Marshall Mathers

Were officially a little less than 1 week out from the first practice, so it is time for my annual WRC Pre-Season Rankings in order. 1. Parke Heritage - 24-6 Last season with a semi-state run. They graduated Dowd, who was in my opinion, very important to their success last year. With that being said, they bring back 3 at least 3 all-conference players in Harper, Luce, Schelsky. Schelsky will get his 1000 point in game one, while Harper will also score his 1000 this season. Luce has an outside chance of scoring 1000 this year as well. They return Crum, who will more than likely score 1000 in his career as well. They are returning at lest 57PPG from last season. I believe Goins, McMullen, & Tidwell will all also be in the rotation. I also heard they have a North Putnam transfer, that is 6-7. They may have "too" many weapons this year if that's possible. I felt the only thing they were missing the last couple of years was a true big, and if the rumors are true, they got it. They will go undefeated in conference, and make another state run. 2. North Vermillion - 15-11 Last season with a sectional championship. They graduated White, Tryon, & Wesch. I don't believe any of these players were all-conference, but they did combine for about 25PPG out of the 56PPG average. They return 3 starters in Dowers, Edwards, & their all-conference selection in Dawson. These 3 combined for about 30PPG. I'm not entirely sure who they have to fill the next roles, but they did have a 6-6 kid play JV last year. I'd assume he will see rotation minutes. 3. Covington - 10-14 Last season. They graduated 24PPG and return 31PPG. Stein is their returning all conference selection, and arguably the best shooter in the conference. They return a good defender in Slider and a a big rim & post presence with Herzog. This varsity roster will be pretty senior heavy, so I look for their experience to propel them to some wins. They could very easily be above North Vermillion. 4. South Vermillion - 14-8 Last season. They graduated a few seniors, but a couple extra important all-conference selections in Bush & Shoults. Those 2 will be very hard to replace this year, and the seniors accounted for 35PPG out of their 59PPG. They return a good guard in Wallace @ 11PPG, and a couple other athletic guards. Garzolini will be a key returner for them as well. 5. Riverton Parke - 3-21 Last season. They graduated their best player in Robins, but I think it could be good for the team dynamic this year. They do not add their stats, so I am not sure what the averages were. They were VERY young last year and had a solid JV squad. I look for them to win some games this year after getting some experience under their belts. They will still be below .500 with youth mistakes, but I look for them to be a much tougher opponent than last year. Steward has this group playing very hard. 6. Seeger - 14-9 Last season. They graduated 40PPG last season out of their 50PPG, and as far as I know they only return 1 starter in Winchester. I live in the Parke County district, so I am not fully aware of what the most northern team in the conference has returning. Collins typically does a really good job, so I look for them to be competitive. My pick here could be completely wrong, and their underclassmen may be really good. 7. Fountain Central - 10-13 Last season. They graduated 43PPG last season, two of those graduates were top 5 players in the conference. They return Foxworthy, who was a 7PPG player last year, and will be their clear best player. I heard they have a good upcoming freshmen class, so I wouldn't be surprised if Dean plays his younger guys to get some experience this year. I think they will be competitive in the 5-8 games, but struggle against the top teams. 8. Attica - 2-22 Last season. Can Skaggs save the ramblers this year? I doubt it, but I think they will improve from last year. They had some freshmen pieces, but I think they are a couple years out from being more competitive.

Two years of football experience is not "overrated," no matter how good or bad they are. Lots of lessons to be learned that carry over to high school athletics, especially if your high school coach is directly involved. An undefeated junior high team that stays together for a few years and continues to work at it will absolutely be better than other schools with a sub .500 record that do the same. There are some factors that influence junior high success, the main one being puberty. Some of those average junior high teams can catch up to the really good ones when hitting puberty.

I misinterpreted what you posted.. I was thinking it was North vs. South.. but I see what you mean. I dont have the time to do that much research, but it would be interesting to see the history between counties

I got bored this morning and did some research on this topic.. NV vs SV Head to Head History per John Harrell - 1994 - 2024 - SV 17 Wins - 766 Total Points (24.7 OA) - NV 14 Wins - 753 Total Points (24.3 OA) - SV Tournament History (8-39) - NV Tournament History (51-38) (6 Sectional Championships, 3 Regionals, 2 Semi-States, 1 State) The bigger school is just barely winning the H2H match-up, but the tournament history is quite telling.. lets see if history can change for the Cats the next 3 weeks.

Lots of wine in Southern Vermillion County..

I have never seen a line coach be talked about this frequently on the GID in all my years. The pats are the worst line in the NFL, maybe he should apply?

Idk.. North Posey, Linton, & Sullivan aren't much easier. 😀

I am whatever you say I am, if I wasn't then why would I say I am? Anyway, as I stated before BORING. GOTW is FC/NV.. but doesn't mean much in the scheme of things. FC is playing better, NV didn't play well last week.. could be a good game. NV has more athletes, but FC has the MIGHTY Herb King. Congrats to the Barretts on their conference championship. May the visors and Gerries bread be with them for the Sunday draw.

^^^^^^^^^^

RIP Papaw.. crazy how far we've come since those days

I believe it’s just all conference, then conference champs

I get that safety is key and I agree 100%.. but why was SV the ONLY school that postponed? Don't tell me the weather was worse in Clinton than it was anywhere else in the conference. Lots of wind & rain. SV is better than RP. If they play Friday they still win.. but clearly they were TERRIFIED of losing knowing the conditions and made a call because of it, but played it off for the "safety" of the kids. Saturday was still wet, but nowhere near the conditions Friday, and the game was close.. just my lyrical miracle spiritual individual in the swimming pool thoughts of the day.

RP is definitely a sleeper. A few mistakes from beating NV, and a postponed game from beating SV. That sectional will be interesting. SP still the clear favorite? I haven't seen them play, but their only losses are to Lutheran and NP, who are a combined 10-2. Outside of that.... in the wise words of WRC123 quoting Marshall Mathers.. boooorrrinnngggg.

They actually cancelled tonight? Little bit of wind and rain.. come on now. Cats really want that WRC championship. This post seems biased

I’m very aware of Josh Smith.. Leads me to another question. How many football players have gone D1 in the WRC since the 90s? Other than Smith.

I don’t think so, no. 35-12 NV 48-7 SV After watching what he did to us last week, he’s definitely great. We had no answer. I’m sorry, but he’s not close to Earl. I was apart of a staff that had to try and stop Earl on more than one occasion.. it didn't happen. I believe he was top 50 in the state either in the 14 or 15 season. For a small school like north vermillion, that recognition typically doesn’t happen. I believe he ran for 2k at least a couple of times.. but NV at the time was beating most teams badly enough (us included) that Earl didn’t play in the second half. Who knows what kind of stats he would’ve put up playing full games. I do wish teams put their stats in more frequently. It’s not like people don’t have access to film, and us that aren’t coaching anymore like to see the top dogs.

Knees are a little weak, but I dont think its a question who ends in third.. Nobody else is going to beat RP. Seeger's 3 wins are teams with a combined record of 1-14.. one being PH who's only win is Attica. FC beat Covington, and unless Seeger proves me wrong and beats the stangs, they are solidified as 4th. Then Seeger, PH, and Attica rounding out the rest. Boring..

Rest of the regular season is BORING. See you late October

Attica, FC, NV, Rockville were all top 15 years back, with a few top 5s at one point. PH even got into the mix for a couple years. WRC had potential to be strong enough competition for a good 2A run at one point.. just nowhere close to that anymore

Wasn't SV in the SWIAC before? Can't be much worse travel distance than that

Didn't realize it was that stacked.. Posey, Linton, & Sullivan. That's crazy.. might be there best chance for the next many years

Is this the year SV gets out of their sectional? When is their last sectional title?

These are my 2 thoughts, and thats all I'll say about it after coaching 2 years in a small school setting. 1. Private school athletes typically have more opportunity than public school athletes. Many private schools are located in an urban/suburban area, with AAU and trainers at their doorsteps, and the means to afford it. Many of our small public schools are located in rural areas, with AAU/Trainers 45+ minutes away. Once again this is not the case for EVERY athlete, because some private school families can't afford it either. Overall, in my opinion, athletes that are enrolled at a private school typically have more opportunity than those in a public school. 2. Recruiting.. In my opinion both levels recruit in some way. The kids that live in urban/suburban areas have more schools around, which could make it easier to find a school of their choosing, but could go either way. I don't know the exact rules, but it does seem that private schools follow a different recruiting rulebook than public.. but I could be wrong. I like the way Illinois does their private schools with a x1.65 student multiplier. This would take a few of the top dogs out of 1A, but not all of them.

SP and it aint close.

I don't believe steroid use is this rampant lol.. there may be some outliers, but there is no way it's more than 1%. Unless mom and dad are buying it for them, or they are getting it from their local gym dealer, I feel it would be too costly/hard to get.