Week 15 Picks Recap:  2008 NW Indiana High School Football

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

December 2, 2008

 

 

'Mr. Picker' WEEK 15, 2008 Football Picks in Review: 2008 State Championships Wrong - 1; Right - 4 = 80.0%
The Pick	The Result
Class A
Cardinal Ritter 38, Sheridan 28	Cardinal Ritter 34-27
Class 2A
Heritage Christian 38, Lewis Cass 17	Heritage Christian 17-14
Class 3A
Evansville Memorial 42, Bellmont 21	WRONG... Bellmont 28-14
Class 4A
Cathedral 28, Bishop Dwenger 10	Cathedral 10-7
Class 5A
Center Grove 42, Carmel 28	Center Grove 36-33

WEEK-FIFTEEN (15) RECAP from Friday-Saturday, November 27-28, 2008:   I thought Memorial was the better team but they never got started against Bellmont.      Memorial out-gained the Braves 340-281 and they always seemed on the verge of scoring points in a row, but Memorial wide receiver Nick Hall, who they say has played his last football game (he's a big baseball prospect) scored four TDs over Ben Davis by almost the exact score.  Bellmont was 3-of-13 on third down and punted five times and still won.

Memorial drew eight penalties and a couple knocked out big gains.  I have to admit, if they played again, I'd still take Memorial.

The best games, as many thought, were the 1A and 5A games.  Sheridan had their run of three consecutive state championships broken and they may not be back for awhile.  But Ritter's Ross Hendrickson, who was 27 of 43 for 427 yards in the state final game, will be back in 2009 as a senior.

In 2A, Heritage Christian returns QB Jackson Kirtley, who finished with 45 TD passes and 1,000-yard running Austin Olvey, back so they'll be favored to get back to the finals.  Cass returns a lot of their players, but they lose 1500-yard rusher Colton Zeck and D-1 Lineman Kit O'Brien (6-7, 318), so they are unlikely to reach the finals again.

In 3A, it's hard to see Bellmont or Evansville Memorial return to the finals.  I thought both were somewhat fortunate to get there.

In Class 4A, the Dwenger-Cathedral game was the biggest disappointment of the state finals.  Both teams have a good defense, but there's no way that's a 10-7 game with the speed Cathedral has.  These teams totaled 330 yards.  Both teams.  Combined.

No. 53 for Cathedral.  Jamiru Kakpindi.  Eleven solo tackles.  The Cathedral Irish graduate a lot, but they have a way of 'developing' new players.

The 5A game where Center Grove rallied from a 33-14 deficit to win was as dramatic as any game since Lowell came from 13 down in the fourth quarter to beat Roncalli in 2005 for the 4A title.

Many feel that no kicking team should ever recover an onside kick.  When Notre Dame gave up two onside kicks against Navy, it was Charlie Weis' fault.  So I guess Carmel, which allowed Center Grove to recover two onside kicks, is badly coached, right?

Some sports people don't like to admit it, but sometimes you get lucky and win a game you shouldn't have won.  That's what Center Grove did and more power to them.

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2008 State Championships

Class A
Sheridan (13-1) vs. Ritter (14-0)

Ritter 38, Sheridan 28


Class 2A
Lewis Cass (13-1) vs. Heritage Christian (13-1)

Heritage Christian 38, Lewis Cass 17


Class 3A
Bellmont (13-1) vs. Evansville Memorial (12-2)

Evansville Memorial 42,  Bellmont 21


Class 4A
Bishop Dwenger (14-0) vs. Cathedral (11-2)

Cathedral 28, Bishop Dwenger 10


Class 5A
Carmel (13-1) vs. Center Grove (13-1)

Center Grove 42, Carmel 28

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'Mr. Picker's Recent Picking Record

2008 (Week 15)  4 of 5   = 80.0%
2008 (Week 14)  7 of 10   = 70.0%
2008 (Week 13)  16 of 20   = 80.0%
2008 (Week 12)  12 of 16   = 75.0%
2008 (Week 11)  14 of 16   = 87.5%
2008 (Week 10)  24 of 28   = 85.7%
2008 (Week 9)  9 of 11   = 81.8%
2008 (Week 8)  11 of 12   = 91.8%
2008 (Week 7)  5 of 10   = 50.0%
2008 (Week 6)  9 of 11   = 81.9%
2008 (Week 5)  5 of 10   = 50.0%
2008 (Week 4)  7 of 10   = 70.0%
2008 (Week 3)  7 of 12   = 58.3%
2008 (Week 2)  6 of 10   = 60.0%
2008 (Week 1)  9 of 12   =  75.0%
2008 Regular Season:  68 of 98 = 69.3%
2008 Playoff Season:  77 of 95 = 80.1%
2008 (final) OVERALL:  145 of 193 = 75.1%
2007 (final) OVERALL:  143 of 188 = 76.0%
2006 (final) OVERALL:  166 of 217 = 76.4%
2005 (final) OVERALL:  170 of 233 = 72.9%

Everything is on hold until spring (I believe) when we find out who moves to what sectional.  On the state finals broadcast, there was a mention that 1A champ Ritter expects to be 2A in 2009.  That can happen in a lot of places.  In Northwest Indiana, the expectation is that Griffith moves to Class 4A in 2009, which puts the Panthers back in the same sectional with Andrean.

Wirt will close in June of 2009 and a Gary consolidation may leave Roosevelt without sports, which drops two 3A teams out of the sectional bracket and may keep Griffith 3A.  The largest question is about the inevitability of a Class 6A in Indiana football.  The only people who feel it won't happen aren't doing the math.  There were 317 football-playing schools in 2008.  The present six-week, five-class format only accommodates 320 teams.  It's that simple.

So there are two major changes possible for 2009.  Also, there is a dispute over rental of the new Lucas Oil Stadium for the state finals, so there is a remote possibility (very remote) that the finals will move outdoors, which would cut attendance in half, if not more.

The Saturday state finals attendance (40,000) was a sign that football is still on the rise in Indiana.  Sellouts of state finals' games are possible.  But not outdoors.  Pro fans go to games outdoors in the winter, but there's a lot of alcohol sold at those games.  Sober people who are not relatives will not pay $15 to games outdoors in late November.


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Revised: December 04, 2008 .