crimsonace1

Two games tonight Concord at Merrillville: Concord scoring 47 points last week to win the regional was an eye-opener, but Merrillville has athletes all over the field. No. 5 vs. No. 6. This should be an excellent game. Can Merrillville finally break through and get to Lucas Oil, or will Concord's high-powered offense get the Minutemen back to Indy for the first time in 19 years? Bloomington South at New Palestine: Looks like rain is in the forecast for much of the game tonight. How will that affect two teams with outstanding QBs - NP's Jacob Davis and BHSS's Duncan Combs? Both teams have powerful running attacks and a Div. I receiver. This game will be won/lost in the trenches, and that's where NP has been very good during the Kyle Ralph era, but South's lines are also very big. Both teams are no stranger to this round - it's the third straight semistate for each. NP is seeking to go downtown for the 6th time in 12 years. South is trying to get there for the first time since 1998.

Would be more difficult for a lot of reasons. When the game sold out, the city government (which owns the stadium) got involved very quickly and worked on making the stadium available. Paycor, basically, only hosts football games during the fall and concerts during the summer. The Bengals' practice facility is on-site, so they're using the stadium daily during the season (if just the dressing rooms). In Indiana, all games are at a host site, and few schools are going to willingly give up a home game in the tourney (also, most have experience with basketball sectional tourneys that might sell out, so they often share the ticket link with parents before they go on sale to the public). Also, because Lucas Oil Stadium is tied to the Convention Center - which is always busy (which is why the Colts rarely host prime-time games except during Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks) - it's often not available on short notice.

If a team is a 3A team (due to success factor) and wins state in Year 1: 4 points Enrollment moves them up to 3A ... they're still in 3A. They win state again: 8 points, not 4. Going to 4A the next year. If a team is in 2A and wins state: 4 points Moves up to 3A due to enrollment and wins state again: 4 points. Basically, you need 6 points *IN YOUR CURRENT CLASS* to move up, or 3 points to stay up.

They were in 3A last year. The SF points start over when you move up to a new class, but once you're there, the points continue to accumulate, even if you move up due to enrollment in Year 2 of the cycle. If Luers wins this week, they'll be in 4A the next two years.

They lost on a last-second FG to #6 in the regional. That doesn't scream "overrated." Yeah, they play a weak schedule, because they're in one of the worst big-school conferences in the state (which they're in for historical reasons, and certainly not for football), but that doesn't mean they're "overrated."

6 points to get bumped up. So either back-to-back semistates or a regional + state title in a rolling 2-year cycle.

Of the schools currently "playing up" Decatur Central: 1st year in 6A; will stay up through 2027 season if they win a *regional* next year Heritage Hills: 1st year in 4A. will stay up through 2027 season with a semistate win this year. Chatard: Back to 3A next year (1 point during 2 years in 4A) East Central: Back to 4A next year (2 points during 2 years in 5A) Cathedral: 1st year in 5A. Will stay in 5A through 2027 season with a semistate win in 2026. If not, will go back to 4A in 2027. LCC: 2nd year in 2A. Going back to 1A next year (1 point during 2 years in 2A) New Pal: 1st year in 5A. Will stay up through 2027 season with a semistate win. FW Snider: Back to 5A next year (0 points during 2 years in 6A) Lutheran: Staying in 2A next year (3 points during 2 years), will need to win a regional next year to stay up in 2027. Other teams potentially going up/down Adams Central: 2A champ last year; 2A regional this year. Going to 3A for 2026/27 Andrean: 2A regional last year. Will go up to 3A for 2026/27 with a state title this year. Bloomington South: 5A regional last year. Will go up to 6A for 2026/27 with state title this year FW Luers: 3A semistate last year. Will move up to 4A for 2026/27 with a semistate title this year. Merrillville: 5A regional last year. Will move up to 6A for 2026/27 with a state title this year. South Adams: 1A regional last year. Will move up to 2A for 2026/27 with a state title this year. South Putnam: 1A regional last year. Will move up to 2A for 2026/27 with a state title this year. Basically, you get one point for each trophy you win in the tournament (except the runner-up trophy).

It's 3 now, not 2.

The No. 4 team losing to the No. 6 team on a last-second FG on the road isn't "a paper tiger." That was two good teams playing each other in a regional championship game.

Two extremely well-coached teams. Both have massive, talented lines on both sides of the ball. What EC's defense did to Whiteland last week was impressive - held them to 95 total yards, all on the ground, shut them out and had a 100-yard pick-6. Obviously, New Pal is a different animal than Whiteland - a much more multiple offense with a lot more weapons - but that was a big game for them. The thing about the Dragons is nobody has gaudy numbers, but a LOT of players are contributing. Four receivers with 12+ catches and 200+ yards, the two RBs have combined for 1,300 yards and Davis has also run for 700+ (while throwing for 1,400+). Key for NP is to get a lead and force EC to pass. NP's run defense has been stout - Cathedral had 71 rushing yards and largely abandoned the run after halftime last week - but Bellman has done a nice job taking over for Minges and EC's line is huge. EC has run for 200+ yards on almost everyone this year. But if the Dragons can get ahead, they can take the ball-control element away from the Trojans, who will want to limit possessions. Turnovers will be key. Both teams create a lot of turnovers. NP is here because of Andrew Davis' 3 INTs last week, and Cam Rollyson's pick-6 against Plainfield basically put that game away. The 100-yard pick-6 set the tone for EC's rout last week. NP has also been excellent in special teams this year. They've returned three KOs for TDs (and two of those three were against Decatur Central and Cathedral, so that's not just happening against the softer part of their schedule) and have eight total special teams touchdowns (three blocked punts, a punt return and a blocked field goal in addition to the three KORs). Should be a fun night in St. Leon.

I was at two of those and was pretty certain the floor was shortened. Will have to go back and look.

Not feasible, in large part because the NCAA seasons are still ongoing, and the stadium has to be prepped for a Saturday game (or available for a Friday game if the Big Ten decides to move a game). You'd have to host on Thursday night if you were using a college stadium. And the logistics/cost of that is high. Purdue plays on grass - they won't want their field torn up right before a game. The cost of opening the stadium - security, et al - is extremely high. Nobody's going to want to pay that rental fee. The HS tourney is never going back to college venues because semistate week conflicts with the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament. If IU, Purdue or Notre Dame (or Butler/Ball State) earn the right to host the NCAA women's tourney, that kicks out the high schools (and no, you can't play Friday/Sunday and let HS use the venue on Saturday, because the NCAA requires you to block off the arena for the entire four days). Also, a college floor is 10' longer than a high school one, and shortening the floor does take some work. The IHSAA does it at Gainbridge Fieldhouse by taking 10 feet out of the middle of the floor, but anyone who watched the old semistates at Hinkle or Mackey remembers the double lines painted on the court. Purdue earned a host seed in 1995, but had to play the first two rounds at San Diego State because Mackey was tied up for the semistate. None of the local colleges will allow that to happen again.

One other issue is that the boys semistate weekend coincides with the first round of the NCAA WBB tourney. Mackey's days of hosting a semistate were numbered after 1995, when Purdue earned a host seed, but had to travel to San Diego State for the opening two rounds because the semistate had the building (and if you're saying "just go Friday/Sunday," the NCAA blocks off the building for four days. There is no allowance for other events during that time). IU, Purdue, Butler and Notre Dame are not going to give up their buildings for a weekend when it could cost them home court for an NCAA event.

OK, back to 5A Here's this week's regional matchups. Should be four pretty intriguing games. Seven of the eight remaining teams are ranked in the Top 10 (and the three Top 10 teams that got knocked out were both eliminated by other Top 10 teams - No. 10/10 Plainfield and No. 2/2 Cathedral both lost to New Palestine; while No. 8/7 Whiteland lost to East Central). (5/5) Merrillville (9-2) at Michigan City (8-3) (4/4) Lafayette Jeff (10-1) at (6/6) Concord (10-1) (1/1) New Palestine (11-0) at (7/8) East Central (9-2) (9/9) Floyd Central (10-1) at (3/3) Bloomington South (10-1)

I'll say this: Cascade is scoring a ton of points and Connor Simmons is one of the top young coaches in the state. He's taken what was a completely moribund program and turned it into a legit title contender. This should be a great game.

I usually don't challenge complete bunk remarks, but I'm going to here. "New Pal has played nobody," has been uttered for the last dozen years. In the Kyle Ralph era, New Pal's non-conference opponents have been Kokomo, Decatur Central, Westfield, Brebeuf, Center Grove, Whiteland, Lawrenceburg, Danville and Richmond. All but one of those programs have been playing on Thanksgiving weekend in the last decade. East Central and Roncalli are confirmed for next season. NP faced a down Kokomo team this year (but when that game was scheduled, Kokomo was coming off a semistate appearance and had a lot of talent coming back), but then beat a 6A sectional champ in Decatur Central (on the road) the next week. Also beat two Sagarin Top-30 teams in Yorktown & Pendleton Heights. The "they don't play anyone" crowd won't be satisfied unless 1991 Ben Davis and 2006 Warren Central show up on their schedules. It's largely based on jealousy. I hear the same, "well, let's see how they'd do against a 6A schedule." They don't need to play a 6A schedule, although they've played five eventual 6A sectional champions since 2018, and beaten four of them. Also ... I've been around New Pal football for more than 25 years. All I've heard is "this freshman class has some talented kids." Nobody has said anything about them being "best in the state," because freshman ball is freshman ball and it's ultimately to help prepare for Friday nights. I think you're putting words in Coach's mouth, because he's not going to pump up a group that hasn't played a varsity game. Results in freshman games mean nothing on Friday nights because *those kids aren't playing*. (And I didn't know a two-TD spread was "dismantling").

Ryder is also the backup QB. One thing that has impressed me about this team is that players are willing to step up whenever their number is called in whatever role they're needed. And there are a lot of playmakers. That was the Dragons' eighth special teams TD of the year (three KORs - by three different players, all on the opening kickoffs; one blocked field goal, three blocked punts and a punt return). NP was able to withstand the early field position battle when the defenses were dominating and use that KOR to build a halftime lead. Kyle Ralph is incredible at making adjustments, and he loosened up the defense with a pair of long passes to Garrett Ranes - who is a really mobile TE with great hands, but because they're so deep at WR/TE, doesn't get a ton of touches. Then, bolstered by a 27-yard run by Caden Jacobia, NP was able to add an all-important fourth-quarter TD. Andrew Davis - the QB's younger brother - sealed it with two of his three INTs in the fourth quarter (the three INTs tied a school record set by Garrett Kuhn in 2014). He also had the pick in the end zone. Tip of the cap to Cathedral. They are a great team. This game lived up to its billing as a hard-fought, high-level matchup between two of the best defenses in the state, with a great chess match between the coaching staffs. Both teams have great running games but struggled to consistently move the ball on the ground because of how stout the defenses were.

This year's team has a lot of 1.5-way guys. There are five two-way starters, but they generally split time on one side of the ball (e.g., both RBs are starters on defense, the TEs play about half the offensive snaps but most of the LB snaps). It's the deepest team he's had, by far, at NP. And these guys have played a lot of big games. But the weight room and conditioning are a huge, huge part of the culture. That's what it takes to be a state-caliber team at a 4A public school (especially playing up a class, as NP has earned the right to do for most of Ralph's tenure). By comparison, the 2015 5A state finalist team that scored 61 on Snider played about 15 guys total.

They won a sectional two years ago and have largely been competitive despite being the smallest school in their conference. I wouldn't count that as struggling.

If you're going to have a rolling two-year success factor, at least in football, the real solution is to simply reclassify every year. I know that creates more work, but that would make the most sense.

Yorktown likely is not going with them. They're a little bigger than Delta (not much, but a little), but the HHC gives them a challenge in volleyball and they are competitive in a number of other sports (including football and softball). Their administration prefers playing teams that challenge them (and, again, with an elite volleyball program, they want to play top competition in that sport).

From my experience, any coach who doesn't go 4-wide and run spread is despised by parents because they're "hurting my kid's college opportunities" ... unless he wins. And if he doesn't win (even if he gets his team to play above its level), those parents who want an NFL-style or air-raid offense will get the ear of administration.

They have been working on plans since Shelbyville and New Castle left. This was not unexpected.

I would like to see - and will probably write if I can get a principal to accept it and propose it - a bylaw stating Classes 6A and 5A will always have 32 teams (unless there are more than 320 schools entered in the tournament, in which 5A will have the remainder), and that 1A-4A can have no more than 64. Basically, if moves due to the success factor cause 6A or 5A to have more than 32 teams, the smallest schools will bump down to the next-highest class. If they cause 6A or 5A to have less than 32, then the largest schools will bump up. The other classes' numbers should be adjusted, as well. Basically, the way things were before Lebanon got mad New Pal beat them in softball and caused the current bylaw change (in which a team moving up in the SF doesn't bump the lowest enrollment school down). Right now, you can have 3-team sectionals and 5-team sectionals due to success factor moves, and 3-team sectionals make no sense when you're basically giving a team two bye weeks.

NP played a top-10 Decatur Central team in Week 2. They running clocked two Top-30 Sagarin teams in Pendleton Heights & Yorktown. They face a defending state championship team on offense and defense every day in practice. They're going to be fine. I don't think anybody will put them into a "state of shock."