crimsonace1

One of my two degrees is from an NAIA university and I'm pretty proud of it. It was more an old rehashed joke about the NAIA's significantly more relaxed recruiting rules, and not a dig at the quality of institutions in the association.

Traditional powers, familiar foes meet in semistate Andrew Smith GridironDigest.com It’s the weekend before Thanksgiving and the Center Grove Trojans are playing football. If it feels like a November rite of passage, it’s because the Trojans are in the semistate for the fifth consecutive year and the 13th time in the last 15 years. At 10-2 and ranked No. 3 in Class 6A, the Trojans face a rematch with No. 2 Cathedral (10-1) at Longshore Stadium at Arsenal Tech High School in Indianapolis, with a trip to the State Finals on the line. It’s a rematch of teams who are both seeking their third straight state championship - CG won the last two years in Class 6A, Cathedral in 5A. Center Grove has used a powerful offense, which is scoring 35.9 ppg, to advance to the semistate. After a narrow 14-10 win over Franklin Central in the sectional opener, the Trojans dispatched Columbus North 49-14 and Warren Central 42-32. Running back Micah Coyle ran for 301 yards and four TDs in last week’s regional victory. That has complemented a passing game led by quarterback Tyler Cherry, who has thrown for 2,081 yards this season. Knowing they had Noah Coy - who has 1,060 receiving yards and 13 TDs on 56 catches - and solid slots Eli Hohlt and Owen Wright - returning, the Trojans expected to have a strong passing game. Moving Jalen Thomeson over to running back to complement Coyle has given the team a solid 1-2 punch in the backfield, as Coyle has 1,723 yards and Thomeson 869. Both are averaging more than six yards per carry. “Well we sort of had to adapt to that system of playing and it has helped us win games,” CG coach Eric Moore said. “We lost our great RB Drew Wheat 8 plays into the 2022 season vs WC and had to totally change our plan of attack. We practice and work on the passing game more than people understand, in fact most people that watch us practice don’t understand why and how we practice passing this much. This year with the loss of Drew, we have used the pass to set up the run.” With playmakers in the passing and running games, CG is averaging 420 yards per game. “With that we have compromised most defenses making them pick the poison, stop pass or slow down the run,” Moore said. Cathedral is no stranger to success, having won big at the Class 5A level before moving up to 6A due to the Tournament Success Factor. They’re seeking their 15th state championship and 18th State Finals appearance. The Irish are led by one of the state’s top passers in junior Danny O’Neil. A multi-year starter, he has thrown for 2,579 yards and 32 touchdowns, with Jaron Tibbs (895 yards), David Ayers (640 yards) and Brennan Wooten (484 yards) his top targets. Add running back Carson Johnson, who needs 10 yards to eclipse 1,000 for the season, and Cathedral is one of 6A’s top-scoring teams at 37 ppg. But Cathedral had to grind out a 14-7 victory over Brownsburg last week in the regional - avenging a regular season loss from Week 2. O’Neil threw for 168 yards and a touchdown to Ayers, who had 93 receiving yards. Cathedral downed Lawrence North 44-35 and Lawrence Central 33-13 in the sectional to get to the regional. The Trojans and Irish are meeting in the state tournament for the first time, but they are no strangers to each other. They’ve met in Week 9 annually since 2014. This year, Cathedral rallied to win 40-29 after trailing 29-13 going into the final quarter. O’Neil threw for 410 yards - 164 to Tibbs and 162 to Wooten - and five TDs in that contest. Cherry threw for 202 yards - 125 to Coy. “The Rematch? We’re not really thinking of it in those terms,” Moore said. “This is the game both teams must win to obtain their goal to be in the state championship. It just happens to be between two teams that play in the regular season. Yes it is a chance to regain our self esteem we lost after such a break down late in the last game. For that we have worked on things that caused problems from the CG standpoint, not merely what Cathedral did to hurt us or beat us.” Lawrenceburg facing surging Bulldogs Four weeks ago, the Monrovia Bulldogs were 2-7 and entering one of the state’s toughest sectionals. The Bulldogs are now just one win away from the State Finals, but they travel to face a 12-1 Lawrenceburg squad that has won 12 consecutive games. Monrovia dispatched previously-unbeaten Owen Valley 26-21 last week after wins over Purdue Poly, Speedway and Danville in the sectional. “Monrovia is very hot right now,” Lawrenceburg coach Ryan Knigga said. “They have found a way to win games in the tournament. They have beat some good football programs on this run and are playing really well. You better be ready to stop the run. They want to run the football. Your backend guys can't fall asleep or they will play-action you and hit the deep ball. You need to make every possession count.” Monrovia’s run-heavy attack is led by junior Brayton Belcher, who has 1,035 yards and 11 touchdowns. Dustin Kostrzewski adds 797 yards and Jozy Hand 517 on the ground. Hand led the running game with 90 yards and a touchdown last week at OV. While the Bulldogs’ record showed struggles, they played stiff competition - three of their regular-season losses were to teams ranked in the top five of their respective classes, and two foes - Linton and Indianapolis Lutheran - are still alive. Lawrenceburg is in the semistate for the second consecutive year. The Tigers have one of the state’s top defense, having allowed just three touchdowns since the tournament began, and that came after closing the regular season with six consecutive shutouts. The Tigers’ lone loss came to county rival East Central - a Class 4A regional champion - in the opening week. “Our defense has been outstanding,” Knigga said. “That unit has gotten better each week. They fly around to the ball and make plays. They are fun to watch. We knew our defense had a chance to be good as we brought seven guys back from that Regional team last year. Going into the season we knew they would need to carry us. They have done just that. I think it starts with our seniors. They have been great leaders. It is a player-led locker room. They handle all the business and take care of things. To have a defense like we have, it is not one person or two. To do what they have done takes multiple guys. We feel we have multiple guys who are performing well on that side of the ball and contributing to our success.” Among those are senior Joey Pierce, who has 106 tackles, 10 for loss, and four interceptions. Sophomore Noah Knigga has 13 tackles for loss. Junior Zavyn Slayback also has four picks for a team that has forced 32 turnovers. Offensively, the Tigers feature two 1,000-yard rushers in junior Teagan Bennett and senior Alex Witte. They have combined for 32 touchdowns. Last week, Witte ran for 252 yards and Bennett 148 as the Tigers combined for 400 yards on the ground to down a solid Southridge squad 31-7 in the regional. “It was a battle,” Knigga said. “Southridge is a very good team. They are coached well and execute very well. It was a huge win for our program. We have been in that game the past few years and it was a bump in the road for us, so it felt great to get over that bump. I am very proud of our kids. They were resilient and just battled for four quarters. I thought all our players performed well. You’ve got to perform well to win that game “Overall, it was a great team win and I am proud of our kids and coaches.” Unbeatens meet up Two games feature unbeaten teams - one in Class 6A, one in Class A. In 6A, Carroll (Fort Wayne) hosts Hamilton Southeastern. HSE is ranked No. 1 in the class and is looking to make its first State Finals appearance in 17 years. Carroll has never been in the State Finals, but advanced by winning a 21-20 matchup with Lafayette Jeff last week. … In Class A, defending state champion Indianapolis Lutheran visits North Decatur. That contest features the state’s leading passer in Lutheran’s Jackson Willis (3,670 yards) against a North Decatur defense that is allowing 6.8 ppg. ND won its first regional in school history last week. … Also in Class A’s northern bracket, unbeaten Adams Central meets 12-1 North Judson, putting the top four teams in the polls in the semistate, with a combined record of 51-1 between them. … A big rematch takes place in Class 4A, where Roncalli and East Central played to a 21-19 game in Week 9, which was won by the Royals. The two teams meet again at EC’s field, where the host Trojans are looking to make their first State Finals appearance since 2017. Roncalli is looking to return for the second time in three seasons after Luke Hansen ran for 195 yards in a 20-7 victory over No. 1 New Palestine last week. … Class 3A features an intriguing matchup as No. 1 West Lafayette puts its 13-0 record on the line at No. 3 Indianapolis Chatard. Both schools have recent state titles - WL in 2017, Chatard in 2020. … A couple of Region-Summit matchups take place between traditional powers, as Valparaiso visits Fort Wayne Snider in 5A. Valpo avenged a loss to Merrillville last week with a 15-14 regional victory. No. 1 Snider, seeking its first State Finals appearance since 2015, defeated Mishawaka 41-27 last week. In 2A, defending state champ Andrean hosts Fort Wayne Luers. Alongside Monrovia, Luers is the other team with a sub-.500 regular season record to advance to the semistate. The Knights went 4-5 before rolling through Prairie Heights, Churubusco, Eastside and Bluffton, with the 35-21 victory over Eastside in the sectional final the closest contest. … In addition to North Decatur and Carroll (Fort Wayne), Whiteland will also be seeking its first-ever State Finals appearance in Class 5A this week. Semistate matchups Class 6A No. 1 Hamilton Southeastern (12-0) at No. 5 Carroll (Fort Wayne) (12-0) No. 3 Center Grove (10-2) at No. 2 Indianapolis Cathedral (10-1) (at Tech HS) Class 5A No. 9 Valparaiso (9-3) at No. 1 Fort Wayne Snider (11-1) No. 2 Whiteland (11-1) at Castle (8-4) Class 4A No. 7 New Prairie (12-1) at No. 6 Kokomo (12-1) No. 2 Roncalli (12-1) at No. 4 East Central (11-2) Class 3A No. 3 Indianapolis Chatard (9-4) at No. 1 West Lafayette (13-0) Monrovia (6-7) at No. 5 Lawrenceburg (12-1) Class 2A No. 8 Fort Wayne Luers (8-5) at No. 3 Andrean (9-3) No. 1 Linton (13-0) at No. 5 Ev. Mater Dei (10-3) Class A No. 2 Adams Central (13-0) at No. 4 North Judson (12-1) No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran (13-0) at No. 3 North Decatur (13-0)

Whiteland's offense is very unique. But the teams who see it every year have a lot more data to gameplan for it and know what they've done that's worked in the past. It's not as "new" to them.

I believe those are the NCAA dimensions. In HS, the hashmarks divide the field into thirds and are 53'4" apart.

They don't call it the "National Association of Ineligible Athletes" for no reason :). In all seriousness, NAIA's recruiting rules are really lax compared to NCAA's, but the playing rules are the same. NAIA also doesn't have the restriction on third parties renting out their facilities for HS games, but methinks there are very few NAIA facilities where that would be an issue, as most NAIA basketball gymnasiums are the same size as/smaller than HS facilities in the area.

I've heard of some officiating crews taking two steps outside the college hashmarks to mark the ball for high school. Do they do that or just play with the NCAA ones?

I'm not an official, but I do the same. I'm always looking to see if the slots are covered up.

The NCAA rule is that *independent third party* organizations cannot use college venues. For example, Ray Compton's group cannot rent Hinkle Fieldhouse or Assembly Hall for a game. What was happening was shoe companies and somewhat slimy folks in the basketball recruiting game were scheduling "shootouts" at college venues involving prime recruits to try to steer those recruits to that school. A school or a state association (such as the IHSAA) absolutely can rent out college venues. Several State Finals are held at them - volleyball & gymnastics at BSU, track at IU, softball at Purdue. GBB was at ISU for a few years. But third parties cannot. I believe the Tri-Eastern Conference rents out Ball State's stadium for a Saturday quadrupleheader every few years. A few years back, when Purdue had a Friday home game, it offered up Ross-Ade for the local high schools to play on Saturday.

Hashmarks are different, too. It's 40' between the hashmarks on an NCAA field, 53.3' between the hashmarks on an NFHS one. Although HS hashmarks can usually be applied to a college field fairly easily, converting the goalposts is a more arduous task.

This is a family website, Bob :).

Without knowing the blocking schemes, et al, it looks like the Wing-T, jet sweep and I-formation had a baby and called it the Fly offense.

Whiteland is always run-heavy. It's fly sweep left, fly sweep right and if you adjust to that, they hit you with the tailback up the middle out of the I formation. They run about 90% of the time with multiple backs and they're very good at it. IHSAAtv will have all semistate games, but PPV ($12 per game).

Fully understood - New Pal will play anybody anywhere, too (as evidenced by scheduling Center Grove & Westfield) and expect to win every Friday night. But as someone who is interested in class alignments and who gets the Success Factor bump, that was just something I found intriguing. Cathedral has proven it can compete and win at a 6A level (just as New Pal proved pretty well it can compete at the 5A level, especially as evidenced by 3 State Finals appearances in the eight years it was in the class). This will be a dynamite game this week. The problem with UIndy is needing to put high school hashmarks and goalposts on the field. I know other tourney games have been held there (especially Scecina hosting a few games there), but it's not a great spot. The visiting side is also *very* small (and much smaller than Tech's). Cathedral has hosted games at North Central, too, which also has plenty of accommodations for a large crowd (and a better press box). But Tech is a good stadium and much more centrally-located.

Honestly, Cathedral doesn't care, but their placement does affect other schools who might be in Class 5A (or 4A).

Bottom line, even with the fumble/no-fumble call (and it looked out from my perspective, but I'm not exactly unbiased), NP would've had to drive the length of the field against a defense it had struggled to move the ball against. Roncalli's OL/DL were as good as any I've seen at the high school level, especially in 4A. The one real officiating "mistake" was a play where NP was called for illegal man downfield on a TD pass. It was actually an illegal forward pass - the QB was a half-yard ahead of the LOS when he threw the ball but in watching the video last night, it appeared all five linemen were behind the LOS. The misapplication/confusion likely worked in NP's favor, as illegal forward pass is a loss of down penalty, but the Dragons failed to convert on 4th-and-1 later that series, so it was all moot.

Of note, Cathedral winning a regional ensures it will be in 6A in 2024 & 2025.

Four turnovers on downs - three inside the 35 yard line (and twice on fourth-and-1). Just struggled to sustain anything offensively tonight. Congrats to Roncalli - their line dominated the game and they should be fitting themselves for rings in two weeks. It's a shame geography meant this game was played this week instead of on Thanksgiving weekend. Next season starts tomorrow. NP graduates a huge, talented senior class but has a very good freshman and eighth grade group. Will have to replace 4/5 of the offensive line, the QB and the top two receivers on offense, as well as the entire LB corps on defense.

It is what it is. A host school can choose to play a game anywhere - including the opposing team's field - but retains "home team" privileges and designation in the tournament. In 1999, Mt. Vernon made it to the regional round and never hosted a game. It's rare, but it is possible for a team to be home or away several weeks throughout the tournament. There's a scenario in which Roncalli could host next week, too (if they win and Evansville Memorial wins, because Memorial is home this week and this regional has the tiebreaker. New Pal would be home next week regardless of opponent - which, if it comes to pass, would be NP's fifth consecutive semistate game at home since 2014).

That was floating around but is incorrect. Their first-round game was drawn to be at Shortridge and was Shortridge's home game. At IPS/Shortridge's request, it was moved to Roncalli due to the better field and larger stands (the visitor's side at Roncalli has more seats than Shortridge's field has at all). Even though the game was moved, it remained a Shortridge home game. Because Roncalli was the "visiting" team and Attucks the "home" team in the first week of the sectional, Roncalli was the host team for the second round game against Attucks. Some might have interpreted that as an Attucks home game because it was in the bottom bracket and both teams were home the previous week, but Roncalli's game was a designated road game. Attucks plays its home games at the old Northwest HS, which has an old facility but is adequate for this level of game. Even if New Pal had played a road game, regional and semistate host is only based on who was home/away the previous round - both teams were home, and the odd-numbered sectionals have the tiebreaker when that's the case, so Roncalli would have hosted even if its Week 1 game had truly been a home game (there is a caveat for semistate that if one of the teams has not hosted the sectional final or regional, it would host the semistate).

Kyler Kropp came in for Thomas and ran for 148 yards having not practiced at RB for several weeks against Greenfield-Central, then ran for 112 and three TDs on eight carries last week. Honestly, there's not much of a drop-off from Thomas to Kropp, but they're different style runners. What changes is they now can't both be on the field at the same time, so NP loses a little bit of offensive flexibility as Kropp was very good in the passing game as a slot receiver. As someone with a stake in the game, I'd prefer a stress-free 20+-point win, but I'll enjoy a good game.

Here are the game notes from both teams for this game. FB Notes vs New Palestine - R 111122.pdf FB-2022-11-11-atRoncalli.pdf

All tournament games are on IHSAAtv if they're video streamed, and Roncalli does video stream its home games. Roncalli Media Network & NewPalRadio.com will have audio streams, depending on which school's slant you want to enjoy (I'll be doing the New Pal PXP).

They won, so it worked. Coach Ralph is a big believer in keeping your lifting schedule and yes, lifting on gameday if that's on the schedule. They wanted to get a light workout in before the game to stay in-routine.