2025 Three Rivers Conference

[First_Backer_Inside]

Any TRC folks out there? Any first week thoughts? Numbers down a little bit, but hopefully the conference stays very competitive. Here's the week one matchups.

 

Cass at Pioneer, 7 pm

Maconaquah at Wabash ©, 7 pm

Manchester at Northwestern ©, 7 pm

North Miami at Northfield, 7 pm

Peru at Logansport, 7 pm

Rochester at Southwood ©, 7 pm

Whitko at Prairie Heights, 7 pm

 

Cass hasn't had any trouble putting up points. Can they stop the other team from scoring this year? Tough week 1 opponent. Pulling for the TRC in this matchup, but I'm going to give Pioneer the nod.

Maconaquah gets the win in the TRC matchup with Wabash.

Manchester has some good players at the skilled positions. I think this will be the game of the week in the TRC. I'm going to take the Squires over the Tigers week 1.

North Miami beats an improved Northfield team, but I think it will be close.

Logansport over Peru

Rochester gets the nod over the Knights.

Flip a coin in the Whitko and Prairie Heights game. I don't know much about either team going into the season other than Whitko has a new coach. I'll pick Whitko just because of being in the TRC, but not sure how this game will go.

[Muda69]

Go Braves.

 

[First_Backer_Inside]

Could be some good ones this week. Big game between Southwood and Northfield. I think the Manchester and Cass game could be a good one as well. Who ya got?

Manchester at Cass ©, 7 pm

Northfield at Southwood ©, 7 pm

Northwestern at Peru ©, 7 pm

Wabash at Rochester ©, 7 pm

Whitko at Maconaquah ©, 7 pm

 

For me,

I'm taking Cass. Big win last week against Peru in a close one. Haven't seen the game yet. That momentum will ride into this week.

Give me Northfield on the next one. It's about that time that Coach Baker starts getting that option team to become a well oiled machine.

Peru will be too physical for the Purple Tigers.

Rochester by a lot. Wabash has some good athletes tho.

Maconaquah by a lot. Wonder if Whitko will have their QB and HB back for this one. Didn't play in the game last week against Rochester and it showed. -15 yards of total offense in a game is not good.

[First_Backer_Inside]

Still looking for some TRC folks on the digest. Should be some fun ones this week. A lot of teams playing mirror images of themselves this week. Who ya got?

Cass at Rochester - Big game in the conference. Both teams undefeated in the conference, same style of offense, should be a good hard hitting game on Friday night.

Northfield at Manchester - Should be a quick game with both teams running the ball in their option offenses. Manchester has the better athletes, I think they get the job done.

Northwestern at Whitko - Both teams are going to air it out. If Whitko has their QB back should be a pretty good game between the two of them. I'm going to give Northwestern the nod, but should be a good one.

Peru at Maconaquah - About the only game where you will see the two offenses running different things this week in the conference. Peru has lost a couple of close games in the conference. I think Mac's ability to air the ball out will be too much for the Tigers. I'll take Mac.

Southwood at Wabash - Should be a good matchup. Will come down to which defense plays better than the other. I think Southwood has a little better defense, but I think Wabash probably has the best player on the field offensively. Should be a good one. I'm going to go with Southwood here.

[TightEndOpenAgain]

Rochester 42-13

 

Manchester 28-14

 

Northwestern 33-12

 

Mac 57-whatever Mac wants the Peru score to be

 

Wabash 21-20

 

TRC sure has been in a steady decline from 80s-2000s. About 30 years in there where 4-5 teams played some really good football on any given year and several deep postseason runs/state titles. Downturn started with the Oak Hill/Wabash flip in the fall of 06.

[First_Backer_Inside]

9 hours ago, TightEndOpenAgain said:

TRC sure has been in a steady decline from 80s-2000s. About 30 years in there where 4-5 teams played some really good football on any given year and several deep postseason runs/state titles. Downturn started with the Oak Hill/Wabash flip in the fall of 06.

Strictly talking football I would have to agree. I think throughout other sports the conference is still fairly competitive in conference and playoffs. 

With the exit of Valley and North Miami, it has been rough. I would make the argument that Cass and Northwestern will have years being up and down. When they are up that helps the conference. The Wabash schools are certainly struggling. Southwood and Northfield haven't been their usual selves the last couple of years. Those are usually two tough 1A schools you can count on to be a hard out year in and year out. Peru is another one that just can't put consistent years together. 

 

[TightEndOpenAgain]

Agreed on all fronts. I’m sure they’ll try to combine SW and NF again soon. If/when that happens, it would help football. Big Coach T at Northwestern has a solid young core. Would love to see Cass get back to their 2000s days. Seagraves, Bowser, Mannerings, O’Brien were some TOUGH squads

[Muda69]

On 9/18/2025 at 10:25 PM, TightEndOpenAgain said:

Mac 57-whatever Mac wants the Peru score to be

 

Well that didn't exactly turn out as planned.  

 

[Robert]

32 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Well that didn't exactly turn out as planned.  

 

Win is a win is a win is a win.

[First_Backer_Inside]

37 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Well that didn't exactly turn out as planned.  

 

Survive and advance

[First_Backer_Inside]

New week of games. Can Rochester and Maconaquah continue to stay undefeated and on path for a collision course for the conference championship in Week 9? Time will tell. Can't believe its already Week 6! Sectional draw is right around the corner. Who ya got this week.

Maconaquah at Northwestern - Mac had a bit of a scare last week. I look for them to reload and refocus this week against an improved Northwestern team from the start of the year. Mac wins this by a couple scores.

Manchester at Southwood - Manchester is putting together a nice season. I look for them to continue this and be too much for the Knights. Manchester by 21+

Rochester at Peru - Probably the game of the week in the conference. Peru has a very misleading 1-4 record. They play everybody really well. Rochester has the second best defense in the state. It will be tested this week against an offense that can put up points. I think Rochester in a close one.

Wabash at Northfield - Northfield is very young and Wabash has some pretty good athletes on the team that will be the difference in the game. I like Wabash by two touchdowns.

Whitko at Cass - Cass took one on the chin last week. I think they bounce back and continue to keep the conference race close between them, Mac, and Rochester. Cass by a couple of scores.

[First_Backer_Inside]

Week 7 games! Two Sundays away from the sectional draw. Maconaquah survives another game to stay undefeated along with Rochester in the conference. Will be interesting to see how the Conference starts to unfold towards the bottom with a lot of 1-4 teams sitting there. I think Manchester, Northwestern, and Cass have established themselves as the second tier of teams although Cass has a chance to put themselves in second place in the conference with a win against Maconaquah this week. Only three more weeks in the conference and on to sectionals, here we go!

Cass at Maconaquah - Game of the week in the conference. Can Cass stop the Braves from putting up 50, and be able to put up enough points to get the job done. Not sure what to think of Maconaquah. They can score 28 points in one quarter, and then go scoreless for a half. Can they stop Smith at FB will be the key. I look for this to be close with Maconaquah pulling away late in the game. Mac - 49 Cass - 28

Manchester at Whitko - Manchester wins this one and remains a one loss team in the TRC.

Northfield at Rochester - Zebras going to be too much for the Norseman even though Northfield got a big win last week against Wabash. Zebras too much for them in this one.

Northwestern at Wabash - Northwestern will put up a lot of points, Wabash will put up a few points. Northwestern gets the win by multiple scores.

Southwood at Peru - Peru is better than their record shows. Finally getting to the bottom half of teams in the conference. I look for them to win at least 2 of their last 3 with the first one coming this week. Peru by two touchdowns.

[Muda69]

With the defense Rochester has to be the favorite to win the TRC title this year.   The Zebra's D even got a brief mention in the Indianapolis Star this past weekend. 

 

[First_Backer_Inside]

2 hours ago, Muda69 said:

With the defense Rochester has to be the favorite to win the TRC title this year.   The Zebra's D even got a brief mention in the Indianapolis Star this past weekend. 

 

The defense has played well. They play with a lot of energy which can make up for a lot of mistakes they make. As good as the Braves offense is, can't have those mistakes when they meet up. All it takes is the Braves to be on for a whole game and they can put up points on anyone. Never have I seen a team that can put up 28 points as fast as they can in any given quarter. Hopefully both teams can stay undefeated for a big conference matchup like last year, both stay healthy after the game and make some deep playoff runs to represent the TRC.

[Scat]

On 9/29/2025 at 12:29 PM, First_Backer_Inside said:

The defense has played well. They play with a lot of energy which can make up for a lot of mistakes they make. As good as the Braves offense is, can't have those mistakes when they meet up. All it takes is the Braves to be on for a whole game and they can put up points on anyone. Never have I seen a team that can put up 28 points as fast as they can in any given quarter. Hopefully both teams can stay undefeated for a big conference matchup like last year, both stay healthy after the game and make some deep playoff runs to represent the TRC.

 

Rochester is a two-touchdown favorite over the Braves.  Zebras defense is good!  

[First_Backer_Inside]

7 minutes ago, Scat said:

 

Rochester is a two-touchdown favorite over the Braves.  Zebras defense is good!  

Can't believe everything you read on the internet 😉 Would be cool for the Braves and Zebras to meet up for the conference championship to end the year. However, I'm rooting for the alma mater this week against the Braves. Always pulling for the Kings as long as they aren't matched up against the Zebras.

[cornfed]

I’m not sure what the answer is for this conference, but it has turned into just a bad football conference. The TRC used to be a premier small school conference with parity and competitive games across the board every week. Rochester and Mac are hands down best two teams and really the only meaningful game of the conference season anymore. Playing this conference schedule does neither of these teams any favors in preparing for the playoffs in a season where both teams could make a nice run.

[vicvinegar]

28 minutes ago, cornfed said:

I’m not sure what the answer is for this conference, but it has turned into just a bad football conference. The TRC used to be a premier small school conference with parity and competitive games across the board every week. Rochester and Mac are hands down best two teams and really the only meaningful game of the conference season anymore. Playing this conference schedule does neither of these teams any favors in preparing for the playoffs in a season where both teams could make a nice run.

Peru was conference champs 2 years ago should they leave too? Peru also lost to Mac by 3 this year. NW was tied with Mac going into the 4th last week. 2021-2023 Mac was 2-6, 6-4, 7-4. What happens when Robinson, Sims and Tarrah graduate? Are they still as dominant? I don't know as much about Rochester, but they were 0-8 the year before Shaffer came in. 

 

I am NOT bashing on these programs. They are really good programs at the moment.  However, to say they need to leave as if it's always been this way is nuts. 

[cornfed]

3 minutes ago, vicvinegar said:

However, to say they need to leave as if it's always been this way is nuts.

I’m not sure leaving is the answer. What I meant to get across is the competitive balance in the TRC is waaay off. I used Rochester and Mac as this years examples. It could be Peru and Northwestern next year, but there is only 1 or 2 conference games that are really meaningful each year and the rest of the conference schedule is just blowouts.

Beating Wabash, Southwood, Northfield, and Whitko by 50 doesn’t do any of these teams any good.

Maybe less required conference games and let the schools go out and try to find a couple non-conference opponents for a little more competitive schedule. Maybe split the conference North/South, have 4 or 5 in-conference games and have a championship game last week of season? 

[vicvinegar]

4 minutes ago, cornfed said:

I’m not sure leaving is the answer. What I meant to get across is the competitive balance in the TRC is waaay off. I used Rochester and Mac as this years examples. It could be Peru and Northwestern next year, but there is only 1 or 2 conference games that are really meaningful each year and the rest of the conference schedule is just blowouts.

Beating Wabash, Southwood, Northfield, and Whitko by 50 doesn’t do any of these teams any good.

Maybe less required conference games and let the schools go out and try to find a couple non-conference opponents for a little more competitive schedule. Maybe split the conference North/South, have 4 or 5 in-conference games and have a championship game last week of season? 

I don't think a Large & Small split with a crossover game would be bad thing. 

[First_Backer_Inside]

Last week of conference play before the tournament starts! Game of the week, Rochester vs Mac for the conference championship. Both teams undefeated in conference play. Same situation as last year. 

Maconaquah at Rochester - The Braves survived a scare last week against Manchester. If anything, I think it shows how dangerous this Mac team can be. To come back from 28 points down is very impressive. On the other side of that you can't be putting yourself into a hole like that this late in the season. Everything is more difficult from here on out with the tournament coming up. I think this will be a good one. Who wins the battle between the Rochester defense and the Mac offense. Both are very impressive. Rochester's offense had 400 yards of total offense in the first half against Northwestern last week. The wing-T offense is starting to click big time here late in the season.

Northwestern at Northfield - Northwestern wins this one. Been a down year for Northfield. However, they are young so things can only get better for them in the coming years.

Peru at Manchester - I don't know what is going on with Peru. I thought they would be better than they have been so far this year. Manchester wins this one after an impressive showing against Mac that they probably let get away from them.

Southwood at Cass - This game might be better than expected. I think Cass got a great draw with a chance to make it to the Sectional finals in 34. Gotta take care of business this week against a Southwood team that has come up with a few wins. I think Cass gets this one tho.

Wabash at Whitko - I think Wabash has the better athletes. It will come down to who plays better defense this week, and I'm not sure either team really wants to. I'll take Wabash.

Who ya got this week?

[Sportsguy]

On 9/19/2025 at 12:09 PM, TightEndOpenAgain said:

Agreed on all fronts. I’m sure they’ll try to combine SW and NF again soon. If/when that happens, it would help football. Big Coach T at Northwestern has a solid young core. Would love to see Cass get back to their 2000s days. Seagraves, Bowser, Mannerings, O’Brien were some TOUGH squads

As long as the Northerners insist on putting a consolidated high school north of the river, the Southerners will never willingly enter into such an arrangement. The South rose up once before to put a stop to it. They will rise again! BTW, since that last attempt, the Knights have won an unprecedented string of TRC championships ('17, '18, '19, '20, '22), so don't count them out yet. 

I don't know why the conference went away from the divisional/championship week to end the regular season. Has the league 10 teams the entire time since then?

[First_Backer_Inside]

3 minutes ago, Sportsguy said:

As long as the Northerners insist on putting a consolidated high school north of the river, the Southerners will never willingly enter into such an arrangement. The South rose up once before to put a stop to it. They will rise again! BTW, since that last attempt, the Knights have won an unprecedented string of TRC championships ('17, '18, '19, '20, '22), so don't count them out yet. 

I don't know why the conference went away from the divisional/championship week to end the regular season. Has the league 10 teams the entire time since then?

Based on youth numbers and middle school, it's going to be difficult to say the Knights can do what they did in those couple of years. The constant change in coaches isn't helping anything either. 

 

Yes, the conference has been at 10 teams always. The second a team leaves, another has replaced it the next year.

[Muda69]

On 10/13/2025 at 10:42 AM, First_Backer_Inside said:

Last week of conference play before the tournament starts! Game of the week, Rochester vs Mac for the conference championship. Both teams undefeated in conference play. Same situation as last year. 

Maconaquah at Rochester - The Braves survived a scare last week against Manchester. If anything, I think it shows how dangerous this Mac team can be. To come back from 28 points down is very impressive. On the other side of that you can't be putting yourself into a hole like that this late in the season. Everything is more difficult from here on out with the tournament coming up. I think this will be a good one. Who wins the battle between the Rochester defense and the Mac offense. Both are very impressive. Rochester's offense had 400 yards of total offense in the first half against Northwestern last week. The wing-T offense is starting to click big time here late in the season.

 

Rochester by 3 TD's.

 

[First_Backer_Inside]

On 10/14/2025 at 11:36 AM, Muda69 said:

Rochester by 3 TD's.

 

Doubled that!