Top 25 - Week 2

[23andCounting]

Big game tonight between Evansville Reitz and Gibson Southern: Poll subject to change

 

1.   Brownsburg

2.   Westfield

3.   Warren Central

4.   Carmel

5.   Center Grove

6.   Lawrence North

7.   Carroll

8.   Avon

9.   Ben Davis

10. Cathedral

11.  Penn

12. Chatard

13. Crown Point

14. East Central

15. Dwenger

16. New Pal

17.  Roncalli

18. Bloomington South

19. East Noble

20. Zionsville

21. Merrillville

22. Franklin Central

23. Lawrence Central

24. Hamilton Southeastern

25. Floyd Central

 

First team out: Castle, Columbus North, Decatur Central, Evansville Reitz, Evansville Memorial, Evansville North, Heritage Hills

 

 

[LC_Bears_04]

1.  Brownsburg

2.  Westfield

3.  Warren Central

4.  Carmel

5.  Center Grove

6.  Carroll

7.  Lawrence North

8.  Chatard

9.  Penn

10.  Crown Point

11.  Avon

12.  Ben Davis

13.  East Central

14.  New Palestine

15.  Bloomington South

16.  Zionsville

17.  Merrillville

18.  Cathedral

19.  Fort Wayne Dwenger

20.  Roncalli

21.  Lawrence Central

22.  Hamilton SE

23.  Franklin Central

24.  Decatur Central

25.  Floyd Central

[BLACKGOLD2007]

Based on what the Ft. Wayne folks were saying this off season, I am shocked by the Carroll v Center Grove game score....I know North Teams don't travel well to the Indy area, but I anticipated a tougher game. 

Not sure if someone got hurt, there could be details I am missing. 

But, I am still not sold on Penn, and CP beating Pike doesn't move me one way or another. I think Carroll still is likely the best team from the true North of the state. I would like to be wrong.

[23andCounting]

41 minutes ago, BLACKGOLD2007 said:

Based on what the Ft. Wayne folks were saying this off season, I am shocked by the Carroll v Center Grove game score....I know North Teams don't travel well to the Indy area, but I anticipated a tougher game. 

Not sure if someone got hurt, there could be details I am missing. 

But, I am still not sold on Penn, and CP beating Pike doesn't move me one way or another. I think Carroll still is likely the best team from the true North of the state. I would like to be wrong.

It's still hard to ignore what Carroll did to Hamilton Southeastern. But traveling down to a Center Grove team coming off a close loss is a different monster. Carroll held their own, only down 14-11 at the half. Then the wheels fell off. Maybe the 3 hour road trip? Not sure, never been in that situation. It didn't seem to affect Center Grove last year when they came up here. Maybe an excuse, maybe not. A coach who's been through it would have to chime in.

[Boilernation]

6 hours ago, BLACKGOLD2007 said:

Based on what the Ft. Wayne folks were saying this off season, I am shocked by the Carroll v Center Grove game score....I know North Teams don't travel well to the Indy area, but I anticipated a tougher game. 

Not sure if someone got hurt, there could be details I am missing. 

But, I am still not sold on Penn, and CP beating Pike doesn't move me one way or another. I think Carroll still is likely the best team from the true North of the state. I would like to be wrong.

Crown Point's offense is more dynamic this year. They have a QB who can throw the ball and is committed to an FCS School, a 6'4 SR TE committed to Central Michigan, a 6'7 TE who is a starter on the basketball team, and a 6'2 Soph WR who will likely be a D1 recruit. But, they still like to line up in jumbo sets and run the ball behind a large OL. They left some points on the board against Pike with drives stalling out in Pike territory. IMO, they need to get the passing game going and not rely so much on the power running game. Not being able to throw the ball killed them against Penn last year in Secitonals.

[Sparty]

2 hours ago, Boilernation said:

Crown Point's offense is more dynamic this year. They have a QB who can throw the ball and is committed to an FCS School, a 6'4 SR TE committed to Central Michigan, a 6'7 TE who is a starter on the basketball team, and a 6'2 Soph WR who will likely be a D1 recruit. But, they still like to line up in jumbo sets and run the ball behind a large OL. They left some points on the board against Pike with drives stalling out in Pike territory. IMO, they need to get the passing game going and not rely so much on the power running game. Not being able to throw the ball killed them against Penn last year in Secitonals.

Did CP run the same offense against Lowell week 1, as they did vs. Pike in week 2?   Maybe trying to negate the speed of Pike?

[Boilernation]

22 minutes ago, Sparty said:

Did CP run the same offense against Lowell week 1, as they did vs. Pike in week 2?   Maybe trying to negate the speed of Pike?

Felt like they opened up the offense more against Lowell. Against Pike it was a lot of runs in power sets like we saw last year. It's possible. Curious to see how they play against Merrillville. Ater the Pirates it'll potentially be a lot of blowouts the rest of the way.

 

[Boilernation]

Here's my take:

1. Brownsburg
2. Westfield
3. Carmel
4. Warren Central
5. Center Grove
6. Fort Wayne Carroll
7. Lawrence North
8. Avon
9. Penn
10. Crown Point
11. Ben Davis
12. East Central
13. Bishop Chatard
14. New Palestine
15. Zionsville
16. Bishop Dwenger
17. Roncalli
18. Hamilton SE
19. Franklin Central
20. Decatur Central
21. Cathedral
22. Merrillville
23. Bloomington South
24. East Noble
25. Evansville Memorial

[hhpatriot04]

On 8/29/2026 at 6:36 AM, 23andCounting said:

Big game tonight between Evansville Reitz and Gibson Southern: Poll subject to change

 

1.   Brownsburg

2.   Westfield

3.   Warren Central

4.   Carmel

5.   Center Grove

6.   Lawrence North

7.   Carroll

8.   Avon

9.   Ben Davis

10. Cathedral

11.  Penn

12. Chatard

13. Crown Point

14. East Central

15. Dwenger

16. New Pal

17.  Roncalli

18. Bloomington South

19. East Noble

20. Zionsville

21. Merrillville

22. Franklin Central

23. Lawrence Central

24. Hamilton Southeastern

25. Floyd Central

 

First team out: Castle, Columbus North, Decatur Central, Evansville Reitz, Evansville Memorial, Evansville North, Heritage Hills

 

 

Gibson Southern has better wins and losses than Heritage Hills.

[Titan32]

On 8/29/2026 at 5:36 AM, 23andCounting said:

Big game tonight between Evansville Reitz and Gibson Southern: Poll subject to change

 

1.   Brownsburg

2.   Westfield

3.   Warren Central

4.   Carmel

5.   Center Grove

6.   Lawrence North

7.   Carroll

8.   Avon

9.   Ben Davis

10. Cathedral

11.  Penn

12. Chatard

13. Crown Point

14. East Central

15. Dwenger

16. New Pal

17.  Roncalli

18. Bloomington South

19. East Noble

20. Zionsville

21. Merrillville

22. Franklin Central

23. Lawrence Central

24. Hamilton Southeastern

25. Floyd Central

 

First team out: Castle, Columbus North, Decatur Central, Evansville Reitz, Evansville Memorial, Evansville North, Heritage Hills

 

 

Gibson Southern defeated Missouri state runner up St. Pius X.  Reitz defeated tri-west.  They did not play each other.

[GOLDRUSH1985]

On 8/30/2026 at 8:06 AM, 23andCounting said:

It's still hard to ignore what Carroll did to Hamilton Southeastern. But traveling down to a Center Grove team coming off a close loss is a different monster. Carroll held their own, only down 14-11 at the half. Then the wheels fell off. Maybe the 3 hour road trip? Not sure, never been in that situation. It didn't seem to affect Center Grove last year when they came up here. Maybe an excuse, maybe not. A coach who's been through it would have to chime in.

23 , Don't take this the wrong way as I was hoping that Carroll would beat CG and Finally we would have a serious North team that could contend for a title. But to say Carroll held their own ? They did for 2 quarters , but a football game is 4 quarters and they got whipped the final 2 quarters . If one of the strongest (If not the strongest) Northern team can't compete for 4 quarters against probably the fifth best Indy team , nothing is going to change this year . Brownsburg is a whole other animal . 

[Boilernation]

8 minutes ago, GOLDRUSH1985 said:

Brownsburg is a whole other animal . 

Yeah, watching their OL against Rabun-Gap's defensive front was fantastic. Not sure anyone, including Westfield, can provide that match pressure to the Brownsburg OL and Frye. Brownsburg was up 31-7 when they started playing their 2nd team D late in the 4th quarter.

A majority of Rabun-Gaps front 7 will be playing Power 4 college ball. 

 

[23andCounting]

2 hours ago, GOLDRUSH1985 said:

23 , Don't take this the wrong way as I was hoping that Carroll would beat CG and Finally we would have a serious North team that could contend for a title. But to say Carroll held their own ? They did for 2 quarters , but a football game is 4 quarters and they got whipped the final 2 quarters . If one of the strongest (If not the strongest) Northern team can't compete for 4 quarters against probably the fifth best Indy team , nothing is going to change this year . Brownsburg is a whole other animal . 

I agree, it's a four quarter game. No matter how you slice it, Center Grove took Carroll to the woodshed. Again, I wouldn't want to play Center Grove after they came off of a loss. You know you're going to get 100% without fail. I'm sure the Trojans were also hearing how good Carroll was and how the Chargers were going to come down to Indy and beat them by double digits. Lots of motivation for Center Grove that game. Maybe Carroll was a little over confident? I can't imagine in a game like that, but who knows. 

At the end of the day, I still like Carroll as a contender. I'm not going to let one game change my mind on that. Crown Point and Penn are both looking pretty good as well. The gap between those three and Carmel/Westfield is very slim in my opinion. It'll be fun to see how it all plays out. Good luck to your Kingsmen moving forward, I always like to see them do well. 

[BLACKGOLD2007]

18 hours ago, 23andCounting said:

I agree, it's a four quarter game. No matter how you slice it, Center Grove took Carroll to the woodshed. Again, I wouldn't want to play Center Grove after they came off of a loss. You know you're going to get 100% without fail. I'm sure the Trojans were also hearing how good Carroll was and how the Chargers were going to come down to Indy and beat them by double digits. Lots of motivation for Center Grove that game. Maybe Carroll was a little over confident? I can't imagine in a game like that, but who knows. 

At the end of the day, I still like Carroll as a contender. I'm not going to let one game change my mind on that. Crown Point and Penn are both looking pretty good as well. The gap between those three and Carmel/Westfield is very slim in my opinion. It'll be fun to see how it all plays out. Good luck to your Kingsmen moving forward, I always like to see them do well. 

The one benefit Penn should have going into the playoffs is being able to stay healthy. The O-line against Valpo pressure gave up big hits on Hall, and at times looked a little slow. They sure looked improved against Mishawaka, but that is a hard game to draw any information from.

I want to say Penn's O, should be able to move the ball and score, but with the lack of big games on the schedule from here to the end of the season, I still cautiously put them as  a potential top 5 team in the North. (this is not a stab at St. Joe or Elkhart)

1- Westfield

2- Carmel

3- Carroll

4- CP

5- HSE or maybe Penn