roaringthunderdlr

3 hours ago, Basementbias said:

German Catholic genetics mixed with a strong farming & family oriented background. They are predominantly catholic kids that attend public schools. They do not start football until the 7th grade. They believe that youth football teaches bad fundamentals. I don't disagree, but don't fully agree either. I think if you have the right people to be an extension of the high school & middle school in your youth programs, it could succeed. You have to control "daddy ball" (both definitions) and make sure the kids are executing the same fundamentals & plays the HS/MS do properly.

This answered it. Thank you

I've been curious about this topic for a while and I figure that I'm in the right place. Why is Crawford County so bad at football? I understand that the county has economic issues but I have to assume that the issues lie much deeper than that. Is there any light at the end of the tunnel for them? Their basketball team went to state about 6 years ago, so they can definitely develop some athletes.

2 minutes ago, FastpacedO said:

Plainfield would be at about #28 or #29. Not quite in the Top 25 yet.

Fair.

8 minutes ago, Basementbias said:

Think it's probably a mix of both after Friday night. Jay County is improving at all levels and AC may have a slight regression after this year. Though I think the MS teams will improve as well as the youth. Really excited we are adding flag for Pre-k through 4th grade at AC. Hopefully that solves the problem the 7th grade has this year of 9+ kids who waited to play any football until 7th grade. Just because Coldwater & Marion Local do not start until then, doesn't mean it will work for all programs. Those 2 programs are blessed to have minimum of 6 ft height and big strong kids in shape from 160 to 300 lbs (pure muscle no fat).

How do those Western Ohio programs breed those kinds of kids? It is a historical reason? Is it because of the community? Are the youth development programs great? Marion Local could probably be competitive with some of the biggest schools in Ohio.

POWER RANKINGS

1. Plainfield (4-0)

The Quakers have undoubtedly looked like the best team in the Mid-State so far. They thrive in the clutch and have a strong running game which could carry them through 5A. If the Quakers play to their potential, they could be in Lucas Oil come November.

2. Franklin Community (3-1)

Despite the loss to Mt. Vernon, Franklin has looked like a good team. They have strong wins over Whiteland and Perry Meridian. Franklin has performed better than I expected them to this year.

3. Whiteland (2-2)

Whiteland is not the contender that they were last year, but they should still compete for their sectional championship and finish the rest of the season pretty strong. Their rematch with Franklin should be a good one.

4. Perry Meridian (1-3)

They may have the worst record in the conference, but don't be mistaken: this Perry Meridian team is different from the Perry teams of years past. They only trailed Franklin Central by 9 points entering the 4th quarter, lost to Plainfield by one point, and took Franklin Community to overtime. The Falcons were only a few plays away from 3-1 or possibly even 4-0.

5. Decatur Central (2-2)

The Polston-less Hawks had an embarrassing loss to Martinsville on Friday night, but when Polston comes back, this Decatur team should take a step forward. We have seen what this team can do if they play to their potential, and this is evidenced by their 43-42 win over New Palestine in Week 2.

6. Mooresville (2-2)

The Pioneers took a step back this year, and I think that 6th is an appropriate ranking for them. Their QB Denny is a very strong running QB, but Mooresville's offense outside of Denny's legs is questionable against better competition. They hung 59 points on Greenwood's bad defense, but managed 15 (8 coming from a garbage time TD) against Plainfield.

7. Greenwood (3-1)

Don't let their 3-1 record fool you: Greenwood is still very much Greenwood, and this was evidenced by their loss against Mooresville. The defense averages 41 points per game, so their offense would need great performances to make up for their defensive ineptitude. This didn't happen against Mooresvillem so I don't expect it to happen against Plainfield, Franklin, Perry Meridian, or Whiteland either.

8. Martinsville (2-2)

Despite their victory over Decatur Central on Friday, I still have Martinsville in dead last. They still lost to Greenwood by 2 touchdowns. Martinsville isn't a terrible football team by any stretch of the imagination: the Mid-State is a good conference from top to bottom. However, someone had to be last, and it's the Artesians.

WEEK 5 PREDICTIONS

Plainfield 42, Greenwood 21

Franklin 27, Martinsville 13

Perry Meridian 20, Whiteland 17

Mooresville 27, Decatur Central 20

Could be biased here, but I feel you have to rank Plainfield here. Their defense looks very good, and while I do feel that Snider and Valpo would probably beat them, I think Plainfield is the 3rd best team in 5A. The Perry team that played them close is not the Perry team of years past: they would be a contender in 5A if they were in that division.

On 9/9/2023 at 6:20 AM, Basementbias said:

Maybe but the MS Jets aren't as strong as years past. The 7th grade had hardly any kids out for some reason. I'm not sure about the 8th grade as I wasn't involved in youth with them other than being a board member. About same with 7th grade as I basically tried to explain the offense to the youth coaches & then went to board member only due to work & stepson playing flag in Ohio. Stepson is playing with AC kids in youth tackle this year. 6th grade class is OK, but needs some work & more depth. AC will take a step back a bit after this season. They should still be decent with the juniors & sophomores this year. After that it gets shaky.

Understandable, but AC is a very strong program and it's very surprising to see that.

2 hours ago, Basementbias said:

The ACAC is much improved. Bluffton & Heritage showing they are contenders. Jay County outplayed AC in the 1st quarter and a bit in 2nd before AC took control in a 42-7 final. The AC defense has some work to do next week vs Heritage. Though SA lost to Bluffton & Heritage, they fought against Heritage pretty well. Woodlan is improved compared to the prior seasons. If Jay County runs the ball like they did in the 1st quarter, they can be in the race. Southern Wells has a win & played Jay County tough in the 1st half last week. They may not be in the mix but are much improved than before as well. 

Jay County has a bright future. May not be a state contender in 4A, but as food for thought, the Jay County 8th graders beat Adams Central 8th graders 28-0. 7th graders also beat the Flying Jets 20-7. This shows that Jay County is finally building up the youth programs to hopefully develop players that may one day turn into stellar varsity players for the Patriots.

1 hour ago, psaboy said:

Running score up to 69 is not in Snider's playbook, I think they top out around 49 to 56 max

South Side would lose to most of the teams in the NECC. 60-70 is a possibility. That team is terribad.

Snider 69 South Side 0

Homestead 42 Northrop 6

North Side 35 Concordia 13

Wayne 28 Luers 21

Carroll 37 Dwenger 7

Pike 28 Southport 6

Lawrence North 40 North Central 0

IMG 49 Ben Davis 10

Trinity 16 Carmel 10

Lawrence Central 43 Warren Central 35

Center Grove 51 Moeller 20

10 minutes ago, Titan32 said:

It's clear that these reporters do tons of analysis.  

Exactly. Bloomington North almost choked to Mooresville while Plainfield beat them soundly.

Plainfield plays Greenwood next week, not Whiteland.

Anyways,

Mooresville 42 - Greenwood 35

Denny will get his share on the ground and Greenwood will get their share in the air. This game is a toss up but based on recent history I can't pick the Woodmen over the Pioneers right now. This is the MSC's Game of the Week in my opinion.

Plainfield 29 - Perry Meridian 14

This Perry team seems different from years prior. Unfortunately for Perry, this Plainfield team also seems different from years prior.

Decatur Central 20 - Martinsville 10

I expect Decatur Central's offense to struggle without Polston. However, Martinsville is the worst team in the conference this year, and Decatur should still win.

Whiteland 24 - Franklin 13

I think Whiteland beats Franklin on Friday. It won't be the most climactic game but that is how Whiteland does things.

About time Plainfield gets some respect

Martinsville has underperformed a bit and Greenwood has shown improvement. I still think Martinsville is better though. I think last week's game against Bloomington South was an indicator of how good Bloomington South is this year and not so much an indicator of Martinsville being a bad team.

Martinsville 35, Greenwood 21

Decatur Central is coming off of a strong performance against New Palestine that saw them come back and win. Is the Decatur of yesterday back and ready to take the Mid-State? Whiteland is still a formidable opponent, but last week's loss against Kokomo can raise some questions.

Decatur Central 26, Whiteland 13

Mooresville played their best game at Plainfield last year, winning 38-7. However, Plainfield looks very strong this year, and from what has been seen so far, this Mooresville team looks worse than those quarterbacked by Patterson. I'll take Plainfield close.

Plainfield 20, Mooresville 14

Franklin should have an easy game against Perry Meridian. Just too much disparity in talent.

Franklin 35, Perry Meridian 7

Should be a fun week in the Mid-State.

Plainfield 15

Harrison 14

Final

Sophomore RB Luke Starnes is for real! Tyler Bless with risky playcalls that paid off as well.

On 8/22/2023 at 2:18 PM, Plymouthfan91 said:

Plymouth has already put into motion cancelling all outside activities for Thursday.  Nothing about Friday yet.  It is forecasted ONLY to be in the mid-80s up north.

If you're Plymouth you may want to consider cancelling all outside activities for the remainder of the season

MV 34 - Franklin 28

Plainfield 28 - Harrison 21

New Pal 42 - Decatur Central 14

Bloomington South 27 - Martinsville 14

Greenwood 42 - Indian Creek 20

Mooresville 48 - Danville 16

Perry 20 - Southport 8

Whiteland 20 - Kokomo 6

18 hours ago, BDGiant93 said:

This, to me, is still the weirdest conference remaining. It's like the remainder of the great Conference Indiana with two MIC paste ons that don't belong. Then again, where does Terre Haute North and South go if not for this conference?

Mid state probably.

12 hours ago, PantherPride said:

Northwood’s run defense is going to have to improve. But I felt like Jimtown did nearly everything they could do as far as trying to slow the game down and it was 36-8 going into the 4th.  I’m not ready to make any predictions about making it to Indy but Tuggle is going to make a lot of guys look bad this year.  And with him and Edmond, it will be very difficult on defenses.

If NorthWood's run defense is their weak point, then Ringer and Brotherton shouldn't have a problem.

4A NorthWood

4 minutes ago, foxbat said:

If Harrison plays like they did tonight, should be a really good game next week when they visit Plainfield.

Yes. I'm going. I can't WAIT

Plainfield 32

Terre Haute South 13

This game was less close than I'd thought it would be. THSV had a 13-0 lead at one point, but after that, Plainfield got those Week 1 jitters away and played to their fullest potential. I am very confident in this Plainfield squad; Hunter Newell looks legitimately GOOD at quarterback.

On 7/27/2023 at 1:06 PM, npcougar15 said:

There is a major gap between the North/South in 4A right now. Not sure what certain programs from the South lost, but East Central should be the favorite by a long shot. New Pal, Roncalli, Memorial, and Reitz should round out the top 5 if we are being honest. Northwood seems way too high and Kokomo had a lot of impact seniors leave to be considered top 5. My top 10 would look more like:

1. East Central - Heavy favorite

2a. New Pal - Even if they take a step back they are still top 5 in 4A

2b. Roncalli - Even if they take a step back they are still top 5 in 4A

4. Reitz - Damn good team last year, just had a hiccup at a horrible time

5. Memorial - Outside of Roncalli; played EC the toughest.

6. New Prairie - Lost some pieces but have enough returning from a trip to Indy to warrant the top spot from the North

7. Kokomo - Had some big boys that are gone. Don't know what they have returning, but I can see them being TOUGH

8. Northwood - unfortunate circumstance last year, but they weren't getting by NP. NW seems overrated every year. Lost too much to be #3

9. Mooresville - Been solid the last 5 years. And with a HOFer at the helm they Aren't going anywhere. Pretty underrated program.

10. Northview - Not much to go off of. Just like them in this slot

Nitro Tuggle is back at NorthWood

5 minutes ago, BTF said:

Fair enough, everyone's opinion on what defines a program is different. This is a difficult topic every time it's posted. Do you think "2 years" is a long enough period of time to qualify a program? A two year run on talent doesn't mean you have one of the top ten programs in the state. 

In some aspects, if you compare the previous few years before that but emphasize the past two