FarmerFran

Laville at Culver: Gimme the lancers as they begin prep for next week's matchup against the Blue Jays. NJSP at SCUM: Jays come out firing in a game where they can keep their dinged up players out to heal up for the Lancers. Carroll at Winamac: Cougars get a running clock by half. North Miami at Northfield: Warriors win this one handily. Southern Wells at Triton: Trojans get up big early and cruise into the semifinals. Pioneer at Caston: Hopefully the Panthers stay focused on the comets and dont have a repeat of last year's sectional game where Caston took it to them some. I look for the Panthers to win this and set up a top 5 ranked matchup with Frontier next week.

Per the IFCA Poll, looks like only team in the top 10 that will play a team with an above .500 record Friday night is South Adams. Maybe the ping pong balls were taking some seeding into account this year.

Sectional Quarterfinal week! Who ya got? HNAC has a realistic shot of having 3 sectional champions this year.

Panthers take the HNAC crown winning 36-18 over Judson.

Caston @ Winamac- At the beginning of the season, I would have taken the Comets, now I think its the Warriors game to lose. Seems like Caston plays to the level of their competition for the first half every week and when the other teams make adjustments, Caston doesn't know how to react. Gimme the Warriors. North Miami @ Triton- After playing both teams I think North Miami Wins this one with their ball control offense. Triton better have figured out how to stop trap since last Friday if they hope to have a chance. South Central @ Culver- Woof. Give me the Cavs. Pioneer @ Judson- With the HNAC Championship on the line who is going to step up for each team? Both teams have stingy defenses and the offenses can put up points. The Jays have big game experience from the success of the last couple of years, but the Panthers are starting to believe. I think this will come down to who gives up the fewest big plays. I think both teams will struggle offensively if they have to drive the field every possession. I'll take the Panthers in a close one.

HNAC Championship Week! Looks like the fates have aligned where the 1 vs 2, 3 vs 4, 5 vs 6 and 7 vs 8 ranked teams will be playing each other so we should have some good matchups throughout. Who ya got?

Culver @ N. Miami- Warriors keep on rolling. Judson @ Caston- Jays stay perfect in conference play, but Caston keeps it interesting for a half. Winamac @ S. Central- Warriors pick up their second win of the season. Triton @ Pioneer- Conference Game of the Week! If the Trojans win they could potentially force a 3 way tie for first, if the Panthers can scrape out a win it will most likely lead to a week 9 HNAC title game between Pioneer and Judson. Triton has a very stout defense that is well disciplined and aggressive. This will be the best defense Pioneer will have seen this season outside of Knox. Offensively, Triton does a great job utilizing 3 and 10 to power their offense. # 3 may be the most complete back in the conference and has been a force for them all year. For Pioneer, our offensive balance has gotten better from years past and the defense has been catching on as the season continues. Our depth will really be tested this week as our center and a 2 way OL/DL player will most likely be out after getting banged up at Culver last week. I expect this to be a 4 quarter slugfest with the Panthers coming out on top on senior night.

Think it hurts Myles that by the end of the regular season, 3A Knox will have played 4 1A level schools. Think post season success will be huge for Myles to get the award.

I'm not expecting any surprises this week as we head into the final 3 games of conference play. Does Caston come out fired up for Triton after last week's disappointing loss to Culver? Judson, North Miami and Pioneer should all get the young guys in in the second half.

Comets over Cavs NM over Winamac Panthers over Satellites Jays over Trojans Realistically though, where would most of these teams go? Judson and Triton would be close enough to join the conference with Knox and Bremen, but the rest would logistically only really be close to the MWC and that conference is a trainwreck. You currently have West Central and Frontier running through it and they are probably middle of the pack HNAC teams. I cant see Judson or Triton wanting to go back to a conference with that much larger schools in it.

Current standings halfway through the conference season. Looks like another three blowouts and a Triton/Judson game of the week. WHO YA GOT?

Caston at South Central - Comets Culver at North Judson - Jays Pioneer at North Miami - Panthers pull off the homecoming upset at North Miami Winamac at Triton - Trojans

Looks like 3 blowouts and Pioneer @ N. Miami being the HNAC game of the week. Who ya got?

Big loss for the Jays, hopefully his recovery goes well.

Caston at Pioneer- The next two weeks will be a good read to see where the panthers are. I see them beating the comets in a close game, similar to last years sectional. North Judson at North Miami- North Miami's lack of ball security and passing attack have me taking the reigning HNAC champs. SC at Triton- Trojans by what they want. Winamac at Culver- Flip a coin. Not impressed by Winamac and haven't seen Culver yet.

Any word on when Sanchez might be back for the Jays?

Week 3, who you got?

Week 1 is upon us! Who does everyone have?

Pioneer will be embracing the air raid this season.

1. Jays- King of the hill until proven otherwise. Good coaching staff and teamwide by in will have them humming by sectionals. I could see it taking a few games for the new pieces to gel with what they lost from last year's team, but will be a hard out this offseason. 2. Panthers- Lose one 2-way player to graduation off of last year's team. If this team plays to their potential, they can represent 1A in the north next year at state. The big thing for the Panthers this year is we will have more open competition across the board in practice due to increased numbers. 3a/3B. Trojans- It will be interesting to see how the new coach changes how things have been ran for the past few years. Losing Workman will be a big loss statistically and as a team leader. They will still be a threat in the conference this year. N. Miami- Warriors bring back everybody and their brother from a regional qualifying team. Veteran experience and a ball control offense should keep them in every game that they play. 5. Comets- The young comets will be improved next year and will win 4 or so games. I think that they are a year out from being in the top half of the conference talent wise. i think that the biggest thing holding them back is their coaching staff. I have never been more embarrassed for a team than listening to how their coach spoke about them after a game and how he speaks about them in the media. 6. Winamac- Warriors have a lot of physical talent, but sometimes you see there scheme and what they do on the field and it makes you scratch your head. 7/8. Cavs/Satellites- Both teams looking to improve, but it will be a hard conference to find wins in next year.

Probably a dumb question, but why is there such an emphasis on knee pads being worn? You look at any level above high school and there are very few players that even wear them anymore. The pads themselves do little to prevent knee injuries.

He was honorable mention. Which Winamac player would you have swapped him with?

Coaching inexperience or pride can both be killers at the 1a level when it comes to pulling starters with a big lead. Shutouts and stats are great but a healthy team is more important when depth is a factor.

3 Point Game Fort Wayne Luers vs Heritage Hills North Judson vs Providence 5 Point Game Westfield vs Brownsburg East Noble vs New Palestine Adams Central vs Linton Warsaw vs Decatur Central TIE BREAKER Combined Points scored in 5A Game. 58

2 POINT GAMES Crown Point @ Westfield Brownsburg @ Center Grove Merrillville @ Warsaw Decatur Central @ Bloomington South East Noble @ Mishawaka Martinsville @ New Palestine Garrett @ Fort Wayne Luers Batesville @ Heritage Hills Adams Central @ Andrean Linton @ Lutheran South Adams @ North Judson South Putnam @ Providence