Jump to content
Head Coach Openings 2024 ×
  • Current Donation Goals

    • Raised $2,716 of $3,600 target

NIC 2021 Outlook


Recommended Posts

Anyone have any prognostications for next fall.  

Being the resident Bremen homer, I think the Lions should be favorites to win the North/South/Small school division.  They need to replace a couple skill positions, but only lost 5 or 6 seniors.  The Junior class that will be Seniors has played a lot of varsity and have been successful through their years in the program. The need a couple kids to come back from injuries and grade suspensions, if those kids are in the fold it will add much needed depth.  I like their chances, but Jimtown is a thorn in their side, even with Jimtown being down lately, they have Bremen's number.  

What other hot takes do people have? I'll eat crow if I'm wrong, please feel free to call me an idiot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, MarshallCounty said:

Anyone have any prognostications for next fall.  

Being the resident Bremen homer, I think the Lions should be favorites to win the North/South/Small school division.  They need to replace a couple skill positions, but only lost 5 or 6 seniors.  The Junior class that will be Seniors has played a lot of varsity and have been successful through their years in the program. The need a couple kids to come back from injuries and grade suspensions, if those kids are in the fold it will add much needed depth.  I like their chances, but Jimtown is a thorn in their side, even with Jimtown being down lately, they have Bremen's number.  

What other hot takes do people have? I'll eat crow if I'm wrong, please feel free to call me an idiot.

Welcome back Marshall County !!! Jimtown/Bremen will be fighting for 2nd/3rd in the conference. I don't see Bremen as the favorite IMO. They lost 4.5/5 of their offensive production. Most of the teams in the South were young last year. Clay well its Clay. They had difficulties just having 7 men on the line of scrimmage. I don't see Riley doing much. They lose their best player in Lee and Luuga transferred to Mishawaka. Besides the HC and OC, I don't think any coaches stayed. Jarvis was suppose to come back this season but was somehow pushed out. Think you'll be seeing Riley running Marion's old stuff, but I could be wrong.  Jimtown's biggest threat this year is Johntu Reed. Most DC's will be trying to stop him this year. But, the team to beat this year is the Falcon's down in Walkertucky. They return their entire team minus 3 defensive players. They suffered some major injuries at QB/RB/Slot. But they are all healthy now. Rumor is they have a monster incoming freshmen TE/FB whose 6'2 195 lbs. Will see if he's ready to contribute. But, It should be a good year for football. Now that teams aren't suffering the restrictions from last year....Don't know what to say about Washington...will they have enough eligible kids to play?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can see the postions taken by both Marshall County and Turf Toe.  Bremen has the potential to own the line of scrimmage in most conference games.  Jimtown and Glenn can give them a battle in that area though.  Ecenbarger, Moser and Manges are going to be seniors who will be starting varsity players for either the 3rd or 4th season.  Each has conference recognition in past seasons and have worked out religiously since the the end of last season to get stronger and more athletic.  Two Juniors to be Schmucker and Reed got lots of reps at center and guard last season and should round out a formidable line on both sides of the ball.  An aggressive and strong senior to be who had to sit out last season is hopefully returning to mix in on the defensive line.  He could be a huge upgrade for the one defensive line position opened up by graduation.

Linebacker and the secondary on defense need at least one newcomer to step up and fill roles to complete a stout defensive unit.  On offense, there is lots to replace in the skill positions.  It does not appear the two injured speedsters at the end of last season will be returning.  Things can change obviously, but not counting on it. Definately going to need a couple of running backs to step up and grind out some yardage behind that line.  The Lions are going to have to grind it out and play to their line strength.  Hopefully the coaches will be content to do that and mix in the short passing game and utilize the TE.  Don't see lots of big plays in the running game or downfield passing game.  That could be an issue against the Jimmes and Falcons.

I believe the group of senior leaders see the challenge that John Glenn presents.  Playing in Bremen on Bunge Field will hopefully add an advantage for the Lions.  That advantage could be offset a little by the fact the Lions play Jimtown the week before at their place.  That is a tough back-to-back scheduling of games, physically and mentally.  I think the John Glenn game is a toss up at this point.  The fourth quarter of that game might be special.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, TurfToe said:

Welcome back Marshall County !!! Jimtown/Bremen will be fighting for 2nd/3rd in the conference. I don't see Bremen as the favorite IMO. They lost 4.5/5 of their offensive production. Most of the teams in the South were young last year. Clay well its Clay. They had difficulties just having 7 men on the line of scrimmage. I don't see Riley doing much. They lose their best player in Lee and Luuga transferred to Mishawaka. Besides the HC and OC, I don't think any coaches stayed. Jarvis was suppose to come back this season but was somehow pushed out. Think you'll be seeing Riley running Marion's old stuff, but I could be wrong.  Jimtown's biggest threat this year is Johntu Reed. Most DC's will be trying to stop him this year. But, the team to beat this year is the Falcon's down in Walkertucky. They return their entire team minus 3 defensive players. They suffered some major injuries at QB/RB/Slot. But they are all healthy now. Rumor is they have a monster incoming freshmen TE/FB whose 6'2 195 lbs. Will see if he's ready to contribute. But, It should be a good year for football. Now that teams aren't suffering the restrictions from last year....Don't know what to say about Washington...will they have enough eligible kids to play?

How do you know Washington will have  eligibility problems?   I don't think the semester has ended and grades have not been determined.  Maybe you have inside information about Washington that no one else knows.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/30/2021 at 3:14 PM, johnny U said:

How do you know Washington will have  eligibility problems?   I don't think the semester has ended and grades have not been determined.  Maybe you have inside information about Washington that no one else knows.  

Why did you automatically assume he meant grades? There are MANY things that affect eligibility!

You can't turn 20 by the scheduled date of the state finals of IHSAA Tournament Series in your sport.
You can't play under an assumed name.
You can't accept money or merchandise directly or indirectly for any athletic participation, in your sport.
You have to pass a physical.
You have to be enrolled in a school during the first 15 days of the semester and have to have enough practices in.
You have to have the proper paperwork if you transferred from another school.

And the many other regulations that are in the bylaws including the point that YOU brought up. Their grades need to be in order.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, PennBall_Wizard said:

Why did you automatically assume he meant grades? There are MANY things that affect eligibility!

You can't turn 20 by the scheduled date of the state finals of IHSAA Tournament Series in your sport.
You can't play under an assumed name.
You can't accept money or merchandise directly or indirectly for any athletic participation, in your sport.
You have to pass a physical.
You have to be enrolled in a school during the first 15 days of the semester and have to have enough practices in.
You have to have the proper paperwork if you transferred from another school.

And the many other regulations that are in the bylaws including the point that YOU brought up. Their grades need to be in order.

Lets let TurfToe tell us what he meant tell us what he was referring to when he mentioned Washington's eligibility of players  in football.   Most of the factors that determine eligibility 

can be determined long before the season starts.  Grade are one of last factors that can be determined for  eligibility.  I'm betting TurfToe was referring to grades.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, johnny U said:

Lets let TurfToe tell us what he meant tell us what he was referring to when he mentioned Washington's eligibility of players  in football.   Most of the factors that determine eligibility 

can be determined long before the season starts.  Grade are one of last factors that can be determined for  eligibility.  I'm betting TurfToe was referring to grades.

Sorry, didn’t mean to keep you waiting. Since, you ASSume it had to do with grades and now I need to clarify a question I asked.  I’ll ask it again...Will they have enough eligible players to play? Being you have an issue with my question and are defensive do you know something? Other wise keep scrolling by. Washington is now the new Clay. They can’t field a girls softball team or soccer team this year, but clay could. Their wrestling program ended the season with 3? wrestlers. A few short years ago the football program 65-75 during summer workouts. Numbers have dwindled. So it’s a bit concerning and a valid question. Don’t act like they didn’t forfeit an entire season do to a 5th year senior not to long ago. So the eligibility question is also valid. Scroll on

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
10 minutes ago, LaSalle Lions 1976 said:

Here might be a topic  to discuss for a while.

Do you think that the South Bend schools help or hinder the rest of the schools in conference, in football?

Interested to see everyone's opinion

My “micro aggressions” warning went off on this post. 😆

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, MarshallCounty said:

Washington and Riley has had some good games with Bremen, Clay not so much. 

The series between Bremen and Riley is 2-2 in the last 4 years. While 3 of those games ended with a final score that wasn't close (the average margin of victory of the last 4 games was 22 points), every one of the games was hard-fought and competitive up until the end. If the landscape of conferences changed and Bremen and Riley ever ended up in different conferences, there's a very strong argument there that both communities would be well-served by making sure this series continued into the future.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, LaSalle Lions 1976 said:

Here might be a topic  to discuss for a while.

Do you think that the South Bend schools help or hinder the rest of the schools in conference, in football?

Interested to see everyone's opinion

If a topic starts to drag we can always bad mouth South Bend.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Cheez said:

The series between Bremen and Riley is 2-2 in the last 4 years. While 3 of those games ended with a final score that wasn't close (the average margin of victory of the last 4 games was 22 points), every one of the games was hard-fought and competitive up until the end. If the landscape of conferences changed and Bremen and Riley ever ended up in different conferences, there's a very strong argument there that both communities would be well-served by making sure this series continued into the future.

The overall consensus is that the conference prefers to have a strong showing from all SB Schools in all sports. That's the reason for being in a conference. Lately, it's been a la carte. Riley the past 4 years in football has been rather decent averaging 38, 22, 32.1 points per game. Last year was rather disappointing to see only a 13.8 average.  It will be interesting to see how Riley does this year and if they will bring that old school Marion style offense to the SE side. It will surely keep the opposing teams offense off the field if they can control the ball and grind it out. At times it seemed like they only had 10 players on defense with the safety playing 25 yards back at times.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

City of Hammond has addressed all of its public school problems by consolidating 4 high schools down to 2.  While some lament the closings of Clark and Gavit, the city will be better served with two larger high schools in Morton and Central that will not only improve the academic standing of the city's students, but also push its athletic programs to a significantly higher level on both the local and statewide levels

Wether it's consolidation down to three schools or two, South Bend school admins owe it to the kids to give them an opportunity to compete on a level playing field.  

 

Edited by DT
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DT said:

City of Hammond has addressed all of its public school problems by consolidating 4 high schools down to 2.  While some lament the closings of Clark and Gavit, the city will be better served with two larger high schools in Morton and Central that will not only improve the academic standing of the city's students, but also push its athletic programs to a significantly higher level on both the local and statewide levels

Wether it's consolidation down to three schools or two, South Bend school admins owe it to the kids to give them an opportunity to compete on a level playing field.  

In fairness to South Bend, consolidation at the high school level is a massive undertaking, often involving personnel, facility, transportation, and capital spending decisions. Pushing the athletic programs to a higher level, is the least of the concerns.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/27/2021 at 1:47 PM, LaSalle Lions 1976 said:

Here might be a topic  to discuss for a while.

Do you think that the South Bend schools help or hinder the rest of the schools in conference, in football?

Interested to see everyone's opinion

Hinder. 

I don't think any of them have beaten Penn in nearly 40 years. 

Adams has never won a sectional.  They are currently one of the top 5A enrollments.

LaSalle never won a sectional when they were still around.    

Riley won only one and that was in 1992. 

Clay's only sectional win was in 2002 and they haven't won a single tournament game in the past 10 seasons. 

Washington went to state in 2011 but other than that hasn't won as much as a sectional in the past 40 years. 

Even St. Joe has fallen on hard times with losing records in 4 of the past 5 years.  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, Bobref said:

In fairness to South Bend, consolidation at the high school level is a massive undertaking, often involving personnel, facility, transportation, and capital spending decisions. Pushing the athletic programs to a higher level, is the least of the concerns.

With all due respect to South Bend, we have seen consolidation in Muncie, East Chicago, Michigan City, Anderson, Elkhart, and Hammond over the past two decades.

Terre Haute is currently undertaking a full scale review of its future needs and will take action soon.

Why should we give South Bend a pass when others with similar challenges have taken decisive action?

The Citys toxic political culture is no excuse for inaction  in my view.

Edited by DT
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Bobref said:

OK, you know it’s going to be a shot when it starts out this way. 😆

I believe the citys excess building capacity is approx 50% relative to the currrent student enrollment across all high schools.  This could have been a signature accomplishment for Mayor Pete.  Too bad he missed the opportunity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, DT said:

This could have been a signature accomplishment for Mayor Pete.  Too bad he missed the opportunity.

Not sure what sort of overlap there is between the City and the school corporation. To all outward appearances, there is none. It’s a 7-member school board, all elected, none appointed by the mayor, like some places. So, I fail to see how the mayor gets either credit or blame for the decisions of the school corporation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Bobref said:

Not sure what sort of overlap there is between the City and the school corporation. To all outward appearances, there is none. It’s a 7-member school board, all elected, none appointed by the mayor, like some places. So, I fail to see how the mayor gets either credit or blame for the decisions of the school corporation.

Are you suggesting its ok for the Mayor to just ignore the problems in the public schools because they fall under the oversite of the elected school board?

I thought the mayor's first and primary role was to provide leadership to the city 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, DT said:

Are you suggesting its ok for the Mayor to just ignore the problems in the public schools because they fall under the oversite of the elected school board?

I thought the mayor's first and primary role was to provide leadership to the city 

My point is that the school corporation is a wholly independent political subdivision over which the municipal corporation has no authority whatsoever. With authority comes responsibility. But without authority ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Bobref said:

My point is that the school corporation is a wholly independent political subdivision over which the municipal corporation has no authority whatsoever. With authority comes responsibility. But without authority ...

Regardless, they have failed spectacularly in comparison to their peers in the northern half of the state.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...