NRRaider2001

Northridge looked better than Laporte by a pretty good amount, but scrimmages aren't always the best way to judge what a team will actually look like during the regular season. We lost Tagg Gott to his former school (Schoolcraft) due to his dad changing jobs. That will be a big loss, but we also got some serious talent back that missed most of last year. We also have some very promising upcoming talent that should fill in some of our skill positions that graduated quite well. My biggest question mark is can our O-line hold up with the loss of a couple of really good ones from last year. We live and die with our defense, schematic wise, we are in great shape. We did lose a few dudes from last year that were difference makers on that end too, but also got some people back that were injured much of the season.

No stage, but only 1 end with bleachers + 2 sides (where the stage would be). For a poor design/ bad pa/ hvac system, I'm gonna definitely miss the Middlebury Madhouse.

While not specifically football news, some exciting additions/ news coming out of Middlebury this past week with the hiring of a strength and conditioning specialist and the announcement of a new gym/ athletic center.

Nobody out from the NLC, if anything I would add a couple schools like Jimtown, New Prairie, Elkhart, or Edwardsburg to make 2 divisions. But don't see that happening and I'm fine with that.

Big get for St Joe

A look at our State rings that were given out last night!

Robison St Louis gets the job at Elkhart per Ken Fox. https://www.elkharttruth.com/sports/elkhart-hires-saint-louis-as-head-football-coach/article_5dead3db-a69a-5134-92b3-2f142ae6df36.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share

https://twitter.com/GlennMariniWANE/status/1516611940570775552?t=zWmN_zx5SlzTeZmpvuwYDg&s=19

Yeah I heard Penn and St. Joe being the two he had narrowed it down to a while back.

Hearing there is likely to be a BIG name transfer coming to one of 2 NIC schools this upcoming season from down south, should be fun to see where he lands.

Looks like you just did, congrats to him as well, any other NLCers on the list?

Congrats to Tagg and the others that made the cover for Primetime 25.

Per his Twitter, Coach Shattuck is indeed heading north.

Some news for this otherwise slow time of year for football. Northridge will have a scrimmage with Laporte now that Elkhart replaced South Bend St. Joe as their (Northridge) week 2 opponent. Also for 23/24 seasons Northridge will now play Ft Wayne North, replacing South Bend Adams in week 1.

Heard he's taking the job at EastvGrand Rapids 🤷🏻‍♂️

Heard he's moving to Michigan, and he and his wife have the opportunity of a lifetime. We're sure gonna miss him here in Elkhart County that's for sure.

That's why an east/ west division split would be the only way it would work

A highly regarded coach also just took over a struggling Goshen program, he built Northridge into a respectable program in short time. He even took Wawasee to new heights before coming to Northridge. There's no doubt that Mishawaka is a great football program (i believe they finished 3rd in the NLC this year), but as mentioned on here, the conference isn't just about 1 sport. I think New Prairie would also be a great fit for an expanded NLC with 2 divisions, but that's probably about as likely as Warsaw leaving for the SAC.

Good to see some NLC contenders beefing up their non conference schedules. Should pay off during tournament time.

Yes, my understanding is that Elkhart needed to find a new week 2 opponent due to Carmel changing conferences and not being able to guarantee a week 2 game in 2023.

Yes, Elkhart always refers to Concord as Dunlap as a diss lol Looks like only 1 of which has much potential at being competitive.

Northridge dumps St. Joe week 2 and adds Elkhart.

Proud of our boys and their playoff run. Great experience for our community, can't wait to do it again. Mt Vernon had some crazy speed for sure.

Northridge and Mt. Vernon set for biggest game in each program’s history Dalton Tinklenberg - November 23, 2021 From the Daily 43 article here. The final week of the Indiana high school football season is upon us at last and the Northridge Raiders will be competing with the Mt. Vernon Marauders for a state title. This state title game is incredibly unique in the fact that neither school has ever won a state title in football and both head coaches are in their first year at their respective schools. We were able to speak with both coaches this week in preparation for the matchup. “These kids had a goal at the beginning of the year that started with our saying, ‘Why not us?’ These kids have bought into that saying, and have truly believed in us as coaches and themselves as players,” said Northridge head coach Chad Eppley in regards to his squad before last week’s game. Mt. Vernon’s Vince Lidy had a similar attitude towards being a first-year head coach in such an incredible position. “As I have prepared, I am treating this like every other game this season,” said Lidy. “The magnitude of the game won’t change until the football is raised by the official at the conclusion of the game as to who is the 4A state champion. There are lots of moving parts going on this week as we prepare for Saturday that have not happened all year, so it adds more to weekly and daily planning.” “It’s game 15 for us, so we are not going to go out and change our approach or what we do in hopes of tricking or doing something wild and crazy,” continued Lidy. “Each week we have focused on playing at a high level, correcting mistakes after the game, and then working towards our next opponent. Since there is no next week, everything we have done during the season comes down to Saturday and all of our chips are on the table as we will do whatever it takes for Mt. Vernon to bring back its first football and male state championship to Mt. Vernon High School!” Northridge defense As for how these two talented teams match up with one another, this game could prove to be another incredible one. The Raiders boast an impressively physical defense and have developed a reputation for shutting opponents down in recent weeks. “Northridge’s defense has been playing at a high level during their tournament run,” said Lidy. “The defensive front seven is physical and has done a great job of stopping the run. This is very impressive since they have faced some very ground-oriented teams who want to run the football. The defensive backs have done a good job of defending the pass by keeping everything inside and in front of them. The Northridge defense does a good job of not giving up the big play. On our end, we have to find some way to move the ball on the ground to establish the presence of a run game. Our offensive line has to step big this Saturday and match the physicality and intensity of the Raiders front seven on run and pass blocking for us to have early success in the game. We will continue to focus on our pass game as well in hopes of getting the ball in space to some of our wide receivers and having their speed continue to be an impact for our offensive game plan.” Mt. Vernon offense Mt. Vernon has won many of its games by simply burying opponents offensively. Despite allowing 21 points per game, the Marauders have won nearly all of their game by double digits, surpassing 60 points twice and 70 once. The Marauders are led by senior quarterback Gehrig Slunaker who has been phenomenal this season. Slunaker has thrown for 2,793 yards and 31 touchdowns with just three interceptions. On the ground, senior Keagan LaBelle does the majority of the damage for Mt. Vernon. LaBelle has rushed for 1,518 yards and 24 touchdowns on the year. “We celebrated until 9:30 am on Saturday morning when we switched our film from the New Prairie game to the Mt. Vernon game. It is just like we do every week. We have film on them like normal,” said Eppley. “It has actually been nice this week because we are going against a pretty normal offense for us. We match up well against these guys. We are picking up the intensity this week in preparation for this game.” “This week the points of emphasis are to continue to focus and prepare like we have done each and every week,” said Lidy. “We begin the week 0-0 and game day is our test day. I have also told them to enjoy the week of other activities that are going on around our practice and preparation. It’s a crazy week, with the state finals and school being out on break for a few days. We can’t control all the things going on, but I told them to enjoy the food, celebrations and times together this week in our quest for the 4A state title.” “In regards to how we are preparing for football this week, I keep preaching play fast and aggressive in all phases,” continued Lidy. “We have to be physical, tough, and can’t flinch. Like I have said each of the last few weeks, we have to answer the bell every time on Saturday. Both teams will come out with high energy and emotion and we have to weather the start of the game. Things may or may not go our way, and we can’t let those initial plays dictate the outcome of the 4 quarter game. We are preparing for a great game that will be played by two tough and physical teams for the 4A state title.” Northridge secret weapon While Northridge relies on junior Tagg Gott to keep the offense humming, the Raiders have shown the capability of mixing things up. In their semi-state game last week, Eppley and the Raiders used Trent Jensen, a lineman, to score on a one-yard run. “We went into the game knowing that we wanted to get the big man a touchdown,” said Eppley. “Our offense has had that play in the past few weeks and the opportunity presented itself to give him the ball so that’s exactly what we did. We will play it by ear if Jensen will see more carries or not.” The importance of this game cannot be understated for both teams and communities. It could easily be the biggest game in program history for both teams. “I think it definitely is,” said Eppley. “This is the first time in school history that we have made it to a state championship game for football. It means so much for our team and our community. The community support we have had has been amazing.” The Raiders and Marauders will meet at Lucas Oil Stadium this Saturday at 3:30 pm.