foxbat

Harrison's also hoping to get a shot at LOS before they bump up to 6A too ... the latest enrollments now show them to be larger than cross-river and fellow NCC rival, Jeff. Harrison's been upping their competition at the freshman and JV level the past couple of seasons too, so things are getting ready to peak ... my thinking for peak would likely be the 2023 season. Moving up to 6A is going to blunt that impact while Harrison adjusts to 6A, so they are going to have to rush things this season. To quote Elwood Blues,

2 Point Games Benton Central @ Hanover Central Rensselaer @ Andrean Tipton @ Alexandria Central Catholic @ Southmont 3 Point Games North Judson @ Winamac Bremen @ LaVilla Strangiato ... @Donnie Baker and @nmsu_aggieif LaVille doesn't win, it will end up being "A Farewell to Things"; at least with regard to the Pick 'em Monrovia @ Speedway South Central @ Culver Carroll (Flora) @ Traders Point Christian Monroe Central @ South Adams Donnie Baker Special 4 Point Game South Putnam @ Parke Heritage

Hoping Harrison will be playing at home that next week and it will be a moot point. 🙂

I think that's what a lot of folks don't necessarily factor into the spreads. They aren't specifically stating they think WC, in this case, will win by three TDs and a field goal. They think they can get more folks to bet on the game with the 24-point spread and keep it tight enough that it's not an automatic winner for someone that takes that line. That's why, as you watch the spreads during the week, while they can certainly change because of news like someone getting sick or a player being yanked before the game, it is often a question of the psychology, with mathematical backing, to entice more folks to make the bets one way or the other.

I did see that in a couple of places where my boys played this past summer ... where the homeplate area had turf although the rest of the field was natural. Thought it was actually a smart idea the way that kids dig out that area. The box lines styed fully intact for the whole tournament which was great.

Can attest to that. Was heading up 421 heading to Union Mills for a baseball tourney. Saw a sign on 421 for North Judson that just said simply, "Somewhere over there."

20/20 hindsight usually has the most dependability ... and the worst payout in gambling odds. 😀

I don't know about a one-man team. My youngest kid played travel ball on a team where he was new to the system. They had him playing outfield for about half the season. They finally figured out that he was a major player behind the plate. When he became the catcher, it freed up the catcher to move to 2nd, which freed up the 2nd baseman to move to short stop, and the short stop to center field which helped allow some flexibility in the pitching schedule and mix. The team had been good before that, but just that one little move caused a ripple effect that ended up improving so many position on the team. It wasn't a question of any one kid on the field or at any position, but the optimal synergy of those kids that was at play.

Appreciate the effort ... it was good while it lasted. Who had 30 on the over/under?

I think this is where the discipline component comes into play. I hear you on the idea that moving the ball without error is typically key to success. The questions then become where does the team excel naturally and where do you want to spend the time. I've not looked at the stats for things like holding penalties, but passing games offset those holding penalties, on average, in a single play, compared to a 3 yards and a cloud of dust offense. I think the move to pass offenses seems to also fit with the move toward more home runs and more strikeouts that we are seeing in baseball. Playing good "smallball" is being replaced in some quadrants by "bigball/quickball." There are some that figure out the bigger strategy and couple bigball/smallball, but in other aspects there's the "less effort" quick reward approach. BTW, to your question of the number of plays, that is heavily tied to discipline and, as might be expected, that [should] get better as you progress upward in the game. Nonetheless, as much as it matters, it is an issue as, in a 3 yards strategy, a hold on first down kills the series as the penalty yards can't be overcome. I'll toss in another component of your questions and go with my favorite focus area, defense. I often like the idea of an offensive defense. A defense that stuffed teams deep and took away yards helped to make that 80 yards that offenses often practice to work with shorter and thereby also tended to make the number of plays necessary to score less which in turn decreased the likelihood of offensive penalties, even in disciplined teams, this increasing the flexibility of teams to rely more on short-gain, 3 yard offenses with less potential for downside.

Mullis was a pretty good timely test for Brebeuf. His QB rating is lower than Allen's, but it's significant enough as a test ... especially in post-season. His completion rate is close to Allen's too. Brebeuf had a pretty active night in the secondary last night with a pair of picks, which is more than their season average and a season-high passes defended number too. As much as I hated seeing 1 and 2 play each other first game out of the gate in sectionals, for Brebeuf it may end up being the best possible outcome that they could have had.

Most folks probably spend more per month on a gym membership that they never use than on GID for the year ... and probably don't enjoy the gym half as much when they go as GID. Then again, there is always that one friend that you have that keeps asking you for your Netflix password.

It'll just end up being a couple of extra posts in the traditional end-of-season, sky-is-falling, end-of-the-world, doom-and-gloom, Indiana-football-is-dead, kill-them-all ... sorry, got carried away ... thread after the state championship games' weekend.

Yeah, my son plays football and baseball at Harrison and they do some early-Spring baseball practice out on the football field to avoid tearing up the baseball field when it gets nice enough to get outside, but still not really dry. Heard a rumor that turf might be in the future for Harrison's baseball field too.

Second year in a row that Guerin has taken out a Hoosier Conference opponent in sectionals.

LCC 40 - South Vermillion 6 with 4 mins in 3Q

LCC 27 - South Vermillion 6 - halftime

LCC 27 - South Vermillion 0 ... about 3 mins left in 2Q.

In think Traders Point might shock folks. In the last three seasons, they've been the sectional bridesmaid twice, once to eventual 1A winner LCC who finally wore them down in the second half ... and last season had to forfeit in the sectionals due to COVID.

Learned from the master Prof. Bodine ... then I did a little advance math studies from Dr. Lou at the School of the Streets.

I like what I see at Harrison and I think Harrison looks better this season than last. They competed fairly well against Roncalli last season. I'm really anxious to see them go head-to-head with Zionsville this year. They had a chip on their shoulder with Jeff. They went into the locker room at the half down 27-21 and emerged in the second half to score on all five offensive series of the second half except the victory formation drive after a Harrison interception in the last minute of the game. I think next year is likely to see Harrison coming to a peak; unfortunately, just in time to be moved up to 6A from 5A. Their younger programs, JV and Freshman, have also taken on some different opponents to make them stronger. Frosh squared off against Chatard, Cathedral, and Lowell the last couple of weeks instead of playing Richmond, Muncie Central, and Kokomo and JV squared off against Chatard and Tri-West as opposed to playing Anderson and Richmond ... also had Brebeuf and Westfield as part of their schedule too. JV squad is looking good with a single loss this season to Westfield. Westfield won that one by a point thanks to a 47-yard field goal from their sophomore kicker. The year before this team had lost to Westfield by a TD.

Well, I'm from the south, so that's one of the top ten words I use on a daily basis. That and "fixinta" ... as in, "I'm fixinta head to the grocery store." 😀

You did see what happened to them against Guerin last season? Lord, I apologize for that there.

Harrison, 5A, isn't on anyone's radar screen. Heck, Harrell's even has Kokomo with better odds of winning the sectional and regional than Harrison even though Harrison beat Kokomo a couple of weeks ago by three TDs. Harrison's loss this season comes against 6A Westfield who Harrison was trailing 19-11 going into the 4th before succumbing. Harrison drew a bye in the first sectional round and will likely face Zionsville. Lat season, Zionsville dispatched Harrison 33-21 in the first round of sectionals. I think the game will be tighter this season.

In all honestly, LCC doesn't usually get any rallying even when they are in the north. In the past, folks in the north and south didn't have much problem rallying round Sheridan in the glory days depending on where the lines were drawn. Yeah, it's odd seeing LCC in the south, but I suspect that if LCC somehow makes it all the way to LOS ... Harrell's gives them a 1.95% of that happening, so this discussion may be over long before Thanksgiving ... there'll be a lot more complaining about two P/Ps in LOS 2A than a "carpetbagger" representing the south.