BTF

Sounds like Sam Hartman might be a done deal. Is the Tyler Buchner era over before it even started? Notre Dame isn't bringing Hartman to South Bend to sit on the bench. This is probably good news for the Irish. They can't hinge their playoff hopes on an injury prone quarterback or a freshman. Bad news for Wake Forest. The transfer portal circus continues. I imagine 90% of college football fans agree that the new transfer rules are an absolute joke.

Either way, it would be good to see Jeff at the 5A level competing with programs similar in enrollment. It's one thing to find some dudes to compete at the 6A level with a student body of 2800. Fielding a team at a 2100 enrollment level is a bit more challenging.

A state title for Snider could push both the Vikings and the Panthers up to 6A. A rematch with Snider and Valpo in 2023 is looking very likely with the players that return for each team. I could see Dwenger going down to 4A leaving 5A north with Jeff, Merrillville, and North Side. Then the winner gets Cathedral.

No, the average person wouldn't rank North Side as the second best football destination in the FWA Metroplex. I think most people would go with Snider, Dwenger, and Luers due to their program's histories, and Carroll and Homestead due to their academics and facilities. But North Side did have a couple of unusual transfers come in with a new coach a the helm. Will there be more where that came from? Stay tuned.

If Ben Johnson can sell a kid from Dwenger on North Side, he can probably sell anything. He's only going on year three with the Redskins, I mean Legends, so maybe I'm putting too much stock in him. Something feels different though with him at the helm. I would put Homestead right behind Snider at the #4 spot. Plus, I'm not sure Homestead actively pursues players from other schools. Like Dwenger, they seem to be OK working within their own pipeline. Just my take from the outside looking in.

I'm not sure the word commitment means the same to a young man today that it meant 20 years ago. Certainly not 30 or 40 years ago. Notre Dame will be fine. They inked twenty 4-star players. Compare that to Michigan's nine..............just to put into perspective. Not picking on Michigan, just comparing ND to another marquee program.

And it's still being questioned as to why he won Mr. Football when he was at Pioneer. Sometimes you just have to sit back, scratch your head, and laugh.

Not sure you're going to see a slew of transfer portal kids go to Blackhawk, and if you do, what will be their talent level? If a kid has D1 potential, he's probably going to want to continue completing at the 5a and 6a levels. Then there's two other factors, each having two parts: 1. A player's family will have to come up with 12k per year to send their athlete to the school. And they'll have to be ok with their child learning in a Christian setting. 2. A player would have to qualify for the voucher system. And the player's parents will have to be ok with them learning in a Christian environment. In the current environment. A kid in Fort Wayne is probably going to transfer to one of three programs. 1. Carroll - Great school system provided by taxpayers with outstanding an outstanding football facility. 2. North Side - Not sure what coach Ben Johnson is offering kids outside of his district. But he seems to be able to get them to buy into his program. 3. Snider - Just a great program that produces next level football players.

Those guys probably never belonged in an Irish uniform in the first place.

Shake up in what capacity? From a competitive standpoint I'm not sure they'll be a threat for at least a few years. And even then, I think achieving Adams Central's level is a long shot.

As successful as Blackhawk is in other sports, I imagine they'll field a pretty good football team as well...........eventually. Not sure it will happen over night though. They'll have their work cut out for them getting by the likes of Adams Central and South Adams.

The million dollar question: Which is the bigger home run?

You're right about Brees. I misunderstood the headline earlier today. Probably just a two week operation.

Lol, well aren't you a big bucket positives.

Bowen in a landslide. He racked up huge numbers on both sides of the ball.

Paving the way for Drew Brees. Finally a coach who won't look at Purdue as a stepping stone for a better job. One can see the writing on the wall here.

It's a mess, I get it. But you have to draw the line somewhere. It's just out of control.

Who was the idiot who decided that transferring without penalty was a good thing? This is turning into an absolute joke. The word 'commitment' has no meaning anymore. If a kid decides to leave, he/she should have to pay back the university what they originally saved in scholarship money.

Reitz and Memorial would probably rank somewhere between 5-10 if they were in 5a. I think Snider's a different team on turf in the friendly confines of Lucas Oil than they are in a snow storm blowing toward their sideline. I think Roncalli and New Pal use their size to their advantage in inclement weather conditions and beat Snider by two touchdowns, yes. Not sure I'm buying it though in good weather conditions. Snider has too many weapons in the skill positions to allow themselves to get blown out. North Side has the athletes and perseverance to stay close to any team they play, as evidenced by their 7pt loss to Carroll. None of the forementioned teams in 4a would frighten them in the slightest. When North takes the field, they're ready to punch you in the mouth (in a sportsmanship kind of way.) If they lined up against Center Grove, they'd fully expect to win (not that they would.) Again, you guys look at Valpo's record and see a 3 loss football team. They have the horses in the trenches and a running game to keep it close with the likes of Roncalli and New Pal...........oh, and East Central (keep forgetting about them.) No one is arguing that Roncalli or East Central would be favored in 5a. I would argue that they wouldn't blow out their opponent from the north. I think New Pal fits nicely in that #3 area along with five other teams in 5a. To say that Memorial and Reitz "would" win 5a north is just laughable. I mean, any team has a chance, but VERY improbable with those two. I'll concede that 4a's Top 32 would overmatch 5a's Top 32. But 5a has about 6 or 7 pretty good football teams at the top. Stating otherwise is just stirring up drama. Valpo is your state champion in the state's second largest division. Can't take that away from them no matter how hard you try.

Lol. To say Memorial and Reitz would beat Snider, Valpo, Whiteland, Merrillville, and North Side is an absolute stretch. I have my doubts about New Pal as well. I think East Central and Roncalli would have been favored however. Not saying they'd win, just saying they'd be favored. It's all speculation. Unfortunately those in Central and South will just have to deal with the fact that Valpo is the best time in the second biggest division. Hard pill to swallow, I know. Northern football is good. See the Carroll/HSE score.

It's not like no one's made that claim before. Kudo's to EMD on their fine year.

If 5a is watered down, then is it fair to say that it was watered down when New Pal and Cathedral were participating minus Snider, Valpo, Merrillville, and Dwenger? One could argue that Valpo won in a watered down 5a. But one could also argue that it was watered down when New Pal and Cathedral won as well. Certainly we can agree on that. While were at it, we could always argue how the top five in 5a would do against the top five in 4a. I would concede that the Top 32 teams in 4a outperformed the Top 32 teams in 5a this year. But does it really matter when we know at the half way point of the season which five teams have the best shot at the title? Conclusion: The top five in each class would be very competitive matchups.

Which explains why the rest of the state can't catch up. Not only does Central Indiana have the largest enrollment schools, now you're telling me that they have no boundaries whatsoever? Fort Wayne has open enrollment, but there is a limit and it's supposed to academically motivated. Does it get abused? Sure. But the difference here is that there is a "limit." You keep mentioning 4A enrollment schools dominating 5A. Since the inception of of 6A, only two 4A enrollment schools have won the 5A tournament. During that same time span, four 5A enrollment schools have won the title. There have been 20 participants in the 5A title game, only seven of which were 4A enrollment schools. And we keep talking about the same two schools here in Cathedral and New Pal. I would hardly call that 4A dominance over 5A as a whole.

Every time you brag about Cathedral........."4A enrollment schools running away with state titles (New Pal and Cathedral)".................I'm going to kindly remind you that they have zero boundaries. You're blind as a bat if you think they don't have an advantage over their 4a counterparts (and pretty much all of 5a).

You keep playing the small school card with Cathedral. Do we have to keep doing this? Kudos to them for winning where the IHSAA puts them, they are a great program for sure. But c'mon, you and I both know they are not a 4a program. Based on their advantages, I'd call them a 6a program, but I'd settle for 5a. New Pal on the other hand? That's a true smaller school that competes with the big boys. And they can only do that by playing their best athletes on both sides of the ball. But that's what they do and kudos to them for having the endurance to compete that way.