NRRaider2001

Two great teams battled last night in Middlebury, but it's really unfortunate when the officiating is so lopsided that even the Leo media was questioning the game altering calls in the 4th quarter. Good luck Leo the rest of the way, felt like last night could've been the regional or semi state game rather than the sectional opener of an already shortened season. Thankful our kids got the opportunity to play this season.

What a shame how our game ended, Northridge was the better team last night and the kids deserved better than the cards they were dealt in this one. Good Luck Leo the rest of the way.

Very happy for the boys in Benton. They have a good youth feeder program that my nephew really enjoys being a part of which should continue to pay dividends in the future.

Gonna be tough that's for sure. It sure doesn't help having some key defensive injuries going on, but then again most teams are probably banged up this time of year. I haven't seen Leo in person since our semi state run a few years back, but by all accounts it won't be an easy task Friday night. Reading the indiana high school football Facebook page, I think the picks are 28 to 2 picking Leo. Maybe that will provide some extra motivation for our boys. Even though it's a home game, there won't be a big home field advantage with only family allowed to attend. I think it'll be a 1 possession game, with us hopefully coming out on top. If our offense is in sync like the Concord game and defense plays like the Northwood game, we will be a tough team to beat.

Always a tough sectional, even with some shuffling this year. Should be a fun one in Middlebury this Friday night!

Concord (4-3) @ Warsaw (6-2): Concord couldn't stop the Raider Offense last week, but had some good deep balls. Warsaw should be able to run it down their throats all night. Warsaw by 6 Goshen (1-4) @ Wawasee (2-6): Not much to say about this one, however I feel like Goshen is better than most recent years. Goshen by 14 Mishawaka (4-3) @ Northridge (6-1): Very impressive performance last week by the Raiders, but this game will be a different animal. Last week the game seemed to last forever with all the passing and scoring, not tonight. Northridge by 1

There are still tickets available for Mishawaka fans: https://gofan.co/app/events/108073

Looking forward to Friday night at Interra Field. Northridge won't have much of a home field advantage after the athletic department announced today that only family members will be allowed in.

Northridge announced we are only allowing family in on Friday to watch the Mishawaka game. Winner is guaranteed at least a share of the conference title.

We're back to page 3, cmon NLCers

Should be a great atmosphere in Middlebury with at least a share of the conference title on the line!

Concord at Northridge 46 Game of the Week, Northridge won at Goshen but lost a key player at the end of the game, presumably for the season. Concord won a nail biter over one of the top 2a schools in the state. Should be a good one, but going with Northridge by 4 Harrison at Goshen Goshen replaced Plymouth with Harrison. Don't know anything about them, other than they might be a little jet lagged from the long trip up SR25, still think they win easily, but Goshen is better than recent years, however they haven't played a consistent schedule this year with Covid, Harrison by 14 Warsaw at Northwood Typically this would have major implications in the NLC race, but not this year. Warsaw is in the driver's seat and wins fairly easily. Warsaw by 10 Wawasee at Mishawaka Not much to say here, Mishawaka will have its way with the Warriors. Mishawaka by 28

Northridge got the win, but it was overshadowed by a nasty injury late in the 4th. Praying he heals up fast, but not sure he'll be ready for basketball season even 😢

Didn't get to post my predictions in time this week, but it worked out well for my Raiders. Maybe I should skip it every week. Goshen put up more of a fight than I would have thought, Mishawaka looked good over a good Concord team, Wawasee seems to be choking now that their NECC schedule is over and AP #13 Northridge wins a defensive battle 7 to 0 over #12 Northwood. Its always great any time you come home from Nappanee with a win, but that's my kind of football, none of this score on every possession type of stuff.

Goshen (1-0) @ Concord (2-1): Hopefully no transformer fires tonight, Goshen will struggle having only played 1 game early on. Look for Concord to bring the series to 34-33 in favor of Goshen. Concord by 18 Mishawaka (0-3) @ Plymouth (0-4): First time since 1934 these two teams will play, and first time since 1925 its been at the Rockpile. I think it gets ugly fast leaving Plymouth as the last NLC team without a win. Side note, Mishawaka has now lost 2 NLC soccer games by a combined 36 points. Mishawaka by 35 NorthWood (1-1) @ Wawasee (2-2): Glad to see Wawasee start out hot this year, but NorthWood wins easy tonight. Warriors have some weapons in the passing game, but NorthWood is still NorthWood. NorthWood by 20 Warsaw (3-1) @ Northridge (3-0): Should be a great game at Interra Field tonight. This game could go a long way in deciding the conference this year, but can't count out NorthWood either. Sounds like Warsaw is healthier than they have been, Northridge needs to keep cleaning up the penalties. A good group of running backs and a capable passer should make it interesting for the Raiders. Northridge flips the normal script tonight and the kicking game wins it in a close one. Also don't think we will shut the Tigers out tonight, however I'm told Northridge is the last team in the state to not give up a single point. Northridge by 3

Thanks we're pretty proud to finally have first class facilities. Was going to shoot you a message to see if you were going to make the trip north this Friday. I think our defense is pretty legitimate but haven't been tested with a ground and pound team like we'll see this week. I still have questions about our offense, but we have a pretty good backfield and a very capable passer that comes from good bloodlines in that regard, he just doesn't have the size of his older brother just yet. And for the first time in my adult life, our kicking game is possibly the strongest position on the field! Here's a link to a story from Ken Fox about our soccer/basketball star turned kicker this year. http://elkharttruth.in.newsmemory.com/publink.php?shareid=1bc426f7a

Very tough sectional, not sure there's a clear favorite

Warsaw with a really good close win over an always tough Mishawaka team last night. Concord leading Wawasee by 2 scores when the transformer caught on fire. Game will be resumed today, but unless something drastically changes, I look for Concord to pull out a win over a decent Wawasee team. Northridge became the first Elkhart County team to shut out their first 3 opponents since Jimtown in 2012 (per Chuck Freeby). Northridge has outscored their opponents 106 to 0 this season. Next week should be a great game at Interra Field when Warsaw comes to town.

same here, really looking forward to not staring into the sun tonight Also for anyone visiting from Plymouth, the Middlebury Fall festival started today downtown and there will be a really good fireworks show across the road from our school complex on the Essenhaus property around 830 or 9

same here, really looking forward to not staring into the sun tonight

I'm still lurking, just been busy with a kid playing 2 sports right now and coaching youth football again this year. Will try making it a point to post more, i changed jobs and don't get to sit in front of a computer screen 10 hours a day anymore. Really excited to see our kids get to finally enjoy a first class facility!

Mishawaka (0-2) at Warsaw (2-1) NLC game of the week in my opinion, mentor vs understudy. Mishawaka has lost 2 close ones to possibly the best team in the North and another very good Marian team. Warsaw is no pushover either, but I look for the Cavemen to open their NLC debut with a win on the road in a game that will be over before the others start the 4th quarter. Mishawaka by 10 Plymouth (0-3) at Northridge (2-0) This game has typically been a toss up in recent years, with Plymouth winning last year at home. Raiders looked good against 2 teams that are still trying to figure out if they're good or not this year and have both beat up on teams that aren't looking the best. Northridge Defense seems legit so far and we have a strong run game and capable passing game. Looking for a big win for the Raiders at Interra Fields inaugural game. Northridge by 24 Wawasee (2-1) at Concord (1-1) Could be a good game but I'm not sold on either just yet. Wawasee has some playmakers in the passing game that showed flashes last week. Wawasee by 7 Bonus area pick for 2 teams that will likely face NLC teams in sectionals. Looking for East Noble to shock Penn and win by 3. Wish Northwood and Valpo could've made it happen, would have been great sectional prep for the Panthers.

I'll hold off on much in depth guesses until next week since I don't know much about our teams this year. Very thankful to finally have football back, we are just finishing up our busy travel baseball season that had no hiccups due to the virus which included tournaments out of state and around hundreds of kids and parents. Concord @ Jimtown - . Concord by 14 East Noble @ Northwood - interested to see East Noble play Penn in a few weeks, but this one could be a good one too and possibly a rematch to come later on now that the Panthers are playing 4A? - Northwood by 3 Mishawaka @ Elkhart - was really pulling for the Cavemen last week, what a crazy game! Pulling for the Lions this week, but I think it will be a good one for most of the game. - Elkhart by 17 Michigan City @ Warsaw - Warsaw in a close one last week, have to belive this will be close also. - Tigers by 7 West Noble @ Wawasee - Happy to see Wawasee start out with a big win. - Warriors by 7 Northridge @ St. Joe - I have really enjoyed this week 2 addition to our schedule, i think the Indians bounce back and make this a close one at home. - Raiders by 4 Plymouth @ Kokomo - Plymouth got smacked around last week, i think they bounce back tonight. - Plymouth by 14 Goshen @ SB Clay - Should be a confidence boosting win for Goshen. - The Goshen Football Team by 18

Been hard to get motivated to post on here with so much in limbo, can't wait for us to finally start playing. That being said, great to have some area football back, looks like HN put up a good fight, and the game of the night was between Mishawaka and Marian. Good to see Wawasee get a nice win and to see Plymouth get spanked too 🤷🏻‍♂️