BTF

Ohio, like Florida, is considered a football state. Indiana is a basketball state. I think it resonates when recruiting networks like 24/7 rate a kid. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

100%

That's because they're from Indiana, our kids get slighted for that. If Indiana was a southern state, they'd have 20 four star recruits. I actually wouldn't mind seeing an Indiana All Star team play IMG. If a 7 on 7 team from Fort Wayne can win the whole IMG 7 on 7 tournament, why couldn't the entire state of Indiana put together a team that could compete with IMG in 11 on 11?

The 2pt stay up doesn't necessarily bother me. The IHSAA believes that if you are good enough to win a sectional, then you are good enough to stay in that class. I don't dispute that. What bothers me is having a dominant class bumping the rebuilding class up a level. For many programs, their run of success is based on a two year cycle, then they go through a rebuilding phase. So coming up with a certain amount of points over a four year span instead of two makes more sense to me.

If Dwenger doesn't get out of sectionals, it's not because they are bad. It's because they are in the same sectional as Snider. Something's got to give. I agree with regard to the success rule. But I also don't have the perfect answer. I do like a four year success factor versus two.

How bout this for a compromise. Warren Central on turf. Center Grove on grass.

You have to take national rankings with a grain of salt. Carmel was #4 in the country in 1986 and they weren't even the best team in the state. I've seen a lot of football. Warren Central from from 2003 to 2006 was just a different beast. Four state championships in a row. I'd put the Snider 2004 team up against any team from any era. They just happened to run into the most dominant four year span this state has ever seen.

Agree. Two D1 recruits can't carry a team. It's a pretty good start though.

I don't know much about Gabe Johnson. Losing Mo Moriarty can't be a good thing. I actually thought they would have posted better records during the Drew Wood years. Good luck to them though. When I think of power programs down south, they always come to the surface.

Can never count out Columbus East. An oversight on my part.

All of the aforementioned teams will be will begin summer practice with full intentions of winning the state championship. But for the purpose of this thread, it looks like the biggest question is who Cathedrals strongest contender will be. I know I left out some pretty solid programs..................Whiteland, Decatur Central, Harrison, Plainfield, Castle, Michigan City, and Mishawaka.

Northern 5A gets a new look with Snider jumping into the mix. Overall though, it's looking like Cathedral at the top..........unless they are going through a rebuilding year. Who comes next though? Zionsville seems to be the safe bet, but you can never count out New Pal. Snider returns a boat load from last year. Cathedral – Reloading as usual? Up or down this year? Does it make a difference? Number one until proven otherwise. Zionsville – apparently a pretty good core returning from last year? They were pretty good in 2020 and kids tend to make massive improvements from their junior to senior years. New Palestine – Although I wasn’t real impressed with his assessment of the Snider/New Pal game in 2015, I still think he is one of the Top 5 coaches in Indiana. Up or down? Someone from Central Indiana chime in on this one. Dwenger – coming directly from the Dwenger community, this could be a rebuilding year. Or is it? Jason Garrett has proven himself as a top tier coach. Dwenger is Dwenger, so I’m not buying into the rebuilding talk. Reloading is probably more than likely. They have a tough act to follow though. I’ve never seen a team as dominant as Dwenger over the last two years and not even make it to the state championship game. Valpo – another program whose contingent claims to be in a rebuilding year. Apparently they’ve lost a lot of studs, but word has it that there is a pretty good quarterback in the pipeline? Snider – one year removed from their most lackluster performance in three decades, this years team needs to prove itself on the field. Returning 17 starters including an Ohio State recruit anchoring the offense and a Purdue commit anchoring the defense, the pieces are in place for a return to glory

I heard that too. But not an actual interstate, that would cost too much money..........limited access with lights. Should be ready to go by 2031. Anything to save money. Kind of like that "unique" only the second of it's kind, Diverging Dimond Interchange on Dupont Road. Not what was needed, but it did save the state some money, lol.

Another reason the State of Indiana needs to allocate funding for an interstate connecting Fort Wayne to Chicago running through Warsaw. US 30 is a nightmare and one of the most dangerous highway arteries in the state. Oh wait, that money is going toward an interstate from Indy to Rockville.

That wouldn't surprise me. But back then, it didn't seem to matter what competition Penn faced. Chris Geesman found his way to five state championships despite playing a weak schedule. In all fairness though, Central Indiana wasn't back then what it is today. Two or three good teams for sure. But now it's ten or eleven. By and large, unfortunately many on here still have no clue what that means, a strong schedule goes a long way in building a program. As does enrollment. Penn was an exception to the rule when it came to playing a tough schedule. Center Grove has proven to be an exception to the rule when it comes to enrollment..............or not. Would Center Grove teams of today match up well with WC and BD teams of the past? I've said it before........ *I still don't think 6A is as strong as it has been in the past (the 90's), which allows a school like CG with an enrollment of 2500 to sneak in and get a few rings. *Just an opinion.

I wouldn't say they are in purgatory with regard to the north, just the Central Indiana behemoths. With an enrollment of 2100 and a pretty good coach, there is no reason they shouldn't be a major player north of Indy. A 6A championship may not be very realistic, but they could potentially become one of the better 'pound for pound' teams in the state.

It's unfortunate that Snider didn't have the two points needed to remain in 6a. But it was never meant to be. Homestead had the better team both years. Snider's down cycle pushed them down a class just in time for their up cycle. Then there's the chance that the up cycle will push them up a class for their down cycle. Still with me? There has to be a better system than this, lol. Anyway...................

Then the coach turns away from the play as if to say "wow", instead of immediately checking to see if the kid is ok. Ignorance on full display.

I'll believe it when I see it. I read somewhere a few weeks ago where an obscene amount of 5-Star's were enrolling at the Big 3 by comparison to all the other schools combined. Oklahoma wasn't mentioned. It's fun to make an 'outside the box' prediction, which is what ESPN is probably doing. But in the end, it's a three way race. Crown two champions since it's not a level playing field. A champion of 5-Star athletes and a champion for the rest of college football. While were at it, let's crown three. One for actual student athletes (Notre Dame, Stanford, Northwestern, etc.).

ESPN has Oklahoma at #1 in their preseason power poll. Not that I have an ounce of respect for ESPN or anything they have to say...........but that's another story. Is the media just bored? Tired of the same ol' same ol'? Are we just playing pretend this 2021 in thinking that anyone other than Alabama, Clemson, or Ohio State will be the team to beat? I get it, it's fun to mix things up. Not that Notre Dame will ever be accused of being on a level playing field with those three programs (nor should they) even though they've been on par with Oklahoma over the past decade. Anyway, this isn't about Notre Dame. How good is Oklahoma and are they really good enough to overcome plethora of 5-star athletes that the Big Three programs are using to dominate the college football landscape?

Ease of scheduling. In DT's scenario, a program only has to go searching for one game. In your scenario, they would have to find four games.

Crossover games would be determined by the schools, not some kind of lottery. I would imagine the strongest play the strongest and the weakest play the weakest. I don't see any reason why Merrillville couldn't schedule Valpo, Penn, and Elkhart every year........or two of them at the minimum. I think you are overcomplicating this whole idea.

Adding programs like Penn and Elkhart makes sense for any conference, including the MIC and HCC. I think you are overthinking things. The more quality programs in a conference, the better overall quality of play. It really is that simple.

It doesn't change anything? Unless my math is off, now there would be 3-4 teams instead of 2-3. Bottom line...............it's a great idea and one step closer to fielding a northern 6a champion. Adding Penn and Elkhart to the same conference as Valpo and Merrillville = a fight with the HCC as the second strongest conference in the state.

Probably more likely to find a cougar roaming Fort Wayne than a Panther. But then the all black uniforms wouldn't make any sense. Nah, I'll pass.