23andCounting

Long distance I would imagine. Not the typical sprinters you'd want to recruit for the football team.

Yeah, that's what makes it "comical." I like the guy. I love his passion for the high school game. But damn. One guy going pro better than 50 kids getting a championship ring? For some reason I just can't get on board with that line of thought.

Do the golf and cross country types have any interest in playing football? I think a lot of those speedsters on the track team would love the opportunity to compete on the gridiron.

Is it a good idea for football to compete with track? That being said, I would think Fall is the better time.

It might have been after the Warsaw game. He said it was "more important" to have a guy like Grant playing at a high level at Michigan vs an entire team winning a state championship. Yeah, pretty comical.

Great post, much respect for both programs. I stated that "I'd give the Dragon's the edge" very cautiously. I think EC has one of the best programs in the state. If New Pal returns 18 as you suggest, I'd say they're a slight favorite over Cathedral to take 5A. Either way, it will more than likely come down to those two. Would love to see Merrillville give them a run.

North Central would struggle to finish in the 4th spot of the SAC let alone Top 6 in all of 6A............unless there's something the rest of don't know.

Well, I can't speak of what he may or may not do at an undisclosed future program.

Glad to see Angeli go. He should have gotten his opportunity last season. He made his mark though. He came in and bailed Hartman and Leonard out when he was needed. I see a lot of coaches gravitate toward star ratings vs performance on the field.

Maybe, maybe not. Merrillville has a chance with Snider in 5A. That gets slimmer with Cathedral in there. They never had any kind of chance at the 6A level. A school with an enrollment of 2400 has a very slim chance, let alone Merrillville at 2050. If Seiss continues what he's doing, he'll have a state title within 5 years.

Need more of that in the Northeast part of the state. I'd personally rather see Adams Central take them on though. The Starfires have their work cut out for them. I like Dwenger's addition of St. Francis De Sales out of Toledo. Fort Wayne and Toledo are massive rivals on the ice, would love to see that translate over to high school football.

You never know. They have a passionate coaching staff and are only three years removed from a team that was capable of winning the 5A title.

Couldn't agree more. For every three great fans of EVERY fan base, there's one idiot. I may be off on my numbers, but I think my point is taken. Now that Brad Seiss is playing other program's in Merrillville's weight class, it's just a matter of time before they get a state title.

Fans or fan? Parkhurst is a tool for sure. Having one guy going to the NFL is "more important" than winning a state title, lol . In a day and age where fan support on the road is almost embarrassing, I've gotta give props to how the Merrillville community supports their program on long road trips. That fan base showed up in Fort Wayne in 2023. I wish them the best.

In fact, they have 18 of the Top 19 from the Indy Metro area. History in the making if that's true. That's never happened in the history of high school football in Indiana.

They must know something about Zionsville, lol.

Coach Brad Seiss boasts an impressive 63-13 record since 2019. Six sectional titles in six seasons. Five regional titles. There's not many coaches in the state of Indiana who can boast that kind of resume. Making this record even more impressive is that they did it in 6A for three seasons and 5A for three seasons. But.............no state title appearances and a disappointing 0-5 at the semi-state level. Not really wanting to add fuel to the fire, but their closest contest during that time was a 17pt defeat to Warsaw last season. I'm really wanting this program to get over the hump. Not only for Seiss and his players, but for the entire community. They support this program and travel very well to watch their kids play ball. If there's a program that deserves a trip to Lucas Oil, the Pirates fit the bill pretty well. Who's standing in there way in 2025? Valpo, Warsaw, maybe even North Side? One can only presume, based on prior years success, that this team is heading toward another double digit win season.

I don't know, I'm just trying to defer from someone from Indy. East Central, although good every year, was a one off in 2023 I think. So I can see where LN might be a little too much for them. I guess I see them as a similar program to New Pal, although I'd have to give the Dragon's the edge. Not sure anyone would say "LN will destroy New Pal," hence the comparison. But then again New Pal was kind of a one off last season. Programs like those can put a team together every four or five years that can compete with the best of the best. Otherwise, enrollments are just too small to compete with 6A programs on an annual basis. "The Avon statement is pretty simple." You must be pretty bullish on Rob Gibson. I don't know anything about him other than he having a couple of fantastic seasons at Owen Valley. Will that transition into success at the 6A level? What's his story prior to Owen Valley? Any other reasons to be bullish on Avon other than Gibson? Enrollment + Gibson = Good luck and God Bless to anyone in their path?

Care to elaborate? Are the East Central and New Pal programs on equal footing?

Doesn't Indiana only have four players on their roster right now?

Snider opens up against Homestead with a kick return for a touchdown in 2002. Many games start out this way, but I wanted to share this one because I think that Homestead team was one of the better teams that won't ever be remembered. Snider won 23-21 on a last second field goal, then went on to state a few weeks later only to lose to Ben Davis by a score of 31-7. Homestead held six opponents scoreless that year. Their ultimate doom was twofold. Snider, one of the best coaching staffs in the state, had two weeks to prepare versus the one week that Homestead had. And that opening kick for a touchdown. Ben Davis beat the second best team in Fort Wayne (in my opinion) that season for the state championship.

Intrigued.

Chatard? Speed? How'd that happen? Are these Catholic kids? Makes sense to me. Thanks for the clarification.

Good post. Help me out with "Indy and Install." Not sure what that means.

Who were some of the pioneers of this concept? Russ Isaacs in the 90's believed in "year round training." If you don't have a sport, run track.