Southwestern Indiana Top 10 - Week 1

[SimpleWins]

9 hours ago, Titan32 said:

HH getting a lot of mileage out of running trick plays against little old South Spencer....shame shame.  @tango has it pretty close I'd imagine.  GS had 507 yards of offense Friday.

In 2002, when Kevin Tempel was playing, HH was up by like 30+ against SS in the 4th. Clayton was going to run the clock out to head home. However, SS kept calling time out and stopping the clock at the end of the game. So, Clayton ran the hook & ladder to score on them to ensure SS would get the ball back…because Bob’s just a nice guy like that! 😃 

The Hook & Ladder against SS Friday night was Tempel’s tribute to Bob Clayton…luckily it worked!

[SimpleWins]

10 hours ago, tango said:

IMO, if GS had beat Floyd, they would be #1. Losing by 1 score to a 5A school in Wk1 after replacing what they had to replace is pretty solid to me. I might have Castle at #2 if they hadn't been gifted the W by North.

I personally don't put much stock at all into last year. 

Floyd has won like 4 sectionals and I believe has never won a regional. They are average at best YOY and probably overrated this year. Class doesn’t mean anything…they couldn’t win 3A or 4A sectionals over here.

[Titan32]

10 minutes ago, SimpleWins said:

Floyd has won like 4 sectionals and I believe has never won a regional. They are average at best YOY and probably overrated this year. Class doesn’t mean anything…they couldn’t win 3A or 4A sectionals over here.

Football is kind of like the stock market....it's silly to talk about past success. You should know that in your position.  I can tell you who is probably over rated.

[hhpatriot04]

21 minutes ago, Titan32 said:

Football is kind of like the stock market....it's silly to talk about past success. You should know that in your position.  I can tell you who is probably over rated.

Post your poll already. What are you worried about? No one reads TGD anymore. 

[LC_Bears_04]

2 hours ago, LC_Bears_04 said:

North should be higher on this list.  They only lost to Castle by 3 points and drove down to the 1 yard line with 15 seconds left before they fumbled and Castle recovered.

I'll give this top 10 list a shot:

1.  Memorial

2.  Castle

3.  North

4.  Reitz

5.  Heritage Hills

6.  Gibson Southern

7.  Mater Dei

8.  Jasper

9.  North Posey

10.  Boonville

[Titan32]

I've been around here long enough to know how the first few weeks of these rankings work for those looking to influence public naratives and future polls. We have very little actual evidence, so one result can move a team several spots.

But that's also why who you played has to matter.

Memorial deserves credit for beating Jasper 48-14. That's a legitimate opening-night result. Heritage Hills did exactly what it should have done against South Spencer, winning 49-13. Gibson Southern lost 31-24.

If we're just sorting teams by 1-0 and 0-1, that's easy. But I don't think that's how we should evaluate good football teams.

GS opened against a ranked Class 5A Floyd Central team. And despite losing, Gibson Southern outgained Floyd 507-365, had 29 first downs to 17, rushed for 261 yards, threw for 254 and led 24-17 entering the fourth quarter. Caden Rochleau ran for 200 yards and threw for 254.

What killed GS? Three turnovers and a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Floyd Central has now moved up to No. 6 in Class 5A. That's considerably different context than simply saying "Gibson Southern is 0-1."

And before we're too quick to rearrange the Southwestern Indiana pecking order after one Friday in August, there's a pretty substantial body of evidence from the Nick Hart era.

Hart and Todd Wilkerson both became head coaches in 2012. Hart's Gibson Southern teams own the winning head-to-head record against Heritage Hills during that era. GS also owns a winning record against Evansville Memorial in its meetings since Hart took over.

And most importantly, we don't have to go back very far at all: Gibson Southern beat both Heritage Hills and Memorial last season. Heritage Hills entered that sectional meeting ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, and GS beat them anyway. Then came the win over Memorial, 28-21, then a win over Mater Dei, a regional championship and a trip to the south semi-state.

So Memorial deserves its flowers. Heritage Hills deserves some dandelions. They're outstanding programs. But I'm not ready to decide Gibson Southern suddenly belongs behind everybody because GS chose to open its season against a ranked 5A opponent and lost by seven.

Especially when you look at what comes next.

Saturday Gibson Southern doesn't get an easy rebound game. They get St. Pius X from Missouri, the defending Class 2 state runner-up. And this isn't a state-finalist roster that graduated everybody. St. Pius returns its starting quarterback, school-record-setting running back, most of its offensive line and five All-State players. The Lancers believe they're capable of going right back to the Show-Me Bowl.

So Gibson Southern's first two games are Week 1 against ranked Class 5A Floyd Central, and Week 2 against defending Missouri Class 2 state runner-up St. Pius X. That's intentional scheduling. If we're going to encourage programs to challenge themselves outside conference play, strength of schedule has to mean something when we evaluate them.  Those who have the balls shoudl be rewarded in my view.

If Gibson Southern gets completely handled Saturday, then we'll have some new information and can adjust accordingly. But if GS beats St. Pius, or we get another high-level, competitive game against an excellent opponent, I'm not sure an 0-1 or even potentially 0-2 record tells us nearly as much as who they played and how they played them.

It's August. Let's collect some evidence before we rewrite the hierarchy and a over a decade of current coaching history.

 

 

 

 

[hhpatriot04]

3 minutes ago, Titan32 said:

I've been around here long enough to know how the first few weeks of these rankings work for those looking to influence public naratives and future polls. We have very little actual evidence, so one result can move a team several spots.

But that's also why who you played has to matter.

Memorial deserves credit for beating Jasper 48-14. That's a legitimate opening-night result. Heritage Hills did exactly what it should have done against South Spencer, winning 49-13. Gibson Southern lost 31-24.

If we're just sorting teams by 1-0 and 0-1, that's easy. But I don't think that's how we should evaluate good football teams.

GS opened against a ranked Class 5A Floyd Central team. And despite losing, Gibson Southern outgained Floyd 507-365, had 29 first downs to 17, rushed for 261 yards, threw for 254 and led 24-17 entering the fourth quarter. Caden Rochleau ran for 200 yards and threw for 254.

What killed GS? Three turnovers and a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Floyd Central has now moved up to No. 6 in Class 5A. That's considerably different context than simply saying "Gibson Southern is 0-1."

And before we're too quick to rearrange the Southwestern Indiana pecking order after one Friday in August, there's a pretty substantial body of evidence from the Nick Hart era.

Hart and Todd Wilkerson both became head coaches in 2012. Hart's Gibson Southern teams own the winning head-to-head record against Heritage Hills during that era. GS also owns a winning record against Evansville Memorial in its meetings since Hart took over.

And most importantly, we don't have to go back very far at all: Gibson Southern beat both Heritage Hills and Memorial last season. Heritage Hills entered that sectional meeting ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, and GS beat them anyway. Then came the win over Memorial, 28-21, then a win over Mater Dei, a regional championship and a trip to the south semi-state.

So Memorial deserves its flowers. Heritage Hills deserves some dandelions. They're outstanding programs. But I'm not ready to decide Gibson Southern suddenly belongs behind everybody because GS chose to open its season against a ranked 5A opponent and lost by seven.

Especially when you look at what comes next.

Saturday Gibson Southern doesn't get an easy rebound game. They get St. Pius X from Missouri, the defending Class 2 state runner-up. And this isn't a state-finalist roster that graduated everybody. St. Pius returns its starting quarterback, school-record-setting running back, most of its offensive line and five All-State players. The Lancers believe they're capable of going right back to the Show-Me Bowl.

So Gibson Southern's first two games are Week 1 against ranked Class 5A Floyd Central, and Week 2 against defending Missouri Class 2 state runner-up St. Pius X. That's intentional scheduling. If we're going to encourage programs to challenge themselves outside conference play, strength of schedule has to mean something when we evaluate them.  Those who have the balls shoudl be rewarded in my view.

If Gibson Southern gets completely handled Saturday, then we'll have some new information and can adjust accordingly. But if GS beats St. Pius, or we get another high-level, competitive game against an excellent opponent, I'm not sure an 0-1 or even potentially 0-2 record tells us nearly as much as who they played and how they played them.

It's August. Let's collect some evidence before we rewrite the hierarchy and a over a decade of current coaching history.

 

 

 

 

There's no agenda behind the polls other than to reflect popular opinion and generate a little discussion. I hope GIbson wins every game except against HH and most HH fans probably feel that way. I assume the same is true vice versa.

It's going to be hard to knock off Memorial if they run the table and HH or GS have one in the L column. This is all subjective, which makes it fun. I guess.

[LC_Bears_04]

2 hours ago, Titan32 said:

I've been around here long enough to know how the first few weeks of these rankings work for those looking to influence public naratives and future polls. We have very little actual evidence, so one result can move a team several spots.

But that's also why who you played has to matter.

Memorial deserves credit for beating Jasper 48-14. That's a legitimate opening-night result. Heritage Hills did exactly what it should have done against South Spencer, winning 49-13. Gibson Southern lost 31-24.

If we're just sorting teams by 1-0 and 0-1, that's easy. But I don't think that's how we should evaluate good football teams.

GS opened against a ranked Class 5A Floyd Central team. And despite losing, Gibson Southern outgained Floyd 507-365, had 29 first downs to 17, rushed for 261 yards, threw for 254 and led 24-17 entering the fourth quarter. Caden Rochleau ran for 200 yards and threw for 254.

What killed GS? Three turnovers and a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Floyd Central has now moved up to No. 6 in Class 5A. That's considerably different context than simply saying "Gibson Southern is 0-1."

And before we're too quick to rearrange the Southwestern Indiana pecking order after one Friday in August, there's a pretty substantial body of evidence from the Nick Hart era.

Hart and Todd Wilkerson both became head coaches in 2012. Hart's Gibson Southern teams own the winning head-to-head record against Heritage Hills during that era. GS also owns a winning record against Evansville Memorial in its meetings since Hart took over.

And most importantly, we don't have to go back very far at all: Gibson Southern beat both Heritage Hills and Memorial last season. Heritage Hills entered that sectional meeting ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, and GS beat them anyway. Then came the win over Memorial, 28-21, then a win over Mater Dei, a regional championship and a trip to the south semi-state.

So Memorial deserves its flowers. Heritage Hills deserves some dandelions. They're outstanding programs. But I'm not ready to decide Gibson Southern suddenly belongs behind everybody because GS chose to open its season against a ranked 5A opponent and lost by seven.

Especially when you look at what comes next.

Saturday Gibson Southern doesn't get an easy rebound game. They get St. Pius X from Missouri, the defending Class 2 state runner-up. And this isn't a state-finalist roster that graduated everybody. St. Pius returns its starting quarterback, school-record-setting running back, most of its offensive line and five All-State players. The Lancers believe they're capable of going right back to the Show-Me Bowl.

So Gibson Southern's first two games are Week 1 against ranked Class 5A Floyd Central, and Week 2 against defending Missouri Class 2 state runner-up St. Pius X. That's intentional scheduling. If we're going to encourage programs to challenge themselves outside conference play, strength of schedule has to mean something when we evaluate them.  Those who have the balls shoudl be rewarded in my view.

If Gibson Southern gets completely handled Saturday, then we'll have some new information and can adjust accordingly. But if GS beats St. Pius, or we get another high-level, competitive game against an excellent opponent, I'm not sure an 0-1 or even potentially 0-2 record tells us nearly as much as who they played and how they played them.

It's August. Let's collect some evidence before we rewrite the hierarchy and a over a decade of current coaching history.

 

 

 

 

Gibson Southern has been a very good program for a number of years.  It's early in the season, so there's plenty of opportunity for them to move up the rankings.  Gibson Southern plays Heritage Hills head to head in week 6, so that will take care of itself.  So don't get your panties in a bunch just because someone with no influence on the real polls or Gibson Southern's win/loss record has your favorite team lower in a set a rankings then you would have them.

[SimpleWins]

16 hours ago, Titan32 said:

Football is kind of like the stock market....it's silly to talk about past success. You should know that in your position.  I can tell you who is probably over rated.

My comment wasn't a knock on Gibson by any means, just stating the facts on Floyd. I'd bet my house Gibson, Memorial, HH, and maybe Reitz/Mater Dei would beat Floyd come tournament time. 3A schools need a few weeks to get into game shape. Larger programs have plenty of kids to rotate in with fresh legs and sometimes its too much early in the season for smaller schools.

[Titan32]

1 hour ago, LC_Bears_04 said:

Gibson Southern has been a very good program for a number of years.  It's early in the season, so there's plenty of opportunity for them to move up the rankings.  Gibson Southern plays Heritage Hills head to head in week 6, so that will take care of itself.  So don't get your panties in a bunch just because someone with no influence on the real polls or Gibson Southern's win/loss record has your favorite team lower in a set a rankings then you would have them.

Thanks for the guidance.

[hhpatriot04]

On 8/24/2026 at 10:48 PM, SimpleWins said:

Floyd has won like 4 sectionals and I believe has never won a regional. They are average at best YOY and probably overrated this year. Class doesn’t mean anything…they couldn’t win 3A or 4A sectionals over here.

They have very nice helmets though -- at least the ones I could find.

[oldtimeqb]

1 hour ago, hhpatriot04 said:

They have very nice helmets though -- at least the ones I could find.

Reminds me of the old Anderson Highland Fighting Scots. (Which makes sense given the nickname similarity.) 

 

[hhpatriot04]

3 minutes ago, oldtimeqb said:

Reminds me of the old Anderson Highland Fighting Scots. (Which makes sense given the nickname similarity.) 

17 minutes ago, Fkfootball said:

These are the 2026 edition. I'll have to update it.

[OlMarksmenTiger]

On 8/25/2026 at 11:32 AM, Titan32 said:

I've been around here long enough to know how the first few weeks of these rankings work for those looking to influence public naratives and future polls. We have very little actual evidence, so one result can move a team several spots.

But that's also why who you played has to matter.

Memorial deserves credit for beating Jasper 48-14. That's a legitimate opening-night result. Heritage Hills did exactly what it should have done against South Spencer, winning 49-13. Gibson Southern lost 31-24.

If we're just sorting teams by 1-0 and 0-1, that's easy. But I don't think that's how we should evaluate good football teams.

GS opened against a ranked Class 5A Floyd Central team. And despite losing, Gibson Southern outgained Floyd 507-365, had 29 first downs to 17, rushed for 261 yards, threw for 254 and led 24-17 entering the fourth quarter. Caden Rochleau ran for 200 yards and threw for 254.

What killed GS? Three turnovers and a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Floyd Central has now moved up to No. 6 in Class 5A. That's considerably different context than simply saying "Gibson Southern is 0-1."

And before we're too quick to rearrange the Southwestern Indiana pecking order after one Friday in August, there's a pretty substantial body of evidence from the Nick Hart era.

Hart and Todd Wilkerson both became head coaches in 2012. Hart's Gibson Southern teams own the winning head-to-head record against Heritage Hills during that era. GS also owns a winning record against Evansville Memorial in its meetings since Hart took over.

And most importantly, we don't have to go back very far at all: Gibson Southern beat both Heritage Hills and Memorial last season. Heritage Hills entered that sectional meeting ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, and GS beat them anyway. Then came the win over Memorial, 28-21, then a win over Mater Dei, a regional championship and a trip to the south semi-state.

So Memorial deserves its flowers. Heritage Hills deserves some dandelions. They're outstanding programs. But I'm not ready to decide Gibson Southern suddenly belongs behind everybody because GS chose to open its season against a ranked 5A opponent and lost by seven.

Especially when you look at what comes next.

Saturday Gibson Southern doesn't get an easy rebound game. They get St. Pius X from Missouri, the defending Class 2 state runner-up. And this isn't a state-finalist roster that graduated everybody. St. Pius returns its starting quarterback, school-record-setting running back, most of its offensive line and five All-State players. The Lancers believe they're capable of going right back to the Show-Me Bowl.

So Gibson Southern's first two games are Week 1 against ranked Class 5A Floyd Central, and Week 2 against defending Missouri Class 2 state runner-up St. Pius X. That's intentional scheduling. If we're going to encourage programs to challenge themselves outside conference play, strength of schedule has to mean something when we evaluate them.  Those who have the balls shoudl be rewarded in my view.

If Gibson Southern gets completely handled Saturday, then we'll have some new information and can adjust accordingly. But if GS beats St. Pius, or we get another high-level, competitive game against an excellent opponent, I'm not sure an 0-1 or even potentially 0-2 record tells us nearly as much as who they played and how they played them.

It's August. Let's collect some evidence before we rewrite the hierarchy and a over a decade of current coaching history.

 

 

 

 

A man once said football is like the stock market....it's silly to talk about past success.
A man then also used a lot past history of players and teams now gone to make a point.
A man then rightly suggested letting current evidence direct the opinions, but while also referencing coach's past football success. 

At the end of the day, these early starting rankings are mostly smoke and mirrors of last years success and program reputation, with just a hint of knowledge about returning players, next in line players, and early results.
Week 2 may help us a little.  I have a lot of question marks relative to my opinions of the area teams from years of first hand observation of this age group, especially SIAC.

Question Marks for me:
Castle: 
Genuinely I don't understand the high ranking in this poll or others.  Wasn't expecting a strong returning group from a 6-4 team and haven't seen anything otherwise yet.  The North game doesn't do it for me and I am not sure enough about MD yet to know if this week will tell us anything, but I think it will.
North: 
Knowing what personnel coming up this year for North, I already had doubts they would repeat last years success.  So the Castle game just confirms that for me if my doubts about Castle are confirmed.  We will see how it plays out against Memorial this week.  Will they be able to keep Memorial offense off the field with 88% run play ball control or change their previous game plan.
Gibson Southern: 
I appreciate all of Titan32's points to be optimistic and I agree with them.  I expect them to reload to some extent every year and be a formidable opponent.  The question is how formidable.  I thought going into this year it would be tough to replace their defense from last year.  Regarding the FC game and considering FC having a break out year with a veteran group last year, I personally have my doubts if FC has been able to truly reload, in spite of their current ranking.  So the GS/FC game is a question mark for me and I think the FC ranking is based on last years results and the bump up winning against Gibson Southern reputation.  We will see how FC does against Whiteland this week.   I am not sure what the Week 2 game against St. Pius X with tell us, unless they beat GS handily.  I appreciate the hyperbole of accolades to the returning St. Pius X team and players, but they would be a 1A school in Indiana with only 300 students.  I would expect GS to be able to beat the Indiana 1A state champion year in and year out.

Time will tell.



 

[hhpatriot04]

St Pius X-Festus Festus, MO, USA Apollo Owensboro, KY, USA Actual Score 0 0 Most Likely 28 34 Median 33 37 Mean 33.28 37.25 Win Probability 43% 57%

Massey Ratings Matchup Tool

Closest comparison I could find:

St Pius X-Festus Festus, MO, USA Jasper Jasper, IN, USA Actual Score 0 0 Most Likely 28 25 Median 28 26 Mean 29.80 27.00 Win Probability 56% 45%

 

 

[Titan32]

48 minutes ago, OlMarksmenTiger said:

A man once said football is like the stock market....it's silly to talk about past success.
A man then also used a lot past history of players and teams now gone to make a point.
A man then rightly suggested letting current evidence direct the opinions, but while also referencing coach's past football success. 

At the end of the day, these early starting rankings are mostly smoke and mirrors of last years success and program reputation, with just a hint of knowledge about returning players, next in line players, and early results.
Week 2 may help us a little.  I have a lot of question marks relative to my opinions of the area teams from years of first hand observation of this age group, especially SIAC.

Question Marks for me:
Castle: 
Genuinely I don't understand the high ranking in this poll or others.  Wasn't expecting a strong returning group from a 6-4 team and haven't seen anything otherwise yet.  The North game doesn't do it for me and I am not sure enough about MD yet to know if this week will tell us anything, but I think it will.
North: 
Knowing what personnel coming up this year for North, I already had doubts they would repeat last years success.  So the Castle game just confirms that for me if my doubts about Castle are confirmed.  We will see how it plays out against Memorial this week.  Will they be able to keep Memorial offense off the field with 88% run play ball control or change their previous game plan.
Gibson Southern: 
I appreciate all of Titan32's points to be optimistic and I agree with them.  I expect them to reload to some extent every year and be a formidable opponent.  The question is how formidable.  I thought going into this year it would be tough to replace their defense from last year.  Regarding the FC game and considering FC having a break out year with a veteran group last year, I personally have my doubts if FC has been able to truly reload, in spite of their current ranking.  So the GS/FC game is a question mark for me and I think the FC ranking is based on last years results and the bump up winning against Gibson Southern reputation.  We will see how FC does against Whiteland this week.   I am not sure what the Week 2 game against St. Pius X with tell us, unless they beat GS handily.  I appreciate the hyperbole of accolades to the returning St. Pius X team and players, but they would be a 1A school in Indiana with only 300 students.  I would expect GS to be able to beat the Indiana 1A state champion year in and year out.

Time will tell.



 

He he he. Somebody didn't like my little truth bomb about Memorial definitely being better this year than last year. I get it. Where do we even start with all of this?

First, you're mixing two completely different uses of history. When I say past success doesn't mean much, I'm talking about players and coaches who aren't part of the current team anymore. Herman Byers isn't winning any games for Reitz in 2026. But Cory Brunson's track record absolutely has relevance when we're trying to figure out what a current Cory Brunson team might become. Same thing at Gibson Southern. Yes, Gibson Southern was the best team in the area last season. They beat everybody around here they played. Does that mean they're automatically the best team in 2026? No. But in Week 1 and Week 2, when we have almost no current-season evidence, what exactly do you think pollsters are supposed to use? Returning personnel. Program reputation. Last season. Coaching. Players moving into larger roles. And the tiny amount of 2026 evidence we actually have. That's basically how preseason and early-season polls work.

Now, let me help you with Floyd Central. You're treating them like some giant unknown because they graduated players from last year's team. This wasn't some one-year wonder that got gutted. Floyd Central went 10-2 last year, won a 5A sectional and beat Evansville North in the sectional championship. And Friday night at Gibson Southern, Floyd Central had 18 seniors on the field. Eighteen. That's not a young team trying to figure out how to replace everybody. That's a veteran football team with athletes all over the field. Dudes everywhere. And I'll tell you from seeing them firsthand: they were considerably more athletic than Memorial was when Gibson Southern played Memorial last year.

Yet I keep hearing how high everybody is on North this season and how North probably should have beaten Castle. Okay. If North is that good, and Floyd Central beat North for a sectional championship last year, brought 18 seniors on the field to Fort Branch Friday night and just beat Gibson Southern, at what point are we allowed to consider the possibility that Floyd Central is actually pretty good, especially by SIAC standards? We'll learn more as their season plays out. I'd love to have the luxury of playing Floyd Central later in the year after everybody has figured out exactly how good they are and after we get the kinks worked out. But that wasn't the point of scheduling them. The mission was accomplished: go find competition better than what you can find locally, expose your weaknesses, and get better because of it. That's one of the reasons Gibson Southern was the best team in this area last season. How quickly we forget.

Now let's get to St. Pius X, because calling them essentially an Indiana 1A team because their school has around 300 students may be one of the more uninformed arguments you've made in this thread. You're a Memorial guy. You should understand better than anybody that raw enrollment doesn't always tell you the quality of a private-school athletic program. P&Ps have a disproportionately high number of success-driven student athletes per capita. That's the business model. Attract families who are willing to pay to be around like-minded individuals. For years we've heard how difficult it is for Memorial, with an enrollment around 600, to compete against much larger schools. Fair enough. But then you can't turn around and reduce another successful private-school program to "they've only got 300 kids, so Gibson Southern should beat them like a 1A school." You guys can't have it both ways.

In fact, here's the funny part: Missouri has a Championship Factor specifically for successful non-public schools. St. Pius accumulated enough success points that, after finishing as the Class 2 state runner-up last year, they're being bumped up to Class 3. So much for the "they're basically a 1A school" argument. Apparently Missouri looked at what St. Pius has accomplished and decided enrollment alone wasn't a particularly good way to classify them either.

And look at the actual football team instead of the number of kids walking the hallways. St. Pius just played for a Missouri state championship. They return all but four players from that team. They return their starting quarterback. Their running back rushed for around 3,000 yards and scored 32 touchdowns. They've got another senior back who's now around 6-3, 215. They return a big-play receiver who caught 10 touchdowns and intercepted six passes. Most of the offensive line is back. Five returning players earned All-State recognition. And one Missouri preseason analysis says at least 15 St. Pius players received interest from NCAA or NAIA scouts this offseason. That's your Indiana 1A team? Do better man. They're also preparing against Class 5 and Class 6 Missouri programs because that's the level of competition they expect to face.

Does any of that guarantee they're going to come to Fort Branch and beat Gibson Southern? Absolutely not. That's the entire point. We don't know yet. Just like you don't know yet how good Floyd Central is. Just like I don't know yet exactly how good Gibson Southern is. And just like you don't know yet exactly how good Memorial is.

Which brings me to my favorite part of your post.

Let's try this: I appreciate all of OlMarksmanTiger's points to be optimistic about Memorial, and I agree with them. I expect Memorial to reload to some extent every year and be a formidable opponent. The question is how formidable? I thought going into this season it would be difficult to replace their defense from last year. Regarding the Jasper game, considering Jasper had a breakout season under a new coach last year, I personally have my doubts whether Jasper has truly reloaded. So the Memorial/Jasper game is still a question mark for me. We'll see how Jasper does against Reitz. I'm not sure what Memorial's Week 2 game against North will tell us unless Memorial handles North convincingly. I appreciate all the excitement over beating Jasper 48-14, but historically I'd expect Memorial to beat Jasper more often than not anyway.

See how easy that is? It's your argument. I just changed the names. And for the record, I think Memorial's 48-14 win over Jasper was impressive. I think Memorial probably is good this year. But that's based on the evidence we have right now — exactly the same kind of limited early-season evidence you're telling everyone else not to put too much stock into.

That's what makes August football fun. We all have opinions. Then eventually they make us play the games. Time will tell.

[tango]

Well done, OlMarksmenTiger and Titan32! Excellent points made by both.