HNAC 2024

[Trojan67]

2 hours ago, hondo17 said:

I think they'll lose but they won't get pummeled. I thought Winamac's defense looked alright, just some miscues and big plays. 

 

Triton will be fine this season and should be pretty solid next year. 

Our kids are definitely sore. Adriano and Wolford took some hits tonight.

Winamac had quite a few moments tonight and they should feel accomplished regardless of the outcome. Same goes to Caston. The absolutely earned that win tonight. 

 

@FinePrint, regardless of how you feel. I really think Triton needed to play a complete game because playing Culver and SC really did put things in perspective. I agree that offensively it was sloppy and Triton needs to play at higher standard and do better for next week. Judson is bringing the big boys. Winamac's skill may not be close to that of Judson's, but size wise, they are pretty comparable. Triton does have their work cut out for them next week and it will be interesting. 

[FinePrint]

I'm ready to start looking at next week's games.  Will any of these be competitive?

 

Friday, Sep. 27
Caston at Culver ©, 7 pm
North Judson at Triton ©, 7:30 pm
Pioneer at South Central ©, 7:30 pm
Winamac at North Miami ©, 7 pm

[TightEndOpenAgain]

Caston at Culver: Good to see the Comets get a win on Friday. A bunch of good kids who play HARD!! 2 is a streak and think they start one on Friday. Possibly the closest game of the week. Culver chews up clock but falls short. 28-12 Comets

 

North Judson at Triton: I’ll clear up some comments I had about NJSP below. I think they’re really good. Triton is very solid too and will be able to move the ball. How many drives can they finish? I’ll say 44-7 Blue Jays

 

 

Pioneer at South Central (Union Mills): Rans is seriously quick and was too much over the course of 48 minutes for NM on Friday. The black and yellow overcome the travel and walk away victors. SCUM scores late. 55-7 Panthers

 

Winamac at North Miami: Team speed in and around the greater Denver area is okay. However, NM has no threat to strike from distance. KO/Punt coverage has been very suspect through 5 weeks. It was good to see Silas Freeman back in the trenches last week. I think North Miami grinds out what could possibly be the closest game of the week if it’s not Caston/Culver. The 1st annual “Warrior Bowl” goes to North Miami. However, Winamac athletes get loose a little bit. 33-20 N. Miami Warriors

 

**After getting a little pushback against what I said about the Blue Jays last week, I want to (hopefully) clear things up a little bit. I said NJ is one of about the top 5-10 1A teams I’VE SEEN. I did not say I think they are a top 5-10 1A team of all-time. Also, I said I’d be INTRIGUED to see them lineup against the Kiser/Lewellen Panther teams. I don’t think the Jays win, but I’d be INTRIGUED to see how the overall size/strength/speed matches up. We’ll never know!

 

It did get me to thinking about the the top 10 1A teams I’ve had the pleasure to watch. So I’ll list them (my very humble opinion):

 

1) 2009 LCC

2) 2007 Sheridan

3) 2022 Indy Lutheran

4) 2018 Pioneer

5) 2015 LCC

6) 2016 Linton-Stockton

7) 2017 Pioneer

😎 2022 Adams Central

9) 2024 North Judson

10) 2003 Seeger

11) 2017 Southwood

11) 2003 Adams Central

12) 1993 North Miami

13) 2005 Adams Central

14) 2016 Pioneer

15) 1994 North Miami (Homer pick who shouldn’t have lost)

 

There’s a lot of VERY good teams not on the list, but these are the teams I’ve gotten to see in-person. Obviously LCC, AC, Pioneer, Linton, Sheridan, Lutheran, Ritter etc have had really strong teams through the years of which many I did not see. Feel free to tear my list apart! Also I’d be curious to see your lists as well!

 

[hondo17]

On 9/22/2024 at 12:01 AM, TightEndOpenAgain said:

Caston at Culver: Good to see the Comets get a win on Friday. A bunch of good kids who play HARD!! 2 is a streak and think they start one on Friday. Possibly the closest game of the week. Culver chews up clock but falls short. 28-12 Comets

 

North Judson at Triton: I’ll clear up some comments I had about NJSP below. I think they’re really good. Triton is very solid too and will be able to move the ball. How many drives can they finish? I’ll say 44-7 Blue Jays

 

 

Pioneer at South Central (Union Mills): Rans is seriously quick and was too much over the course of 48 minutes for NM on Friday. The black and yellow overcome the travel and walk away victors. SCUM scores late. 55-7 Panthers

 

Winamac at North Miami: Team speed in and around the greater Denver area is okay. However, NM has no threat to strike from distance. KO/Punt coverage has been very suspect through 5 weeks. It was good to see Silas Freeman back in the trenches last week. I think North Miami grinds out what could possibly be the closest game of the week if it’s not Caston/Culver. The 1st annual “Warrior Bowl” goes to North Miami. However, Winamac athletes get loose a little bit. 33-20 N. Miami Warriors

 

**After getting a little pushback against what I said about the Blue Jays last week, I want to (hopefully) clear things up a little bit. I said NJ is one of about the top 5-10 1A teams I’VE SEEN. I did not say I think they are a top 5-10 1A team of all-time. Also, I said I’d be INTRIGUED to see them lineup against the Kiser/Lewellen Panther teams. I don’t think the Jays win, but I’d be INTRIGUED to see how the overall size/strength/speed matches up. We’ll never know!

 

It did get me to thinking about the the top 10 1A teams I’ve had the pleasure to watch. So I’ll list them (my very humble opinion):

 

1) 2009 LCC

2) 2007 Sheridan

3) 2022 Indy Lutheran

4) 2018 Pioneer

5) 2015 LCC

6) 2016 Linton-Stockton

7) 2017 Pioneer

😎 2022 Adams Central

9) 2024 North Judson

10) 2003 Seeger

11) 2017 Southwood

11) 2003 Adams Central

12) 1993 North Miami

13) 2005 Adams Central

14) 2016 Pioneer

15) 1994 North Miami (Homer pick who shouldn’t have lost)

 

There’s a lot of VERY good teams not on the list, but these are the teams I’ve gotten to see in-person. Obviously LCC, AC, Pioneer, Linton, Sheridan, Lutheran, Ritter etc have had really strong teams through the years of which many I did not see. Feel free to tear my list apart! Also I’d be curious to see your lists as well!

 

In no order of teams I saw in person

Rensselaer-2005,2014

Central Catholic-2011,2012,2015

Pioneer-1997,2015,2017,2018

North Judson-2002,2004,2022

Logansport-2005

New Palestine-2014

Winamac-2000,2013

Fort Wayne Luers-2000

New Prairie-2014

Edited September 23, 2024 by hondo17

[MacAttack53]

I would’ve liked to have seen how this North Miami team would’ve competed in the TRC this year. They’d probably have ended up with about the same record. They’re much improved. Judson is the best team in either league, but the top half of the TRC is probably slightly better still. 

[FinePrint]

I watched a little of the Pioneer / NM game Friday night.  I was impressed with both teams!  The top half of the HNAC conference is really solid.  Triton still has Judson, Pioneer and North Miami - along with Caston - to finish the season.  That'll be a tough stretch, but will show the Trojans what's needed to make any type of tournament run.

[hondo17]

10 hours ago, hondo17 said:

In no order of teams I saw in person

Rensselaer-2005,2014

Central Catholic-2011,2012,2015

Pioneer-1997,2015,2017,2018

North Judson-2002,2004,2022

Logansport-2005

New Palestine-2014

Winamac-2000,2013

Fort Wayne Luers-2000

New Prairie-2014

I'll also add 1999 North white, 2006 south newton and 2016 Whiting along with the 2023 Knox squad. I imagine the 2024 Judson will make the list. 

[hondo17]

8 hours ago, MacAttack53 said:

I would’ve liked to have seen how this North Miami team would’ve competed in the TRC this year. They’d probably have ended up with about the same record. They’re much improved. Judson is the best team in either league, but the top half of the TRC is probably slightly better still. 

Are the wildermuths and hoover related to Jim and WC?

[hondo17]

5 hours ago, FinePrint said:

I watched a little of the Pioneer / NM game Friday night.  I was impressed with both teams!  The top half of the HNAC conference is really solid.  Triton still has Judson, Pioneer and North Miami - along with Caston - to finish the season.  That'll be a tough stretch, but will show the Trojans what's needed to make any type of tournament run.

Winamac is going through that right now, I'm legitimately worried about South Central game. I think healthy that's a team Winamac can beat but with taking some bumps last week and 2 more weeks of bigger and physical teams on the schedule, not sure how healthy the Warriors will be for SC. 

[FarmerFran]

Caston at Culver ©, 7 pm

North Judson at Triton ©, 7:30 pm

Pioneer at South Central ©, 7:30 pm

Winamac at North Miami ©, 7 pm

- Comets build off last week's win and beat the Cavs.

- Jays over Triton. I think this will be close initially before Judson pulls away in the second half.

- Panthers over the Satellites 

- North Miami over Winamac- North Miami played well against Pioneer last week and will overpower Winamac in the trenches.

 

 

[TightEndOpenAgain]

21 hours ago, hondo17 said:

I'll also add 1999 North white, 2006 south newton and 2016 Whiting along with the 2023 Knox squad. I imagine the 2024 Judson will make the list. 

My list was 1A only. Sorry for any confusion

[Trojan67]

23 hours ago, hondo17 said:

Winamac is going through that right now, I'm legitimately worried about South Central game. I think healthy that's a team Winamac can beat but with taking some bumps last week and 2 more weeks of bigger and physical teams on the schedule, not sure how healthy the Warriors will be for SC. 

I predicted last week that Caston was going to win and they ended up rolling them. From what I heard Caston ran for approximately 350 yards on them. 

[Trojan67]

Caston at Culver

The question that was presented earlier was will there be any competition this week? Both teams are entering their schedule where they could win 2-3 games. I think Caston may have the edge in this one. Caston 35 Culver 21

 

Pioneer at South Central

Not much say. Pioneer has their 3 plays and will stick to those 3 plays the whole night because up to this point, SC cannot stop the run. Running clock by half. Pioneer 54 SC 0 

 

Winamc at North Miami

I am going to give credit where credit is due. Winamac held their own against Triton last week. They showed toughness and gave the Trojans fits all night. North Miami has surprised all of us who have been in the HNAC conversation for awhile. NM gets back in the win column and continues to improve. NM 35 Winamac 21

 

North Judson at Triton 

Triton's mentality all season has been bend, not break. Triton's defensive front 7 have been a staple and has been the high point this year. Triton has to play disciplined against the triple threat offense. Like I said in an earlier post, Triton needed to play a complete game on Friday against Winamac to gain that understanding that although Winamac isn't at the level of Judson, size-wise they are very similar. Judson is coming to Bourbon for business. They are going to do their walk when they get there to show that they can't be stopped. If Triton plays disciplined football, this game can be closer than what some people are thinking. For that reason, I am not going to give my thoughts on what I believe the score because of how unpredictable Triton's discipline can be. 

[littledog]

Caston at Culver-Caston looks to build off last weeks win and have a 2 game winning streak running into the Triton week. Comets 28-13

 

 

Pioneer at South Central- Pioneer runs all over them and pulls out the shut out.  48-0

 

 

Winamac at North Miami- Warriors will win this game.. Think NM is too physical for the young team from Winamac. NM 28-7

 

North Judson at Triton-  This game is typically a very good game. Triton comes out trying to prove they can match up in the trenches and it starts out close. However, Bluejays wear them down by the end of the 2nd quarter. 42-8

[hondo17]

On 9/24/2024 at 1:03 PM, TightEndOpenAgain said:

My list was 1A only. Sorry for any confusion

Okay in no order

South Newton 2006

Pioneer 97,15,17,18

Winamac 2013

North White 1999

North Judson 2022

West Central 2005

Linton 2013

Tri Central 2013

Adams Central 97

Lcc 2011,2012,2015

If I had to do a top five

2015 lcc

2018 Pioneer 

2015 Pioneer 

2011 lcc

2012 lcc

[FinePrint]

Caston at Culver - Caston surprised me with their big win last week.  I'm not surprised they won, but I am surprised they won by 5 scores!  Based on that performance, I have to pick Caston this week.  It should be a pretty good game.  But I don't think Culver will be able to keep up.  Comets 28-14

North Judson at Triton - I don't think anyone will be able to slow down Judson this year.  They are really good!  If Triton can limit turnovers and keep their heads in the game, they might be in it at the half.  But this won't be close in the end. Triton is a top 10 1A team for sure, but the Jays are just that much better.  Bluejays 42-14

Pioneer at South Central - Pioneer will put this one away early.  Running clock in the 2nd half.  SCUM might get on the board with a big play through the air.  Panthers 49-7

Winamac at North Miami - I was impressed with Winamac's size and strength last week.  They have a bright future if the guys stick with it and continue working!  But this year they'll take some lumps.  I think NM will be too much for the young Warriors from Winamac.  I'm taking the Miami Warriors in this one.  Warriors 35-14

[Football Guru 25]

On 9/21/2024 at 12:43 PM, FinePrint said:

I'm ready to start looking at next week's games.  Will any of these be competitive?

 

Friday, Sep. 27
Caston at Culver ©, 7 pm
North Judson at Triton ©, 7:30 pm
Pioneer at South Central ©, 7:30 pm
Winamac at North Miami ©, 7 pm

Culver over Caston  close one

Judson rolls over Triton  = Lil extra payback from last year regular season!!

Pioneer BIG

North Miami by 2 TD's

[hondo17]

14-14 in the 3rd. Thought the defense did okay, offense was limited even more with Aiden Schooler at QB. Made some nice passes and a nice rub but some turnovers and just wearing down hurt the Warriors and NM rolled for most of 3rd and all of the 4th. 

 

Think next year will be a fun game. Should get a traveling trophy between NM and Winamac. 

[littledog]

Judson won 40-0.

You could tell early on that Triton’s game plan was to take away Benson. Which led to McDaniel having a huge night both running and passing. Just too many weapons on offense for the jays.

The jays took over on defense and Triton had absolutely no clue what to do.  Triton tried to take advantage and spread the field out and get to the spaces but Judson had answers every time.
Triton certainly has a top defense in the state but offensively they have a WAYS to go. 

[hondo17]

41 minutes ago, littledog said:

Judson won 40-0.

You could tell early on that Triton’s game plan was to take away Benson. Which led to McDaniel having a huge night both running and passing. Just too many weapons on offense for the jays.

The jays took over on defense and Triton had absolutely no clue what to do.  Triton tried to take advantage and spread the field out and get to the spaces but Judson had answers every time.
Triton certainly has a top defense in the state but offensively they have a WAYS to go. 

The only thing that could stop Judson from making it to state is Madison Grant and themselves. 

Edited September 28, 2024 by hondo17

[hondo17]

Had more thoughts. 

I thought North Miami did a great job at controlling the clock. It felt like Winamac had only 2 possessions in the first half. NM had a "fumble" that was considered a forward pass and another fmble they recovered, missed opportunities. 

Winamac played without Xavier Adriano and with the rain it was more evident that Winamac wasn't gonna throw. I thought NM brought the physicality and once again the OL/DL were not ready for that. I was impressed with Aiden Schooler. He became the starting QB last Monday and had never played QB before. 

I was impressed with #52 up front. Hoover the QB and some of their other skilled guys. 

I think NM did a good job offensively of making sure where they knew where #7 and #54 were. 

I liked the defensive stand right before half and the emotion the kids started out with in 2nd half. I hope the kids find that emotion for the rest of the season. I was glad to see how they scored two quick tds to tie it but wearing down, silly penalties then being forced to throw a bit created some turnovers. 

 

Onto North Judson. Can't believe it's week 7 next Friday. 

[Spanky Harper]

Ruminations with Spanky Harper

Written, edited, and dictated by Spanky Harper

 i am riding high on the hog.  higher than space mountain.  i got a bologna with cheese and a tallboy redbull.  i got a log of skoal sittin in the console.   muh Bluejays are playing great football.  i got child support payments past due, but muh ex’s will just have to wait.  these busch lights dont buy themselves nor do those pull-tabs pull themselves.  i been on a losing streak, but muh Jays have been scorching hot.  how hot?  hotter than your mom on prom night back in ‘92.  hotter than the denham blacktop.  hotter than anything that has been seen in North Judson in a very long time.  

Spankin by the numbers

1-  The Bluejays ranking in the 1A polls.  

3-  Wins over teams ranked in the top ten in 1a this season by the North Judson Bluejays.

5- Straight consecutive shutouts by the Bluejays defense. (LaVille scored on a kickoff)  

15- Number of yards the Bluejays defense allowed on Friday against the trojenz of Triton.  

16- Number of weeks until I complete my probation.  

Ask Me Anything (AMA with Spanky Harper):

Over the last few months I have received a lot of emails with very personal questions.  Here are some that have stood out that I wanted to share with yall.  

@Root.Allen.69 asks, “Spanky, any dating advice for the recently divorced?”

Muh Response:  Root, thanks for your inquiry.  What’s your ex-wife's name, number and address?  The dating world is tuff.  Tuffer than some beef jerky from mark baileys.  But you have to stay vigilant.  First, update your facebook.  Preferably with a picture with your shirt off.  Show the world the goods.  Second, you gotta slide into them dms. Think pete rose sliding into second base. Third, take what you can get.  She might be a hog, but she can be your hog for the night; if ur man enuff for the challenge.  

@waynepugh98 asks, “Spanky, how do you balance the challenges of work and personal life?  

Muh Response:  Wayne, great question!  Muh personal life has never been better.  I do what I want, when I want it; Sometimes twice.  As for work, I aint never been no expert on the subject.  I haven’t had steady work since Clinton was in office.  I spend a lot of time at the Legion (Post 92).  Ya know giving back to those in need. 

@Warriors_Fan_4LIFE asks, "How does this Bluejay Football team compare to some of the all-time great teams in the area?"

Muh Response:  i am no historian.  I was blacked out for most of the 2000s.  I also had that 5 year stint in westville so I have missed some things.  Leave those conversations for those the barbershop and the fans in the stands.   I live week to week with a PO who loves to limit my traveling outside the starke county area.  I am hoping that they approve muh travels to royal center in a few weeks.  i been dying for some gas station chicken.

Keep sending in those questions and will post them from time to time.  
 

[TightEndOpenAgain]

New Sagarin has NJ 24th overall and a touchdown better than anyone in 2A. After 6 weeks, it gets “fairly” accurate. Jays are one tough machine! Didn’t know they only gave up 15 yards of Trojan offense last week

[hondo17]

1 hour ago, TightEndOpenAgain said:

New Sagarin has NJ 24th overall and a touchdown better than anyone in 2A. After 6 weeks, it gets “fairly” accurate. Jays are one tough machine! Didn’t know they only gave up 15 yards of Trojan offense last week

I'd bet a few of those top 7 ranked in 2a could beat them. Especially schools like Lutheran and WeBo. 

[TightEndOpenAgain]

19 minutes ago, hondo17 said:

I'd bet a few of those top 7 ranked in 2a could beat them. Especially schools like Lutheran and WeBo. 

Ehh maybe, maybe not? Who knows? They remain one tough machine and a great look for the HNAC!

Edited September 29, 2024 by TightEndOpenAgain