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Elkhart High School - Last Hope for the Great White North?


Guest DT

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For anyone remotely associated with The Region, Roncallis complete demolition of Hobart was a difficult thing to watch.  It was a reminder of what used to be, seeing the Purple and Gold on the big Indy stage, and a reality check of what is and what is coming around the corner.  The tournament perfomance in 2020 of Northern Indiana's 6A schools was dismal, and the outlook is not promising based on the growing strength of the Central Indiana powers.

Believe it or not, the new consolidated Elkhart High School may be The Great White North's last legitiimate hope to snatch a blue ring away from the Indy powers.

Elkhart has access to all the necessary ingredients required to go toe to toe with the Indy Mega schools.

Enrollment - 3000 plus in the new high school.  Plenty of depth and tons of kids roaming the halls to fill out full rosters from junior high up to varsity.

Coaching - solid staff led by Josh Shattuck, who rebuilt the Seymour program and has had Elkhart Central and now Elkhart High School on an upward trajectory since arriving into town in 2017.

Talent - City of Elkhart, similar to Fort Wayne, has lots of good football players.  Take a look at the Indiana Top 50 over the past two recruiting cycles and you will see plenty of representation from Elkhart, including some high end P5 talent.  No reason this trend should not continue.

https://247sports.com/Season/2021-Football/RecruitRankings/?InstitutionGroup=highschool&State=IN

Facilities - Not MIC level, but plenty good enough to support a high end high school football program.

Community and Administrative Support - To be determined.  This will be the differentiating factor in terms of driving the program to its highest possible level.

In my view, Elkhart is the only school that can combine the raw talent of Merrillville, the great depth of Penn and the grit of Snider into one package that can potentially go toe to toe with a Carmel, Center Grove, Warren Central or Ben Davis.  Add the Big 3 Catholics to that mix and you have your Indiana Elite 8.

Shattuck has the program on the quick rise.  The Lions went undefeated in the Northern Indiana Conference and lost a close Regional to Merrillville 27-24, all in the first year of post Memorial-Central consolidation.  This program will not shy away from tough non conference competition as they travelled down to Columbus in week 2 and manhandled the CE Olympians 52-28 in a game that took many by surprise 

Keep an eye on the Elkhart Lions.  They will clearly be shooting for improvement and another step up the ladder  next season 

 

 

 

 

 

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I agree they have the most upside.  Could they also potentially benefit from the train wreck that has become South Bend Community schools?  (I mean if a kid from the east side of Indianapolis can “re-locate” 20 miles west and lead a 1A school to a state title, why not?)

I’m also intrigued by Merrillville going forward.  Never thought I’d say this with a straight face but if they can keep the gravy train of Illinois/Region transfers rolling in, they could make some noise annually.

 

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I’ll agree that Elkhart has lots of upside as a program, but no one has been able to beat the Big Four in the biggest games in the playoffs. That’s not just a Northern Indiana problem. I have my doubts about that changing any time soon either. 6A belongs to those four programs until someone else proves they can knock them off in the biggest moments. And I don’t really see how Hobart’s performance against Roncalli in 4A matters in regards to this either, especially considering Roncalli had also steamrolled Mount Vernon and Mooresville in the two previous weeks. That team was a step above any other 4A team in Indiana. Again, not really solely a Northern Indiana problem.

37 minutes ago, temptation said:

I’m also intrigued by Merrillville going forward.  Never thought I’d say this with a straight face but if they can keep the gravy train of Illinois/Region transfers rolling in, they could make some noise annually.

 

I wouldn’t count on it. I’ve heard rumblings that Logan is transferring back to Illinois for next year as well. It was a very strange year that made for some strange things to happen that I’m skeptical will continue in the future. I also saw in the enrollment thread that Merrillville could possibly be in 5A next year. 

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Good post DT. I agree with you on Elkhart, lots of upside there. They have to be the hands on favorite out of the north to compete with the Indy big dogs.

Don't expect much out of Northeast Indiana. Homestead seems to have their ceiling every year, which basically equates to a very good 5a team. Carroll loses some weapons and has yet to prove anything. They need to find out what Center Grove is doing. The Chargers have the community, the resources, the enrollment, and now an 8 millions dollar football stadium. When is this program going to play up to it's potential? Snider moves down to 5a even though they are on an uptick...........bad for 6a north. 

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3 hours ago, temptation said:

I agree they have the most upside.  Could they also potentially benefit from the train wreck that has become South Bend Community schools?  (I mean if a kid from the east side of Indianapolis can “re-locate” 20 miles west and lead a 1A school to a state title, why not?)

I’m also intrigued by Merrillville going forward.  Never thought I’d say this with a straight face but if they can keep the gravy train of Illinois/Region transfers rolling in, they could make some noise annually.

 

I am most disapointed in Merrillville.  They play like champs again The Region, and like chumps against Indy (Chatard/Westfield)   

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I miss the 80's and 90's when playing a team from the Region was as dangerous as playing a team from Indy. Merrillville 92' would have given any team in Indy fits. Portage 94' was solid. Valpo was, is, and apparently always will be force. Before 2001, the big school title was up for grabs, even some Southern Indiana teams staking a claim. The real Indy stronghold came in 2001. The championship was monopolized by Ben Davis and Warren Central for five years. During that time, it's seems like the rest of Indy rose to their standards and left the rest of the state in the dust. 

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4 hours ago, temptation said:

I agree they have the most upside.  Could they also potentially benefit from the train wreck that has become South Bend Community schools?  (I mean if a kid from the east side of Indianapolis can “re-locate” 20 miles west and lead a 1A school to a state title, why not?)

I’m also intrigued by Merrillville going forward.  Never thought I’d say this with a straight face but if they can keep the gravy train of Illinois/Region transfers rolling in, they could make some noise annually.

 

You don’t think Indy area public’s have athletes playing 20 miles from there house? Interesting.

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5 hours ago, BTF said:

Good post DT. I agree with you on Elkhart, lots of upside there. They have to be the hands on favorite out of the north to compete with the Indy big dogs.

Don't expect much out of Northeast Indiana. Homestead seems to have their ceiling every year, which basically equates to a very good 5a team. Carroll loses some weapons and has yet to prove anything. They need to find out what Center Grove is doing. The Chargers have the community, the resources, the enrollment, and now an 8 millions dollar football stadium. When is this program going to play up to it's potential? Snider moves down to 5a even though they are on an uptick...........bad for 6a north. 

I totally agree with this, northeast Indiana 6a is almost non existent ,as far as challenging the Indy metro area. Im going to say, its a shame, but  it is the same with 5a in the area. Nelson Snider is not the R. Nelson of old. Fart Wayne may see a little jump, off and on ,with the Saints, Knights or Cadets but they won't contend for state titles. Them days are over. There is just too many schools ,for the Allen County metro area population to have dominance in the state.

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What we saw Friday was just another chapter in Hobart’s great tradition of losing the state championship game. I can’t imagine anyone has more runner-up finishes than the Bricks.

Indianapolis and it’s suburbs are exploding in population. Rest of the state, especially the rust belt north, can’t catch up. Is what it is.

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I wouldn't dig the grave for Penn just yet. Maybe someone closer to that program can shed some light. The past couple of years have been bad but we aren't that far removed from them competing for state titles. They had a pretty good stretch from like 2013-2017. Beat Carmel a few times lost a close one to CG in a state finals game.  But a couple of bad losses in the state title game probably skew people's memories.  Out of all of the other options in the 6A North, they've at least proven they CAN play with those teams and they've proven they will schedule tough teams. Snider, Merrillville, Valpo and many tough out-of-state opponents. They scheduled Cathedral this year. They've scheduled Ben Davis in the past. Those were fun games.  

What's going on with Penn?

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39 minutes ago, vito said:

I would throw in a consolidated Hammond Morton as a potential school on the rise; specifically if their enrollment puts them in 5A.    

With Hammond being open enrollment, Morton was already getting most of the players. Arguably, with the closure of Gavit and Clark, and their brand new facility, Hammond High is more likely to be on the rise than Morton.

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4 minutes ago, Bobref said:

With Hammond being open enrollment, Morton was already getting most of the players. Arguably, with the closure of Gavit and Clark, and their brand new facility, Hammond High is more likely to be on the rise than Morton.

Agree

The new Hammond Central High School will be a state of the art high school structure with all the amenities required to support 21st century modern education.  Morton will probably lose some kids to HC.  Both HM and HC are likely to be 5A football schools, which completely transforms the post season makeup of region football.  As we have discussed before, The NCC would be a great fit for both Morton and Central moving forward.

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1 hour ago, Bobref said:

With Hammond being open enrollment, Morton was already getting most of the players. Arguably, with the closure of Gavit and Clark, and their brand new facility, Hammond High is more likely to be on the rise than Morton.

I don't see current Morton players leaving for Hammond High, but you never know.  Hammond, Clark and Gavit have had zero recent success so other than the shiny new facilities (maybe that's enough?), what is the draw athletically? Excluding the "Rippy" one year fiasco, Morton has also had a much more stable coaching situation. 

 

1 hour ago, DT said:

Agree

The new Hammond Central High School will be a state of the art high school structure with all the amenities required to support 21st century modern education.  Morton will probably lose some kids to HC.  Both HM and HC are likely to be 5A football schools, which completely transforms the post season makeup of region football.  As we have discussed before, The NCC would be a great fit for both Morton and Central moving forward.

You can keep on pushing this scenario but it isn't happening.  If the NCC expands, Hanover Central and Wheeler make way more sense. 

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55 minutes ago, vito said:

I don't see current Morton players leaving for Hammond High, but you never know.  Hammond, Clark and Gavit have had zero recent success so other than the shiny new facilities (maybe that's enough?), what is the draw athletically? Excluding the "Rippy" one year fiasco, Morton has also had a much more stable coaching situation. 

 

You can keep on pushing this scenario but it isn't happening.  If the NCC expands, Hanover Central and Wheeler make way more sense. 

Why?

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1 hour ago, DT said:

Why?

Two simple reasons:

  1. It is and always will be about the $$$. Hammond schools do not travel well. 
  2. Conference memberships are about more than football. Morton would certainly be competitive on the gridiron.  But, they would bring very little to cross country, volleyball, track, golf, tennis, etc. Same reasons for the breakup of the LAC 20+ years ago. 
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6 minutes ago, vito said:

Two simple reasons:

  1. It is and always will be about the $$$. Hammond schools do not travel well. 
  2. Conference memberships are about more than football. Morton would certainly be competitive on the gridiron.  But, they would bring very little to cross country, volleyball, track, golf, tennis, etc. Same reasons for the breakup of the LAC 20+ years ago. 

That was a long time ago.  The area has changed.  The 2 Hammond schools will have much more resources to tap into to field competitive teams in additional sports.

They already play each other regularly in the major sports.  The NCC is not a "country club" conference like the DAC.  Its an urban conference and Hammond has urban schools.  They should really get this done.  It solves lots of scheduling headaches for NCC ADs who only have 5 conference games currently.  Id also like to see EC Central get in but that may be asking to much.

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23 minutes ago, vito said:

 

2. Conference memberships are about more than football. Morton would certainly be competitive on the gridiron.  But, they would bring very little to cross country, volleyball, track, golf, tennis, etc. Same reasons for the breakup of the LAC 20+ years ago. 

No way the Hammond schools could bring less than Highland and KV are currently bringing though, right? I’d have to think they’d be competitive in boys/girls basketball and track/cross country as well.

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10 minutes ago, scarab527 said:

No way the Hammond schools could bring less than Highland and KV are currently bringing though, right? I’d have to think they’d be competitive in boys/girls basketball and track/cross country as well.

Agree   Highland is basically South Hammond anymore.  Munster and Hammond have been good neighbors forever.  I would think the two southern schools (Lowell and KV) might be the ones blocking the expansion.  They can leave if they dont like.  The NCC can get back to 8 by adding HM. HC, ECC and GWS.  and dropping Lowell and KV.  We would save a lot of travel doing it this way.  

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23 minutes ago, DT said:

Agree   Highland is basically South Hammond anymore.  Munster and Hammond have been good neighbors forever.  I would think the two southern schools (Lowell and KV) might be the ones blocking the expansion.  They can leave if they dont like.  The NCC can get back to 8 by adding HM. HC, ECC and GWS.  and dropping Lowell and KV.  We would save a lot of travel doing it this way.  

I’d hate to see Lowell leave the NCC, and honestly I doubt they would. I don’t see them objecting to the Hammond schools joining, especially because they’d likely increase the level of football competition. I doubt anyone would shed a tear if KV left, and them leaving would definitely cut travel. As for EC and West Side, while I think they’d bring some competition into other sports, I don’t think they’d be good enough in football for Andrean, Hobart, and Lowell to want to bring them in. I still feel like the NCC is mainly a football conference, and the conference already has enough the competitive balance issues in that sport, I don’t think it would want to exacerbate that issue. I think EC and West Side joining the GSSC would make a little more sense. Lesser competition in football, good basketball with Noll and Marquette in the conference, seems like a good fit for those two schools. 

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1 hour ago, vito said:

Two simple reasons:

  1. It is and always will be about the $$$. Hammond schools do not travel well. 
  2. Conference memberships are about more than football. Morton would certainly be competitive on the gridiron.  But, they would bring very little to cross country, volleyball, track, golf, tennis, etc. Same reasons for the breakup of the LAC 20+ years ago. 

Exactly.

Hanover Central would be 'standing room only' at Lowell for football.......Morton and Hammond would not be. 

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1 hour ago, DT said:

Agree   Highland is basically South Hammond anymore.  Munster and Hammond have been good neighbors forever.  I would think the two southern schools (Lowell and KV) might be the ones blocking the expansion.  They can leave if they dont like.  The NCC can get back to 8 by adding HM. HC, ECC and GWS.  and dropping Lowell and KV.  We would save a lot of travel doing it this way.  

There probably wont be an 8-team conference but maybe 2 divisions. That would be 7 league games.  I doubt anybody wantsthat.

What about...

NCC SOUTH

4A Kankakee Valley

4A Lowell

3A Hanover Central

4A Hobart

2A/3A ? Andrean

 

NCC NORTH

5A Munster

4A Highland

5A Morton

5A/4A Hammond

4A East Chicago

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