Bears62

Completely agree. As long as Shanley is there I don’t think Jeff will lose to Harrison unless Harrison has a special group. Jeff has had and will continue to have better athletes than the Raiders. Props to both of these programs for the success they have earned over the past 5 years

I just don’t see how they can at this point. They simply do not have the athletes to contend in 6a in the postseason. Last year was the best team they’ve fielded in a long, long time and they ran into a tough Merrillville team. They’ve had athletes for as long as I can remember but I think they really lack size across the board on the O-line/LB’s/DB’s every single year. I think they are at that 29-31st spot in enrollment for 6a so they really need some good fortune to get bumped down to 5a. And they’ve had competitive game against some of the big dogs across the state recently (Carmel, Westfield, Merrillville) and Shanley is doing about as well as a coach can do. He’s creative with his play calling and installs the confidence in his guys that they can beat anyone. I thought Jeff was solid this year until they played Merrillville and then i realized how much of a mismatch it really was. And Merrillville is not much bigger in enrollment than Jeff if I’m correct. it’s gonna take a real special group of kids for them to do anything big in 6a and that’s not a knock on them. They’re always gonna have to play a Carmel, a Merrillville, a Westfield, maybe even a Homestead and some of the schools up there someday in sectionals and that will always be a daunting task. A 5A move for them would be tremendous. They’ve taken down Westfield and Noblesville in recent years, stick them in that sectional with Zionsville and give Kokomo the boot and you’ve got a tremendous matchup every year.

Merrillville 14 Elkhart 14 3Q 4:00 LCC 37 Winamac 19 4Q Chatard 21 Concordia 10 4Q Marion 21 East Noble 17 3Q Hobart 24 Logansport 14 3Q Roncalli 35 Mt. Vernon 14 4Q

Ben Davis 27 Carmel 21 FINAL What a performance by the giants. Very little people saw the giants being able to win this game

Marion 14 East Noble 3 2Q LCC 23 Winamac 19 HALF Roncalli 21 Mt. Vernon 7 HALF Merrillville 14 Elkhart 0 2Q 4:35 Hobart 17 Logansport 6 2Q 7:32

Hobart 10 Logansport 6 end of 1st Quarter

Merrillville 14 Elkhart 0 2Q 11:55 Pirates looking strong early

Cathedral lookin strong early. Whiteland does look like they have some solid size on defense

Merrillville 41 Lafayette Jeff 14 2Q :44 No more updates from me on this one. Jeff’s schedule doing them no favors in this one. Also just do not have the athletes the pirates do.

Merrillville 34 Lafayette Jeff 14 2Q 2:43 Jeff with the ball across midfield desperately needs a score. Bronchos get ball at half. Merrillville QB Nelson with 4 TD’s and 248 passing yards before halftime

Merrillville 20 Lafayette Jeff 14 2Q 8:22 Merrillville getting ball back right now. Jeff getting exposed through the air right now, JoJo Johnson showing off his skills early in this one Homestead 17 Warsaw 14 HALF

Lafayette Jeff 14 Merrillville 14 2Q 11:05

Lafayette Jeff 7 Merrillville 7 1Q 1:43

Lafayette Jeff 7 Merrillville 0 1Q 4:32 Merrillville gets ball first marches down field with 5 first downs. Had a bad snap resulting in a 4th and 32, gets punt blocked. Jeff starts at midfield and scores in 7 plays all but one on the ground.

Shame for the seniors at Mcc to have it end like this but this one would have been ugly. Zionsville looked strong against Harrison. Will be a great game against Dwenger coming up. Have to love the Fort Wayne vs Indy matchups in the postseason.

I am fine with the HCC’s decision to add Franklin Central to their conference. They were pretty competitive in basketball last year and although they came in last in baseball in 2018-2019, they still had 4 wins in the HCC which is the states premier baseball conference. Football we saw them go winless in conference this season but they did upset Zionsville and HSE the season before while also getting victories against Roncalli, Decatur Central and Columbus North. I can’t really ever see them finishing top 5 in the conference in football but the other teams still have to show up to beat the flashes, they’re not a terrible program. From a football standpoint there are definitely more intriguing options but a lot of those are schools not in the Indy area. With all Indy schools it makes sense to me on why they added FC, even if they will never be a power in any of the 3 main sports.

Zionsville 16 Harrison (WL) 6 HALF Lafayette Jeff 42 Lake Central 7 HALF Avon 14 Brownsburg 7 HALF HSE 21 Fishers 7 HALF Westfield 28 Noblesville 0 HALF Merrillville 7 Crown Point 0 1Q 10:35 Center Grove 21 Columbus North 0 HALF Bonus: Maryland 21 Minnesota 7 1Q 1:48👀

Zionsville 10 Harrison (WL) 0 2Q 6:01 Lafayette Jeff 28 Lake Central 0 2Q 9:42 Brownsburg 7 Avon 14 2Q 7:07 Fishers 7 HSE 14 2Q 8:56 Avon’s QB, Hesson (also probably their 2nd or 3rd best player) could not play due to some Covid related situation. Very interesting to see Avon up early in this one. Avon playing a freshman QB I believe Also exciting to see Fishers hanging with HSE early

Zionsville 7 Harrison (WL) 0 1Q 2:38 Lafayette Jeff 21 Lake Central 0 1Q 5:18 Brownsburg 7 Avon 7 1Q 6:08 Fishers 7 HSE 0 1Q 8:12

Carmel 42 Pike 24 BD 63 Southport 14 LN 56 LC 21 NC 28 WC 26 CG 49 CN 10

Penn only lost to Elkhart by 1, why do you think they don’t have a good chance? Penn has played better competition. And homestead beat Snider 33-3, i haven’t watched either team but that’s enough for me to pick them to win again. But I’m sure there have been many examples of similar situations where a team loses by a lot in the regular season and comes back and wins in the tourney.

I totally forgot to add that one somehow! I would pick CG forsure but way closer. I would predict CG 31-21

I don’t think so at all. Not that sagarin is the say-all in everything but they are 26th in state. I mean look at their route, I hope you don’t think they will lose to Portage. So then they will play Elkhart, who they lost to 20-19. I think you are underestimating them.

6A NOTE: This is simply for fun and to generate discussion. This is how I predict the 6A postseason to pan out at this moment. Obviously it’s hard to predict every single game that is going to happen before sectionals have even started so this is just for fun. I’m sure some of my choices will change after week 1 of sectionals. Would love to see others predict their sectional winners and happily welcome anything anyone has to say about these picks. Let me know where you think I’m wrong at and if there’s something you strongly disagree with me about! Let’s all pray for a Covid-free postseason, all these teams to remain healthy and for some great football. Sectional 1: Lafayette Jeff and Merrillville will meet for the sectional title in what should be a great game. Jeff hasn’t been tested a whole lot this season but they’ve taken care of everyone they were supposed to. Merrillville hasn’t had a tough schedule either, other than their 45-28 loss to a very good Chatard team. Jeff’s strength is their O-Line and have a top 3 fastest kid in the state at RB. Merrillville has athletes all over the field and good size. Merrillville has a better roster but will they be as well coached and prepared as the Bronchos? Can Jeff get revenge for their 27-20 loss to the pirates last year in sectionals? I’m torn on this one. Jeff has 2 defensive lineman committed to Cincinnati and Eastern Michigan. Merrillville has ATH JoJo Johnson who is expected to commit to Michigan State soon and also have a DE committed to Bowling Green. My mind is telling me Merrillville but my heart tells me the Bronchos breakthrough and win only their 6th sectional title ever and first since 2002. Pat Shanley has one of the most impressive rebuilds in the state at Jeff and is building something special in Lafayette. Prediction: Lafayette Jeff 42 Merrillville 40 Sectional 2: Penn and Elkhart should meet in the title game for what will be another great game. Elkhart defeated Penn 20-19 in week 5. It is great for the state and 6A football to have another great football program in the North like Elkhart. Can they take the Kingsman down for the second time this season? Prediction: Penn 28 Elkhart 24 Sectional 3: I think Carroll takes down Warsaw fairly easily and Homestead takes down Snider again. Homestead sent a message to 6A with a huge 70-41 win against Carroll week 7. I think this one will be closer and either team can absolutely win. Prediction: Homestead 34 Carroll 21 Sectional 4: HSE and Fishers meet again after HSE beating the tigers 21-9 in week 4. I’ll take HSE again in this one. Westfield should handle Noblesville easily in their game although Noblesville has been competitive all year and hasn’t lost an HCC game by more than 21 all year which is impressive despite a 2-7 record. Westfield played HSE week 5 with the rocks winning 14-3. Both teams are solid but I think Westfield is the best team in the north by a decent margin. I would be shocked if they don’t win by more than 11 this time around. But as always, anything can happen in high school football and HSE is certainly a good enough team to win this ballgame. Prediction: Westfield 43 HSE 17 Sectional 5: Pike vs Carmel round 2 will be very interesting. Carmel won 45-44 in 2OT week 4. Pike is 3-6 but a great football team. Full of athletes and have gotten so much better over the past couple of years. Carmel is 7-2 with losses to the 2 best teams in the state. I like them to win by 14+ in this game. Brownsburg vs Avon in a rematch where B’Burg won 47-29 in week 4. This is a rivalry game and anything can happen but Avon is having a down year compared to the past few years. Give me the bulldogs by 12-18. Brownsburg vs Carmel in the title game is a tremendous game. Brownsburg’a only loss is to Westfield in OT. Other than that game and the game against St. Xavier, they have dominated their opponents. Can one of the HCC’s top dogs take down one of MIC and the states premier programs? Carmel is playing great and I really don’t know what will happen in this game. It’s hard to pick Brownsburg due to recent MIC vs HCC matchups in the postseason in recent years. Prediction: Carmel 37 Brownsburg 34 Sectional 6: Ben Davis will have their way with Southport. Tech and Perry are probably 2 of the worst 3 teams in 6a. I guess I’ll take Tech since they have won football games this year. Ben Davis will rout Tech in the title game. Ben Davis beating North Central 42-20 in week 9 showed 6A they are not a team to be taken lightly despite a 4-5 record. Also took LN to overtime. No one should be sleeping on the giants this postseason. Prediction: Ben Davis 66 Arsenal Tech 10 Sectional 7: Somehow Lawrence North only beat Lawrence Central 28-21 earlier this year. This one will not be nearly as close. LN by 35+. Warren Central vs North Central is a rematch of NC beating the warriors 10-0 in week 2. While NC losing big last week to Ben Davis is surprising, I’m writing it off as just a bad night for them, they are still a great team. You’ve got to consider O’Shea a top 3 coach in the state with the job he’s done with NC. Already taken down many great MIC teams since he’s been there and them going 6-3 this year is extremely impressive. Warren is 2-5 this yet and obviously fielding one of their worst teams in a very long time. That being said, they are still Warren Central. They could very well win this game. Their offense has a tough task against NC. I’ll take NC by 14. Lawrence North vs North Central will be a rematch of a 27-21 win by the wildcats in week 4. My heart tells me LN is a significantly better football team with a lot more firepower. My mind reminds me the panthers still have Kevin O’Shea as their head football coach. Lawrence North’s competitive 28-13 loss to CG sways me enough to pick them in this game. Prediction: LN 26 NC 21 Sectional 8: CG is the best team in the state but they have shown they can be beat, despite being extremely dominant over some great teams. I think they’ll flex their muscle over Columbus North and win by 35+. Columbus East vs Franklin Central could be closer than some may think. CE hasn’t had a difficult game since week 3 but they have dominated like they were supposed to since then. FC is 1-8 and went winless in the HCC. Their 2 closes losses were 7-14 against HSE and 13-20 against Noblesville. Will their gauntlet of a schedule pay off in this game? Give me Columbus East by 21. Is Columbus East a trap game for CG? I don’t think so. CE is certainly a solid team but it’s hard to imagine them keeping this game within 3-4 scores. Prediction: CG 45 CE 10 Regional 1: Lafayette Jeff vs Penn This would be an interesting game and a matchup of 2 very different programs. Penn is one of Indiana’s most accomplished all time programs but has been on a decline recently. Lafayette Jeff is top 15 in all time wins but has hardly any postseason success to show for it. Jeff was awful for about a 10 year stretch until Shanley took over in 2016. Penn isn’t as good as they’ve been historically this season but they are still a good football team. I haven’t had the chance to watch time since they played Valpo week 1 but I thought they looked good back then. Prediction: Lafayette Jeff 42 Penn 35 Regional 2: Homestead vs Westfield I’ll always have great respect for non-Indy 5A and 6A schools who give the state some parity when it comes to the postseason. Homestead has impressive wins over Dwenger and Carroll but it’s hard to forget them almost losing to Noblesville last year in sectionals after also having a great regular season. Westfield is battle tested and i am extremely high on them. I think Westfield is just too talented and too well-coached to see a slip-up here. They have a special team this year. Prediction: Westfield 55 Homestead 14 Regional 3: Carmel vs Ben Davis Carmel beat Ben Davis 31-9 in week 7 of this year. Although I think Ben Davis is playing really well, I have a hard time seeing them keeping up with Carmel. The greyhounds are on a roll right now. Could Ben Davis win this game? Yes. Do i think they will? No. Prediction: Carmel 38 Ben Davis 21 Regional 4: Lawrence North vs Center Grove Rematch of the week 8 matchup when CG won 28-13. Everyone knows what each of these teams are capable of. LN’s QB/WR duo of Donaven McCulley and Omar Cooper is the best in that state. CG is fielding one of the states best D-Lines of all time along with a great backfield on offense. I can’t get a grip on how close this one would be. I love seeing dominant teams like CG run the table and go down in history but I love how electric LN’s offense is. I really hope these 2 meet again. I would love to pick LN to win this game and I think they are more than capable of doing that, but it would feel silly to me to choose CG to lose when they’ve risen to the occasion every game this year and then some. Prediction: CG 42 LN 27 Semi-state: Westfield vs Lafayette Jeff Most will not know this, but Jeff actually won the last meeting between these 2. They beat the Shamrocks 27-24 in sectionals in 2017. The prior two years, Westfield beat them 38-14 in 2015 sectionals and 46-27 in 2016 sectionals. Jeff has unfortunate luck with their placement in the Indiana state classes and sectionals. I believe they are the 2nd or 3rd smallest school of the 32 6a teams and prior to last year, were stuck in a sectional with Westfield, Carmel and Noblesville for 4 years. They could do some real damage if they were in 5a every year. Westfield has proven week after week they are the real deal this year. They went to state a few years ago and have consistently been a threat in the HCC and in the state tournament. They are the more talented team and going 8-0 in the HCC is incredibly impressive. They have one common opponent in Harrison (WL). Westfield beat Harrison 34-10 in week 2. Jeff beat Harrison 76-55 in week 4. I have a hard time imagining them losing this game against Jeff. They will give CG all they can handle in the state title game. Prediction: Westfield 40 Lafayette Jeff 20 State championship: Westfield vs Center Grove I am more confident in these 2 meeting up i the state game then a lot of the sectional games I had to pick. Westfield is blessed to be in the north and I think they are just simply a better team than anyone they would play up until this point. CG is going to have to go through a gauntlet to get here. But by now I think everyone knows how talented and good this team is. If they run the table and win a state title this year, they will go down as one of the best teams in Indiana in a very long time. If they are dominant and don’t have a game within, say 17 points or so the rest of the way, I would put them among top 10 best teams in Indiana of all time. But again, all that talk is for when the job is complete. As far as this game goes, it will be a brawl. Westfield will not back down from this game and have no reason to believe they can’t win this game. Jake Gilbert is a tremendous coach and I strongly believe his team will be in this game. I want to pick the Rocks to win this game, I really do. But you’re just not going to have me pick against CG at this moment in time. Depending on how these teams play in the postseason, I wouldn’t even shy away from picking Westfield to win this game if CG has some scares along the way and Westfield dominates their path. Westfield is that good and CG will have their hands full. With that being said, I’m riding with the Trojans in this one. Prediction: Center Grove 24 Westfield 14

I’m not surprised at all, Westfield has to be considered a top 5 team in the state. I would put them at #3. If they played Cathedral again it would be a lot closer, was tough getting them week 1. I think Westfield will make it to state and absolutely have a chance at CG if they meet there.