BIG SCHOOL DIVISION
SuperSam is back for Year 2 of talking High School Sports, and we are now one week into the young season. In the NECC, there are two divisions, so today we will look at the Big School Division. Week 1, we saw some superhero performances out of big-time studs in this division. West Noble dominated Central Noble to win the Victory Bell, Lakeland upsetting South Bend St. Joe, and Fairfield with a statement win over Goshen.
Just remember, we are in the Honeymoon stage of a new season. It’s the worst time of the year because sometimes we let reactions and emotions get the best of us. It is also known as the season of hot takes and overreactions. I hope that my rankings provide the best efforts to create strong analysis, without letting emotions being involved. It’s still my opinion at the end of the day, so differing minds are welcomed.
So, without further ado, let’s begin!
West Noble Chargers (1st Big, 1st Overall)
- Last Week: W 47-7 @ Central Noble
- This Week: Friday vs Wawasee (0-1)
- Series Record vs Wawasee (1970): 5-8
- West Noble has won each of the last two meetings for the first time since 2018.
- Notable Performance: Seth Pruitt 17 Carries 157 yards 4 TDs
If you watched this game, which I did, it wasn’t close at all. The entire game saw a West Noble team completely unfazed by the moment as they respected CN’s athleticism and showed a great deal of preparation. Up front, the offensive line was eating all game long, creating huge holes for Seth Pruitt to do his thing in the backfield, and allowing Drew Yates to get on rhythm with this motion Pistol spread offense.
Defensively, the Chargers were just as good frustrating Brody Morgan at quarterback, eliminating the running game, and giving the Cougars zero confidence to come back from this game. Central Noble will eventually figure things out, but it is clear who is the best team in the NECC right now. Go to War Miss Agnes! Look no further than the Best from the West.
The other guys are just as good with Jordan Eash making a great leaping grab on triple coverage to get a TD, McKale Bottles and Xavier Yates with strong all-around games, Trevor Steele was a ‘Man of Steel’ up front, and even guys like Lucas Conway and Ethan Yates joined the fun. If you are a fan of the Los Caballos Grandes, you were smiling from ear to ear that night.
The bell has rung, the message has been sent: West Noble has eyes on big things this fall. But they will need to keep that aggression and focus strong into this week against another long-time rival in the NLC’s Wawasee Warriors. Separating by just 11 miles, driving by Lake Wawasee, these two have become strong rivals in all sports. Wawasee lost to Kosciusko County rival Tippy Valley 23-12. So, knowing how tough the NLC is, Wawasee really needs this next game. So, don’t let the records fool you. Wawasee is a hard-working bunch and will give West Noble a game. Charger Country is going to be rocking on Friday.
Lakeland Lakers (2nd Big, 2nd Overall)
- Last Week: W 33-28 @ South Bend St. Joeseph
- This Week: Friday vs Churubusco (0-1)
- Series Record vs Busco (1964): 17-24
- Lakeland has lost their last 7 meetings to Busco (2015)
- Lakeland’s last 2-0 start: 2013
- Notable Performance: Carson Mickem 12 carries for 134 yards and a TD, and 6 catches for 57 yards and a TD
Coach O’Shea tested this team early on whether this team can overcome adversity regardless of the tremendous talent this team has. A season cannot be defined by one game, but so far Lakeland has at least passed one hurdle. Despite trailing by one at the half, the Lakers responded with great poise in the second half. Mickem had a great game all-around, especially in the first half. Sophomore QB Brayden Holbrook was Brayden Holbrook in the second half leading his team to a come-from-behind win.
The backfield also saw another sophomore in Sean Conley who had quite the start to his season rushing for 112 yards on 19 carries. The receiver depth is strong with Cole Frost, Levi Cook, and Keegan Merrifield. Bo Kerns and Cam Riegling anchored the frontline and commanded a blue-collar group of hard-working players with a combined 12 total tackles.
Lakeland wanted to show that they can compete with anyone. Last Friday showed they did that and then some. Now, they need to continue to build on this success throughout the season beginning with this week’s game against Churubusco, who has had their number over the last 8 years. But the last few games showed that Lakeland *can* beat them if they can put it together and finish. Now, Busco’s loss to Columbia City looks bad, but let’s be realistic here. If you have followed Busco and CC, there was no chance Busco was beating CC right now. So, I cannot look too much into that game.
I expect Busco to be more competitive in this game, and frankly they’re going to have to be better if they’re going to have a chance to win at the Swamp. But for Lakeland, it is important to stay evenly keel, improve their games, and focus on the next game. Remember, this is still a young team, so they still have to learn how to win. Week 1 showcased the first signs of maturity.
Angola Hornets (3rd Big, 4th Overall) (Down 1 from Last Week in Overall NECC Rankings)
- Last Week: L 34-21 @ DeKalb
- This Week: Friday @ Leo
- Series Record vs Leo (2003): 4-10
- Last Win vs Leo: Aug. 24, 2018 (26-0 @ Angola)
- Key Performance: Hawk Hasselman 135 passing yards 3 TDs, 2 INT’s
Angola did not have a great Week 1 at DeKalb, and if you saw the tape, DeKalb absolutely came to play Friday. There’s an argument to be made that the Barons have one of two or three best offensive lines in the NE8, and it’s a very talented conference. DeKalb’s offensive line was buzzing all night long, and there was no stopping that line whatsoever. They were that good. Aaden Lytle had a strong game throwing for 240 yards and 4 TDs (all 4 TDs going to Caden Pettis). Pettis looked like the best receiver on the field that night. Period.
I was not that impressed with Angola’s defense in this game. I don’t know. It just felt like a case of DeKalb outplaying Angola, and the Hornets despite their efforts had no answer. If there’s a positive note on this, Hawk Hasselman looks like the QB1 moving forward, and my goodness this guy can flat out run. Hawk is a freak athlete on a team full of athletes, and he showed great chemistry with running back Brayden Duke, receiver Micah Steury, and tight end Lane King.
The Pistol Option looked fine for what it was in Week 1, because Angola is still showing off their tremendous speed with the jet sweeps and their athletic abilities. The offensive line when they’re blocking well looked decent. My concerns come with turnovers and being able to consistently get stops. Personally, I do think some of that was DeKalb having a dangerous offensive unit, but there are questions Angola must answer in the coming weeks ahead.
Going to Leo is a very tough task because this is a stacked Leo team in every aspect of the game, and they are frustrated that they didn’t get out of Kokomo with a win after having the lead late in the 4th quarter. At the same time though, this Leo team is not going to let this loss rattle them. So Angola, you’re in for a tough road trip.
Garrett Railroaders (4th Big, 5th Overall) (Down 1 in Overall NECC Rankings)
- Last Week: L 42-8 @ Adams Central
- This Week: Friday vs DeKalb
- Series Record vs DeKalb (1967): 12-30
- DeKalb has won 3 of the past 4 meetings.
- Key Performance: Alex Guzman 14 carries for 64 yards
The road trip to Adams Central may look like all is doom and gloom for the Big Train. But I have a different approach to this one. Compared to last year, Garrett has already showed signs of major improvement from 2022. Garrett only trailed 14-0 at the half. People will make excuses because of points A and B or whatever it is. The thing is Garrett competed with the best 1A program in Northern Indiana for an entire half……open your eyes, people.
This core at Garrett is starting to figure out what it takes to win in October. I am not saying any one of these guys are pleased that they lost 42-8, but you learn so much more from losses. And let me tell you, if Garrett can have this level of compete and effort every game for all four quarters, the Big School Division has a nemesis waiting for them because this team has big-time gamers.
Look, I am not going to lose sweat on this game. AC is a beast and may very well win state in their class if all their cards go their way. But a team should never be ranked based solely on if they won or lost. And I don’t think it’s fair at all to drop Garrett just because they easily lost to the hardest Week 1 opponent in the 260. They only dropped because someone else played better that night.
The game I am curious to see what happens is the DeKalb game, and that’s a game everyone will be watching because it is one of the better rivalry games in the 260. Can the Big Train slow the Barons’ spread that has Lytle and Pettis? But a bigger question is: can they contain Caiden Hinkle and that running game? The Barons have studs, but so does Garrett. I think it’s going to be a much more competitive game than people will give credit.
Fairfield Falcons (5th Big, 6th Overall)
- Last Week: W 29-6 Goshen
- This Week: Friday @ Heritage
- First Ever Meeting
- Fairfield was 2-0 to start last season (2022)
- Key Performance: Brecken Maran 16 carries for 129 yards and 4 tackles on defense.
Despite only leading 8-6 at the half, the offensive line did its job in the second half blocking extremely well and showcasing their depth that they have been excited about all summer long. That Fairfield Wishbone is one of the hardest schemes to run or prepare for. It’s a team that blocks so well, tackles so well, and it’s a team that is very well-coached. You can’t run a scheme this difficult if you don’t have good kids, some athletic abilities, and a great coaching staff. That’s what Fairfield has.
Alex Hofer and Kasey Hershberger were exceptional in their blocking assignments and the O-Line was strong in being able to generate routes that exploited Goshen’s weaknesses, especially as the night went on. Watch for Sawyer Ernsberger moving forward because he’s starting to figure out his routes as a half back, and that kind of depth is why Fairfield will never be out of games.
Despite that, it’s hard to judge the last 3 teams in this division. Angola ran into a buzzsaw in DeKalb’s O-Line, Garrett played Adans Central on the road, and Fairfield (no offense) did not play a team that suggests Fairfield as a team worthy of moving up in the rankings yet.
Now, my NECC Game of the Week on Around the Northeast Corner will feature their game at Heritage. That is going to be a sleeper game of the week in this area. I know everyone’s going to be watching that East Noble-Snider game, and rightfully so. But it’s going to be fun to see two great coaches (Matt Thacker of Fairfield and Casey Kolkman of Heritage) have their teams compete with each other as quality 3A teams to see what their team is made of. The Wishbone vs the Spread.
Can Fairfield find a way to generate just enough offense to hold a lead? Can they contain Heritage’s talented QB in Kobe Meyer? Heritage with their 29 seniors makes them one of the state’s most experienced teams. The Patriots will need to win the battle in the trenches and control the clock early to possibly have the upper end. I am excited for this game.
