Frozen Tundra

Yes. Could be a good game (or JC could get smoked) because Jennings County isn’t good. The lack of talent and depth are very real issues for them.

Agreed. My hope is that enough schools can drop from 11-man to 8-man that some schools that don’t already have football may have the courage to try having 8-man teams. With the few 8-man teams we currently have, I think there’s a fear from some schools to take it on because of the travel required for it.

Apparently you didn’t read my last post before commenting

School populations are declining but they’re still big enough where this shouldn’t be an issue. In my opinion, there are several issues causing roster decline: 1. Year-round travel sports. Kids are playing baseball and basketball throughout the summer and sometimes into the fall on travel teams. There’s either no availability for football or they’re just looking for a break. 2. Parents/kids are turned off by the violent nature of football with CTE getting a lot of attention over the last 10-15 years. It’s a risk some aren’t willing to take. 3. Kids don’t care about sports as much today as they did in previous generations. I may be completely wrong here but, based on what I’ve observed, it seems to me that there was a higher percentage of the male student population that participated in sports (including football) in previous generations than there are today. I think too many kids get distracted by video games, streaming, and other screens. They’d rather sit on their butts and get fat/unhealthy staring at screens all day rather than breaking a sweat. Football used to have this aura where you were somebody if you were on the football team. It was like a right of passage to manhood. Nowadays, I don’t think this is true aside from the schools that have a tradition of success.

Just throwing out a number. Most of the football teams I see in person are 4A or higher so I have no idea what’s normal for 1A. I just get frustrated hearing about some teams constantly struggling to field teams. Maybe moving to 8-man football would alleviate that a bit. If we get enough 8-man teams then maybe it can be taken more seriously and we can have an IHSAA-sanctioned tournament for it.

I feel like there needs to be a minimum roster limit in order to play 11-man football. I don’t know what that number would be. 30, maybe? But if you don’t have the minimum then you have to play 8-man football for that particular year.

Crazy to me how much numbers have fallen over the last 10 to 20 years. Every school in the conference had JV and freshman teams back then. I think only two had a freshman team last year.

We’re all good. @Sparty was a good sport. Honestly didn’t mean anything hostile by it. Just my lame attempt at humor. Sometimes the intent doesn’t translate well in wording.

Eight teams. 5A has 33 just like 6A. Sorry. Had to jump in with my “Well actually…” moment again 😂

Don’t forget there are actually 33 teams in 6A this year. Doesn’t make it much better though. Your point is still true.

New Albany had their first ever winless season last year.

Big difference between 2A in football and 2A in every other sport. Hence why there are six classifications for football despite a smaller pool of schools.

Wow. Kind of crazy to hear that. Speaking of former HHC head coaches becoming assistant coaches, I’ve had it confirmed from numerous sources that two-time former Jennings County head coach Rick Zimmerman is back on the Panthers’ staff. His 2015 JC team went 6-4. That’s the only time since 1997 that Jennings County has had a winning record. Since leaving after the 2016 season, Zimmerman spent three years as the head coach at South Decatur, three years at Seymour as an assistant, and was the head coach at Rushville last year.

Good interview with Coach Campbell on the Columbus East Athletic Department Facebook page. For a young guy, he’s very well spoken and seems very knowledgeable. Will it translate on the field? We’ll see. With the offense they’re running, I’m sure it’s going to take time.

I understand a state title is the ultimate goal but not valuing conference championships as well is crazy. You should want to win every championship you can to prove you are the ultimate team.

https://outsidethehuddle.net/2026/07/21/homestead-girls-basketball-drops-four-sac-teams-from-2026-27-schedule/?fbclid=IwdGRleATNrmlwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR5xXhsCRgZjePyhpPCyMG0EQMixEP61-8APWcPxt5A9PUg5aDe07sjDw-FPdw_aem_NKaGXWtVL2EcevjewYDSUw I know this is basketball but what’s going on here? Is the SAC about to implode? We’ve seen games get dropped in football and now we’re seeing it in basketball. If you’re not going to play games against teams in your conference then that should get you kicked out of your conference.

I’ve also heard some say it eliminates the ability for the cash to be stolen. The less hands you have handling your money the less people you have to worry about breaking your trust. Despite all of that, I still prefer the old school ways. The horror stories are so few and far between.

The East fans were parents of players at the time or were fans that only hung around here when we were winning. I’m not going anywhere though. Not my style. I was here through all the winning and I’ll be here through the losing.

For context, you aren’t the only person that has hyped them up. You’re the first I’ve seen that has mentioned the number of D1 recruits they have though. Maybe someone else has mentioned it and I’ve missed it.

Nothing is wrong with it unless it becomes a pattern. Then it just gets old. I love seeing new teams in the mix of things at the end. It’s way more interesting to me than seeing the same old teams every year. However, when teams constantly get hyped but never come close to the expectations, it starts to feel like the boy who cried wolf. Maybe this is the year it’s actually legit. I hope so. But they really need to follow through on it because it’s getting old. Just my two cents.

It’s been at least five straight years of this. They get hyped up in the preseason about all the talent they have. The media and/or coaches rank them in the top 10 of their class. The fans buy into it. Then what happens? Aside from a good 8-3 season in 2022, absolutely nothing happens. No sectional titles since 1990. No conference titles since 2013. Maybe this is the year for them. If they really do have all these D1 players then that’s awesome. However, let’s see if they can get through sectional 19 first. Dwenger, East Noble, and Leo can make things tough.

With all due respect, y’all have to stop propping up Fort Wayne North Side like they’re some sort of state title threat. You’re making me dislike them like a certain someone makes me dislike Merrillville. Once they win a state title then have at it. Until then, it’s all just talk that they never live up to.

It’s hard for me to predict this season because four of the six teams have new coaches. If I recall, I think BNL lost a lot so predicting them is also hard. The only thing I feel pretty confident about is Floyd Central at #1.

39 days until scrimmages. 46 days until week 1 games. Crazy how quickly time is going. We’ll be back at it in no time.

You were until you posted this. Definitely unlocked a childhood memory of this song on the radio and on MTV.