NE8_Fan

Agree completely, Belmont seems tailor made for the ACAC in terms of size and demographics. Would compete extremely well and, like said, could bulk up their out of conference schedule for their stronger programs. If they were to leave for the ACAC would love to see an Angola or maybe Dwenger join the NE8 (I know Dwenger would never leave the SAC but a guy can dream)

Not to mention they also won regionals in '14 and '18 while in 3A......

good point......very good young RB coming back for them

What does the landscape in the 260 look like going into 2024? Three teams advanced to state with 2 coming home with state titles and the third team accomplishing 3 straight trips to the finals. SAC- Does Snider run roughshod over the conference again? Can they overcome graduation of a great senior class and reload or does Carroll rise back to the top after what had to be considered a disappointing season? Can anyone crash the party at the top next year? Who becomes the next major stars of the conference? Snider and Luers bump up a class....how do they look to fair playing up a class? Can Dwenger make any post season noise now that they went back "home" to 4A? Is this new conference alignment ever going to really "work"? NE8- What is the follow-up to Leo's championship season? Can Brock Schott will the Lions to another NE8 title and continue his path of destruction? Leo is another program that loses a great senior class has to fill a lot of holes with the likes of East Noble breathing down their neck. Speaking of East Noble, trivia question, who scored the most points on state champion Snider last year? The Knights did and they return a lot of talent next year, are they the prohibitive favorites in 24? Can Columbia City make their way back to the top in Stratton Fuller's senior campaign? New Haven loses a TON of talent, how will they reload next year? Will Bellmont ever get turf???? LOL ACAC- Three straight trips to the state finals, regardless of the outcomes, is an incredible accomplishment and proves that Adams Central has earned the claim that ACAC has, in fact, stood for Adams Central Athletic Conference. Can anyone change that? Losing another crop of great seniors will be tough on the Jets but they are now to the point they just reload. Can Heritage clip the Jets yet? The Patriots are on a definite upward trajectory with no signs of letting up under coach Kolkman. Does AC's "little brother" South Adams put themselves back into ACAC title contention?

Don't look for this to happen anytime soon.....they may want to get back into 5A with Snider going up to 6A.....better chance to win a sectional because I SERIOUSLY doubt it will happen in Sectional 19 anytime soon......

As I look at Merrillville's schedule, I see the 10 win season but I also see that in those ten wins, their opponents combined for 42 wins themselves (Including Valpo last Fri.). So in their wins, their opponents averaged just over 4 wins a piece.....I'm getting some eerily similar feelings as I had going into the Leo/Mississinewa game last week.....Merrillville could very well be smoke and mirrors, to an extent. Snider will roll in this one.

Clear forcast tonite....temp in the mid to low 40's. I think the game will be tight for the first half and then Snider blows it open in the second half (better halftime coaching/adjustments). Panthers win going away 38-21

Definately going out tonite as the forcast looks pretty good and it is semi-state. I did, though, stay home a few times this season when the weather wasn't going to be good as Fort Wayne area has really good streaming of games with Summit City Sports and watched from the comfort of my couch. I will be at the NorthWood @ Leo game....Go Lions!

GAMEDAY.....and great football weather....a little light rain this morning and clear after 12pm....

I assume he's referring to Edmonds and Tuggle as DB's and they both also are their top WR's, both being D1 committed players. Also heard around that Edmonds might be trying to swing Tuggle to Michigan....any truths to that?

Gotta admit, I didn't think this thread would be so quiet.....lol. I think the majority of Fort Wayne fans are focusing on Snider, per usual, and the first ever meeting between Luers and LCC. Those two games should be good BUT I strongly believe the NorthWood/Leo game will undoubtedly have the most high level talent (Schott, Hurst, Tuggle, Edmonds). 33 hours and counting......

Should be a great game between two Indiana football Blue Bloods. I think we did get the 2 best teams in the North in this semi state game with Blufton being a close 3rd. Offensive speed (Luers) vs hard nosed D (LCC) should meet all expectations this game. I'm not going to put ANY weight on travel for LCC as this program has made numerous trips like this in their storied past. At the end of the night I think, as it has many times in the past, Luers strength of schedule pays off and they squeak this one out 22-21

S

I was there....as a coach for Leo....lol.....we had quite the back to back sectional games with Northridge then NorthWood that year.....they were a headache to defend with the running QB they had that year (can't remember his name).....

Leo will likely have the best secondary Northwood has seen this year. Don't let the East Noble passing stats fool you, Lions played all cover 0 that game and an over zealous blitzing spree hurt Leo as the RB's out of the backfield weren't accounted for and nearly cost Leo the game. Hoeppner and Hurst will (somewhat) keep with Edmonds and Tuggle as Zeisloft stays over the top from Safety with the help of Schott harassing Roeder as I again don't see Northwood being able to block him one on one. I still see the Lions blitzing, as its been what they've done all year, and getting pressure while playing with a 2 deep shell. Northwood will have trouble getting their running game going against the Lions front line with Sheron and Roberts clogging up the middle. The big play is where NorthWood could hurt the Lions. Offensively Leo's diversity the last few weeks has really opened the playbook and payed off. I honestly believe to beat the Panthers Leo MUST get the ball in the hands of Hurst and Schott 15-20 times while still feeding Carter in the running game. If the Lions can get Carter going early and make the NorthWood safeties creep up into the box, they should be able to go over the top for a couple big plays. If they can get NorthWood rattled early and often, they could cause the Panthers to implode with penalties out of frustration. With all that said, it is likely there WILL be fireworks this Friday and in the end will come down to line play as always and I honestly think Leo has a slight advantage because of their D-line. Leo 35 NorthWood 24