2023 Conference Indiana (what's left of it)

[MuleDriver]

6 minutes ago, ptr said:

@MuleDriver

I watched the archived Decatur Central/Whiteland regional championship game yesterday. Not having seen either team play this season until yesterday, I was surprised to see both teams having their QB under center for much of the game that I watched, and especially in the first half. I watched just the first three quarters since DC had a big lead going into the 4th and I didn't see the need to watch anymore of it. DC stayed under center in their opening possession of the game, and did nothing but hand the ball off to one of their RB either right into the gut of the line or off both tackle spots and they picked up one big gain after another and they scored their first TD without putting the ball in the air (if my memory is correct.) They passed the ball just two times (again my memory) up until late in the first half when they went to the shotgun down inside the Whiteland red zone. In the first qtr, Whiteland was under center and had some nice runs, and scored on a long TD run when their RB ran right up the middle and broke the line of scrimmage and had clear sailing for the TD which would be their only score of the game. The Warriors did have occasional nice runs during the game but it was between the 30-yard lines and they never really threatened to score again. Nothing in-depth there on my part, but it was what I saw on the surface in the game. Here's the link to the archived game if you want to take a look:

Decatur Central (ihsaatv.org)

opps didn't mean to click the laughing emoji . it won't let me change it.... anyways I'll check it out thanks for the link.

[MuleDriver]

8 hours ago, ptr said:

@MuleDriver

Here's the link to the archived game if you want to take a look:

Decatur Central (ihsaatv.org)

Well I watched a little of  the game. Hard to gauge their overall strength from the video I watched. I don't have a prediction so far . you can look at sagarin and like opponents etc etc and if you don't know anything about either team you probably lean towards south.  knowing the injury situation makes it a bit more difficult

 . I read on a indiana high school football facebook page that Decatur has just got some injured players back . At any rate should be interesting.

[ptr]

Pick'em results for the regional games:

LC_Bears_04 (2-0) - 39-5

ptr (2-0) - 39-5

Frozen Tundra (2-0) - 38-6

MuleDriver (1-1) - 31-13

Bulldog 15 (2-0) - 32-8

 

THPD262 (no picks) - 24-3

 

Just the southern semi-state game pick this time:

Bloomington South @ Decatur Central

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ptr]

Some info on Bloomington South (11-1) and Decatur Central (10-2)

Both teams enter the game on an 8-game winning streak. They faced only one common opponent this season in Martinsville and those were early season games with South beating the Arties, 35-6 (8/23) and DC losing to the Arties 25-24 (9/8). Here are some offensive stats for both teams. I was unable to come up with the defensive stats. 

Offensive stats:

Passing:

South - 190.2 ypg

DC - 136.0 ypg

Rushing:

South - 151.2 ypg

DC - 242.8 ypg

Total offense:

South - 341.3 ypg

DC - 378.8 ypg

Turnovers on the season: 

South - 5 turnovers (1 lost fumble and 4 picks)

DC - 17 turnovers (11 lost fumbles and 6 picks)

[MuleDriver]

6 hours ago, ptr said:

Some info on Bloomington South (11-1) and Decatur Central (10-2)

Both teams enter the game on an 8-game winning streak. They faced only one common opponent this season in Martinsville and those were early season games with South beating the Arties, 35-6 (8/23) and DC losing to the Arties 25-24 (9/8). Here are some offensive stats for both teams. I was unable to come up with the defensive stats. 

Offensive stats:

Passing:

South - 190.2 ypg

DC - 136.0 ypg

Rushing:

South - 151.2 ypg

DC - 242.8 ypg

Total offense:

South - 341.3 ypg

DC - 378.8 ypg

Turnovers on the season: 

South - 5 turnovers (1 lost fumble and 4 picks)

DC - 17 turnovers (11 lost fumbles and 6 picks)

They actually faced two common opponents. DC played columbus north as well. According to the DC fans on the indiana high school football fans facebook page they weren't fully healthy when they won a close one against DC. 

Edited November 14, 2023 by MuleDriver

[MuleDriver]

Bloomington South @ Decatur Central- based on sagarin ratings and common opponents im going to have to stick with the Panthers. Sagarin has like a 70% success rate I believe I've read in the past. However as I said DC fans say they are a totally different team now..... And south did lose an all state db in the sectional title game. That shakes things up a bit . So all I can say is DC will have to prove it and they may do just that ..... 

[FridayNightLights]

3 hours ago, MuleDriver said:

Bloomington South @ Decatur Central- based on sagarin ratings and common opponents im going to have to stick with the Panthers. Sagarin has like a 70% success rate I believe I've read in the past. However as I said DC fans say they are a totally different team now..... And south did lose an all state db in the sectional title game. That shakes things up a bit . So all I can say is DC will have to prove it and they may do just that ..... 

This will be a great one. I believe DC starts 8 Sophomores on offense (which would explain their early season struggles) and their sophomore QB, Bo Polson, just received an offer from Michigan last weekend. They have continued to get better as the season has progressed. I think the seniority of BS may come into play late in the game if it is a close one at the end. This one is a true pickem game, but I'll go BS 28-24. I would not be shocked to see DC pull it out though. 

[Frozen Tundra]

Bloomington South @ Decatur Central 

 

Nothing against Bloomington South. I’ve just been burnt picking them in the past.

[LC_Bears_04]

16 hours ago, ptr said:

Pick'em results for the regional games:

LC_Bears_04 (2-0) - 39-5

ptr (2-0) - 39-5

Frozen Tundra (2-0) - 38-6

MuleDriver (1-1) - 31-13

Bulldog 15 (2-0) - 32-8

 

THPD262 (no picks) - 24-3

 

Just the southern semi-state game pick this time:

Bloomington South @ Decatur Central

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bloomington South

[ptr]

9 hours ago, MuleDriver said:

They actually faced two common opponents. DC played columbus north as well. According to the DC fans on the indiana high school football fans facebook page they weren't fully healthy when they won a close one against DC. 

You're right and I don't know how I missed that game and I will chalk it up to a brain fart. The Columbus North game was DC's season opening opponent and DC won 18-14 (8/18) and South played CN near the end of the regular season and won 49-14 (9/29) in a game where South caught the Bull Dogs really flat.

Yes, DC has had some injuries early in the season. South lost their starting center for the season in the season opener and after that, they stayed pretty healthy up until late in the season where as you pointed out, we lost our top DB and also our kicker who has been a big weapon, although he did return against Ev. North just in a kickoff role. 

 

[MuleDriver]

@ptr any free streaming for this game? ihsaatv has it but you have to pay. 

[ptr]

1 hour ago, MuleDriver said:

@ptr any free streaming for this game? ihsaatv has it but you have to pay. 

As far as video streaming, the IHSAA has sole rights to it. The South football site has WGCL as carrying it, but they have listed them on their schedule page even though there were multiple stations covering some of their games. I was surprised that WVNI didn't also cover the regional game with EN, but they may be there for the semi-state game and their play-by-play coverage is light years better. 

[ptr]

Semi-state pick:

Bloomington South @ Decatur Central - This is a tough game to pick and DC has really been rolling in tournament play and will be playing at home. After giving up quite a few points on defense in their first seven games of the season, the Hawks have really clamped down and have given up just 6.2 ppg over their last five games to include a couple of shutouts. It's time that the Panthers get off the schneid when it comes to semi-state games. South has gone 0-4 in their last semi-state appearances since winning the state with Rex Grossman back in 1998. Their best showing in those games was an overtime loss to Cathedral back in 2014 with the Irish going on to win state. South has gotten off to slow starts in their last two games, letting both Seymour and Ev. North take very early 7-0 leads before South took over the games. South is averaging 46 ppg which is 5th in the state, while giving up 13.4 ppg on the season. South has not had a turnover in their last four games. The Hawks ran all over Whiteland to the tune of 362 yards on the ground last week and the question is, can they run on the Panthers' quick and speedy front seven with any consistency. We will see, and I see South winning a hard-fought game by 7 points. 

[BDGiant93]

21 hours ago, MuleDriver said:

@ptr any free streaming for this game? ihsaatv has it but you have to pay. 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSzG2aGkgcfTsaj3F43ZayN410HvYnV_Dl64LVgOG58aic_eiu8taErApPltau2WiR9V06dPJIV0d2a/pubhtml

Approved broadcasters above. There won't be any free TV broadcasts from here on out that are live at least.

[MuleDriver]

well congrats to DC . congrats as well to bhss on a good season. 

[ptr]

3 minutes ago, MuleDriver said:

well congrats to DC . congrats as well to bhss on a good season. 

Absolutely. The Hawks were definitely the better team tonight and I posted on the score thread that I thought the DC defense would be the MVP of the game if they gave one out. South gave up quite a few yards on ground in the first half between the 30-yard lines, with two big runs on edge runs, but they did a good job on stopping the runs between the tackles for the most part. However, the 2nd half was a different story, with DC's defense keeping the Panthers offense on the sidelines for much of the 2nd half, and our defense appeared to just run out of gas, giving up chunk runs between the tackles. I don't know how many times the Hawks ran through tackles in the 2nd half. 

South will lose quite of few players since they were senior-dominated, especially on defense. If my memory is correct, they will have four of five offensive line starters back, and Bryce Taylor should be back healthy doing the kicking chores. The defense will have to be rebuilt. The JV team went 8-0 and the freshman team was 5-0-1, so we have some good players coming up to the varsity next season. 

[MuleDriver]

On 11/14/2023 at 11:36 AM, Frozen Tundra said:

Bloomington South @ Decatur Central 

 

Nothing against Bloomington South. I’ve just been burnt picking them in the past.

Now 0-5 in semistate since 1998. Again redistricting weakened the student body at south. I've known several all state players from neighborhood's south of bhss that now go to bhsn. And we'll we can't stay healthy with what we come with every year as well.   Will take a lot for south to win a semistate again.... Almost did it in 2014 losing an ot game to Cathedral with one of the best teams I've seen at south. But just weren't enough. 

 

@ptrI think im leaning snider to beat DC too much history and pride at snider to lose at state. South put the clamps on the DC passing game last night however couldn't stop the run. Snider shut out Merrillville who beat the team that won state last season Valpo. But DC will be tough for a couple more seasons and with east central moving to 5a next year it's back to the drawing board I think.....  I'm left forever wondering what a healthy south team that improved together each week would have looked like last night.  A recurring pattern. 

Until next year . Have a great holiday season everyone. 

 

[ptr]

4 hours ago, MuleDriver said:

Now 0-5 in semistate since 1998. Again redistricting weakened the student body at south. I've known several all state players from neighborhood's south of bhss that now go to bhsn. And we'll we can't stay healthy with what we come with every year as well.   Will take a lot for south to win a semistate again.... Almost did it in 2014 losing an ot game to Cathedral with one of the best teams I've seen at south. But just weren't enough. 

 

@ptrI think im leaning snider to beat DC too much history and pride at snider to lose at state. South put the clamps on the DC passing game last night however couldn't stop the run. Snider shut out Merrillville who beat the team that won state last season Valpo. But DC will be tough for a couple more seasons and with east central moving to 5a next year it's back to the drawing board I think.....  I'm left forever wondering what a healthy south team that improved together each week would have looked like last night.  A recurring pattern. 

Until next year . Have a great holiday season everyone. 

 

It should be an interesting game between DC and Snider. I haven't seen Snider play, so I don't know their strengths and weaknesses. DC obviously has been pretty much one-dimensional with their run game and they pretty much say stop it if you can. They had 362 rushing yards against Whiteland and 408 yards against South on the ground, but was 1 for 11 in the passing game against the Panthers. If Snider can slow the running game down, you have to like their chances. 

In looking in my crystal ball right now about next season, I have to think the frosh Duncan Combs will be under center next season and he has gotten a lot of hype. He guided the JV team to an 8-0 record with most of the wins being blowouts. I saw comments that JV running back soph Braylen Townsend was impressive on the JV team, at least from some of the comments I've seen since I haven't seen him in person. With seniors Adams and Morrison 1-2 on the varsity squad, Townsend got some more "seasoning" playing with the JVs waiting for his turn. That's two players I see as possibly being starters in the backfield next season, but they will still have to earn it leading up to the new season. If I'm not mistaken, there will be a veteran o-line with four of five starters back.

Edited November 18, 2023 by ptr

[ptr]

Final pick'em standings:

 

LC_Bears_04 (0-1) 39-6

ptr (0-1) - 39-6

Frozen Tundra (1-0) - 39-6

MuleDriver (0-1) - 31-14

 

Bulldog 15 (no pick) - 32-8

THPD262 (no pick) - 24-3 

 

 

 

 

[MuleDriver]

@ptr I think south should schedule some tougher opposition. They need to have some exposure of elite teams get an idea of what it takes to be the best. However im not assure they even have that aspiration Also it was almost required that you attend football camp back in the day if you wanted to get any playing time at south . .  And lastly Joe Smith was hard to follow again. He'd be rambling on about this or that and totally miss at times two plays would go by. I Remember him calling what happened on a first down then rambling on about something and all the sudden he'd say we'll that brings up 4th down here comes the punt team. He seemed really with it on other occasions then start losing it again.   Poor Guy. 

[ptr]

48 minutes ago, MuleDriver said:

@ptr I think south should schedule some tougher opposition. They need to have some exposure of elite teams get an idea of what it takes to be the best. However im not assure they even have that aspiration Also it was almost required that you attend football camp back in the day if you wanted to get any playing time at south . .  And lastly Joe Smith was hard to follow again. He'd be rambling on about this or that and totally miss at times two plays would go by. I Remember him calling what happened on a first down then rambling on about something and all the sudden he'd say we'll that brings up 4th down here comes the punt team. He seemed really with it on other occasions then start losing it again.   Poor Guy. 

He's retiring from calling games after this season if my memory is correct.

[ptr]

Bloomington North's Scott Bless has retired after 19 years at North. His team went 9-1 in his last season. He was the last of the Bless brothers to hang it up.

[Indiana Fan]

19 hours ago, ptr said:

Bloomington North's Scott Bless has retired after 19 years at North. His team went 9-1 in his last season. He was the last of the Bless brothers to hang it up.

Will they look internally? Is there somebody that has been on that staff for a while that is lifted up for it? Or will they look elsewhere?

[AirItOut2011]

Tyson Moore at Seymour and Derrick Barker at BNL could be ideal candidates for a job like this, at least I would think. 

20 hours ago, ptr said:

Bloomington North's Scott Bless has retired after 19 years at North. His team went 9-1 in his last season. He was the last of the Bless brothers to hang it up.

I had cousins at BHSN and in-laws at CN who benefited alot from playing for Bless brothers! Hope they all enjoy retirement! 

[ptr]

3 hours ago, Indiana Fan said:

Will they look internally? Is there somebody that has been on that staff for a while that is lifted up for it? Or will they look elsewhere?

I'm not close to the North program so I really have no idea in which direction they will take. Bless is staying at North as a teacher and assistant athletic director. The North AD, Andy Hodson, said the replacement search would be both internally and externally and that was his only comment on a replacement search.