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DTs Dandy Dozen - Offseason Pigskin Prognostications


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1. Should be very interesting to see what Bart Curtis can do in year 2 at Warsaw.  The Tigers had an outstanding season in 2018 under Curtis, and one can can only assume that the program will burst forward in Year 2 as long as the talent holds up.  Warsaw has a potentially huge numbers advantage over other NLC schools, anticipating that more kids come out and want to get in on the action.  I look for a similar trajectory for Warsaw under Curtis as what we saw at Mishawaka.  

Big question for Curtis.  Can he move his program into state title contention in Class 6A?  Thats a big mountain to climb, but you've got to think its on his radar.  

2. Got a feeling we are going to see a similar program breakout from Homestead very soon.  These two programs could be positioning as the new big school standard bearers in NE Indiana.  Yes, Snider will have a say so in this argument.  The long term trends however favor the bigger suburban schools.

3. Not a big fan of the new Pike coaching hire, but Red Devil supporters seem to be pretty psyched about the hiring of Pat Echeverria.  I was expecting a bigger splash, given Pikes challenges in The MIC.  The program needs an identity.  It really has none at this point.  What is Coach E's signature imprint that he will put on the program that gives it a chance to move up the pecking order in The MIC?  

4. Lake Central is having a miserable boys basketball season, and we are hearing about the same lack of talent excuses that we heard about the football program.  This is a school with 3000 plus students, far and away the biggest in NW Indiana.  Where have all the athletes gone?  LC used to be a perennial threat in both sports, with plenty of D1 athletes spread out over the years.  Kids just are not playing high school sports like they used to.  LC might be one of the bigest victims of this current trend.

5. Has Laporte named a new HC?  This should be a gem of a job.  

6. John Rodenburg enters year 2 at Lawrence Central on the heels of a disappointing 4-7 season in 2018 in his first year at the helm of the Bears program.  Certainly expectations will be ratcheted up in year 2 for Rodenburgs program.  LC is blessed with an abundance of top level athletic talent.  At the top of their game, they have been able to compete toe to oe with the top MIC powers.  This is clearly why Roden burg chose this job in the first place.  Now, the pressure is on the staff to harness that talent and make a move i conference and post season play.

7. Fans will be watching for progress at Greenfield Central under first year HC Travis Nolting.  Nolting had a great run at 1A North Central Farmersburg.  Now, can he work his magic at the 5A level at a program that has sunk to all time depths?  Observers note that their is plenty of talent at the school.  Will they buy in to Coach Nolting's recruiting pitch?  

8. 

 

 

 

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7 minutes ago, DumfriesYMCA said:

Is it me or did DT eat 5 of his dandy dozen donuts? 

LOL

The edit function apparently is now on a timer and did not accept my multiple edits.  So I lost interest.  

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4 hours ago, DT said:

1. Should be very interesting to see what Bart Curtis can do in year 2 at Warsaw.  The Tigers had an outstanding season in 2018 under Curtis, and one can can only assume that the program will burst forward in Year 2 as long as the talent holds up.  Warsaw has a potentially huge numbers advantage over other NLC schools, anticipating that more kids come out and want to get in on the action.  I look for a similar trajectory for Warsaw under Curtis as what we saw at Mishawaka.  

You stole my own post/thoughts from the NLC 2019 thread 😛 I tease, but I agree it will be very interesting to see how the Tigers trend in year 2 under Coach Curtis after exceeding my personal expectations (7-3 overall, only 4 points away from an undefeated regular season and led Penn at halftime of their sectional game).

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1 hour ago, DumfriesYMCA said:

Is it me or did DT eat 5 of his dandy dozen donuts? 

They were contracted. 😈

Lord, I apologize for that.

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My understanding is that interviews at La Porte are underway.  There were lots of good applicants and hopefully there will be a resolution in the next few weeks.

Yes, Bob James publicly announced this week that he did not apply for the position.  Bob is the heart and soul of the program and we are so lucky to have him around.  

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Curious what the offensive scheme will be with Sharpe moving on.  Opponents will surely rejoice at the prospect of no longer preparing for the Power T backfield.  Does admin bring in another option guy?  Or does LaPorte move into the world of spread with the rest of the DAC?

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2 hours ago, slicer28 said:

This.

Though I laud the sentiment and fully support the "Joe" - not the "X and O," isn't this exactly what LaPorte did with the hire of Dave Sharpe? Passing up the "heart and soul of the program" to bring in another top-notch guy, with a specific offensive background, who was going to bring with him a specific approach to scoring points?  A nightmare for opposing coaches, the Slicers found immediate success, going 22-10 in his first three years.

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39 minutes ago, HanShotFirst said:

Though I laud the sentiment and fully support the "Joe" - not the "X and O," isn't this exactly what LaPorte did with the hire of Dave Sharpe? Passing up the "heart and soul of the program" to bring in another top-notch guy, with a specific offensive background, who was going to bring with him a specific approach to scoring points?  A nightmare for opposing coaches, the Slicers found immediate success, going 22-10 in his first three years.

Dave Sharpe was a great coach for this team and this town and personally I hated to see him go.  When Coach Sharpe was hired it was not because of the Power T.  He was hired because he was believed to be the best candidate.  I think the results he was able to get out of the program for the 4 years he was here is solid evidence that he was a great choice.  I have faith that the selection process this time around will produce another great selection.

Personally, I loved the Power T, but that wasn't the only reason those teams were successful.  There were good players and good coaches who all believed in each other and the systems they were running. Remember, the year before Coach Sharpe arrived La Porte was in the 5A state finals. 

I'm not going to theorize about why Coach James wasn't hired the last time around.  I love that guy and I'm so glad he's a part of our community.

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Very rare for a southern Indiana coach to come up this far north.  Might be a bit of a culture shock for the young man.  

Does he have Yankee roots?

Edited by DT
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3 hours ago, slicer28 said:

Played at Penn.

Correct!  Google suggests he played running back for Geesman in the late-80s, finishing as the 5A state runner-up to Carmel, losing 7-10.  Head coach at Paoli for the past two years, won a sectional and lead the 2A Rams to a 21-4 mark.  Looks like the flexbone offense will be alive and well at Kiwanis field!  Ought to make for a fun week two matchup as Penn and LaPorte will square off this season.

Edited by HanShotFirst
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On 1/21/2019 at 2:46 PM, TRCJunkie said:

We've been hearing the same thing about Homestead for a minimum of 2 years and up to 4 when they entered the SAC. Tremendous offensive talent and individual defensive talent. 

I live in the middle of Homestead country and I've heard the same thing from Homestead fans for 20 years. Meanwhile Carroll another suburban school has surpassed Homestead in my opinion.

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4 hours ago, HSFBFan64 said:

Prescott is on board at Huntington North. They open with Warsaw. What's the over/under for the time the game ends? 8:40 p.m. EDT?

Over. Too much scoring by one team creating “downtime”

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16 hours ago, jakone said:

I live in the middle of Homestead country and I've heard the same thing from Homestead fans for 20 years. Meanwhile Carroll another suburban school has surpassed Homestead in my opinion.

Homestead looks to be 10-5 against carroll over the last 10 years and has won 3 in a row.

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