foxbat

I find this comment to be fairly condescending and not at all tuned in to the realities of coaching ... especially at small school level. Very broadbush indeed. Maybe the whole purpose is to generate clicks, but I think there may be a better way to accomplish that without such a statement. I've known many coaches and I've yet to find one that doesn't feel the pressure to win even if it doesn't come directly from an AD or a Board of Education or a player's parents. It's almost always in the coach's DNA at a minimum plus whatever else is piled on. I've also not known any that are complacent in what they do. Hamstrung perhaps. Challenged perhaps. Constrained perhaps. But never complacent.

In the last year before SF, 2012, PP won four of five titles (80%), four of four where it was possible for PP to play (100%), placed six teams out of ten total (60%) and six out of eight (75%) where it was possible to play. Here's what it's been since then ... so yes, SF has blunted the influence and dominance of PP even with the outlier of 2020 figured in compared to the last season with out SF.

There are lots of monsters in the shadows, eh?

Interesting line there ... the Big 3 Catholics and little brother Covenant ... except that Covenant's not a Catholic school. Just curious as to why it wasn't stated the Big PPs and the little brother? For shock value? A little hate/envy as @Grandpa B might say? A little Freudian slip? Or you just really didn't know and lumped them all in together?

Looks like he'd be a fun kid to coach.

Harrison is probably actually tracking up. I'm basing this on the past couple months of driving my son to football practice out there. There's a new subdivision going in within a mile east of Harrison and another one going in roughly a mile west. I don't know the specifics, but I thought I'd heard that there were supposed to be about close to 300 new households between the two of those. I'd be surprised if Harrison doesn't end up in 6A in the 2023 cycle, but it may well go in the 2021 cycle. Either way, I think it's just a matter of time before Harrison passes up Jeff as the largest school in the Lafayette/West Lafayette area.

Same is true for Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana. Guerin and LCC are pretty much too far apart that anyone would want to make that trip daily. I have a hard enough time making the slog over to Harrison instead of Jeff and it's just about a six-minute difference. 🙂 Maybe if you lived in Lafayette and worked in the Carmel area that might work out.

It's an interesting idea, but I don't know that Covenant Christian has played that level before ... top of 2A-soon-to-be-3A. Frankly, I'd like to see SA and CC play again if we are going to have that happen ... and both are going to be 1A anyway.

Kids? 😀

It's one of those "facts" that never materializes, but that everyone takes as a truth. But it also defies economics EVEN IF THERE WAS AN ATTEMPT TO SCAM THE SYSTEM. As an example, LCC has 287 kids in the high school. The highest enrollment in 1A is 380. That means that LCC would have "wiggle room" of some 93 kids or 32% of current enrollment and still remain in 1A. It costs a non-Catholic kid $10,813 a year to attend LCC. Multiply that by the differential and, if the idea that LCC is "controlling enrollment," then LCC is foolishly foregoing over $1,000,000 a year or $4,000,000 over four-year careers in tuition to "control enrollment?" In the case of someone like Roncalli, it's even a crazier proposition as Roncalli has a 271-student "cushion" to still stay in 4A. At their tuition rate, $12,920 for non-Catholics, Roncalli would be foregoing over $3,500,000 annually or $14,000,000 over a four-year career in tuition to "control enrollment." Over the last 10 years, it would mean that Roncalli could have still won their two state titles in 4A and garnered an additional $35,000,000 if they just weren't so intent on "controlling enrollment." And it doesn't even speak to the bigger "malfeasance" because, if Roncalli has $35,000,000 to just "give away" over 10 years, you think they'd do a better job "stealing" students to win more than two 4A titles with a $35,000,000 war chest if that was indeed the intent. Someone should record the Catholic schools appeals made in the Catholic churches just to understand exactly why the numbers are what they are ... and it has nothing to do with "controlling enrollment." There's a decent amount of begging from the pulpit AMONGST the choir to take away that controlling enrollment argument pretty quickly.

That equally applies to the Roncalli kids that, as posted in other posts, have almost all, but one, played together since they were in the deanery schools together and most likely also dreamed of a similar moment. Reminds me of the stories of Karlaftis when he came over from Greece.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching him run. The thing that I noticed about him too is that his East/West running was not "wasteful." Some backs that can scamper East/West sometimes spend lots of horizontal yards picking up a few vertical. He seemed very "economical" in his East/West which made it harder for the defense to get a fix on him. That run that he had after SA took the lead for the last time was just amazing as I have to expect he was running on pure adrenaline at that point in the game. As much as his play on the field, I thoroughly enjoyed his demeanor in the post-game interview. He seemed surprised when the interviewer told him how many yards he had and the first words out of his mouth were recognition to his line. He also seemed to have an infectious quality about him, in a good way, ... his grin, his approach, etc. All in all, seemed like a kid who appreciated the opportunity and embraced the moment well.

I like it.

Always had that one kid that claimed that it wasn't him, it was the Holy Spirit moving in mysterious ways?

It's the extra piece of fffisch that you get at Lent. Let's be honest, I attended Catholic school when I was a kid and that "fish" was only fish in the pronunciation. I'm pretty sure it was like the "beff" and "loobster" at the Hungry Heifer ... Cher;s reference for the older crowd ... that had to be spelled differently on the menu to avoid a false advertising claim. 😀

In another words, SF did exactly what it's supposed to do. Keep a school up unless something happens to have it revert back to its starting point ... and actually under the new rules 1) it's harder to move back down and 2) not allow a school that moved up two or more classes to drop back down automatically to its "home" classification when it doesn't maintain 2 points at the higher level ... instead now moving down just one class. So, in essence, SF kept Luers from being able to "ruin 2A for everyone else" from 2013-2018. Then Eastside did the trick in 2019 taking Luers out in the second game of 2A sectionals. And Pioneer, a 1A team, almost prevented it again in 2A this season save for an injury. It ain't perfect, but it seemed to work out fairly well with regard to Luers ... not so much though in 2A for a team that picked up 13 points in two cycles along with 3 blue rings in the same class ... and poor Scecina who had just 6 points in one cycle, less than half of the 13, and just two red rings and had to move up a class.

Why not just split it the way that folks split travel league and rec leagues and let teams opt in for their league? That way no one is told where they have to play, that they have to play up, that they get a multiplier, or anything else. I would suspect that at least 80% of teams would opt in to the "competitive league" for that ... especially if the all-in-tourney still applies. The ones that wouldn't aren't likely those that are worried about SF or multipliers anyway, but are more interested in having something more like an intramural extra-curricular activity.

I think the announcers were saying around the half that he'd broken into the Top 20 for career passing and season passing too. He'd probably trade them both for a blue ring, but still nothing to sneeze at. Congrats to him!

I'm not sure which conference Harrison could get into at this point. Recall that Harrison, McCutcheon, and Jeff left or were escorted out the door of the HCC depending on who's telling the story. They were all less-than-competitive at that point with McCutcheon probably being the strongest of the three. Since moving to the NCC, McCutchoen seems to have drifted downward with Jeff and Harrison being, comparatively, better than when they were in the HCC. Again, I'm not sure which conference would welcome Harrison either with or without its Lafayette-area brethren that would help them be stronger in the post season. I'm a bit newer to following the 5A/6A circuit, so I'm not as well-versed with which conferences match up well with which styles or areas as I am with the lower classes like 1A, 2A, and, to an extent, 3A. I'm learning. With that said, Harrison does seem to be more competitive recently and it is my understanding that the freshman team there is the largest in school history. Also, that 28-21 outing with Westfield was a very welcome development that seems to indicate movement in the right direction over the past few years even if it isn't a major leap yet. Seeing where Roncalli finished this season, again, I'm encouraged by Harrison's competitive showing with them in a hard-fought 49-45 loss.

LCC was wrecked by COVID this season. They also aren't as strong this season as they were last season ... with or without COVID. Without COVID LCC plays SA stronger, but COVID wasn't the reason for a 5 TD differential. Even with COVID LCC should not play BC to a 28-12 win. LCC hasn't scored less than 30 against BC since 2008 and hasn't let BC score two TDs worth of points since LCC went 4-6 in 2017. Looking at the details tells you much more than looking at the meta in this situation. As for my statements about LCC and COVID, saying that LCC was wrecked by COVID and claiming, as you seem to be implying that SA's win wasn't legit because LCC was wrecked by COVID are two very different things. Let's put those in perspective as I was responding to YOUR insights that somehow LCC getting a bye gave them an advantage playing SA. Also, as for Luers being a "fixture" in state finals, before this season it was 2012 since they were last in LOS.

Unfortunately, it looks like that's just going to be for a two-year cycle. The new enrollment numbers show Harrison is likely to be at the top of 5A in numbers for this coming cycle, but with two new subdivisions within a mile of the school currently getting their leveling, it all but inevitable that Harrison is heading to 6A ... just in time for my son's senior year. I guess if they can hang with Westfield, maybe they'll be competitive in 6A at that time.

At least WeBo will be in 3A. 😀

That's not the whole story though. Luers losing? Or CC winning by one because SA went for two? Matter of fact. SA put up more TDs than CC did today ... it took a pair of field goals and a missed XP to do in SA. Or the fact that SA beat the defending state champion by almost five TDs?

I give it just a few hours. 😀

I'm assuming he's taking the interstate.