Frozen Tundra

Beech Grove 14, Jennings County 0 early in the second. This Jennings County team is NOT good. I wasn’t expecting much but, seeing them in person, I’m very underwhelmed. Unless something changes, they’re probably going to finish last in the HHC. The inexperience is very evident.

The talent pool in Columbus overall isn’t what it used to be. However, the majority of talent that is there goes to Columbus North. It’s the more prestigious school due to its history and its superior athletics and academics. It also helps that it has a richer student population and that’s what probably drives its success more than anything. Columbus East football used to attract much more of the talent pool back when Bob Gaddis was the head coach. With him gone, kids would rather play in a tougher conference and in the highest classification, especially given Eddie Vogel hasn’t had a winning season. You’re not going to go far in the postseason at either school so would you rather play big name schools like Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Center Grove, etc. or would you rather play Jennings County, Seymour, and Jeffersonville?

No problem. It’s fun for me. I’m a competitive person so I always like to test my knowledge (or lack thereof). Compiling results makes it more competitive as well and gives the winner bragging rights for the year.

I’ve got everyone’s picks for this week except for @Impartial_Observer

Week 2 Picks Beech Grove (0-1) at Jennings County (0-1): First match-up ever between the Hornets and Panthers. Jennings County just lost by 28 to a mid South Dearborn team while Beech Grove lost by 42 to a top 5 4A team in Greenfield-Central. That’s all I have to go on so that’s what’s influencing my prediction. Beech Grove gets the win. #9 Bloomington North (0-1) at BNL (0-1): Tough start to the season for the Stars whose first two opponents are ranked teams. With all the experience the Cougars returned from last year’s 9-1 team, nobody anticipated them losing in week 1 to Mooresville. Unfortunately for BNL, they get to suffer Bloomington North’s wrath. Could be another week in the single digits for them. The Cougars have won 5 in a row in this series and 16 of the last 17. They have the overall lead as well 23-14. Columbus East (0-1) at Columbus North (1-0): Heading into the season, I expected another Bull Dog win in this rivalry. After last week’s shocking beatdown of then-5A #1 Decatur Central, I’m thinking last year’s 41-0 loss to North might be exceeded this year. The Olympians still don’t have the personnel to compete as Columbus North looks to take the first four-game lead in the series since they last led the series by four games back in 2003. The Bull Dogs lead the series 28-25 and are looking for their fourth win in a row (as well as their eighth win in the last nine games). Floyd Central (0-1) at Terre Haute South (0-1): In what will be only the second match-up ever between the two teams, the Braves look to avenge last season’s loss in the final seconds to the Highlanders. And if vengeance isn’t enough of a motivator, FC also has a near three-hour bus ride factoring against them. Seems like a tall task, especially if what I’m hearing is true about Terre Haute South being pretty solid. Jeffersonville (0-1) at Seymour (1-0): In what has been the first game of the HHC schedule since 2000, the Owls are looking to win three straight in the series since winning five straight from 1998-2002. While the Red Devils played the much tougher Mid-State Conference opponent last week of the two, Seymour has a familiarity with its scheme and system that Jeff doesn’t have under first-year head coach Joe Washington. It’ll be interesting to see if the Red Devils are able to clean up on their mistakes in week 1 as they were whistled 15 times for 104 yards worth of penalties. Jeff leads the series 35-28-1. New Albany (0-1) vs South Bend Washington (0-1) (at Sheridan): We have another first time match-up as the Bulldogs and Panthers meet on Saturday at Sheridan High School. I really don’t know what to expect with this one. New Albany took a 47-6 drubbing against Franklin last week while South Bend Washington lost 28-24 to a Hammond Central team that’s only in its fourth year of existence. Therefore, I’m not sure how good they actually are and how they compare to New Albany. This is a complete shot in the dark pick but I’m going to take a risk and go with New Albany.

It’s hard for me to get a read on Terre Haute South because I don’t know how good Plainfield is. That was a close loss to Plainfield and the Quakers ended up getting ranked in one of the polls as a result. However, I’m not sure they get over .500 this year so was that really a good loss for the Braves? Meanwhile, you have Floyd Central who lost in typical blowout fashion to one of the top 5 teams in Kentucky in Louisville St. Xavier. Whether it’s St. X, Male, or Manual, it’s become a tradition for the Highlanders to take a whooping every year from a Louisville powerhouse or two. A 56-14 loss to St. X this year and a 52-13 loss to them last year despite FC going 8-2. Toughest game of the week to pick for both the CI and HHC threads. Could come down to the final seconds again like it did last year on a neutral field at BNL.

Week 2 Schedule Beech Grove (0-1) at Jennings County (0-1) #9 Bloomington North (0-1) at BNL (0-1) Columbus East (0-1) at Columbus North (1-0) Floyd Central (0-1) at Terre Haute South (0-1) Jeffersonville (0-1) at Seymour (1-0) New Albany (0-1) vs South Bend Washington (0-1) (at Sheridan)

So I know one of the Fishers coaches very well. He told me the final score doesn’t indicate how well Fishers played. Fishers took a 49-14 lead into halftime which meant a running clock in the second half. He said they (Fishers) put their second-stringers in to start the third thinking North Central would play their starters a series and then remove them for the rest of the game. However, North Central kept their starters in and scored two quick TDs to make it 49-28. The Fishers backup offense then drove down to around the North Central 30 before fumbling it away. Fishers put their starting defense back in but they were cold from sitting on the bench and gave up some big plays that led to a touchdown. With it 49-35, North Central went for an onside kick and recovered it. However, they threw an interception and the Fishers offense took knees to end the game.

HHC Pick ‘Em Standings (after week 1): @Impartial_Observer 7/7 @SPARKS 7/7 @Uncle Bubba 7/7 @Bluejacket1 6/7 @boilerfan87 6/7 @Bulldog15 6/7 @Fkfootball 6/7 @Frozen Tundra 6/7 @gonzoron 6/7 @LC_Bears_04 6/7 @Owls2005 6/7 @mamasa 5/7

Yeah I’m ready for you guys to stop playing those Louisville powerhouses. I just don’t see the upside to it. Even for me, it’s not fun seeing the blowout losses every time.

Please note that I’m liking your post because I have a great appreciation of devotion, hard work, and team play. I hate that it’s North doing this (lol) but I still appreciate buy-in.

Really wasn’t expecting much out of North this year. Figured they’d be 6-3 at best. Boy was I wrong. If tonight is any indicator, they’re legit and next week will be a slaughter.

Whiteland 27, Jeffersonville 13 Final South Dearborn 42, Jennings County 14 Final

Franklin 47, New Albany 6 Final Yeah our undersized line wasn’t going to last unfortunately

Seymour 23, Greenwood 20 Final

Bloomington South 27, Columbus East 6 Final

Martinsville 50 BNL 7 Final

7 yard TD run. 27-6 Bloomington South with 7:54 left

5 yard TD pass on the opening drive and Bloomington South leads 20-7 with 7:12 left in the 3rd

Whiteland 7, Jeffersonville 0 Half

Franklin 13, New Albany 6 Half

Halftime Scores Seymour 20, Greenwood 13 Martinsville 29, BNL 0

Bloomington South leads 13-6 at the half

3 yard QB keeper and East is on the board. PAT hits the post and fails. 13-6 with 2:59 left in the half.

South just nailed a 53 yard field goal. Wow! 13-0 with 9:38 left in the half