Sustainabilty

[Boilernation]

19 hours ago, adambetz said:

Greenwood, Columbus East, McCutcheon, Jay County, Lake Central, Castle (wins a bunch but really shouldn't lose as much as they do), Angola, Mt. Vernon (Fortville), Boonville all should win more than they do.

Lake Central is one of the biggest underachievers there is in Indiana HS football. No doubt about it. 

[Boilernation]

19 hours ago, Gipper said:

Very good question.  Much like Crown Point, there is a lot of money in the community which does support the school.  They are also in a very winnable league, but the last 10 years have been very unkind to them.

I’m not sure if it’s a coaching thing or what…

I hate to give credit to DT, but he could have been right about his Ridge Road rival. It's possible Munster's program was driven into the ground by letting a coaching legend stay on too long. Or, the end of the Marsh era showed that Munster was just not going to produce enough talent anymore for a good football program and he salvaged what he could with a lot of .500'ish seasons and no Sectional Titles.

Edited October 2, 2025 by Boilernation

[PDB26]

10 minutes ago, Boilernation said:

Lake Central is one of the biggest underachievers there is in Indiana HS football. No doubt about it. 

Never made sense—to this outsider at least.

[Salem33]

I can only speak on the very southern part of the state for Rock Creek, Pekin Eastern, Salem, and possibly Henryville. Simply they are small schools trying to do too much. Particularly Rock Creek, Henryville, and Salem. Rock Creek was one of the smallest schools in the state trying to field both football and soccer teams. Salem and a Henryville both have soccer as well. I am not hating on soccer, but small schools cannot spread their talent out like that. Brownstown does not have soccer, just sayin! Pekin Eastern’s issue is and has been small numbers, young guys playing up and either getting discourage and quitting, or when their numbers do increase, incoming frosh and sophomores think that they are entitled to varsity play immediately because that was the norm before them. So, a lot of those guys quit too. It is a very cyclical issue for them. 

[Coach Nowlin]

11 hours ago, Gipper said:

I think Marsh was the last decent coach they had.  But speaking of coaching, KV did hire Kirk Kennedy a few years ago.  I thought they would be a lot more competitive in the NWCC, but are basically spinning their wheels.  Have they won a game this year?

I think Munster has only had 4 total Head Coaches in their history:   Coach Friend, Coach Marsh, Coach Gruenwald, and now Coach St. Louis.   They have had football since 1965.   In their existence, half their coaches are in the IFCA Hall of Fame

[Bobref]

59 minutes ago, Coach Nowlin said:

In their existence, half their coaches are in the IFCA Hall of Fame

A few former Mustang players, too. 😉

[Boilernation]

31 minutes ago, Bobref said:

A few former Mustang players, too. 😉

Other than Marsh retiring, what do you think has caused such a dramatic change in Munster? Demographic shift? Chicago Catholic League raiding football talent? Football no longer an importance? I am surprised Munster can't remain competitive with a majority of their Lake County counterparts. 

Edited October 2, 2025 by Boilernation

[Bobref]

8 minutes ago, Boilernation said:

Other than Marsh retiring, what do you think has caused such a dramatic change in Munster? Demographic shift? Chicago Catholic League raiding football talent? Football no longer an importance? I am surprised Munster can't remain competitive with a majority of their Lake County counterparts. 

I wish I knew the answer to that question. It pains me to see the Mustangs struggle like they have been.

[jets]

14 hours ago, Boilernation said:

Frankfort has over a 50% hispanic enrollment the last time I looked, which is absolutely crazy for a small town. 

🙋‍♂️

[Donnie Baker]

20 hours ago, Gipper said:

I just don’t know how keen the folks in Tippecanoe County are about making trek to Terre Haute.   The drive on 41 & 63 has some parallels to I-70 & 80 on Kansas and Nebraska.

 

You have the Beef House, eagles at the power plant and the boner pill factory. Way better than Kansas!

[Boilernation]

12 hours ago, Bobref said:

I wish I knew the answer to that question. It pains me to see the Mustangs struggle like they have been.

Completely understand. Feel the same way about Portage.

[Coach Nowlin]

@Bobref  probably way more verse on this topic, since my Lake County began in 2003/4 ish,   

 

How much as the decline of the powerhouse steel industry change the demographics of the Region powerhouses of yesteryear?    Did the decline of industry in the area lead to families to relocate to donut of Indy?  Burbs of Chicago?  

[US31]

15 hours ago, Boilernation said:

Frankfort has over a 50% hispanic enrollment the last time I looked, which is absolutely crazy for a small town. 

Far from the only example in Indiana.  Especially  Northern Indiana

 

[Boilernation]

1 hour ago, jets said:

🙋‍♂️

???

[Boilernation]

4 minutes ago, Coach Nowlin said:

@Bobref  probably way more verse on this topic, since my Lake County began in 2003/4 ish,   

 

How much as the decline of the powerhouse steel industry change the demographics of the Region powerhouses of yesteryear?    Did the decline of industry in the area lead to families to relocate to donut of Indy?  Burbs of Chicago?  

I would guess by a lot and I would also guess that more have relocated to the donut of Indy due to inflated property values and taxes in Illinois. 

[Boilernation]

3 minutes ago, US31 said:

Far from the only example in Indiana.  Especially  Northern Indiana

 

Are you referring to urban areas like Hammond/East Chicago or small towns in the middle of corn country? I haven't looked up a school like Delphi, but I could see them as well with that massive meat packing plant. 

[US31]

4 minutes ago, Boilernation said:

Are you referring to urban areas like Hammond/East Chicago or small towns in the middle of corn country? I haven't looked up a school like Delphi, but I could see them as well with that massive meat packing plant. 

Smaller towns

 

[Coach Nowlin]

24 minutes ago, Boilernation said:

Are you referring to urban areas like Hammond/East Chicago or small towns in the middle of corn country? I haven't looked up a school like Delphi, but I could see them as well with that massive meat packing plant. 

Rensselaer is near 40%

we are done well over 100 students in HS from 2014 state year. 

[foxbat]

18 minutes ago, Coach Nowlin said:

Rensselaer is near 40%

we are done well over 100 students in HS from 2014 state year. 

Has St. Joe's semi-restart had any impact in keeping that number from dropping further?

[Gipper]

2 hours ago, Donnie Baker said:

You have the Beef House, eagles at the power plant and the boner pill factory. Way better than Kansas!

True, love the Beef House as well as the Wal-Mart in Clinton…

[Bobref]

2 hours ago, Coach Nowlin said:

@Bobref  probably way more verse on this topic, since my Lake County began in 2003/4 ish,   

 

How much as the decline of the powerhouse steel industry change the demographics of the Region powerhouses of yesteryear?    Did the decline of industry in the area lead to families to relocate to donut of Indy?  Burbs of Chicago?  

Absolutely correct on all counts. It’s all about changing demographics.

[Coach Nowlin]

3 hours ago, foxbat said:

Has St. Joe's semi-restart had any impact in keeping that number from dropping further?

I guess..... Some sort of Building Trades program, some sort of Ag program, and now, a town that is struggling at times for affordable housing and losing population has added yet another elementary school option called HARVEST CHRISTIAN to go with the Catholic elmentary school as well.   

So in general, no impact to a good.    Do not see RCHS getting into the 500's anytime soon as a HS.   I think we are somehwere around 415 right now.......

1 hour ago, Bobref said:

Absolutely correct on all counts. It’s all about changing demographics.

Sweet, I keep the Region card !!!

[jets]

10 hours ago, Boilernation said:

???

People is SW Indiana I'm sure understood the reference