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NLC - 2023 Season


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Big game tonight in the Lake City! Very impressed with the Raiders this season. Beginning the year, I would have predicted them to finish the regular season 6-3 or 5-4. It speaks to the job Coach Eppley has done in Middlebury and how he's elevated Northridge to new heights. Quite the decade their program has gone through.

Should be a defensive slugfest.

I'll take the Tigers pulling out the victory by a field goal.

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1 hour ago, NLCTigerFan07 said:

Big game tonight in the Lake City! Very impressed with the Raiders this season. Beginning the year, I would have predicted them to finish the regular season 6-3 or 5-4. It speaks to the job Coach Eppley has done in Middlebury and how he's elevated Northridge to new heights. Quite the decade their program has gone through.

Should be a defensive slugfest.

I'll take the Tigers pulling out the victory by a field goal.

I’ll be in the house … and I brought my rain gear.

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19 minutes ago, Bobref said:

I’ll be in the house … and I brought my rain gear.

I'll be there as well. 

 

Wish we could see both teams at full strength, but the injury bug has bitten both teams this season. 

Either way I expect a good hard hitting NLC football game tonight from both sides. 

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Here are my thoughts on this season in the NLC as well as going forward into the post season.

Congratulations to Warsaw and Mishawaka...well deserved co champs!  I think this season was one of the more competative seasons within the NLC.  At the begging of the season, I don't think there was a full on favorite to win the crown.  Warsaw / Mishawaka / NW / Northridge all had a chance with Concord not that too far of a stretch.  My biggest takeaways from the regular season was actually the bottom half of the conference.  Plymouth / Goshen / Wawasee all showed great improvment from previous years (not looking at the records).  Plymouth...2 years since a win, that is a huge mental hurdle to jump over.  Wawasee's record shows only 1 win...but those kids came to play every game and made every team they played work for it.  Then there is Goshen...while I don't understand what is going on with Goshen's program...I know they have about 10 kids going both ways and those fellas give it their all.  I really hope numbers improve...they have a good coach, great facilities and a passionate fan base.  It was a fun season...and now on to the post season:

Our big boys have the week off and in my opinion all of the NLC teams will make it to week 2 of sectionals.

Northridge at Logansport: Logansport runs that offense that no likes to prepare for, however, I feel like Warsaw and Mishawaka run it much better than Logansport and NR has seen it before.  I don't think Northridge will have any troubles beating the mighty berries from Logansport.  If I remember correctly, the visiting teams locker room at Logansport is about the size of a broom closet...hopefully the weather will permit Northridge to hang out under the trees rather than cram in there (I base this on the covid year when NW played at Logansport / I don't remember the away locker rooms being that large nor having air conditioning but I could be wrong).  Northridge 49 Logansport 14

Wawasee at Riley: Riley getting that NIC championship...good for them as it has been...a few..years for them.  I think that Wawasee's schedule was better than Riley's and Wawasee played everyone really well.  I think Wawasee may win its first playoff game in 10-11 years!  Wawasee 21 Riley 13

Plymouth at Washington: This was probably the best draw for both teams to get a 1st round victory.  This may turn out to be a good game.  I again think that Plymouth has played a better season than Washington.  I think this will be close, however, Plymouth will come out on top.  Plymouth 28 Washington 7

NorthWood at St. Joe: I think NW has figured out their defense and have made adjustments when necessary.  I don't feel like this game will be too competative.  St. Joe beat whom they should have this year and lost to whom most would have guessed.  I will take NW by possibly a running clock at some point.  NW 49 St. Joe 14

All in all I think all the NLC teams playing this week will be playing in round two.  Good luck to everyone!

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Round 1 turned out pretty much how most expected. I really enjoyed seeing Wawasee win a playoff game!  I really thought Plymouth would advance again, however, they have improved alot this year and hopefully that trend continues into next year for them.  None of the other games were really that competative....on to Round 2!

Concord at Adams:  I don't see this game being too competative.  Adams hasn't been competative this year and I don't see them turning things around this week.  Concord will win big.  Concord 45 Adams 7

Mishawaka at Goshen: This game will be over quickly.  Goshen just doesn't have the players to compete with a team like Mishawaka.  They will run there offense and the 11 guys that play both ways will get real tired...real quick.  Mishawaka by a lot.  Mishawaka 49 Goshen 0

Wawasee at Northridge: This is an interesting game.  Wawasee is coming off of their 1st playoff win in about 10 years and during the season, they stayed with NR and only lost by a touchdown.  I think NR had some people missing in that game which may make a difference this Friday.  NR seems to turn it on in the post season, and I don't see that being different this year.  Wawasee showed great improvement this year and I envision they will get even better next year.  NR 38 Wawasee 21

Carroll at Warsaw:  I would like to think that a home field advantage would help Warsaw in this matchup as Warsaw's crowd always shows up.  If Warsaw doesn't fall behind early, they have a chance to keep up with Carroll.  As much as I would like to see Warsaw win this game...I feel Carroll will stop Warsaw's running game and control this game.  Carroll 42 Warsaw 17

Washington at NW: This will be the most lopsided contest of the week in regard to NLC schools.  Washington's season comes to an end with a running clock Friday.  NW 49 Washington 7

Good luck to everyone on Friday...should be great football weather! 

 

 

 

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3rd year in a row the Tigers and Chargers have faced off in the tournament.

2020 - feels very similar to this years. Tigers come in, fresh off a shared conference title with Mishawaka, hosted a high-flying Carroll offense that averaged 47 points per game on offense. The difference, though, is that Charger defense also gave up 24 points a game on defense. This was a fantastic matchup that went back and forth the entire night, with Warsaw prevailing 42-35

2021 - this one... wasn't any fun. Warsaw had that stupid "double-bye" into the Sectional Championship game and went 20 days between losing their final game of the season (and defacto NLC championship) at Concord, to getting completely steamrolled in the first half at Carroll. You could tell the time off really impacted the Tigers. Chargers cruised to a 36-0 victory.

2022 - improvements were made by the Tigers, but Carroll still controlled the game with relative ease. Warsaw was able to keep it close (13-10 Carroll lead at halftime), but the Chargers made it 20-10 late in the 3rd quarter, the Tigers fumbled on the next possession, and Carroll maintained a 2+ possession lead through the end of the game to win 34-17.

I would imagine this game will be closer to how last year went. The Tigers will have to play perfect "Bart Ball" (no turnovers, limited penalties, stay on schedule) to keep it close. Carroll might have a worse record than they did last year, but they are a few plays away from being 9-0 on the season, and the two teams they lost to are a combined 15-3 and their 3 losses come by a combined 12 points themselves.

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Congrats to Wawasee on beating a 8-1 S.B. Riley team Friday.

2nd half of the season has shown big improvements by the Warriors. They must have played well against Warsaw and Northridge the first time as each game were only 7 point losses.

Can Wawasee take the next step and knock of Northridge? Maybe catch the Raiders looking ahead to Northwood?

 

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Warsaw with a big win last Friday...i assumed it would be a coin toss, but they won handedly...way to represent the NLC!

NW game...that got out of hand quite quickly.  I feel bad for Washington kids and am shocked that a team with 40is kids...only 20ish people came to watch them...I have no idea how they beat Plymouth the week prior.

Mishawaka / Northridge / Concord did what they were supposed to last Friday.  Wawasee...Hold you heads high!  This team showed the greatest improvement in my opinion and have something to build on for next year.

Warsaw and Penn should be a great game.  If Warsaw plays like they did last Friday...watch out Penn.  I watched the Penn / Mishawaka game and after Mishawaka's first drive, Penn figured out how to stop said "Bart Ball" and controlled the remainder of the game.  I really like Warsaw in this game, but playing at Penn...Warsaw is a great place to watch a game and their fans always show up...but they don't travel as well as some of the other NLC teams.  With that said...I'm going to say Warsaw gets the offense rolling early and wins a close game. Warsaw 21 Penn 17

Mishawaka at Concord: I don't see Concord staying in this game too long.  I feel like Mishawaka will roll past Concord setting up a battle in the regionals.  Mishawaka 35 Concord 7

NorthWood at Northridge:  This has turned into quite the rivalry....The game during the season....NorthWood didnt even try to run the ball.  They seem to have shifted toward a more balanced offense and are running it better than I would have ever guessed.  The 1st meeting, NR didn't have their RB 1 and still ran all over NW's defense.  NW has shown they are wiling to modify their "base" defense and that may help.  I honestly don't know what NW team will show up Friday.  The weather outlook looks great, so that helps NW's passing game...but it is at NR.  I'm going to be a homer and take NW in a close game.  NW 31 NR 24

 

 

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I’m glad to see the coaches finally came around to what I was seeing very early in the year, Perry should be the RB and Edmond a WR/gadget player. 
Another question, how much of the better defensive play has been due to worse competition? The last time NWood played a really good team they needed to score 43 points to win. I’m like everyone, I have no idea what to expect here.  I want to say the Panthers prevail but until they prove they can clear the mental hurdle of Northridge in the playoffs, I’m taking the Raiders 35-28

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Serious question for the Northwood faithful. If NW DOESN'T win tomorrow night, how much faith does the Panther community have in their coaches and program or at least the scheme they are implementing? To go from nearly a unanimous pick to make it to state for 4A north to 9-3 and not even winning a share of the conference title (where there wasn't any team head and shoulders above in the NLC) would be pretty devastating. 

Just trying to drum-up conversation. NW could route Northridge and easily be playing after thanksgiving and all is forgiven for the early season mishaps. This game just seems like a monster turning point for the Panther program

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I don't think the community has or will loose faith in the program.  While NorthWood has always had a strong football program, since Andrews has been here, there has been a lot of growth in the lower levels.  20 - 30 years ago, there was not a youth program in the NorthWood community.  Most families had to look elsewhere to get their kids involved in football...Bremen at one time had a great youth program.  In my opinion, the football program has grown under Andrews.  There never used to be so much community / family involvement.  I think that has to do with him being from the community and knowing everyone.  With that, this year they brought in more people that have long standing connections with the community.  NorthWood just hasn't gotten over that sectional hump since we went to State a few years ago.  Northridge has had their number the last two years, however, there were "other" issues that lost us those games.  That is reflected in the regular season scores against them.  Before Northridge it was Leo and Angola...those 4 years they lost sectional games with a combined point total of 14 points.  Way back it was St. Joe.  In regard to the schemes that NorthWood runs....that's everywhere.  No more are the ground and pound days with two backs featured in the NLC...gone also are the days of 4 big fellas on the D line holding up O linemen getting to linebackers.  This year is an example of adapting.  Early in the year, the defensive scheme just wasn't working (IE the Northridge and Warsaw games) and they have made some modifications (IE the Mishawaka game).  I strongly feel as if NorthWood has the team this year to make a deep run.  With all of that said...I don't think there are many teams in the entire norther part of the State (not including Chatard...they belong in the South) that have the football stability year in year out.  NorthWood will be fine this year...and the years to follow and I think Andrews will be welcomed with the program for probably as long as he would like.  Just one persons opinions / perspective.

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1 hour ago, npcougar15 said:

Serious question for the Northwood faithful. If NW DOESN'T win tomorrow night, how much faith does the Panther community have in their coaches and program or at least the scheme they are implementing? To go from nearly a unanimous pick to make it to state for 4A north to 9-3 and not even winning a share of the conference title (where there wasn't any team head and shoulders above in the NLC) would be pretty devastating. 

Just trying to drum-up conversation. NW could route Northridge and easily be playing after thanksgiving and all is forgiven for the early season mishaps. This game just seems like a monster turning point for the Panther program

So because NW lost to 6A (and potential sectional champ) Warsaw, and lost by less than a score (and could lose tomorrow) to 4A #9 Northridge...the community should throw the coaching staff under a buggy based on the preseason predictive abilities of random people? 

Bold strategy Cotton...

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There's not coaching issues. If you look at NW compared to other NLC teams, NW is the smallest school in the NLC and 4A for that matter. Don't forget that. Year-in-year-out, they do as good of a job at maximizing their player's potential as possible. Now, it seemed they struggled to run the ball to begin the year; however, they made adjustments and seem to have a more balanced attack. That's a must if you have any hopes of making a run at a State qualifier... eventually there is going to be unfavorable weather conditions. Defensively, NW is always undersized. They struggled to stop the run the beginning of the year, but it appears there has been a few personnel adjustments on this side of the ball as well that has boded well. There's no doubt there were high expectations to begin the year with the athletes on the team, but on the contrary, the offensive and defensive lines (+ linebackers) were going to be the deciding factor in the outcome of this season. Overall, not too surprised with how the season has gone. Definitely not a disappointing one either. A win tomorrow night is much needed though after the past couple years...  Hopefully there are no surprises and NW is at full-force.  

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3 hours ago, US31 said:

So because NW lost to 6A (and potential sectional champ) Warsaw, and lost by less than a score (and could lose tomorrow) to 4A #9 Northridge...the community should throw the coaching staff under a buggy based on the preseason predictive abilities of random people? 

Bold strategy Cotton...

Like I said NW could go on a run here and everything is forgiven. But let's not act like a loss to NR tomorrow isn't going to have people questioning things. It goes back farther than this season, it's more than losing to Warsaw or Northridge in the regular season. Northwood has 1 sectional in the last 11 seasons. Just getting some conversation going. Honestly, this might the most intriguing sectional final in the state. Looking forward to a good ole' fashioned high school football game tomorrow

5 minutes ago, CTP said:

NW is the smallest school in the NLC and 4A for that matter. Don't forget that. 

What does being the smallest school in the NLC have to do with anything come playoff time? and they actually aren't the smallest school in 4A, there are 13 schools smaller than them and they already beat 2 of those schools in the first 2 rounds.

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43 minutes ago, npcougar15 said:

Like I said NW could go on a run here and everything is forgiven. But let's not act like a loss to NR tomorrow isn't going to have people questioning things. It goes back farther than this season, it's more than losing to Warsaw or Northridge in the regular season. Northwood has 1 sectional in the last 11 seasons. Just getting some conversation going. Honestly, this might the most intriguing sectional final in the state. Looking forward to a good ole' fashioned high school football game tomorrow

What does being the smallest school in the NLC have to do with anything come playoff time? and they actually aren't the smallest school in 4A, there are 13 schools smaller than them and they already beat 2 of those schools in the first 2 rounds.

You brought up their 9-3 record and the NLC.
Oh, sorry, a whopping “13 schools” are smaller. 

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The NW @ NR game is absolutely outstanding!   

Those that believe Coach Andrews isn't the answer...PULEEZE!   He an absolutely great Coach and mentor for that program!  

Coach Eppley @ NR is the same for that program!   

This one has CLASSIC written ALL over it.....

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Northwood vs. Northridge game is interesting because 2 good teams with contrasting styles.

Northridge is just what Northwood struggle with in a team with a strong O-line/running game and a physical defense.

Likewise Northridge struggles with teams like Northwood with speed and a dynamic passing game.

2 great teams and should be a good game. Winning the turnover margin will be the key.

This games shows how strong the NLC is as neither of these teams were top 2 in the conference.

 

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2 hours ago, Coach Lou said:

This games shows how strong the NLC is as neither of these teams were top 2 in the conference.

While it might be common with 1A-3A....how many conferences have schools spread somewhat evenly over 6A-4A??  Without any of them being P/P.

Two 6A, Two 5A, four 4A?  Maybe its more common than I think but it seems unusual...

NIC is a mess, so that is what it is....but definitley a big advantage for a good 4A program to be playing 5A & 6A schools all year.

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In regard to class size in the NLC...I think in the near future Warsaw will drop to 5A and Northridge will move up to 5A.  The Middlebury area is growing fast and the opposite for Warsaw.  If that were to happen...Warsaw would make 5A North really interesting.

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18 minutes ago, 00NWP said:

In regard to class size in the NLC...I think in the near future Warsaw will drop to 5A and Northridge will move up to 5A.  The Middlebury area is growing fast and the opposite for Warsaw.  If that were to happen...Warsaw would make 5A North really interesting.

Which... is interesting because of how the NLC decided on the schedule change that started last year, the Week 9 opponents were selected in an effort to make sure it matched up two teams who would be less likely to face each other in back-to-back weeks as Sectional opponents.

I will be interested to see if Warsaw does actuall fall to 6A. When the last enrollment process happened two years ago, they had a few abnormally low Junior and Senior class count. Those won't be included in the next calculation, and I think from what I have heard, the classes are all above 500 students currently.

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Good afternoon gentlemen! First time poster on here. Really looking forward to the Warsaw vs Penn game and Northwood vs Northridge. It's nice having "toss up" games... obviously anything can happen on any given Friday, but you know what I mean. These teams have made it to November, which is always a nice feat. Good luck to NLC schools!

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2 hours ago, NLCTigerFan07 said:

Which... is interesting because of how the NLC decided on the schedule change that started last year, the Week 9 opponents were selected in an effort to make sure it matched up two teams who would be less likely to face each other in back-to-back weeks as Sectional opponents.

I will be interested to see if Warsaw does actuall fall to 6A. When the last enrollment process happened two years ago, they had a few abnormally low Junior and Senior class count. Those won't be included in the next calculation, and I think from what I have heard, the classes are all above 500 students currently.

Looking at DOE data for Warsaw schools you are right...those two small classes are huge outliers....in fact I'd argue they will be alot closer to 2,200 in coming years than 2,000.

Northridge probably still has at least one more cycle in 4A....maybe more.  They need to leap frog 4 schools...even with Dwenger dropping back down the schools ahead of them aren't necessarily shrinking either..maybe Kokomo, but Kokomo has almost 100 kids over them already.

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