Northeast Indiana 2023

[BTF]

Football in Northeast Indiana is alive and well. Looking forward to seeing out 2023 plays out. The following are some of the bigger topics this summer heading toward a new season. 

 

1.     Eastside has some huge shoes to fill with the loss of Todd Mason. He built a machine up there in Butler. Expectations will be pretty high for the new guy. The fans up there are used to winning. 

2.     East Noble starts the season off with a bang as they go head to head with the SAC. Bishop Luers in 2A and Snider in 5A. Two great pickups for a Knight's program that has tasted a high level of success over the past decade. I love the "go big or go home" approach when it comes to scheduling. 

3.     Carroll set a new bar for their program in 2022. They have the resources to become Northern Indiana's premier program. With half their team returning from last years state runners up and a rising star at quarterback, look for more of the same from the Chargers in 2023. Speaking of "go big or go home," no team  north of Indy suburbia boasts a more impressive schedule than Carroll. Six teams have the potential to take them out.............. Hamilton Southeastern, Warren Central, Dwenger, Snider, Homestead, and North Side. 

4.     How good will Concordia be in Tim Mannigel's second season back at the helm? Are they back to being a contender in 3A and a thorn in the side of their SAC foes? History tells us that his teams are a coin toss when they play Luers and a formidable challenge for the big schools of the conference. 

5.     I can't imagine anyone's expecting much out of Blackhawk Christian in their inaugural season for 11 man football. But we all know how these private schools can come onto the scene and quickly make an impact. I think it will take three or four years. By 2026, I think they'll be serious contenders in 1A. 

6.     Snider and North Side have their hands full in 5A this year. Not playing one another in the regular season will make their sectional game a highly anticipated one. The winner, given they get by Dwenger and Mishawaka, get to square up against Valpo and their NINETEEN returning starters. That's not a typo. 

7.     Dwenger and Homestead have fallen back to a severe case of mediocrity over the past two seasons. I'd be surprised if either one makes it three seasons in a row.  Both have a good core of guys returning to stay among the elite of the SAC. But let's be honest here, does finishing in the 4 or 5 spot in the SAC make you average? Hardly. Both teams better be ready though, because they open with Brownsburg and Carmel to start the season. They'll quickly find out if they are among the states elite or if they have some serious work to do. 

8.     Who wins the battle of Adams County this year? South Adams is knocking on the door, but Adams Central is always the safe bet. I'll say it again and I hope it comes to fruition. Both teams need to tap into the SAC's open conference by going after Luers, South Side, Concordia, and Wayne. 

9.     Warsaw doesn't have a single 6A team on their schedule this year. That could mean trouble once the tournament gets here. Playing top notch competition in the regular season isn't the end all be all (see Penn in the 90's), but having some good teams on your schedule definitely prepares you. Mishawaka and Northwood are formidable foes, but not enough to prepare them for Carroll or Homestead. 

10.   How about two Northeast 8 programs I haven't mentioned yet? Was Columbia City a one time wonder last year? Are 10 win seasons the new norm for Josh Gerber's Norwell Knights?

[Basementbias]

Definitely curious to see how Eastside & Norwell do this season. We all know Blackhawk Christian has the ability to become a 1A force like they have in basketball (now 2A hoops force). As for the ACAC, the league is getting more competitive each season. AC will be a favorite this year, but need to reload in some key positions. They have talent again this season and just need to avoid injuries. South Adams will have to find consistent line play on both sides. They always have great skill guys each year. Just imagine if AC & SA combined teams, that would be fun to watch. Let's not forget Heritage finished near the top beating SA last year and have steadily improved. Bluffton is coming off a sectional championship as well. Will they continue the trend? Their youth program has been solid the past couple years. Will this be the year Jay County begins to get in the mix as well? To finish Adams & Wells Counties, will Bellmont pick up more wins with a talented sophomore group? Will Southern Wells make a step to getting back to being competitive? The ACAC has not been the same since they've fallen on hard times. Here is to a successful season for NE/EC Indiana teams, and hopefully we have more state appearances & maybe some champions!

[BTF]

1 hour ago, Basementbias said:

Just imagine if AC & SA combined teams, that would be fun to watch.

That would be dangerous. I imagine they'd give most 3A and 4A teams a run for their money. 

[260AC]

21 hours ago, BTF said:

I can't imagine anyone's expecting much out of Blackhawk Christian in their inaugural season for 11 man football. But we all know how these private schools can come onto the scene and quickly make an impact. I think it will take three or four years. By 2026, I think they'll be serious contenders in 1A. 

Definitely looking forward to this one.

 

21 hours ago, BTF said:

Who wins the battle of Adams County this year? South Adams is knocking on the door, but Adams Central is always the safe bet. I'll say it again and I hope it comes to fruition. Both teams need to tap into the SAC's open conference by going after Luers, South Side, Concordia, and Wayne. 

 

AC might be better than ever this year, I'm thinking Heritage may pass SA in the ACAC standings.

[NLCTigerFan07]

21 hours ago, BTF said:

9.     Warsaw doesn't have a single 6A team on their schedule this year. That could mean trouble once the tournament gets here. Playing top notch competition in the regular season isn't the end all be all (see Penn in the 90's), but having some good teams on your schedule definitely prepares you. Mishawaka and Northwood are formidable foes, but not enough to prepare them for Carroll or Homestead*. 

*as an FYI - Warsaw currently would not see Homestead until semi-state at the earliest

There are only so many 6A programs available in the area, and 3 of them are IN their sectional (Penn, Elkhart, Carroll). As well, I feel like it is rare to see teams schedule sectional opponents who are out-of-conference opponents.

That leaves Crown Point, Lake Central, Portage, Homestead and Northrop as the only remaining 5 6A schools in "northern" Indiana. Up until recently, the SAC schools weren't an option to schedule OOC because of their closed, round-robin schedule.

Over the last decade or so, Michigan City, Chesterton (who was 6A when this matchup was initially annouced 2+ years ago), Mishawaka and NorthWood are all strong programs.

I would argue those 4 schools are all better than the 3 other Region 6A schools, with Crown Point being the only program over the last decade you could argue for.

Sure - you can argue playing in the NLC does not prepare the Tigers for the tournament. But I do not believe their OOC opponents in weeks 1 and 2 will be any indication as to whether or not Warsaw will see "trouble" come touranment time.

FWIW - this changes in a BIG way for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Warsaw plays Warren Central in week 2 of both those seasons

[Gipper]

Again, this is where my Norther Indiana Football Alliance mumbo-jumbo comes into play: all of the 6A schools in one league: Crown Point, Lake Central, Penn, Elkhart, Warsaw, Carroll, Homestead (and another FW school I may have missed as our Lafayette Jeff Broncho {with a H} friends are still reminiscing about basketball).

[NLCTigerFan07]

4 hours ago, Gipper said:

Again, this is where my Norther Indiana Football Alliance mumbo-jumbo comes into play: all of the 6A schools in one league: Crown Point, Lake Central, Penn, Elkhart, Warsaw, Carroll, Homestead (and another FW school I may have missed as our Lafayette Jeff Broncho {with a H} friends are still reminiscing about basketball).

No love for Portage or Northrop? 😆

[BTF]

4 hours ago, NLCTigerFan07 said:

*as an FYI - Warsaw currently would not see Homestead until semi-state at the earliest

Sure - you can argue playing in the NLC does not prepare the Tigers for the tournament. But I do not believe their OOC opponents in weeks 1 and 2 will be any indication as to whether or not Warsaw will see "trouble" come touranment time.

FWIW - this changes in a BIG way for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Warsaw plays Warren Central in week 2 of both those seasons

Good observation regarding Homestead.

I agree that playing a brutal schedule isn't the end all be all for a long tournament run. Personally, I think it helps though. Penn won 5 state titles after blowing through one of the weaker regular season schedules in the state. Snider's reached state 7 or 8 times playing in a conference that features several schools in the 2A-4A range. Not sure what Warsaw's schedule was like back in 1999 or 2000, but those teams were arguably one of the top three teams in the state. So there is some evidence out there that you don't need to beat yourself up by playing schools with 2500+ enrollments all season long in order to have a deep run. However, on the flip side of the coin, the high school football landscape is a bit different now than it was when the forementioned teams were making their runs. 

Kudos for the Tigers for scheduling a program like Warren Central. I think Bart Curtis is a "go big or go home" kind of guy. I also see that Warsaw has Snider inked for '25 & '26. 

[BTF]

6 hours ago, 260AC said:

Definitely looking forward to this one.

I could see Blackhawk vs AC being a highly anticipated matchup a few years down they road, but they have a long way to go to reach AC status. 

[FlyingHigh]

On 6/13/2023 at 3:36 PM, BTF said:

8.     Who wins the battle of Adams County this year? South Adams is knocking on the door, but Adams Central is always the safe bet. I'll say it again and I hope it comes to fruition. Both teams need to tap into the SAC's open conference by going after Luers, South Side, Concordia, and Wayne. 

The gap between AC and SA is larger this year than it has been. AC will need to improve in the secondary for potential bigger matchups down the road, but the difference up front between the two is way too big for this to be competitive. I do expect Heritage and Bluffton to compete on an even higher level than last year. Looking forward to what is hopefully another classic against Eastside with their new coach. 

[Gipper]

On 6/14/2023 at 5:09 PM, NLCTigerFan07 said:

No love for Portage or Northrop? 😆

Why not?  The more the merrier...