Offintheyard

There weren't many, if any, outside of Winamac that thought they were the team to beat. They didn't beat any real strong teams all year. Their best win was against a depleted Pioneer team. NJ poses some threats for many teams. They hung with a tough Tippy Valley team and even was competitive for some time against a pretty good 4A CMA team. Speed isn't the only thing that teams need to win. I've seen small, slow teams win a bunch. As far as the field conditions, that loss is on the Winamac coaching staff. Didn't they see the forecast? Every other team in Indiana did and adjusted.

I'll just leave this here from 2 weeks ago. Congrats to Culver on the shutout!! Congrats to NJ on the W. Could be a good game next week.

After having seen just about everyone play or watched film these are just some observations from my soapbox. These final 2 weeks will tell us how good this NJ team is. My opinion is that they have to be the heavy favorites to win sectional if they can win these next 2 games. They played a really good TV team to the wire. They had chances to win that game. Also the CMA game was closer than the final score appears. Let's be honest, nobody in the HNAC has the size and speed of CMA. They had breaks go their way and eventually wore down the Jays. NJ looks like they could have the best chances make a deep run in the playoffs. Staying in that sectional, Culver would have a chance to win it if they could hang onto the ball and actually learn to play defense. Kind of surprised by this as the HC is a defensive coach. That clock burning offense is so powerful and works very well for the athletes that they have but they are their own worst enemy. That offense is the best defense that they have. Winamac hasn't shown us anything. They beat a depleted Pioneer team and then avoided missed playing a strong defensive LV team. There is talent in that Sr class but I think the talent in NJ might be better. If Pioneer can ever get healthy and get a full time QB, they could be a tough out in their sectional. They may be down but from what I have seen, it won't be for long. LV has been playing great D all year. If they can get healthy as well and get the O figured out, they could be poised to make a deep playoff run. As usual, time will tell.

Prayers to this young man and his family.

https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/football-referees-trapped-in-locker-room-door-blocked-with-vending-machine-file-charges/ It is already hard enough to get officials. Sounds like an assistant coach and a couple of students may be the guilty party. I have had my share of "conversations" with umps and referees over the years but always left it on the field. There is no place in sports for this behavior.

That's a story for a different time. The one we had at the time didn't want to be bothered with such petty things. He just wanted us to work it out and get along. Needless to say, neither the AD nor the FB coach lasted very long.

Everybody's experience is going to be different. It comes down to the individual coach and not the sport. I was the baseball coach and tried working with the FB coach in regards to summer workouts but he would have nothing to do with it. He wouldn't even work with the basketball coach. Basketball coach and I worked on a schedule and tried to include the FB coach but again he wouldn't consider it. It helped that the basketball coach was my assistant. FB coach even talked the star basketball player and our number 2 pitcher into specializing because he could be a D1 QB and possibly go pro. The kid was barely 6' and weighed 160 tops. Good athlete for a small school but nowhere near D1 caliber. Kid missed his Jr and Sr year of basketball and ended up playing NAIA but quit after 1 year. I don't lump all FB coaches in this category as I have worked with some great FB coaches and terrible basketball coaches when it comes to working together. FWIW, I wouldn't schedule anything after moratorium week. You can play too much baseball and I am a firm believer in kids playing multiple sports and having a summer to be kids. We would only play about 10 or 12 summer games. It wasn't a popular decision when I took over but it is amazing how quickly the parents and lifers get over it when you start winning hardware.

I would like this post but I have already used my allotted likes. 😁

I have thought all along that a full Pioneer squad could easily be 3-1 or 4-0. The backups played extremely well in the first 2 games until wearing down. Best of luck to you guys the rest of the way.

Played at Newark for 2 seasons. It was long enough ago that when we played them, it was just Dublin HS. Now they have 3. Hoping for a very competitive game. Safe travels.

If all goes well with my schedule, I will be at this game as well. My son has graduated so now I will check out some great games in Northern Indiana. May have to trek to Central Indiana to catch some good ones as well. Spent a couple of years in Central Ohio as a player in HS before relocating and finishing my HS career in Northern Indiana and Coffman has always had a decent program. Should be a great game.

Pioneer has a 1A enrollment and playing up in 2A. If memory serves correctly, the game with NH was a last minute addition to the schedule due to covid. I believe that the game was a week after Pioneer beat 6A Chesterton and had some key injuries but still scheduled up to 4A NH. Yeah, they lost but a 1A enrollment beating a 6A and losing in the closing minutes to a 4A isn't too shabby. I know the SAC prepares Luers but Pioneer's schedule wasn't too bad either. Andrean was no slouch either. It's ok though, I'm sure Pioneer doesn't mind being overlooked or having their loss to NH being a sign that fans don't think they can beat Luers. Good luck to both teams, I hope it is a great game and that both teams come out healthy.

They ran it the best.

They are fun to watch in that aspect. They way the system runs is very reminiscent of Bill Sharpe's Jimtown. They ran 5 base plays out of several formations and didn't care if you knew the play, you still had to stop it. You and I witnessed that first hand as players. The game next week should be very exciting.

Culver Military 27 South Bend St. Joseph 14 F

What a finish. Penn tries a halfback pass and the ball falls short. Elkhart holds on to win 20-19.

1.3 seconds left and Penn scores to trail Elkhart 19-20. Going for 2. TO Elkhart

Elkhart 20 Penn 13 start of 4th

Elkhart 20 Penn 6 H

Penn 6 Elkhart 6 1Q

Warsaw with a huge interception. Warsaw 40 Mishawaka 32 F

Touchdown Tigers Warsaw leads Mishawaka 40-32 3:48 left in the game.

John Glenn 10 Jimtown 7 F

Warsaw 33 Mishawaka 32 start of 4th

Chesterton Marian NJ SC