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4A - games in


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Some surprising scores from some of the teams that just moved into the top ten (Culver, Delta). I have been watching quite a few of the teams and here are my thoughts on who should be in top 10:

 

1,  Roncalli -  until they lose, they are #1.   More running back by committee and it seems to be working.   
 

2.  Mooresville- scoring a lot of points, but also giving up a lot.   Do they have the D to win it?  Last year that is what hurt them.  
 

3.  Leo -  Have big o line and speed.  Will they need to throw the ball as they get deep into playoffs?

4.  Jasper - Seem to be throwing the ball better this year.  Running game is very strong.  Defense seems to give up some big plays against  middle of pack or lower SiAC teams, could be a problem if they run into Mooresville at Regional.  

5.  East Central -  If Ringer is out for season, that really hurts their chances.   Defense not as good as last year.  Will get a better look in season finale against Roncalli 

6.   East Nobel- Saw a little against Dekalb, will find out more against Leo this week   

7.  Mt Vernon - Don’t think they have the D to beat Roncalli in Regional

8.  Ev. Memorial - Probably dropped too far due to loss against Jasper   Playing better since they started to run the ball hard   New QB is not Pence  Does he have to be???

9.  Northridge - Have not seen .  

10.  Chatard - They will probably get better   

I think there is a big drop off after these teams.  
 

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57 minutes ago, fenderbender said:

8.  Ev. Memorial - Probably dropped too far due to loss against Jasper   Playing better since they started to run the ball hard   New QB is not Pence  Does he have to be???

Our rushing attack has definitely improved since last year. Went up and down all night against an really solid Mater Dei rushing D with 2x all state James Ralph up front in their D-line(He’s really good at DT). I like our new QB, however he is undersized and his accuracy is questionable(though some of his incompletions are from dropped passes). But is quick with ball if he sees any holes in defenses. We’ve been getting better each week also, which is nice. Us and Jasper will contend for the S24 sectional title, but it will be interesting after that with Mooresville/ East Central in the Regional. 

Putting Jasper at #4 is nice a ranking for them too, extremely tough team and I doubted them in Week 1. Going to be a good one against Mater Dei and then Castle 2 weeks later. I will not be surprised if they go undefeated in the SIAC.
 

Edited by TigerFan20
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2 hours ago, fenderbender said:

 

3.  Leo -  Have big o line and speed.  Will they need to throw the ball as they get deep into playoffs?

 

6.   East Nobel- Saw a little against Dekalb, will find out more against Leo this week   

 

9.  Northridge - Have not seen .  


 

I’ll comment on these 3 teams, all in sectional 19.  
 

Leo — Awesome O-Line with size, a great stable of backs to share the load on carries, great hard nosed defense, great special teams, but a questionable Offensive scheme IMO.  This is what I don’t understand about Leo, they have all this size, great backs, experienced QB, and their scheme relies on deception, ball fakes, and confusion??  As soon as they match up against a defense that has the minimum level of size and tackling ability, AND has the scheme to stop their run they’re  in trouble.  I think Amstutz and EN have that defensive scheme. EN is 3-1 against Leo in the past 2 years with much of the same players on both teams.

 

East Noble —  Down in size a little compared to Leo, but an experienced roster.  Offensively they are much better than last year, more balanced for sure.  Playmakers at skill spots.  Defense has been improving since week 1 against Plymouth where for more than half the game, we didn’t have our 1st team D on the field much at all.  
 

Northridge —  I honestly don’t know a whole lot about them.  I expected a little drop off with Coach Wogoman gone but doesn’t appear so.  I know their conference is tougher than the NE8 playing the likes of Warsaw/Mishawaka etc.  I’ll be following them as they play out their conference schedule for sure.  
 

Seems to me it wouldn’t be a surprise to see any of these 3 teams win sectional 19 and move on.

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1 hour ago, southend said:

One team that maybe needs to be mentioned on the list is Northview. Mark Raetz has a squad that has been hammering people.  A test this Friday against an undefeated Owen Valley team, will give us a better read on both of these newbees on top of their conferences.  

They could have only 1 loss heading into sectionals.   Their sectional is pretty tough with the SIAC schools and they are still looking for their first sectional title ever.

10 hours ago, Knightsfan_01 said:

I’ll comment on these 3 teams, all in sectional 19.  
 

Leo — Awesome O-Line with size, a great stable of backs to share the load on carries, great hard nosed defense, great special teams, but a questionable Offensive scheme IMO.  This is what I don’t understand about Leo, they have all this size, great backs, experienced QB, and their scheme relies on deception, ball fakes, and confusion??  As soon as they match up against a defense that has the minimum level of size and tackling ability, AND has the scheme to stop their run they’re  in trouble.  I think Amstutz and EN have that defensive scheme. EN is 3-1 against Leo in the past 2 years with much of the same players on both teams.

 

East Noble —  Down in size a little compared to Leo, but an experienced roster.  Offensively they are much better than last year, more balanced for sure.  Playmakers at skill spots.  Defense has been improving since week 1 against Plymouth where for more than half the game, we didn’t have our 1st team D on the field much at all.  
 

Northridge —  I honestly don’t know a whole lot about them.  I expected a little drop off with Coach Wogoman gone but doesn’t appear so.  I know their conference is tougher than the NE8 playing the likes of Warsaw/Mishawaka etc.  I’ll be following them as they play out their conference schedule for sure.  
 

Seems to me it wouldn’t be a surprise to see any of these 3 teams win sectional 19 and move on.

Is the EN-Leo game going to be livestreamed?

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6 minutes ago, fenderbender said:

They could have only 1 loss heading into sectionals.   Their sectional is pretty tough with the SIAC schools and they are still looking for their first sectional title ever.

 

Yes in the south it looks like Jasper maybe the pick to meet Northview. Strength of schedule definitely goes to Jasper or the south squad that makes it out of that area. Then it gets harder for both. 

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As regards Strength of Schedule, it might be worthwhile to actually look at just who has played the (as in “THE”) most difficult schedule in the state in any class so far this year per Sagarin and CalPreps….and to look at other schedules in a relative sense.

Just to clarify, a 4A (3A enrollment) team has so far played the most difficult schedule in the State….to be clear….more difficult so far than any MIC squad.

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3 minutes ago, southend said:

I was comparing just Jasper with Northviews strength of schedule, if this is what you are alluding to in you comment. 

It was….but I was making a broader statement about SOS that everyone seems oblivious to.  

Usually the most difficult schedule in the state by mid season is “owned’ by a MIC team (maybe HCC or, possibly on occasion, Cathedral).  

This year it’s a 4A team.

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5 minutes ago, Lysander said:

It was….but I was making a broader statement about SOS that everyone seems oblivious to.  

Usually the most difficult schedule in the state by mid season is “owned’ by a MIC team (maybe HCC or, possibly on occasion, Cathedral).  

This year it’s a 4A team.

If they had only scheduled Lutheran, Luers and CG, the could have hit all the #1 ranked teams.

I wonder what team has played the most #1 ranked teams? (#1 ranking heading into sectionals.)

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20 minutes ago, Lysander said:

It was….but I was making a broader statement about SOS that everyone seems oblivious to.  

Usually the most difficult schedule in the state by mid season is “owned’ by a MIC team (maybe HCC or, possibly on occasion, Cathedral).  

This year it’s a 4A team.

A 4A team that will be damn dangerous come sectional time and better off for it.  0-4 and still getting respect in the polls tells you all you need to know.

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28 minutes ago, fenderbender said:

If they had only scheduled Lutheran, Luers and CG, the could have hit all the #1 ranked teams.

I wonder what team has played the most #1 ranked teams? (#1 ranking heading into sectionals.)

Cathedral last year played Center Grove and Chatard who were both ranked #1 in their respective classes heading into the tournament. Also played eventual Division 1 Ohio Champion St. Xavier although they may have been #2 going into their postseason but destroyed Pickerington Central who would have been #1 if not St. X and played LaSalle who at the time was #1 in Ohio's Division 2 (lost in semi-finals). 

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17 minutes ago, temptation said:

A 4A team that will be damn dangerous come sectional time and better off for it.  0-4 and still getting respect in the polls tells you all you need to know.

Honestly, I love this schedule and hope Chatard can sustain it.  Admittedly, it would have been better to have played it 2 years ago. In any event, I’m not sure how much this schedule matters against the freight train Roncalli is this year, admittedly.  Still, about 10-12 years ago, Rick Streiff (on his return) had Cathedral playing this type of schedule (including Ohio and Michigan powers) and Cathedral often took some lumps.  I’m not saying they didn’t already play a great schedule but he seemed to ratch it up even higher during his time.  I would argue that they are operating consistently these days on a different level than they were 12+ years ago.

Among other things, it allowed them to play some very high profile games (win or lose).  I think it helped to springboard them on a variety of levels.  It made them simply better for it but, more importantly, it drew kids there that wanted that challenge…and visibility.

I honestly believe that the Cathedral team we have seen the last couple of years is a product of that.

While I get that Chatard, under their rules as an Archdiocesan school, can’t do the things that Cathedral can, I still think that this sort of schedule will benefit them over the years and make them even more formidable….just as it has for Cathedral.

 

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4 minutes ago, Lysander said:

Honestly, I love this schedule and hope Chatard can sustain it.  Admittedly, it would have been better to have played it 2 years ago. In any event, I’m not sure how much this schedule matters against the freight train Roncalli is this year, admittedly.  Still, about 10-12 years ago, Rick Streiff (on his return) had Cathedral playing this type of schedule (including Ohio and Michigan powers) and Cathedral often took some lumps.  I’m not saying they didn’t already play a great schedule but he seemed to ratch it up even higher during his time.  I would argue that they are operating consistently these days on a different level than they were 12+ years ago.

Among other things, it allowed them to play some very high profile games (win or lose).  I think it helped to springboard them on a variety of levels.  It made them simply better for it but, more importantly, it drew kids there that wanted that challenge…and visibility.

I honestly believe that the Cathedral team we have seen the last couple of years is a product of that.

While I get that Chatard, under their rules as an Archdiocesan school, can’t do the things that Cathedral can, I still think that this sort of schedule will benefit them over the years and make them even more formidable….just as it has for Cathedral.

 

No doubt.  And they will begin to reap the benefits THIS week.  The mental game of coaching is over half the battle and if you can keep your kids believing in the process after the month that Chatard had, you have done one hell of a job.  They instantly become the most interesting team in the state for me to watch for the next two months.

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52 minutes ago, Footballking16 said:

Cathedral last year played Center Grove and Chatard who were both ranked #1 in their respective classes heading into the tournament. Also played eventual Division 1 Ohio Champion St. Xavier although they may have been #2 going into their postseason but destroyed Pickerington Central who would have been #1 if not St. X and played LaSalle who at the time was #1 in Ohio's Division 2 (lost in semi-finals). 

Cathedral was 60 seconds away last year from definitively proving themselves the best team in Ohio ( which they DID prove) or Indiana.

Edited by Lysander
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27 minutes ago, Lysander said:

Honestly, I love this schedule and hope Chatard can sustain it.  Admittedly, it would have been better to have played it 2 years ago. In any event, I’m not sure how much this schedule matters against the freight train Roncalli is this year, admittedly.  Still, about 10-12 years ago, Rick Streiff (on his return) had Cathedral playing this type of schedule (including Ohio and Michigan powers) and Cathedral often took some lumps.  I’m not saying they didn’t already play a great schedule but he seemed to ratch it up even higher during his time.  I would argue that they are operating consistently these days on a different level than they were 12+ years ago.

Among other things, it allowed them to play some very high profile games (win or lose).  I think it helped to springboard them on a variety of levels.  It made them simply better for it but, more importantly, it drew kids there that wanted that challenge…and visibility.

I honestly believe that the Cathedral team we have seen the last couple of years is a product of that.

While I get that Chatard, under their rules as an Archdiocesan school, can’t do the things that Cathedral can, I still think that this sort of schedule will benefit them over the years and make them even more formidable….just as it has for Cathedral.

 

Nailed it.

I was an incoming freshman the year after Cathedral arguably had their worst season in program history (3-7) with little expectations going into the next year. Cathedral opened up with Ben Davis and Warren Central who at the time were top dogs in 5A and lost both those but in a competitive fashion. Lost in Cincinnati to St. X the following week on a late TD and then again to Chatard in week 4 for the fourth straight time. Varsity was 0-4 heading into week 5 getting ready to play Roncalli (who had also beaten Cathedral 3 straight times) and this was arguably the best team in Roncalli's history. Ended up winning that game and then rattled off 7 straight victories until they ultimately lost to Roncalli in the return game in the sectional finals. I think it was that game that really spring boarded the Cathedral program. 

It took two more years for Cathedral to win a state title after that Roncalli game, but the schedule would continue to get tougher and more and more prolific games against not only Indiana's best, but the best in the Midwest were routine. Coach O'Hara got the program rolling again and Coach Streiff in his second go around really elevated Cathedral to where they are now. 

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Completely agree on the benefits of building a strong schedule.  It'll be interesting to see how much better they are for it in the weeks ahead.  However, a schedule like that can be detrimental if you don't come out of it healthy, especially for a team that lacks depth like this year's Chatard team.  From what I hear, Chatard did not come out of that four week stretch unscathed.  Hopefully they can get healthy by sectionals.

I'm looking at Memorial as a dark horse (can you call a team of EM's caliber a dark horse?) in 4A.  They are always well coached, have tons of experience, and it sounds like they are getting better each week.  I don't know anything about Jasper this year other than what has been said on this board, but it's going to be VERY difficult to beat Memorial twice in the same season.  

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20 minutes ago, TheDoctor22 said:

Completely agree on the benefits of building a strong schedule.  It'll be interesting to see how much better they are for it in the weeks ahead.  However, a schedule like that can be detrimental if you don't come out of it healthy, especially for a team that lacks depth like this year's Chatard team.  From what I hear, Chatard did not come out of that four week stretch unscathed.  Hopefully they can get healthy by sectionals.

I'm looking at Memorial as a dark horse (can you call a team of EM's caliber a dark horse?) in 4A.  They are always well coached, have tons of experience, and it sounds like they are getting better each week.  I don't know anything about Jasper this year other than what has been said on this board, but it's going to be VERY difficult to beat Memorial twice in the same season.  

Aside from just being a fine coach, I always thought that one of the more interesting (maybe the most interesting) aspects of Strife was his ability to “manage” that bruising schedule through injury (or lack of injury because of great conditioning).  I admit, he had a bigger team with more players than Chatard but, still, I was always a bit amazed as to how his teams consistently “survived” those seasons and were all hands on board for playoffs.

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30 minutes ago, Lysander said:

Aside from just being a fine coach, I always thought that one of the more interesting (maybe the most interesting) aspects of Strife was his ability to “manage” that bruising schedule through injury (or lack of injury because of great conditioning).  I admit, he had a bigger team with more players than Chatard but, still, I was always a bit amazed as to how his teams consistently “survived” those seasons and were all hands on board for playoffs.

Caught up to him a few times, especially when they were in 6A. Markese Stepp was seemingly hurt every week and missed the regional 2OT loss to Avon and was limited to inside the 20's in the blowout loss to Ben Davis the following year (not sure a healthy Stepp would have mattered). Raw numbers haven't been an issue for Cathedral in awhile, but in the last 3-4 years depth has been unbelievable. Most at Cathedral by now realize that 5A at minimum is going to be a permanent home and they are looking at 6A for the foreseeable future and maybe longer. Will be interesting to see how the Irish next year come the 6A tournament. Going to be losing 17-18 seniors most who have started multiple years. 

Edited by Footballking16
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53 minutes ago, TheDoctor22 said:

I don't know anything about Jasper this year other than what has been said on this board, but it's going to be VERY difficult to beat Memorial twice in the same season.  

Jasper is going to be a good team in the Sectional, so S24 is going to be a sectional to watch with Jasper, Memorial, Northview, and potentially Reitz

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Updated Poll:

 

image.thumb.png.b790918c53299ffc670666bc05aa70ee.png

 

Not that it matters, but how does Roncalli get 9 first place votes and only total 92 total votes?  Is someone lowballing them in the poll?  If you look at Center Grove, they have 10 first place votes and 100 total votes in 6A.  First place gets 10 votes and it decreases accordingly until you get 1 total vote for #10.  Is someone ranking them #8?

 

 

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1 hour ago, TheDoctor22 said:

Completely agree on the benefits of building a strong schedule.  It'll be interesting to see how much better they are for it in the weeks ahead.  However, a schedule like that can be detrimental if you don't come out of it healthy, especially for a team that lacks depth like this year's Chatard team.  From what I hear, Chatard did not come out of that four week stretch unscathed.  Hopefully they can get healthy by sectionals.

I'm looking at Memorial as a dark horse (can you call a team of EM's caliber a dark horse?) in 4A.  They are always well coached, have tons of experience, and it sounds like they are getting better each week.  I don't know anything about Jasper this year other than what has been said on this board, but it's going to be VERY difficult to beat Memorial twice in the same season.  

Tony Lewis is a fine coach. 

 

2 hours ago, temptation said:

No doubt.  And they will begin to reap the benefits THIS week.  The mental game of coaching is over half the battle and if you can keep your kids believing in the process after the month that Chatard had, you have done one hell of a job.  They instantly become the most interesting team in the state for me to watch for the next two months.

From a coach that won 3 NCAA championships. “The mental to the physical, is as four is to one”

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40 minutes ago, fenderbender said:

Updated Poll:

 

image.thumb.png.b790918c53299ffc670666bc05aa70ee.png

 

Not that it matters, but how does Roncalli get 9 first place votes and only total 92 total votes?  Is someone lowballing them in the poll?  If you look at Center Grove, they have 10 first place votes and 100 total votes in 6A.  First place gets 10 votes and it decreases accordingly until you get 1 total vote for #10.  Is someone ranking them #8?

 

 

Is this coaches poll?

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1 hour ago, fenderbender said:

Updated Poll

Not that it matters, but how does Roncalli get 9 first place votes and only total 92 total votes?  Is someone lowballing them in the poll?  If you look at Center Grove, they have 10 first place votes and 100 total votes in 6A.  First place gets 10 votes and it decreases accordingly until you get 1 total vote for #10.  Is someone ranking them #8?

 

 

Has to be yes.  Whoever (or is it whomever?) ranks Jasper #1 also has Roncalli #8.  I've got a bridge in Brooklyn I would like to sell that guy if he thinks there are 7 teams better than Roncalli in 4A. 

Edited by oldtimeqb
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