crimsonace1

The one time I saw Brebeuf last year (before the title game), Buckman was hurt, Annee came in at QB and they were excellent. It seemed even then Geske was their guy for the future. They were really high on him last year (and not just because he's the coach's son). If there's a 1A and a 1B and there's not much (if any) dropoff from one to the other and that allows you to get a better WR1 on the field, do it.

Correct - Whitestown is in Lebanon's school district. Most people *think* it's in Zionsville because of its proximity, but Lebanon's district lies west of Zionsville's (basically, the middle third of Boone County) and stretches all the way south to Fayette and the Hendricks County line. Because of where Lebanon HS is located - basically in the middle of a neighborhood north of town that's a good distance off I-65 - Whitestown's growth is going to be a bit of a traffic nightmare for students getting to/from the school.

I'll give him some credit - this is about as long as he's been on vacation without begging to be allowed back.

This seems to have hit a lot of inner-city public schools - Gary West, the IPS schools, Muncie Central, Anderson, et al, have really struggled as families have moved to the suburbs. Fort Wayne & Evansville schools haven't been hit as hard, but Evansville's school corporation is countywide, so a lot of the Evansville schools' population includes the closer-in suburbs. Not sure if that's as much the case for FWCS, but Northrop/Snider seem to hit the north suburbs. Meanwhile, Mishawaka & Penn (as well as Marian & St. Joe) are top-notch programs. The people living and going to school there were in South Bend two generations ago.

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IPS district = the old pre-Unigov Indianapolis city limits. The township schools' districts consist of any land outside of those limits (obviously, except the enclave towns of Speedway and Beech Grove, whose districts correspond with their town boundaries). Why Indy stretched so far along 38th Street was likely because that area was developed and the city annexed it for tax base. It stretches pretty far in a narrow finger (although not quite as far) along 38th Street on the west side into Pike & Wayne Townships, too. There have been multiple proposals to merge the township schools and IPS over the years, since schools, police and fire were excluded from the Unigov city-county unification (police has since consolidated into one department, *some* fire departments have and some, like Pike, have remained independent of IFD), but the schools have steadfastly been able to remain independent. Given the size of all eight of the township districts, I don't think there's any momentum to merge them into IPS.

Lawrence North was a basketball powerhouse almost from the beginning - and won a state title (the first for a Marion County township school) in its 13th year of existence. But if you looked and saw Lawrence North largely upstaging Lawrence Central athletically, and Perry Meridian was probably equal to or better than Southport for a long time (although Southport *did* make a basketball State Finals in 1990), you're thinking "if we split the school, the new school with no history and tradition will be the good one, and the old one with 100 years of alumni will struggle," maybe you step back and say "yeah, let's keep it one school." If any township made sense to split, it was Lawrence, just because of how rapidly the Castleton/Geist areas were growing in the 1970s/80s. North Central would seem like a decent candidate (but a large portion of Washington Township resides in the IPS district), but it's fascinating to note that school didn't even exist until 1955. Before then, Washington Township kids who didn't live in the old city limits, I think, had the option to go to IPS or go to Pike/Lawrence Central (and I assume most went to Broad Ripple).

John Marshall is at 38th and Mitthoeffer - about six miles north and in the IPS district (IPS basically stretches along 38th Street like a finger all the way east almost to German Church Road). Its presence likely didn't affect Warren Central's student population at all - until open enrollment when families in that area could choose to go to Warren or Lawrence Township schools. The students who would have went to John Marshall are now districted to other IPS high schools (likely Tech, as it's the closest IPS building).

Highly doubt it. There is room for growth - a few new neighborhoods going in around Mitthoeffer/German Church near Creston (but it seems a not-insignificant number of those families send their kids to New Pal or to Scecina/Roncalli/Cathedral). I can't see WC splitting the high school. The time to do that would've been 20-25 years ago when the school's enrollment was really growing fast. It's growing still, but not quite at that level. Warren Township also doesn't have the tax base Washington & Lawrence Townships have - the infrastructure for a new high school would be pretty astronomical. It's easier and cheaper to add on (and in doing so, you ensure you're still competitive with the Ben Davises and Carmels).

2025 - those guys are all sophomores, so they're just now seeing the field. They've lost three games - by nine to Center Grove, by two touchdowns to a very good Ben Davis squad and by 12 to a very improved Lawrence Central team. I think more just shows the MIC is a meat-grinder. WC may be (and probably is) one of the top 7-8 teams in 6A but you can be a top team in 6A and still be in the lower half of the MIC because of the difficulty of the conference.

Exactly. I grew up in the evangelical school community - I went to Bethesda Christian in elementary school and two of my siblings graduated from there, and was attending church at Traders Point when Covenant Christian began (largely to serve the kids in the Chapel Rock, Kingsway and Traders Point congregations - the three very large westside Independent Christian Churches). Most of the evangelical Protestant Christian schools are Baptist (but there are a couple of Christian Church-affiliated ones - Covenant and Traders Point in the Indy area). For years, none had football and it seemed to be - at least in the circles I ran in - that it really wasn't part of the church culture. I always thought soccer was the "church kid" sport because that was the featured fall sport at every evangelical school I was aware of. Then Heritage Christian started a program. Lutheran - which was more established as a school and obviously comes from a mainline denomination, but was still very small at the time and seemed to be an athletic peer of many of the evangelical schools - started one. Then Covenant and Traders Point. All have been very good for the visibility of the school and have led to enrollment jumps. Heritage, Lutheran and Covenant have all won state titles. Traders Point now sits in Whitestown, right there to absorb some of the religious families in the area. There could come a day when Faith Christian - which is a Baptist school - starts football. But it and LCC are *not* pulling from the same families. Faith's students are most likely to be from evangelical families. LCC's students are most likely to come from Catholic ones. There might be some overlap between "voucher" families who simply want their kids to have a private school education, but I'd think it's fairly small. We're probably more likely to see a new program from an existing school - like a Faith Christian or Covenant Christian-Demotte - than we are to see a new school created out of nowhere (or an 8-man program like Waldron bumping up to 11-man). It seems the wave of new charter schools has slowed, schools seem to be slow to split (if they split) because the cost of building a new high school and all of the attendant facilities (new stadium, gym, baseball field, softball field, soccer field, auditorium, natatorium) is *substantial.*

From what I've read, the plan for a third HSE district high school will be something like what Ben Davis has with University High. It will be a separate building with kids from both school populations, but its own specialized school and curriculum, but its students would be considered enrolled in (and thus eligible for athletics for) their "home" school - which would be HSE or Fishers. Lawrence Township is largely built-out, but both LC and LN are expanding. My son has played soccer games at both schools in the last few weeks and both have major construction going on, so it doesn't look like they'll be consolidating soon. I think you're more likely to see that in Perry Township. They had floated the idea of consolidating Perry Meridian and Southport a few years back, but the new football stadium at Perry Meridian seems to have nixed that idea. Mt. Vernon is already getting spillover from both Lawrence Township and HSE - they're adding about 300 students/year district-wide. I expect this to be their last cycle as a 4A school. New Pal is growing, but because Franklin Township and the parts of Warren Township it borders aren't quite as built-out yet, there's not as much growth crossing the county line (although they can't build houses fast enough here).

(One note - I try to move around the state and hit all classes. This one is a bit more Class A and Central Indiana-heavy. There have been a couple of times, including this week, I've tried to feature big Southwestern Indiana matchups but the coaches have not responded).

Jets, Starfires to meet in annual Adams County war Andrew Smith GridironDigest.com To find some of the best small-school football in Indiana, look no further than Adams County. Since 2011, the Adams Central Flying Jets and South Adams Starfires have each won six sectional titles. Each has been a state runner-up in the last couple of years - Adams Central advancing to Lucas Oil Stadium, South Adams in 2020. Both are mainstays in the Class A polls, and their regular-season meeting frequently decides the Allen County Athletic Conference title. This week, the two schools again meet on the gridiron at South Adams. Adams Central (5-0) is ranked No. 2 in the Class A IFCA poll, while South Adams (4-1) is No. 5. “It is the best small school rivalry in the state,” South Adams coach Grant Moser said. “The ACAC conference (title) has gone through one of us since 2016. Both teams have small tight-knit communities that love their football programs and show up in droves to support. It is an incredible atmosphere to be able to witness.” The familiarity makes for a great game. It’s 9.6 miles from Adams Central’s campus in Monroe to South Adams in Berne. “It's a big game for both teams,” Adams Central coach Michael Mosser said. “We know each other well. I think it's neat that both programs have had a lot of success which makes the game even more special. The game is always hard-fought - neither team has really been able to dominate the other. AC does have more wins; however, games are usually very close. It is rare that one will dominate the other. This year could see a lot of the same.” A year ago, Adams Central won both meetings - 48-7 in the regular season and 41-0 in the regional. In 2020, South Adams won a 29-9 decision in the regular season. Led by quarterback Ryan Black, Adams Central posted a 25-21 victory over Eastside - a 2A semistate team from a year ago - and has scored 40-plus points each in consecutive wins over Covenant Christian, Jay County and Heritage in the last three weeks. This year’s success is building on a recent history. The Flying Jets are 118-47 in Mosser’s 14 years in Monroe. “I think the reason for our success is the tradition that we have,” Mosser said. “We have a system and a culture that kids believe in. I think this helps us be successful. Kids love playing football at Adams Central. Last year's success is definitely part of it but it really goes deeper than last season. It's built into the kids and lasted long before me.” The same takes place at South Adams, where the Starfares are 62-26 in Moser’s eight years. “We have total buy-in from players, parents and administration along with great community support,” Moser said. “Our kids have set the culture and now know what it takes to be successful.” South Adams won its first three games before falling 28-27 to Heritage in Week 4. The Starfires bounced back with a 35-19 victory over Monroe Central - another team that has spent time in the Top 10 this season - last week. Quarterback Owen Wanner has thrown for 1,046 yards and 12 TDs to lead South Adams. Maverick Summersett is averaging 6.4 yards per carry on the ground. “Wanner is a good passer and runner. We will need to contain him and not let him pass or run all over the field,” Adams Central’s Mosser said. “Offensively we must be able to run the ball. They have always made that hard on us. They like shifting around a lot and blitzing.” Adams Central’s run game, led by Keehan Blum, will be keyed on as well. “They are the favorites in the 1A north once again,” South Adams’ Moser said of the Jets. “We will need to play mistake free football and find some way to slow down their run game.” Sheridan joins the 700 club When one thinks of small-school success in Indiana, the Sheridan Blackhawks have long been the gold standard. The program reached another milestone last Friday with a 42-0 victory at Clinton Prairie, winning its 700th game all-time. Sheridan, which has been playing football since 1898, is the third program in the state to reach the 700-win mark. Indianapolis Cathedral (771) and Evansville Reitz (721) are the only two with more victories. Mishawaka (665) and Hobart (652) are the next-closest to 700. Head coach Larry “Bud” Wright was a part of 24 of those wins as a player from 1955-58. After graduating from Sheridan and Ball State, he returned to his alma mater in 1966 as the head coach after one year at Mt. Ayr High School - which is now part of North Newton. He has been the head coach for 439 of those victories since then. Wright has led the Blackhawks to nine state championships - the first coming in 1980, the latest in 2007. “The first thing is it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to what you’re doing,” Wright told Hoosierland TV after the milestone win. “In the younger days, I went to probably 15 to 20 clinics every year, listened to the best speakers I could, took things from everybody and started putting things together. The pieces started fitting together. “You also have to have a lot of good people around you. I have been blessed down through the years to have some excellent assistant coaches and fine athletes”. This year’s squad is currently unranked in Class A - it’s receiving votes in the AP poll - but is 4-1 and outscoring opponents by an average score of 40-11. After a Week 1 loss to Western Boone - a Top 10 3A team - the Blackhawks have rolled off four straight lopsided wins. This year’s team features a powerful running game led by senior Peyton Cross, who has 729 yards and eight touchdowns, and junior Zach Bales, who has tallied 429 yards and seven scores. Both average more than 10 yards per carry. Sheridan will go for win 701 this week at home against Taylor in a non-conference game. ICC lead up for grabs as No. 1, No. 2 meet The lead in the Indiana Crossroads Conference is up for grabs this week as 1A No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran meets 2A No. 2 Indianapolis Scecina. The game will be played at Roncalli. Both teams are 5-0 to start the year. “The Lutheran game is very big in it positions the winner to win the conference, which is always a goal,” Scecina coach Ott Hurrle said. “This game will help us get a better understanding of where we are in regards to tournament play.” Lutheran, the defending Class A state champion, is averaging 53 points per game. The Saints’ offense is led by sophomore quarterback Jackson Willis, who leads the state with 1,639 passing yards. He thew for 385 in last week’s 50-12 victory over Cascade and has a season-high of 417 in a 54-41 Week 3 win over Triton Central. Willis has more than capably filled the shoes of now-graduated Montasi Clay, who accounted for 4,579 yards of total offense and 65 touchdowns a year ago and is now at Marian University. Micah MacKay has 640 receiving yards and ranks fourth in the state. The Saints have been a perennial Class A power under coach Dave Pasch, winning seven sectionals, six regionals, two semistates and a state title since 2014. They have won 20 consecutive games dating back to 2021. Scecina has been a defensive stalwart so far through five weeks, posting two shuouts and allowing five touchdowns in five games. The Crusaders are building off a strong season in which they went 10-4 and won a regional. They’ve already avenged two of their regular-season losses from last year, beating Speedway 28-7 in Week 2 and Heritage Christian 27-13 last week. A victory this week would avenge the third. “Senior leadership during the off season in getting players to buy in and be at workouts during the summer,” Hurrle said of a key to the Crusaders’ success this season. “Our defense has played very well and has allowed our offense to come along and its getting better.” Hurrle is in his 31st year at the helm of the Crusaders. He has led them to two state titles in 1990 and 1991. Senior Mason Beriault leads the Crusaders’ defense with 48 tackles, while Tamir Woods has 43 stops and 13 tackles for loss. Defensive tackle Adam Young, another senior, has 11 TFLs. Hurrle also has cited the play of linebacker Calvin Connor, defensive end Jaylen Long and linebacker Keaton Thibo, all seniors, as leaders on defense. Offensively, running back Brandon Fitts-Ramsey has 531 rushing yards, leading a balanced attack. Cougars into the Top 10 After knocking on the door at the end of last season, Greenfield-Central’s Cougars have spent much of the season in the IFCA Class 4A Top 10. The Cougars went 7-4 last season - their third winning season since 2002 - and have started this season 4-1, with the only blemish a 35-28 defeat to defending 4A champion Mt. Vernon. G-C travels to 4A No. 1 New Palestine this week. The Cougars have slowly built from going winless in 2018, the year before coach Travis Nolting took over, to two wins, then three, then seven. Now, they're in the Top 10 for the first time since 2002 and spending multiple weeks there for the first time since the program's heyday in the 1970s - when they won the first Class 2A state title in 1973 and were runners-up two years later. “Four years ago, we established a direction for where we wanted to go as a program. We have committed to that direction and will continue to commit to it,” Nolting said. “Consistency has been a large piece of that direction. I have always believed that program consistency yields the best results. Our seniors have now been in our program for four years and have bought in. I can't say enough about the hard work they have put in over the past four years making Greenfield football relevant once again.” That direction has featured the wishbone offense - a patient, powerful running game that spreads the ball around. It currently features senior fullback Andrew Zellers, who has 655 yards and averages 7.1 yards per carry. Fellow senior Brayden Herrell has tallied 473 yards and 8.0 yards per carry. The Cougars are averaging 348 yards per game on the ground. They rushed for 400 yards in a 35-0 victory over Pendleton Heights Week 4 and 377 yards last week in a 54-7 victory at Shelbyville. Defensively, G-C is allowing 198 yards per game and has shut out two foes - Greensburg and Pendleton Heights. The group is led by senior defensive end Brad Allen, who has four sacks and 11 tackles for loss, as well as junior linebacker Jake Hinton, who has 59 tackles. The Cougars have forced 17 takeaways, led by Kirk Knecht’s four interceptions. This week features a road trip to county and Hoosier Heritage Conference rival New Palestine, with first place in the league on the line. “New Pal is very good. Coach (Kyle) Ralph is one of the best in the state,” Nolting said. “His teams are always well coached and very prepared to play. There are multiple Div. 1 athletes on the field for New Pal which makes them even more dangerous. “In order for us to be successful on Friday Night, we can't make mistakes or turn the ball over and have to battle in the trenches all night.” Other games of note 6A No. 9 Westfield (3-2) at 6A No. 1 Brownsburg (5-0) 6A No. 10 Lawrence Central (3-2) at 6A No. 2 Center Grove (4-1) Zionsville (4-1) at 6A No. 4 Hamilton Southeastern (5-0) Lawrence North (2-3) at 6A No. 5 Ben Davis (3-2) 5A No. 1 Whiteland (5-0) at Martinsville (4-1) 5A No. 2 Mishawaka (5-0) at Warsaw (4-1) Crown Point (5-0) at 5A No. 5 Valparaiso (4-1) 5A No. 6 Castle (4-1) at 4A No. 9 Evansville Reitz (5-0) 5A No. 8 Harrison (4-1) at Lafayette Jeff (4-1) 4A No. 2 Roncalli (5-0) at No. 8 Brebeuf Jesuit (3-1) Franklin (3-2) at 4A No. 3 Mooresville (5-0) 4A No. 5 East Central (4-1) at South Dearborn (5-0) Benton Central (3-2) at 3A No. 1 West Lafayette (5-0) 3A No. 9 Guerin Catholic (3-2) at 3A No. 2 Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (3-2) 3A No. 3 Gibson Southern (5-0) at Heritage Hills (3-2) 3A No. 4 Tri-West (4-1) at Lebanon (3-2) 3A No. 5 Norwell (5-0) at East Noble (3-2) 2A No. 1 Linton (5-0) at North Daviess (4-1) 2A No. 3 Andrean (3-2) at Hobart (3-2) 2A No. 4 LaVille (5-0) at Knox (3-2) Rensselaer (3-2) at 2A No. 9 Lafayette Catholic (3-2)

New Palestine has an opening that weekend.

It's highly unlikely - the modus operandi in the suburbs seems to be to grow schools to huge sizes (a la Carmel) rather than split (like HSE, Southport & Perry Meridian did). Meanwhile, the cities are losing population and seeing schools close (Elkhart, Muncie, Michigan City, Anderson, et al, have all consolidated back into one school in the last 30ish years). I doubt we'll see many school splits. Possibly a few new private schools here and there. Whitestown was mentioned in the thread - that community is mostly in the Lebanon school district. I highly doubt Lebanon splits into two, especially given they're already significantly smaller than Zionsville even with the rapid growth of Whitestown.

Only two players - Blaine Nunnally (WR/DB) and Isaiah Thacker (WR/DB) - start on both sides of the ball. A number of OL rotate in at the nose (Keele/Moore/Purciful) but in the 10 years Kyle Ralph has been at NP, this is the smallest number of two-way starters they've had. They often have had quite a few in the past - the team went to the 5A title game in 2015 basically playing 15-16 players.

HHC week 6 Greenfield-Central (4-1, 2-1) at New Palestine (5-0, 3-0) WRGF-89.7, NewPalRadio.com, IHSAAtv.org/NewPalestine. The Dragons have passed every test with flying colors, but G-C is vastly improved and senior-laden. Their wishbone offense can control the game and cause problems for opposing defenses as Andy Zellers and Brayden Herrell frequently both rush for 100+ yards, while NP has been able to beat people with both the run (Grayson Thomas is averaging over 150 yards/game) and pass (Danny Tippit is throwing for 200+ yards per game). The trenches will be key. Delta (3-2, 1-2) at New Castle (1-4, 0-3) WLTI-1550. The Eagles are coming off back-to-back losses to Yorktown and Mt. Vernon, although they've been putting up points, their defense has struggled a bit. New Castle gave Yorktown a scare last week but eventually fell 25-19. Mt. Vernon (2-3, 2-1) at Pendleton Heights (2-3, 1-2). WEEM-91.7. The Marauders have been putting up a lot of points against everyone not named New Palestine, while PH found something offensively in the second half against the Dragons, but fell 42-14. The key will be can MV get Bridenthal & Burhenn going, and can PH slow them down. This is an old rivalry game that will be PH's homecoming and is always a great atmosphere. Shelbyville (2-3, 1-2) at Yorktown (4-1, 2-1). WSVX-96.5/1520, Giant.FM. The Tigers kept New Castle at arm's length last week before eventually holding on for a 25-19 victory. Mason Moulton and Kolton Nanko are one of the area's top passer/receiver duos. Shelbyville is much-improved, although they followed up their win two weeks ago against New Castle with a 54-7 loss at home last week against Greenfield-Central.

I generally list the games each #1 plays.

70-25 against a top schedule, two state titles and three trips to Lucas Oil in seven years tells me the Carmel coaches know what they're doing.

I wanted to focus a bit more on smaller schools this week since we'd been a bit 6A/5A-heavy the last couple, but Tri is a program I've kept my eyes on for quite a while, especially since they'd really struggled not long ago. Let's just say the talk of "forcing consolidations and contractions" was never any talk other than of one troll. More opportunities for high school football players means a better game. With the right coaches, the right culture and the right amount of buy-in from players and community (and sometimes a good cycle of talent), a team can turn things around.

You could always adopt Canadian rules: No fair catches, but the kicking team has to give the returner a 5-yard halo until he touches the ball (if not, it's a 15-yard "no-yards" penalty). The kicker and any player who is behind the kicker when the ball is kicked (this includes both free kicks and punts) may recover the ball and gain possession for his team, as well as advance it (which incentivizes the return team to pick up the ball).

Greenfield-Central at Shelbyville WRGF-89.7, WSVX-1520/Giant.FM. The Cougars ran for 400 yards in a 35-0 win over Pendleton Heights last week. Shelbyville won its first HHC game since 2018, snapping a 21-game losing streak in conference play, when it beat New Castle 22-20 last week. Both teams are 1-1 in league play. G-C is ranked for the second time this season ... the first time in at least 20 years the Cougars have appeared in the Top 10. Mt. Vernon at Delta The Marauders moved the ball at times against New Palestine's defense, but had two turnovers in the red zone that accelerated the score in their 42-6 loss to New Palestine last week. Delta dropped a decision to Yorktown in a county rivalry matchup. Both teams coming off losses to rivals makes this an intriguing matchup of squads 1-1 in conference play. New Palestine at Pendleton Heights. NewPalRadio.com/WEEM-91.7. The Dragons marched on last week, as the varsity offense scored on seven straight possessions in a 42-6 win over Mt. Vernon, with Danny Tippit throwing for 220 yards. PH's young squad struggled to move the ball against Greenfield-Central in a 35-0 loss. Since Jed Richman took over, PH has consistently played New Palestine as tough as anyone. Yorktown at New Castle. WLTI-1550. The Tigers have been impressive in a 3-1 start, and having Mason Moulton back adds another dimension to their passing game. Yorktown is the only team to slow New Palestine so far - if for a half - and looks poised to contend for the upper echelon of the conference. New Castle is the only team with an 0-2 conference mark and is looking to bounce back from a loss to Shelbyville last week.