BTF

Well, I think Nebraska will get there. Like Penn, the fan base is passionate enough to persevere and do what they can until power is restored.

No one wants to lose to the new kid on the block. It is what it is though. There's a new sheriff in town to the tune of Crown Point and Carroll. Penn will get there, it's just a matter of finding the right guy to get them there. Maybe they already have it in their first year coach. Not so easy for Snider as their enrollment declined to 1900 students while watching Carroll, Homestead, Fishers, HSE, and Westfield explode.

Isn't this kind of redundant? He's going to give you something similar.

Snider/Penn games used to pack both sides of the field despite the two hour drive. I think both fan bases miss that as they were always regarded as the two Northern powers. Fort Wayne vs South Bend if you will. They've played 15 times with Penn holding an 8-7 advantage. Most of those games were played in a span of two and half decades. So it was almost expected that the two teams would play each other. Sportsmanship always seemed to be there as well. Again, it's a respect thing.

It's a Snider/Penn thing, as Komets stated. Programs go way back. Both historically good, kind of like Notre Dame/Michigan. Lot's of respect, never really chippy. Well played games, very few cheap shots.

Dwenger/East Noble could make a case for #1. The Indy Star has five Indy games in the Top 6, lol.

Absolutely. Those to interceptions were massive. The Elkhart "drive" of 89 yards was the result of a very long pass down the field that put them at the Snider 10. Long plays count too, I'm not saying they don't. I'm just saying it wasn't the kind of 89 yard drive that chewed up a lot of clock. And yeah, the holding penalty was a major setback. My guess is that they would have been going for a field goal regardless. At the end of the day, Snider made the plays they needed to to win the game. I couldn't help but to feel for the Elkhart kids as they played their hearts out. Unfortunately, one team had to win, one had to lose. Snider seems to take over games midway though the third and into the fourth, just as they did last year against Merrillville and Decatur Central..........both close first half games that turned into blowouts.

What are we debating here? Which team had the better defense? It's normally the defense that allows the least amount of points. A team can move the ball down the field all they want to, but if they can't get it through the uprights or put it in the endzone, it really doesn't matter. The best defenses show out inside their own 30.

Elkhart just couldn't sustain anything. They'd get a big yardage play, then stall out three plays later. Or they'd put together a 30 yard drive before stalling out again. At the end of the day, the Snider defense held when it mattered most.

Actually, I thought it was a thing of beauty, if you appreciate defense. At halftime, I gave Elkhart a 60% chance of winning as they looked like the better team. But Snider came out in the second half and just took the game.

Snider's defense was lights out in the second half. Very impressive.

Mississinewa @ Bishop Luers - This will be a low scoring game with the final outcome being 17-14. I'm just not sure who to give the 17 to. The home team? I wanna say that the Indians get it done, but I'm struggling with their strength of schedule. Gimmie the Knights East Noble @ Dwenger - This game is massive, and no disrespect to Mishawaka, but might be the northern semi-state. Both teams are playing lights out right now, so it's hard to come up with a winner. Let's role with the Saints who had the tougher schedule this year. 21-17 Snider @ Carroll - It almost seems as if Carroll wants this one more than Snider does when the two teams play. I could be way off base with that comment, but damn, the Chargers are always ready for Snider. The Panthers have a different offense this time around, which should give them more than the 6pts they had in the first game, and keep Carroll off the field long enough to prevent them from hitting that 30pt mark this time around. This game finishes at 24-21, and I could see it going either way. This could be a "rose colored glasses" pick, but let's roll with Snider.

They had a few plays that went for big yardage, they just couldn't do anything after that. Didn't they have one pass play that went for 50+ yards?

Correct, in the 80's and 90's it was common to see 1500-2500 fans travel to see those games. Now you're looking at 200-800 depending on how deep in the playoffs we get. However, I'm willing to bet Merrillville brought approximately 1500 to Fort Wayne last year.

That was back in the day when fans traveled well. There were more Penn fans there on that rainy muddy night than there are fans nowadays on a perfect evening.

Hey now, don't bring that up.

I have to agree. Would probably be safe to say that their offense is in the bottom half of 6A. And that's not an insult to their program considering there's about 20 teams in 6A that would be considered "very good" football teams regardless of class. They have some big kids and some athletes on that side of the ball, but something's obviously missing. Their "athletes" burnt Snider on a few pretty big plays, but ultimately couldn't do much after the "big play."

You read my mind.

Well, they're in good company. Seems to be contagious this year.

Just giving credit where credit is due, regardless of whether or not you're still playing. I think Elkhart was potentially at Top 10 team, no harm in that. Brownsburg was the best team in the state last year. It's a forum. Talk football.

Correct. Not much chatter, well, none at all regarding Penn. Justified? Or quietly lurking?

Red flag for sure, but the few posters on here from that area claim this year's team is better than last.

When I say favorite, I keep thinking of the northern half of the state. I've got Crown Point and Westfield even up with Hamilton Southeastern not far behind. I just don't think the Royals have been as consistent as the Rocks. Crown Point might be better than last year, which could be dangerous for anyone they run into. But if they square off against Westfield, the Rocks are going to be VERY motivated to avenge last year's loss. It's hard to say, I'm basing this off of scores and internet chatter. I've not seen either of these teams in person. That being said, we can't overlook the possibility of Fishers taking on Snider for the semi-state title. Gotta love high school football.

Lol, just teasing ya. But yeah, Snider could use Rod Friday night against Sullivan, for sure.

Carroll could do no wrong the first time around against Snider. Sullivan placed the ball perfectly every time he passed the ball, even Snider's two D1 defensive backs had a hard time defending his pin point precision. I think this week could be different because of the improvement on the offensive side of the ball. They have some different looks and one player player in particular that Carroll didn't see the first time around. Tippmann and Isaacs are also very good with adjustments, so yes, it could be different this time around. I don't expect a wide margin of victory. On the flip side, there's not a coach in the state of Indiana who knows the inner workings of the Panther program better than Coach Dinan. Couple that with the possibility that Snider might be without their Notre Dame commit defensive back, and Jimmy Sullivan could take advantage of that. Gimmie Carroll, but in a closer game. Wouldn't be surprised at all if Snider won. Crown Point's been my favorite since Week 2, and I'll stick with that. But, Carroll's offensive is capable of giving anyone fits and Snider's defense is good enough to keep them competitive in any game against anyone. Fodder? No. Do I still have Crown Point as the favorite? Yes.