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Top storylines in your area of the state


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We have posters from throughout Indiana. What are the top storylines in your conference, your area of the state, et al. 

In Central Indiana ... reclassification has really shaken things up. 

Cathedral in 6A - they won a sectional the last time but ultimately didn't stay up. This time, they're in a very winnable sectional with the Lawrence schools and North Central. Will this tour be different and lead to a potentially deep tournament run? Who else in the Indy area - traditional powers Carmel, CG, BD & WC or emerging programs like Brownsburg & Zionsville - will make a run? Obviously, the other big 6A storyline is the MIC shedding Carmel & CG and those two programs operating as independents. 

Can Decatur Central or Whiteland finally break through in 5A with Cathedral and New Pal out of the way? 

4A looks loaded with Brebeuf, Roncalli, New Pal & Mt. Vernon all in the mix. Brebeuf, Roncalli & Mt. Vernon all experienced significant graduation losses, but have a lot of talented players returning, while New Pal won a sectional in 5A and has several key players returning, especially in the trenches. 

3A - Chatard is back. When they've been in 3A, they've been dominant. 

There aren't quite as many schools in Central Indiana in 2A & 1A, especially with WeBo moving up to 3A. Lutheran & Covenant Christian have had great runs the last couple of years. Who becomes that team this year? Can Tim Able get Triton Central through the regional/semistate hump and to Lucas Oil in 2A? 

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Allen County, off the top of my head...

North Side transfers...noise.

Carroll QB sickness...sad situation.

Dwenger, Snider...kings.

Homestead, Carroll...next in line.

Wayne 8 defensive starters back.

Nearby...Adams Central, South Adams, Eastside, Marion Local, Coldwater ...fun to watch.

 

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2 hours ago, Robert said:

Allen County, off the top of my head...

North Side transfers...noise.

Carroll QB sickness...sad situation.

Dwenger, Snider...kings.

Homestead, Carroll...next in line.

Wayne 8 defensive starters back.

Nearby...Adams Central, South Adams, Eastside, Marion Local, Coldwater ...fun to watch.

 

Debatable.................Homestead is 6-1 vs Snider and Dwenger over the last three years.......3-0 vs Dwenger and 3-1 vs Snider. But no regional titles for the Spartans. 

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3 hours ago, Robert said:

Allen County, off the top of my head...

North Side transfers...noise.

Carroll QB sickness...sad situation.

Dwenger, Snider...kings.

Homestead, Carroll...next in line.

Wayne 8 defensive starters back.

Nearby...Adams Central, South Adams, Eastside, Marion Local, Coldwater ...fun to watch.

 

Once again Luers loses top returning players to public schools.

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2 minutes ago, psaboy said:

When did that happen?

This summer sometime? Not really sure of the details. Dabo Swinney says it best:

“My transfer portal is right there in that locker room, because if I’m constantly going out every year and adding guys from the transfer portal, I’m telling all those guys in that locker room that I don’t believe in them, that I don’t think they can play,” Swinney said. “We’re also not doing our job as coaches and recruiters if we’re bringing in a bunch of transfers. We’re not going to build our roster on transfers.”

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6 hours ago, ASJCPUMA said:

Are kids moving to play or play for a better program? 

Or play for a bigger program thinking a possible scholarship down the road?

Some transfer to play for a better program and some transfer to play a specific position or for playing time in general. 

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Up in DAC land. 
 

how will crown point do with merrillville out of there sectional in 6A? Can they make a run? 
 

will a team bring home the state tile in 5A? Merrillville, Valpo, Chesterton, Laporte, Michigan city are all candidates!

merrillville- can they rolls the conference again? How will the new transfers do? Is this merrillville team truly better than last 3? Can they bring home state? 
 

Michigan city- best QB/RB combo in the area can they lead a young team to make another deep run? 
 

valpo- how do they fair with only 1 returning starter? 

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Hoosier Hills Conference storylines:

- Columbus East’s 17 consecutive HHC title streak came to an end last season as well as its 96 straight HHC wins streak (107 straight when counting the postseason). Was this a result of having the most inexperienced team of the last 20 years on the field last year, was it because hall of fame coach Bob Gaddis retired after the 2020 season, or has the talent pool at the school dried up? With all the experience coming back, we’ll know for sure this year.

- New Albany won HHC and sectional titles last year for the first time in 19 years. They also won their first ever regional title. Last year’s team was a once-in-a-generation team with all the talent and experience they had. The Bulldogs suffered heavily from graduation, though, so everyone is expecting them to take a big step back this year. However, can head coach Steve Cooley build off last year’s success? Will this year’s team be motivated by 2021 and put in the work to improve quickly? If they can finish in the top 3 in the HHC then it’ll shock a lot of people.

- Seymour has a lot of talent and experience returning. Tyson Moore (son of Center Grove head coach Eric Moore) is slowly building up the program as he enters his third season. He followed up a 3-7 rookie campaign with a 4-6 record last year which included ending his alma mater Columbus East’s 96-game HHC win streak.

As for the other four schools…

- Floyd Central looks to be a top three team for a seventh straight year. They enter their fifth year with James Bragg at the helm and seem capable to challenge for the top spot. Do they have the talent and the depth to pull it off? Stay tuned.

- Jeffersonville enters year 4 with Isaac Parker in charge. The Red Devils took a step back last year due to graduation losses, but Parker has instilled discipline into a program that badly lacked it prior to his arrival. Like New Albany, a lot of talent roams the halls of that school. It’s just a matter of getting that talent to play football and then utilizing it properly.

- Bedford North Lawrence is an enigma. Not quite sure what to expect from the Stars as Derrick Barker returns for his sophomore season as head coach after a 4-6 debut. BNL had been a 5A team ever since that classification began in 1985 but is now in the 4A ranks. Doesn’t get any easier, though, with East Central in their sectional.

- Jennings County enters the season with their third head coach in three years. This will be their sixth head coach in 11 seasons. With Madison leaving the conference prior to the 2020 season, the Panthers are all alone as the perennial doormat and don’t seem on their way up anytime soon. Hard to get excited for football in North Vernon when there’s a revolving door at the head coach position.

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On 8/8/2022 at 7:11 AM, Robert said:

Allen County, off the top of my head...

North Side transfers...noise.

Carroll QB sickness...sad situation.

Dwenger, Snider...kings.

Homestead, Carroll...next in line.

Wayne 8 defensive starters back.

Nearby...Adams Central, South Adams, Eastside, Marion Local, Coldwater ...fun to watch.

 

Don't forget to add Norwell with AC, SA, & Eastside on the Indiana side. Glad to see you have Marion Local & Coldwater from Ohio. Might add Van Wert & Versailles as well on the Ohio side. 

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Bedford and JC are both in the East Central invitational sectional for 2 years. That could already be a demotivator- a steep, uphill challenge for coaches and players. Or, that could be a motivator for aspiration.

The 98lb weakling only finds the magic (whatever is being sold) to defeat the beach bully in the comic book ads. 

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1 hour ago, Basementbias said:

Don't forget to add Norwell with AC, SA, & Eastside on the Indiana side. Glad to see you have Marion Local & Coldwater from Ohio. Might add Van Wert & Versailles as well on the Ohio side. 

Too many Chandler Harnish nightmares.  😉   

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With all the road construction, closures, and detours in the city of Frankfort will opposing team buses, fans, and even Frankfort fans themselves be able to get to the FHS football field?

Current detours and alternate routes are marked in red on this screenshot:

image.thumb.jpeg.860329e9164fd889ebaf423f77957c8f.jpeg

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NE8 Storylines:

1) Does Norwell crash the 2 team (Leo, East Noble) party atop the NE8?  Leo is back-to-back champs with EN as previous champs before that.  Norwell has beaten/upset them the last two seasons.  The Knights UNDOUBTEDLY return THE most talent in the conference (Bolyn, Graft, Zeddis, Colbert, Bailey).  Is this the year they get the monkey (Leo) off their back and get the W over them?  If they can, they put themselves in great position to take the title.

2) Leo changes coach/offense.  The Lions rushing attack has been DOMINANT in the NE8 the last 2 years.  With a new coach and philosophy out in Leo, where do they go?  There will undoubtedly be a learning curve.  Fans have been asking for a change, be careful what you ask for.....a change in philosophy may very well result in a change in the win column. Time will tell.

3) Major talent graduated across the NE8.  Who are the new players to watch?  Leo (Livingston, Allen, Sheron, Crawford), East Noble (Zolman, Munson, Hood), Col City (Bolt), New Haven (Williams, Carswell) graduated big time players that have been Friday night fixtures for 3 yrs.  Who steps in and fills the limelight these kids left?

4) New Haven will likely field the best player on the field every game they play this year in Mylan Graham.  Kid has EXPLODED on the recruiting trail this summer.  With that said, who do the Dawgs have to get him the ball with Jakar Williams gone to University of Findlay?  If they can find  a way to get this kid the ball in space, he is ELECTRIC and can take it to the house from anywhere on the field.  The big question mark.....can the O-line give the new signal caller time to find Graham.  If they do, the Dawgs could be sneaky good this year.

5) Dekalb possibly set to make a rise up the standings?  Dekalb returns some real weapons in QB Tegan Irk and WR Donnie Wiley and have a young sophomore stud at RB (name?).  The younger classes have some talent coming up.  Is it time to start looking at the Barons??

6) New turf fields.  Huntington North and Dekalb have joined the party and have new field turf leaving Belmont as the ONLY NE8 team without.  Get with the times Decatur....

7) Post Bolt era begins in Columbia City.  Feels like Greg Bolt had been at Col City for about 8 yrs now.  Where do the eagles go now?  Coach Fox installed a new offense last year predicated on running the ball in Bolts last year.  The Eagles have one of the best RB's in the conference back in Ethan Sievers along with a young stud at WR in Stratton Fuller.  Another team that could DEFINATELY sneak up on some people this year.

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12 hours ago, ragdoll said:

Bedford and JC are both in the East Central invitational sectional for 2 years. That could already be a demotivator- a steep, uphill challenge for coaches and players. Or, that could be a motivator for aspiration.

The 98lb weakling only finds the magic (whatever is being sold) to defeat the beach bully in the comic book ads. 

Not sure lumping JC and BNL together is a fair comparison. Neither have EC’s storied past, but my guess is they’ll get on the bus and make the trip. 

9 hours ago, Muda69 said:

With all the road construction, closures, and detours in the city of Frankfort will opposing team buses, fans, and even Frankfort fans themselves be able to get to the FHS football field?

Current detours and alternate routes are marked in red on this screenshot:

image.thumb.jpeg.860329e9164fd889ebaf423f77957c8f.jpeg

I stand corrected, apparently you do have a sense of humor. 

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9 hours ago, Impartial_Observer said:

Not sure lumping JC and BNL together is a fair comparison. Neither have EC’s storied past, but my guess is they’ll get on the bus and make the trip. 

I stand corrected, apparently you do have a sense of humor. 

One positive is that outside of EC, these teams can all aspire to win sectional games, which is a big deal, depending on how Bobby Cox's balls go. 

Bedford had some good teams in latter 70's-early 80's and won a sectional over a decade ago. However, it may be more similar to a Martinsville. Martinsville has some nice history in another era, but they are not coming back to play a Carmel, Warren Central or Ben Davis for a semistate. At 4A, Martinsville appears to be miles away from competing with the top teams. 

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The HNAC has quite a few interesting storylines for this season!

It will be interesting to see if Pioneer can continue to be a state power. If they do struggle, or relatively struggle this season, will they be able to rebound in the future? Going back to 2002, Pioneer hasn't lost less than 3 games in a seasons, and they also haven't won less than 8 in a season as well. Pioneer's overall record since 1997 is 266-48, good for the best in Indiana during that time, which is 16 wins more than the second place team, Brownstown. Even a 5-5 or 6-4 season will be uncharted territory for many Pioneer fans, especially those under the age of 30. 

If the Pioneer dynasty does come to an end, will another HNAC team, such as North Judson or LaVille, become the premier HNAC team? Both LaVille and North Judson are primed to have strong teams this season and both are seen as contenders in their respective classes, with NJ in 1A and LV in 2A. LV and NJ are both on a collision course for what many expect to be the unofficial HNAC title game in week 8, although a lot can happen in two months. Will another team, such as Knox, Triton, Culver, or even the reloaded Panthers play spoiler for one of those teams? 

Winamac saw beloved Coach John Hendryx retire after a surprisingly short run with the Warriors, although he did win a sectional and conference title in two years. Winamac also lost a total of 20 starters from last years team and is expected to struggle under first year head coach Josh Burgess, although they do retain their entire coaching staff outside of former HC Hendryx. Will the Warriors be surprisingly competitive this season?

Also in the HNAC, former long time head coach Chris Ulerick returns to man the Comets. Although Caston wasn't a power under Coach Ulerick, they did field some very tough squads in the 2000s and early 2010s that gave Pioneer a few close games. The Comets might have won a conference title or two, even a sectional, if it hadn't been for them needing to run through the Pioneer, Seeger, and LCC buzz saws on a yearly basis. Coach Ulerick left the program following the 2014 season and Caston's best team finished a with a meager record of 3-8. 

Can Knox become a contender again following a mediocre start for legendary Coach Russ Radtke as the skipper for the Redskins? Many in the HNAC were shocked that Knox declined so much, as many of us expected Knox to instantly become a state power, but instead they were merely average and competitive. Knox had an overall record of 11-12 the past two seasons, although they didn't lose a single game by more than roughly three touchdowns in that period, either.

Can Triton be a contender? I have seen Triton mentioned as a dark horse HNAC championship contender by several posters. They return a lot of talent and lost to LaVille last season by only a TD.

Finally, I'm not sure what Culver returns, although they seemed to be competitive last season in 6 of their 7 losses, judging by the final scores.

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