Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
football season, I came up with my own ranking system to rank every football team in the state this year. You've heard of the Sagarin rankings; well, I call these the Knavel Power Rankings. I suppose it was just something to keep me busy, but I think it does a pretty good job of ranking the teams in each class. As a matter of fact, most of the teams in my top 10 were also in the top 10 in the AP poll or the Coaches' poll.
Just as a point of reference, the top teams in the state ended with more than 300 rank points. The worst teams in the state were as low as -150 or worse. The average team ended somewhere around 10-20 points.
As the regular season comes to a close, I decided to hand out accolades, based on the ranking system, to those teams that deserve them. All rankings are according to my system unless noted otherwise.
NO. 1 TEAM IN THE STATE - Tri-West Hendricks. Despite playing in Class A, the Bruins received 336.5 points. Tri-West went 9-0 on the season and is also No. 1 in the AP and Coaches' polls in Class A. The last time Tri-West lost was in the state championship in 1995 to Carroll (Flora), a string of 23 consecutive wins. The Bruins won the state title last year with a 37-14 victory over Carroll and look like a solid bet to win it again.
TOP LOCAL TEAM - NorthWood. The Panthers ended the season with 131.75 rank points, good for a No. 9 3A ranking. The Panthers are the only ranked local team and should win the sectional championship, but could struggle in the regional or semistate.
WORST TEAM IN THE STATE - Edinburgh. At 0-9 on the season, the Lancers are handed an award they probably don't care to have. Edinburgh ended with -185.25 points this year after a 3-5 season last year. The Lancers returned 12 starters and expected to be improved, but struggled from week one.
WORST LOCAL TEAM - Manchester. In reality, the Squires are actually looking very good of late, especially after pounding Northfield 62-26 in the final game of the regular season. However, they are the only local team with fewer than four wins at 3-5 on the season. They have won two consecutive games to end the season, but must face No. 5 Madison-Grant in round one of the sectional. Manchester ends the regular season with -16.5 points and may surprise Madison-Grant for a short time, but will probably be overpowered in the end.
MOST IMPROVED LOCAL TEAM - Tippecanoe Valley. From week No. 1 to week No. 9, no team in the area improved more than the Vikings. However, Triton and Warsaw both pushed for the title of most improved team after winning seasons this year for the first time in quite some time. Tippecanoe Valley opened the season with losses to North Judson and Warsaw, but went 4-3 from that point on, losing to No. 9 Southwood by one point, No. 3 Rochester, and Whitko by six points. As a reward, Valley gets a game with West Noble, a team with one win, before meeting Northridge, another team with one win, to head to the sectional title game.
MOST DISAPPOINTING TEAM IN THE STATE - North Montgomery. From two-time state champions to pushovers. The Chargin' Chargers went 13-1 last year and won the state title. They were even ranked No. 3 in the AP preseason poll. That hope quickly disappeared as North Montgomery won just three regular season games this year. There were a few other teams close on the heels of the Chargers. Wabash went 7-4 last year and made a trip to the sectional championship, but are 0-9 this year. Fort Wayne Luers lost in the state finals last year, but are just 3-6 this year, despite having one of the toughest schedules in the state.
MOST DISAPPOINTING LOCAL TEAM - Whitko. Many people (including myself) felt that Whitko had a good shot at heading to the RCA Dome for the state championship, but now it will be lucky to win the sectional opener against No. 12 Angola after injuries decimated this team. However, the Wildcats are playing better of late with three wins in their last four games. The only loss was a one-point defeat at the hands of Class 2A No. 3 Rochester.
SURPRISE TEAM IN THE STATE - Pioneer. After a 6-3 record last year and a loss in their first game of the sectional, the Panthers were not expected to be a top-10 team despite returning 14 starters, including quarterback Tayt Odom and fullback Michael Pugh, who rushed for 1,206 yards last year. However, Pioneer is ranked No. 3 in the Knavel Rankings with 207.25 points in class A.
PREDICTED STATE CHAMPIONS - Class A, Tri-West; Class 2A, Jimtown; Class 3A, Zionsville; Class 4A, Vincennes Lincoln; Class 5A, Bloomington South
STATE OVERALL TOP 20 - 1. Tri-West, 2. Bloomington South, 3. Jimtown, 4. Zionsville, 5. Vincennes Lincoln, 6. Heritage Hills, 7. Tipton, 8. Fort Wayne Snider, 9. Penn, 10. Knightstown, 11. Goshen, 12. Hobart, 13. Ben Davis, 14. Rochester, 15. Homestead, 16. Lawrence Central, 17. Indy Chatard, 18. Avon, 19. Griffith, 20. Hagerstown
LOCAL TEAM PREDICTIONS BY KNAVEL RANKINGS
SECTIONAL ROUND ONE - No. 5 Homestead over No. 29 Warsaw by 24 points; No. 34 Wawasee over No. 53 South Bend LaSalle by 12 points; No. 26 Tippecanoe Valley over No. 53 West Noble by 11 points; No. 9 NorthWood over No. 35 Lakeland by 13 points; No. 12 Angola over No. 16 Whitko by 10 points; No. 5 Madison-Grant over No. 38 Manchester by 20 points; No. 28 Triton over No. 55 River Forest by 12 points
MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS - Homestead is just too good to be stopped by Warsaw. I have seen the Tigers play some great football, but I don't know that their best game of the year will be enough. Wawasee should win by about two touchdowns. Valley will probably win by at least 20 points. NorthWood will flex its muscles and run away from Lakeland. Whitko may upset Angola in a very tight game. The Wildcats have been playing better and this is the time for senior-dominated teams to rise to the occasion. Manchester will actually push Madison-Grant, but the Squires will just be overpowered in the end. Triton will win by about two touchdowns. The Trojans still haven't impressed me with big-play capabilities offensively, but have a great defense and should have no trouble knocking off River Forest.
