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Rising Programs


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Rising Programs
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While the bluebloods of Indiana High School Football continue to dominate their respective classes, there are many others that are investing in their football operations and positioning themselves for a run at greater success. Hoosier Highschool Football recognizes the following programs who are getting it done on and off the field:
Greenfield Central
Former North Central Farmersburg coach Travis Nolting is in the midst of a major turnaround effort at Greenfield Central. Inheriting a winless program 4 years ago, GC is building, numbers are way up, a comprehensive strength and conditioning program has been installed, and the Cougars are primed and ready to take the next step up the Hoosier Heritage Conference ladder and push New Palestine and Mount Vernon in conference play.
Delta
Another Hoosier Heritage team, Delta, is also rebuilding and Chris Overholt has a deep and experienced roster returning for the 2022 season. Biggest news for the Eagles is the drop down to class 3A where Delta can be a real dark horse contender in its first year in this new classification.
Muncie Central
The Bearcats have been off the radar for years, but Muncie Central made the state's best off season coaching hire, bringing in Centerville head coach Kyle Padgett. Padgett and his staff are in the process of rebuilding the program from the bottom up, starting with an all-in change in culture, commitment, and effort. It won't happen overnight, but look for MC to make significant strides over the next several seasons, as long as they can hold on to their new coach.
Laville
The Lancers have quietly made significant improvements in the rough and tumble Hoosier North Athletic Conference. Will Hostrawser has a big, physical football team that will be in position to compete for a conference title this season and possibly make a postseason run in class 2A out of the North.
South Bend St Joseph
The St Joe program has been down for several years, while crosstown rival Mishawaka Marian has become a statewide power in class 3A. Former coach Ben Downey returns to the sidelines, and he will have the state's number two ranked player, Daeh McCullough, transferring in from Bloomington South to help him reestablish St Joe Indian football as a premier private school program in South Bend.
Hanover Central
HC is the fastest growing school in Northwest Indiana, and has one of the strongest overall athletic programs in the Region, if not the state. The Wildcats will be playing their final season in the Greater South Shore Conference before stepping up to the Northwest Crossroads in 2023. Coach Brian Parker has complete and total buy in to his football program and the Cats will be a contender in the postseason over the next several years
Scottsburg
After restarting the program in 2014, coach Kyle Mullins and his staff enjoyed their best season ever last year, and the Warriors look to continue to keep the momentum moving as the talent and skill level increases significantly and roster numbers improve at all levels of the program
Bedford North Lawrence
BNL has struggled to gain footing in the Hoosier Hills Conference and in class 5a. The Stars drop down to Class 4A this year which will give this program a needed shot in the arm and a boost in confidence as it looks ahead to the fall season. Derrick Barker is a solid young coach and he is getting more BNL athletes to come out and play football. Watch for the Stars to have some success in 4A.
Owen Valley
Robert Gibson turned around the Patriot program in his first season in 2021, winning 10 games for the first time since 1999 and establishing the program as a top challenger moving forward in the Western Indiana Conference. Gibson immediately implemented several program upgrades upon his arrival, and got complete and total buyin as the players embraced the new culture and leadership. Gibson will be at the top of any coaching search list in the state of Indiana given his early success
North Judson
Coach Brett Lambert has this program positioned for a deep run in the 1A postseason tournament, and the Blue Jays will also be in contention in the Hoosier North Athletic Conference. Lots of talent and speed up and down the roster and plenty of experienced returning help along the lines will position Judson for success in 2022
Hamilton Southeastern
Westfield has risen to the top of the conference with two consecutive trips to the class 6A State finals, while Zionsville, Brownsburg, and Avon have all garnered more than their fair share of media attention over the past few seasons. Michael Kelly is building a rock solid program at HSE and the Royals will be deep, talented, and experienced, as they take a run at Westfield this year in the Hoosier Crossroads and position as a dark horse contender in 6A .
West Lafayette Harrison
Harrison, like HSE, has been overshadowed by its local rivals, but the time has come for the Raiders to step up and make a statement on the statewide stage. Harrison is the state's largest class 5A School in terms of enrollment, and Coach Terry Peebles has a big, bruising roster and a powerful offense that is designed to punish and wear down opposing defenses.
Franklin Central
The Flashes have struggled since arriving into the Hoosier Crossroads Conference 5 years ago, but that is about to change under the leadership of two-time state championship head coach Jason West. West, who won titles at Warren Central and Lawrence Central, has this program on the fast track and the Flashes will compete at a much higher level in 2022 and in short order will be contending for a conference championship.
Lebanon
Despite being the largest school in the Sagamore Conference, the Tigers have enjoyed little success given the outperformance of smaller rivals Danville, Tri-West, and Western Boone. Jeff Smock is a terrific young coach and has this program moving in the right direction. With significant improvements in size and speed, overall depth improvement, and a more experienced staff, look for the Tigers to start to leverage their size advantage over there smaller conference neighbors.
Calumet
Cody French has a solid program building at Calumet High School in Northwest Indiana, as the Warriors continue to improve their win total and look to advance in the postseason tournament. Calumet has invested heavily in equipment and facilities, as well as in its coaching staff over the past several years, and the Warriors are emerging as a top flight class 3A public school program in the far north.
Crown Point
The Crown Point School Administration made the state's biggest football coaching higher of the 2020 off season, bringing in Homewood Flossmoor ,Illinois head coach Craig Buzea, a Griffith graduate who led Portage to the state championship game in 1994. Buzea had a stellar 10-year run at HF, and expectations are that he will turn Crown Point into the north's top 6A threat to MIC dominance of the postseason tournament. Look for the Bulldogs to make significant strides in Buzea's second year, challenge for a Duneland championship, and have some success in the 6A postseason.

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I wanna say Carroll (Fort Wayne). This opinion is pretty bold considering the Chargers haven't even made it past regionals in 12 years under Dinan. His record is 90-45, but many of those victories came against schools with much smaller enrollments. That being said, he's had a few teams that were pretty good. Last year was his best, but he unfortunately ran into Westfield's best. He tutored under Russ Isaacs for ten years, so he knows what it takes to build and maintain a program. And Carroll just continues to grow in student population. I wouldn't be surprised if they surpass the 3000 mark in five years. They have outstanding facilities. I think the Chargers could be a player at the 6A level for years to come. But they need to prove that last year's defense wasn't just a one year fluke. 

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5 hours ago, BTF said:

I wanna say Carroll (Fort Wayne). This opinion is pretty bold considering the Chargers haven't even made it past regionals in 12 years under Dinan. His record is 90-45, but many of those victories came against schools with much smaller enrollments. That being said, he's had a few teams that were pretty good. Last year was his best, but he unfortunately ran into Westfield's best. He tutored under Russ Isaacs for ten years, so he knows what it takes to build and maintain a program. And Carroll just continues to grow in student population. I wouldn't be surprised if they surpass the 3000 mark in five years. They have outstanding facilities. I think the Chargers could be a player at the 6A level for years to come. But they need to prove that last year's defense wasn't just a one year fluke. 

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20 hours ago, BTF said:

I wanna say Carroll (Fort Wayne). This opinion is pretty bold considering the Chargers haven't even made it past regionals in 12 years under Dinan. His record is 90-45, but many of those victories came against schools with much smaller enrollments. That being said, he's had a few teams that were pretty good. Last year was his best, but he unfortunately ran into Westfield's best. He tutored under Russ Isaacs for ten years, so he knows what it takes to build and maintain a program. And Carroll just continues to grow in student population. I wouldn't be surprised if they surpass the 3000 mark in five years. They have outstanding facilities. I think the Chargers could be a player at the 6A level for years to come. But they need to prove that last year's defense wasn't just a one year fluke. 

Agreed.  And with the Sectional/Regional assignment they currently have, they avoid Indy Area schools until the Semi-State.   Also, they avoid the "local rival traps" until that same round.  Could be a nice thing for them if they advance. 

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23 hours ago, BTF said:

I wanna say Carroll (Fort Wayne). This opinion is pretty bold considering the Chargers haven't even made it past regionals in 12 years under Dinan. His record is 90-45, but many of those victories came against schools with much smaller enrollments. That being said, he's had a few teams that were pretty good. Last year was his best, but he unfortunately ran into Westfield's best. He tutored under Russ Isaacs for ten years, so he knows what it takes to build and maintain a program. And Carroll just continues to grow in student population. I wouldn't be surprised if they surpass the 3000 mark in five years. They have outstanding facilities. I think the Chargers could be a player at the 6A level for years to come. But they need to prove that last year's defense wasn't just a one year fluke. 

Ah, Carroll and Homestrad.

Still waiting.

(Maybe I’m just bitter because I was also sold a bill of goods that US men’s soccer  “was on the cusp of becoming a world power” all the way back in the early 90’s.)

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1 hour ago, temptation said:

Ah, Carroll and Homestrad.

Still waiting.

(Maybe I’m just bitter because I was also sold a bill of goods that US men’s soccer  “was on the cusp of becoming a world power” all the way back in the early 90’s.)

Homestead: How far back are we going? Cavicini's '97 & '98 teams were Top 4 in the state. Drew Wood's 2000 team was somewhere in that Top 4. Although consistently good in the Zolman era, they seem to top out as good, but never great. Unfortunately we'll never know how good they could have been in 2020 after Braeden Hardwick went down with a torn ACL in Week 7. 

Carroll: Yeah, Dinan is in his 13th season, so it's hard to make excuses. When he started, their program was just an afterthought, so we knew it wouldn't happen overnight. I still think they have an upside with an increasing enrollment and arguably the best facilities in the state. Not to mention, he's a pretty good coach. 

Put up or shut up...........bla, bla, bla. We get it Temp. 

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13 minutes ago, BTF said:

Homestead: How far back are we going? Cavicini's '97 & '98 teams were Top 4 in the state. Drew Wood's 2000 team was somewhere in that Top 4. Although consistently good in the Zolman era, they seem to top out as good, but never great. Unfortunately we'll never know how good they could have been in 2020 after Braeden Hardwick went down with a torn ACL in Week 7. 

Carroll: Yeah, Dinan is in his 13th season, so it's hard to make excuses. When he started, their program was just an afterthought, so we knew it wouldn't happen overnight. I still think they have an upside with an increasing enrollment and arguably the best facilities in the state. Not to mention, he's a pretty good coach. 

Put up or shut up...........bla, bla, bla. We get it Temp. 

Need to see it annually…or at least semi-annually.

You can’t cite credit for success prior to anyone on the current roster being born and expect to be taken seriously.

Related note:  Penn is on the clock.

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13 minutes ago, temptation said:

Need to see it annually…or at least semi-annually.

You can’t cite credit for success prior to anyone on the current roster being born and expect to be taken seriously.

Related note:  Penn is on the clock.

That renders both Homestead and Carroll as legit. As legit as you can get without beating a team from Indy. Let's give credit where credit is due. You can say what you want about the the Homestead team, minus Hardwick, that fell asleep on the bus ride down to Noblesville in 2020. But Carroll had a pretty darn good team last year. Unfortunately for them, Westfield fielded their best team ever..........by far. I think the Chargers would have done pretty well last year against anyone not named Westfield, Center Grove, or Cathedral. 

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17 minutes ago, BTF said:

That renders both Homestead and Carroll as legit. As legit as you can get without beating a team from Indy. Let's give credit where credit is due. You can say what you want about the the Homestead team, minus Hardwick, that fell asleep on the bus ride down to Noblesville in 2020. But Carroll had a pretty darn good team last year. Unfortunately for them, Westfield fielded their best team ever..........by far. I think the Chargers would have done pretty well last year against anyone not named Westfield, Center Grove, or Cathedral. 

IMO, you aren’t legit until you DO break through and beat a team from Indy.

Both Carroll and Homestead are mid-pack HCC/MIC (8 team MIC) teams on their BEST days.

You have to make noise on a state wide level to be taken seriously in this discussion.

Until then, they are “Fort Wayne good.”  Nothing more.

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3 minutes ago, temptation said:

IMO, you aren’t legit until you DO break through and beat a team from Indy.

Both Carroll and Homestead are mid-pack HCC/MIC (8 team MIC) teams on their BEST days.

You have to make noise on a state wide level to be taken seriously in this discussion.

Until then, they are “Fort Wayne good.”  Nothing more.

This also applies to the next level.  Outside of Ohio State or Clemson, no one else nationally can be taken seriously until they beat the brass from the SEC.

The Buckeyes did it a few years back but are now on the clock.  Clemson’s next 3-4 years will reveal their standing.

Notre Dame and Michigan are “Midwest good.”

Oklahoma is usually a cute offensive story.

No one else is even in the waiting room.

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2 minutes ago, temptation said:

IMO, you aren’t legit until you DO break through and beat a team from Indy.

Both Carroll and Homestead are mid-pack HCC/MIC (8 team MIC) teams on their BEST days.

You have to make noise on a state wide level to be taken seriously in this discussion.

Until then, they are “Fort Wayne good.”  Nothing more.

I'm sure they'll both accept that compliment. 

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1 minute ago, temptation said:

This also applies to the next level.  Outside of Ohio State or Clemson, no one else nationally can be taken seriously until they beat the brass from the SEC.

The Buckeyes did it a few years back but are now on the clock.  Clemson’s next 3-4 years will reveal their standing.

Notre Dame and Michigan are “Midwest good.”

No one else is even in the waiting room.

Lol, you must be in a combative mood today to lump Notre Dame and Michigan in the same sentence. One year of being good doesn't put the Wolverines in Notre Dames category. 

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2 minutes ago, temptation said:

So a banner year is top one-third?

Not much to boast about in a class with 32 teams.  Not everyone can be elite.  

Indy football is in unchartered territory right now. Never have there been this many programs that are this good. That's a compliment to Indy area football and a compliment to Homestead and Carroll for sticking them in the middle of the pack in the MIC and HHC.

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8 minutes ago, BTF said:

Lol, you must be in a combative mood today to lump Notre Dame and Michigan in the same sentence. One year of being good doesn't put the Wolverines in Notre Dames category. 

I even gave credit to O$U, lol.

And yes, Michigan and ND are mirror images of one another.  They are very much mentioned in the same breath.

One just happens to play in the second toughest division in football and the other is an independent that has inflated its win/loss record recently because it’s “rivals” are all in the toilet.

Unfortunately, both have also crapped the bed in games where they could prove they are tier 1.

The Irish’s day of reckoning is coming.  

The night game at the Horseshoe…hope Coach Freeman is comfortable with some on the job training.

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2 minutes ago, BTF said:

Indy football is in unchartered territory right now. Never have there been this many programs that are this good. That's a compliment to Indy area football and a compliment to Homestead and Carroll for sticking them in the middle of the pack in the MIC and HHC.

Agree, but the title of this thread is “rising programs.”  You can’t be considered as rising and be labeled as such unless you eventually have a breakthrough.

They are cute 6A programs that no player or fan (excluding coaches) within a 30 mile radius of Monument Circle takes seriously or can even find on a map.

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1 minute ago, temptation said:

I even gave credit to O$U, lol.

And yes, Michigan and ND are mirror images of one another.  They are very much mentioned in the same breath.

One just happens to play in the second toughest division in football and the other is an independent that has inflated TD record recently because it’s “rivals” are all in the toilet.

Unfortunately, both have also crapped the bed in games where they could price they are tier 1.

The Irish’s day of reckoning is coming.  

The night game at the Horseshoe…hope Coach Freeman is comfortable with some on the job training.

I'll be the first to acknowledge that Notre Dame has their hands full in Week 1. But we also have to acknowledge that Freeman is recruiting at an Alabama/Georgia level. 

I like the Wolverines, but their body of work doesn't equate to Notre Dames over the past five years. You can cite scheduling all you want, but anyone reading this knows that the Irish have had the better program in recent years. 

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1 minute ago, temptation said:

Agree, but the title of this thread is “rising programs.”  You can’t be considered as rising and be labeled as such unless you eventually have a breakthrough.

They are cute 6A programs that no player or fan (excluding coaches) within a 30 mile radius of Monument Circle takes seriously or can even find on a map.

Lol, cute? I don't think you have to beat an Indy team to be considered "rising." And honestly? I don't know if Carroll is rising or not. Remember, i said this prediction is "pretty bold."

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6 minutes ago, temptation said:

They are cute 6A programs that no player or fan (excluding coaches) within a 30 mile radius of Monument Circle takes seriously or can even find on a map.

Westfield would have lost by multiple scores to Carroll last year if they didn't take them "seriously." That's why Indy has had so much success against Fort Wayne............they just happen to take Fort Wayne programs seriously when they play.

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21 minutes ago, BTF said:

Westfield would have lost by multiple scores to Carroll last year if they didn't take them "seriously." That's why Indy has had so much success against Fort Wayne............they just happen to take Fort Wayne programs seriously when they play.

You said yourself that last year’s Westfield squad was on another level.

Other then 2-3 games on their schedule, the Shamrocks simply showed up, took care of the football, played their game and rolled.

I hate to break it to you but they didn’t have to take Homestead seriously.  

Let’s also not forget that I am talking about fanbases and folks in the stands. Coach speak and that transitioning to how the players perform is a completely separate argument.

No coach in their right mind is going to publicly tell his players the same things he says off the record.

The results speak for themselves.  I actually predicted Homestead would hang in that game if you remember.  

I’m done falling for it until I see it actually happen.

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32 minutes ago, BTF said:

I'll be the first to acknowledge that Notre Dame has their hands full in Week 1. But we also have to acknowledge that Freeman is recruiting at an Alabama/Georgia level. 

I like the Wolverines, but their body of work doesn't equate to Notre Dames over the past five years. You can cite scheduling all you want, but anyone reading this knows that the Irish have had the better program in recent years. 

Come on.  What metrics are you using?


I’ll even take this argument to another level and throw some shade at my own program.

Both Notre Dame and Michigan needed “acts of God” to win their biggest games in recent memory.

ND had an amazing night game atmosphere and ducked Trevor Lawrence.

Michigan needed Mother Nature to inject herself into the conversation last year to act as the 12th man against OSU.

The Carroll and Homestead analogy fits…except they still haven’t broken through.

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10 minutes ago, temptation said:

You said yourself that last year’s Westfield squad was on another level.

Other then 2-3 games on their schedule, the Shamrocks simply showed up, took care of the football, played their game and rolled.

I hate to break it to you but they didn’t have to take Homestead seriously.  

Let’s also not forget that I am talking about fanbases and folks in the stands. Coach speak and that transitioning to how the players perform is a completely separate argument.

No coach in their right mind is going to publicly tell his players the same things he says off the record.

The results speak for themselves.  I actually predicted Homestead would hang in that game if you remember.  

I’m done falling for it until I see it actually happen.

Lol, they didn't play Homestead. It was Carroll. I'll just take your post with a grain of salt. I've been bantering with you for far to long to know that you're too smart to believe that Westfield beat Carroll by multiple scores without taking them seriously. And they did hang in the game. It was a one score game late in the third quarter. 

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13 minutes ago, temptation said:

ND had an amazing night game atmosphere and ducked Trevor Lawrence.

Clemson's backup set a record that night and still couldn't beat Notre Dame. The Irish were winning that game no matter who was under center. I pegged that one at the beginning of the year. Night game in South Bend? That had signature win written all over it. If Notre Dame ducked anyone that year, it was Wisconsin. I predicted Notre Dame to lose in Lambeau Field. Cancelled due to covid. 

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