NLC - 2025 Season

[NLCTigerFan07]

We're shockingly only 6 weeks away from Week 1 of the 2025 season. How are all the teams looking? Excited to see some good nonconference games in the first 2 weeks of the season.

Concord: @ Elkhart, vs. Jimtown
Goshen: @ Fairfield, @ SB Washington
Mishawaka: vs. Mishawaka Marian, @ Penn
Northridge: @ FW North, vs. Elkhart
NorthWood: vs. Columbia City, @ New Prairie
Plymouth: vs. Tippecanoe Valley, @ Columbia City
Warsaw: @ FW Snider, vs. Warren Central
Wawasee: vs. Jimtown, @ West Noble

Love Concord and Northridge keeping it local against a solid Elkhart squad.

Love Mishawaka with their backyard rivalries from their NIC days.

Love NorthWood switching things up and adding strong 4A opponents. I get that the Jimtown rivalry is historic, but the Panthers haven't lost to the Jimmies since 2012.

Warsaw's magical 2024 season will immediately be put in the review mirror playing two of the historically and currently best programs in Indiana football history.

Competitive opponents for Plymouth, Wawasee, and Goshen is just what each of those programs need.
 

[Coach Lou]

What is everyone hearing coming out of summer camps?

Not hearing much from Elkhart unlike last year.

Wondering how the Lions will stack up against Concord and Northridge

[NLCTigerFan07]

Interesting that a lot of statewide chatter early has Mishawaka and Concord listed at the top. Who all are the Cavemen bringing back? I know the Minutemen bring back experienced quarterback Bo Brunner and electrifying athlete Char'rese Breveard. Losing Jaron Thomas is a big hole to fill on both sides of the ball for Concord, but I still think they are my pick preseason for NLC champs.

[NLCTigerFan07]

Unfortunately - looks like I'm the last of the Mohicans in this thread. Somewhat speaks to the state of affairs in the NLC. When I was playing 2 decades ago, every team had a full Freshmen, JV, and Varsity rosters. In many of the past seasons, Freshmen and JV schedules included teams who weren't on the Varsity schedule out of necessity to fill games. I realize Facebook gets a lot of the traffic now, but I miss the days of seeing this thread with posters from every school. Anyway - I'll do my best to do writes ups before each week. I was good about those for a few years and fell off last season.

Columbia City at NorthWood: I mentioned this previously, but I love this new matchup to start the year. It was good Warsaw finally got away from starting the season with Columbia City for strength of schedule purposes, but the Eagles have turned into a strong 4A program in northeast Indiana the last few years. It will be weird not seeing the Panthers take on Jimtown, but this is definitely an upgrade for them. I expect this game to be tight... NorthWood by 6

Concord at Elkhart: Going into year 5 of this series and it's split 2-2 with 3 of the games being low scoring slugfest. I think this is an excellent week 1 matchup and hope it sticks around for many years. It will be interesting to see how the Minutemen start the season after last year's "disappointment" of a regular season that didn't amount to any postseason hardware, along with not playing any games on their homefield this season. Elkhart has had a lot of noise this offseason with high expectations, but I'll stick to conference allegiants for now... Concord by 3

Goshen at Fairfield: A backyard brawl that the Redhawks should always dominate has not been the case since it started 9 seasons ago. Fairfield has beaten up on big brother the last 2 years, outscoring Goshen 84-23. The boys from the Maple City need to show some fight and discipline in week 1 if things are ever going to get turned around for that storied program. Finding a way to win 2 games this year will be considered positive momentum, but I'm not sure it happens... Fairfield by 14

Jimtown at Wawasee: With the Panthers kicking the Jimmies off their schedule, they head a little further east on US 6 to find a new opponent in Wawasee in apparently the first ever gridiron meeting between Jimtown and Wawasee. The Warriors start year 2 under Coach Thacker, who has brought a "Bart Ball" style of offense to Syracuse, hoping to put more points up on the scoreboard after being held to 7 points or fewer in 6 of their 10 games last year. I'm hopeful the disciplined style of play will start to show dividends for our Kosciusko brethren. I want to give them the nod playing at home, but will settle for at least a few TDs instead... Jimtown by 15

Marian at Mishawaka: Another backyard rivalry to kick things off, but this one has been dominated by big brother. The Cavemen have won 12 of 13 against Marian, with the only Knights victory coming in their 2020 Semi-State appearance season by a score of 44-43. I anticipate much of the same here before Mishawaka faces quite the back-to-back weeks challenge at Penn then hosting Concord, but they can't overlook little brother wanting to play spoiler... Mishawaka by 21

Northridge at FW North: The rubber match of this series where, interestingly enough, the visiting team has snagged each of the first 2 matchups. The Raiders saw their first losing season since 2019, which is a testament to the program Coach Wogomon created and Coach Eppley has maintained. I haven't seen much news out of the SAC this year, save for some Snider talk. I'll be a conference homer with this pick... Northridge by 4

Tippecanoe Valley at Plymouth: Another local matchup that has apparently never been played before, which is shocking considering their proximity and the fact that they play each other in almost every other sport. The Pilgrims Rockies (earned this right from me after beating Warsaw last year) had their first winning season since 2019, the complete opposite of what occurred in Middlebury. They've progressively gotten better each year under Coach Handley; could this be a year where they are a sneaky darkhorse pick for NLC Champs? I won't go quite that far yet, but like them in their season opener... Plymouth by 13

Warsaw at FW Snider: As stated before, the Tigers have quite the start to their schedule this season, starting with a trip to Fort Wayne to take on perennial power Snider. Unfortunately, this won't be at the Panther's new stadium (opens in 2026). Warsaw lost a bunch from last year's 5A Runner-Up squad, but their starting QB Brock did get some experience under center last season while Sullivan was injured the back half of the regular season. "Bart Ball" starts with the QB, so that will be helpful. However, losing so much in the trenches on both sides of the ball will be tough early against Snider (and Warren Central)... FW Snider by 21

[First_Backer_Inside]

The INSC thread has Valley winning handily. I've seen a little bit of Valley, but don't know much about Plymouth. Did they lose a lot of talent from last year? Did the well dry up in one year? I'm interested to see how this game unfolds a week before the Bell Game. 

[FinePrint]

As a player in the NLC from WAY back, I appreciate reading your content and analysis @NLCTigerFan07!  Keep it up.

[adambetz]

On 8/18/2025 at 12:51 PM, NLCTigerFan07 said:

Unfortunately - looks like I'm the last of the Mohicans in this thread. Somewhat speaks to the state of affairs in the NLC. When I was playing 2 decades ago, every team had a full Freshmen, JV, and Varsity rosters. In many of the past seasons, Freshmen and JV schedules included teams who weren't on the Varsity schedule out of necessity to fill games. I realize Facebook gets a lot of the traffic now, but I miss the days of seeing this thread with posters from every school. Anyway - I'll do my best to do writes ups before each week. I was good about those for a few years and fell off last season.

Columbia City at NorthWood: I mentioned this previously, but I love this new matchup to start the year. It was good Warsaw finally got away from starting the season with Columbia City for strength of schedule purposes, but the Eagles have turned into a strong 4A program in northeast Indiana the last few years. It will be weird not seeing the Panthers take on Jimtown, but this is definitely an upgrade for them. I expect this game to be tight... NorthWood by 6

Concord at Elkhart: Going into year 5 of this series and it's split 2-2 with 3 of the games being low scoring slugfest. I think this is an excellent week 1 matchup and hope it sticks around for many years. It will be interesting to see how the Minutemen start the season after last year's "disappointment" of a regular season that didn't amount to any postseason hardware, along with not playing any games on their homefield this season. Elkhart has had a lot of noise this offseason with high expectations, but I'll stick to conference allegiants for now... Concord by 3

Goshen at Fairfield: A backyard brawl that the Redhawks should always dominate has not been the case since it started 9 seasons ago. Fairfield has beaten up on big brother the last 2 years, outscoring Goshen 84-23. The boys from the Maple City need to show some fight and discipline in week 1 if things are ever going to get turned around for that storied program. Finding a way to win 2 games this year will be considered positive momentum, but I'm not sure it happens... Fairfield by 14

Jimtown at Wawasee: With the Panthers kicking the Jimmies off their schedule, they head a little further east on US 6 to find a new opponent in Wawasee in apparently the first ever gridiron meeting between Jimtown and Wawasee. The Warriors start year 2 under Coach Thacker, who has brought a "Bart Ball" style of offense to Syracuse, hoping to put more points up on the scoreboard after being held to 7 points or fewer in 6 of their 10 games last year. I'm hopeful the disciplined style of play will start to show dividends for our Kosciusko brethren. I want to give them the nod playing at home, but will settle for at least a few TDs instead... Jimtown by 15

Marian at Mishawaka: Another backyard rivalry to kick things off, but this one has been dominated by big brother. The Cavemen have won 12 of 13 against Marian, with the only Knights victory coming in their 2020 Semi-State appearance season by a score of 44-43. I anticipate much of the same here before Mishawaka faces quite the back-to-back weeks challenge at Penn then hosting Concord, but they can't overlook little brother wanting to play spoiler... Mishawaka by 21

Northridge at FW North: The rubber match of this series where, interestingly enough, the visiting team has snagged each of the first 2 matchups. The Raiders saw their first losing season since 2019, which is a testament to the program Coach Wogomon created and Coach Eppley has maintained. I haven't seen much news out of the SAC this year, save for some Snider talk. I'll be a conference homer with this pick... Northridge by 4

Tippecanoe Valley at Plymouth: Another local matchup that has apparently never been played before, which is shocking considering their proximity and the fact that they play each other in almost every other sport. The Pilgrims Rockies (earned this right from me after beating Warsaw last year) had their first winning season since 2019, the complete opposite of what occurred in Middlebury. They've progressively gotten better each year under Coach Handley; could this be a year where they are a sneaky darkhorse pick for NLC Champs? I won't go quite that far yet, but like them in their season opener... Plymouth by 13

Warsaw at FW Snider: As stated before, the Tigers have quite the start to their schedule this season, starting with a trip to Fort Wayne to take on perennial power Snider. Unfortunately, this won't be at the Panther's new stadium (opens in 2026). Warsaw lost a bunch from last year's 5A Runner-Up squad, but their starting QB Brock did get some experience under center last season while Sullivan was injured the back half of the regular season. "Bart Ball" starts with the QB, so that will be helpful. However, losing so much in the trenches on both sides of the ball will be tough early against Snider (and Warren Central)... FW Snider by 21

Unrelated to the thread, but I think Columbia City would be a great Wawasee replacement in the NLC if things ever went that way...

[NLCTigerFan07]

21 hours ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

The INSC thread has Valley winning handily. I've seen a little bit of Valley, but don't know much about Plymouth. Did they lose a lot of talent from last year? Did the well dry up in one year? I'm interested to see how this game unfolds a week before the Bell Game. 

I'd need a little help from a Plymouth source, but I do not believe the well completely dried up for them. I was under the impression that Valley might have had a dip themselves, but could 100% be incorrect. Haven't seen the season preview in the Times-Union for Valley yet (I think it comes out today).

24 minutes ago, adambetz said:

Unrelated to the thread, but I think Columbia City would be a great Wawasee replacement in the NLC if things ever went that way...

I don't disagree. A lot of people like to mention New Prairie as an added option, but I think the time zone difference really hinders New Prairie from seriously being considered. I know the NIC makes things work currently, but they're all MUCH closer to New Carlisle than basically every school in the NLC.

Columbia City would be quite the trek for Mishawaka, Concord, and Northridge, but I agree they could/should be in consideration if the NLC ever needed/wanted to add additional members.

1 hour ago, FinePrint said:

As a player in the NLC from WAY back, I appreciate reading your content and analysis @NLCTigerFan07!  Keep it up.

I appreciate it! Just wish others from NLC schools would post their thoughts and opinions a bit more so it's not just me in this echo chamber 😄 

[NLCTigerFan07]

Well after the hiatus - here's some observations through the first 3 weeks:

Mishawaka leads the pack after winning the early season battle over Concord. The Cavemen look to be poised for another NLC title and run at representing 4A North. They easily could be 3-0, but let one slip away to backyard rival Penn in week 2.

Warsaw and Concord are right behind Mishawaka, in that order, since the Minutemen are already a loss down in the standings. I was very surprised to see the Tigers win on the road over Snider, and equally impressed with their effort in the 2nd half against Warren Central where they almost came back. Meanwhile, Concord looks to have the same firepower on offense as they've had in recent years. They are certainly not out of it yet, with the Tigers on deck for them in Week 5, and Warsaw and Mishawaka still left to battle the first week of October.

NorthWood is still lurking, and can jump up this list quickly with a win this week at home against Mishawaka. They've been just as impressive on offense as Concord has been, and only lost to a strong Columbia City team by 3 to open the season. Friday will tell a lot about the Panthers. Are they contenders? Or pretenders?

Plymouth looks to be a step above the remaining teams. They've only won 1 game so far, but faced some tough opponents in the nonconference schedule. They'll be able to prove they're the "leaders of the middle of the pack" over the next 2 weeks against Goshen and Wawasee. Then the back half of the season... we'll find out if they can pull off an upset or two.

I'll put the remaining teams in order of Wawasee, Northridge, and Goshen. The Warriors snuck out a victory over Jimtown in week 1, and have score more through 3 weeks than they did the first 5 weeks last year. It takes time to get adjusted to that style of offense, and I have faith Wawasee will continue to get better. Meanwhile the Raiders are 0-3, played a tough nonconference schedule, but lost to the Rockies at home last week. Things don't get any easier for them the next 3 weeks. Finally, the Redhawks might have a victory under their belt, but after what I saw this past Friday, they are not a good team. Like Wawasee, I'm hopeful things can get turned around for them, and their visit to the Rock Pile on Friday night will tell us a lot about this squad.

[US31]

1,673 × 709

[NLCTigerFan07]

Talking to myself in this thread but I'll go ahead and add some commentary for folks to read.

Every week is a big week, but this week will determine the NLC championship.

Mishawaka can likely claim it outright. The Cavemen still have to go to Plymouth and host Wawasee to end the season, but I'd be hard pressed not to see them going 2-0 by large margins in those games.

If Warsaw can spring the upset, there could potentially be 4 teams tied at 4-1 (Concord, Mishawaka, Plymouth and Warsaw). The Pilgrims (I get to use this term again now that the Tigers avenged last season's loss), are unlikely to remain in this spot, but they do control their own destiny with games against NorthWood, Mishawaka, and Concord to end the season.

My best guess for how the final third of the season shakes out:

Mishawaka: 7-0, 8-1 overall with wins over Warsaw, Plymouth, and Wawasee
Concord: 6-1, 8-1 overall with wins over Goshen, Wawasee, and Plymouth
Warsaw: 5-2, 6-3 overall with wins over NorthWood and Northridge
Northwood: 4-3, 5-4 overall with wins over Plymouth and Goshen
Plymouth: 3-4, 3-6 overall with no further regular season victories
Northridge: 2-5, 2-7 overall with wins over Wawasee and Goshen
Goshen: 1-6, 2-7 overall with no further regular seasons victories
Wawasee: 0-7, 1-8 overall with no further regular season victories

[First_Backer_Inside]

I've been meaning to ask this, what happened in the Warsaw/Concord game? Wouldn't have been surprised by Concord winning, but was very surprised by the final score. I've heard Warsaw's defense is has been struggling this year. 

[maroonman]

20 hours ago, NLCTigerFan07 said:

Talking to myself in this thread but I'll go ahead and add some commentary for folks to read.

You may be talking to yourself, but some of us are sitting near by and eavesdropping.  😊

Always appreciate your analysis of the NLC!

 

[Coach Lou]

What has happened at Northridge? 3-7 last year and have started 0-6 this year. The new coach's first few years were successful but they have fallen on hard times the last couple of years.

[Coach Lou]

I see Northridge has finally gotten their first win.

What has happened at Wawasee?

Open the season with a win over Jimtown but have lost to Goshen and a winless Northridge badly over the last two weeks.

 

[ArmyVet80]

Is the Concord vs Plymouth game at LOS next Friday a one off or are there more northern Indiana teams also playing at LOS? I'm from Mishawaka but moved to Indy after getting out of the Army and try to support the northern schools when they come to central Indiana. Just curious who else may be down here. I saw that they were playing at LOS on John H's site. I'm guessing it is correct/accurate. 

[RFootball5]

On 10/10/2025 at 11:03 PM, ArmyVet80 said:

Is the Concord vs Plymouth game at LOS next Friday a one off or are there more northern Indiana teams also playing at LOS? I'm from Mishawaka but moved to Indy after getting out of the Army and try to support the northern schools when they come to central Indiana. Just curious who else may be down here. I saw that they were playing at LOS on John H's site. I'm guessing it is correct/accurate. 

It is a one off for these schools.  Concord has not had a true home game all season long as they are doing construction on a new facility.  They have played "home" games at Rice Field (Elkhart) and Steele Stadium (Mishawaka).  They wanted to do something special for their seniors since they would not have a home game their senior year and this is the result.  It will be a very cool experience for both teams.  I remember back in the day when the Northern Lakes Conference used to have a "day in the dome" for one week of the conference season and all matchups were played down there.  It would be cool if they could somehow get back to doing that semi-regularly. 

[Coach Lou]

I am hearing Wawasee is looking to drop out of the NLC. They have been a member for over 50years so not sure what the reason is.

 

[F00tballGuy]

10 hours ago, Coach Lou said:

I am hearing Wawasee is looking to drop out of the NLC. They have been a member for over 50years so not sure what the reason is.

 

Not sure why its taken this long for them to even discuss it.  They have not had a real competitive team since the mid 2010's.  We always count this as a win when we see it on the schedule.  We also know that they can't win if you get the game into the second half.  They just do not have the athletes to compete in the NLC anymore.  I would also bet that the portal is going to hit them hard.

Edited October 16, 2025 by F00tballGuy

[npcougar15]

12 hours ago, Coach Lou said:

I am hearing Wawasee is looking to drop out of the NLC. They have been a member for over 50years so not sure what the reason is.

 

If this is true New Prairie needs to go all-in for NLC membership. might be some longer drives for the cougs but they would fit like a glove in that conference 

[Coach Lou]

Wawasee though not small at 900 students is one of the smaller schools in the NLC with Northwood and Plymouth. Elkhart wanted in as Memorial was a member but when Elkhart became 1 school of over 3000 students the NLC didn't want them. Mishawaka couldn't jump fast enough to take Memorial's place. It has been a great move for Mishawaka both competitively and financially

[cdcotton]

I am a long-time coach and volunteer in the Wawasee community. Wawasee is not looking to get out of the conference. That rumor spread because of an agenda item in a Head Coaches meeting that happened to be on the same night as a School Board Meeting. In this day of instant communication options that news spread and quickly got out of hand. Full disclosure, I heard the news about the two meetings and thought it was a done deal myself, so I took time to meet with the Principal. I welcomed that opportunity and his willingness to set time aside for any community members to visit with him.

Here's the truth. Our leadership is doing its due diligence on all things related to athletic performance at a time when our corporation is evaluating academics, enrollment, finances, etc. Enrollment numbers don't tell the whole story; you must include socioeconomics and participation rates. Our Principal and AD are handling this the right way; it's open and transparent, which is a huge departure from the way things ran here under the previous superintendent's reign.

My heart and pride, and sense of tradition are tied to the NLC. I played three sports (well two, I sat in one - ha) in it and coached in it in 2 sports across 25 years. But when you look up the success, or lack thereof, across all programs historically, it is not a pretty picture. This is an issue I have wanted to help address for more than a decade. Finally, it is being discussed. I want to know why we lose coaches in all sports at an alarming rate, why we are declining in enrollment, why kids don't participate in extracurriculars at a higher rate, why kids quit, etc. I have my opinions and want to hear what others in our community have to say.

Right now, the loudest voices on either side of the issue are not current stakeholders. There are tons of alums who are quick to spout, "When I played ________," who in fact did not play and are sorely mistaken about their teams' success rates if they did.

[NLCTigerFan07]

On 9/29/2025 at 1:09 PM, First_Backer_Inside said:

I've been meaning to ask this, what happened in the Warsaw/Concord game? Wouldn't have been surprised by Concord winning, but was very surprised by the final score. I've heard Warsaw's defense is has been struggling this year. 

Sorry for the delay in response. I stepped away from the Forum after multiple issues getting onto the site. Seems to be on its last legs, especially with the lack of donations.

If you are still interested - here's where you can watch the game. Concord led 10-7 halfway through the 2nd quarter, Warsaw had the ball at the Minutemen 45-yard line following a Concord INT, but then Concord stopped the Tigers on 4th down. After that, it was all Minutemen on both sides of the ball. Concord stopped at least 5 4th down conversions attempts by Warsaw.

As you mentioned, the Tiger defense (especially the secondary) has not been great. I don't know if they just don't have the athletes, but I feel like they play extremely soft in the secondary. Concord ate them up hitting easy passes, but also their QB had some big runs when scrambling.

Warsaw hosts Concord

[NLCTigerFan07]

On 10/2/2025 at 8:48 AM, Coach Lou said:

What has happened at Northridge? 3-7 last year and have started 0-6 this year. The new coach's first few years were successful but they have fallen on hard times the last couple of years.

Another late response - but I think context is always critical. Northridge started the season 0-6 against a touch schedule, but easily could have been 5-1, 4-2, or at worst 3-3 if a few plays broke their way here or there.

 

The Raiders will have a chance to truly show the type of team they are against #7 SB St. Joseph (9-1) this Friday night. I'm not picking Northridge to win, but I think they can make it competitive.