Big School Division
(2-0) West Noble Chargers (1st Big, 1st Overall)
- Last Week: W 20-12 vs Wawasee
- This Week: Friday @ Eastside
- Series Record vs Eastside (1975): 18-17
- Have Started the Season 3-0 in 4 of their last 6 seasons
Coming off a tough home win over a scrappy Wawasee team, West Noble continues to find ways to make the big plays when matter most. Despite Wawasee’s best efforts containing Drew Yates and their other talented players, they were not able to fully slow down the fun game as the Chargers produced over 300 yards on the ground.
But clearly the Chargers have yet to play their best football right now, despite a promising offensive line and a lot of young and talented kids that play hard. Week 1 showcased how dominant this team can be on both sides of the ball. Week 2 was Wawasee pushing West Noble to their limits, showing just how much they need to get better to achieve their goals.
If there’s consistency with this program besides Monte Mawhorter being in his 25th season, they are their work ethic and a strong defense. Those have been the things that have stood strong even when the Pistol Spread isn’t always looking explosive. Better days are ahead for West Noble, but the challenges ahead of them will get stronger as the season progresses.
A road trip to Eastside presents unique challenges, especially against an elite frontline and a strong power spread running attack. For West Noble, they will need to win the war of attrition and avoid making too many mistakes. The offense and defense will find its way as long as they can win those two key points.
(2-0) Lakeland Lakers (2nd Big, 2nd Overall)
- Last Week: W 61-39 vs Churubusco
- This Week: Friday @ Prairie Heights
- Series vs PH (1966): 47-10
- 55th Milk Can Game
One of the oldest traveling trophies in the area is one that doesn’t have a ton of memories outside of LaGrange. But the memories from this game bring a sense of camaraderie and a reflection of small-town community support.
Unfortunately, this game hasn’t recently been known as a competitive one as Lakeland has claimed the Milk Can in each of the last 19 meetings….and will be heavily favored to win their 20th straight against winless Prairie Heights.
Despite Busco’s tremendous effort and fight, Lakeland’s confidence, resilience, and big-game performances eventually paved way to Lakeland’s best start since 2013 and the most points scored in a game in nearly 5 years.
To tell you how dominant Lakeland was, the Lakers’ Shotgun offense contributed to 615 yards of total offense, the second most in program history. Sean Conley ran for 233 yards and 4 touchdowns on 26 carries. Brayden Holbrook threw for 295 yards and 2 TD passes, Keyan Arroyo caught 5 passes for a career best 121 yards and a score, and Cole Frost had 3 catches for 124 yards and another score (1 of those catches was an 82-yard touchdown catch).
Lakeland has had interesting ways of winning games, but the difference this year has been the maturation and confidence with the team. It’s no longer just Brayden Holbrook or Carson Mickem. Now it’s Frost, Arroyo, Merrifield, Cook, and a strong offensive line led by Cam Riegling and Bo Kerns.
The key with Lakeland is can they maintain that level of focus and execution each week. A team that’s still young has a learning phase to get to. Maybe it’s here and we don’t truly know yet. But what we do know is, Lakeland football is indeed a contender in the NECC Big School Division.
(0-2) Angola Hornets (3rd Big, 4th Overall)
- Last Week: L 42-17 @ Leo
- This Week: Friday vs John Glenn
- First Series Meeting
Angola has had a tough first two weeks playing at DeKalb and Leo. But I think what has been even tougher has been their starts, particularly on defense. In both games, it has been the defense that has hurt Angola in a huge way, and a lot of it has to do with it being a defense that’s younger and less experienced. Yes, the seniors are still there on that end, but the big time studs they had a year ago….graduated and this year’s group as a whole doesn’t have that same edge.
The irony of all of this is the growth with Angola’s younger guys, particularly with quarterback Hawk Hasselman. Here comes the Hawk! Hasselman has quickly found himself as one of the NECC’s rising stars of the season, and the thing is no one aside from the NECC really knows that right now. Hawk with his explosive speed, tremendous athleticism, and having a solid arm have changed how good this offense can be with the run-oriented Pistol Option.
When the frontline is performing well, this is a decent Angola team that can win some games. The issue is can the Hornets start off games better, and can they stay out of the injury bug? So far, the injuries haven’t really hurt them yet, but tough games are coming for Angola too.
John Glenn is coming off a 20-0 loss to Riley, and this is a team that has two tremendous running backs that have a lot of speed, and they have a secondary that can give the Hornets some issues. The key is going to be containing the run and tackling better, which has not looked great at times. But this is a winnable game for Angola. Glenn isn’t as talented as Leo or DeKalb. But Glenn is a good team that will be fundamentally sounded.
(1-1) Fairfield Falcons (4th Big, 5th Overall)
(Up 1 in Both Division and NECC Rankings)
- Last Week: L 39-13 @ Heritage
- This Week: Friday vs Central Noble
- Series vs CN (1980): 27-20
Much like Bellmont, the Falcons ran into a buzzsaw in Monroeville. But what really hurt Fairfield was not being able to execute in key moments particularly on a 4th and Goal from the 2 that would have cut into that deficit to a 7-point Heritage lead rather than 14. As Kolkman told me in a phone call the day after that game, that 4th down stop really was the defining moment of this game because that would have created a seed of doubt for Heritage and giving Fairfield a sense of hope.
To the Falcons’ defense, they really pushed the Patriots to throw the ball more than they would like. But Kobe Meyer is not your ordinary quarterback either because the way he perfectly threw those balls in the air…it was special. Kobe Meyer is having numbers that even compete with East Central’s Josh Ringger.
However, for Fairfield to be successful this fall, they will need to continue to improve with the details and the Wishbone has to have strong performances. They have the players and personnel to do it, now it’s can they consistently perform at the level they’re capable of.
(0-2) Garrett Railroaders (5th Big, 6th Overall)
(Down 1 in Both Division and NECC Rankings)
- Last Week: L 42-13 vs DeKalb
- This Week: Friday vs Churubusco
- Series vs Busco (1964): 17-11
So far, the start to this year is reminiscent in some ways to the start of last year. While Garrett showed improvement against DeKalb and Adams Central, at the end of the day, they want to be competitive in the games that matter most. Two weeks into the season, Fairfield has played better football so far than Garrett.
But when looking at the talent across the board, there’s plenty of potential for the Big Train to turn it around. A huge Week 3 game vs Busco in the Maroon Monsoon game. Can the Big Train stop the Wing-T and get some offense going? Garrett has been banged up so far, but a win Friday could go a long way in turning their season around.
