Maybe?

5 of the top 15 are in the ICC

Sagarin has Ben Davis (83.2) vs. Indy Lutheran (82.4) being a coin flip. It is a crazy year for it. What's the word on Blackford...not playing tonight, but status on next week? John Harrell still has them playing Elwood next week...

Eastbrook has dipped in consecutive weeks in the Sagarin...they went from high 70's to mid60's I believe, which puts them within a single score with some teams in their sectional...Is it justified or can we chalk it up to it's simply a crazy year with Covid and we simply may not have a true handle on where teams stand? If Delta is able to compete with what looks to be a loaded MV team (beat New Pal), then Eastbrook's Sagarin will shoot back up...same could be said for Mississinewa if Pendelton competes w/ New Pal.

How does the CIC handle this from a conference perspective? Say an undefeated teams is forced to miss 1-2 games...can they still be crowned conference champion? Any idea how the AD's plan to handle it or a suggestion from GID community?

Per their Twitter account, they cancelled this Friday's game versus Madison-Grant and have cancelled all extra-curricular events from now until Monday. Sounds like it was a an issue with number of cases in the student body, not a specific team. First official cancellation for the CIC, though. https://blackfordathletics.com/2020/09/16/bcs-blended-learning-announcement-9-16-2020/

Looks like Blackford...

Can't believe I missed them! John Harrell had them sorted funny when I looked at Win/Loss by sectional. Hope MG gets a good draw and sees them in the final!

So Eastbrook is on cruise control through the regular season...When does the GID/CIC community think they can be tested in the tourney? Sagarin has Tipton/Lapel/Eastern (Greentown) in sectional 36 all within one score of them. Does a weak CIC hurt them this year or will they simply be a well oiled machine come tourney time and escape sectional w/ ease...who can beat them from Northern 2A? Is Mississinewa down? I thought they might not miss a beat even w/ Funk leaving, but looks like they have little chance in their sectional. Are Frankton, Elwood, Alex just that bad? All are hoping they draw each other I bet, if we're lucky enough to make it to sectionals intact... Oak Hill/Blackford setting up a week 9 showdown for 2nd place possibly? Mad-Grant...they're at least playing up and hope that prepares them come tourney time. Top team in their sectional right now is Tri-Central that barely snuck by Frankton...they have a shot at some hardwood. I'll take a stab at picks for this week... Elwood over Alex - I'll take the GID's word that Frosh QB is playing and Elwood can take advantage...they're hungry for a win and likely grew in a close loss to Frankton. Eastbrook over Frankton - Hope Frankton pulls 1 or 2 wins more out this year, but think they need the sectional draw to fall in their favor as the top 1/2 of CIC lays ahead....starting this Friday. Eastbrook chooses margin of victory. Blackford over MG - Argylls will play hard and it'll be close, but Blackford pulls away in 2nd half. OH over Mississinewa - Wing-T or a confused Spread Wing-T will pull it out over Mississinewa....Indians haven't bought into new guy yet, plus OH wants to be relevant again.

Is the CIC as a whole competitive in other sports?

36 is 2A might have 3-4 in the top 10 of that class when sectional rolls around

Your honest opinion...can it change and if so how long does it take a program to change it? Elwood/Alex/Oak Hill have all had success within last 10 years. Frankton had been a been a football school for a number of years until recently. Blackford looked like it had a turn in direction a few years ago. MG has had more negative than positive I think...do any of those have a shot to turn it around? Or is current CIC simply destined to be a weak conference or are they waiting for a change up and I'm defining that as Eastbrook/Mississinewa leaving.

Shorter travel for sure, but too much discrepancy between school size and/or talent when considering other sports. Just in football...Anderson, Jay County, and Muncie Central would be guaranteed bottom dwellers. Plus, Delta/Pendelton are right where they belong in the HHC for all sports. Frankton has had equal success in basketball as Lapel, but they're a doormat in the CIC from a football perspective and Lapel/Tipton/Heights/Greentown looks like they'd be a lock for the 3rd spot in football most years and add another quality opponent to the other teams. But should a Lapel, Tipton, or Heights want in to simply play weaker competition most Friday nights? Playing Alex, MG, Blackford, Frankton, Elwood right now does nothing for a program trying to get better come tourney time. They are just guaranteed wins. I'd argue that Eastbrook/Mississinewa should want out...and Lapel, Tipton, Heights, Greentown, etc should stay far away. No clue how scheduling works, but I think you want 2-3 games that you have to play phenomenal to win. 4-5 games you need to play well to win. And 2-3 games you need to show up to win. Let the tourney play out how it may. I get that formula can never be perfect, but it'd be something I'd keep in mind as a HC/AD. I don't see Eastbrook/Mississinewa keeping that balance with 6 other teams that have no chance to beat them (Eastbrook has pulled it off in recent years, so maybe they know the secret is to frontload the first 3-4 games and then use the CIC schedule to get healthy/perfect). Plus, as I said earlier, one of the only non-conference wins was MG vs Cloverdale...I don't see much success from the bottom 5 this season come tourney time. Guess my overall question is what needs to change in the bottom 5 in the CIC - HC changes, staff changes, Youth League Emphasis, something in community, lack of spring/summer this year? Or is this a part of an overall trend we are going to start/continue to see within those bottom 5?

CIC teams went like 2-12 in this seasons non conference schedule. MG beat Cloverdale and Eastbrook beat Marion. Overall takeaway is that games weren't competitive (my opinion based on final score) against good/solid opponents from out of conference. Exceptions were Eastbrook/Delta and Oak Hill/Greentown. It's just overall a conference that is not competitive from top to bottom...but the head scratcher is that talent immediately surrounds it - Lapel, Tipton, Greentown for example. Does getting new schools in the conference enhance CIC or should teams be attempting to leave the CIC?