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Only 1 real shocker to me last week. I wasn't expecting the Mishawka / Northridge score. The other games went pretty much as expected. On to a week where I feel 3 of the 4 will be entertaining. Concord at Warsaw: This game will test Warsaw's secondary and I feel we will know a lot more about their squad after Friday. Concord played about as good as they could against NW's offense. I feel like Warsaw being home will get that running game going and will win an entertaining game. Warasaw 28 Concord 14 Goshen at Mishawaka: Its going to be a long season for the boys in Goshen. Mishawaka had a great comeback game and took care of business against a good Northridge team. Its going to be a bad evening for Goshen. Mishawaka 49 Goshen 0 Northridge at Northwood: Northridge's didn't fare well last week and will probably come back and give it their all this week (like Mishawaka after Penn). NorthWood did what everyone thought they would last week at Concord. This series is an interesting one, NorthWood typically has Northridge's number and then its vise virsa in the playoffs. This year may be different as I don't see Northridge's secondary keeping up with NW's offense (and the weather is supposed to be great this Friday). I think it will be a high scoring game as NW's run defense still suspect and NR will have some running success. Ill take NW at home. NW 49 NR 35 Plymouth at Wawasee: Two streaks will be lengthen...Wawasee will have a 2 game win streak and Plymouth will have a 3 game loosing streak. I still feel as if this will be a close game. I don't have a lot to say here other than I hope both teams make strides to get better! Wawasee 24 Plymouth 17

1. Hamilton Southeastern @ Fishers 2. New Albany @ Bedford North Lawrence 3. Anderson @ Marion 4. Greenfield-Central @ Pendleton Heights 5. Guerin Catholic @ Brebeuf Jesuit 6. Fort Wayne Luers @ Fort Wayne Wayne 7. Tri-West @ Western Boone 8. Heritage @ South Adams 9. North Judson @ Knox 10. Linton-Stockton @ Sullivan 11. Bremen @ Triton

1. Merrillville @ Crown Point 2. Franklin @ Perry Meridian 3. Decatur Central @ Whiteland 4. Chesterton @ Michigan City 5. Wawasee @ Goshen 6. DeKalb @ New Haven 7. Yorktown @ New Palestine 8. Lafayette Central Catholic @ Hamilton Heights 9. Forest Park @ Tell City 10. Triton Central @ Indianapolis Lutheran 11. Cloverdale @ Brown County

I don't think there were any shockers in the last week's scores. I was pulling for Wawasee to get that win...but it didn't work out. On to week 3 and conference games! Wawasee at Goshen: Oddly enough, this may end up being a good game. Two teams, not doing so well, battling it out. I would normally take the home team in this game...but I will stick with Wawasee...eventually they will prove me right and win a game. Wawasee 17 Goshen 10 Warsaw at Plymouth: Not a whole lot to say about this game. I know Warsaw's offense hasn't gotten going as of yet, however, they had good opposition in the first two weeks. I think we may see a running clock in this one. Warsaw 49 Plymouth 7 Mishawaka at Northridge: Mishawaka had a great 1st drive against Penn...and well...that was about it. Northridge took a little bit to get going, but then looked good. This game will come down to mistakes. If Mishawaka can limit their mistakes (turnovers / false starts) I think they would be favored. I don't think that will happen, and will take Northridge at home. Northridge 28 Mishawaka 14 NorthWood at Concord: I don't really have a gauge on Concord as of yet...nor NorthWood. Concord has played a common opponent in Jimtown, and I believe NorthWood played them better. NorthWood has no run game...eventually they will have to figure that out and their defense is actually preforming better than I thought they would. It is in my opinion, that DB is the hardest position in high school. With NorthWood having 3 good wideouts, it is going to be difficult for teams to cover everyone and I don't think anyone in the NLC will stop the passing attack. With that said, I think NorthWood takes this game fairly easily. NorthWood 38 Concord 14

1. Cathedral @ Brownsburg 2. Homestead @ Noblesville 3. Roncalli @ Franklin Central 4. Harrison @ Plainfield 5. LaPorte @ Lowell 6. Evansville Mater Dei @ Castle 7. Culver Academy @ Mishawaka Marian 8. Franklin County @ Connersville 9. Brownstown Central @ Charlestown 10. Owen Valley @ South Putnam 11. North Decatur @ Eastern Hancock

Week 1 in the books with some unexpected outcomes in my opinion, but it was week 1. On to week two in the non-conference portion of the season. Elkhart at Northridge: Last week Elkhart underperformed, which I fear may be a season long issue for them. Northridge played well and did a fantastic job. I may have been wrong on my initial thoughts of how Northridge would do this year….great showing for the NLC! In this game, I think Northridge continues that trend and fairly handily defeats Elkhart. Northridge 35 Elkhart 10 Goshen at New Prairie: Goshen…well…it may be a long season (taking nothing away from Fairfield…they may have a squad down in New Paris). New Prairie…I’m not too familiar with what they had coming back from last year, nor do I have a whole lot of info on LaPorte (other than what is in the papers). With that said…pretty socking to me that the Slicers won that game…Good for those boys…they have had a rough couple of years. I hope Goshen can be competitive in this game, but I don’t see it happening. New Prairie 30 Goshen 7 Jimtown at Concord: Jimtown preformed how I thought they would against NW. I feel they will be at the top of the small division of the NIC. Concord did better than I thought they would…a bit of a quarterback issue however. I feel like this will be the best game of the week. These two schools always show up to play one another. I’m going to say Concord in a close game. Concord 17 Jimtown 14 Mishawaka at Penn: Penn looked real good Friday and may be one of the best in the North this year. I’m not sold on Mishawaka quite yet…they still have a lot of new guys playing on the line. I don’t think Marian is very good this year and made the cavemen look way better than they are. If this game were being played at Mishawaka…I would say that may level the field a little…but it being at Penn…I don’t see this being very close. I think Penn’s offense will make Mishawaka play catch up…and they are not built for that. Penn 49 Mishawaka 14 NorthWood at Portage: Admittedly I don’t know much about Portage (other that they are hanging on to that mascot…good for them) and they play in a tough conference. They have a new coach and some people on the boards are high on them turning things around in region. NorthWood was a bit sloppy in the first game, but I’m sure they will square that up. If the weather is nice of Friday…we may see the full potential of NorthWood’s offense on the turf…and that may not be a good thing for Portage. I don’t think this will be a particularly close game. NorthWood 56 Portage 14 Plymouth at Columbia City: You would have though Plymouth won a state championship last week…but for real…great win for the kids and the whole community! Columbia City did what was expected and I think they have a squad again this year. I don’t think the winning streak continues for Plymouth this week and things may get a bit out of hand. I see CC running that offense all over Plymouth’s defense. CC 35 Plymouth 7 Warsaw at Chesterton: Chesterton is another team from the Duneland that I don’t know much about. They lost to Hobart, but I feel as if the Brickies are going to be pretty good this year. Warsaw won a close one to a Michigan City and I still believe they will top the NLC this year. A blind guess in this game will be Warsaw 28 Chesterton 14? Wawasee at West Noble: This is it….this is the game…Wawasee is going to win this game! I think Valley is pretty good and Wawasee may have lost, but didn’t get blown out. I don’t know much about West Noble…other than their football field is 47 miles uphill away from their school. Even with that hike up the hill…I’m still taking the Warriors! Wawasee 21 West Noble 14

I would agree that the Fairfield game isn't holding Goshen back...unless they lose the game. That will have an effect on the players currently on the team and those of the fence about joining the football team. This is not a knock of Fairfield as they have come along way from playing their JV and Freshmen against Varsity teams and have a good thing going and the game for them is a good thing...If they win, its a confidence boost / preparation for smaller opponents, if they lose...its kind of the same benefits.

1. FW Carroll @ Hamilton Southeastern 2. Lawrence North @ Avon 4. Warsaw @ Michigan City 5. New Palestine @ Westfield 5. Chesterton @ Hobart 6. Leo @ Kokomo 7. Jasper @ Evansville Memorial 8. Western @ Tri-West 9. FW Concordia @ Indianapolis Scecina 10. Perry Central @ Tell City 11. Tecumseh @ South Spencer

Its been 20ish years since Park (Brad) retired from Goshen. I just don't understand how a program in a city the size of Goshen doesn't have a decent football team...or even a decent amount of players. I am all in on "coaching makes a difference" but the program has had a lot of coaches since Park (one of which is currently a really good assistant at NorthWood) and nothing has changed. Goshen has tradition, good facilities and still appears to have community support. Anyone have any incite as to what is going on at Goshen?...and I don't think the soccer culture has anything to do with it as there is too much running involved for most football guys.

Ahhh...Goshen vs. the mighty falcons of Fairfield, I forgot to include said game. First...I hope that Goshen turns things turned around and judging by last year, they seem to be going in the right direction (other than numbers). Last year they were in the a lot of their games in the first half and then puttered out in the second. Now...don't get angry...I understand the proximity of the two schools to one another, and possibly some bragging rights between friends / families, but this game should be removed from Goshen's schedule. It does Goshen no good to schedule a school the size of Fairfield...if they win...look at me...we beat a small farm school...if you loose...you lost to a small farm school? Anyway...rant over...Goshen 35 Fairfield 14

Week 1 is here! The first week is always a difficult week to judge / guess the winners of the matchups. We don’t really know a lot about anyone at this point. Here are my Week 1 NLC predictions: Calumet at Plymouth: I would love to see Plymouth come out and be competitive; however, I don’t see them winning this game. With Calumet having a new coach, it may help Plymouth, however, not enough to win. Calumet 35 Plymouth 13 Concord at Elkhart: Concord was a weird team last year in that they played Mishawaka and Northridge very well last year and didn’t perform well other weeks. Elkhart beat the teams they were supposed to and lost to whom they were supposed too last year. I think Elkhart is going to be better than last year. With that said, I think Elkhart will win, but Concord will keep it close. Elkhart 42 Concord 35 Jimtown at NorthWood: This game is usually a good matchup that most would prefer to see later in the season. With that said…I don’t think that Jimtown will be able to keep up with NorthWood’s offense. I think this is one of two running clocks in week 1. NorthWood 49 Jimtown 13 Mish. Marian at Mishawaka: I’m not sure what we will get from Mishawaka this year. They lost most of the fellas in the trenches; however, the younger guys may step up. I don’t see Marian being all that great this year. I’ll take Mishawaka at home but not by a lot. Mishawaka 17 Marian 7 Northridge at North Side: Probably the best game of week 1. I think Northridge will be better than they were last year, and North Side is trending upward and played really well last year. This will be a slugfest between the Summit and NLC. I will give the nod to the home team in this contest. North Side 35 Northridge 28 Tippy Valley at Wawasee: I don’t know a lot about Valley, however, they have been pretty good the last couple of years. On the other side, Wawasee has not been good the last couple of years. I hope they boys in Syracuse can turn things around throughout the season and they can be competitive. I feel like Valley will win easily. Tippy Valley 40 Wawasee 10 Warsaw at Michigan City: Warsaw may be the best in the NLC this year, Michigan City may be in the bottom of the Duneland. I don’t think Michigan City will be too competitive in this game and my 2nd running clock game of the year. Warsaw 42 Michigan City 7

I'd take playing away the first 3 weeks over playing Northridge's 1st four games (home or away). They have by far the worst / most difficult schedule to start the season in the NLC this year.

Penn is coming to NorthWood tonight...its free admission if you bring non perishables to donate.

I'm curious if anyone that is close to Leo's program knows how the team / community liked switching their offense? I for one am not a fan of misdirection offense as it takes the game away from some of the kids playing. It appears that the team adjusted quite well last year. I was a little sad to see Leo and NorthWood get moved to different sectionals as the NorthWood / Leo sectional games were always fun to watch.

I agree with BDOOM...The line will be fine with the guys taking over. My only question is the center position...our center graduated and I am assuming our long snapper is too small to take that position over. I would guess one of the guards is going to slide over and become the starting center. I feel NorthWood's offense is going to be pass heavy, and in my opinion, its easier to pass protect than run block (im sure someone will take offense to that). Most teams are going to focus on NorthWood's wide recievers and avoiding the big plays, helping the run game and letting the new lineman find their way. In regard to Penn...I hear that Penn is really fast team this year...that will be interesting to watch and a good test for the newer defenders.

NorthWood lost around 20ish senors to graduation, it was a very large class. With the scores last year, a lot of younger guys got some playing time however the linebackers and secondary pretty much all graduated. Warsaw and Mishawaka (and their offense) will be the biggest test for the younger guys starting this year. NorthWood always has a smaller defensive front and it will be up to those in the 2nd and 3rd levels to step up and make plays. Im sure the young men this year will be ready and if they are able to contain, then I think NorthWood will be a front runner...however, at this time I still think Mishawaka / Warsaw battle for the top of the NLC. I wasn't able to go to the scrimmage at Elkhart, however, I will be present when they scrimmage Penn to see who is stepping in to what roles.

I think there are a few things all of the NLC fans can agree on for the upcoming season, pretty much saying what NLC Tiger Fan already pointed out. Wawasee and Plymouth will more than likely fight for the bottom of the conference. I did however listen to a Plymouth game last year and their announcers were pretty high on what would be their sophomore class this year. I believe they won their first freshman game in sometime and there were a lot of upperclassmen present for the game (I point out the upperclassmen being present as they may be taking some pride and trying to get some enthusiasm in their younger players). In regard to Goshen, I think their program is headed in the right direction. They were in a lot of their games last year during the 1st half...then lost it in the 2nd. Are they contenders...no...but it is nice to see them moving in the right direction. Judging by the size of their players, they have the ability, and I think they have the coach. Northridge is a wild card...I don't know what to expect from the raiders. They have been such an up and down team. Northridge may have the worst 1st 4 weeks of the NLC teams having to play North, Elkhart, Mishawaka and NorthWood. I have no insight on Concord for the upcoming year. Last year they beat the lower level teams and held their own against Mishawaka and Northridge. Still feel bad for the young quarterback against I believe Northridge on the last drive that could have possibly won the game. Chalk it up to a learning experience. Warsaw and Mishawaka are the two teams that I think will battle for the crown this year. With their "Bart Ball" it always comes down to scoring first and holding the ball. I don't pretend to know much about their programs this year, but I do know...they will run that ball...and it will be difficult to stop no matter who is playing. With NorthWood, I will be the first to admit I was skeptical about their defense going into last year...and I was way off base. They performed very well...until the incident that we no longer speak of occurred. NorthWood graduated a lot of seniors last year...i actually can’t remember such a large class in the last 20ish years. I will again say this year, the defense will be the issue, as the linebackers and secondary took a big hit. Their offense will be the same as last year. They lost some O linemen, however, I feel they have the athletes to replace in that position. Skill positions will be pretty good (even with the loss of Tuggle) and actually I think their run game will be better. Special teams will again be fantastic. With that said, not knowing about the Defense, I put Warsaw, Mishawaka and those run games ahead of NorthWood's defense. It’s getting close!

I think Mishawaka has played like Jekell and Hyde. At times this year, they run their offense to perfection...at other times, they play sloppy. If Mishawaka controls the clock, scores early and plays turnover free football (this being the biggest factor) I see them competing with anyone in 5A...and will take them to win this week in a low scoring game. I say low scoring as I feel when running their offense the way they would like...there may not be a whole of possessions in this game. Mishawaka by 10. I am also taking Northridge to beat New Prairie. New Prairie is a running team and Northridge has shown they can stop that. Im not sure New Prairie has the passing attack to keep up with them. Judging from the game last week against NorthWood, I would say Northridge is playing really balanced football and their defense shut down NorthWoods passing attack. Replying to PantherPride, my thoughts on NorthWood and a concern ive seen for awhile now...NorthWood seems to offensivly plan their teams around indviduals rather than the team. They typically have a couple of really good players and everything they do is planned around them. This year, it was throw the ball up for the receivers (Tuggle / Payne) and hope for the best. Before it was give the ball to Bronson Yoder and hope for the best. I think they need to develop their offensive line and running backs to become multi dementional...they have the talent there...they just dont use it. I think next year will be a repeat of this year (hopfully excluding any external issues) as they have a lot of talent returning.

In 98: Class 2A - Jimtown Class 3A - NorthWood Class 4A - Concord Class 5A - Penn That was a great year for the area...i dont recall if there were any local 1A schools at that time. Sadley...Jimtown was the only team to win it that year.

And then there were 5. From last week, there wernt too many suprises with the scores. I thought the Warsaw / Elkhart game was going to be the best, and I would say i was correct. I forsaw Northridge beating Logansport as they played a much harder schedule in my opinion. I thought NorthWood filled in their holes and did a good job. Thoughts for the upcoming week: Warsaw V. Carroll: I think Carroll will be a bit much for Warsaw. With that said, if it does rain on Friday (im not sure the forcast in Ft. Wayne) I may rethink that as Warsaw is built for weather. Warsaw impressed me against a good Elkhart team. I havent seen Carroll nor have never seen them play so i dont really have any insight into their program other than their scores and what is said on this site. I will take Carroll by 14 Mishawaka V. Concord: A rematch of a good game earlier this year in which Mishawaka came out on top. Beating someone twice is difficult. As with the above game, Mishawaka would love some rain. I see this being another close game. Mishawaka by 10 Northridge V. NorthWood: Another rematch from earlier in the year. I dont think either team will be suprised by what is seen on Friday. Alot of people think that NorthWood will struggle fom here on out...i tend to disagree. They showed they were still have a high powered offense and a pretty good defense. I think this game will be a repeat of earlier this year. NorthWood at home by 31

While not getting in to the situation, I can say it appears their were 7 all together. Im not going to say positions, as its not my place to put that out there. I can say that in my opinion, the team will be ok. There will be some players that will have to go both ways. I think the coaches will put people where they need to be to patch up the holes. I still believe, even with some people out, NorthWood will still win the North in 4A. Will the games be closer than they would have been...probably...but I also think those players will be eligable by semi state. On a side note...I saw the interview with Bart Curtis on WHME...is Warsaw also facing some issues and if so, will that effect their game with Elkhart? I see the two schools as even in my opinion and should be a good game.

While I and the entire community are aware of the situation (welcome to small town living)...Its not my place to speak on it and out of respect to the families and community...I will refrain from doing so.

Week 2 of the playoffs for the remaining NLC teams. Wawasee and Plymouth are out as was expected. There are some good match ups this week: Elkhart V. Warsaw: This could be a great game, I know the expectations were high for both teams and both teams have looked really good at times this year...and on the other side, there has been some head scratching at other times. I thought Elkhart was going to contend in the beggining of the year, however, after last week at New Prairie, I now think differently. Elkhart did not do a good job of stopping NP's run game so I will take Warasaw at home in this game. Warsaw by 10 Concord V. Goshen: Not a whole lot to say here as it will be a repeat of their meeting earlier this week. Concord by 21 Adams V. Mishawaka: A very lopsided game, Mishawaka will win big. Mishawaka by 35 Logansport V. Northridge: Knowing the type of offense Logansport runs, I give Northridge the edge in this game. If they can play like they did against Mishawaka, it will be an easy win. I dont know alot about Logansport, other than they run a similar offense to Mishawaka and Warsaw. In looking at their schedule, other than the two games they lost...it isnt that great. Ill give the edge to the home team in this game. Northridge by 14 NorthWood V. St. Joe: Will all things said that I will keep quite about, I still think NorthWood wins this game easily. St. Joe who is typically a playoff rival with NW in the past, just isnt having a great year. I will take NW by 28. *Side Note* At the Washington / NorthWood game last week, I was really saddend to see the lack of support for the Washington team. Is this normal for the South Bend schools? I think I counted 56 people in their stands (stands designed to hold thousands)...including 4 officers eating popcorn. I feel for the kids whom dont get alot of support and was really excited to see their enthusiasm when they scored. Its sad to see senior last game end with a score like that.

That is a big concern for me...however we do have a good running back who has had good games (Warsaw game stands out). The running game just hasn't been a priority as they have 4-5 receivers that are really good. I would say high schools don't typically have more than 1 or 2 dbs that are all that good. (I think it's the hardest position in the game). Time will tell and I'm hoping the Northern Indiana weather will be a non factor. Judging by your handle your a New Prairie fan...with that team they would love some weather!

I think New Prairie will win sectional 17 and lose to NorthWood in the regionals. Also, I think Leo will win sectional 19. I feel as if the beginning of the season, they had a learning curve and adjusted well. They now have played and know what to expect out of CC and I think will beat them the 2nd time around. Other than those two changes, i agree for the most part. I know a lot of people (aka everyone) are saying that if NorthWood makes it, they don't stand much of a chance against either New Pal or Roncalli. I'm not too convinced any team would roll over them. As long as they can stay healthy, I feel they can keep up with any team in 4A, especially offensively. Being a passing team...in a controlled environment, they are dangerous. I would expect it to be a good game. And as a NorthWood supporter...selfishly, I would like them to play Roncalli...as they have quite the history with them in Indianapolis.