Boilernation

I didn't realize Crown Point has a 6'3 Safety committed to Toledo. That's 5 legimiate D1 recurits for the Bulldogs this year, but there is speculation on Region Sports that the IHSAA is going to block Patrick Clack's transfer from Andrean. @scarab527 Has he been a no show at Crown Point practices?

Crown Point with at least 4 D1 recruits this year. That’s 9 if the neighbor to the North of 93rd is counting.

No argument from me. All 6 are solid in my opinion. I think Valpo is pretty similiar to the 3 4A teams in that their bread and butter is going to be trying to control the line with size and very physical & disciplined line play. East Central has a very nice added wrinkle this year with 2 MAC recruits that are big and fast to give the ball to. I like North, a lot. They have size and D1 talent all over the place. I just don't trust them. The Sectional loss to Snider pgretty much sums it up for me. IMO, they didn't give Johnson enough touches towards the end of the game and Snider clearly has a mental hold on them. IF they could get past Snider this year I would probably pick them to beat Valpo. It's tough to repeat. Regarding 5A, 4A obviously has the same problem. 5A is stacked in the North while 4A is stacked in the South. Fortunately in 5A the South is capable of putting up a fight in Lucas Oil. Valpo vs. Whiteland was a phenomenal game to watch. I'm sure whomever comes out the South this year will be good enough win. The 4A Title game has the makings of another massacre this year unless NorthWood can put together a team to compliment their absurd talent at WR. I still can't believe they have a Georgia commit and Purdue commit at WR. Pretty wild.

In all seriousness, I get that it's just a meaningless opinion Poll, but I'm really surprised that Paul Condry would allow such an absurd omission in his magazine.

Why are you so bullish on EC/New Pal/Roncalli vs. Valpo, Snider or North? They all seem to match up well as each feed off of dominating line play. I doubt any of the teams would have much of a size advantage on the lines. North probably has the best collection of skill talent among the group with EC possibly being 2nd. In my opinion, North majorly choked against Snider. They had that game won if they kept feeding Johnson the ball on the outside with short passes. I have a feeling they'll end Valpo's bid at a repeat if they can get over the mental roadblock that is Snider. I would be surprised if Dwenger is much of a threat for Snider or North in Sectional 12.

It's a good thing CG's students won't be allowed on the field following a potential victory. We wouldn't want a Carmel coach to purposely walk through them, push a kid and then he as well as the Carmel Athletic Department cry victim afterwards.

Meant to say I wouldn’t agree regarding Noblesville.

I would agree with you. You don’t even have to look back too far (2022) to see Noblesville giving the 4A Champ their only loss. A big and powerful 6A OL like Noblesville has been putting out can be a lot for a 4A defensive front 7 to handle when the depth isn’t there.

Yep, One I can easily think of was the '96 State Title could have easily ended in Portage in Regionals. Portage had the ball on the goal line with enough time left to run 1 play. Buzea passed up a gimme FG attempt that would have sent the game into OT and instead went for the win. It wasn't even close. Penn's D-Line stopped the Portage RB in the backfield.

Does that mean the MIC and Center Grove are culturally aligned when the Varsity football teams aren't playing each other?

What's the word?

Kiwanis Field on a summer night must be a beautiful site. That was one of my favorite venues to play in. that's a very low turnout just for 7 on 7. LaPorte just needs to weather the storm and rebuild. The numbers wil return if they can get out of the massive hole they've dug.

Is it safe to say Dwenger is starting to feel the effects of Carroll in SAC and a contender in 6A? Pure speculation on my part as Carroll is the northside "suburban" school and Dwenger is also on the northside. Unless Dwenger has never really pulled in kids from Carroll's district.

Hard to really nitpick this as Brownsburg and SE appear to be the favorites again. Outside of them I would expect a lot of parity considering the strenght of the conference as a whole. My gut feeling is Noblesville and Avon expectations. Tough Conference though where some solid teams will end up with 5-4 or 6-3 records.

Not sure how they get to 6-3 with an opening stretch of Brownsburg, Big Moe, North, Carroll and Homestead. They could legitimately start the season 0-5.

Interesting for sure. Per the rankings explanation it puts heavy stock into professional stats only, which would explain why obscure names from the mid 1900's are rated so high. I'm just amazed a database like that even exists.

Re: Andrean, I was referring to the fact they have recent State Titles and their fans can legitimately talk about winning another. At this point it's just a pipedream for Merrillville fans. As for the rest, just a bunch of Parkhurst excuses. You either win or you don't. The rest is conjecture.

In one thread you've stated you have a kid at Portage, Lake Central and Merrillville.

The 6A North runs through Hamilton County every year as long as they are sent North. A Fort Wayne Carroll, Homestead, Penn, Crown Point, Lafayette Jeff, etc. 6A North win would only be an exception to the rule.

That's a lot of off the top of your head knowledge for someone whose kids play for both Lake Central and Portage, lol. How abou tyou look amount the amount of D1 recruits out of the SAC in the past few years while researching Valpo and Crown Point?Not only will you see you're wrong, but you're also trying to compare guys who went MAC or lower to guys starting on Power Conference Rosters. By the way, IF Merrillville ever finds their way into 6A again, why are you so sure they're going to win State? Guys like JoJo Johnson and Kenneth grant don't come around often and Merrillville was still clobbered by Westfield 2 years straight. Throw in Chatard as well. Merrillville, with their plethora of D1 recruits, hasn't actually proven they can win a high stakes game outside of NWI opponents. Besides, the Pirates are no longer the dominant NWI team. Wait until they get back to that level before resorting back to the empty promises of the Pirates winning a State Title. Right now, those convos are only for your friends at 5959 Broadway and in Valpo.

LOL... 1. On the first page of this thread you said your kid plays for Portage 2. It's clear the hype surrounding Crown Point and VAlpo winning state has really rubbed you the wrong way, which is what I would expect from Parkhurst. As well as flipping losses into moral victories making outlandish claims such as the Merrillville Regional game will be the State Championship and that Michigan City, under a new coach, is going to take Valpo out. You be you man. Please don't ever change.

I'm more so talking about the future. They seem to be in an area that is growing and has the potential for more growth. Would the MSC still want them if they elevated up to the 5A Level in Footballa and 4A in football? Of course, I have no idea if that type of growth will come to fruition.

At this point it's safe to say the top team in the Mid-State would be a contender in 5A. I don't follow the Mid-State enough to know what everyone has returning. Why are you predicting a down year for the Conference?

The Gary and Hammond pipeline into Merrillville appears to have have been closed. It'll be interesting to see what Seiss can do without a well defined athletic advantage.

lol...I was thinking the same. Plus, we're talking about the Station Champion who return 19 starters. Yeah, I think they've kind of proven if they look great it's not just because the comp sucked.