2025 Duneland Conference Preview

[Flyingangel]

3 hours ago, Justasportsfan said:

U got it.. I thought within the last decade or so valpo had been winning the conference..mea culpa

I could be wrong but I wanna say in last 10 years now…

 

its valpo 3 

crown point 3

merrillville 3 

Laporte 1??

[Flyingangel]

On 6/28/2025 at 3:02 PM, 23andCounting said:

So to qualify as a respectful program, you have to be one of the best 6 or 7 teams in 6A. Got it. The North should start out with three programs that have potential to be respectful, but in the end, there will be only one. East Central and Decatur Central don't qualify. New Pal probably because they return a lot of starters from what I hear. The Dragon's will go back to non-respectable next season more than likely. 

How good will dragons be this season? 

[23andCounting]

3 hours ago, Flyingangel said:

How good will dragons be this season? 

I'm not the one to ask. I heard somewhere on this board that they were returning 15ish starters? Not positive. 

[Flyingangel]

58 minutes ago, 23andCounting said:

I'm not the one to ask. I heard somewhere on this board that they were returning 15ish starters? Not positive. 

Interesting makes me wonder if they can compete at the higher levels 

[23andCounting]

8 minutes ago, Flyingangel said:

Interesting makes me wonder if they can compete at the higher levels 

A school that size typically has to wait for a special class to come along to be a serious contender in 6A (maybe once or twice a decade). The Dragons scream 4A dynasty and would be a major player in 5A every season. But 6A is a different beast. 

[Flyingangel]

3 hours ago, 23andCounting said:

A school that size typically has to wait for a special class to come along to be a serious contender in 6A (maybe once or twice a decade). The Dragons scream 4A dynasty and would be a major player in 5A every season. But 6A is a different beast. 

I feel like 6A is a stretch and they might be top 10 in 5A but not a threat unless they have a special class coming in. Just can’t see them beating cathedral or east central consistently 

[23andCounting]

2 minutes ago, Flyingangel said:

I feel like 6A is a stretch and they might be top 10 in 5A but not a threat unless they have a special class coming in. Just can’t see them beating cathedral or east central consistently 

I see them beating Cathedral once every 4 or 5 years. I actually see them winning 3 of 5 over EC. 

[23andCounting]

At the end of the day, Ralph and Meiners have two of the best programs in the state. What separates them from the best football teams in the state is about 1800 students. 

Duneland anyone? Not sure how we diverted. Maybe had something to do with a couple of other programs that struggled in the big division for years, mainly do to lower enrollment numbers.............Merrillville and Valpo, two great programs and communities that support them. 

[WolvesOnTheProwl]

Who replaces elrich and elllison at qb and rb for the bulldogs?

[Flyingangel]

5 hours ago, WolvesOnTheProwl said:

Who replaces elrich and elllison at qb and rb for the bulldogs?

If im not mistaken from what I have seen through articles I think the front runner at QB is incoming junior chase Horton if I’m not wrong. And running back I heard it’s by committee as no one stands out. 
 

Crown point should take some steps back this year, still believe they are the top of DAC They lost an incredible senior class. The jv over last 2 season might have had 2 losses with the most recent loss being to Merrillville jv last season 20-14 @ crown point. 
 

there freshman team was 5-4 

 

[temptation]

41 minutes ago, Flyingangel said:

If im not mistaken from what I have seen through articles I think the front runner at QB is incoming junior chase Horton if I’m not wrong. And running back I heard it’s by committee as no one stands out. 
 

Crown point should take some steps back this year, still believe they are the top of DAC They lost an incredible senior class. The jv over last 2 season might have had 2 losses with the most recent loss being to Merrillville jv last season 20-14 @ crown point. 
 

there freshman team was 5-4 

 

So an HCC team/Carmel coming out of the north?

Got it.

[Flyingangel]

On 7/4/2025 at 6:55 PM, temptation said:

So an HCC team/Carmel coming out of the north?

Got it.

Personally I don’t see the major hype in crown point. They had a great senior class come through now we need to see if he can continue to build it. Time will tell the story 

[Boilernation]

On 6/29/2025 at 1:28 AM, Flyingangel said:

The transfer is Michael hill JR. I can not confirm the following. if I was told correctly the young man was at pierce in 8th grade and then transferred out to a school in Illinois and played some as a freshman on varsity. And then transferred back to Merrillville as a sophomore and was supposed to be the starter but the IHSAA game him limited eligibility he was there in QB last year till right here state tourney. If his highlight tape is correct he started playing for them limited on varsity the last game of year. Kids arm is solid and he is extremely mobile. The junior from last year supposedly quit or didn’t go out for team this year. If the kid is as good as advertised Merrillville going by stats will have 3 people in their backfield that all ran for 1000 yards last season except QB did it on jv. That’s was I have gathered looking into them. 

I've heard that Hill is VERY good. Cody kept claiming all of last year that Merrillville's best QB wasn't eligible to play. Once in a while he's actually correct when it comes to the Pirates. 

 

[Boilernation]

On 7/6/2025 at 7:49 AM, Flyingangel said:

Personally I don’t see the major hype in crown point. They had a great senior class come through now we need to see if he can continue to build it. Time will tell the story 

I would agree. Back to back very good Senior classes. We know Buzea can coach and they have a great coaching staff. We don't know if they have the talent to get back to LOS, let alone Semi-State.

I'll be at Zionsville vs. Pike in Week 1. I'm curious to see how Crown Point fairs against Pike after I see PIke in person one week earlier. I can say with confidence Pike will be a lot bigger and faster than the comp Crown Point will see in week 1. I know that CP vs. Lowell is one of the longest rivalries in the State; however, Crown Point needs to start considering other options, imo. Lowell may be thinking the same if it's another blowout. 

[Flyingangel]

1 hour ago, Boilernation said:

I would agree. Back to back very good Senior classes. We know Buzea can coach and they have a great coaching staff. We don't know if they have the talent to get back to LOS, let alone Semi-State.

I'll be at Zionsville vs. Pike in Week 1. I'm curious to see how Crown Point fairs against Pike after I see PIke in person one week earlier. I can say with confidence Pike will be a lot bigger and faster than the comp Crown Point will see in week 1. I know that CP vs. Lowell is one of the longest rivalries in the State; however, Crown Point needs to start considering other options, imo. Lowell may be thinking the same if it's another blowout. 

Not gonna defend the guy, but Cody is more often than not correct. Especially when it comes to injuries. If I’m not mistaken he is a volunteer coach at there practices all week but he chooses to be a fan in stands on Friday nights. So I have been told. But enough about his. 
 

lowell/crown point on the other hand. I remember an article about them talking about taking a break for a short time but I believe buses was the one that commented that the rivalry was more important than upgrading that game to his team. 

[Flyingangel]

Stole this from Facebook but looks like Michigan city’s lost there best player! 

[Boilernation]

15 minutes ago, Flyingangel said:

Stole this from Facebook but looks like Michigan city’s lost there best player! 

Wow! Carmel Catholic is way up in Mundelein. No way he's making a daily commute from City. 

[Boilernation]

21 minutes ago, Flyingangel said:

Not gonna defend the guy, but Cody is more often than not correct. Especially when it comes to injuries. If I’m not mistaken he is a volunteer coach at there practices all week but he chooses to be a fan in stands on Friday nights. So I have been told. But enough about his. 
 

lowell/crown point on the other hand. I remember an article about them talking about taking a break for a short time but I believe buses was the one that commented that the rivalry was more important than upgrading that game to his team. 

I could believe he has some sort of connection to Merrillville. He's very intune when it comes to their roster. I get Buzea's comment (if it was him) as well as sentiment towards a long standing South Lake County rivalry game, but it's not benefiting either team at the moment.

 

[Flyingangel]

2 hours ago, Boilernation said:

Wow! Carmel Catholic is way up in Mundelein. No way he's making a daily commute from City. 

Just messaged his dad on fb. As of right now yes he is. He will be driving there daily along with 2 other kids that also go out there from the area 

[Flyingangel]

2 hours ago, Boilernation said:

I could believe he has some sort of connection to Merrillville. He's very intune when it comes to their roster. I get Buzea's comment (if it was him) as well as sentiment towards a long standing South Lake County rivalry game, but it's not benefiting either team at the moment.

 

I personally met him at a game in 2022 he is not bad.. The fans at Merrillville kinda gravitate toward him. It’s like he is a super hero there 😂 he never sits still he is always running from one end of stands to the other because people call and text him all the time to come over there. When I saw him the kid had 3 phones and a tablet all pulled up on different games around the state. He lives and breathes high school football. He wants to be a real coach I think. But who knows. 
 

and yeah that rivalry does nothing for either team. But I mean no one else really has an opening for week 1 around the state. We will see what happens but I think it’s still gonna be here for a while 

[temptation]

10 minutes ago, Flyingangel said:

Just messaged his dad on fb. As of right now yes he is. He will be driving there daily along with 2 other kids that also go out there from the area 

Nuts.  Reminds me of Blake Corum.

Two hours each way to school in high school.

[Boilernation]

21 hours ago, temptation said:

Nuts.  Reminds me of Blake Corum.

Two hours each way to school in high school.

The crazy part is Carmel Catholic isn't a powerhouse in the Chicago Catholic League. A southside power like Mt. Carmel or St. Rita would have been a much shorter commute from City.

 

[Sparty]

All for high school.  Lol.  

[Justasportsfan]

16 minutes ago, Sparty said:

All for high school.  Lol.  

The school lunch was that bad!?

[Flyingangel]

9 hours ago, Justasportsfan said:

The school lunch was that bad!?

Heard it’s the community and the coaching staff. They don’t feel like the parents are committed to the program and they HATE Cody French as a coach