Boilernation

Avon was 9-0 on the morning of 9/1/19. A loss to Brownsburg that night started a stretch of going 6-18. Unreal. Would love to hear from Oriole insiders the factors that are driving these results. I'll take Brownsburg by whatever margin of victory they choose. I'm sure my viewpoint is biased considering I just watched Fishers dismantle Noblesville on Friday night, but are the Tigers underrated? We'll see Friday night against HSE. Fishers has a great RB combo in Tyler Maynard and Khobie Martin. I'll go with Fishers 27-21 I'm going oppo again and taking Franklin Central 31-24. The Flashes will be very pleased to not see Roncalli or Brownsburg across the LOS. The schedule is in place for the Flashes to be 4-2 when Fishers comes to the SE side on 9/30. Rinse and repeat from last year for Noblesville. The defense can't consistently stop a good offense. The O-Line has 2 MAC Commits and a 6'7 300 Jr receiving Power 5 offers, but any drive that forces them to rely on the passing game ends up stalling. I sound like a broken record at this point; however, I'll say at again. How can you not work on a passing game in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference!?! At some point you can't just run the ball down the opponents throat every play. Noblesville will probably eclipse 200 yards on the ground and reach the end zone a few times. But, Westfield's D will stop the run enough and the Rocks offense will move the ball at will. Rocks 42 Millers 21.

He’s been very active on FB. I guess Merrillville supposedly had some coaches suspended due to the Morton fiasco and he used that as one of the excuses for Merrillville losing. Perhaps CrownPoint4Life will appear this week to tell us CP got lucky and Merrillville is by far the better team.

I see you have Christian Brothers at #44. Bishop Chatard and Warren Central will both be getting a piece of them this year. Interested in seeing how those go. You're pretty high on the St. Louis area with Christian Brothers, DeSmet and East St. Louis in your rankings.

And throw the ball at Joey Porter. Why? Sounds about right.

I'm fully confidant Purdue wins tonight. Of course, that same thought is why I suffer so much as a Purdue fan.

No Loyola Academy? I know St. Xavier appears to be way down this year, but LA looked really good against them. I doubt East St. Louis could beat Loyola, Mt. Carmel, or a few others in the Chicago area. They Flyers get too much credit for scheduling national games they never win.

HSE @ Avon: HSE rolled Avon last year and the first 2 week of this year haven't given us much reason to expect a different outcome this year. I'll take the Royals by 15-20. Brownsburg @ Franklin Central: I completely agree with you that Brownsburg should be on major letdown alert. But, I have no faith in the FC offense to pick the upset. I agree with you that it'll be closer than most would think. I like your pick of the 'Dogs by 10. Noblesville @ Fishers: I was able to watch last week thanks to the Benet Academy You Tube feed. IMO, Noblesville showed some toughness last week. Benet started slow and became a threat in the 2nd half. They have a big Minnesota bound TE/WR that did some damage, but overall the Miller D wasn't shredded like they were against Mt. Vernon. The Miller offense grinded as usual and actually came up with a few big pass plays when they were forced to throw the ball. 6'3 Sophomore TE Aiden Brewer is also a basketball standout and has the athleticism to make an impact in the passing game. His TD reception late in the 2nd half was ultimately the game winner. I'm still not sure if Noblesville ready to turn the corner. We'll see Friday night how the offense handles Fishers putting them into 3rd and long situations. I'll go with Fishers 21-17. Zionsville @ Westfield: I was really impressed with the Lawrence Central offense last week. They can move the ball when clicking. I haven't seen Zionsville play yet, so I don't know if they can pose the same type of thread to the Westfield D. Westfield's offense has transitioned nicely from the loss of Webster and Hauser(?). I will go with Westfield 35 Zionsville 17

Evansville Reitz Chatard Linton Westfield Crown Point Cloverdale Whiteland Paoli Homestead Mishawaka Marian

Unless those kids moved, how did they enroll in Chatard? I was the under the assumption Ritter, Chatard, Scecina, and Roncalli could only pull from their assigned deanery.

I think they hype with Decatur Central is they've been a very good program that has continuously ran into Cathedral very early in the playoffs. The one and only time they got over the Cathedral hump they met New Pal in the State Title game. I can see how the Hawks were a trendy pick. In fairness to Decatur Central, they have a chance right away to prove they're still in the picture this Friday as they host Whiteland. I think it's fair to say the winner of Sectional 12, sans a miracle from Anderson, is the favorite to win 5A.

Thanks for sharing. I can totally understand why the East AD/Admin would ride with Gaddis' staff considering the success they were a part of. Though it sounds like they would have been better off starting fresh with an outside viewpoint. Regarding talent, can kids in the East/North school district choose their HS or is it hard to enroll at East if you live in North's boundaries?

Yeah, I think going back and forth between the 2 classes will be a continuous trend as long as Ralph is in New Pal unless: New Pal's enrollment eventually reaches 5A level New Pal doesn't experience a dip in talent and remains in 5A based on performance

I can easily see Cathedral putting up 42. IF, not saying they can't, but IF Penn could crack 30, maybe even 20, is it safe to say Penn is back to being Penn for at least this year? Portage stinks and the strength of Valpo is relatively unknown at this point. Great test this weekend to see how this Penn team stacks up against the elite in Indiana.

Thoughts after week 2: Really like the way North Side responded after losing a close one to Snider. Nobody in the SAC or 5A playoffs want to see the offense North Side ran in the 2nd half. A steady dose of 6' 190 Jontae Lambert running the ball and the Legends doing everything they can to get the ball into the hands of 4 star WR Brauntae Johnson. Those 2 playing like that will keep them in any game. Is Decatur Central a pretender or New Pal that dang good? Kyle Ralph is the man and I feel for any 4A coach having to prepare for that team in the playoffs; however, 49-0 is still 49-0. I find it hard to believe the other 5A contenders would be embarrassed like that. There are cracks in Merrillville's armor. 17-7 over Hobart with player issues isn't the sign of a Champion. Mishawaka has absolutely crushed Marian and St. Joseph. The Cavemen are looking like the clear favorite in Sectional 11. Are they a legitimate threat to the survivor of Sectional 12? Anderson is will be the sacrificial lamb the 3 Fort Wayne schools hope to draw in Rd 1 of Sectional 12. Right now, I would wager the winner of Sectional 12 will represent the North in Lucas Oil Scorewise, Harrison and Plainfield appeared to be a close game. I would give Decatur the edge in Sectional 13 if they can easily dispatch of the Quakers. Again, maybe Decatur is still the favorite to represent the South, but I have hard time looking past 49-0. Originally, I would consider the winner of Sectional 13 to be the favorite over Sectional 14, but Franklin and Whiteland have impressed in weeks 1 and 2. The Mid-State is shaping up to have another great year of competition. I love how deep that conference is. The fall of Columbus East post Bob Gaddis continues in Sectional 15. I was hoping to see the Olympians bounce back this year and there is still plenty of time for that to happen. Right now it appears the favorite in that Sectional is either Bloomington North or South. Sectional 16 is looking like it will come down to a rematch between Castle and North unless the Highlanders completely turn things around after blowout losses to 2 respectable Louisville programs.

You’re all over the place. Just weeks ago you insisted City ended to fire Mason if the wanted to be in the top of the DAC.

Right!?! Trey Stephens’ dad was criticizing the Ville coaching on Facebook. Why exactly did he have his kid leave Andrean if he was concerned about caliber of coaching?

@Piratefan101whats your take on last night? Hearing a lot of Merrillville starters dressed but didn’t play. Suspensions? Fear of a forfeit for playing soon to be ineligible players?

Yeah, you don't like seeing DC above Merrillville. Andrean took a huge loss by losing their starting QB to a year ending injury against Merrillville. They could be in for another thumping this week against Crown Point. I would expect Andrean to possibly bounce back and maybe be Top 25 by the time the Playoffs start, but they're not there right now with a backup QB and O-Line issues.

Yes, Cody. Good came from Calumet. Turned them around quickly and won a Sectional before leaving for Lake Central.

Agreed Cody#2. It's just Munster. But, LC's offense and especially Xavier Williams looked dialed in. I was impressed. Maybe they'll come back down to earth against Providence Catholic. I was intrigued by the Good hire from the get go. Looking forward to seeing if he can get LC over .500 this year.

Just watched the first quarter of the LC / Munster game. Xavier Williams is a beast. I’m impressed by the progress I’ve seen in Lake Central’s offense. Let’s see if it carries west on 30 into New Lenox.

Just the guy you said you talked to in a completely different thread.

Mooresville Adams Central Carroll Roncalli Cathedral Owen Valley LaVille Crown Point Evansville Reitz Brebeuf

Just to be clear. We’re talking about Scott Ballantine, right? Threw for nearly 3,000 yards last year and was QB1 for the State Champions. He’s not better than his backup? You can’t be serious. @Piratefan101you still agree with @Andrean4life? One slow start against a D starting 9 D1 recruits and he’s already yesterdays news? C’mon, James Banks in his prime couldn’t handle the Bucs D!