NLC - 2022

[DAC Life]

Northwood @ Chesterton

[Rocket]

5 hours ago, DAC Life said:

Northwood @ Chesterton

Long drive for a scrimmage 

[BD]

Northridge @ Laporte.  Long drive for a scrimmage.   

[from_the_sidelines007]

Any word from the Concord - SB St. Joseph scrimmage?

How did the teams play?

 

as always, the game is better

from_the_sidelines007

[NRRaider2001]

Northridge looked better than Laporte by a pretty good amount, but scrimmages aren't always the best way to judge what a team will actually look like during the regular season.

We lost Tagg Gott to his former school (Schoolcraft) due to his dad changing jobs.   

That will be a big loss, but we also got some serious talent back that missed most of last year.

We also have some very promising upcoming talent that should fill in some of our skill positions that graduated quite well. 

My biggest question mark is can our O-line hold up with the loss of a couple of really good ones from last year. 

We live and die with our defense, schematic wise, we are in great shape.  We did lose a few dudes from last year that were difference makers on that end too, but also got some people back that were injured much of the season. 

[ASJCPUMA]

On 8/13/2022 at 2:07 PM, from_the_sidelines007 said:

Any word from the Concord - SB St. Joseph scrimmage?

How did the teams play?

 

as always, the game is better

from_the_sidelines007

I was there.  It looked like SJ moved the ball better.  Neither team did much going the 65 yards.  Closer n SJ had more success.  Concaord has one really huge lineman and another one with big size.  Think both were feeling things out and trying many combinations

[iogyhufi]

On 8/9/2022 at 9:50 AM, NLCTigerFan07 said:

All quiet in the NLC... it's a shame we do not have more posters here. I feel like back in the day we had quite a few from Plymouth and NorthWood, and Concord, Wawasee and Goshen posters have all but disappeared.

Who scrimmages who this upcoming week?

Warsaw is scrimmaging Fort Wayne North Side, and I believe I saw Mishawaka scrimmages Elkhart.

I've lurked for a while as a Goshen fan - don't usually have anything useful to contribute so I keep quiet. 🙂 I may have more to say now that we're in the Wogomon Era - at least I hope so!

[MarshallCounty]

18 minutes ago, iogyhufi said:

I've lurked for a while as a Goshen fan - don't usually have anything useful to contribute so I keep quiet. 🙂 I may have more to say now that we're in the Wogomon Era - at least I hope so!

How’d the scrimmage go? 

[NRRaider2001]

From Austin Hough at The Goshen News on the Northridge Raiders. 

[NRRaider2001]

From Austin Hough at The Goshen News on the Concord Minutemen.

[NRRaider2001]

From Austin Hough at The Goshen News on Goshen Football. 

[NRRaider2001]

From Evan Lepak at The Goshen News on the Northwood Panthers.

[iogyhufi]

On 8/15/2022 at 10:44 AM, MarshallCounty said:

How’d the scrimmage go? 

I can't say for sure (I was out of town) but I heard people say they saw good things. It's not going to be an overnight change, I'm sure, but it was nice to hear that the team's going in the right direction.

[NLCTigerFan07]

Here are my predictions for the NLC race this season. We'll check back in 9 short weeks to see how I've done.

1. NorthWood - I think they surprise and win the title this year in a wide open conference race. They have two QBs with quite a bit of experience and athletes all over the field. With the new schedule, they have a tough lineup week's 3-7, so we'll know by October how this prediction plays out.

2. Warsaw - The Tigers have only won 1 NLC Title under Coach Curtis, and always seem to get tripped up in a game that ultimately prevents them from claiming the crown. They should be solid this season bringing back their QB and getting back a stud FB from injury, and defensively anchored by the Katris twins.

3. Mishawaka - The Cavemen will be a good team this year and will easily compete for the NLC crown again. However, they are 0-2 against the Tigers since their move to the new conference, and with the game at Warsaw this season, I see them losing another close battle and perhaps another game this season.

4. Goshen - Here's an even bigger surprise than picking NorthWood as champs. I think Coach Wogomon gets the Redhawks on the right track, and they have a QB with plenty of experience. His play is what I'm betting on for Goshen to end up in the top half of the NLC this season as opposed to the other contenders below them here.

5. Northridge - I firmly believe the Raiders will once again have the or one of the stoutest defenses in the conference. However, can they score on offense? Losing Gott was a bigger blow than what I think some Northridge fans are leading on. If they somehow figure something out on that side of the ball, they can move up this list, but they'll need to prove that first.

6. Concord - They definitely have athletes and a few "dudes" on the roster this year, but I think they see a big drop off following their championship season from last year. Starting their NLC schedule with NorthWood then Warsaw, might be the deciding factor for them. If they played those teams later in the season, maybe they'd have a chance with more experience under their belt. Coach Koehler is great though and can definitely get the Minutemen to eat my words.

7 & 8  Wawasee/Plymouth - Both of these teams will be just as bad as they have been for the last few seasons. The Warriors have the benefit of having the same coach, whereas the Rockies are breaking in a new coach who did not exactly set the world on fire during his time at Wabash. Wawasee also has a fairly manageable schedule their first 4 weeks of the season, whereas Plymouth opens with 3 consecutive road games that will all but certainly be losses.

This definitely feels like a season in which we will have some sort of shared title between two or more teams. Would not surprise me at all.

 

Best of luck to all NLC schools in Week 1! I'll make those predictions tomorrow.

[NLCTigerFan07]

Unfortunately going to be a quick prediction post for tonight.

SB Adams at Northridge - Last season's postseason run to a State Championship appearance is fully in the review mirror at kickoff tonight. Losing Gott is a tough gut punch for the Raiders, but I fully anticipate their defense to be what keeps them in games early this season. Adams is breaking in a new coach on short notice, so I am expecting the home team to when a defensive slugfest (perhaps because neither offense will be up and ready week 1)... Northridge by 12

Elkhart at Concord - Quite a bit of excitement for this one it seems, especially on the Elkhart side of things. I think the Lions will be a solid squad this year, but first game under a new coach at the Jake... maybe it's my NLC-tinted glasses, but I'll take the Minutemen at home... Concord by 3

Fairfield at Goshen - While the Falcons have been a solid team the last 3 seasons, I am putting high hopes into Coach Wogomon at his alma mater this season. The Redhawks have won 5 of 6 in this series, and I do not see them dropping this one at home... Goshen by 13

Michigan City at Warsaw - The Wolves have owned this series so far, but lost a bit to graduation. The Tigers return their QB and HB, 2 keys to the Bart Ball offense. This game will be determined in the trenches, where the Tigers are young. Again, maybe wishful thinking... Warsaw by 6

Mishawaka at Marian - Backyard Brawl will be featured on Channel 46 tonight and tomorrow morning. The Knights are always a solid program, but the Cavemen have owned this matchup historically. I think the younger Fisher's experience from last year will serve him and their offense well... Mishawaka by 16

NorthWood at Jimtown - Not really sure what to expect from the Jimmies this season. After only scoring 6 points combined in weeks 1 & 2 last year (against NorthWood and Concord), their offense exploded on their way to an NIC Division championship. But the Panthers are my surprise pick to win the NLC this year... NorthWood by 8

Plymouth at East Noble - According to some other threads, the Knights lost quite a bit from graduation. However, they could probably run their C team out against the Rockies and threaten a victory. Not expecting much in Blueberry town this season... East Noble by 21

Wawasee at Tippecanoe Valley - The Vikings also lost some studs from last season's undefeated regular season team. I like that this game has been put on the schedule for both programs, and I expect this game to be a little closer than last year's blow out. Still not convinced on much about the Warriors for this season though... Tippecanoe Valley by 14

[Slick John Picanos]

On 8/17/2022 at 2:52 PM, NLCTigerFan07 said:

Here are my predictions for the NLC race this season. We'll check back in 9 short weeks to see how I've done.

1. NorthWood - I think they surprise and win the title this year in a wide open conference race. They have two QBs with quite a bit of experience and athletes all over the field. With the new schedule, they have a tough lineup week's 3-7, so we'll know by October how this prediction plays out.

2. Warsaw - The Tigers have only won 1 NLC Title under Coach Curtis, and always seem to get tripped up in a game that ultimately prevents them from claiming the crown. They should be solid this season bringing back their QB and getting back a stud FB from injury, and defensively anchored by the Katris twins.

3. Mishawaka - The Cavemen will be a good team this year and will easily compete for the NLC crown again. However, they are 0-2 against the Tigers since their move to the new conference, and with the game at Warsaw this season, I see them losing another close battle and perhaps another game this season.

4. Goshen - Here's an even bigger surprise than picking NorthWood as champs. I think Coach Wogomon gets the Redhawks on the right track, and they have a QB with plenty of experience. His play is what I'm betting on for Goshen to end up in the top half of the NLC this season as opposed to the other contenders below them here.

5. Northridge - I firmly believe the Raiders will once again have the or one of the stoutest defenses in the conference. However, can they score on offense? Losing Gott was a bigger blow than what I think some Northridge fans are leading on. If they somehow figure something out on that side of the ball, they can move up this list, but they'll need to prove that first.

6. Concord - They definitely have athletes and a few "dudes" on the roster this year, but I think they see a big drop off following their championship season from last year. Starting their NLC schedule with NorthWood then Warsaw, might be the deciding factor for them. If they played those teams later in the season, maybe they'd have a chance with more experience under their belt. Coach Koehler is great though and can definitely get the Minutemen to eat my words.

7 & 8  Wawasee/Plymouth - Both of these teams will be just as bad as they have been for the last few seasons. The Warriors have the benefit of having the same coach, whereas the Rockies are breaking in a new coach who did not exactly set the world on fire during his time at Wabash. Wawasee also has a fairly manageable schedule their first 4 weeks of the season, whereas Plymouth opens with 3 consecutive road games that will all but certainly be losses.

This definitely feels like a season in which we will have some sort of shared title between two or more teams. Would not surprise me at all.

 

Best of luck to all NLC schools in Week 1! I'll make those predictions tomorrow.

Slick John Picanos here reporting from the lush confines of a stretch limosine.  While I don't have the time to give a detailed prediction of each team and how they'll finish I will take the time to give what I think is the "most anticipated" aspect for each team leading into the season.  

NorthWood-  Besides being the only school with two captial letters in their name, can Nate Andrews come up with a new helmet design this year?!  It would seem they are running out of their traditional options of black, red, white but can I suggest a chrome design?!  Also- is Nate Andrews in better shape than his players?  Does he make an appearance on scout teams???

Warsaw- Bart Curtis and his fast food connoisseur-ism should be in full force down in Kosciusko County.  First, I'll set the over/under at 9.5 passes completed on the season for the Tigers.  What can we anticipate, though?  Well- opposite of their rivals at NorthWood, the Tigers' uniforms have become more basic in the world of alternate uniforms.  In fact, I don't believe they even have any orange on their road jerseys!  Can we at least get a tiger paw back on the helmet, or at least the W?!   The question remains- can Bart Curtis make their jerseys even more bland?!  On a more serious note- can we please get a Top 5 Fast Food restaurant ranking from Coach Curtis- what a treat that would be!!!

Mishawaka- The only St. Joseph County representative is home to possibly the most idyllic high school football setting in northern Indiana.  However, it comes with its' challenges!  How many games does the grass at Steele Stadium hold up?  Can it make it even to September?  With only 1 August home game, it has a chance!  I must give the Cavemen credit, though, they usually use the sand/mud/dirt/clay/tufts of grass combination to their advantage.  

Goshen- Well what in God's Green Gables bet did Tom Wogomon lose to take on this Red Hawk endeavor?!  Either way- this anticipation is obvious- can things turn around for the once proud Artists Formerly Known as the Redskins??

Northridge- After just becoming the latest NLC team to make a state championship game (only Warsaw has not) expectations are high in the Middlebury bubble!  Are they too high?!  Can the Raiders live up to their sense of entitlement?! I have also noticed some new construction onto the high school- I guess people can get excited about that as well...

Concord- The defending champs are getting very little respect from NLCTiger07!  Can I sense some hurt feelings stemming from last October?  The rotating schedule will pit the Tigers and Minutemen in September for what I anticipate is the first time ever after being the regular season finale since at least 1994.  Back on topic: The Minutemen have some holes to fill!   Probably as many as any team in the conference.  The early season schedule will be extremely telling as to where this team is headed.  I think we will know after the first 4 games whether they are the real deal or if the focus of the season will be on improvement and growth leading up to the playoffs. 

Wawasee- In what can only be seen as a "shot across the bow" to the RedHawks, the Warriors from the lake have inserted a Native American Spear into their helmet logo (see below).  For those uninformed, the Goshen helmet included a spear for several years.  Culture is trying to be changed on their side of Kosciusko County and you have to admire the effort!  The Warriors do indeed have a heck of a concourse in their stadium on the home side- hopefully that isn't the only product of this year's Warrior team that people talk about when leaving games.  

 

Plymouth- LAJB- "Life After John Barron"- Not really much else to be said here.  The Rockies have fallen on some tough times.  New coaches are usually able to bring some new energy and we will see if the pride of Marshall County and US 30 can pull the right strings to have a successful season!

Off we go into Week 1- Stay healthy, eat junk food, hate your rivals, and enjoy football once again!

 

[NRRaider2001]

My quick predictions on week 1 games

Northridge over Adams by 8

Elkhart over Concord by 14

Goshen over Fairfield by 3

Warsaw over Michigan City by 20

Mishawaka over Marian by 6

Jimtown over Northwood by 1

East Noble over Plymouth by 30

Tippy Valley over Wawasee by 7

[00NWP]

Here are my predictions for tonight

Northridge over Adams by 10

Elkhart over Concord by 21

Goshen over Fairfield by 14

Michigan City over Warsaw by 7

Mishawaka over Marian by 14

NorthWood over Jimtown by 14

East Noble over Plymouth by 21

Tippy Valley over Wawasee by 7

[iogyhufi]

I'll give the board my recollections from Goshen-Fairfield. I think it's easiest to break it down into what Goshen looked like in each of the three phases of the game. (If anything I say seems wrong to anyone else who was at the game, you're probably right; the game was long enough and had enough stoppages that it's tough for me to remember now what happened all the way through.)

Offense:

Fairfield ran an interesting defensive look at Goshen tonight—they played the majority of the game with no deep safeties and 8 in the box. Goshen realized reasonably quickly that the Fairfield CBs were having trouble staying in front of their men and that the deep ball was almost always there, so they (not unreasonably) threw deep an awful lot. Of course, throwing the deep ball requires excellent touch and accuracy, and even very good HS quarterbacks are still high schoolers. (I think Quinn Bechtel looked very good, for what it's worth.)

Goshen's offense was really its own worst enemy tonight, because it killed a lot of its own drives with holding and false start penalties. That's to be expected from a team learning a new system playing the first game of the season, and I'm sure they'll iron that out before too long. (In the interest of full disclosure, there was one drive-killing holding call that I think was wrong—I think the umpire caught the tail end of a pancake block and assumed it was a hold when it wasn't, but that's only one.) Goshen is also learning a new blocking scheme, transitioning from zone blocking to man blocking, so I'm sure that'll resolve itself with time as well. Goshen pulled off some good runs, but I think it's hard to say how good their offense will be after this game just because I doubt most NLC schools will scheme them the way Fairfield did.

Defense:

Fairfield runs the veer offense, and as any opponent of a service academy will tell you, it's no mean feat to defend a triple option. I think this is where Fairfield deserves a ton of credit—they ran their offense very, very well. The quarterback made a lot of really good reads and though I think Goshen stops a lot of these plays after learning from film, credit to Fairfield for making them pay. Goshen's halftime adjustments on this side were really good, but I think fatigue did them in.

The worst part for Goshen was how long they spent on defense, as Fairfield ran tons of plays and ate tons of clock. There were lots of players down with cramps in the second half, and I suspect that was a huge part of the second half struggles.

As far as execution, my impression was that Goshen won the trenches, but Fairfield was successful at falling forward and gaining one or two extra yards. Goshen will need to work on that.

Special Teams:

Goshen's punter looked really good today. Fairfield chose not to send a deep man on the first two punts (which I've never seen before—anybody know what the strategy is there?), and Goshen pinned them deep both times. He had a fantastic punt to try and pin them deep, which landed just a millisecond too soon for the gunner to keep it out of the end zone. There was a snap over the punter's head that let Fairfield back in the game early in the second half, but I don't think that'll be an issue for long.

Tl;dr, Goshen clearly has plenty of talent and a good staff coaching them, but the players are still learning a new system and working out the bugs. Aside from a few loose turnovers early in the game, Fairfield executed on offense extremely well and kept Goshen off the field, so they deserve a lot of credit for a well-played game. I don't think Fairfield wins again if they play tomorrow, but there ain't no second chances in football. I'll be interested to see how Goshen looks against a very good New Prairie team next week.

[MC Dad]

Wow Best Warsaw team we have seen . Hope the QB is ok .Tigers could make a run in the North. Very impressive.

Best to Warsaw great host's

[Bobref]

11 hours ago, MC Dad said:

Wow Best Warsaw team we have seen . Hope the QB is ok .Tigers could make a run in the North. Very impressive.

Best to Warsaw great host's

I’ll be at Warsaw next week when they host Chesterton, who took a highly regarded Hobart team to the woodshed last night. Should be very interesting.

[NRRaider2001]

I was pleasantly surprised by the Northridge Offense last night, stepped up big even with a few key guys missing.  McClain Miller with almost 200yds rushing for 17.5 a run and 4 touchdowns after Lloyd went down early. 

Defense will have to adjust and step up big next week to have a chance though.  I think they will find themselves this year, as defense is our bread and butter, but they looked a little suspect in coverage last night. 

Looking forward to the tailgate before the game at Rice Field on Friday night as well. 

[00NWP]

NLC Week 2 Predictions:

Chesterton V. Warsaw: I think this may be the best game in the NLC this week.  Warsaw suprised me with how well they played MC.  I saw Chesterton scrimmage NW earlier this year and they appeared to have a good squad but I dont know much about them other than the little from the scrimmage.  I will take Warsaw by 3 being that it is in Warsaw.

Concord V. Jimtown:  After watching Jimtown last week, I think they will win the NIC (small school) as they have some play makers, NorthWood's depth and fresh legs wore them out in the 2nd half.  With that said, I think Concord with its size will win.  Concord by 14

East Noble V. NorthWood:  NorthWood started slow last week before finding its way.  I think NW's secondary will win this game for them against EN's passing attack.  NW by 10.

New Prairie V. Goshen: Goshen did well in the 1st half against Fairfield.  If they can play well for an entire game, I think they will win some games this year.  Not this game, but some games later.  I think NP will be too much for them.  NP by 21.

Northridge V. Elkhart:  Not a whole lot to say here.  Northridge played much better than anyone thought they would last week, and if that continues, the NLC will be even more wide open this year.  With that said, I think Elkhart is extremely good this year and will make a deep run into the postseason.  Elkhart by 21.

Plymouth V. Kokomo:  Easy win for Kokomo.  Kokomo by 28.

St. Joe V. Mishawaka: Im not sure if Marian was that bad...or Mishawaka was that good.  I am assuming a bit of both.  I don't know much about St. Joe this year.  I'll take Mishawaka by 21.

West Noble V. Wawasee: Is this the game Wawasee will win this year...maybe...maybe not.  Judging on how bad Wawasee did last week against Valley...i dont think so.  I saw them scrimmage NorthWood this year, and they didnt seem to be that great.  I will take West Noble by 14.

 

[NLCTigerFan07]

On 8/20/2022 at 2:23 AM, MC Dad said:

Wow Best Warsaw team we have seen . Hope the QB is ok .Tigers could make a run in the North. Very impressive.

Best to Warsaw great host's

14 minutes ago, 00NWP said:

NLC Week 2 Predictions:

Chesterton V. Warsaw: I think this may be the best game in the NLC this week.  Warsaw suprised me with how well they played MC.  I saw Chesterton scrimmage NW earlier this year and they appeared to have a good squad but I dont know much about them other than the little from the scrimmage.  I will take Warsaw by 3 being that it is in Warsaw.

Unfortunately for Warsaw they took a pretty serious blow with the late first half injury to their starting QB. The injury was significant, and it looks likely he will miss quite a bit of time. Feel bad for the kid as he is a senior and had the Tiger offense churning along at midseason form in the first half of the first game. The Tiger defense will definitely have to show out moving forward, and they looked up to the task Friday night. I don't care if Michigan City was young had first time starters, that squad had some DUDES and I was pleasantly surprised to see how well Warsaw held them in check.

[NLCTigerFan07]

NLC teams in the rankings Week 2

6A
Warsaw - RV-14th (Coaches) / RV-11th (AP)

5A
Mishawaka - 6th (Coaches) / 5th (AP)
Concord - RV-13th (Coaches)

4A
NorthWood - 7th (Coaches) / 10th (AP)
Northridge - RV-13th (Coaches) / RV-11th (AP)