Trojan67

Idk. My thoughts from Friday are that Pioneer seemed pretty banged up. I know that had quite a few kids out, but I think Judson's physicality will be way too much to even keep Pioneer in the game. It also seemed like when they got to the 3rd quarter, Pioneer just looked gassed with so many of their guys playing both sides.

Isn't that the story of Pioneer's first state title? Ran 3 plays to both sides the whole game?

Caston at Judson Not much to see here. Judson flying faster than the Comets. Judson 60 Caston 0 North Miami at Culver I have said it pretty much all season that the Warriors have been the dark horse. But one thing is for certain, Culver could potentially have a shot to make this a ball game. If Culver's line holds up, what can they do in the passing game. Should be a fun game, but NM takes it. NM 42 Culver 20 South Central at Winamac From the sounds of it South Central had one of their best offensive performances of the year, but could execute and again couldn't stop a run play. Winamac should have ease running the ball against the SC defense and shouldn't have a hard time stopping SC's run game. Winamac 42 South Central 28 Pioneer at Triton Over the last few seasons, this has been a pretty good rivalry that has been brewing. Pioneer comes in with their 3 plays that they will stick to on offense and Triton will be coming in with multiple looks as they try to figure out how to score. Triton defensively needs to keep Rans in the box and get some turnovers. Triton has had more opportunities this season playing full games with their 1s and 2s on the field and think that this will be the advantage. Triton 27 Pioneer 24

Culver at Pioneer Pioneer has their 3 base plays ready to go. Going to be a lot of running up and down the field. Pioneer 54 Culver 0 South Central at North Miami Longest road trip of the season for any team. The Warriors should pretty well-oiled heading into the last couple of weeks and shouldn't have any problem with running the ball tonight. NM 54 SC 12 Winamac at Judson I stand behind my decision not to post my prediction score from last week because I wasn't sure what to expect out Triton. I think it was pretty evident that the Jays have the Joe's. One thing that I think that Winamac should see small successes at is hitting the edges. Judson has a downhill front 7. Running up the middle is not going to work. But that means nothing if Judson holds the ball on offense all night. Judson 63 Winamac 0 Triton at Caston Honestly, Caston should feel some confidence. A young team going against a Triton who seems to struggle with Caston at times. Last year was one of those times as Triton got out on the Comets early, but didn't score anything in the second half. If Triton comes out and wants to move the ball, they need to understand that Caston is built on toughness and that the next 2 games aren't going to come easy. Triton needs to take care of the ball, eliminate penalties and play their game. Caston can make it interesting if Triton comes out flat-footed. Triton 42 Caston 21

Caston at Culver The question that was presented earlier was will there be any competition this week? Both teams are entering their schedule where they could win 2-3 games. I think Caston may have the edge in this one. Caston 35 Culver 21 Pioneer at South Central Not much say. Pioneer has their 3 plays and will stick to those 3 plays the whole night because up to this point, SC cannot stop the run. Running clock by half. Pioneer 54 SC 0 Winamc at North Miami I am going to give credit where credit is due. Winamac held their own against Triton last week. They showed toughness and gave the Trojans fits all night. North Miami has surprised all of us who have been in the HNAC conversation for awhile. NM gets back in the win column and continues to improve. NM 35 Winamac 21 North Judson at Triton Triton's mentality all season has been bend, not break. Triton's defensive front 7 have been a staple and has been the high point this year. Triton has to play disciplined against the triple threat offense. Like I said in an earlier post, Triton needed to play a complete game on Friday against Winamac to gain that understanding that although Winamac isn't at the level of Judson, size-wise they are very similar. Judson is coming to Bourbon for business. They are going to do their walk when they get there to show that they can't be stopped. If Triton plays disciplined football, this game can be closer than what some people are thinking. For that reason, I am not going to give my thoughts on what I believe the score because of how unpredictable Triton's discipline can be.

I predicted last week that Caston was going to win and they ended up rolling them. From what I heard Caston ran for approximately 350 yards on them.

Winamac had quite a few moments tonight and they should feel accomplished regardless of the outcome. Same goes to Caston. The absolutely earned that win tonight. @FinePrint, regardless of how you feel. I really think Triton needed to play a complete game because playing Culver and SC really did put things in perspective. I agree that offensively it was sloppy and Triton needs to play at higher standard and do better for next week. Judson is bringing the big boys. Winamac's skill may not be close to that of Judson's, but size wise, they are pretty comparable. Triton does have their work cut out for them next week and it will be interesting.

Judson at Culver Nothing to see here folks. Just a Blue Jay flying by. Jays 69 Culver 0 South Central at Caston I have watched a couple of games of the Comets and after watching South Central last week, Caston should have their fun on offense. Triton didn't do anything special running the ball and was able to run the ball at will. I also pointed out that SC refused to adjust their KO Return which cost them 14 points 3 and half minuted into the game and almost 21 points. I am honestly going with Caston on this one. Comets 24 SC 21 North Miami at Pioneer This should be an absolute fun game to watch Friday in Royal Center. Pioneer has their 3 base plays locked down and are ready to go against the Warriors. The Warriors should be really responsive after their game last week and are going to make it a ball game. Pioneer 35 North Miami 34 Triton at Winamac Winamac pulled out the nail biter on Friday. Culver had their shots to tie the ball game, but Winamac was able to hold on. I believe that Winamac will put up a better fight than South Central for Triton and will definitely help them heading into next week. Triton needs to complete the mission this week by taking care of the ball, limit penalties, and take care of business. Triton 49 Winamac 7

Here are my thoughts on the South Central v Triton. South Central needs to adjust their kickoff return. 3 times last night Triton executed their onside/pooch kick and scored twice to make it 14-0, 3 minutes into the game and could have easily been 21-0 four minutes into the game had Triton not fumbled. Their front line is all big men with 2 guys on the numbers 10 yards behind them, 2 guys in the center in a straight line, and 2 returners. Way too much open space, not enough athletes to get to the ball. Triton easily could have been on offense all night.

Culver at Winamac Over the last few weeks we have heard about Winamac and them finding an identity. Culver is kind of sitting in the same boat, but for them it's all about that gas. Saw good things from both teams, but I think Winamac takes it. This game could very well go back forth and has the potential to be close. Give me Winamac 28 Cavs 22 North Miami at Judson North Miami is the dark horse under the radar team of the HNAC. I saw a lot of posts about the Sheridan game. Honestly, after watching some of the game Sheridan had last year and watching them this year, I think Sheridan is better than they were last year. Just my take. I just think North Miami is a better team and is rightfully under the radar. I am going to be interested to see how they fair going up against a pretty similar offense. Judson the heavy favorites and will continue to be so. Interesting matchup most definitely. Jays 35 NM 15 Pioneer at Caston Pioneer uses this game to reload and get their feet under themselves as the next few weeks for them are going to be pretty tough. Caston is still working hard and making teams earn it. Pioneer 49 Caston 12 Triton at South Central Triton is 6-0 over the last 6 seasons against South Central. 4 of those games have been decided by 2-3 points. Triton has shown weakness in the passing game and has had some costly penalties over the last games. The strong point of the Triton defense is the front 7. If the Triton offense does what it did against LaVille, control the clock, clean up the penalties, eliminate the turnovers, Triton wins big. If Triton does not clean up the mistakes on both sides of the ball, this game will be a shoot out till the end. Triton 35 SC 20

Caston at North Miami What a win for the Warriors last week! I wasn't really sure what they were about, but getting it done against Sheridan is huge. For Caston, it's about controlling what they can control. There is a lot of hope in the future for this team, but North Miami is too much. NM 42 Caston 13 Judson at South Central The Jays come in with the mentality that no one is stopping them. This continues as they show too much for the Satellites. Jays 42 SC 0 Winamac at Pioneer I was hoping up the Panthers last week and rightfully so. I saw something that I am sure a lot of people saw that Knox lacked that first week. It does look like Knox got it going. I think we will some spurts with Winamac, but the Panthers will be way too much. Pioneer 35 Winamac 12 Culver at Triton The injury bug hit Triton pretty hard last week as one of their starting Linemen went down during warmups with what looked like a knee injury. It was definitely a tough loss and could have been a difference maker in that game. Triton is going with the next man up mentality and will use this game to brush up on things against the Cavaliers. I believe whole heartedly that the Cavs will be tough, but will be overwhelmed by Triton's defense. Triton will definitely need to fix the issues in the secondary and the QBs making reads in the passing game. Triton 35 Cavs 7

Triton vs Bremen is delayed until 7:30. Had lightning in the area.

Games of the Week Pioneer at Knox I think I may have made the Redskin faithful a little upset about my comments over the weekend, but I stand behind what I said. They need to prepare and fix their mistakes because Pioneer are licking their chops. I am sure that during film session, the Panthers were excited and believed a little more that Knox is vulnerable. This is going to be a fun game and the Panther faithful need to believe. Give me Pioneer with the upset. Pioneer 28 Knox 24 Triton at Bremen I will just come out and say it. Bremen has no respect for Triton. Bremen goes into this matchup every year expecting to win, and rightfully so. Bremen has earned that right. But this year just feels (deep breath out)....different. After watching the Trojans on Friday, Bremen had better be prepared to be on defense a really long time and the Trojan defense to swarm that high flying offense. I expect Bremen to do something cute on their first possession of the second quarter because it wouldn't be a matchup if they didn't try to do something cute. Triton needs to play a perfect game and have no mistakes by correcting the ones they made last week. They have a huge task at hand with containing Laidig and Graverson, but I believe that the Trojans can and will come out on top. Triton 28 Bremen 21 Other games North Judson 42 LaVille 21 Caston 24 North White 20 Sheridan 35 NM 7 Boone Grove 42 SC 7 Culver 28 West Central 12 Frontier 28 Winamac 21

North Judson 42 Knox 21 Knox had a lot of hype. Wasn't expecting them to come out as flat as they did on top of being unprepared. Knox was a top 5 3A. Triton 27 LaVille 6 Laville was favored 38-7 and ranked over Triton.

Just pointing out the hype with Knox and falling flat. I am sure that they will use this game, but they did not look at all prepared to handle business last night as a potential top 5 team in 3A. That was the Knox team that has 10+ kids from last season who had substantial playing and starting time. Until they can prove otherwise, I said what I said about Pioneer and their potential after watching their game against Cass.

Knox looked like they started playing football 2 weeks ago. Nothing like being hyped up all off season only to get beat by a 1A school. Valley will roll them and Pioneer I am sure will be picking their chops after Judson handled their business last night. Pioneer looked great last night against Cass.

Attica at Culver Attica has had a long string of losses for the last couple of seasons based on what John Harrell has. Don't know much about them. Culver is certainly interesting knowing that they lost a couple of good seniors. Don't know what the Cavs are going to do this year, but the this game to me is a 50/50 tossup. Culver 23 Attica 20 Bowman at South Central South Central 42 Bowman 6 Caston at Carroll Caston really showed a lot of resiliency last season. They struggled, but they were definitely a team that was not afraid to go up against the giants. I think that this game will help prepare them for the season and should show some great things. I'm not sure what Carroll is bringing back from last year and it should fun to hear about their success as they are a favorite in the north. Carroll 35 Caston 12 Knox at Judson Battle of Starke County continues to live on. Judson the favorites in the north and in the conference with Knox bringing back a lot, as well. If Judson is able to contain and keep things between the tackles, I see it being closer. However, I don't foresee Judson being able to keep up. Knox 42 Judson 24 Northfield at North Miami This should be a fun game for both. From the sounds of it North Miami should have a solid footing, but I am not sure what their numbers look like. Time will tell how North Miami will adjust to the conference and maybe a surprising team in the HNAC. Not sure what Northfield brings to the table, but this should be a pretty good game for both teams. North Miami 21 Northfield 14 Pioneer at Cass Another tale of the Panthers comes this year as they look to bring back their winning edge. Not sure what the numbers situation is at Pioneer, just know they should have a good class of Freshmen that will take over in the coming years. Cass should have another solid season as they enter their second season in the TRC. Cass 28 Pioner 14 West Central at Winamac WC is a team that isn't helped by their schedule and not sure how much they lost from graduation. Winamac, should be the favorite, but don't know what they have put together this summer. Winamac 21 WC 13 LaVille at Triton After watching Triton scrimmage Jimtown on Friday, teams should be put on notice that this defense is going to cause some problems. The scrimmage could not have been more perfect for Triton. Jimtown's speed is only going to help Triton match the speed of LaVille and Bremen. Triton is only going to get better as the season progresses. Now for LaVille, I think that this is going to be a tough season. For them, they need to peak at the right time. They have a really tough schedule and they need to get off on the right foot. This game is going to be a game of inches and will be a really great game and can see this coming down to who has the ball last. Triton 28 LV 27

What's the take on North Vermillion? @Donnie Baker didnt you have to hide a boat down around there?

I don't think it has anything to do with Triton becoming a football school. I think it is more culture shock. People find it easy to cast doubt when there has been lack of success. Looking at the road ahead, I just feel like this is a different team than what I have seen in years past.

Kinda the point of my post, but also calling out the doubt because for some in the Triton community, it is all about gearing up for boys basketball.

Love the optimism @FinePrint, but I am inclined to disagree with you. 3 things that I have noticed about the Jays over the last 3 weeks compared to Triton. 1. Jays kicking game vs Triton's kicking. Triton takes the field position game, extra point game, and fg game all day. Field position will be the biggest factor in this game and the disadvantage is Judson. 2. Judson's offense vs Triton's offense. Judson has shown inconsistencies in the pass game all season. Understanding they are a run first team, the passing game has been has been throw the deep ball and pray that the receiver catches the ball. Triton has shown way more balance in both the running and passing game all season. 3. Defensively both teams have played lights out the last few weeks, no doubt. Unfortunately, I don't know how a 1 dimensional team can stop balance. Unless something dramatic happens where turnovers are a problem, I feel like this game absolutely goes to Triton. The score maybe different, but I don't think it will be that much different.

Glenn at Knox The Falcons have been a mystery this year. They have had a couple of games that have been head scratchers, but nonetheless, this game should be better than the last. Knox was tested pretty well against West Noble. I am interested to see how healthy they are after that test. I can see it going either way, but ultimately, Knox is the better of the 2 teams. Knox 35 Glenn 31 Bremen at LaVille You know how that Pioneer's field is called "The Pit" and that it was notoriously known for being one of the worst fields in the state? Yeah. Lancer Field should take the #1 one spot. Both teams are going to be impacted by the poor field conditions. I am not sure if they are considering moving to Plymouth or someplace like that, but I can only imagine that LaVille's field is going to be like walking into a quick sand pit after all of the rain we have had and potentially will have more at some point this week. Either way, I think Bremen will be more affected by the conditions of the field which makes LaVille's chances better. LaVille 21 Bremen 18 North Judson at Triton I have always thought that after the first couple of years between these 2 teams that this game would turn into a really good rivalry. Both teams have played each other 11 times over the last 8 years and will be the second sectional championship game between the 2. I think the 2 key difference between these 2 teams is depth and speed. That was what I noticed in the first matchup. It seemed like Triton was able to sub guys out a little more. I know the passing game also was huge for Triton in their win, but being able sub is a blessing the Trojans have over the Jays. Triton's field should be in pretty good shape. Fireworks will be booming after the game. Triton 42 Judson 21

SB Tribune had a live update last night on this game. Sounded like it was back and forth in the 4th and a turnover killed Marian's momentum. https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/sports/high-school/football/2023/10/20/live-updates-ihsaa-football-sectional-games-south-bend-area-paw-paw-niles-michigan/71196382007/

Looking at the HNAC sectional schedule, 3 or 4 games that I think most of all of us are going probably going to be intrigued by. Knox at Lakeland Lakeland seemed like they started the season off pretty strong. The loss to Garrett, if I am not mistaken, is a pretty big rivalry, and was a bad loss, tough loss against West Noble, and a bad loss to Blufton on a rainy night. I think consistency is going to be the key for this game. Knox has shown consistency throughout the season. Knox did what they should have against the formidable and smaller schools. Knox's 3 back look is a killer and keeps defenses guessing. Knox 42 Lakeland 28 Andrean and LaVille Don't let the 59er's record deceive you. Although they are down this year, their schedule has been brutal playing 3A Chatard, 5A Merriville, 5A Valpo, and other very quality opponents. I think the speed they have played in their opponents only helps them. The Lancer's have a bad taste in their mouth and it has been heard that all they want is to get back at this team. LaVille has to play perfect and fast because Andrean will take advantage if LaVille has a slow start. I am confident that the Lancers can stand tall, but one turnover could be the end of their season. Laville 24 Andrean 21 Winamac at LCC Winamac should stand tall and keep their heads up. They went through a lot of changes over the season and had a lot of growing pains. They finally put some things together, but they just do not have enough to contend with LCC. LCC 49 Winamac 0 Culver at South Central This game is kinda interesting to me from the standpoint that the first matchup was 44-22. I think Culver could keep it interesting, but in the same token, I just don't think they have the fire power and unfortunately that hurts the Cavs. I don't know how much South Central has improved, but they should really use this game to fine tune their blocking in both the passing and running game. I don't think they can afford to have their QB running all over the field on top of the running backs having no where to go. SCUM 35 Culver 22 Caston at North White 100% giving this game to the underdogs. 14-6 last meeting. Caston is grinding their teeth this week. Caston 20 North White 14 Pioneer at North Judson This game is a hard pick. I said it above and will say I again, Pioneer has to play perfect. Playing at Liberty Field is already tough enough and Pioneer has to have that killer mentality. Judson has the bragging rights right now, but they have to stay humble. I am fifty, but looking at the situation, here is my pick. Judson 21 Pioneer 20 South Newton 42 Bowman 12 Triton at North Newton Triton will be on the road longer than actually playing the game (almost 4 total hours of driving Friday). It is a long a road, but the Trojans mean business because it is their time to shine. Triton 56 NN 0

Culver at LaVille Not a whole lot to say about this matchup. I think for the Lancers they need to keep guys healthy. Lancer Field's drainage sucks and is going to be a mess. Work the younger guys in and keep varsity guys healthy. Lancers 42 Culver 0 Knox at Caston I have been impressed with Caston all season. I wish they had a few more guys around them because they have a ton of heart and have played tough all season. I have said from the beginning that Caston could potentially have a huge game and I have that feeling that come next week, this game is going to only help them regardless of the outcome. Knox gets the young guys in second half to see what depth they have because next week is go time for them. Knox 42 Caston 0 Judson at Pioneer Honestly do not know what to say about this game because it matters, but it doesn't. It matters because of the conference standings, but it doesn't matter because they play next week. The only thing we know is that The Pit is going to be a mud bowl. I think the outcome will be the outcome in this game. Triton at Winamac I think I was surprised by the outcome of this. I think Oldschool said it last week and it wasn't the same Triton team we have seen. It seemed just seemed like something was missing last week for Triton and I can't seem to figure out what it was. Winamac has gotten much better since the changes, but it sounds like they will be down with Jones out in concussion protocol. Triton gets back on track this week and regains their confidence running the ball. Triton 35 Winamac 12