NLC - 2024 Season

[NappaneeIndiana]

I wouldn’t be surprised MarshallCounty. This is 2nd hand info I’ve heard but was told Goshen had in the realm of 20-25 non freshmen on the team. 

[Coach Lou]

I too did not attend but have heard good things coming with the new staff at Goshen. Also heard they have a top young QB they are very high on.

Looking forward to the Elkhart vs. Concord game. A number of D-1 players on both sides.

 

[US31]

Not trying to rain on the new staff at Goshen at all....quite the opposite, they (like the previous 2 staffs) have been dealt a tough hand to play in many ways. 

BUT...scrimmaging Bremen and playing Fairfield can't continue if you really want to change the trajectory of your program.

I was shocked when I heard they scrimmaged Bremen....is that who they scrimmaged in '23?

Edited August 20, 2024 by US31

[Coach Lou]

I know Elkhart showed interest in playing Goshen as part of their nonconference schedule or possibly scrimmage but I heard Goshen's AD wanted no part.

I wish Elkhart and Goshen played as i hear many years ago that was a big rivalry. 

 

[Shoot_The_Hands]

Hard to start rebuilding a program playing one of the best teams in the area. When you are already playing a tough schedule in the NLC why would you schedule tough non-conference opponents? Right now Goshen needs to rebuild and get some wins under their belts to get kids to come out. Once you establish that, you can start scheduling bigger opponents, but right now you can't schedule these teams to "prepare you for Sectionals" 

[Fairfield 02]

What's so bad about playing against Fairfield??  😉I kid....I kid.... What might not be a good game for you though, is really a good game for us.  Anytime we can be exposed to bigger schools, it helps us....so I understand what ya'll are saying.  However I love this game for a lot of reasons....one of them being that it's geographically the shortest away game we have on our schedule, which helps us save money in the inflated economy! 😁Those NECC games can be hard on the gas budget.

[Coach Lou]

Goshen is 3-3 over the last 6 years playing Fairfield and Fairfield has won the last 2.

 

[NRRaider2001]

Will share my picks tonight or tomorrow, but in the meantime feel free to check out my weekly contest for the Student Athletes of Michiana Pigskin Pick'em 24 over at https://www.facebook.com/share/p/fBf7tX8gBg4r6Pqn/

Weekly prizes to Michiana area businesses as well as a prize for the overall winner at the end of the year!

[MikeTyson15]

Fairfield over Goshen

Northridge over Fw North

Lakeland over SB. St. Joe

New Prairie over LaPorte

Laville over Triton

Mishawaka over Marian

Northwood over Jimtown

Warsaw over Michigan City

Valpo over Penn 

 

[NLCTigerFan07]

Not sure I will be able to provide super insightful write ups early this season. I think there are a lot of question marks for the teams expected to battle for the NLC crown, and new faces on the sidelines for teams who have been in the NLC gutter the last few years.

Elkhart at Concord - A lot of hype for the Lions this year. Going with my former Anderson University Raven teammate in his first game as a head coach and the D1 talent on their team. ELKHART by 7

Fairfield at Goshen - A matchup of new coaches for their respective schools, but I will go with the squad who has a "veteran" coach and won two matchups in a row. FAIRFIELD by 2

FW North Side at Northridge - The Redskins Legends feel like they have a lot of hype yet again, but the Raiders went to Fort Wayne and got the victory last year. Can't imagine many of those North Side students have ever ventured into Amish territory. NORTHRIDGE by 14

Michigan City at Warsaw - Many folks are picking the Tigers to win the NLC this year, but they have a lot of new faces replacing key positions. Bart Ball goes as the QB goes, and I think they have a good one. WARSAW by 14

Mishawaka at Marian - The Knights are expected to be improved this year, but they have lost the last 3 meetings in this rivalry by an average of almost 5 touchdowns. MISHAWAKA by 21

NorthWood at Jimtown - Speaking of rivalries, this one used to be competitive. However, the Jimmies haven't defeated the Panthers in over a decade. Pretty shocking honestly. Panthers graduated a lot from their state runner-up squad, but should have no issues in Baugo. NORTHWOOD by 21

Twin Lakes at Plymouth - Going purely off coaching pedigree here. I cannot forsee the Indians struggling in their visit to the Rock Pile. TWIN LAKES by 28

Wawasee at Tippecanoe Valley - The Warriors join the Tigers and Cavemen in running the TMT/Bart Ball offense in the NLC under new Coach Matt Thacker. Honestly, it will probably help keep the Warriors more competitive than they have been in recent years. The Vikings lose a lot from an outstanding 2023 squad that the IHSAA screwed when making up that sectional grouping. Wawasee faces quite a guantlet to start the season with Tippy Valley (9-1 last year), West Noble (10-1 last year), NorthWood (12-3 last year) and Warsaw (9-2 last year). If they can hang tough through that stretch, they might find a way to win 3 games this season, but this one on the road won't be one of them. TIPPECANOE VALLEY by 14

[Coach Lou]

I saw in the paper today that Goshen Freshmen beat Northwood last night.

Good news for the Goshen Staff as the last couple years Goshen had not been able to field either a freshman or JV team let alone beat a program like Northwood.

[Fairfield 02]

I was very pleased with how Fairfield controlled the line of scrimmage tonight.  Over 400 yards rushing.  Goshen is young, and made a lot of mistakes.  They did, however, make some big plays in the passing game.  Also to the Redhawk's credit, they were down 37-10 at the half, and did not just come out and lay down...they fought hard throughout the entire game.  

[Fairfield 02]

An Outsider's NLC Power Rankings after week 1:

1. Mishawaka 

2. Warsaw

3. Concord

4. Northwood

5. Northridge

6. Plymouth 

7. Goshen

8. Wawasee

[Plymouthfan91]

On 8/22/2024 at 11:24 PM, NLCTigerFan07 said:

Twin Lakes at Plymouth - Going purely off coaching pedigree here. I cannot forsee the Indians struggling in their visit to the Rock Pile. TWIN LAKES by 28

Oops!  I guess pedigree doesn't matter.  Our Jimmies and Joes were better than their X's and O's.

[00NWP]

Week 1 in the books...Two things stood out to me from last Friday.  While I know nothing about Twin Lakes...good for Plymouth!  Putting up 53 points on anyone is a great way to start the season...I hope those boys can keep that going.  The second is Goshen...come on giving up 55 to a 3A is tough...I just don't get it...and as I have said multiple times, that game will stick with the young men from Goshen all season.  On to this weeks predictions:

Columbia City at Plymouth: CC shut out Busco, so they must be doing something right.  Plymouth had their biggest win in a long long time and I hope that carries over to Friday.  This will be my upset special.  I will take Plymouth in a tight one.  Plymouth 21 CC 20

Concord at Jimtown:  Jimtown played way better than their score showed from Friday.  They drove the ball the entire first half against NW, coming up short of a couple of touchdowns.  Concord squeaks one out against Elkhart (and people say kicking is no longer relevant in football).  I'm not sold on Elkhart as of yet, but good for Concord pulling that out.  I think Jimtown will tighten things up from last week and will play Concord well.  I think this will be a close game with Concord on top.  Concord 28 Jimtown 21

New Prairie at Goshen: Not a whole lot to say about this game...lots of yards on the ground will be seen by multiple players from New Prairie...Its going to be a long night for Goshen.  NP 45 Goshen 14

Northridge at Elkhart: NR lost a tough one on Friday as did Elkhart.  I think this game is really evenly matched.  I still don't know what to think of Northridge.  I am taking the home team in a close one.  Elkhart 21 NR 14

Penn at Mishawaka: Mishawaka got things going against Marian last week.  The only down side to that...this week its Penn rather than a rebuilding Knights club.  I think Penn is for real this real and is a well rounded team.  I can see Mishawaka slowing Penn down a bit...but the thing about Mishawaka...they can not play catch up with the bart ball.  Penn 45 Mishawaka 14

Warsaw at Warren Central:  This is going to be a fun game...Warsaw's bart ball vs. Warren's defense.  A lot of talk about Warren this year and they shut out a Snider last week.  I don't think Snider is as good as they were last year (they should have lost to Mishawaka in the playoffs last year) however, that is not taking anything away from WC.  I think Warsaw will make WC work for this win, and I would say it would be closer if it were at Warsaw.  WC 42 Warsaw 28

West Noble at Wawasee: Its going to be a long year for the fellas in Syracuse...and lake season is about over.  Not much more to say here...West Noble 42 Wawasee 7

Portage at NorthWood: I don't know a lot about Portage (other than they are holding on to that mascot...good for them).  Last year I noticed they had some big boys on their team...and then showed size does not in fact matter.  Last Friday we saw that NW has a quarterback...for his first game...you couldn't ask for a better performance.  NW will need to shore things up on Defense before playing some of those bart ball teams.  If they can't get that under control, its going to be tough going.  Their offense will be fine.  NW 35 Portage 14

[Coach Lou]

I read where Fairfield had over 400 yards rushing against Goshen. Wow.

How did Northridge look as My Lions play them this week?

 

[MikeTyson15]

5 hours ago, 00NWP said:

Week 1 in the books...Two things stood out to me from last Friday.  While I know nothing about Twin Lakes...good for Plymouth!  Putting up 53 points on anyone is a great way to start the season...I hope those boys can keep that going.  The second is Goshen...come on giving up 55 to a 3A is tough...I just don't get it...and as I have said multiple times, that game will stick with the young men from Goshen all season.  On to this weeks predictions:

Columbia City at Plymouth: CC shut out Busco, so they must be doing something right.  Plymouth had their biggest win in a long long time and I hope that carries over to Friday.  This will be my upset special.  I will take Plymouth in a tight one.  Plymouth 21 CC 20

Concord at Jimtown:  Jimtown played way better than their score showed from Friday.  They drove the ball the entire first half against NW, coming up short of a couple of touchdowns.  Concord squeaks one out against Elkhart (and people say kicking is no longer relevant in football).  I'm not sold on Elkhart as of yet, but good for Concord pulling that out.  I think Jimtown will tighten things up from last week and will play Concord well.  I think this will be a close game with Concord on top.  Concord 28 Jimtown 21

New Prairie at Goshen: Not a whole lot to say about this game...lots of yards on the ground will be seen by multiple players from New Prairie...Its going to be a long night for Goshen.  NP 45 Goshen 14

Northridge at Elkhart: NR lost a tough one on Friday as did Elkhart.  I think this game is really evenly matched.  I still don't know what to think of Northridge.  I am taking the home team in a close one.  Elkhart 21 NR 14

Penn at Mishawaka: Mishawaka got things going against Marian last week.  The only down side to that...this week its Penn rather than a rebuilding Knights club.  I think Penn is for real this real and is a well rounded team.  I can see Mishawaka slowing Penn down a bit...but the thing about Mishawaka...they can not play catch up with the bart ball.  Penn 45 Mishawaka 14

Warsaw at Warren Central:  This is going to be a fun game...Warsaw's bart ball vs. Warren's defense.  A lot of talk about Warren this year and they shut out a Snider last week.  I don't think Snider is as good as they were last year (they should have lost to Mishawaka in the playoffs last year) however, that is not taking anything away from WC.  I think Warsaw will make WC work for this win, and I would say it would be closer if it were at Warsaw.  WC 42 Warsaw 28

West Noble at Wawasee: Its going to be a long year for the fellas in Syracuse...and lake season is about over.  Not much more to say here...West Noble 42 Wawasee 7

Portage at NorthWood: I don't know a lot about Portage (other than they are holding on to that mascot...good for them).  Last year I noticed they had some big boys on their team...and then showed size does not in fact matter.  Last Friday we saw that NW has a quarterback...for his first game...you couldn't ask for a better performance.  NW will need to shore things up on Defense before playing some of those bart ball teams.  If they can't get that under control, its going to be tough going.  Their offense will be fine.  NW 35 Portage 14

CC

Concord

New Prairie

Northridge

Penn

Warren Central

West Noble

Northwood

[Fairfield 02]

Columbia City 42 Plymouth 21:  After going 2-8 last year, Plymouth still has a lot to prove.  I am rooting for the NLC here, but no sure it will happen.

Concord 28 Jimtown 7:  Maybe Concord is a lot better than everyone thinks...I do think, rivalry aside, they are better on paper than the Jimmies.

New Prairie 49 Goshen 0:  This is the halftime score, and the clock runs out quickly due to the mercy rule in the 2nd half.  As stated earlier...Goshen is young, and they need to get better.

Northridge 14 Elkhart 35:  Again, we just don't know enough about these teams to really make an accurate prediction.  However, Northridge faltered a little last week and might struggle up front with those Elkhart man-children.

Penn 38 Mishawaka 28: Hard to pick against Penn after they beat Valpo....anything can happen in a rivalry though, right?

Portage 20 Northwood 41: I don't know much about either team, but I feel that Northwood continually proves themselves.  The Panthers are worthy until they prove otherwise. 

Warsaw 17 Warren Central 21:  Much closer than anyone anticipates, but Bart Ball comes to bite in the butt when the Tigers need to pass....but can't. 

West Noble 42 Wawasee 0:  West Noble has the fastest athlete on the field in Pruitt.  Wawasee is rebuilding.  The Chargers win this one easily

[NLCTigerFan07]

Went 5-3 with the picks last week, some nice wins by Concord and Plymouth that I did not expect, and disappointing losses by Northridge, Goshen and Wawasee. This week looks to be a fairly tough slate for the NLC. Side note - Plymouth has 6 home games this year. Will they only have 3 home games next year?!

Here we go looking into Week 2.

Columbia City (1-0) at Plymouth (1-0): Impressive win by the Pilgrims last week with their most points scored in a game since the 2019 season. Perhaps they will push for a middle-of-the-pack finish in the NLC this season. However, unless the Columbia City bus gets lost in Blueberry Festival traffic, this week will be a step up in competition. Is Plymouth a contender or pretender? I'm going with the Eagles. COLUMBIA CITY BY 28

Concord (1-0) at Jimtown (0-1): Again, another team with an impressive win last week in a dogfight. Can the Minutemen challenge for an NLC title this year? That will be answered in September. I do not forsee any issues here against their backyard rival. The Jimmies have lost 5 straight in this series. CONCORD BY 10

New Prairie (1-0) at Goshen (0-1): The Redhawks have lost to Fairfield by a combined two-year score of 84-23... yikes! This week will be big in seeing what kind of moral and grit Goshen has. Can they put up any sort of fight against the Cougars? If not, it will be yet another long season in the Maple City. NEW PRAIRIE BY 35

Northridge (0-1) at Elkhart (0-1): The Raiders could not hang with a dynamic FW North Side team last week in a bit of surprise, at least to this NLC fan. I am expecting this one to potentially be a low scoring affair. This series is split 1-1 over the last two years, with the home team winning each game. I'll stick with the Lions. ELKHART BY 7

Penn (1-0) at Mishawaka (1-0): The Cavemen open up the turf field at Steele Stadium against thier longtime, backyard rival. The Kingsmen had arguably one of the most impressive victories in the state in week 1 over Valparaiso. Both teams scored a lot of points last week. Who's defense shows up? My heart wants the NLC team, but my head says otherwise. PENN BY 10

Portage (1-0) at NorthWood (1-0): Another team breaking in new field turf, the Panthers welcome in a 6A foe to Nappanee. Portage has been down in recent years, but they've got a heck of a Head Coach looking to get things turned around. I think this game could potentially be a challenge for NorthWood, but they will still pull out the victory. NORTHWOOD BY 14

Warsaw (1-0) at Warren Central (1-0): I truly can't believe this game actually is on the schedule. I never thought in a million years I would see the Tigers face off against one of the big dogs from the Indianapolis area. "Bart Ball" can keep any team in a game, but the Warriors are tough this year and shut out FW Snider last week. They also held the Panthers to like 1 yard per carry or something. They are STOUT. I have no doubt Coach Curtis will have the boys ready, but there is only so much talent that can be overcome. Great challenge for Warsaw. WARREN CENTRAL BY 21

West Noble (1-0) at Wawasee (0-1): Not much went right last week for the Warriors, and this week they take on a Chargers team that has defeated them in three straight seasons. Hopefully Wawasee can find the endzone a few times this week, but I am not sure they have enough to get the victory. WEST NOBLE BY 28

[Fairfield 02]

How about those Cavemen??

[MichGuy]

8 hours ago, Fairfield 02 said:

How about those Cavemen??

Neutral observations: There was nothing particularly close about this one. Mishawaka's D absolutely throttled Penn. Limited the big plays Valpo gave up. Penn's D figured a few things out at the half & Mishawaka had a couple of sloppy turnovers....but it came down to Mishawaka being the better team. Snyder is a really dynamic QB, believe he's Soph? If so, they're going to be a handful, the next couple years. Throws the ball as well as any Mishawaka QB I've seen in quite a while. Only thing Penn does better, is their kicking game. I'm absolutely gobsmacked, every season, that Mishawaka can't (won't?) develop even a rudimentary, competent kicking game.  

[NappaneeIndiana]

Last night was one of those nights as a Panther fan that you realize that youve been spoiled for a couple years and now it’s back to reality for awhile. Portage is greatly improved this year but still, they had no business coming into Andrews field and winning that game. Not sure what changed at half but being up 16-0 in the 3rd you just assume they are going to win and then all of the sudden the defense can’t stop anyone and the offense can’t move the ball at all to give them some rest. The youth of the team showed with some bad penalties, especially 2 on 4th down that put the defense back out there,  but it really seemed that Portage made adjustments and Northwood had no answers for them.  I see 4 wins for the Panthers this year. 

[Fairfield 02]

An Outsider's NLC Power Rankings after week 2:

1. Mishawaka 

2. Concord

3. Warsaw

4. Northwood

5. Northridge

6. Plymouth 

7. Goshen 

8. Wawasee

[Fairfield 02]

6 hours ago, NappaneeIndiana said:

Last night was one of those nights as a Panther fan that you realize that youve been spoiled for a couple years and now it’s back to reality for awhile. Portage is greatly improved this year but still, they had no business coming into Andrews field and winning that game. Not sure what changed at half but being up 16-0 in the 3rd you just assume they are going to win and then all of the sudden the defense can’t stop anyone and the offense can’t move the ball at all to give them some rest. The youth of the team showed with some bad penalties, especially 2 on 4th down that put the defense back out there,  but it really seemed that Portage made adjustments and Northwood had no answers for them.  I see 4 wins for the Panthers this year. 

I think I see st least 5, maybe 6.  Depending on who they draw in Sectional, maybe more.  I do think Marian might be the best team in that Sectional...at least after week 1...not sure how they did against CMA yet.

[00NWP]

And Conference Play Begins!

Goshen at Warsaw: While Warsaw took on a challenge last week and lost, I agree with scheduling those kind of games as it only make you better.  Goshen...its going to be a long season.  This game should have a running clock.  Warsaw 49 Goshen 6

Mishawaka at Concord: Hands down the best conference game of the week.  Mishawaka shocks everyone and handily beats Penn...maybe I was overlooking the cavemen this year as I thought they would be down from the last couple of seasons.  I like Concord's team this year, however, after seeing what Mishawaka did Friday I can't bet against them.  I think Concord will keep it close.  Mishawaka 35 Concord 28

Northridge at Plymouth: Plymouth is much improved this year and Northridge is down.  I don't think Plymouth will win this game, however, they will make Northridge work for it compared to years past.  Northridge 21 Plymouth 10

Wawasee at NorthWood: I don't really know what to say about the Panthers last Friday.  No knock on Portage, however, NW should have won that game.  Mental mistakes killed the panthers.  The panther defense also showed no desire to stop the run game.  They will need to work on the run defense if they want to stay in the mix for an NLC title. Someday something will change for Wawasee...but not this year.  At least the fans have the opportunity to meet a Colts cheerleader as they will be at the game.  NorthWood needed this game after last Friday as the next three games are going to be tough for them.  NW 35 Wawasee 7