SIAC Week 1

[TigerFan20]

MasseyRating’s Lines:

Central at Mater Dei (-35)

Reitz (-30) at Harrison

Bosse at Lincoln (-28)

Jasper at Memorial (-21)

North at Castle (-17)

[AW0352]

I’ll bite.  
- Will Central improve this year? MD wins BIG. 

- Will Harrison improve this year? Reitz wins BIG.  

- I’ll admit I don’t know much about Bosse or VL.   How does VL do in their last year in the conference?   VL probably wins. 
- memorial lost a lot.  How will they reload?   Jasper with a completely new look.   Memorial wins close.  
- Castle lost a ton of key players.   How do they reload?   This is the game of the week.  Teams always come out pumped up with a new coach.  Castle wins close.  

[MHSTigerFan]

Several coaches making their SIAC debuts:  Nero at North, Hess at MD, and Derek Hart at Jasper.

Hart has coached elsewhere before (most recently at North Central).  But Nero and Hess are marking their first seasons as a HC.

I always wondered how an opposing team prepares for a Week 1 game like this.  One would think that Hess won’t change much up at MD.  Hart likely runs the same looks as he did before.  But Nero might have the element of surprise on his side against the Knights.

[tango]

IMO there are only two intriguing games in Wk. 1...

MD, Reitz & Lincoln all win big in running clock games. Central, Harrison and Bosse will again be at the bottom of the standings (in that order).

The other two games seem to be toss-ups. Castle did not impress me much in the scrimmage against Memorial Friday. I expect North will come out with some juice in Coach Nero's first game mushing the sled. I'll take the Knights by 3 based on home field and a QB that has a few seasons under his belt.

Memorial & Jasper is always close. Last year's running clock W for Memorial was an anomaly. I would anticipate Jasper having some hiccups running their spread for the first time against a D that has a specific game plan. While Memorial looked better than what I expected Friday, I also expect some Wk. 1 jitters. Memorial's RB could be the difference. I'll take the Tigers by 7 before what should be a big Enlow crowd. 

 

[Football Fanatic]

Week 1 offers many unknowns. However, the matchups seem fairly easy to predict. Only 1 road team comes away with a win this week.

Central at Mater Dei - Many expect the Bears to be improved, including myself. They have an experienced QB and some nice weapons to use at the skill positions. Their line and defense are big question marks. On the other hand, the Wildcats will probably be a top 3 team. Thacker and Mallory both potential POTY. Wildcats by 3 scores.

Reitz at Harrison - I don't expect the Warriors to be much, if any, better than last season. On the other hand, the Panthers return 15 starters from a Regional team, which sets them up well. Expect both their defense and run game to be very good. Darrett is potential POTY. Panthers run the clock.

Bosse at Vincennes - Unfortunately for the Dawgs, they may end up being one of the worst teams in SIAC history this year. They lost a lot, numbers are low, and will be relying on a lot of young guys. The Alices have some nice players and led by (most likely) a future pro athlete at QB. Alices run the clock.

Jasper at Memorial - I would venture to say both of these teams are slightly mysterious and potential wildcards. However, something not mysterious is the consistent success of Memorial. They will still be good despite having to replace key positions. Jasper will be dangerous with new life and a new offense, but not sure they have the line or skill guys to be among the best yet. Tigers by 3 scores.

GAME OF THE WEEK:

North at Castle - Easy pick for GOTW to kick off the season. Always a good matchup, this year should be no different. However, in the long run, I do expected Castle to be the much better team. However, North is a wildcard with new life and a new offense. How well will they run that new offense? Castle has to replace some big time players, but it always helps to return a QB. Knights win by 2 scores.

Edited August 18, 2025 by Football Fanatic

[MHSTigerFan]

3 hours ago, tango said:

 

Memorial & Jasper is always close. Last year's running clock W for Memorial was an anomaly. I would anticipate Jasper having some hiccups running their spread for the first time against a D that has a specific game plan. While Memorial looked better than what I expected Friday, I also expect some Wk. 1 jitters. Memorial's RB could be the difference. I'll take the Tigers by 7 before what should be a big Enlow crowd. 

It was interesting to see De’Andre Fellows, a sophomore transfer from Bosse, getting 1st team reps for Memorial in the Castle scrimmage.  He got the ball a few times, too

Looks quick and elusive.

This one is hard to predict.  Both programs usually put competitive teams on the field.  New coaching staff and offense in Jasper, lots of new faces at MHS - Fisher, Ellspermann, Broshears gone…

I’ll go with Jasper by 10.

Edited August 18, 2025 by MHSTigerFan

[TigerFan20]

Speaking of Jasper, wonder how they did against Heritage Hills last week for their scrimmage? Very intrigued with their new offense under Hart.

Edited August 18, 2025 by TigerFan20

[tango]

1 hour ago, TigerFan20 said:

Speaking of Jasper, wonder how they did against Heritage Hills last week for their scrimmage? Very intrigued with their new offense under Hart.

Lots of forward passing from what I understand. New era for the JCats.

Edited August 18, 2025 by tango

[TigerFan20]

16 minutes ago, tango said:

Lots of forward passing from what I understand. New era for the JCats.

Yup, going to be a sight watching Jasper use the Spread Offense primarily for the first time in who knows how long.  Should be a great game at Enlow between 2 teams with a lot of new faces.

[wildcatfan]

3 hours ago, TigerFan20 said:

Speaking of Jasper, wonder how they did against Heritage Hills last week for their scrimmage? Very intrigued with their new offense under Hart.

From what I’ve heard, things went good during the scrimmage. What does that exactly mean, not sure as was a brief convo that I overheard and I was not there to see for myself. I have heard the player turnout has been better than years past and the new offense has brought some additional athletes that wouldn't have come out with the previous regime. I say all of this but the season still may be rough. 
 

Also, anyone know if Memorial is streaming their games this year? Thought they have in the past. 
 

Go Cats!

[MHSTigerFan]

21 minutes ago, wildcatfan said:

Also, anyone know if Memorial is streaming their games this year? Thought they have in the past. 

Yes, they’ll be streaming games.  A couple changes, though.

One is that they’re producing it in-house - rather than in partnership with Indiana SRN.  Hopefully they’ve got all the resources they need to do it reliably.

The other change is that they’re supposed to be adding a 2nd camera.  That should help create better coverage when the ball is in either red zone.

[TigerFan20]

6 minutes ago, MHSTigerFan said:

Yes, they’ll be streaming games.  A couple changes, though.

One is that they’re producing it in-house - rather than in partnership with Indiana SRN.  Hopefully they’ve got all the resources they need to do it reliably.

The other change is that they’re supposed to be adding a 2nd camera.  That should help create better coverage when the ball is in either red zone.

Was wondering why the games were not popping up on Indiana SRN. I know Memorial streamed the basketball games last season.

Edited August 18, 2025 by TigerFan20

[MHSTigerFan]

3 minutes ago, TigerFan20 said:

Was wondering why the games were not popping up on Indiana SRN. I know they streamed the basketball games last season.

I don’t know where to look for the game links.  But I’d guess either on IHSAATv.org or the Memorial athletics website.

[TigerFan20]

29 minutes ago, MHSTigerFan said:

I don’t know where to look for the game links.  But I’d guess either on IHSAATv.org or the Memorial athletics website.

I’ll check them later this week if they pop up.

[Football Fanatic]

23 hours ago, Football Fanatic said:

Week 1 offers many unknowns. However, the matchups seem fairly easy to predict. Only 1 road team comes away with a win this week.

Central at Mater Dei - Many expect the Bears to be improved, including myself. They have an experienced QB and some nice weapons to use at the skill positions. Their line and defense are big question marks. On the other hand, the Wildcats will probably be a top 3 team. Thacker and Mallory both potential POTY. Wildcats by 3 scores.

Reitz at Harrison - I don't expect the Warriors to be much, if any, better than last season. On the other hand, the Panthers return 15 starters from a Regional team, which sets them up well. Expect both their defense and run game to be very good. Darrett is potential POTY. Panthers run the clock.

Bosse at Vincennes - Unfortunately for the Dawgs, they may end up being one of the worst teams in SIAC history this year. They lost a lot, numbers are low, and will be relying on a lot of young guys. The Alices have some nice players and led by (most likely) a future pro athlete at QB. Alices run the clock.

Jasper at Memorial - I would venture to say both of these teams are slightly mysterious and potential wildcards. However, something not mysterious is the consistent success of Memorial. They will still be good despite having to replace key positions. Jasper will be dangerous with new life and a new offense, but not sure they have the line or skill guys to be among the best yet. Tigers by 3 scores.

GAME OF THE WEEK:

North at Castle - Easy pick for GOTW to kick off the season. Always a good matchup, this year should be no different. However, in the long run, I do expected Castle to be the much better team. However, North is a wildcard with new life and a new offense. How well will they run that new offense? Castle has to replace some big time players, but it always helps to return a QB. Knights win by 2 scores.

Score predictions:

Mater Dei 28 Central 7

Reitz 48 Harrison 7

Vincennes 52 Bosse 6

Memorial 31 Jasper 14

Castle 24 North 14

[ptr]

On 8/18/2025 at 10:04 AM, tango said:

IMO there are only two intriguing games in Wk. 1...

MD, Reitz & Lincoln all win big in running clock games. Central, Harrison and Bosse will again be at the bottom of the standings (in that order).

The other two games seem to be toss-ups. Castle did not impress me much in the scrimmage against Memorial Friday. I expect North will come out with some juice in Coach Nero's first game mushing the sled. I'll take the Knights by 3 based on home field and a QB that has a few seasons under his belt.

Memorial & Jasper is always close. Last year's running clock W for Memorial was an anomaly. I would anticipate Jasper having some hiccups running their spread for the first time against a D that has a specific game plan. While Memorial looked better than what I expected Friday, I also expect some Wk. 1 jitters. Memorial's RB could be the difference. I'll take the Tigers by 7 before what should be a big Enlow crowd. 

 

I honestly am not qualified to comment on what Castle has going for them this season, but in these scrimmages, teams usually are pretty generic in their play and don't show much in their play designs. Curiously, is it that they were fundamentally unsound in their play in the scrimmage or what? I have somewhat of an interest in them since Bloomington South faced them in the regional last season and they may meet again this season in the regional.

[TigerFan20]

22 hours ago, wildcatfan said:

Also, anyone know if Memorial is streaming their games this year? Thought they have in the past.

https://www.ihsaatv.org/?B=2587828

 

[MHSTigerFan]

6 hours ago, ptr said:

I honestly am not qualified to comment on what Castle has going for them this season, but in these scrimmages, teams usually are pretty generic in their play and don't show much in their play designs. Curiously, is it that they were fundamentally unsound in their play in the scrimmage or what? I have somewhat of an interest in them since Bloomington South faced them in the regional last season and they may meet again this season in the regional.

While I’m certainly not going to say that coaches don’t ever add/edit/delete plays and sets on either side of the ball, if there are two current head coaches in the SIAC who know each other’s playbooks intimately, it’s Hurt and Hurley.

[tango]

18 hours ago, ptr said:

I honestly am not qualified to comment on what Castle has going for them this season, but in these scrimmages, teams usually are pretty generic in their play and don't show much in their play designs. Curiously, is it that they were fundamentally unsound in their play in the scrimmage or what? I have somewhat of an interest in them since Bloomington South faced them in the regional last season and they may meet again this season in the regional.

I think most teams are pretty vanilla for the scrimmage. We didn't run anything our 7th grade team can't run. As for Castle, to me it was more execution. Just didn't seem up to the usual standard. I have no doubt Castle will be a challenge in the SIAC for anyone.