BTF

I couldn't agree more about Penn and Elkhart joining the Duneland. But doesn't that conflict with "minimalize travel as much as possible?" I see that Elkhart is an hour and a half from Merrillville. I would like to see it, but I agree that the AD's would push back against it. Although my plan for the SAC would be better for all in terms of economics and appeal, I agree that the AD's and administrators will have nothing to do with it. For whatever reason, "easy" seems to override everything else when it comes to the SAC. "Easy" has been the SAC's stance long before Covid arrived.

I tried to stream the CG/Cathedral game but couldn't find it. Both those teams in my opinion are having their best year ever. It's a shame someone had to lose. I agree, unless CG doesn't show up, they'll be the 2020 champs.

Not sure how or why you came to that conclusion.

With the right coach, they could be competitive in the small division. Homestead, if they get by Snider and Carroll again, will have an intriguing matchup with Westfield. They'll be the underdog, but I think they can be competitive with the Shamrocks. Economically, more revenue for the athletic departments. Attendance will be better with more interesting competition.

You would have to crown a champion somehow, so I guess you'd have the division teams play one another during the last week according to record. That would leave one inter-conference game of schools choice plus two games outside of conference.

Seeing South Side take care of business 30-20 against New Haven made me want to revisit a structure change in the SAC. New Haven isn't a bad football team, they just ran into a one win team that had to go through the toughest schedule in the state outside of the Indy area. New Haven joining the SAC makes sense to me for a few reasons: 1. They are basically Fort Wayne anyway. Downtown NH is only 10 minutes down the street from Downtown FW. 2. New Haven joining the SAC would amp up their level of competition. Therefore raising the bar for their athletic programs and making them better. 3. Joining the SAC with another team would give the conference 12 teams. Two divisions and the opportunity to play outside competition..........which would make ALL SAC teams better. The other said team would be Leo. That community is only 5 minutes down the road from the fastest growing area of Fort Wayne (Carroll district). It's a great community with an excellent athletic program. They would fit in nicely with the SAC and basically a burb of Fort Wayne anyway. Division I (Large School) would consist of Carroll, Homestead, Northrop, Snider, North Side, and Dwenger. Division ll (Small school) would consist of South Side, Leo, Wayne, New Haven, Concordia, and Luers. Each division is required to schedule two opponents from the other division and are allowed two games outside of conference. Think Snider vs Penn, Homestead vs Westfield, Dwenger vs Chatard, or Carroll vs Elkhart. All in all it would make the conference better.............. that's not even debatable. Unfortunately it will never happen though. The SAC is happy with a 10 team football conference for ease of scheduling. But ease of scheduling also equates to less interesting games and lower bar to measure themselves against.

6A - Brownsburg and Westfield 5A - Valpo and Dwenger 3A - Mish. Marian and Concordia

Sagarin has Dwenger as the 114th best team in the state. It's a flawed ranking for closed conferences like the SAC (Fort Wayne). See Lysander's post.

So just eliminate Fort Wayne altogether?

I thought I'd revisit the SAC Power Poll this week after a two week absence. All thoughts welcome. 1. Dwenger - I still think with a healthy Tippmann that Dwenger is the best team in the SAC. It also helps that they have one of the best defenses in the state of Indiana. 2. Homestead - The Spartan's are a very close second. They are playing as well as anyone north of Westfield right now. Their offense is jelling and they have one of the better defenses they've put on the field in recent memory. 3. Carroll - Carroll bounced back last week with a very good win over Concordia. They still have one of the better offenses in Northern Indiana. If they can tweak their defense a bit for the better, they can pose a threat to anyone. 4. Snider - This Snider team is like night and day compared to what they were the first few weeks. The defensive line and linebacker play is about as good as any team in the state. The offense gets better every week. 5. Concordia - The Cadets are very consistent overall and have one of the better defenses in Northeast Indiana. Holding Carroll to 9 points in the first half and 24 overall is saying a lot. 6. North Side - They still pack enough punch to be dangerous on any given night, but their stock is falling fast. 7. Northrop - With the exception of Snider and Carroll, they've been competitive in 6 of the 8 games they've played this year. Another losing season is looming though with Dwenger coming up in the season finale. 8. Luers - They've really only had one decent with this year, and that was against North Side. They took care of business against South and Wayne, but were absolutely dominated by everyone else. It may not get any better this Friday when they take on a much improved Snider team. 9. Wayne - Still a work in progress. 10. South Side - If there is any upside for this program, it's that they are playing better this year than last. Hopefully that continues into next season with Roosevelt Norfleet's program.

Cathedral is the best team in the state. They win by 7.

They just rumbled with one of the best teams in the state. In fact, outplayed and had them down going into the 4th. So it may be a matter of them already being back. We can put the "worst team in Snider history" idea to rest now. This teams is pretty good and it just took some time for the younger players to get going. Sectional 3 take notice. Congrats to the Saints, great teams figure it out in the end.

Definitely some questionable flags thrown that didn't help Snider's cause. But Dwenger had some penalties as well that hurt some of their drives. Snider just didn't get the job done at the end..........kudos to Dwenger. But here's the thing............Snider played toe to toe with arguably one of the Top 5 teams in the state of Indiana. They are getting better each and every week and will be a force to be reckoned with in Sectional 3. This isn't the same team that got wasted by North Side, Carroll, and Homestead. Bring on the Spartan's in Round 1.

So if you don't play great 4 quarters a game during all 14 games you play, then your not a truly great team?

Great teams figure it out in the end.

Dwenger 17, Snider 7 late in the 4th. One too many crucial mistakes for the "young Panthers."

Dwenger 10, Snider 7 7m to go

TH North shouldn't be beating Chartard. That's an absolute shocker. Good? Bad? Probably average, and probably a question for someone down south. The young Panthers keep getting better.

Snider 7, Dwenger 3 Halftime

A major upset. This Dwenger team, when at their best, could match up with some of the SAC all time great teams.

South Adams would be #1 if it were pound for pound. Although I have them at 8, I can appreciate why you would have them in the HM category being a 1a school.

Looks pretty good. I'd switch Carroll and Leo. I'd also move South Adams up to #8.

The last five games have been decided by 8 pts or less. Although I don't agree with his prediction, I wouldn't say that it's off the wall. This has been a heated rivalry for 5 decades now.

Concordia's defense ranks third in the conference. But it probably won't be enough to keep Carroll from scoring enough to win. Carroll wins 42-28 Both these teams have their issues, but Luers should win rather easily. Knights 42-21 Both teams are rather up and down this year, but North is the better team. North Side 49-28 Snider's offense doesn't match up well in this one. Dwenger 24-7 Homestead gets better every week it seems. Spartans 56 -14

Snider's done three things this year that no other team in the SAC has done. Beat Concordia by 4 td's, beat Northrop by 6 td's, and shut out Northrop. There's some light at the end of the tunnel for this team. There's no question that they are playing better. Snider struggles against good quarterbacks. In the end I think Lytle will be the difference. Not to mention Dwenger has arguably the best defense in the state and Snider's offense is still a work in progress. Dwenger 24-7. Snider get's a special teams score to avoid the goose egg.