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Blackhawk Christian Going 11 Man


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12 hours ago, Basementbias said:

Yep our Jets will be 2A next cycle either by enrollment or success factor. Our enrollment keeps growing as families are leaving Bellmont due to the Chicago natives moving into Decatur. Also some AC alums in other surrounding school districts not finding the rare available house in AC district as well.

Curious as to what's attracting the Chicagoans to Decatur?  Relocated manufacturing or something like that?

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18 minutes ago, Bonecrusher said:

Curious as to what's attracting the Chicagoans to Decatur?  Relocated manufacturing or something like that?

Property management group is getting $ to relocate them. Illinois is paying people to move from Chicago as they can't afford them long term. Probably why you aren't seeing much done about their gun/gang violence & homicide numbers.

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5 hours ago, BTF said:

Not sure you're going to see a slew of transfer portal kids go to Blackhawk, and if you do, what will be their talent level? If a kid has D1 potential, he's probably going to want to continue completing at the 5a and 6a levels. Then there's two other factors, each having two parts:

1.    A player's family will have to come up with 12k per year to send their athlete to the school. And they'll have to be ok with their child learning in a Christian setting. 

2.   A player would have to qualify for the voucher system. And the player's parents will have to be ok with them learning in a Christian environment. 

In the current environment. A kid in Fort Wayne is probably going to transfer to one of three programs.

1.   Carroll - Great school system provided by taxpayers with outstanding an outstanding football facility. 

2.   North Side - Not sure what coach Ben Johnson is offering kids outside of his district. But he seems to be able to get them to buy into his program. 

3.   Snider - Just a great program that produces next level football players. 

You don’t need players with D1 potential to be a power in 1A/2A, which is a big reason why some players/families choose to go to a 1A/2A parochial school.  They may not have the talent to get a lot of attention or make as much of an impact at a 5A/6A school, so they choose to go to a smaller school where they can be one of the best players and get more attention.  These are the kind of players that would be more likely to go to an NAIA program or D3 school, which is often a great fit for them.  Blackhawk Christian has many similar characteristics to Indianapolis Lutheran.  Enrollments are almost identical, very similar demographics, and both located in a highly populated area near much larger schools.  Using Lutheran as an example, they have been able to attract solid players to their 1A program despite being close to Roncalli, Franklin Central, Warren Central, New Pal, etc.

Here is the list of parochial schools with football.  Nearly all of them have won or appeared in a state championship.  I won’t be surprised to see Blackhawk with a competitive 1A program in the next 5-10 years, and making an appearance in the 1A finals within 15 years.  Lutheran played their first IHSAA tournament game in 2006.  They went to state for the first time in 2019.  It took Covenant Christian 6 years to go to their first state finals in football.  Heritage Christian also made it to state in their 6th year playing in the tournament.

Indianapolis Roncalli

Indianapolis Cathedral

Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger

Brebeuf Jesuit

South Bend Saint Joseph

Guerin Catholic

Mishawaka Marian

Indianapolis Bishop Chatard

Fort Wayne Concordia

Evansville Memorial

Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter

Heritage Christian

Evansville Mater Dei

Hammond Bishop Noll (sort of)

Fort Wayne Bishop Luers

Indianapolis Scecina

Andrean

Covenant Christian (Indianapolis)

Providence

Lafayette Central Catholic

Indianapolis Lutheran

Traders Point Christian

Edited by HoopsCoach
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Could be a good 1A rival for South Adams in the future as I hope they stay in 1A for enrollment with an eventual short bump to 2A for success factor & bumping back down. AC will more than likely stay 2A in the future due to enrollment. Hopefully Bellmont stays 3A so all 3 are in separate classes from here on out. Will LCC go down to 1A with Pioneer & Sheridan? North in the future could be LCC, Pioneer, Sheridan,  South Adams, and Blackhawk Christian depending on SF bumps. Maybe AC if their enrollment would take a hit for some reason. 

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On 12/20/2022 at 8:32 PM, Yuccaguy said:

I agree that the ACAC wouldn't "blindly" accept ANY team at this point, or in the future (with regards to FB).  But the OTHER sports (Men's and Women's)?  ALA: Carroll/Homestead vis a vis the SAC in Football/Basketball....  it's an intriguing addition...is it not?  

Back to the 11-man FB situation.... A Blackhawk FB team playing the bulk of the ACAC at this time would be equivalent to Southern Wells at this time in the conference.  And I mean no insult to the Raiders; But it's hard times for them currently.  They WILL/WOULD take their lumps!  

I can see Blackhawk formulating a schedule of a mixture of ACAC teams, NECC teams, unaffiliated IHSAA teams and perhaps smaller schools from Ohio in the near future to begin their program.  

Bellmont is not leaving the NE8! 

Angola's main issue is their proximity to the bulk of the NE8 schools with regards to the OTHER sports outside of FB.  Just as Garrett had when they left the NECC.....they (Garrett-Keiser-Butler school system) saw the cost of sports transportation explode in order to participate in the other sports from the Freshman and JV levels and below.   

I would prefer that Angola (as with the situation that Carroll/Homestead have with the SAC)....  become a pseudo-NE8 member in the 2 Major sports of that conference.  I think they could/would be a great addition to the conference.  

The down-side to this situation, is that that puts the NE8 one step closer to becoming a 'closed-conference'.  Would only leave 1 week for out of conference games.  

I am fairly certain that at this point in time, the P/P argument as it relates to Blackhawk in FB....is moot!  Maybe in 10 years or so, the Allen County metro area schools that you reference would have a valid argument...but not now!  At least in FB.  

 

I would love to see Bellmont join the ACAC.   We would instantly add a couple wins if not more in football and could build off of that success to get more players out.  We would also instantly compete for a conference title in boys basketball, baseball, and softball.  We would be the clear favorite in wrestling and volleyball are could still schedule plenty of out of quality conference opponents in those sports to prepare us for the postseason. 

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46 minutes ago, NE8Fan said:

I would love to see Bellmont join the ACAC.   We would instantly add a couple wins if not more in football and could build off of that success to get more players out.  We would also instantly compete for a conference title in boys basketball, baseball, and softball.  We would be the clear favorite in wrestling and volleyball are could still schedule plenty of out of quality conference opponents in those sports to prepare us for the postseason. 

Man, that’s presuming a lot.  I don’t think there is any doubt Bellmont would be more competitive in the ACAC in the sports you listed, but I don’t know about the instant success you are suggesting. Other than Southern Wells, who is way down right now just like Bellmont, I’m not sure the Braves instantly add more football wins.  Bellmont does have an excellent wrestling program, but Jay County is also a top program in the area.  I could see a strong rivalry building between those two programs if Bellmont did make the jump.  Bellmont volleyball has also been really strong, however, one of their losses last season was to Heritage, so Bellmont wouldn’t have won the ACAC.  

I know I suggested the ACAC schools reach out to Bellmont, but I think the depth of the NE8 compared to the ACAC in most sports and the lack of schools with soccer, swimming, etc. in the ACAC will make Bellmont reluctant to consider a move.

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1 hour ago, NE8Fan said:

I would love to see Bellmont join the ACAC.   We would instantly add a couple wins if not more in football and could build off of that success to get more players out.  We would also instantly compete for a conference title in boys basketball, baseball, and softball.  We would be the clear favorite in wrestling and volleyball are could still schedule plenty of out of quality conference opponents in those sports to prepare us for the postseason. 

Why would Bellmont separate themselves from the rivals that they have cultivated for years, merely to 'win' a few more FB games vs. lower classified competition?  Makes absolutely no sense.  As far as the other schools that you reference outside of the NE8...they play them on a regular basis anyway.  

6 minutes ago, HoopsCoach said:

Man, that’s presuming a lot.  I don’t think there is any doubt Bellmont would be more competitive in the ACAC in the sports you listed, but I don’t know about the instant success you are suggesting. Other than Southern Wells, who is way down right now just like Bellmont, I’m not sure the Braves instantly add more football wins.  Bellmont does have an excellent wrestling program, but Jay County is also a top program in the area.  I could see a strong rivalry building between those two programs if Bellmont did make the jump.  Bellmont volleyball has also been really strong, however, one of their losses last season was to Heritage, so Bellmont wouldn’t have won the ACAC.  

I know I suggested the ACAC schools reach out to Bellmont, but I think the depth of the NE8 compared to the ACAC in most sports and the lack of schools with soccer, swimming, etc. in the ACAC will make Bellmont reluctant to consider a move.

@HoopsCoach absolutely ON POINT!   Couldn't have said it better myself...and I didn't.  🙂

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19 hours ago, BTF said:

Shake up in what capacity? From a competitive standpoint I'm not sure they'll be a threat for at least a few years. And even then, I think achieving Adams Central's level is a long shot. 

I meant as far as realignment. 

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7 hours ago, Basementbias said:

Could be a good 1A rival for South Adams in the future as I hope they stay in 1A for enrollment with an eventual short bump to 2A for success factor & bumping back down. AC will more than likely stay 2A in the future due to enrollment. Hopefully Bellmont stays 3A so all 3 are in separate classes from here on out. Will LCC go down to 1A with Pioneer & Sheridan? North in the future could be LCC, Pioneer, Sheridan,  South Adams, and Blackhawk Christian depending on SF bumps. Maybe AC if their enrollment would take a hit for some reason. 

North will be interesting, Providence will own the South in 2 years

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On 12/22/2022 at 11:52 AM, NE8Fan said:

I would love to see Bellmont join the ACAC.   We would instantly add a couple wins if not more in football and could build off of that success to get more players out.  We would also instantly compete for a conference title in boys basketball, baseball, and softball.  We would be the clear favorite in wrestling and volleyball are could still schedule plenty of out of quality conference opponents in those sports to prepare us for the postseason. 

It would add one win to your schedule. Bellmont was 0-2 against the ACAC in 2022 and those weren’t competitive games. The only team besides Southern Wells that Bellmont might have beaten is Jay County (according to what I saw this season and Sagarin) and I highly doubt that would’ve happened. 
 

Bellmont people may say they think they’re “too good” for the ACAC, but what it is is they’d rather be embarrassingly awful in the NE8 than lose conference races to county rivals every year. The Decatur people always have excuses and don’t want to accept that they’re much much lower than the “redneck” smaller schools in the county. There have been years where many Bellmont fans and families have claimed they would’ve beaten AC had they played later in the football season…after losing by 40+ in week 1. That’s the type of people we’re dealing with. They will never join the ACAC no matter how much it might make sense. I’m glad Bellmont dropped AC from their schedule for a number of reasons (don’t have to deal with their idiotic, delusional community), but first and foremost because it allows AC to find someone that might actually make them work a little bit. Garrett doesn’t seem to be that solution but they were far better than Bellmont. 

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1 hour ago, FlyingHigh said:

It would add one win to your schedule. Bellmont was 0-2 against the ACAC in 2022 and those weren’t competitive games. The only team besides Southern Wells that Bellmont might have beaten is Jay County (according to what I saw this season and Sagarin) and I highly doubt that would’ve happened. 
 

Bellmont people may say they think they’re “too good” for the ACAC, but what it is is they’d rather be embarrassingly awful in the NE8 than lose conference races to county rivals every year. The Decatur people always have excuses and don’t want to accept that they’re much much lower than the “redneck” smaller schools in the county. There have been years where many Bellmont fans and families have claimed they would’ve beaten AC had they played later in the football season…after losing by 40+ in week 1. That’s the type of people we’re dealing with. They will never join the ACAC no matter how much it might make sense. I’m glad Bellmont dropped AC from their schedule for a number of reasons (don’t have to deal with their idiotic, delusional community), but first and foremost because it allows AC to find someone that might actually make them work a little bit. Garrett doesn’t seem to be that solution but they were far better than Bellmont. 

Have to be careful how I talk about Bellmont given my situation. You see I'm an AC guy, but have or had family at all 3 Adams County schools as well as our neighboring Ohio schools. Also part of the youth program that serves AC & Bellmont football. Though what I hoped what would happen with Bellmont has been the exact opposite in about every aspect of this current regime. It's disheartening & disappointing to say the least. However, I'm a St. Mary’s Township kid through and through that's closer to Decatur than Monroe. I'm a River Rat of Pleasant Mills & Rivare (Bobo) with heavy Willshire & Wren Ohio influences. My family did fight the consolidation of Pleasant Mills with Adams Central and the other township schools of Kirkland, French, Monroe, parts of Washington, and Blue Creek (those are our buddies in Salem). That being said, I'm not a fan of some of our AC people in the French/ southern Kirkland Township areas as well as the west end of Monroe in the new housing additions. I can get along better with some of those Decatur folk than them. Not all though. Same can be said with some Berne & Geneva folks being the same way.

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2 hours ago, FlyingHigh said:

I’m glad Bellmont dropped AC from their schedule for a number of reasons (don’t have to deal with their idiotic, delusional community), but first and foremost because it allows AC to find someone that might actually make them work a little bit. Garrett doesn’t seem to be that solution but they were far better than Bellmont. 

I think there is a swap of opponents for week 1 that would make sense.  Adams Central and Garrett should trade with Eastbrook and Huntington North.  AC should play Eastbrook and Garrett should play Huntington North.  A few years ago some schools in my area made a swap like that.  Lafayette Jeff was supposed to play Central Catholic and West Lafayette was scheduled to play Tri-West.  After a year, they got together and swapped to have Jeff play West Side and Central Catholic played Tri-West.  Games were close and competitive each year and I think the same would be true for this swap.

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On 12/19/2022 at 4:10 PM, Yuccaguy said:

At the "lower levels"....7th and 8th grade, Blackhawk Christian has already been fielding 11-man teams.  So there is a template in the ensuing years for them to participate beyond 8-man.  

(I believe) They played their 8-man schedule at Snider's Bowser Field, so I'd assume that at some point they would be looking for a larger facility for their "home-field". 

RUMOR ALERT!  With Snider potentially building an on-campus stadium soon across the street (next to Lane Middle School).....Might that be the place when the Panthers are on the road?   Don't forget that the FW Fire Station is moving to Reed and State.  A heck of a lot of LAND that is owned and ready for 'something' to build upon...just saying! 

Yes, the ACAC may be the most appropriate conference for them in sports....they'll take their lumps in FB though.  The ACAC schools (no matter what we may assume) are steeped in FB tradition that will take a few seasons to become competitive in.  Baseball, Basketball, Soccer...etc. the Braves would be a competitive member on Day One, and in some cases a POWERHOUSE.  

Good luck to them if this is their goal.  

And yes, 1A FB!  The student numbers would place them squarely in 1A for FB.  All other sports, would remain the same as they are at this time, unless SF puts them into a different classification.  

I thought they played on their soccer field? 8 man football plays on a smaller field then 11 man. 

Black Hawk has a lot of land behind the church/school. Plus I believe FWCS will not rent fields to other schools. 

 

 

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On 12/19/2022 at 9:17 PM, Yuccaguy said:

I honestly don't think so at this time.  They are decent in Soccer, and unless they see a FB program as being a step forward with both attendance and the revenue generated from it, then do that.   But they don't need to build upon the soccer field to get it to accommodate both programs.  

Their best bet for the time being is to reach out and schedule FB on the off weeks of a local school and rent out that field.  

Or put in turf and use it for both like Dwenger. Honestly if they rent it would probably be with Concordia or Dwenger.

Dwenger wanted to rent Northside in the tournament but was denied by FWCS. So the rented USF stadium. Because Zollner was in bad shape. 

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On 12/22/2022 at 5:29 AM, BTF said:

Not sure you're going to see a slew of transfer portal kids go to Blackhawk, and if you do, what will be their talent level? If a kid has D1 potential, he's probably going to want to continue completing at the 5a and 6a levels. Then there's two other factors, each having two parts:

1.    A player's family will have to come up with 12k per year to send their athlete to the school. And they'll have to be ok with their child learning in a Christian setting. 

2.   A player would have to qualify for the voucher system. And the player's parents will have to be ok with them learning in a Christian environment. 

In the current environment. A kid in Fort Wayne is probably going to transfer to one of three programs.

1.   Carroll - Great school system provided by taxpayers with outstanding an outstanding football facility. 

2.   North Side - Not sure what coach Ben Johnson is offering kids outside of his district. But he seems to be able to get them to buy into his program. 

3.   Snider - Just a great program that produces next level football players. 

I'm interested in you having North Side there vs Homestead. North seems to get on a 3-5 year cycle of having decent team. This last team, 2021 & 2022 was this best since late 1990's?? I would think Homestead would be one of the top 3 designations in the greater FWA metroplex? 

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9 minutes ago, psaboy said:

I'm interested in you having North Side there vs Homestead. North seems to get on a 3-5 year cycle of having decent team. This last team, 2021 & 2022 was this best since late 1990's?? I would think Homestead would be one of the top 3 designations in the greater FWA metroplex? 

If Ben Johnson can sell a kid from Dwenger on North Side, he can probably sell anything. He's only going on year three with the Redskins, I mean Legends, so maybe I'm putting too much stock in him. Something feels different though with him at the helm.

I would put Homestead right behind Snider at the #4 spot. Plus, I'm not sure Homestead actively pursues players from other schools. Like Dwenger, they seem to be OK working within their own pipeline. Just my take from the outside looking in. 

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1 minute ago, BTF said:

If Ben Johnson can sell a kid from Dwenger on North Side, he can probably sell anything. He's only going on year three with the Redskins, I mean Legends, so maybe I'm putting too much stock in him. Something feels different though with him at the helm.

I would put Homestead right behind Snider at the #4 spot. Plus, I'm not sure Homestead actively pursues players from other schools. Like Dwenger, they seem to be OK working within their own pipeline. Just my take from the outside looking in. 

Yep, Your opinion so I can't argue. I did wonder if the Saints QB went into transfer portal cause he felt Dwenger was going struggle in 2022 and he had opp to throw ball to one of the best WR's in state and nation, plus had a great back behind him. We may never know.  IMO North Side is not the #2 football destination in the FWA Metroplex  

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On 12/22/2022 at 11:14 AM, HoopsCoach said:

 

Here is the list of parochial schools with football.  Nearly all of them have won or appeared in a state championship.  I won’t be surprised to see Blackhawk with a competitive 1A program in the next 5-10 years, and making an appearance in the 1A finals within 15 years.  Lutheran played their first IHSAA tournament game in 2006.  They went to state for the first time in 2019.  It took Covenant Christian 6 years to go to their first state finals in football.  Heritage Christian also made it to state in their 6th year playing in the tournament.

Indianapolis Roncalli

Indianapolis Cathedral

Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger

Brebeuf Jesuit

South Bend Saint Joseph

Guerin Catholic

Mishawaka Marian

Indianapolis Bishop Chatard

Fort Wayne Concordia

Evansville Memorial

Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter

Heritage Christian

Evansville Mater Dei

Hammond Bishop Noll (sort of)

Fort Wayne Bishop Luers

Indianapolis Scecina

Andrean

Covenant Christian (Indianapolis)

Providence

Lafayette Central Catholic

Indianapolis Lutheran

Traders Point Christian

Greenwood Christian also started a football program this year. Their 2022 schedule was a combination of varsity and junior varsity opponents.

2023 schedule shows a full 9 game varsity schedule.

Edited by Payne
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On 12/22/2022 at 11:14 AM, HoopsCoach said:

You don’t need players with D1 potential to be a power in 1A/2A, which is a big reason why some players/families choose to go to a 1A/2A parochial school.  They may not have the talent to get a lot of attention or make as much of an impact at a 5A/6A school, so they choose to go to a smaller school where they can be one of the best players and get more attention.  These are the kind of players that would be more likely to go to an NAIA program or D3 school, which is often a great fit for them.  Blackhawk Christian has many similar characteristics to Indianapolis Lutheran.  Enrollments are almost identical, very similar demographics, and both located in a highly populated area near much larger schools.  Using Lutheran as an example, they have been able to attract solid players to their 1A program despite being close to Roncalli, Franklin Central, Warren Central, New Pal, etc.

Here is the list of parochial schools with football.  Nearly all of them have won or appeared in a state championship.  I won’t be surprised to see Blackhawk with a competitive 1A program in the next 5-10 years, and making an appearance in the 1A finals within 15 years.  Lutheran played their first IHSAA tournament game in 2006.  They went to state for the first time in 2019.  It took Covenant Christian 6 years to go to their first state finals in football.  Heritage Christian also made it to state in their 6th year playing in the tournament.

Indianapolis Roncalli

Indianapolis Cathedral

Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger

Brebeuf Jesuit

South Bend Saint Joseph

Guerin Catholic

Mishawaka Marian

Indianapolis Bishop Chatard

Fort Wayne Concordia

Evansville Memorial

Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter

Heritage Christian

Evansville Mater Dei

Hammond Bishop Noll (sort of)

Fort Wayne Bishop Luers

Indianapolis Scecina

Andrean

Covenant Christian (Indianapolis)

Providence

Lafayette Central Catholic

Indianapolis Lutheran

Traders Point Christian

Parochial....

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15 hours ago, Mebuck said:

I thought they played on their soccer field? 8 man football plays on a smaller field then 11 man. 

Black Hawk has a lot of land behind the church/school. Plus I believe FWCS will not rent fields to other schools. 

 

 

Well that's kinda strange....Blackhawk played their home games at Bowser Field. 

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15 hours ago, Mebuck said:

Or put in turf and use it for both like Dwenger. Honestly if they rent it would probably be with Concordia or Dwenger.

Dwenger wanted to rent Northside in the tournament but was denied by FWCS. So the rented USF stadium. Because Zollner was in bad shape. 

Pretty sure that the 'renting' of a field via the FWCS had a lot of other considerations that lead to their not playing at a particular locale.  

I officiated the game in question.  I think that I may have an insight that you don't.   

Just sayin....

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14 hours ago, Payne said:

Greenwood Christian also started a football program this year. Their 2022 schedule was a combination of varsity and junior varsity opponents.

2023 schedule shows a full 9 game varsity schedule.

Thanks for the info. I wasn’t sure if GCA was planning to play a full schedule next year but it looks like they are.

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15 hours ago, psaboy said:

Yep, Your opinion so I can't argue. I did wonder if the Saints QB went into transfer portal cause he felt Dwenger was going struggle in 2022 and he had opp to throw ball to one of the best WR's in state and nation, plus had a great back behind him. We may never know.  IMO North Side is not the #2 football destination in the FWA Metroplex  

No, the average person wouldn't rank North Side as the second best football destination in the FWA Metroplex. I think most people would go with Snider, Dwenger, and Luers due to their program's histories, and Carroll and Homestead due to their academics and facilities.  But North Side did have a couple of unusual transfers come in with a new coach a the helm. Will there be more where that came from? Stay tuned. 

 

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