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I can't comment on what Southport's upcoming season projection is since I don't know, but they haven't had a winning season since 2019, and there have been three 0-10 seasons mixed in with the losing seasons up to now. I'll leave it up to others to comment on the issues the Cardinals face trying to resurrect the program.

Has anyone heard anything about Columbus North and the possibility of a conference affiliation after this upcoming season as an independent? I might as well throw Southport in there also since they are going the independent route this coming school season. I have not heard or seen anything about any efforts on that front with both schools. Bloomington South is moving on to the Hoosier Hills Conference after the upcoming season as an independent. Both Col. North and Southport were able to quickly fill out an independent schedule for the upcoming football season, but Bloom. South really struggled to put a schedule together. I don't think either Col. North or Southport want to have to go through the scheduling problems trying to fill out an independent schedule down the road for any length of time.

Here's a release on the announcement: The top high school defensive coordinator in North Carolina is the new head football coach at Bloomington North. Former Cougar lineman Andy Harding was lured back from Tarboro, NC and it's ultra-successful program to take over at his alma mater and was officially approved at the MCCSC board meeting on Tuesday, April 28. Harding takes over for Brett Cooper, who left after one season to take over at Class 6A powerhouse Ben Davis. Harding will be the third coach in three years for the Cougars following Scott Bless' retirement. North still went 15-7 the past two seasons.

I started digging into Ironton and their football program, and they are five-time state champs in their division, but they evidently do not like to play by the rules and were removed from this past season's football playoffs over various violations. Here's the release from the Ohio high school athletic association: OHSAA Removes Ironton from 2025 Football Playoffs Recruiting violations over a seven-year period result in postseason ban and other penalties COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio High School Athletic Association has removed Ironton High School from participation in the upcoming football playoffs due to numerous violations of the OHSAA’s recruiting bylaws over the last seven years. During the last several weeks, the violations were discovered by the OHSAA and shared with administrators and the coaching staff at Ironton. Due to the extent of the violations, the penalties include a postseason ban this season, a postseason suspension of some members of the coaching staff next year (if they are coaching at an OHSAA member school), three years probation and a $7,500 fine. The district also agreed to change local policies on enrollment and transfers and attend an educational seminar presented by the OHSAA staff. The postseason penalties and probation are specific to the football program. Any additional violations of the recruiting bylaws during the probationary period will result in automatic postseason ineligibility for the next available tournament. At this point, the OHSAA will not require Ironton to forfeit wins from previous seasons and the school will retain its 2024 Division V state championship. Ironton was 8-1 heading into its final game of the regular season Friday night. In that game, Ironton allowed an ineligible student-athlete to participate, which results in a forfeiture. In the final computer ratings on Sunday, Ironton will be placed at the bottom of Region 19 in Division V. The OHSAA’s investigation determined that some members of the Ironton football program had engaged in ongoing and coordinated recruiting efforts, including communications with parents and students regarding methods to influence other prospective athletes’ enrollment. Records show deliberate efforts to conceal recruiting activity, including direction on how to avoid leaving evidence of infractions, which demonstrates an awareness of wrongdoing and an intentional effort to circumvent compliance. The scope and coordination of these activities, as well as the number of impermissible contacts, represents a serious and pervasive violation. The Ironton district may choose to include additional penalties.

Yeah, I saw that also. The thing is I don't know what Ironton football history has been, and South is being gutted on both sides of the ball with his past season being loaded with seniors so I don't know what kind of team they are likely to have this coming season. You would think that the Panthers with an enrollment better than four times that of Ironton will have better athletes on the field. On offense, the Panthers do have Duncan Combs back at the QB position, but they lose their top three running backs to graduation and most of their offensive line is gone. There's usually been anywhere from three to five transfers coming in for various reasons so I will have to wait to see exactly what they have to put on the field as the new season approaches.

It's just a one-time deal, but Bloom. South is traveling almost 300 miles to Ironton, Ohio which is close to Huntington, WV in order to help fill out an independent schedule this coming season. They picked up a home game with Muncie Central which makes week 7 the only open date they have right now. I noticed that Indy Cathedral still has an open date during week 7 according to Harrell's site and I don't know if the Irish have filled that date yet or if they are a candidate to fill that last open week for South.

Some excerpts from the HTO on South's admittance to the HHC. South already schedules many HHC members in volleyball, basketball, tennis, baseball and softball so all parties were familiar with each other. Still, South athletic director JR Holmes put together a comprehensive presentation for their mid-April meeting and won the day. "We told them, 'We play you all in a bunch of things already," Holmes said. "And we know the distances. Football will be the major thing as far as scheduling. The rest, we'll just be adding a few teams. (For boys basketball), We just have to add Seymour, Jennings County, and Jeff. "Soccer, baseball, softball, won't be major blowing up of schedules." South had a brochure put together for the presentation, breaking down the sports South offers, a list of it's IHSAA Mental Attitude winners and academic achievements, a breakdown of the athletic department staff which sports each AAD is in charge of; a breakdown of enrollment trends; the community support and long list of athletic accomplishments; a virtual tour of the facilities with the turf fields, new bleachers in the gym, re-done floor in the auxiliary gym; remade pool; then a list of the postseason events South has hosted and examples of the school's involvement in the community. "We feel we're a lot like them," Holmes said. And they apparently agreed. "Bloomington South and JR Holmes have been synonymous with competitive excellence and displaying ideal core values since I was an athlete back in Bloomington during my college days," AJ Moye, Jeffersonville AD said in the HHC press release. "Add to South being known as a first class academic institution, the Panthers embody the spirit of what the HHC was founded on many years ago." South's long-time rivalry with BNL just took another step up. "It is exciting to add Bloomington South to the HHC," HHC commissioner and former BNL AD Jeff Callahan said in the release. "I have been involved with the HHC as an athlete, coach, athletic director, and a fan. The HHC is a great athletic conference and it just got better." Size-wise, South (1,784) would be the second-largest school. According to the most recent IHSAA enrollment numbers, Jeffersonville (2,147), which competes in 6A in football, is the biggest. New Albany (1,753), Floyd Central (1,752), and Seymour (1,644) compete in 5A. In 4A are Columbus East (1,278), Bedford North Lawrence, which slipped to 1,185 — dropping the Stars to Class 3A in classed sports other than football — and Jennings County (1,159). South still has only seven games on next year's football schedule, with Weeks 4 (Sept. 11) and 7 (Oct. 2) open. The Panthers will play Bloomington North, Martinsville, and Terre Haute North in Weeks 1-3. There's a possibility of picking up a Week 4 game, Holmes said. That will be followed by a long trip to Ironton, Ohio, in Week 5. Columbus North at home Week 6 and Brebeuf Jesuit and Center Grove in Weeks 8-9. Membership in the HHC will alleviate all that headache moving forward. Holmes wants to keep North and Martinsville on the schedule, given the large crowds those rivalry games generate. Same with Columbus North, which has not announced any new affiliations. Having six locked-in games is a godsend given the difficulty coach Gabe Johnson has had in filling up the schedule as an independent and a three-time defending regional champ. South should certainly help raise the level of football competitiveness. BNL, Floyd Central, and Jeffersonville have never won a regional title; New Albany has one, and Seymour two (the last in 1999). Only Columbus East, which dominated the league in the 2010s, winning state titles in 2013 and '17, has had long-term postseason success. The HHC is currently working on a master scheduling list for football, to balance home and away and keep special rivalry games (Seymour-Brownstown, Floyd Central-Providence) in specific spots on the docket.

I honestly have my doubts about that. As it's been pointed out, South plays HHC teams as well as other southern teams in the state like Silver Creek and Scottsburg, not to mention some of the Evansville/Castle teams, in so many sports over many, many years, and they really have played just a handful of games in football and basketball north of Martinsville/Center Grove area. Obviously, they played Southport a lot since they were part of CI. In football, I see them playing primarily Martinsville, Col. North (depending on what they do conference-wise) and Bloomington North outside of the HHC, with the rest being the conference games. They just plain have stronger ties to the HHC teams.

That leaves Col. North and Southport as the only CI schools right now looking for a conference. Here is the brief announcement from the Bloom. Herald-Times: Bloomington South has officially been accepted as a member of the Hoosier Hills Conference starting in the 2027-28 school year. The Panthers join BNL, Columbus East, Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, Jennings County (all sports but football), New Albany and Seymour.

Yeah, I just saw that. Bloomington North still hasn't named a new head coach so there are now two programs down in that area in the search for a new coach. When Bloomington North names a new head coach it will be their fourth head coach in as many years. I'm still waiting for any news as to whether Bloomington South will be admitted to the Hoosier Hills Conference or not. https://x.com/therepublicnews/status/2046639696189833379/photo/1

I fully expect them (South) to be added and will be surprised if they don't. I posted sometime back that I didn't know if they just needed just a simple majority of the vote or what to be added. South's AD J.R. Holmes indicated earlier that MOST of the HHC schools seemed to be positive about South joining the conference, so there may be one or two that are not supportive about it. Who knows? -- I don't. Per TheMadness1 post as far as sports beyond just football and basketball, the Panthers usually have strong track and field and cross-country teams, as well as swimming/tennis teams among the boys' sports, and in baseball this current season they are ranked No. 10 in 4A with Floyd Central being No. 5. They usually have really good soccer teams which is just not my bag. So yes, they could give FC a run for their money in overall sports success.

Some items in the Bloomington area: In Bloomington North's inaugural season in the Mid-State Conference - Who will be the head coach? For Bloomington South - Will they be accepted in the Hoosier Hills Conference (mid-April decision by the HHC?) If so, then it will start with the 27-28 season in sports. Will Bloomington South go into next season (obviously as an independent this coming season) with just a six-game schedule? That's their schedule right now and I don't know if they may have to bring in or travel out-of-state to pick up any more games.

I'm not close to the program, but I haven't heard anything in Bloomington as to whom they might be pursuing. I would have to assume that if they were going to elevate an assistant coach, they would have already done that.

Bedford is a great place to live, and I have a close friend that lives there. They just need to attract employers to try and keep up with what jobs they have lost over the years.

Bedford/Lawrence County has pretty much been stagnant from a population standpoint. The local economy had been dependent a lot on the automotive industry and the limestone industry and there have been cutbacks in employment in those areas. They used to have a Ford plant there that has been shut down, while GM still has a presence there. So, as far as employment goes, there is not a lot there to attract new residents. There are quite a few residents in Lawrence County that work in Bloomington/Monroe County and are employed at the several medical facilities that are there, as well as IU. Some residents are also employed at the Crane Naval facility which is not far away. Like with a lot of areas, people are waiting to have children at a much older age, and families are just not quite as big as they used to be, and that reflects on the school populations. That's my two cents on it which may be off-based, and maybe someone with more knowledge of the situation can give a better explanation for it.