roaringthunderdlr

A lot of it is past 2 years. But in that time Westfield with about 2800 students has done much more than Carmel with around 5400. A school of 5400 or 4500 (BD) should constantly be in state contention every single year, yet there were multiple 6A’s (CG, Cathedral, Burg, HSE, Westfield, Carroll) that were better than both this year. So yes, Westfield currently has a better program than Carmel. And Penn has fallen recently. Undoubtedly a top 10 program of all time but far from top 10 currently.

Center Grove, Lutheran, Adams Central, East Central, Cathedral, Bishop Chatard, Roncalli, Mater Dei, Westfield, New Palestine are my 10. Don’t worry about order

Whiteland losing top talent, Franklin losing top talent, Decatur was down last year, and Mooresville loses their QB. Decatur can be good like they have been in previous years, but the disastrous end of the year that they had makes me think otherwise. I suspect Mooresville and Martinsville will be fine as well, good in conference but no match for the best teams in 4A. It’s a reasonable prediction that every team in the MSC has at least three losses though. I think Plainfield is the best in the MSC this year, then Mooresville, then DC/Whiteland/Martinsville, and then Franklin, then Perry/Greenwood.

I feel like Plainfield is criminally underrated and needs to be in the discussion soon. A new era’s coming for the Quakers and first-year head coach Tyler Bless and they have 3 Division I prospects to go along with an experienced QB, momentum, and a down year in the Mid State. Plainfield can easily beat Decatur and/or Harrison in the sectional like they did last year and a run to Lucas Oil is possible.

Marion Local vs Adams Central would be intriguing.

Take Plainfield and put us on that Southside conference.

This is the year, Quakers. Class of 2025 is VERY good and Class of 2024 has some dogs in there was well. 5A is weak for another year, Whiteland loses 30 seniors, Mooresville loses Patterson, Franklin loses Max Clark, and Decatur had a down year. Plainfield has no excuse to underperform.

Why do teams willingly schedule OPH again? It's like playing Dugger. Running clock at halftime every week.

We made it out of Sectional 13, boys. Plainfield made the key plays when it mattered in both games and won their sectional for the first time since their State loss in 2000; the year they pulled a massive upset over an undefeated Cathedral team. Now, they have to go on the road to play (in my opinion) the best team in all of 5A. A few weeks ago, Whiteland went on the road and spoiled Plainfield's senior night by a score of 45-14. They just dominated the second best Mid-State team, Franklin, by a score of 24-0. The factor that interests me, however, is both teams' performance on the road against Martinsville. Whiteland went on the road and got dominated by the Artesians. Plainfield went on the road and beat them. In my eyes, there is a chance. Anything could happen in the playoffs (see: Northridge, Monrovia). However, the chance is miniscule at best. Whiteland realizes that their State Championship window is closing fast, and they will play like it. They will be moved up to 6A very soon and will not be able to compete immediately against the likes of Center Grove, Brownsburg, and Cathedral barring any miracles. The winner of this game will face the winner of Bloomington South and Castle. Bloomington South dominated Conference Indiana this year, and is 9-1 with a loss to the aforementioned Artesians. Castle lost to all of the good teams in their conference, including 2A Evansville Mater Dei. Overall, Plainfield needs to play a near-perfect game in order to keep it close against Whiteland and will need to rely on the clutch moments that they've provided throughout the season in order to win late. I will be at that game, and I hope that those Quakers can pull it out.

Lemme take Miners 35-14

I agree with Plainfield being better than their record indicates and I have faith in the new staff to get the ship rolling. The town of Plainfield has the athletes. For example, the middle school/freshman football teams usually perform well, boys track just won state, and boys basketball went to the regional in 2021. However, Plainfield varsity football has been mediocre for the most part. We needed some fresh blood in there in order to get the ship rolling, and I'm glad we have it. Plainfield is a program with high upside, and can be scary in a few years if all goes well. Franklin Community has the #1 baseball player in the NATION on their football team. Max Clark is a supremely talented athlete and has elevated that program. I went to the Franklin at Plainfield game last year and the Vandy baseball commit made the secondary look like burnt toast. I don't know if Franklin, who has had 2 winning seasons (2019, 2022) since 1995, can consistently perform at a high level.

Both teams have undeniably gotten better throughout the season. I worry about Harrison's schedule though. Jefferson was a great win for Harrison, but Marion, McCutcheon, Anderson, Tech, and Richmond are, no offense, truly terrible teams. I think Plainfield's worst win, Greenwood, beats all of these teams (close over McCutcheon, blowout over rest). Plainfield is undeniably more battle-tested than Harrison and it could play to a possible Quaker advantage next week. Plainfield's victory over Decatur looked good at the time. It was a clean ball game for the most part and it made homecoming much sweeter. However, as Decatur worsens (they lost to Perry Meridian), the win doesn't look as good. If I had to make a chart of each teams win based on strength, I think it would go like this: Great Wins: Harrison over Jefferson Good Wins: Plainfield over Martinsville Decent Wins: Plainfield over Decatur, Plainfield over Perry, Harrison over Logansport, Harrison over Plainfield Easy Wins: Plainfield over Greenwood, Harrison over McCutcheon Weenie Hut Jr's: Harrison over Marion, Tech, Anderson, Richmond

The game in Lafayette should be a good one. Harrison (8-1) has a better record but Plainfield (4-5) has a better SoS and is coming off of a good comeback win against Martinsville. Harrison won the first meeting at home 22-14. The game back home in Indy, however, could get ugly. Decatur Central (3-6) has been playing poorly as of late but should get an easy win over McCutcheon (3-6). Thoughts on this sectional?

Martinsville's homecoming may have played a part. Whiteland wins that game 8 or 9 times out of ten.

Their defense has been fine but weird year for Danville altogether. They struggled mightily, uncharacteristically, to the Montgomery County teams other than Crawfordsville. Upset win over Lebanon was the highlight of the season and they were close to beating Tri-West too.

Just a safe pick but 5A is admittedly in the air. Imho Snider, Whiteland, Franklin, Merrillville, North Side all have a chance and there are probably a few others too. 5A and 2A are hardest to predict.

Harrison escaped Plainfield at home while Whiteland went into Plainfield's senior night and kicked ass.

North Montgomery 8, Danville 6. Thoughts?

Gimme CG, Whiteland, New Pal, Chatard, Linton, and Lutheran as State Champions this year.

https://www.ihsaatv.org/?B=418073

Brownsburg 21 HSE 14. Trying to enjoy that game but the commentator on the HSE livestream is AWFUL. So monotone

Welp Luers has to get past Eastside first...

I get it. Enrollment, geography, randomization... I get it. I am still wondering though how Roncalli and Shortridge are going to be allowed on the same playing field in two weeks. The predictor has Roncalli as a 78.5 point favorite without homefield advantage (game is at Shortridge). I have always been fascinated by blowouts, especially in high school football, and I am sure many of you are too. I would love to hear feedback on this topic.

Do you think Oak Hill should sit the starters against Elwood to rest them for the playoff? If not, then that game is on 100 watch.

Personally I'm going to go with Southmont. A 6-0 start for them and a win over Danville was largely unexpected and it looks like they're closing the gap with Sagamore's "Big 4" somewhat.