BTF

Agree. If I moved to Indy I would be attending the best game that particular week.

Rules are rules at Snider. The program takes them seriously. He's not the first D1 caliber athlete to be dismissed from the program (given your information is correct). Good luck to the young man at North Side. He was blessed with a second chance.

Good lineup. I might show up for that one. Give me a taste of football outside the Fort.

I think so. Mannigel has a pretty good grip on his program right now. Luers has be very hit or miss since the younger Lindsay took over. The level of talent seems to be much different at Luers since Matt resigned and Kyle took over. Overall, I like what Mannigel has done at Concordia and I expect them to be solid as long as he is the coach.

I would be tempted to take Wayne over Lake Central. The Generals are two years removed from a team that almost took out Dwenger during the Saints run to the state championship. Wayne was 0-10 last year, but there is talent at that school and Coach Haydock will find it. Wayne by 7 When I think of Portage, I think of the the great teams of the 90's. It's not the 90's anymore though and I can't believe what I'm about to say. North Side by 7. The D1 quarterback is the difference. Crown Point by 17. A large 6A team that lost to Merrillville twice last year by a grand total of 4 pts. Way too much for a Luers program trying to regain their rhythm. How the !@#$ am I suppose to pick this one? I'll take the Bruins by 3, just because I believe in the young Doerffler and his father Dean. Remember some of the powerhouse teams Dale and Dean had back in the 80's and 90's? So I'm going with the SAC 3-1 in this battle. I tried not to be biased. I'm sure I went wrong somewhere, because I don't see the SAC going 5-3. I think if it really happened, it would be an even split. The three victories I gave to the SAC could go either way.

I think I'll pass on that. SAC vs Duneland should be an annual affair. Although Muster vs South Side might be a pretty good game.

Bush (50), Isaacs (36), and Tippmann (25). That's 111 years of coaching at Snider. They've built a program..............regardless of the change in demographics.

If Carroll's new stadium is done by then, then it should be played there. They are spending 7 million (double what Dwenger spent on theirs) and will seat 6500. If it's not ready, then it should be played at Spuller stadium. Old, but very efficient with ample parking, seating, concessions, and bathrooms. Easy access for those coming down US 30 or for those taking the toll road to 69 south. Plus they are sporting a new turf field. No more "mud bowls." I'm still haunted from 1997.............arguably Snider's best team ever. The next tier would be interesting, but who do you eliminate out of the SAC? I'll pick on South Side since they seem to be having their share of problems. Northrop is a 6A school who won't want to be left out. Concordia and Luers are both competitive and always dangerous. Wayne just landed one of the better coaches in the state, so look for them to make noise in 5A in the near future. North Side is hit or miss, normally miss. But they seem to be excited about the team they are putting on the field this year. They have a D1 quarterback (transferred from Snider.......not sure of the details).

Great lineup! The long road trip to Merrillville won't do the SAC any favors though (reflected in my final scores). Friday night won't disappoint, but Chesterton picked the wrong year to rumble with the Chargers. This could be Carroll's best team to date. I hope the Trojan's have one heck of a pass defense. Chesterton won't roll over easily though. They showed last year that they can be competitive with the best in Northern Indiana. Carroll by 3. Homestead and Valpo will be good for a half, then the Vikings will pull away. The Spartans have some studs, but losing Luke Goode to basketball is a heart breaker for the program. That loss alone drops them from the #1 team up north in 6A to about 5 or 6. From what I'm hearing out of the Duneland, the Vikings may be as good this year as they were last year. That will spell trouble for Homestead to the tune of 14 points. Ring this next game up for the SAC. Michigan City has a good program, but they're not Dwenger. Sure they've had some recent success lately, but the Saint's come marching in with something to prove after last years defeat to another Duneland team. Dwenger's defense will dominate and will ultimately win this game by 21 points in a shutout. It sounds like Merrillville has a very talented team this year. Snider is young, and quite possibly one year away from their third state championship. But losing 37 seniors will be too much to overcome for the young Panthers. Snider will show grit like they always do, but I see Merrillville striking early in this one. Snider will hang around, but they never get closer than 7 and the Pirates score late to ice it. Merrillville by 14. Snider will be better prepared when they meet again at semi-state.

I get that Bellmont took state back in 2008, but that was twelve years ago and they've been less than average ever since. Now, if they can get back into state championship form and sustain that for a few years, then they should seriously consider dropping the 1A schools. But in the meantime, South Adams and Adams Central are good programs for Bellmont to schedule. I know that no one is impressed with 1A, but those are two rock solid programs and both are on par with Bellmont from a football standpoint.

Overestimated? Sounds political to me. And the kids are the victims. Sad, and even worse....................sick.

What does that have to do with Snider playing Carroll in the sectional championship in front of 5000 fans? Someone help me out here. How much of the gate goes to the IHSAA during the tournament? It was always my understanding, at least in the SAC, that the two schools competing split the gate 50/50.

Agree. I would be surprised if it goes beyond the Power 5 for that very reason.

After further review, Notre Dame would still have Navy on the schedule and possibly Western Michigan. That would put them at 8 games.

Does Notre Dame go to the playoffs with a 6-0 record if they run the table against Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, and Clemson?

After two mediocre years, one would think the Kingsmen are due to bounce back. Good luck to them.

They're still Snider regardless of what anyone says. Sure they lost to Homestead last year. But they were 15-1 against them over the past two decades. Sure they've gone 2-2 against Carroll the past two seasons. I still remember recently in 2017 when Snider beat them 69-7 in a game that would have mercy ruled Carroll in the first half had that rule been in place. I'm not taking anything away from Homestead and Carroll, but lets stop this nonsense that Snider has fallen on hard times. Do people really think that much has changed at Snider since 2015 and 2017 when they were Top 5 programs regardless of class?

All that makes too much sense. In the meantime we will just continue to make fun of the IHSAA and why they do things so backward. A 9-0 team goes on the road to play an 0-9 team in the first round. Or even better, two 9-0 teams square off in one game and two 0-9 teams square off in the other. An 0-9 team earns the right to play another week while a 9-0 team cleans out their lockers. Everyone except the IHSAA knows this is stupid, but I'm sure we'll get some politically correct responses.

Over Rodney? Thoughts?

I can understand why NW Indiana is on CST. It's basically a burb of Chicago. It only makes sense to be on the same time zone.

I think we have to move forward. We are already trillions in dept as a country. Another shutdown will make recovery impossible no matter who is in charge after November. I still think we let the parents, coaches, kids, and fans decide. We all know the risks. No one will force a kid to play. No one will force a coach to coach. No one will force a fan to attend. I saw this coming. Football is the money sport for most schools at the high school and college level. Not having a season will be absolutely devastating financially. Start the season and go from there. If it get's out of hand the season can always be cancelled. I promise you and every reader on this forum.................if this country shuts down again, the next recession will make 2008 look like a joke. According to some financial experts, our economy is already a bubble waiting to pop. Covid could be the needle that does it. I sincerely understand your concern. People going to die from Covid, just like they do from the flu. The only difference is that instead of 1 death, there will be 3. That's a big number, I get that. But is it worth total financial devastation? That's the question we have to ask ourselves. It's kind of like voting for the President. Fifty percent will go one way and fifty percent will go the other. So which is right? I reside on the side of re-opening our economy...........including sports.

I guess that would up to the grandparents. I wouldn't recommend it. That age bracket has another set of rules. If I'm over 65, I'm probably watching the game on TV.

Young men playing high school football are in an age group that represents less than 1/2 of 1% of Covid-19 related deaths. In other words, of the next 200 people in Indiana who die from the virus, only one will be in the age range of a high school football player. It's basically twice as deadly as the flu. Are we going to allow a total economic collapse by shutting everything down again? It's time to get back to normal. Let the kids and parents decide and sign a waiver.

I didn't know Carmel had a good following for football. It seems like whenever Snider played at Carmel, the Snider side was just as packed as the Carmel side. Granted, that was 15 years ago when fans still traveled. Homestead, Carroll, or Warsaw making the state finals would be a big deal for those communities. They would travel well I'm sure.

His email is on his website. Maybe just email him directly.