BDGiant93

I'm not saying any predictions given my less than stellar performance last week.

On 9/28/2023 at 4:14 PM, PHJIrish said:

This game will be played at the Butler Bowl at 7PM on October 14th.

I saw Phantom...which was not Phantom of the Opera, but the story was similar.

After touting Warren Central as a darkhorse team, I'm going to shut up the rest of the year about rankings or predictions. Looks good to me.

On 9/29/2023 at 12:42 PM, temptation said:

Yep, and cutting your teeth in far and away the best conference in Indiana is no small task.

And, as we've seen with the MIC in the past, sometimes you get down and it's hard to get back up again. You can be pretty darn good in the HCC but the results don't show...especially when you share a Sectional with BD and Brownsburg, too. 

Where's my crow. I'm hungry?

On 9/28/2023 at 1:55 AM, Staxawax said:

Not sure it will be that close but Avon is improving.  Early in the season they looked like they had a new coach with a new system (and of course they did). But, the last few weeks they have looked much better and much more at ease in executing the game plan.  Avon is going to get someone (maybe 2) before the season ends.

Sometimes it takes a bit to get everything grooved.

2 hours ago, temptation said:

30-6 on the season...

Carmel @ Ben Davis:  Gonna find out more about the Hounds week by week as their lone two losses remain to out of state schools.  I don't think they are a title contender but also do not view them as a pushover.  BD put to bed any speculation that they were regressing after an absolute mud stomping of what I consider a good LN team last week.  I think the Giants take care of business at home here.  BD wins 34-17.

Center Grove @ Pike:  The Trojans returned to "the MIC" last week with a road win at LC whereas Pike dropped one at Warren.  CG can name its score here, setting up the cellar battle next week between Pike and North Central.  I'll say CG wins 48-6.

Lawrence Central @ North Central:  A get right game for the Bears after hosting the three time defending state champions last week as NC will provide little resistance.  Gimme LC 34-13.

Warren Central @ Lawrence North:  The battle for the runner-up spot in the conference should be a good one.  Not sure Warren's QB is healthy yet after sustaining an arm injury against Ben Davis.  Lawrence North played its worst game of the season last week at home against Ben Davis.  I expect this to be the best game of the bunch Friday and will take LN in a close one, 24-20.

What say you?

I think that's a pretty good score on the Carmel/BD game

Pike is going to really struggle against CG. 48 is kind. They really seem to struggle when they get down early. I expect this to be running clock city.

I watched the Carmel/NC game on YouTube. NC really struggles on defense and can't get out of its way on offense. I don't know how they can stop an LC team that can look good at times. I like your prediction.

Warren is a darkhorse in this 6A thing. Not saying they'll win it all, but I think they're coming along. Their defense is stellar and playing very well. Lawrence North just did not impress me at all. I mean, at all. I don't know if that's because Ben Davis is better than I think or if LN is just not. Warren 35, Lawrence North 14.

3 hours ago, Grover said:

Thanks for the reminder of when Carmel used to be good.

🥶Cold!!

2 hours ago, hhpatriot04 said:

Sagarin's Predictor:

Ben Davis (100.17) is a 24-point favorite vs. Carmel (78.65) and has about a 86.26% chance of winning (2.42-point home-field advantage).

Last updated: 2023 September 23 Saturday 21:56:28.311 Central Standard Time = GMT/UTC-06:00

http://predictor.gridirondigest.net

This series often favors the underdog.

Ben Davis and Carmel renew their rivalry again on Friday night at 7:00 pm from Giant Stadium. The Greyhounds lead the series, 25-24 after winning the last two games in the series to take their first lead since 1995. The series has been tied eight different times since then. It's just remarkable how close this series has been since the late 1990's. Research done by Jim Pich and yours truly on this one.

On 9/16/2023 at 5:38 PM, Trojanmp52 said:

Where are all the Carmel ppl at that post on here?  Lol

There never really have been a ton recently.

I'm worried about the LN/Ben Davis game. The Giants cannot play anywhere close to the way they did against Warren and be successful. That said, with all the mistakes, that's a game they would have lost in the recent past. They got lucky, and they did enough to win. 

I agree largely with your picks. Poor North Central. In 2019, they were MIC co-champs. In 2020, they were competitive and in the hunt. The drop has been precipitous. Hopefully Derek Hart can turn it around.

7 hours ago, temptation said:

17 penalties on BD last night…

Just didn’t look sharp, credit to Warren…their D held up after the initial onslaught.

Their special teams is an enigma.

A KR/PR TD but can’t make a field goal and their kickoff team is atrocious.

It was a really bad night for special teams. 

Rudolph has been rock solid all year. That missed FG was his first miss of the year. It was wide left by a few feet with good leg distance. He nailed the other one. 

Punting was a big issue last night. I will have to ask why the Giants rush their punt unit onto the field like that. I am curious. 

As far as the punt return, that was a case of not wrapping up a tackle. They had two shots at the guy, and he got away. That opening kick was probably the worst coverage I've seen out of a Ben Davis team in years. You could have driven a semi through that gap sideways. Something happened there. Knowing Coach Spinks, that unit is not in for a good week, LOL. He'll fix it.

7 hours ago, temptation said:

Rivalry game, BD coming off an emotional one.

Warren did score two special teams touchdowns, though I guess you could also say BD had a pick six.

Warren may have lost their QB for the season last night…don’t want to speculate but he left the game with an air cast on his arm in the first quarter.

Freshman kid came in and showed some grit, made some decent throws.

Still not sold on Warren’s offense taking enough pressure off of their D though.

Warren has a championship level defense. They are very good and sound. That freshman has an arm and he looks bigger than 5-11 and 175. 

Warren is getting to the Regional. I could see them making a run. The coaching staff did a fantastic job last night just keeping the team in it on the sidelines. On the Ben Davis side, the Giants had better find some answers to some things. I like what Coach Mann said in the Star. It was a "humbling" win. Got lucky. Sometimes you get those. 

11 hours ago, hhpatriot04 said:

P.S. I hope all is well on the West Side after the events on Friday. It was terrifying to watch the unfiltered panic and fear.

I think everyone is a little skittish after what happened a few years back outside the stadium gates. It was pretty clear from the sound, at least to me, that they were not gunshots, but the panic is real...and in this day and age...it probably should be. No one knows at any moment what's going to happen when it comes to violence these days. Thankfully, this was a false alarm. I've also heard/seen people casting doubts on that assessment, and I heard, firsthand, on the walkie talkiies the full assessment. It was very much fireworks.

20 hours ago, BTF said:

They don't build concrete structures like they used to. That would be a hefty price tag. I think Carmel still has one. You're actually pretty lucky if you're the visitor at Spuller stadium. The visitors side faces the east, which means they are protected from inclimate coming from the west. There's a lot of concrete over there built in a hill. 

Not sure what Blackhawk pays. Maybe they split the gate with FWCS?

Yes. Carmel's facility is still awesome even though it's 31 or 32 years old now. I found a pic of LN's old look. Looks like probably the same architect. Carmel's is a bit different in the design.

Reminds me a lot of the old stands at Dwaine C. Bell Stadium at Lawrence North before the renovation. I'm assuming FW Blackhawk pays some good cash to use the facility at Snider.

4 hours ago, Donnie Baker said:

No take backs. STATE LAW!

Fair enough. I gotta go.

On 9/8/2023 at 2:43 PM, BDGiant93 said:

You being condescending on this board is not surprising. The new DT.

I want to apologize to you @temptation for this comment. I should not have responded in this emotional way. My apologies, sir.

1 minute ago, temptation said:

That was my thought precisely…or he has both a personal account as well as a professional one and tweeted from the wrong one…

It looks like one of those fake tweet generators to me. 

2 hours ago, temptation said:

You buying this @BDGiant93?

I don't find that tweet on his account. I'm assuming that there are shenanigans at work. 

23 hours ago, temptation said:

Giant fans remember the last time they hosted this rivalry and won't let it happen again.  

🤢

Warren Central and Ben Davis on the Westside of Indianapolis. It's going to be the 99th meeting of the two teams in what has recently been dubbed the "Circle City Showdown". For many of the last 40 years, one or both of these teams have been at or near the top of IHSAA football. This year, the Giants are probably the favorites, but that doesn't mean much when the Eastside and the Westside battle. The last time these two teams hooked horns at Ben Davis, it was a 57-56 classic. Some truly great and horrid memories for me in this series. 

Now, you have BD Coach Russ Mann, who spent years on the sidelines as an assistant at Warren, facing a former boss in Warren's Mike Kirschner, who hung plaques in the gym at Ben Davis.

Should be a fun one on Friday night at Giant Stadium. 

Any great memories or not-so-great memories of this rivalry?

By the way, Warren leads this series 58-37-3. The Giants have won 3 of the last 4. We won't talk about that one that BD didn't win LOL.

Well, I'm very proud of the Giants, first of all. It's weird to say that in a game lost by 20, but I think you saw why the Giants are tough to deal with considering who was on the field for IMG. There are some REALLY special players on that Ascender squad. A minor mistake can become a huge error quickly when you play against that kind of athletic talent.

Leaving the Westside, I think that IMG probably felt it a bit. Nylan Brown and the defense really stepped up after a poor start for BD. I thought Thomas Gotkowski played a strong game despite the two pick sixes (one was just a phenomenal player who's committed to Oklahoma). The mentality all week was that the Giants belonged on the field with IMG, and I think they did. Mark Zackery's going to be making some college fanbase extremely happy in a couple of years. His catch in the back of the end zone on the first TD for BD was as good as you'll see.

Back to the MIC and Warren this week. Giants can't let down. 

Moeller really shocked me in almost toppling Center Grove...especially on the road. That must have been quite a game. 

Really proud of Ben Davis. No such thing as moral victories, I know, but the defense looked pretty darn tough to deal with when you consider who's playing on that offensive line for IMG. Giants got down 21-0 and then clawed their way back in. Missed some opportunites to really make IMG sweat. IMG is IMG though. Those kids are pulling in all those offers for a reason. You make a tiny error, and it can be a gaping wound in no time.