Chip Shots: Dr. Seuss Trees, NLCs, NFTs, Bees...
September 3, 2022 at 3:41 a.m.
Chip Shots: Dr. Seuss Trees, NLCs, NFTs, Bees...
By Chip Davenport-
The Northern Lakes Conference (NLC) football squads have their non-conference schedules behind them. I tweeted several weeks ago the projected conference champion, barring unexpected events, was a five-team toss-up.
My prediction was about as reliable as my ability to speculate of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).
There are no hot takes for the projected NLC finishes from the results through week two. I believe the current standings accurately reflect the tiers of NLC football teams’ finish after the final whistle blows Friday October 14.
Is there wiggle room within the three NLC tiers? Let’s look.
Tier 1 - Mishawaka, NorthWood, and Warsaw head into NCL play with unbeaten records, and games among them will determine the champion. Player health throughout the season - and when these teams meet among themselves head-to-head - pass defense, and ball security will determine who hoists the NLC championship hardware in 2022.
NorthWood is typically a run-centric, physical program, and their athletes are conditioned for enduring two-way assignments against the two-platoon programs like Warsaw and Mishawaka. The Panthers have the edge in the passing game among the triumvirate of the NLC’s 2022 upper echelon, though. They’ll have a tougher time than they would in prior seasons throwing the ball behind the Cavemen and Tiger defenders, who’ve yet to see a receiver get away from them in regular season action. In fact, Mishawaka’s and Warsaw’s defenses yielded only 22 points between them heading into week three.
Tier 2 should have been the teams in Tier 3. Concord and Northridge, however, relocated here from Tier 1. These were teams whom I believed would reload despite losing a lot of starters to graduation.
Northridge, however, lost their returning quarterback, Tag Gott, to relocation, and he was a vital cog of continuity if there were a possibility of a 2022 reload. The Raiders will still be a tough out at home. Concord has size and athleticism, and the Minutemen will have a winning record possibly including a “W” from catching at least one Tier 1 team off balance because, after all, they’re teenagers, right?
Tier 3 – Goshen has been the toughest out in each of its first two games, and to their credit, they fared better than expected against New Prairie. Wawasee, who almost always sprinkles the gridiron with good athletes (specifically dangerous with the ball in space), continues to face yearly challenges in numbers, and relies on too many two-way players. If one two-way player is injured, the coaching staff must fill two slots.
Plymouth, outscored 100-7 in its first two weeks, has played two tough programs (East Noble, Kokomo), and it’s likely the margins of victory weren’t wider because the Rockies faced the “twos” and “threes” through most of the second half of each game. Plymouth will still be winless when they wake up Saturday, October 15.
The recent week 2 implosion of the IFCA coaches and AP IHSAA Class 5A football top 10 football has pundits resorting to exclamations of, “Preseason polls are stupid,” especially when seven of the top 10 teams lost August 26.
They’re not stupid, just highly speculative, especially in the preseason.
The polls serve well to target some big matchups each week, but the Indiana playoff system is all-inclusive, and does not seed any level so those who know their football don’t panic when the polls shift.
Enjoy, in the meantime, the high school football journey from now to Thanksgiving weekend.
My hat goes off to the coaches and media for going back to the drawing board after week two’s shakeup in Class 5A. Coaches poll participants are comprised of 10 voters, one head coach from each of the class’s eight sectionals and two at large head coaches. The Associated Press (AP) poll is comprised of 20 media members.
These spots aren’t raffled off at a fundraiser. The collective tribal knowledge is solid. 2022 polls are just going to be tough to call in Class 5A, and especially in classes 2A and 1A, where most of the top teams schedule upward to prepare for the playoffs.
September is here. Before we know it, those of us in press boxes throughout the Midwest will be sharing our space with yellow-jacket wasps and honeybees. I nudge the bees toward an open window, but the yellow-jacket wasps - who attack carbon dioxide emitters (namely me) with extreme prejudice - will get the swatter since they are nowhere near where they belong (eating aphids in gardens) when they’re in my press box.
Have a safe, fun Labor Day weekend.
The Northern Lakes Conference (NLC) football squads have their non-conference schedules behind them. I tweeted several weeks ago the projected conference champion, barring unexpected events, was a five-team toss-up.
My prediction was about as reliable as my ability to speculate of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).
There are no hot takes for the projected NLC finishes from the results through week two. I believe the current standings accurately reflect the tiers of NLC football teams’ finish after the final whistle blows Friday October 14.
Is there wiggle room within the three NLC tiers? Let’s look.
Tier 1 - Mishawaka, NorthWood, and Warsaw head into NCL play with unbeaten records, and games among them will determine the champion. Player health throughout the season - and when these teams meet among themselves head-to-head - pass defense, and ball security will determine who hoists the NLC championship hardware in 2022.
NorthWood is typically a run-centric, physical program, and their athletes are conditioned for enduring two-way assignments against the two-platoon programs like Warsaw and Mishawaka. The Panthers have the edge in the passing game among the triumvirate of the NLC’s 2022 upper echelon, though. They’ll have a tougher time than they would in prior seasons throwing the ball behind the Cavemen and Tiger defenders, who’ve yet to see a receiver get away from them in regular season action. In fact, Mishawaka’s and Warsaw’s defenses yielded only 22 points between them heading into week three.
Tier 2 should have been the teams in Tier 3. Concord and Northridge, however, relocated here from Tier 1. These were teams whom I believed would reload despite losing a lot of starters to graduation.
Northridge, however, lost their returning quarterback, Tag Gott, to relocation, and he was a vital cog of continuity if there were a possibility of a 2022 reload. The Raiders will still be a tough out at home. Concord has size and athleticism, and the Minutemen will have a winning record possibly including a “W” from catching at least one Tier 1 team off balance because, after all, they’re teenagers, right?
Tier 3 – Goshen has been the toughest out in each of its first two games, and to their credit, they fared better than expected against New Prairie. Wawasee, who almost always sprinkles the gridiron with good athletes (specifically dangerous with the ball in space), continues to face yearly challenges in numbers, and relies on too many two-way players. If one two-way player is injured, the coaching staff must fill two slots.
Plymouth, outscored 100-7 in its first two weeks, has played two tough programs (East Noble, Kokomo), and it’s likely the margins of victory weren’t wider because the Rockies faced the “twos” and “threes” through most of the second half of each game. Plymouth will still be winless when they wake up Saturday, October 15.
The recent week 2 implosion of the IFCA coaches and AP IHSAA Class 5A football top 10 football has pundits resorting to exclamations of, “Preseason polls are stupid,” especially when seven of the top 10 teams lost August 26.
They’re not stupid, just highly speculative, especially in the preseason.
The polls serve well to target some big matchups each week, but the Indiana playoff system is all-inclusive, and does not seed any level so those who know their football don’t panic when the polls shift.
Enjoy, in the meantime, the high school football journey from now to Thanksgiving weekend.
My hat goes off to the coaches and media for going back to the drawing board after week two’s shakeup in Class 5A. Coaches poll participants are comprised of 10 voters, one head coach from each of the class’s eight sectionals and two at large head coaches. The Associated Press (AP) poll is comprised of 20 media members.
These spots aren’t raffled off at a fundraiser. The collective tribal knowledge is solid. 2022 polls are just going to be tough to call in Class 5A, and especially in classes 2A and 1A, where most of the top teams schedule upward to prepare for the playoffs.
September is here. Before we know it, those of us in press boxes throughout the Midwest will be sharing our space with yellow-jacket wasps and honeybees. I nudge the bees toward an open window, but the yellow-jacket wasps - who attack carbon dioxide emitters (namely me) with extreme prejudice - will get the swatter since they are nowhere near where they belong (eating aphids in gardens) when they’re in my press box.
Have a safe, fun Labor Day weekend.
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