Boilernation

Yeah, I have zero data to support that claim. I just know baseball in Noblesville, Fishers, Zionsville, Brownsburg, and Avon is a year round affair with youth travel teams utilizing field houses to practice through the fall and winter. My assumption would be these schools have very good athletes playing baseball that don't have time for football. But, the data point could be minuscule and meaningless.

Hamilton Southeastern was thoroughly dominated a few years ago by a very average DuPage Valley team (Waubonsie Valley), but I'm guessing that was just an outlier. I used to live in Downers Grove and I'm very familiar with Chicago HS football. At the end of the day the teams in Indy are good for the same reasons the teams in Chicago are: enrollment, coaching, and socioeconomic advantages. Based on a stark difference in population, Chicago just has more of what you can find in the MIC/HCC. There are definitely some differences between the two areas though. In Indy, Cathedral is really the only Private that can hang with the large 6A schools. In Chicago, Loyola, Naz Academy, Mt. Carmel, St. Rita, sometimes Marist, Brother Rice, Providence Catholic, can hall hang with the 8A schools with Loyola and recently Naz Academy among the best in Illinois. Mt. Carmel has fallen off a little and Joliet Catholic isn't the beast they used to be. I do think you won't find a program similar to Ben Davis or Warren Central in Chicago. City schools like Phillips and Simeon have the raw talent, but they don't have the depth. Suburban schools like Bolingbrook and Homewood-Flossmoor are as close as you can get to Warren/Ben Davis, but I believe the enrollments of Warren/BD are significantly higher. IMO, there are a lot of really good HCC quality Chicago suburban schools that would struggle against the speed of Warren/Ben Davis. Maine South out of Park Ridge is consistently one of the better 8A programs in Illinois and they were embarrassed by Warren a decade or so ago.

I don't know if it's possible to close that gap between the MIC and HCC. A few reasons off the top of my head: 1. Baseball is HUGE in the HCC. A majority of the MIC won't lose talent to baseball. 2. The Marion County Townships are enormous in population. Washington, Warren, Lawrence, and Wayne are all over 100,000. There are cities in Indiana with over 100,000 in population that don't just have one HS. Granted, Lawrence does have two. 3. Talent in IPS districts will find their way into MIC schools 4. I think it's safe to say, based on enrollment, that nobody in the HCC will ever be as dominant as Carmel

Agree. Noblesville's D was very good last year. Offense, not so much. I agree with the OP. Avon/Brownsburg at the top, a lot of 4-3 or 3-4 records and Franklin Central at the bottom. Someone, maybe Temptation, mentioned something in a previous thread that was noteworthy. Brownsburg is getting a lot of hype with the numerous D1 recruits they'll put on the field this year, but their last game was a 38-0 drubbing by their neighbors to the South.

IMO, Valpo’s move to 5A makes them an immediate contender to rep the the North. They are going to have some very large and disruptive lines on both sides of the ball.

The Hammond schools consolidating into one Hammond High? Is that a real possibility? Throw in Munster joining the Duneland and you have a DT wet dream.

I would expect Valpo's Cooper Jones to also end up at Notre Dame if offered. His father Eric (a Portage grad) was a very good DL for Notre Dame in the late '80's/early '90's. Congrats to Fisher. That's an education that will really pay dividends in his post College life if the NFL isn't in the cards.

Novak announced he’s joining the Portage staff.

Interesting. Thanks for the schooling!

Hackett would have been an excellent addition to the Duneland. Similar to Mason in football, I believe he would have turned City basketball into a force. I'm no expert on tax revenue and school funding. With that said, does Michigan City have strong tax revenue from Nipsco, Blue Chip, and possibly the lakefront mansions lining the coast from Long Beach up to Michiana Shores? Are the schools funded poorly?

Now that I could definitely understand. Great point!

I believe Geffert will be an Assistant at Munster. Interesting development. He seemed excited to return to Griffith and return the Panthers to a dominate force. A record of 26-9 the past 3 seasons is outstanding compared to the Pickett era, even though it was against a watered down Greater South Shore schedule. Seems odd that he would leave his alma mater to go west on 45th Street and be an Assistant.

*out

Per Al Hamnik. No update on his future plans. Tough beak for the Panthers.

Does anyone have any updated pictures of the new stadium construction?

Baseball and Soccer are REALLY good. Basketball fairly solid as well, but baseball and soccer can hold their own with any conference in the state. The commitment to football just isn't the same as it was in the '70's to '90's. Possibly because they lost a lot of legendary coaches and the replacements aren't filling the void. I have a feeling Gipper's comment has more to do with the Duneland feeling too superior to offer Munster, NP, Andrean, Griffith, etc. IMO, in their mind, it's Penn or bust. They wouldn't take Elkhart Central when Penn and Mishawaka were ready to join a couple of years back. Maybe they would take newly consolidated Elkhart if that was the only way they could get Penn.

Yeah, I was going to say that Avon's housing boom and their proximity to Wayne Township is extremely beneficial. Speaking of Wazzu, I'm a huge fan of the pirate. He caught a bad wrap when ESPN foolishly decided to run with the James' family agenda when Adam wasn't getting enough PT.

Are you referring to a boat load of undrafted FA's? I've heard it's often better to go undrafted than be a late round pick. Mainly, it's beneficial to have the option of picking a team that isn't strong in your position if presented with a multitude of teams wanting to sign you.

I was looking at every draft pick last week and came up with the following list. Did I miss anyone? 2nd Round: Lonnie Johnson, Kentucky CB, Gary West Side 3rd Round: Terry McLaurin, Ohio State WR, Cathedral 4th Round: Drue Tranquil, Notre Dame LB, Fort Wayne Carroll

Yes, all at Homewood-Flossmoor HS in the South Chicago Suburbs. Craig Buzea is the HC and he took Portage to the '94 5A Title game. Zac Wells is the DC and he won multiple Sectionals and Regionals as HC at Merrillville. They also have Alexander Pratt, who did wonders as HC at Gary West Side, so no telling what he could do at a Region school. I believe H-F has a few more Region guys on their staff. I know Albert Evans (Portage RB/Purdue DB) was on their staff recently as well. H-F doesn't have a large MIC'esque football stadium, but their indoor practice facility and weight room are insanely nice. They're also paying coaches and teachers very good money. Regarding Lake Central, they should be the Penn of Northwest Indiana. The size of school and socio-economics are nearly identical. Lake Central's problem, IMO, is they'll have to have a saleman as a coach to convince kids to stay in the Tri-Cities of St. John, Dyer, and Schererville. Of course, win too. Andrean and Chicago Mt. Carmel routinely get quality football and baseball players out of Lake Central's district.