whiteshoes

I have been discussing a four-game two-day event in Indy with a national promoter. Looking at four of Indiana's best playing a team from each of our bordering states. He seems receptive to the idea and hopefully with this change it can happen. Would be great to see nationally relevant programs come to our state.

I read it to say that the game has to be played within 300 miles of Indiana. So, for instance, Carmel could play Don Bosco Prep in Nashville, Tennessee. To see the Papermakers play, you will most likely have to travel to Wisconsin. They still have a travel restriction for their teams.

Any bets on who wins the Class 3A title next season?

Never cared a lot for their numeric calculations for tournament entry although they did expand them this past season. However, I like the neutral site idea and it can work with a little effort and some out of the box thinking.

If this so difficult, why do so many states have neutral site tournament games. Ohio plays every tournament game at a neutral site. In addition to neutral sites, the games need to be played on Saturday with a double-header format. Saturday allows for more time for travel, driving in daylight and in November, normally warmer weather.

Agree that travel decisions should be left up to the local school board. But who wants to see Hoover or IMG play in our state?

Norwell would be an option, they were good last year and I was told that they were real young. Taste of Philly has a great cheesesteak sandwich.

My wife insists that I take her to a Huntington North game next season. She is a graduate of the school and wants to see the new facility. The question is, do I schedule a good team which most likely will be a bad game or a bad team where the game might be competitive. A follow-up question is, with teams like Carmel, Dutch Fork (SC) and Loganville (GA) Grayson already tentatively on my fall schedule, could I even make it through a Bellmont-Huntington North game? My Friday night gang has already opted out because 1) they will find a better game in the area and 2) Huntington only has one decent place to eat and with it being a Japanese steak house, it is out because two of our gang does not do Asian cuisine. Keep in mind that sometimes the pre-game meal is as important, if not more so, than the game selection. Not taking her to a game is not an option, as I am guy who likes home cooked meals and clean clothes. What is a guy to do?

To prepare for Westfield, they could schedule Lakewood St. Edward, Columbus Upper Arlington or one of the Cincinnati powerhouses. Coldwater would be a good matchup for Luers, Concordia or Northside. I understand Homestead or Carroll not wanting to schedule a Division VI or VII team but there are plenty of high quality opponents within the 300 mile travel limit.

As a fan, I can see East Noble play anytime I want to. Just to drive to Kendallville or wait for them to play locally here. However, a chance to see Toledo Whitmer, Coldwater, or Marion Local play close would be nice. In addition, why would you want to play an Indiana team that you may play again in the playoffs? Sometimes it helps to think outside the box.

Sure hoping some of these matchups come to fruition, I am tired of driving to the north side of Indianapolis every weekend.

Dwenger did it without public money.

Parking, concessions, restrooms, seating and field are some of the issues. Home side is packed and we usually sit on the visitor side, at all sites, to avoid kids. Can't say I like anything about their facility. I usually try to catch Luers on the road (at Carroll or Homestead) simply due to those being better facilities.

My biggest question is how good of an opponent will get me to Luers Field? Not a big fan of the place.

Again, I hate to play devil's advocate, but having seen all of the ten teams listed play, I just don't see it. Let's start with Corona (CA) Centennial, ranked 10th. An 11-1 team, whose only loss was to top rated Mater Dei in a game that they led in the second half. The week prior to that I watched them destroy a very good Mission Viejo team 62-16. In addition to that game, they defeated #67 San Diego Cathedral Catholic (57-14), Long Beach Poly (52-7) and Norco (48-24). Those are quality high school football teams. Let's move on to #9, Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, who was probably playing better at the end of season than any team in the country, winning Florida's Class 7A in cakewalk 42-14 over an undefeated Tampa Bay Tech team. Their only loss was to #15 ranked Tampa Jesuit on a last second field goal. They were the only team to defeat #3 Baltimore St. Francis Academy. They did not break a sweat in winning the state title as the Tech game was their closet game. I have them ranked 13th in the country. Oh, and talking about Tampa Bay Jesuit, they are rated #8, one spot above Center Grove. They did beat Aquinas, along with a win over Miami Northwester, but I was not impressed by their title win over Pensacola PIne Forest (35-29) and have actually dropped them to #15. As I look at this poll, I do not see Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy, whose only loss was to St. Francis Academy nor do I see Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, who only loss was to highly rated Chandler (AZ) Hamilton in a game that they led 24-10 with less than a minute to play. All polls make for great debate, mine gets ripped on PrepGridiron each week but I enjoy compiling them and am very open to criticism and input which you must be to put these things out.

You are correct except for the year was 1991. Indiana has also had two other "mythical" national champions, Evansville Memorial in 1937 and East Chicago Roosevelt in 1947.

In all the years I have been tracking these teams, I can never recall a Wisconsin team (of matter) playing an out of state opponent. If they are allowed 5 out of conference games, you would think someone sometime would schedule a Minnesota or Illinois team. Do not know if they have a travel restriction or not, but apparently there is something holding them back.

Appleton North 21 Kimberly 10. With that said, I agree with you on their historic run and I am a big fan of the Papermakers. However, since Wisconsin teams do not play out of state it is difficult to judge any team in their state.

It is good for our state but can't help but think that they are a dropped pass in the end zone away from a one loss season.

New York is a disaster. New Jersey is getting better, they used to just play a sectional and everyone went home. They have tightened it up a little, but still have too many championships. Some states have different sanctioning bodies with several having private school associations (TAPPS in Texas for example). I believe that Indiana is the only one with an all inclusive format. Ohio expanded their tournament this year to allow more in while some states eliminated classes. You are right when you state that Ohio's largest class is Division 1 while in other states that is the smallest enrolled division. It sure makes tracking them all kind of tough.

The state is divided into districts based on enrollments. District play is a round robin format with the two highest finishing teams advancing to tournament play. The largest enrollment school advancing from each district plays in Division 1 with the smallest enrollment school playing in Division 2. That is why some years a school like Katy will play Conference 6 Division 1 and in other years play in Conference 6 Division 2. The state has five "conferences" with two divisions in each conference. Westlake won Conference 6A Division 2 while Houston North Shore won Conference 6 Division 1 this year. Hope this helps.

Promoters make their money through corporate sponsorship and ad buys. Sometimes they get regional or national television networks to cover the games which brings in additional cash. You would think that Lilly, the Colts, Indianapolis Convention and Tourism or someone similar would be willing to pony up a few dollars for this thing to become a reality.

There are promoters that are currently staging multi-game events throughout the country. How do you think Miami (FL) Central was able to play at Bellflower (CA) in week one and Las Vegas in week two. Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei is already looking for an out-of-state game for next season. It can be done, but would need some third party with the understanding of the cost and promotional aspect of the event. Years ago we attended the Herbstreit Classic games in Cincinnati which featured as many as twelve to fourteen games at various sites. Somehow they were able to bring teams in from every corner of the country. It can be done, but again, it will take an organization with knowledge of how to structure the event to cover cost. If you keep it to the adjoining states, it should reduce the cost as most can travel the day of the event.

Now you're talking. Why not? What a great four or two game set we could have early in the season with our best against the adjoining states. I have been preaching this for years, but it never gains any traction.

This concept has been around since 2014 without a lot of fanfare and little notice. As a fan, I love the matchups but there are only a few states that participate. I just can't see this ever being a major event since most states don't participate and even in those states that do, many teams move on after state finals to basketball.