BTF

What about the 1 million a year I'm paying my coordinator. The least he can do is coordinate the defense with 11 guys on the field..................geeesh. Trust me. If I'm the head coach, I'm pointing the finger and me and asking what I could have done better. But damn, you hire a staff for a reason. C'mon.

That's a possibility, but............ Isn't it easier for the defensive coordinator to spot a man short on the field from the press box than it is for the head coach from the sideline? Doesn't really matter in the end I guess, apparently he knew and opted not to put anyone in.

Again, it's not up to the head coach to count the players on the field. I'm pretty sure I'm handing that off to someone else. I'm sure he'll get that worked out. But I'm not firing him over it.................geeesh.

I see the Freeman hire no differently than the Day hire. It's a risk for sure. But sometimes the risk is worth the reward. I think Freeman will be fine. Irish fans can only hope that Freeman will be more than a "get to the playoffs and get thumped" kind of a coach than Day is.

Is it the head coach's responsibility to count the players every time they take the field. Isn't that why you hire a staff? Can't do everything yourself. We can play armchair quarterback all we want. Sure, I was hoping for more running and winding down the clock on that last possession, but I also get that they were looking for another first down so that they could put the game away. Is "run when your opponent expecting pass and pass when your opponent is expecting run" an off the wall philosophy? Let's not call for coach Freeman's head, he's still a young head coach, and a smart one at that. He'll have every bit of success at Notre Dame that Ryan Day has had at Ohio State. Maybe more. I'd bet Freeman gets a championship before Day does. Speaking of Ryan Day. Ohio State against the world? Well, they've pretty much made their own bed with the arrogance of their fan base and everything associated with the university.

Most affiliated with the Snider program have the upmost respect for the Luers program, always have. Good luck to the Knights moving forward. They have a legitimate shot at making it to Lucas.

Snider 14, Homestead 0..........half way through the first quarter. It happens.

"One of four things can happen when you drop back to pass, and three of them are bad"........Vince Lombardi.

Agree, creating a poll after this week is challenging. I just saw the Westfield score. Having a bad game following a big emotional win is a real thing. Or an emotional loss in Carroll's case. I'm not worried about Snider. Sometimes they need a loss to bring them back down to earth. Maybe going up 14-0 in the first six minutes led them to think the rest of the night would be easy, who knows. The bye week in the playoffs will be a Godsend for them. Valpo is the real deal. Nineteen returning starters, that's all we need to know. It would be mistake for anyone to think that Valpo's not capable of defending their title. What I learned last night: If Snider can lose to Homestead, and Carroll only beats Wayne by 7pts, then Valpo can lose to Penn. Anything can happen on any given Friday. Brownsburg wasting Westfield last night makes me feel a little better about what they did to Dwenger. How big of a threat are the Saints in Sectional 19? New Haven, Leo, East Noble, Columbia City (who fought NH to the end last night), and Dwenger. Possibly the most interesting sectional in the state. Got to see New Haven in person last night. It's true, they have some athletes. It's true, they have a legitimate shot at Lucas. It's true, East Central is a HEAVY favorite to take state.

Looking bad after a physically and emotionally draining game doesn't necessarily make Chatard, Carmel, Crown Point, and Penn better than Snider and Carroll. Crown Point beat Valpo on a late touchdown. Not sure ten teams separate them.

Not surprised.

I feel that they've always had one or two teams that were upper half SAC potential. This year there are four. And with good coaching staffs in place, I see that trend continuing.

Leo/Dwenger doesn't excite me much since we'll more than likely see that one play out in the playoffs. It is a good matchup between to high caliber programs though. If Northrop can get better, I'd like to see Leo rumble with them since they are right down the road from one another with adjacent school districts.

Not much love for Luers and South Side?

Old school, I like that. Lymon was one of the best high school athletes I've seen in person. Easily top 5 out of the SAC. Right up there with the Rod Smith, Jaylon Smith, and John Goodman.

If I'm being honest, I never took the NE8 seriously until this year. I think this conference is as strong as it's ever been. I love that NE8 teams have the opportunity to clash with the SAC in Weeks 1 & 2 now. I think that only makes the NE8 stronger moving forward. East Noble impressed me when they went up against Snider. Tonight I get a look at two more solid programs.

Not sure why I thought that to be honest.

Easily the game of the week in all of Northeast Indiana. This game needs a thread of it's own. Should be a heck of an atmosphere in New Haven, one that I'm looking forward to being part of. Columbia City is the higher ranked team in the AP Poll. New Haven ranks higher in Sagarin and Temp's Top 25. In the pick-em challenge, not one person other than yours truly is taking Eagles in this one. Honestly, the only reason I did that was to be different and take the risk. Is it really a risk picking the Eagles? I don't really think so. They were the top team last year in the NE8 and seem to have picked up where they left off from a season ago.................schedule so far as been suspect though. New Haven already has two quality wins over Luers and Leo. I think this one could go either way. The Bulldogs want to prove that they are the frontrunner to represent the North...............none of this Kokomo talk. Columbia City's getting no respect in this one, which could light a fire. Gimmie the Eagles by 7.

Don't wanna hijack this thread. You might appreciate the new topic I'll be posting in 5 minutes.

Head scratcher.

No kind of performance supplants Snider as the favorite. Snider has two good victories over Carroll and Warren Central. That being said, I think Valpo could be a co-favorite if they beat Crown Point by any amount.

Sounds like a long night to me.

Head scratcher.

For sure. I get that divine intervention played a role in their final three victories last season, but they have nearly their entire team back. They have to be considered a serious threat to repeat. If Snider brings it every week, then the title is theirs to lose. Just don't underestimate the Vikings. Tomorrow nights game is arguably the best in the state. Right up there with Brownsburg/Westfield and Columbia City/New Haven.

I get that. Both teams just seem to be playing at a level that hasn't been seen since LCC. I think either team would take 2A, and would easily make the 3A top five.