Frozen Tundra

Time will tell. Coach Sharp really has the community excited. I've heard the student section is the best it's been in years. A freshmen football team has returned. Sharp is involving himself with the youth program. He's really trying to build it from the ground up. It'll take some time so we'll see if he, the student-athletes, and the community remain patient. I really do think he's exactly what the school and football program need.

Jennings County has a major problem of losing athletes to other schools too, and not just in football. Columbus East, Greensburg, South Decatur, Trinity Lutheran, and Brownstown Central are just some of the beneficiaries. The Decatur County schools (South Decatur and Greensburg) seem to be getting the largest amount of defectors.

Me- Approaching the podium, pulling out a written statement, and leaning into the microphone... "I would like to offer my sincere apologies to my HHC family for igniting the flames of conference realignment talk. I promise you that this wasn't my intention as I honestly thought my comment wouldn't go anywhere. I, too, am disgusted where it went as I also believe this conversation has been overly-discussed. Looking back on it, I see the error of my ways and will try to be mindful of my words before, during, and after I type them before clicking on the "submit reply" button. Nevertheless, I guess I could also say you're welcome. This thread seems to die from Sunday through Thursday anymore and now I know what exactly to post to bring everyone (including those we don't often see take part in the conversation) back in. However, in an effort to not be one of the infamous Gridiron Digest trolls, I will refrain from this practice and just hope meaningful discussions where everyone contributes can continue. Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America."

East tried to move to the Mid-State Conference but the MSC chose Perry Meridian to be the eighth member instead. Conference Indiana tried to get East to join but the drive to Terre Haute wasn't economical for them and the conference seems to lack stability. East has done the best they can with scheduling given their situation. Columbus North is a quality opponent and can't be dropped regardless because of the rivalry. Greenwood was the season opener from 1997-2011. They used to be a quality opponent but really fell off when Rick Wimmer left after 2005. Bloomington North replaced them from 2012-2017 and was supposed to be a step up but they only ended up having one winning season during that span. Whiteland has been the season opener since last year and that's definitely no easy task, especially with the offensive scheme they run. Pickerington Central, one of the top Ohio programs, was brought in for week 3 this year. The consolidated Elkhart High School will be the week 3 opponent next year. So the schedule has definitely picked up in the non-conference portion. If schedule-strength made a difference anyway then somebody forgot to tell East. 2004-2018 produced ten semi-state appearances, three state championship appearances, and two state titles. The jump up to 5A in 2015 didn't make a difference. Some big name programs fell to East in that 15 year time-frame despite having played much tougher schedules. Normally, I'd agree that a tough schedule sharpens a team and helps them improve by learning their weaknesses. However, if you have a great coach, you're going to improve and be ready for any challenge at your door. Just ask New Palestine. I agree that 6A is a different beast entirely but would a tougher conference affiliation really make a difference? No team outside of the big four in the MIC has won a 6A state title since that classification began in 2013. If you go back to the pre-6A days, Fishers is the only non-big 4 MIC team to have won a state title at the highest level this millennium.

That's true. But when Jennings County and Madison complained about having to play every HHC team in football, my response would've been to suck it up or leave. My next move would be to try and find one or two other schools to replace them to avoid non-conference scheduling difficulties. If that didn't work out then I'd be contacting Conference Indiana to work out a similar scheduling deal with them like they have with the Circle City Conference. Many HHC teams have or have had a history of playing CI teams anyway.

If you have a conference with no divisions then I think you should play everyone. Divisions should only be in conferences with ten teams or more at the high school level. Therefore, the problem with this conference isn't a full schedule. It's that a couple of schools don't pull their weight and compete. Not just talking just football either.

What exactly do you mean?

Weeks 1 and 2 for sure will be non-conference games with the option to use weeks 3 or 6 as the third non-conference game. However, I did hear it rumored that the six-game conference format will end after next year. Not sure the reason why or if that it's even 100% fact.

And how about the job he's done so far this year? My goodness. After all the kids they lost to graduation from last year's team, it's like they haven't missed a beat. The win over Monroe Central was an eye-opener. Looking forward to their week 6 match-up with South Adams. Hopefully everyone stays healthy on both teams.

I believe I said a "Kyle Ralph-led New Palestine squad". So that's only three. I was very careful with how I phrased it. lol

I'm going to go with Kurt Tippmann. You don't hear his name thrown out there much outside of northeast Indiana (at least I don't) but he's in season 11 as a head coach (all at Snider) and has a 110-24 record. Of all the current coaches out there that have coached 10+ years, only four have won 80% of their games or more (Tippmann, Reed May of Brownstown Central, Brian Moore of Parke Heritage, and Cory Yeoman of Penn). Tippmann's Snider Panthers are in the third toughest conference in the state and he's one of three head coaches that have knocked off a Kyle Ralph-led New Palestine squad. Add in a 2015 5A state title and he's at the top of my list. Hard to deny what he's done.

I agree with everything except the last three. I'd put BNL at #6, Jennings County at #7, and Madison at #8. Madison's win against BNL was a fluke. Jennings County should prove that when they beat Madison on Friday night.

Ok. So I fear you think I'm implying p/p schools (such as Luers) recruit. That's not what I'm saying at all. Most of that is just unfounded speculation. I only know of one p/p school in which evidence would suggest recruiting does take place but it's not located in Fort Wayne. That's another story though. So when I talk about advantages, there are many kinds. School size is one. The bigger the pool of students the better your chances of fielding a team with good athletes. Coaching is another advantage. If you and I were to magically have two teams of equal playing ability but the head coach of your team was Urban Meyer and the coach of my team was Gerry DiNardo then you're going to have the advantage there. Economic status is an advantage. Rich kids have more advantages than poor kids due to the wider amount of resources they're able to afford to help improve their playing abilities (i.e.- club athletics, personal trainers/coaches, etc.). Some communities in this state are known for their wealth and, therefore, the public schools within those communities contain a higher number of wealthy students/student-athletes in comparison to schools in other communities.. Tradition is an advantage. There's a reason why kids would rather play football at Michigan than at Rutgers. P/P has advantages. 1. Lord knows it's not cheap going to a school like that. It's definitely more expensive than a public school. Yes, I know there are scholarships available for some students but, overall, p/p schools have an economic advantage over a majority of public schools. 2. That doesn't just include the students. A p/p school that isn't hurting for money can afford better coaches. 3. P/P schools also have the advantage of choosing what students attend their schools. Except in extreme circumstances, public schools can't deny a student that wants to enroll. This is especially advantageous for P/P schools when competing against public schools of a similar enrollment, most particularly if the P/P school has a smaller enrollment. A small, exclusive pool of wealthy students against a small school from a poor, rural area can be an ugly match-up. There might be more advantages than what I listed but these are the big three that come to mind. Now there's no guarantee that these advantages listed above (or any others I missed) will lead a school (public or p/p) to success but at least the door is there for them. Not every school can say that. As far as my original post is concerned, I could've worded it a little better. I said: "...but it's hard to overcome the size and tradition of a Snider, Homestead, Carroll, or Dwenger or the advantages of being a private school like a Luers, Concordia, and Dwenger." I should've said: "...but it's hard to overcome the size of a Snider, Homestead, or Carroll; the tradition of a Snider, Dwenger, or Luers; or the advantages of being a private school like a Luers, Concordia, or Dwenger." To sum it all up, Luers has 11 state titles in football which is the third-most in Indiana behind two other p/p schools (Cathedral and Chatard). All 11 of Luers' state titles came at the 2A level so they are definitely a dominant force among the smaller schools in the state. But Luers is also successful in the SAC despite being the smallest school. If you were to replace Luers in the SAC with any other 2A school, do you think that school would succeed on a consistent basis? Maybe a handful would. Would they replicate or exceed Luers' success? Highly doubtful. That's because the advantages of being a private school and a traditional power has allowed Luers to succeed in a conference competing against much larger (school size) competition. As the bigger schools keep getting bigger, Luers is still able to compete. I know their football numbers have shrunk the last couple of years but here are the facts. Over the last 15 years, Luers has averaged a fourth-place finish in the SAC. That's the fourth-best out of the 12 schools that have been in the SAC during that time frame (behind Snider, Dwenger, and Homestead). If you only include the eight schools that have been in the SAC over the last 15 years then Luers is the third-best. So the smallest school in the conference has been better than two-thirds of its SAC competition. So please don't tell me Luers doesn't have advantages. It's not a bad thing. A lot of schools have them, public or p/p. And these advantages are why I believe Luers belongs in the SAC, despite whatever @DT says. He's only looking at a small sample size. And in the sample size he's looking at, Luers has never finished in the bottom half of the conference.

I'm a friend with someone who covers Fort Wayne area football, especially the SAC. Also, dozens of people read my post and never commented to say I was wrong. You're the only one. So maybe you don't know or just aren't understanding what I said.

I'll agree with you there. I'm stunned by the result. Heck, I was going to be stunned if they had won by three TDs or less. But to lose? Just crazy.

Losing a lot of key players off of last year's team has to factor in a bit though.

HHC Pick 'Em Standings: 1. @boilerfan87 19/20 (.950) 2. @Frozen Tundra 17/20 (.850) 3. @mamasa 8/12 (.667) 4. @starbacker 4/7 (.571) Week 4 Predictions: Jeffersonville (1-2, 1-0 HHC) at Columbus East (1-2, 0-0 HHC): The Red Devils seem to be acclimating to the new coach quicker than I thought they would. A 32-13 win against rival New Albany is quite impressive. Does this mean they're a top-half HHC team? Time will tell. However, they're playing an Olympian team coming off an impressive performance against one of the top teams in the country. East has won 15 straight against Jeff and I think that streak continues. East wins comfortably. Madison (0-3, 0-1 HHC) at Bedford North Lawrence (1-2, 1-0 HHC): The Stars found the offense last week when they wiped the floor (or grass) with Jennings County. They should be able to find the offense again this week as the Cubs have given up 117 points so far this season. BNL wins by at least four touchdowns. New Albany (1-2, 0-1 HHC) at Floyd Central (2-1, 0-0 HHC): It's really weird seeing the Highlanders open up their HHC schedule with the Bulldogs when they've closed the regular season with them every year since 1985. Nevertheless, this is a good rivalry with Floyd Central having won the last four games in the series and taking a 27-23 lead. I made the mistake of picking against FC last week. I think they're the better team here. Floyd Central wins. Seymour (3-0, 1-0 HHC) at Jennings County (1-2, 0-1 HHC): So we go from a good, tight rivalry to a rivalry that is anything but tight. The Owls hold the 43-10 advantage in this series and have won the last four (all by double digits). The Panthers have shown they can put up points as they've scored 91 thus far (second-most in the HHC behind Seymour's 107). However, the Panthers have given up the most points at 130 while Seymour has given up the least at 54. Like BNL, Seymour gets to slaughter one of the two teams from the Railroad Rivalry for a second week in a row. The Owls get the blowout win.

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If anyone would want to leave the SAC, it would be Northrop, Wayne, North Side, or South Side. They might have a good season once or twice a decade but it's hard to overcome the size and tradition of a Snider, Homestead, Carroll, or Dwenger or the advantages of being a private school like a Luers, Concordia, and Dwenger. I think Northrop has the potential to be on that level and compete due to their size, but there's just not a lot of wiggle room to move up unless you have the perfect storm of good players and coaches.

Dang. I didn't even know Cam Wilson transferred from Illinois State. You can tell I don't follow college football much.

Found the rest of the scores on Twitter: Floyd Central beats Vincennes Lincoln 28-12 Jeffersonville beats New Albany 32-13 Congrats to @boilerfan87. A perfect 5/5 in HHC pick 'em this week!

The radio broadcast of the East game said Seymour was up 34-7 on Madison. Not sure what point of the game that score was but I'm thinking they said halftime.

Unbelievable effort. I was so wrong about my prediction but I'm completely ok with that. I think Pickerington Central might be a bit overrated but their defense is one of the best I've ever seen. This was a great momentum-builder going into conference play next week.

I really think it's going to be ugly for us. I just want to get through it without injury and move on to HHC play.

Week 3 Predictions I'm 14-1 after two weeks. My beloved Olympians let me down to keep me from that perfect record. Oh well. The conference schedule begins this week as six of the eight teams will battle their HHC foes. On the contrary, Columbus East and Floyd Central finish out their non-conference schedules. Jennings County (1-1) at Bedford North Lawrence (0-2): The Stars haven't looked good after two weeks so you'd think that this would be a golden opportunity for the Panthers to capitalize. Alas, Jennings County still has some work to do after surviving a shootout with a lowly Brown County team last week. BNL will find their offense this week and their defense will have a less challenging time when they attempt to stop a weaker opponent. BNL wins. New Albany (1-1) at Jeffersonville (0-2): This may be a better game than I originally thought. The Bulldogs are coming off a game in which they got thumped by a good Castle team whereas the Red Devils gave Seymour a battle before falling. The question, though, is whether or not Seymour is any good. Regardless, New Albany has won the last three games in this series vs their Louisville metro rival and I think it continues. New Albany gets the W. Pickerington Central (OH) (1-0) at Columbus East (1-1): The Olympians are coming off a game in which they were dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball by Columbus North's huge lines. It only gets worse as the Tigers' lines are even bigger than North's. Since East's rise to prominence in 2004, they have only lost by 20 or more six times (four times to Cathedral, once to Columbus North, and once to Whiteland). Unfortunately, I think we're about to add a seventh as Pickerington Central ranks fifth in Ohio Division 1 football and is listed as #67 nationally by Maxpreps. Folks, it's going to get ugly and I just hope nobody gets hurt. The Tigers get the lopsided win. Seymour (2-0) at Madison (0-2): The Owls beat South Dearborn 30-26 in week 1. South Dearborn beat the Cubs 34-0 in week 2. 'Nuff said. Seymour rolls to an easy victory. Vincennes Lincoln (1-1) at Floyd Central (1-1): The Alices are a pretty decent 3A school. They were 9-2 in 2017 and 8-3 last year. The Highlanders are a team on the rise but haven't hit their ceiling yet. This is a very tough game to call and I think it could go either way. However, I'm leaning 51/49 towards Vincennes Lincoln. If this game was later in the year then I'd pick Floyd Central but I think the Alices are slightly better. We'll see if that two hour drive affects them at all but Vincennes Lincoln is my pick.