NE8_Fan

Would LOVE to see it but honestly don't believe it will happen...

Warsaw at Carroll - Carroll opened eyes across the state last Fri handling Penn the way they did. Chargers roll 31-14 North Side at Snider - A great year for the Legends comes to an end to a deeper, more disciplined and better coached Snider team. Panthers 35-14 Leo at Columbia City - Col City has had their postseason scare/wake-up with Wayne. Lions keep this close with their blitz happy D. Eagles 28-21 Yorktown at Norwell - Norwell win the sectional title and get their final win of the season. Knights 35-10 Bishop Luers at Eastside - Luers first winning streak of the year comes to an end in Butler in a close one. Blazers 31-28 Eastbrook at Bluffton - Hard to bet against a Coach Adamson team in a sectional final, so I wont. Panthers 31-7 Adams Central at Northfield - Not even a bump on the road to state for AC. Flying Jets 49-7

I definitely wouldn't say Warsaw hasn't played anybody this year (i.e. NorthWood) but, with that being said, they did get handled by NorthWood and the same will happen at the hands of Carroll.

Hate to see things like this happen, especially to a team/program in the midst of a special season. But, alas, kids will be kids and teenagers at times think they are 10 feet tall and bulletproof. The dilemma now is how does the caching staff/head coach handle this, especially with it being made so public? Not sure what NorthWood has for any type of "code of conduct" policy but I know schools in Ft Wayne usually have a 1/3 season suspension (3 games) minimum for similar type offenses. IMHO anything less than that calls into question the coaching integrity for the school/football program. With that being said, the kids in violation would be back by Semi-state with a probable date with, I believe, Kokomo. BUT, getting by the sec 19 winner (Columbia City I'm predicting) with up to 5 defensive starters missing will be a VERY tall task.

The second season is here and we get some out of conference match-ups we only get this time of year. 4A East Noble @ Angola.....Coach Amstutz visits his old team/program....and wins FW SouthSide @ Leo.....have faced each other twice in postseason, each team with a win.....Leo BIG New Haven @ Dekalb....rematch from week 3 that NH won....and will again Columbia City @ Wayne.....possibly the most interesting match-up....Columbia City keeps rolling, but its CLOSE 3A Norwell @ Heritage......will be a better game than week 2 but same outcome nonetheless FW Concordia @ Woodlan....SAC vs ACAC will prolly go the way we all expect.... Bellmont @ Garrett....this, I believe, is Bellmonts BEST chance at a win this seaon 2A Prairie Heights @ Luers.....just a bump, albeit a small one, in the road to a Luers/Eastside rematch Churubusco @ Central Noble.....rematch with same lopsided result 1A Fremont @ South Adams.....Starfires BIG

Well, the NE8 title comes down to this: Columbia City: 37 ppg; 9.25 allowed per/game Norwell: 45.13 ppg; 3.5 allowed per/game I think this will be much closer than some are predicting. Both teams have stout defenses and both have multiple running threats, especially Columbia City. Both with very able QB's with Columbia City having the edge in WR's. Defense definately goes to Norwell as they lead the ENTIRE state in defensive scoring average. NE8 conference record for points allowed in a conference season is 28 points (Leo in 2020) and Norwell is sitting on 21 points allowed in conference play. My prediction.....Norwell 28 Columbia City 17

At this point in the season this would be my rankings: 1. Norwell: Showing why they were the conference favorites coming in. Only question is who will be the first conference team to score on them? 2. East Noble: Have shown they can put up points in bunches but can the defense stop others from scoring enough? Big test this week. 3. Leo: Had a change of gears last week against New Haven and went back to ground and pound. Can their defense stop top teams from out scoring them? We"ll find out tonite. 4. Columbia City: Been on a tear since the Delta game. They win tonite and they will jump the loser of the Leo/East Noble game. 5. New Haven: Every team will have to account for Graham every week. Man.....if New Haven had a solid line......they would be SCARY. 6. Dekalb: Hard team to figure out. Solid play so far from Irk and Overbay.....waiting for Wiley's return... 7. Huntington North: Game against East Noble turned some heads....then Columbia City turned those heads away....in NEED of a signature win. 8. Bellmont: I fear they have a LONG road ahead rebuilding still....

Norwell is a team I really like in 3A this year.....too bad they will run into Chatard in the regional. A ton of experience returns from last year, really good on the offensive and defensive lines and deep at the skill positions. They have outscored opponents 139-7 this year so far on giving up a score to Mississinewa. Shut out a traditionally strong Leo team. Will get a better gauge of them when they face East Noble and possibly Columbia city, both good 4A teams.

Bellmont @ Huntington North: The Vikings were taken out behind the woodshed last fri, Bellmont seems to have signed a lease for back there.....this game may be over by 8:30.......Vikings 42-21 Columbia City @ Dekalb: Columbia City is on a roll (again) this time of year, Dekalb is a tough one to figure out with some offensive firepower but no defense. Col City stays hot....Eagles 35-17 New Haven @ Norwell: The Dogs got bullied physically by Leo last week....not a good sign when you have to go to Ossian. Knights 45-20 GOTW- East Noble @ Leo: These two gave probably the two most exciting NE8 games of the year last year and this year should be no different. Question is who returned enough to get the upper hand after MASSIVE graduation losses from last years games. East Noble has been strong on the ground and Leo seems to have put more emphasis on the running game lately. QB advantage to EN having a returning starter but overall skill players advantage to Leo with a few more weapons. Toughness and a big play here or there could win/lose this game along with special teams. East Noble gets revenge. Knights 28-27

Friday, Sep. 16 Bellmont at Huntington North ©, 7 pm Columbia City at DeKalb ©, 7 pm East Noble at Leo ©, 7 pm New Haven at Norwell ©, 7 pm Norwell running away with the conference? Is Columbia City a legit threat or is it the early season schedule? East Noble vs Leo rivalry renewed this week after the incredible games last year. Mylan Graham NE8 POTY?

Dekalb @ East Noble: after a close on last week against Hunt North, I think the Knights have a "get right" week. Knights 42-13 Hunt North @ Col City: Got a gut feeling on this one....Eagles wont be able to stop the Vikings ground and pound. Vikings 28-24 Norwell @ Bellmont: this gets ugly early.......Knights 56-7 GOTW Leo @ New Haven: almost a coin toss here. Leo has not shown any flashes of being able to take a game over yet. The Dawgs have lightning in a bottle in Graham and a running attack (QB running too) for the Lions to deal with. Lions have been up and down the first three weeks....if they are down at all this week, thats game. Bulldogs 26-24.

Friday, Sep. 9 DeKalb at East Noble ©, 7 pm Huntington North at Columbia City ©, 7 pm Leo at New Haven ©, 7 pm Norwell at Bellmont ©, 7 pm second week of conference play....

Unpopular opinion incoming......Haydock is HIGHLY overrated. Yes I know he has a blue ring at Harding and a red one at Woodlan (should have been blue but he coached them out of it). Won at Harding in 2A with "city" talent in a rural class but also couldn't coach that talent over physical, disciplined teams (Eastbrook, NorthWood). Left Woodlan in shambles when he left after the Harding talent pipeline dried up. He isn't going to take Wayne anywhere higher than mid level SAC at best and by luck of the draw maybe a sectional title game. Just my opinion....

Bellmont @ Col City.... Eagles roll....35-14 Eagles East Noble @ Hunt North..... Vikings are much improved, but Knights are still the Knights.....42-14 Knights New Haven @ Dekalb.....Bulldogs have too many weapons, and BEST player in NE8.......41-10 Dawgs GOTW: Norwell @ Leo......Knights pursuit of 1st NE8 title begins this week. Leo has kept the Knights under wraps the last 6 years, especially with their defense, BUT this year after 2 weeks the Lions are giving up over 270 yds rushing a game. Not what you want to see with Norwell coming to town. This is not the Lions defense of the past few years and I think it will show this Friday night.....35-21 Norwell.

Friday, Sep. 2 Bellmont at Columbia City ©, 7 pm East Noble at Huntington North ©, 7 pm New Haven at DeKalb ©, 7 pm Norwell at Leo ©, 7 pm Time to start conference play and a BIG one in the first week.

If the Knights can avoid giving up big plays through the air they will come home with the win

Col City over Delta: Step up from Busco....Eagles still get the job done. 24-10 Eagles East Noble over Northwood: Knights offense was on last week, so was the D. Much tighter game this week. 21-14 Knights Dekalb over Garrett: Barons edged by Angola, Railroaders taken behind the woodshed by the Jets. Get right week for Barons. 28-7 Barons Norwell over Heritage: Good win last week for the Pats, good game last week for Knights. Norwell cruises. 42-14 Knights Hunt North over Jay County: Vikings put up some points vs an always game Eastbrook squad. Better results this week. 35-21 Vikings Leo over Angola: Hornets knocked off an NE8 team last week in Dekalb, not this week. Close game with players on Leo injured. 24-21 Lions Eastbrook over New Haven: Dawgs winning score got my attention last week....then I found out Marion played as many as 14 freshman. 35-21 Panthers South Adams over Belmont: another ACAC opponent for the Braves....another loss. 42-21 Starfires

Friday, Aug. 26 Columbia City at Delta, 7:30 pm East Noble at NorthWood, 7 pm Garrett at DeKalb, 7 pm Heritage at Norwell, 7 pm Huntington North at Jay County, 7 pm Leo at Angola, 7 pm New Haven at Eastbrook, 7:30 pm South Adams at Bellmont, 7 pm Week 2 on the way. Biggest improvements usually happen from week 1 to 2.

Dwenger by 10 Wayne by 3 Carroll by 12 Northrop by 3 Homestead by 21

Heritage on the rise, Belmont not so much. Heritage by 14 Busco a consistent team, Col City improving in year 2 of new offense. Col City by 10 Dekalb returns some weapons, so does Angola. Dekalb by 3 Eastbrook always tough, Hunt North not. Eastbrook by 21 Leo new coach/offense, Kokomo ground and pound team. Kokomo by 10 Mylan Graham show begins against a solid Marion team. New Haven by 17 The year of the Knights? If so, tonite starts it. Norwell by 24 East Noble graduated ALOT. Plymouth a good gauge for the Knights. East Noble by 28

2 week non-conference schedule starts Bellmont at Heritage, 7 pm Churubusco at Columbia City, 7 pm DeKalb at Angola, 7 pm Eastbrook at Huntington North, 7 pm Kokomo at Leo, 7:30 pm Marion at New Haven, 7 pm Norwell at Mississinewa, 7:30 pm Plymouth at East Noble, 7:30 pm

NE8 Storylines: 1) Does Norwell crash the 2 team (Leo, East Noble) party atop the NE8? Leo is back-to-back champs with EN as previous champs before that. Norwell has beaten/upset them the last two seasons. The Knights UNDOUBTEDLY return THE most talent in the conference (Bolyn, Graft, Zeddis, Colbert, Bailey). Is this the year they get the monkey (Leo) off their back and get the W over them? If they can, they put themselves in great position to take the title. 2) Leo changes coach/offense. The Lions rushing attack has been DOMINANT in the NE8 the last 2 years. With a new coach and philosophy out in Leo, where do they go? There will undoubtedly be a learning curve. Fans have been asking for a change, be careful what you ask for.....a change in philosophy may very well result in a change in the win column. Time will tell. 3) Major talent graduated across the NE8. Who are the new players to watch? Leo (Livingston, Allen, Sheron, Crawford), East Noble (Zolman, Munson, Hood), Col City (Bolt), New Haven (Williams, Carswell) graduated big time players that have been Friday night fixtures for 3 yrs. Who steps in and fills the limelight these kids left? 4) New Haven will likely field the best player on the field every game they play this year in Mylan Graham. Kid has EXPLODED on the recruiting trail this summer. With that said, who do the Dawgs have to get him the ball with Jakar Williams gone to University of Findlay? If they can find a way to get this kid the ball in space, he is ELECTRIC and can take it to the house from anywhere on the field. The big question mark.....can the O-line give the new signal caller time to find Graham. If they do, the Dawgs could be sneaky good this year. 5) Dekalb possibly set to make a rise up the standings? Dekalb returns some real weapons in QB Tegan Irk and WR Donnie Wiley and have a young sophomore stud at RB (name?). The younger classes have some talent coming up. Is it time to start looking at the Barons?? 6) New turf fields. Huntington North and Dekalb have joined the party and have new field turf leaving Belmont as the ONLY NE8 team without. Get with the times Decatur.... 7) Post Bolt era begins in Columbia City. Feels like Greg Bolt had been at Col City for about 8 yrs now. Where do the eagles go now? Coach Fox installed a new offense last year predicated on running the ball in Bolts last year. The Eagles have one of the best RB's in the conference back in Ethan Sievers along with a young stud at WR in Stratton Fuller. Another team that could DEFINATELY sneak up on some people this year.

Not sure about scrimmages, but I am seriously considering leaving the confines of Ft Wayne to see the AC/Eastside game.....should be a banger!

I believe a transfer QB from Fort Wayne NorthSide

With the new season upon us, here are some questions going into the Ft Wayne area conferences title hunts. #1. Is this the year a new face enters the SAC race? since the "new" SAC formed in 2015, the top of the conference has primarily consisted of the usual suspects in Snider, Dwenger, Homestead and Carroll. Wayne (2018) and Concordia (2016) and Luers (2021) have made some noise in the past few years, does NorthSide add their name to the list as a conference contender in 2022? Loads of talent and transfers....another subject....can the coaching put it all together? #2. Transfer news has been hot this off-season with known names in new places. Is this a trend or the new norm in the SAC? #3. Is this the year a new face sits atop the NE8? NE8 conference talk has always centered around Leo and East Noble but is this the year Norwell usurps BOTH teams to claim the title? Loads of talent returns while the 2 normal powers lose loads of talent.....all the stars may be aligning down in Ossian. #4. ALOT of Lineman talent has been developing in the 260 the last few years (Livingston, Moore, Allen, Tippman, Wigington, etc). Who, along with Bolyn (Norwell) are big men to pay attention to this season? #5. Does anyone pose a threat to the Blazers in the NECC? Laban Davis is gone but ALOT returns for Coach Mason's Eastside team. Can ANYONE give them a challenge before another inevitable date with Luers in the playoffs? #6. Is it time to rename the ACAC (Allen County Athletic Conference) to the Adams County Athletic Conference? Adams Central and South Adams has had a stranglehold on the conference recently and looks to again this year. Who will be the program to rise and break up this top 2 ruling party? Is Heritage close to making that happen? #7. More turf fields this year. If I'm not mistaken, Dekalb, Huntington North and Angola will break in new turf fields this year. Who else is on the horizon? #8. New QB's on the scene. Becker (Carroll), Williams (New Haven), Davis (Eastside), Clark (Luers) are gone. ALOT of yds and TD's have graduated, who becomes the new signal callers to pay attention to? Dickerson (BD to North) has to be one along with Haupert's (Snider) progression. #9. Are run first/power running offenses becoming extinct? ALOT of talk about Leo changing staffs and people looking forward to Leo throwing the ball this upcoming year. When did throwing the ball become more important than grounding out physical wins? Is exciting offense more important than winning to the fans/parents? #10. The AP Traction/OPS effect in the city. Alot of opinions on this. Two great training organizations that have gone head to head the last few years with OPS gaining ALOT of ground. Has also spurred alot of controversy in Topic #2. Kids recruiting each other to play together at different schools. How far does this go??