23andCounting

@Komets2727 Good stuff. I think #2 through #7 is a crapshoot. I think the only guarantee is that North Side finishes in the Top 5..........way too much talent not to. Making a case for Homestead. Last season they beat Noblesville, beat Northrop, waxed Snider and North Side. Lost big to Westfield and was utterly hammered by Carroll. Looked solid in losses to Dwenger and HSE late in the season. They return enough guys at key positions to presume they'll be at least as good as they were last season. They are my bold pick at #2. But as I said, #2 through #7 could go a number of different ways...........all pretty good football teams. And don't sleep on #8.

Not sure what the number is to be honest.

If you haven't seen the Sideline Sports Show, check it out. They have great content showcasing NE Indiana. Watching their show inspired me to make a prediction on how the SAC will finish up this season. I think Carroll is the easy pick at #1. After that, it's a crapshoot. I think there are six or seven teams that are capable of being VERY good. So finishing 8th in the SAC doesn't necessarily mean you won't be a threat in the playoffs. 1. Carroll - No doubt about this pick. Lot's of returning starters. Major threat in 6A North. 2. Homestead - The Spartans are due for a breakout season. I think they return enough guys to make this season an improvement over last year, which was a pretty good team. 3. North Side - This team is stocked with talent, with six guys already receiving D1 offers. I like them to finish somewhere between second and fourth in the SAC. 4. Snider - Don't underestimate this coaching staff. If the offensive line comes together, look out. No D1 offers to my knowledge, just a bunch of well coached kids who know how to play. 5. Dwenger - Looking forward to seeing how they match up against Roncalli in Week 1. If they win that game, they jump up to #2. But for now, they have a lot of holes to fill from last season. If there's one thing we know about the Saints, they're a tough bunch of kids who are capable of reloading. Kind of a wait and see for me. 6. Northrop - Another wait and see team. The talent is there, just behind Carroll and North Side. But they also have a first year coach. They could go higher, they could go lower. 7. Luers - Like Dwenger, they also lost a lot of starters from last year's state finalist team. But their coaching staff is as good as any in NE Indiana. I like the Knights to finish between sixth and eighth. Not bad for the smallest school in the SAC. 8. South Side - Maybe the team I'm looking forward to seeing the most. I could see them finishing as high as sixth. They've improved every year under Andre Goodwell.........and almost beat East Noble in the playoffs last year. No shame in being ranked 8th in the SAC this season. Good luck to the Archers. Great guy leading the way. 9. Wayne - Another up and coming good coach in my opinion, but it's a work in progress. This conference is a grind. 10. Concordia - Last year in the SAC. Good move for them. I'm basing this prediction on recent past performance. I really don't know much about what they return. I just know it's been a struggle with the larger schools.

1989, 2020, & 2025. Maybe a one year "total collapse." But let's not forget that they finished the year with a win over North Side and should have beaten Northrop. I felt like their QB did pretty well to end last season. If they shore up the offensive line, they'll make a deep run in 5A. Their skill guys and defense will make them dangerous regardless......it all comes down to the offensive line.

Thanks for sharing. Certainly not one of the stronger polls we'll see throughout the season. Wondering how they come up with these rankings. Last year's results combined with D1 prospects on the roster? Do Maxpreps and Calpreps have any idea how many starters return for the season? Presuming they know who the statistical leaders were during their junior campaigns. But do they have any idea how many offensive or defensive linemen return from a season ago if they're not getting D1 attention?

Probably at Top 10 team in 5A. Top 5 if their offensive line comes together. The SAC is solid this year (lots of D1 talent, just not at Snider). They could lose five or six regular season games and still be a good 5A team. But make no mistake, the goal over there is winning a state title. Historically, it's takes a couple of years to recover from a season like they had last year. I think when it's all said and done with, Snider will be a serious threat in the North. New Pal and Cathedral might be on an island of their own this season with regard to winning the whole thing. Time will tell. Gimmie Lafayette Jeff as the pre-season front runner to represent the North.

Can't help you with the "something else." But I think there will always be something off when it comes to Maxpreps. I've always said that the best polls are right here on the GID.

Top six from the south, bottom four from the north?

Take it with a grain of salt. Maxpreps s no better than AI. Fishers, HSE, and DC over Carroll offers very little merit. Penn has some work to do to earn their way back into the Top 10, but given the guys they return, they're in the Top 10 when it's all said and done. Maxpreps is just pretend with maybe a 70% accuracy rate.

I've always been an advocate for having a few cupcakes on the schedule, even at the high school level. Tune-up games are important. Rest for starters is important. I've always believed that, so it's hard for me to blame IU for dropping Notre Dame. But the cancelation seemed more mutual. It allowed Notre Dame to reschedule with USC. At the end of the day, Cignetti is a pretty smart guy. I like his approach. IU will be a well oiled machine before getting into the meat of their schedule.

Sounds like the ingredients of a national champion. If it's not broke, why fix it?

I'm a little late to the party on this one. But it's another example of how the Indy Star and FW Journal Gazette push racism narrative any time they can. They are always one sided stories and rarely believable. Never mix politics with business, something the media still hasn't learned. The FW Journal Gazette has lost a massive number of subscribers. I'm sure the Indy Star is suffering the same fate.

Someone can fact check me on this, but if memory serves me correctly, Homestead and Carroll were admitted into the SAC only to play football and basketball. The SAC member teams felt comfortable competing with those two programs ONLY in those two sports. And even that was just considered an experiment. So none of this is surprise. Homestead and Carroll outgrew what is now called the Northeast 8. Now they've outgrown the SAC. It's really as simple as that. Unfortunately, there's nowhere for either of them to go in football. There's a lack of similar sized schools in NE Indiana. The best they could hope for would be to form a super conference for football only and pray that programs Snider, Dwenger, and Northrop will join them. There's just not much to choose from up here. Warsaw is almost an hour away. Schools with 1800+ are few and far between, as is the case with any area outside of the Indy Metro.

There's nothing that jumps out with North Side as far as a "program" is concerned. That's reserved for schools in NE Indiana like Adams Central, Bishop Dwenger, Bishop Luers, Carroll, East Noble, and Snider...........they've earned it. I will say that North Side has a passionate coach, so best of luck to him. I think the the following resources justify at least a small amount of pre-season hype. Fort Wayne's always been a D1 football factory, but to see this level of talent at North Side is a first for this program, hence the attention it's getting. https://outsidethehuddle.net/2026/06/22/class-of-2028-top-area-prospects/ https://outsidethehuddle.net/2026/02/10/class-of-2027-top-area-prospects/ https://www.on3.com/high-school/north-side-legends-fort-wayne-in-14125/football/roster/

I think your issue is that it's been mentioned several times, by me, that North Side had one of the best teams in 5A in 2022. Outside of that, it's been more of............."they're a dangerous program that other teams shouldn't sleep on." If memory serves me correctly, weren't they tied with #1 Concord last year at halftime? Then spent most the second half just one touchdown behind? See what I'm saying here? Disclaimer: I'm not a North Side fan...........at all. For reasons I'd rather not post here. PM's are welcome. I just think having six guys with D1 offers, potentially eight, is worth mentioning in a thread. Maybe someone else should step up to the plate and provide content on this forum. If there was any content at all, I probably wouldn't have even started this thread. I didn't think it was a bad off season topic.