00NWP

Week 1 has finally arrived and I feel like the NLC standings may look a bit different than the have the last couple of years. This 1st week, I will predict how the league will finish just to see how far off I am at the end of the season. Here are my week 1 thoughts / predictions: Fairfield at Goshen: I don't like this game nor do I think Goshen should schedule it. I understand the "rivalry", however, it does nothing for Goshen other than bring their spirits down if they lose. This year...I see Goshen doing what Goshen should be doing in this game. I feel like Goshen will be better than the last couple of years and may win a few games this year. Goshen 21 Fairfield 14 North at Northridge: Last year FW North had a lot of hype at the beginning of the year and that tapered off. While I don't think NR will be great this year, I do feel they will win Friday. NR 28 FW North 14 Michigan City at Warsaw: I don't think I am the only person who thinks Warsaw will be good this year. In my opinion...Warsaw will be very good. Call me crazy, but I think Warsaw will roll through the NLC without much competition. I would even say I would take the over under with Warsaw against Warren Central. Warsaw may also have one of the easiest paths to make it to Indy in 5A. With that said I don't see MC being much of an issue for Warsaw. Warsaw 35 MC 7 Mishawaka at Marian: While I do think Marian will be better this year and Mishawaka will be down...Mishawaka should handle them with ease. Mishawaka 28 Marian 7 NorthWood at Jimtown: Kind of like the game before...I think NW is going to have a decent year, however, not as good as the previous two seasons...a lot of graduation. I think it will take a couple of games for NW to find itself this year. Jimtown is trending up and I do feel they will be playing for a conference championship...however, I do not believe they will get Doc Abel's bag this year. NW 28 Jimtown 7 Twin Lakes at Plymouth: Plymouth will be improved this year and may win a couple of games. I have no idea what to think or say about Twin Lakes so I am going with the NLC choice. Plymouth 21 TL 14? Wawasee at Tippy Valley: Wawasee...its going to be a long fall down in Syracuse. I understand the history with the NLC and the "good old days" when they used to be in the mix...but I feel like its time for them to move on to a conference where they can compete. Where? I don't know...will they...No. Tippy Valley will be playing for a conference championship...with their awful uniforms. Tippy Valley 35 Wawasee 6 Here are my conference predictions: Warsaw Concord NorthWood Mishawaka Northridge Goshen Plymouth Wawasee

I remember watching Mevis some years ago...it was pouring rain during the game and while all the players were in for halftime, he was on the field the entire time kicking 40 plus yards in terrible weather. And if i remember correctly...Warsaw had another kicker right beside him doing the exact same thing.

NorthWood started demoing their field this week and will have turf starting next year as well. That leaves Concord as the only school in the NLC with natural grass.

It appears that NorthWood and Mishawaka are getting turf this off season. With only Concord keeping a grass playing field. Do we think that will be an advantage for Concord? Does anyone know if Concord is talking about turf, as it would make sense with their band being really good. Also, how does everyone like having 3 misdirection offenses this upcoming year (i would assume Wawasee is going to switch their offense with the new coach)?

NorthWood had all three levels last year. Out of curiosity...NorthWood allowed the freshmen team to practice with the upperclassmen throughout the playoffs if they chose to and travel with the team. Do other schools do the same? With NW going to State, that may be a once and a life time opportunity to be on a professional field. Also, you can tell on NorthWood who the freshmen are by the lack of decals on their helmets.

Doesn't Mishawka loose pretty much all of their Offense and Defense lines....their quarterback...and most of their linebackers? Not trying to ruffle feathers....but I fear they will not fair well next year. NorthWood is in the same boat. Their entire offense minus their running back is gone. I am really curious as to how NW and Mishawaka's younger fellas play...and I hope they do well...I just don't see it happening. Warsaw has just about everyone coming back...as does Concord.

I could see Mishawaka wanting to stay in 5A this cycle as they will have a very young team next year. Who are the 5a powerhouses in the north? If Valpo drops...that would be about it in the North with Snider moving up to 6a. I would take my chances with 5a until the younger fellas get some playing time. Either way, I don't see this being a great year for the cavemen. With that said, I think it will be a down year in general for the NLC schools...excluding Warsaw...they are going to be a tough team to beat next year.

Some thoughts on the NLC next year. I think next year we will see completely different teams in the NLC next year outside of Warsaw. NorthWood / Mishawaka / Northridge will be losing a lot of their star players. Mishawaka is going to be dealing with a lot of young guys on the line as well as a new quarterback to run that offense. NorthWood is losing...to be frank...everyone...all of their skill players outside of their running back is graduating. Most of their line is graduating...their DB's are graduating. I don't know what to expect from NW next year and they will look completely different. Northridge has a quarterback with some playing time coming back and a sold running back coming back, however, they too are losing a lot. Goshen..who knows what is happening with that program. Wawasee...i don't know a lot about their program, however, they made improvements this past year. Plymouth will be the most improved in my opinion. They were a young team and the guys coming up had more success in their younger years. Concord will be much better next year and will compete for the title next year. Warsaw...they will hands down be the best team in the NLC...they were young this year, and were the cream of the crop. I would even go as far in saying I believe they will make noise in the tournament next year. My way too early guess for next year: Warsaw Concord Northridge Mishawaka NorthWood Plymouth Wawasee Goshen

Out of curiosity...with Chatard moving up to 4A. Will they move back to the South...or stay in the North?

Bold score there...that means you think NW is the one of the worst teams EC has faced all year.

NW lost to Northridge the first time around as they didn't run the ball...at all. That was an issue in the first half of the season. Since that loss, they have realized that they actually can have some success in the running game...which has opened up the passing game. Warsaw...that game was interesting. They were in that game...until turnovers in the second half. That was a pretty bad game...Warsaw hands down played a great game that week. I know people say...you haven't seen EC play...and I haven't...I will say DB is by far the hardest position to play at any level of football. I think NW's passing game will be effective as rarely does a high school have more than 2 maybe 3 good DB's. I'm not saying NW will win this game..I am saying, that they have the ability to keep up with EC scoring. If NW can at least slow down EC running game and make them pass the ball a bit more...that could cause turnovers...and that is what NW will need to keep it close.

So I have not seen East Central play this year, but I went and found highlights that were available. It appeared that EC runs the ball...a lot. Is that because they are just beating teams and are killing clock, or are they a passing threat as well? I ask because if you look at NW...they have had success packing the box to stop the run...ie Mishawaka / New Prairie / Leo and letting the DB's do their jobs. If they are a "run" team will they adjust to passing? I ask because some teams die on that hill. I remember in the 05-06 State game with NW and Chatard...Chatard refused to pass the ball. I know people always bring up that NW team as...the worst team to win State...but those that followed NW that year knew they could not defend a pass...however...were very good at stopping the run. Everyone they faced in the playoffs were run heavy offenses. If that is the case with EC...I like NW's odds of slowing that run game down.

I don't see much wrong with the list. Dare I say that I would move Decatur Central and NorthWood above Snider...yes...I said it. I would say BD is the best team in the State this year. I may flip HH and Lutheran as well...but that would be a toss up to me.

The past couple of weeks...New Prairie and Leo, Nitro has been their main focus. With that being said our tight end and other receivers have gotten a lot more attention from the passing game. It has also opened NW's running game (that part of their game was missing at the beginning of the season). Nitro will get open eventually as will Edmonds on offense. Edmonds and Nitro are used in the run game occasionally, however, our RB and QB get the majority of the carries. Both Nitro, Edmonds and our quarterback (Roeder) play DB and do a really good job on that side of the ball. I can't recall Edmonds blitzing at all this year...he is a cover guy who knows how to tackle. I am assuming that NW will load the box on Saturday and rely on those players to cover their wideouts hoping to win those battles...and slow EC's run game.

I guess I'm curious as to why you say in 4A...East Central and who. I dont know if you have looked at the teams that have played in the State Finals in the last couple of years...but there are no repeat visitors...until this year. 4A has been dominated by those schools in Indy...and to be fair...alot of those year where public schools made appearances...the private schools moved classes. I feel as if you are putting EC in a category that it does not quite belong yet.

I may not chose NW to win outright...but I would take that 29.5 all day. I think they may suprise some people.. I saw in this thread that someone thought EC would barley beat Snider in 5A. With that said...it took Snider a last minute field goal to beat Mishawaka...NorthWood did in fact beat that same Mishawaka team...just throwing that out there.

As an outsider to EC as well as to most 6a schools...We will never know if EC can handle a Ben Davis or a Westfield or any other year in and year out 6a contender...as they would never schedule EC. There would be zero benefit to scheduling EC for them. If they won that game, everyone would say...why would you schedule a 4a team...it does nothing to prepare for the tournament. If they lost that game, it would do nothing but hurt them in their "we are the best team in the State" conversation. There is a reason class football exists. A 6a school should be able to beat a 4a school...that's not always the case as there are many threads on the GID about private schools...inner city schools...ect. Now in regard to the game Saturday...here are my thoughts. East Central is by far the favorite in this game...as they would be against any 4a team this year. They are a great football team that does everything well. The only way NorthWood keeps this game close is doing what they did against Mishawaka. In that game, NorthWood was able to score with them and put together long drives. I believe NW will be able to score against East Central as they have weapons all over on offense. Against Leo, they were able to use the weapons not named Nitro, as Leo was prepared for that. NW spread the ball all over to everyone and with the threat of passing opened up the run game. Do I think EC has a better defense than Leo...yes I do. Do I think you can cover 4 viable receiving options every play while defending a pretty good run game...that's difficult. I do not think NW will be able to stop EC's offense...maybe slow them down a little. This will be a high scoring game with both teams needing to control the clock. NorthWood will need to receive the kickoff (as someone else stated) and attempt to have EC play catch up. Im not a betting man...and i would never place money on NW winning this game...but I think they will suprise some people and keep this game a lot closer than most think.

This may have been answered on some thread somewhere on the GID...but who are the announcers on said stream for Semi State games. Are they local to the area of the game, or provided by the IHSAA?

NorthWood has a stream throughout the year, however, the Friday evenings this year have great for in person. I will be at the NW at Leo game.

This game will come down to one thing for both teams...their defenses. NorthWood's D Line will have to come to play and Leo'd DB's will have to come to play. Whichever defense can address those spots will take the victory. NorthWood's D Line has played way better toward the end of the season...no one thought they would preform that well against New Prairie's 9 man front (also...I have never seen a team run a 9 man front the entire game...super odd). NW's DBs are also their wide receivers, so I am not too concerned with defending a passing game. Leo has a tough task defending a solid group at receiver for NW. NorthWood seems to be focusing on their running game as of late as well...making teams prepare for more than an arena football game. Leo seems to be an all around good team..both running and passing. The weather looks great Friday night, so a good kicking game may too play a role. Side note...I also very much appreciate Leo having visiting consession stands...with that hot chocolate...I think only Mishawaka does that in the NLC.

I'm shocked that Mishawaka didn't put in turf when they did the updates a few years back. Their field gets pretty messy towards the end of the year (but they may like it that way). The same with NorthWood...I would have assumed they could have gotten a great deal on turf when they put in the baseball / softball complex. This year, NW's field looks pretty beat up to years past. I think its only Mishawaka, NW and Concord that still play on grass in the NLC.

I'm at a loss as to Goshen's struggles. They have wonderful facilities, they have more fans (some very loud) than a lot of other teams. They have a lot of kids at the school. I have said in the past...soccer can not be pulling that many people away from football. No lineman is playing soccer...too much running. I've also notice this with their wrestling. Not saying they don't have the numbers in wrestling as they are on par with most other NLC school...they just don't have the same fight as they used too.

It was Bronson Yoder...he was all everything for NorthWood for a few years. He is having a great career at William and Mary with this being his senior year.

That's too bad for the Goshen Community. I felt like with the right coaching Goshen would make some headway in their program. If anyone was going to do it, it would have been Wogomon. He is a great coach and I know everyone whom has played for him has nothing but the upmost respect for him. Not just as a coach but as a person. I hope Goshen can find a replacement of his caliber.

NE8_Fan...I like the fireworks comment. I am not sure if you were at the game in 2020, however, in 30ish years of following NorthWood football, that is the 1st and only time I have ever seen a police officer escort a NW fan from the field. Not a shinning moment for a parent / fan, however, it did get interesting toward the end of that game.