Frozen Tundra

It only makes me nervous when everyone picks the same teams. I remember every analyst picking my Packers to beat the 49ers in the playoffs last year. We all saw how that turned out.

Lol. Looks like the picks are unanimous this week. Everybody has picked the same teams.

Week 8 Predictions Bedford North Lawrence (4-3) at Madison (3-4): I’m honestly surprised this series is still being played. I figured the only link Madison would have to the HHC once they left would be with Jennings County (their main rival). Instead, this game is being played for a 26th straight year and for the 35th time overall. The Stars lead the series 30-4. The Cubs did get a one point win back in 2019 but, as you can see, wins against BNL don’t come often for them. I don’t expect to see them get another one tomorrow night. BNL romps them. Floyd Central (3-4, 2-2 HHC) at Jennings County (1-6, 0-4 HHC): Speaking of one-sided series, the Highlanders lead this one 41-7 and have won the last six. It’s crazy to think the Panthers once led this series 5-3 but have only won two games since 1984. Even if Floyd Central has a letdown game this week, they’re still the better team. I think they’ll fare better than Seymour did last week against Jennings County. Floyd Central wins by at least 21. Jeffersonville (1-5, 0-4 HHC) at Columbus East (3-4, 3-1 HHC): The Olympians lead this series 30-11 and have won the last 18. During that 18 game streak, the Red Devils have only scored 8 or more points six times and have only scored 15 or more points three times. While I think they have the athletes to give this East team a scare, I always question their consistency and ability to stay disciplined. East certainly has its fair share of problems but I feel safer taking them in this game. East wins. Seymour (5-2, 4-1 HHC) at New Albany (2-5, 2-2 HHC): After looking into the series history between these two teams, I realized @Impartial_Observer wasn’t kidding when he recently stated New Albany historically has given Seymour problems. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 27-12 and have won the last six games. Therefore, how apropos is it that the only team standing between the Owls and their first HHC championship since 2001 is a New Albany team that has given them more trouble lately than any other? Nevertheless, this New Albany team gives up a ton of points. Defensively, they’re the worst team in the conference and I think Seymour takes advantage of that. Seymour wins.

Week 8 games

HHC Pick ‘Em Standings (after week 7) @LC_Bears_04 27/33 @Frozen Tundra 26/33 @boilerfan87 25/33 @Owls2005 24/33 @mamasa 23/33 @Olympian06 24/29 (.828) @Uncle Bubba 16/21 (.762) @swcgillespie 14/20 (.700) @Fkfootball 5/8 (.625)

This area just hasn’t been influenced by football. There hasn’t been a pro team or a good college team to steer the kids away from other sports like there has in other areas of the state. Northern Indiana had Notre Dame. Northwest Indiana had the Bears. Central Indiana has the Colts. Southeast Indiana had the Bengals. Southwest Indiana had one of the original NFL franchises in the Evansville Crimson Giants. You also had pro teams in Hammond and Muncie. The influence of football is or has been pretty much everywhere in Indiana except in south-central Indiana. We just had IU basketball and Louisville basketball (or Kentucky basketball if you were annoying).

I don’t want to make a blanket statement and say every HHC football team’s players aren’t putting in the effort. Just look at the schools from a historical perspective. Six of them have little to no history of success in football. The seventh team has a ton of historical success but has gone through unsuccessful periods themselves. We need to remember the HHC is not a football conference. I don’t know if I’m reaching here but I think there’s a possibility that the geographic area the HHC footprint lies can somewhat explain why this isn’t a football-loving area. The schools sit near or in between Bloomington and Louisville. Think about that for a moment. What’s the significance there? Historically, it isn’t football.

Nobody stepped up. East just fell back to the pack.

New Albany 27 Jeffersonville 20 Final

Bloomington North 24 Columbus East 7 Final

Bloomington North 24 Columbus East 7 End of 3

Jennings County 14 Seymour 6 End of 3

New Albany 13 Jeffersonville 6 Half

Columbus East 7 Bloomington North 7 Half

Jennings County 7 Seymour 6 Half

Still need this week’s picks from @Olympian06 and @Owls2005

Week 7 Predictions Bloomington North (3-3) at Columbus East (3-3): From 2012-2017, these two teams opened their seasons against one another with the Olympians winning all six games. Prior to that, they last played in 1998 which is the last time you can find a Cougar win. In total, East leads the series 12-4. As for tomorrow night, East’s winning streak is in jeopardy. While I cannot tell you firsthand what Bloomington North has personnel-wise, I have to believe they aren’t lacking in size and skill. They may not be the biggest or the most athletic, but any bit of either is enough to give East’s offense problems. Last week is a prime example of why East needs to put up points to be successful. As a matter of fact, East is 1-19 since 2007 when they score less than 20 points. East’s defense is good but I don’t think the offense will do their part. Bloomington North wins. Floyd Central (3-3, 2-1 HHC) at Bedford North Lawrence (3-3, 3-1 HHC): The Highlanders have won four straight against the Stars and lead the all-time series 29-23. It’ll be interesting to see how Floyd Central performs in this game after such a huge win last week. Will they be level-headed and not take BNL for granted? I believe their approach to this game will decide the winner. Considering how they’ve performed thus far, it’s hard to go against them now. Floyd Central is my pick. Jennings County (1-5, 0-3 HHC) at Seymour (3-3, 3-1 HHC): Of all the HHC rivalries, it doesn’t get any more lopsided than this one. The Owls hold a 46-10 advantage and have won seven straight in the series. The Panthers haven’t even won two in a row against them since the 70s. There isn’t much to say here as I expect it to be a bloodbath. Seymour wins big. New Albany (1-5, 1-2 HHC) at Jeffersonville (1-4, 0-3 HHC): Another rivalry game, although this one is much better, as the Red Devils lead the series 41-36-2. The teams have traded wins the last four games and I wouldn’t be surprised if that continues this year. Jeff finally got in the win column last week after stifling Silver Creek and now they have a good chance of getting into the HHC win column this week. For the Bulldogs, this game is their best shot at picking up a second conference win. However, if Jeff stays poised and disciplined then they should be fine. I’m taking Jeff.

Week 7 games

Apologies to BNL and their fans. We have completely overlooked the fact they only have one loss as well.

Yeah I think the lack of skill guys was very evident last night. It’s why I wasn’t critical of this loss like I was the first two. Granted, Whiteland and Columbus North were much tougher opponents. The issue I had, though, was the mismanagement of substitutions that either led to penalties or unnecessary timeouts. That seems to have gotten cleaned up since then. I try not to be critical but it’s hard. I was spoiled watching East dominate the HHC for 17 years. 13 of those years they were a threat to be a semi-state team at the very least. Even during the run, we all knew it could come to an end at any time but we didn’t expect it to go on as long as it did. I think that makes it harder. Nevertheless, nothing ever stays the same and context matters. I’m trying to be better and I think I have been. While this team likely won’t make it far in the tournament, I’m at least going to enjoy how the rest of the regular season goes. I think it’s going to be fun seeing three teams chase at least a share of an HHC championship. It hasn’t been this competitive in a long time. 2006 was the last time a conference championship was shared. 1990 was the last time it was shared by three teams.

HHC Pick ‘Em Standings (after week 6) @LC_Bears_04 25/29 @Frozen Tundra 24/29 @Olympian06 24/29 @boilerfan87 23/29 @Owls2005 22/29 @mamasa 21/29 @Uncle Bubba 14/17 (.824) @swcgillespie 14/20 (.700) @Fkfootball 5/8 (.625)

Yes. Both are 3-1 while Floyd Central is 2-1.

I’m not too confident in East though. They have the toughest remaining conference schedule of the three and I believe could end up losing either or both of their final two HHC games. East Week 8 - vs Jeffersonville Week 9 - at BNL Floyd Central Week 7 - at BNL Week 8 - at Jennings County Week 9 - vs New Albany Seymour Week 7 - vs Jennings County Week 8 - at New Albany Seymour has the easiest remaining schedule. They play the two worst teams in the conference. It’s their HHC championship to lose.

Kudos to you for actually meeting with them. That took balls. Lol

Bloomington North 49 New Albany 7 Final