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Lawrence Central Football - On the Mend or On the Brink?


Guest DT

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16 minutes ago, Staxawax said:

Quit spoiling his narrative.

I can only sit on my hands so long lol.

To be fair to DT, this was actually a pretty impressive thread backed by actual research until that comment. 

To me consolidation, specifically for sports doesn't do much for me. 

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49 minutes ago, Irishman said:

Maybe…..but they do a lot of things very well. They do keep the number of students per teacher really low…..at about 18 students per teacher. With that many students in one building, there are some advantages. They are consistently in the high 90’s for graduation rate percentage. They are able to offer a wider variety of courses. 
 

But Carmel is unique. If there were an IPS school with the limited resources it has, it’s likely to have the opposite effect. I even remember in college in the late 80’s doing observations, and they had PE classes with 100 kids. The teacher said it was a common thing. 

How does a large number of students in the building improve graduation rate percentage positively?

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6 minutes ago, temptation said:

How does a large number of students in the building improve graduation rate percentage positively?

It doesn't.....Just countering that there is not a sign of any negative impact academically for the students there due to the number of them on campus. 

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44 minutes ago, Footballking16 said:

To me consolidation, specifically for sports doesn't do much for me. 

Depends on the size of the school.   For example having Clinton Central, Clinton Prairie, and no-football program Rossville consolidating could be a win/win.

 

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6 minutes ago, Irishman said:

It doesn't.....Just countering that there is not a sign of any negative impact academically for the students there due to the number of them on campus. 

Guess I can see that but you know my stance by now on academic/athletic success.

Starts at home.  Carmel’s affluence has more to do with that 90+% than anything else.

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3 minutes ago, temptation said:

Guess I can see that but you know my stance by now on academic/athletic success.

Starts at home.  Carmel’s affluence has more to do with that 90+% than anything else.

Agreed.  One could logically assume most of the athletes have their own personal strength & conditioning coach.

 

Edited by Muda69
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9 minutes ago, Footballking16 said:

Don't know much about either of those schools. Can't really comment.

A consolidation of those three high schools would have a 9-12 enrollment of approx. 920 students.  The sweet spot IMHO.

 

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7 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

A consolidation of those three high schools would have a 9-12 enrollment of approx. 920 students.  The sweet spot IMHO.

 

That would be a good #.
 

Assuming they would need to build a brand new building centralized to the new student body? Feasible?

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6 minutes ago, Footballking16 said:

That would be a good #.
 

Assuming they would need to build a brand new building centralized to the new student body? Feasible?

Considering the city of Frankfort would be the centralized location, probably not.   I could possibly see a Central & Prairie consolidation in the future, especially if the Central enrollment continues to atrophy.  It would probably take some sort of legal action to force the Rossville community into a consolidation,  they like being isolated up there in northwestern Clinton and southwestern Carroll counties.

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2 hours ago, Footballking16 said:

I can only sit on my hands so long lol.

To be fair to DT, this was actually a pretty impressive thread backed by actual research until that comment. 

To me consolidation, specifically for sports doesn't do much for me. 

Thats a very insulting comment

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On 7/13/2021 at 6:11 PM, DT said:
HHF Commentary : Lawrence Central Football - On the Mend or On the Brink?
 
Since that glorious 2012 5A state championship and subsequent 2013 entry into the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference, its been a steady downhill ride for the Lawrence Central football program.
 
What went wrong? Perhaps Jayson West saw this coming when he stepped off the LC train after smoking Fort Wayne Snider 39-14 in that 2012 5A title game to cap a 15-0 season ,jumping across the township border on the east side to take over at Warren Central.
 
Since that time, LC has been thru 4 head coaches, and the program hit rock bottom in 2020, going 0-10 and suffering thru a series of humiliating blowouts, culminating in a 52-14 first round sectional loss to a program they used to dominate, Lawrence North.
 
When John Rodenberg, a state championship level coach from Ohio, stepped down from the Lawrence Central job after just two seasons, alarm bells should have been going off everywhere, but they where, nobody heard them.
 
Former LC Bears star linebacker Will Patterson took over the program following Rodenberg's exit, and he is 2-18 in his two full seasons running the show. Rodenberg went over to Roncalli and won a state championship in his first season, and his team is heavily favored to repeat this year.
 
So how did the State Champion Bears become the Bad News Bears so quickly?
 
Unfortunately, it likely all comes down to numbers.
 
When LC joined the MIC, it was on the bottom end in the league in total 9-12 enrollment. In 2013-14 school year, LC posted enrollment of 2510 for purposes of football classification.
In 2019-20, LC reported enrollment of 2290, a 9% drop over the 7 year period. Every other MIC school saw enrollment increase or remain stagnant during that time period.
Coach West mentioned in our interview earlier that the drastic numbers variance between LC and the big MIC schools has overwhelmed the Bears, to the point that they are struggling to compete. Add in the fact that you have a rising Lawrence North program in an open enrollment township, and you have a perfect storm brewing for the destruction of Lawrence Central football.
 
Frankly, Im not sure its such a good idea to have sister schools like LN and LC playing in the same conference, competiting against each other for the same pot of gold. One is sure to thrive at the expense of the other. Its why the Columbus schools play in separate conferences. Its why Perry Meridian, Southport and Franklin Central all went their separate ways. Its possibly why HSE and Fishers may experience any success at the expense of the other.
 
Lawrence Central is now too small to compete regularly in The MIC. It might have a generational team every now and then when a Tre Roberson type player comes around, but year to year, the Bears simply do not have the depth to compete against the mammoth mega schools in The MIC.
 
I'd love to see LC quickly reverse that 0-10 record from last season, but I fear this may be the new norm for the program.
 
LC should cut its losses, and immediately search out a new home. There are many options. A return to Conference Indiana, where they enjoyed good relationships, had great success, and their kids enjoyed a wonderful football experience rather than enduring the drudgery of winlessness.
 
How about the Circle City Conference? Perhaps hook up with Southport and continue on with the long positive competitive relationship they have had with Indy's top private schools.
Or maybe the HCC? Many say the HCC is closing the gap on The MIC. But are they really that close?
 
Perhaps the Mid State. The MSC just added 6A Perry Meridian. Why not 6A Lawrence Central and continue to enhance your competitive profile? There might be a small 4A school in the MSC that could soon be looking for a better fit.
 
Maybe even the Hoosier Heritage. They play high level football in that conference at several of the schools. Doubt they would be intimidated by LCs presence.
 
Or the longest of long shots - independence. Never say never.
 
Bottom line, LC is enduring a miserable experience right now ,entrenched in the MIC basement. How do they get out? Can they get out? Or does someone step up and throw them a lifeline? I certainly hope for the sake of the program and the student athletes affected that they soon find some light at the end of the tunnel.
 
 
Tim Phillips
Hoosier High School Football

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1st...Will Patterson was NOT LC linebacker he was  LN linebacker. Also why was not the same said for North Central when they went 5 plus years with losing season? When was Pikes last winning season?  Both have the enrollment numbers and based off your article you say we are too small.  Also a LN win after 15 years of losing to LC now classify LC on a downward spiral to death? Man you must be a LN alumni or good friends with the LN head coach LOL.  It's all good! Coach Patterson is a great coach that is not only concerned about wins but sending players to the next level.  Just ask current Sophomore ( will be a Junior in the fall) Joshua Mickens with 10 and some more possible offers. And that is with a 0-10 season. Shouldn't sending kids to college be the end goal anyway?  Or should the players be the best every high school players with no future? 

Sincerely,

Tired of people shitting on our school

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/14/2021 at 10:56 AM, temptation said:

Bold prediction:  Carmel and CG are out of the MIC sometime before the turn of the decade.

Thinking more so in terms of ALL sports, their athletic domination is more of an issue than LC’s non-competitiveness.  If I’m not mistaken, CG or Carmel took home 17 of the 20 conference titles across the board this past academic year.

With the changing demographics, I still say replace Carmel and CG with Avon and Franklin Central.

Bump...the whispers have started.

 

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Just now, temptation said:

An HCC AD has confirmed that two MIC member schools have reached out to the HCC to gauge interest.

Wow.  This will be bigger than Texas and Oklahoma leaving for the SEC.  😁

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10 hours ago, DT said:

Not sure HCC would want Carmel to come in and take over.  Could be CG and LN.  Both would fit nicely

interesting thoughts.  Don't disagree.  Geographically it would make a ton of sense for Carmel with HSE, Fishers, Westfield and Zionsville.  

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