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NLC - 2021


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On 9/21/2021 at 1:01 PM, NLCTigerFan07 said:

I would agree with most of what @Prospect 

4A - Honestly no NLC team has a shot IMO, especially with Northridge's injuries that have been sustained and from what I saw this past Friday night against Warsaw. Sectional 19 might be the best sectional in class 4A and has an arguement across the state really. Leo and East Noble are without a doubt head and shoulders above the rest, while Columbia City and Angola are no slouche

Northridge definitely got nailed by injuries to key players and positions on both sides of the ball, several of which are season ending.   But I'd pump the brakes a little bit on the sky falling on our season and post season hopes.   I believe we were caught last week against a great team, with little practice time for our backups and third stringers.  We were right in it in the first half, but lack of depth killed us in the second half. 

Tomorrow night should tell us a clearer picture of what to expect from our depleted team the rest of the way, although we are still down to our #3/#4 qb one more week due to a season ending injury back to back years for qb1, and ridiculous contact tracing rules keeping qb2 out a second week in a row. 

I'm just praying Micah is back in time for the majority of basketball season his senior year.

Also side note, love seeing some new blood in here, as much as I enjoy NLCTigerFan07 and his great insight on this thread but I'm glad to see some new blood and some old timers popping back in here more often!

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2 hours ago, NRRaider2001 said:

Northridge definitely got nailed by injuries to key players and positions on both sides of the ball, several of which are season ending. But I'd pump the brakes a little bit on the sky falling on our season and post season hopes.

I know you take no offense to what I said, but I stand by it. Leo and East Noble are in a class of their own in that sectional from my perspective. It would take a true miracle for 1 of those 2 teams to not win Sectional 19.

 

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Having seen both East Noble and Northridge live when they played us, I will have to agree with NLCTiger and say that East Noble is better than Northridge, or at least when we played them.  East Noble has some playmakers on offense that I didn't Ridge having.  But there is still a lot of football to play and we got Wawasee this week.

Good Luck to all NLC schools tonight and stay healthy.

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Fully into the second half of the season, we are flying by as usual. Should be a fantastic fall Friday night for football. I went 4-0 last week with my picks and sit at 21-5 overall. Away we go...

Mishawaka (4-1, 2-1) at Concord (4-1, 3-0): Huge game in Dunlap tonight. Should be a great one and without a doubt the game of the week in the conference. The Cavemen got back on track last week with a win over Plymouth, while the Minutemen had to survive a late charge by Goshen. I expect this to be a solid defensive game. Key to the game will be Mishawaka not turning the ball over, and whether or not the Minutemen can score enough points. I think the Cavemen pull it out in a close one. Mishawaka by 6

NorthWood (3-2, 2-1) at Northridge (4-1, 2-1): Chuck Freeby and squad will be onhand for their Channel 46 Game of the Week. Should be a great game in and of it's own as both teams hopes of winning at least a share of the NLC crown will be decided here. The Raiders still have some injuries that will impact them, while the Panthers are coming off a tuneup against Wawasee. Last year saw a real barnburner with a 7-0 victory by Northridge, and I expect a similar type game this year. Both teams have really good defenses, so it will come down to if the Raiders can put some points on the board. Maybe it's my recency bias, but I like the Panthers. NorthWood by 2

Warsaw (4-1, 3-0) at Goshen (2-3, 0-3): Here is a crazy stat: the RedHawks have not beaten Warsaw since the 2007 season. I couldn't believe that. Unfortunately for Goshen, I do not see that ending tonight. However, they have improved this season and played NorthWood and Concord tough the last two weeks. If they catch the Tigers looking ahead toward the end of the season, they could make things interesting. Although, if there is a coach in the state that can keep his team focused on the current week only, it's Coach Curtis. Warsaw by 21

Plymouth (0-5, 0-3) at Wawasee (0-5, 0-3): The Toilet Bowl in Syracuse tonight for the Warrior's homecoming. Do not have much to say here for this game. I am going with the Pilgrims because I have more faith that they can score points this year. Plus, based on the weekly snips from Coach Reutebuch, I am not sure how many players Wawasee will have available. Plymouth by 14

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5 hours ago, NLCTigerFan07 said:

Fully into the second half of the season, we are flying by as usual. Should be a fantastic fall Friday night for football. I went 4-0 last week with my picks and sit at 21-5 overall. Away we go...

Mishawaka (4-1, 2-1) at Concord (4-1, 3-0): Huge game in Dunlap tonight. Should be a great one and without a doubt the game of the week in the conference. The Cavemen got back on track last week with a win over Plymouth, while the Minutemen had to survive a late charge by Goshen. I expect this to be a solid defensive game. Key to the game will be Mishawaka not turning the ball over, and whether or not the Minutemen can score enough points. I think the Cavemen pull it out in a close one. Mishawaka by 6

NorthWood (3-2, 2-1) at Northridge (4-1, 2-1): Chuck Freeby and squad will be onhand for their Channel 46 Game of the Week. Should be a great game in and of it's own as both teams hopes of winning at least a share of the NLC crown will be decided here. The Raiders still have some injuries that will impact them, while the Panthers are coming off a tuneup against Wawasee. Last year saw a real barnburner with a 7-0 victory by Northridge, and I expect a similar type game this year. Both teams have really good defenses, so it will come down to if the Raiders can put some points on the board. Maybe it's my recency bias, but I like the Panthers. NorthWood by 2

Warsaw (4-1, 3-0) at Goshen (2-3, 0-3): Here is a crazy stat: the RedHawks have not beaten Warsaw since the 2007 season. I couldn't believe that. Unfortunately for Goshen, I do not see that ending tonight. However, they have improved this season and played NorthWood and Concord tough the last two weeks. If they catch the Tigers looking ahead toward the end of the season, they could make things interesting. Although, if there is a coach in the state that can keep his team focused on the current week only, it's Coach Curtis. Warsaw by 21

Plymouth (0-5, 0-3) at Wawasee (0-5, 0-3): The Toilet Bowl in Syracuse tonight for the Warrior's homecoming. Do not have much to say here for this game. I am going with the Pilgrims because I have more faith that they can score points this year. Plus, based on the weekly snips from Coach Reutebuch, I am not sure how many players Wawasee will have available. Plymouth b

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Congrats Concord on the big win!

Gonna be a tough go for us the rest of the regular season, guessing the Goshen game will be the only one we are favored in. 

Feel for the seniors that watched a promising start of the season begin to fall apart after all of the injuries keep stacking up  I'm still a big believer in Eppley and think our future is still bright.

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Some initial reactions to the Week 6 games:

Heck of a win for Concord. Mishawaka has a solid defense, but they had no issues carving up the Cavemen through the air. Forcing turnovers is also huge when playing against "Bart Ball", and that allowed the Minutemen to get out to a big lead early and hang on late. I have a feeling if that Elkhart game would have been played later on in the season, we would have seen a different outcome. Concord should have no issues with Plymouth this week, and at this point Northridge does not seem to be much of a threat for them either before hosting Warsaw in the regular season finale.

Speaking of looking impressive through air, the Panthers put it to the Raiders in Middlebury, accumulating 5 passing touchdowns on the evening. They are right in the thick of things in the NLC race, but will need Concord to lose a game to at least clinch a tie of the conference title, along with winning their remaining games. They get "lucky" in the sense that they play Mishawaka before playing Warsaw in week 8. That gives them plenty of practice time to prepare for "Bart Ball". Will be interesting to see the extent of the injury for starting QB Kaden Lone though. Backup Owen Roeder performed well in relief though. Question - we don't have many NorthWood posters here, but does anyone know if Owen Roeder is related to former Panther QB Charlie Roeder?

Warsaw did it's best to not look ahead past Goshen and was a well oiled machine Friday on both sides of the ball. They will have to do that again this week against Wawasee for the "W" Trophy Game. I do not believe the Warriors will cause them any issues, but they cannot get caught looking forward to the NorthWood and Concord games.

Congrats to Wawasee for pulling out the vicotry over Plymouth. Heck of a Homecoming game in Syracuse, even if both teams playing are pretty bad this season. I wonder when the Rockies have ever finished a season without a win?

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10 minutes ago, NLCTigerFan07 said:

Some initial reactions to the Week 6 games:

Heck of a win for Concord. Mishawaka has a solid defense, but they had no issues carving up the Cavemen through the air. Forcing turnovers is also huge when playing against "Bart Ball", and that allowed the Minutemen to get out to a big lead early and hang on late. I have a feeling if that Elkhart game would have been played later on in the season, we would have seen a different outcome. Concord should have no issues with Plymouth this week, and at this point Northridge does not seem to be much of a threat for them either before hosting Warsaw in the regular season finale.

Speaking of looking impressive through air, the Panthers put it to the Raiders in Middlebury, accumulating 5 passing touchdowns on the evening. They are right in the thick of things in the NLC race, but will need Concord to lose a game to at least clinch a tie of the conference title, along with winning their remaining games. They get "lucky" in the sense that they play Mishawaka before playing Warsaw in week 8. That gives them plenty of practice time to prepare for "Bart Ball". Will be interesting to see the extent of the injury for starting QB Kaden Lone though. Backup Owen Roeder performed well in relief though. Question - we don't have many NorthWood posters here, but does anyone know if Owen Roeder is related to former Panther QB Charlie Roeder?

Warsaw did it's best to not look ahead past Goshen and was a well oiled machine Friday on both sides of the ball. They will have to do that again this week against Wawasee for the "W" Trophy Game. I do not believe the Warriors will cause them any issues, but they cannot get caught looking forward to the NorthWood and Concord games.

Congrats to Wawasee for pulling out the vicotry over Plymouth. Heck of a Homecoming game in Syracuse, even if both teams playing are pretty bad this season. I wonder when the Rockies have ever finished a season without a win?

I agree with you about Concord beating Elkhart if the game had been later in the season. I'd go so far as to say that if #35 (Koltookian) had played in the second half, it wouldn't even be a question. Concord's defense is legit but he makes them scary! The offense seems to be hitting it's stride at the right time. Their skill players are really good and the quarterback is starting to get protection up front. #7 (D'Arcy) is "sneaky good" and #1 (Moore) is a stud at the receiver position, but, those Koltookian brothers at linebacker are really, really good! The Minutemen schedule sets up pretty nice for a showdown against Warsaw the last game of the regular season. Mishawaka will be certainly be routing for Concord in  that game.

I feel bad for the Raiders. Injuries have all but killed their chance at a conference championship and they certainly looked like they were going to be in the mix. 

Good luck to all the teams moving forward! 

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Two thirds of the way through the end of the regular season, getting down to the nitty gritty with some big games on deck the last three weeks of the season. Worst week of my picks last week, going 2-2, bringing my season record to 23-7. Onto Week 7 uneducated predictions:

Concord (5-1, 4-0) at Plymouth (0-6, 0-4): The Minutemen proved they should never be counted out as top dog when it comes to NLC football. All the talk about Warsaw, Mishawaka, and Northridge earlier on this season, yet it's Concord who has won or shared the most NLC titles (9) since 2000. The Pilgrims are having their worst season, maybe ever. Based on @Rudy Football Almanac site, Plymouth has gone winless twice in its history. In 1924 (their first season) they went 0-5 and in 1940 they went 0-6, and have 1 win seasons five other years. I do not see this one being much of a contest. Concord by 28

Goshen (2-4, 0-4) at Northridge (4-2, 2-2): I think this one has a chance to be a close game and at least competitive. During the Raiders 4 game winning streak to start the season, they were averaging 34 points on offense and only giving up 3 points on defense. In their two losses since, they are only averaging 6 points on offense and giving up 39 points on defense. That is quite the down turn in Middlebury. The Redhawks got down early and down fast last week and never stood a chance with the way Warsaw's offense was rolling. This is a big game for both programs IMO. Can Goshen pull it together and get momentum into possibly a 3 game winning streak to end the season? Can Northridge figure out a way to bring back their mojo from the start of the season? I'm hesitant, but I'll go with the home team. Northridge by 7

NorthWood (4-2, 3-1) at Mishawaka (4-2, 2-2): Game of the week in the conference without a doubt. Two teams kind of going in opposite directions. The Panthers have won 3 straight and looked good doing it. Meanwhile, the Cavemen have lost 2 of 3 to good opponents. The crazy thing is, both teams combined have 4 losses on the season by a combined 20 points! Each of these teams are just a few plays away from this being a 6-0 vs 6-0 matchup. I know last week the NorthWood starting QB got knocked out of the game, so if this is going to end up being a battle of QBs who started the season as backups, I am going with the home team and backup QB that has more Varsity experience at this point. Mishawaka by 12

Wawasee (1-5, 1-3) at Warsaw (5-1, 4-0): Honestly I do not have much to say about this game. Warsaw should roll easily and will as long as they do not get caught looking too far forward to the final two week's matchups against NorthWood and Concord. At least the Warriors have been able to find the endzone in recent weeks, but the Tigers defense has not given up a touchdown the last two games. The Black Plague D will want to keep that streak alive in this county rivalry game for the "W" Trophy. Warsaw by 42

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Side note - the Warsaw Freshman team beat Jimtown last night to move to 7-0 on their season. The schedule is a little different than the Varsity team's due to some schools not having Freshman squads. Here are the teams they have defeated:

Fairfield, Michigan City, Penn, Mishawaka Marian, Mishawaka, Northridge, and Jimtown.

Anyone else know how their Freshman teams are doing outside of Plymouth and Goshen who apparently do not have teams this year. Does Wawasee have a freshman squad? I know they do not have a JV team this year.

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On 10/2/2021 at 7:20 AM, WolvesOnTheProwl said:

Glad to see Mishawaka senior QB Justin Fisher return to the field last night. Great kid from everything I’ve read about him.  

Hear hear! I have NO DOUBT in my mind that if he was HEALTHY and behind center against Warsaw and Concord, the Cavemen win both of those games. That is no disrespect to his younger brother who has played well himself, but Justin is a stud and the perfect athlete to run that style of offense. Would love to see Mishawaka and Concord battle for a Sectional 10 championship this year with Justin at the helm.

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Just some interesting stats following Week 7 on the below teams according to John Harrell's site:

6A
Warsaw is ranked 8th in Scoring Offense (35.86 ppg) and 3rd in Scoring Defense (13.86 ppg) and 3rd in Average Margin (22.00 points)

5A
Concord is ranked 2nd in Scoring Defense (11.43 ppg) and 7th in Average Margin (17.86 points)
Mishawaka is ranked 4th in Scoring Defense (14.00 ppg) and 6th in Average Margin (18.57 points)

4A
Northridge is ranked 8th in Scoring Defense (14.57 ppg)

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4 hours ago, NLCTigerFan07 said:

Just some interesting stats following Week 7 on the below teams according to John Harrell's site:

6A
Warsaw is ranked 8th in Scoring Offense (35.86 ppg) and 3rd in Scoring Defense (13.86 ppg) and 3rd in Average Margin (22.00 points)

5A
Concord is ranked 2nd in Scoring Defense (11.43 ppg) and 7th in Average Margin (17.86 points)
Mishawaka is ranked 4th in Scoring Defense (14.00 ppg) and 6th in Average Margin (18.57 points)

4A
Northridge is ranked 8th in Scoring Defense (14.57 ppg)

Where did you find those stats?

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Never got a chance yet to post reactions from Week 7, but honestly there was not much to report on.

Great to see Justin Fisher back in uniform and look like the stud he is in that Mishawaka offense. I mentioned it earlier, I have no doubt the Warsaw and Concord games would have ended differently if he played in those games, and I hope he stays healthy for the remainder of the seasons to have a shot at a tournament run. It will be interesting to see how NorthWood bounces back. They lost to Mishawaka in Week 7 last year, only to beat Warsaw the following week. I am curious if having back-to-back weeks of preparing for "Bart Ball" helped them last year and will help them again this year.

Northridge got back on track over an improved and pesky Goshen team. The Raiders will have a chance to prove they shouldn't be taken lightly in 4A Sectional 19 if they can get at least 1 of 2 wins their last weeks of the season against Concord and Mishawaka. If they lose both games... tough way to end the season after how it started out. Meanwhile, the Redhawks should get back to into the win column for the first time since August this week and SHOULD have a good chance at finishing the season 4-5.

Concord and Warsaw continued to roll over hapless Plymouth and Wawasee respectively. As long as both teams do not trip up this week, the matchup in Week 9 at Dunlap will be for an outright conference championship. But both Northridge and NorthWood are certainley capable of pulling off road upsets this week.

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