2024 2A Football

[First_Backer_Inside]

Saw someone wanted this topic, so here we go. Obviously some new faces coming up in Adams Central and Lutheran. Could make a very strong case for both being able to represent the North and South in 2A if they were there the last two years. Interesting to see how they fair this year. Plenty of representatives from both schools on here, so I'll let them talk about what they have returning. As far as the North goes, I like Bluffton, LCC, and you can't ever rule out Andrean for the North. Obviously not sure what Adams Central has, but they should be in that mix as well just because of what they have been able to accomplish the last two years. If I had to pick dark horses, I'd go with Eastside, Eastbrook, and Rochester in the North. All run offenses that seem to fair well no matter the conditions and always have solid defenses to go with it. Maybe someone can chime in on the South favorites or teams to watch. No Mater Dei in the South takes a huge contender out of the mix down there. What do y'all think?

[Gipper]

32 minutes ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

Saw someone wanted this topic, so here we go. Obviously some new faces coming up in Adams Central and Lutheran. Could make a very strong case for both being able to represent the North and South in 2A if they were there the last two years. Interesting to see how they fair this year. Plenty of representatives from both schools on here, so I'll let them talk about what they have returning. As far as the North goes, I like Bluffton, LCC, and you can't ever rule out Andrean for the North. Obviously not sure what Adams Central has, but they should be in that mix as well just because of what they have been able to accomplish the last two years. If I had to pick dark horses, I'd go with Eastside, Eastbrook, and Rochester in the North. All run offenses that seem to fair well no matter the conditions and always have solid defenses to go with it. Maybe someone can chime in on the South favorites or teams to watch. No Mater Dei in the South takes a huge contender out of the mix down there. What do y'all think?

Andrean is very inconsistent.

[Gipper]

My comment wasn't necessarily a dig at the 59ers, but they seem to lose some games they should clearly win.

[First_Backer_Inside]

2 minutes ago, Gipper said:

My comment wasn't necessarily a dig at the 59ers, but they seem to lose some games they should clearly win.

Could you give examples? Just as an outsider of their schedule it looks pretty beefy to me. I'm also not familiar with some of the teams they play on their schedule but a third of it is Bishop Chatard, Merrillville, and Valpo. All very top notch teams. Hanover Central seems to be a program on the rise and Lowell is always tough with good athletes from the games I've seen.

[1st_and_10]

1 hour ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

Saw someone wanted this topic, so here we go. Obviously some new faces coming up in Adams Central and Lutheran. Could make a very strong case for both being able to represent the North and South in 2A if they were there the last two years. Interesting to see how they fair this year. Plenty of representatives from both schools on here, so I'll let them talk about what they have returning. As far as the North goes, I like Bluffton, LCC, and you can't ever rule out Andrean for the North. Obviously not sure what Adams Central has, but they should be in that mix as well just because of what they have been able to accomplish the last two years. If I had to pick dark horses, I'd go with Eastside, Eastbrook, and Rochester in the North. All run offenses that seem to fair well no matter the conditions and always have solid defenses to go with it. Maybe someone can chime in on the South favorites or teams to watch. No Mater Dei in the South takes a huge contender out of the mix down there. What do y'all think?

Look at the sectional that LCC is in... A very familiar name when it comes to 2A... 😉

 

[kdets89]

2 hours ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

 If I had to pick dark horses, I'd go with Eastside, Eastbrook, and Rochester in the North. 

I'd like to know what Busco has coming back.  They took a shot at ending Luers run early last year.  If they weren't hit too hard by graduation, they'd have to be considered a contender in the North.

[FlyingHigh]

I expect AC to be a very solid team by the end of the season. They lost a bunch of kids to graduation, but there is still some talent that contributed to the team's success over the last couple of years. I think the week 1 product could be very different from the team that will go into the postseason assuming the new faces grow into their new roles. I wouldn't be surprised to see the ACAC and Sectional 35 come down to AC vs. Bluffton. I know that Bluffton lost some big guys and some of their primary contributors on both sides, but they return a very talented back.

13 minutes ago, kdets89 said:

I'd like to know what Busco has coming back.  They took a shot at ending Luers run early last year.  If they weren't hit too hard by graduation, they'd have to be considered a contender in the North.

I think this was a combination of Busco playing very well early on and Luers taking their sectional opponents lightly. Luers also struggled with Eastside and the Blazers were not close to what they had been the 2-3 years previous to 2023.

[First_Backer_Inside]

15 minutes ago, kdets89 said:

I'd like to know what Busco has coming back.  They took a shot at ending Luers run early last year.  If they weren't hit too hard by graduation, they'd have to be considered a contender in the North.

According to maxpreps a lot of skilled guys coming back with some decent stats. Would need to see them have regular season success against a schedule that isn't anything to write home about. Not saying you don't have a point. Just hard to put a team that went 2-8 last year in the conversation with some of the others.

[Gipper]

3 hours ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

Could you give examples? Just as an outsider of their schedule it looks pretty beefy to me. I'm also not familiar with some of the teams they play on their schedule but a third of it is Bishop Chatard, Merrillville, and Valpo. All very top notch teams. Hanover Central seems to be a program on the rise and Lowell is always tough with good athletes from the games I've seen.

They play in the NCC, just an average league.   Lowell isn't the same Lowell.

[Basementbias]

4 hours ago, FlyingHigh said:

I expect AC to be a very solid team by the end of the season. They lost a bunch of kids to graduation, but there is still some talent that contributed to the team's success over the last couple of years. I think the week 1 product could be very different from the team that will go into the postseason assuming the new faces grow into their new roles. I wouldn't be surprised to see the ACAC and Sectional 35 come down to AC vs. Bluffton. I know that Bluffton lost some big guys and some of their primary contributors on both sides, but they return a very talented back.

I think this was a combination of Busco playing very well early on and Luers taking their sectional opponents lightly. Luers also struggled with Eastside and the Blazers were not close to what they had been the 2-3 years previous to 2023.

I think everyone expects a drop from the past 3 years, but the Flying Jets will be solid for a year or 2 before possibly having to "reload". The upcoming season's Seniors through Sophmores have talent & a gritty fight to them. The freshman to 6th grade classes need some development as they've had weaker records in MS & youth.

Bluffton will be challenging & possibly overtake the Jets in the near future, especially those Freshmen through 6th grade. They have a kid that will be MS (unless they finally verified his age) that is a monster offensively & defensively. He was on their middle of the road team. They had a strong team of 5th & 6th graders he wasn't on besides a weaker one that was still decent. They had some influence from Norwell's 99 state finals alums.

[Komets2727]

Everything in the North in 2A starts with Luers. Until someone beats Luers in 2A, they are the team to beat 

[kdets89]

10 minutes ago, Komets2727 said:

Everything in the North in 2A starts with Luers. Until someone beats Luers in 2A, they are the team to beat 

That'll be tough to do, now that they're in 3A.

[RegionFBFan]

Gipper - what are you talking about in regards to Andrean and NCC?

Examples please. I can think of LaVille last year as one they should have won with a very young team. NCC has had state finalists in Hobart and Andrean(2) in last 5 years.

[Komets2727]

2 hours ago, kdets89 said:

That'll be tough to do, now that they're in 3A.

Damn, I knew I had too many beers today….🍺🍺🍺

[FlyingHigh]

14 hours ago, Basementbias said:

I think everyone expects a drop from the past 3 years, but the Flying Jets will be solid for a year or 2 before possibly having to "reload". The upcoming season's Seniors through Sophmores have talent & a gritty fight to them. The freshman to 6th grade classes need some development as they've had weaker records in MS & youth.

Bluffton will be challenging & possibly overtake the Jets in the near future, especially those Freshmen through 6th grade. They have a kid that will be MS (unless they finally verified his age) that is a monster offensively & defensively. He was on their middle of the road team. They had a strong team of 5th & 6th graders he wasn't on besides a weaker one that was still decent. They had some influence from Norwell's 99 state finals alums.

I'd be a little bit careful predicting future successful/rebuilding years based on MS classes. There have been many programs across the state that have crowned MS groups "state champs" before entering HS only to see that same group fall short of the ridiculous expectations people build based on the performance of 12-14 year old kids. On the other side, there have been unsuccessful groups in MS at AC - as recently as the seniors that started the state appearance run - that have gone on to earn success when it matters most.

[First_Backer_Inside]

16 minutes ago, FlyingHigh said:

I'd be a little bit careful predicting future successful/rebuilding years based on MS classes. There have been many programs across the state that have crowned MS groups "state champs" before entering HS only to see that same group fall short of the ridiculous expectations people build based on the performance of 12-14 year old kids. On the other side, there have been unsuccessful groups in MS at AC - as recently as the seniors that started the state appearance run - that have gone on to earn success when it matters most.

Never know what you can put together with 4 different classes of kids. Some groups can fill the holes others lack to turn out very good teams. I have no doubt Adams Central will be a threat in 2A no matter who they put on the field. Hopefully 2A can provide better competition and closer games than a lot of the ones AC played the last couple of years in 1A. Not a knock on 1A North either. Some great teams, the last couple of AC teams have just been special. Which makes those Lutheran teams even more special. 

Anyone got any predictions on the South or what some teams bring pack. Did North Posey graduate a lot? Stockton, Triton Central, and Brownstown Central had some good teams last year. Returning any talent from those teams?

[WCGrad92]

Monrovia will bring back 6 on Offense and 8 on D, have to deal with Lutheran twice, and the Sectional seems brutal, but if any team can figure it out, it might be Monrovia. Tough schedule througout the year will help build this team.  Week 1 vs Greencastle and Week 2 @Linton is always a great opener, then 7 weeks of ICC play. We shall see what the Bulldogs can bring to the table.

[Basementbias]

2 hours ago, FlyingHigh said:

I'd be a little bit careful predicting future successful/rebuilding years based on MS classes. There have been many programs across the state that have crowned MS groups "state champs" before entering HS only to see that same group fall short of the ridiculous expectations people build based on the performance of 12-14 year old kids. On the other side, there have been unsuccessful groups in MS at AC - as recently as the seniors that started the state appearance run - that have gone on to earn success when it matters most.

True, but the class that is graduating carried a good load the past 3 seasons along with the upcoming Seniors & Juniors as of late. That class was dominant at every level and adding the grit/toughness of the upcoming Seniors and the talented soon to be Juniors was a great bonus. I hope the incoming freshman to 6th grade classes get better but they do not possess the same athleticism & football IQ as the grades above them. Hopefully they grow into it and the culture that is Adams Central football can continue to right the ship. That Bluffton 6th/soon to be 7th grade class reminded me a lot of the graduating class of AC at that age and similar to the South Adams 2020 state team. As I mentioned, they had some parents coaching from that 99 Norwell team that lead Roncalli 3 quarters before falling to them in the 4th at state. 

I do think the upcoming AC 7th grade team will be solid playing as 1 team instead of being split into 2. Hopefully one standout continues with football instead of wrestling full time. He has the moves like Logan Macklin and is a tough kid & great teammate.

[Gipper]

13 hours ago, RegionFBFan said:

Gipper - what are you talking about in regards to Andrean and NCC?

Examples please. I can think of LaVille last year as one they should have won with a very young team. NCC has had state finalists in Hobart and Andrean(2) in last 5 years.

Although Hobart and Andrean have been good, Highland, Lowell, and Munster are spinning their wheels.  Jury's out on Hanover and KV.

[Bobref]

1 hour ago, Gipper said:

Jury's out on Hanover

42-7 over the past 4 seasons. That’s a pretty tough jury.

[CoachMack219]

24 minutes ago, Bobref said:

42-7 over the past 4 seasons. That’s a pretty tough jury.

Not to mention NCC Conference Champs in year 1 in the League. Jury needs to wrap it up in there by the sounds of it. 😂

[RegionFBFan]

24 minutes ago, Bobref said:

42-7 over the past 4 seasons. That’s a pretty tough jury.

I tend to agree with some caveats. Most of those wins were against really weak opponents in Greater South Shore Conference. Impressed with their performance and results in 1st year of NCC which was arguably down last year.  Playoff performance needs to improve. HC is a great addition to NCC.

[Gipper]

Admittedly, I wrote Andrean and Hanover a bit too early, not intended.

[scarab527]

17 hours ago, RegionFBFan said:

Gipper - what are you talking about in regards to Andrean and NCC?

Examples please. I can think of LaVille last year as one they should have won with a very young team. NCC has had state finalists in Hobart and Andrean(2) in last 5 years.

There’s definitely a history of some pretty bad postseason performances in big games. 2022 State championship against Mater Dei and 2020 Regional against Pioneer come to mind recently. A lot more if you wanna go back through the Mason era. 

[RegionFBFan]

Disagree on Mater Dei game in State finals. #1 MD was a good football team. #2 Andrean is playing with their back up qb and original starting qb coming off broken collarbone and # 3 Bowen playing with a torn PCL and sprains his ankle in 1st quarter in same leg. 
 

I’ll give you Pioneer game. Pioneer no slouch but not the better team. They made every 4th down play and Andrean didn’t and turned it over. Covid year…. Weird season overall.