BTF

Would love to see New Pal back in 5A. The more competition the merrier. I'm a little disappointed Zionsville isn't still there.

It's a new era. High school is becoming like college.

Debatable.................Homestead is 6-1 vs Snider and Dwenger over the last three years.......3-0 vs Dwenger and 3-1 vs Snider. But no regional titles for the Spartans.

Penn has to have something left in the tank. They embarrassed Carmel four years ago, but it seems like yesterday. With a large enrollment with lots of resources, I think Penn stays relevant. Munster mystifies me. One would think they would have a better football program. Sounds like Hobart is back for good?

This early in the season Snider has to be considered the front runner to take the SAC if you compare what they have returning compared to their competition. It's still up to the kids though. Games aren't won before they are started anymore. Post 2017, most teams aren't intimidated by the black and yellow anymore. This group has the opportunity to get that reputation back. Make no mistake though, every team in the SAC will line up with Snider with the expectation of winning. North Side to start the season is about as good as it gets to open the season in NE Indiana. This was a fierce rivalry back in the 80's and 90's with some pretty competitive matchups in the last couple of decades. The Legends play with a chip on their shoulder being from the heart of the city. They embarrassed the Panthers two seasons ago and were a matter of inches from beating them last year. With one of the best wideouts in the country the, addition of Dwenger's starting QB, and some key guys in the trenches, North Side should be ready for this one.

Good to know. Good to have that Indy representation.

Wayne. Don't sleep on the Generals. They have a good coach who is entering his third season. Wayne has some history of some very good teams with the right leadership in place. They will be battle tested playing in the SAC. They won't be ranked by season's end because the AP is mostly concerned with record and not SOS. But they very well may be one of the Top 10 teams in 4A.

Might be a first.

Agree. The potential is there. This team could be good. But I've seen teams with "potential" fall flat on their faces. Week 1 will be a good test.

Could very well happen. Different coach this time. North Side is a wild card. Hard to predict. Week 1 will be a good one in the SAC.

Transfer came from Dwenger. Unsure if was the Saints first or second string though. There is a lot of hype surrounding North Side this year. Last year they started strong with a 2pt loss to Snider and ended strong with a 3pt loss to Dwenger, but everything in between was a train wreck as they finished the season 2-7. Are they a contender? I would say yes since they lost to the Panthers and Saints last year by a combined *5pts. *Regular season game was a 26pt whipping delivered by the Saints

I always thought his magic came from getting the most out of his top athletes by having them play both sides of the ball. Think about the math. If your best players are playing on both sides of the ball, then you are probably playing the quality of football that a school double your size plays with............for at least a half anyway. Most teams that do that tend to wear down in the second half, but NP never seemed to. You could be on point regarding a run in talent. A good program remains good if they are playing within their weight class. But if you are playing teams that have clear advantages like enrollment or socioeconomic advantages, then you are probably at the mercy of that talent "run" just to stay towards the top. Case in point: For decades Snider managed to to be a Top 5 program every 4-5 years.........like clockwork. That was due to them playing schools twice their enrollment. Every 4-5 years they had that talent run that could compete with the mega schools.

Zionsville barely survived the North the past two seasons, for sure.

Speaking of rumblings, you'll probably coast through semi-state as well. The consensus seems to be that 2022 will be the Decatur Central/Merrillville show.

Good information. It really didn't affect much though. Cathedral was winning the title those years regardless.

Unfamiliar with the storyline.

Zionsville belongs in 6A based on enrollment. Not sure New Pal "belongs" in 6A. My point was..........the more competition the better in 5A.

I'm just looking at trends. And the trend is at minimum a 10 win season. Mason is 2-1 versus Bishop Luers over the last three seasons. And if the Knights couldn't beat him and his Blazers last season, I'm not sure when they can ever beat them again.

Can't have a discussion about 2A anymore without the mention of Eastside. Todd Mason and the Blazers own Northeast Indiana.

It's a shame New Pal is 4A now. Would love to see them and Zionsville remain in 5A.

I'm not too familiar with Decatur Central. But it's good to know that they are considered "Indy area." I was just thinking the other day how lonely 5A seems to be with no Indy teams represented. It just seems normal that the road to Lucus goes through Zionsville with the right to play Cathedral. Personally? I wish that were still the case.

What does DC have going for them besides enrollment? Strong senior class? Several returning starters? Stating that they are the team to beat without previewing all the other teams in 5A is quite the statement. But hey, if they are senior heavy with 15+ returning starters, I understand the high expectations.

I agree that bad teams benefit from empty stadiums and good teams suffer from them. I'm not saying that covid didn't have any effect, you'd have to be a moron to believe so. I'm just wondering what the forementioned teams did that Michigan and Penn State did not.

Just curious. Why didn't covid affect Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, and Ohio State?

Steelers fans are everywhere. Even Florida. They grew quite the following in the 70's and 80's. If you live in Chicago and are well off financially, you send your kids to Notre Dame. So yeah, Chicago is probably more Irish than South Bend.