Johnsnow

Jeff is going to be really good. Wouldn’t count Merrilville out and Chesterton has a stud qb and possibly their best team. Westfield has to be clear favorite imo.

I can comment RE #3. There is no more gap between Elkhart and Penn IMO. Gaps yes, but they more than equal out. Im not sure people understand the demographics and size of Elkhart and should start to think more along the lines of Warren Central when you think of the type of athletes Elkhart has at the skill positions. There isn't a skill position player that isn't a starter on a MIC team. Even prior to the consolidation, Shattuck had Central closing in on Penn. This is likely the last year where Penn will have a real shot at beating Elkhart as they are very young due to being SR dominated last year. Those SRs went 9-0 and lost a close one to Merrilville and this time last year most didn't know the plays. Imagine Covid in year 1 of a consolidation, couldn't have been worse timing but it worked out. Elkhart has serious talent as evidenced by 5 guys from the past 2 years playing D1 and numerous others D2. Why are they here? Shattuck is a great coach and leader and has great MIC level assistants. His system of offense is great for the athletes he has. He was very lucky to have such a great Sr class in year 1. Now those athletes have always been there, but there was never a thought around here of being as good as Penn from a program coaching perspective until he showed up, let alone thinking about winning or going to state. Then we get private donations for a turf field etc so facilities wise its getting better. The community up here is buying in. You wont see football kids who live in this district going to Penn or Concord or Northridge anymore. I believe 2 of Concords best Srs live in Elkhart district. I think the starting QB went to middle school in the Penn system and lived in ECS district. Where are they behind MIC schools? 1) strength/Size. Read Coach Shattuck's interview. No school for most really put that back. There is no shiny nice weight room and notably no strength and conditioning coach. Those things take time and $. Penn like the MIC has all of that and those kids have been in the weight room for years. They have the facilities and the people and that gap is real. Where that shows is upfront. There are a few DL/OL on the team that play in the MIC, but its 3-5 not 9. So you get some undersized kids playing in a spot they may not play in the MIC...not that they aren't good players/athletes just not of the size/strength of what a Penn or MIC would have. That will change over time as the young kids see whats happening and invest. 2) Player development They also dont have the district level investment. Your MIC and Penn's have coaching staffs (paid) in the 20s, I think Elkhart has 8. That hurts player development. That shows up in kids 16-30 on the roster. The Top 15 kids play anywhere in the state (not on any team per se but all would start in the MIC). The depth and having some kids that should be depth/role players starting is the difference today. Those challenges will go away as they build the program and that takes some time. Same with building youth football...its there but behind. Once those things catch up Penn wont have the athletes to compete most years. They will be very good this year, but most of the starters and best players are JRs and So and don't have the experience just yet. They also have a great incoming FR class. Having your best player and RB get hurt doesn't help as he maybe the best player in the state among non srs. He is a Power 5 player. Evidence of the athletes is that the kid who will likely end up starting will likely be all conference and possibly all state. Going to be a fun ride and DT is spot on.

NIC North Elkhart 11.5 Marian 9 Penn 5.5 New Prairie 4.5 SB Adam’s 4 SB St Joe 1.5

I think you vastly underrate Elkhart. They should have one of the top offenses in the state. Only team in the NIC that I can see having a chance is Penn. Donovan Johnson. is closer to one of the best WR in the state than just the conference, the Sharpe kid is beyond special and likely a 3x NIC player of the year in that offense. QB has a cannon for an arm and the OL is big. More of a reload than anything.