It’s only been a week since SuperSam made his destination to SummitCitySports from Smallville, KS. As they say on “The Wizard of Oz”, this isn’t Kansas anymore. The Fort has welcomed Clark Ke-*Cough*…excuse me…. The Man of Steel with open arms. It doesn’t reach the hype of SAC rivalry week, but this week should keep the Big School Division buzzing.

Big School Division

1. Angola Hornets 4-2, 3-0 (Big) (Clinched a Share)

You should know by now who still reigns supreme in the Big School Division. I know A-Town loves to go CRAZY for their Stingy Hornets. Friday wasn’t just your ordinary night at Lake James as Week 6 saw Angola take one massive leap closer to an outright division title as they clinched at least a share with a 39-6 win over Fairfield. The Purple Craze was Jumpin’ Around from pregame until the final horn sounded. If you were repping MEAN GOLD and STINGER PURPLE, you couldn’t keep that smile off your face.

Angola’s Front 7 showed flashbacks that highlighted Angola’s Golden Age of the Legion of Boom as every Hornet turned into Shazam! with one mighty tackle and a wave of energy. Ethan Miller showcased his brilliance on defense where he was FLYING LIKE A BEAVER and STINGING LIKE A BEE! On this night, Fairfield got to learn about the wrath of Ethan Miller as he recorded 5 mammoth hits with 4 of them being TFL’s.

Just when you thought there are only snake pits in Whitley County, that is no longer true because Jake the Snake has now become a bi-county phenomenon. No, I am not talking about SummitCitySports’ Jake the Snake…..I am talking about Angola’s Jake Land, who laid down the hammer against Fairfield’s big boys with a nice 2.5 TFL’s, including one on 4th and 1.

Angola ran all over the Fairfield Falcons as they contributed 337 yards of total offense and held Fairfield to just 86 total yards. At one point in the third quarter, Angola’s rushing defense, which ranks 2nd in the NECC, was so good that the Falcons’ wishbone offense was going backwards to a minuscule -17 rushing yards. As of right now, no other Hornet, besides Tyler Call, has been hotter on the offensive side of the ball than Andre Tagliaferri, who has 6 TD’s in the last two games alone. When it comes to football, Andre is not out here to play tag, because he’s out there to dominate. Tyler Call now leads the NECC in rushing yards with 722, which just beats out Lakeland’s Kham Malaivanh and his 718 rushing yards.

Angola is averaging 265 rushing yards per game, which only trails Eastside. Week 7 will see Angola use its superhero capes to make the long, adventurous bus ride to Mishawaka. There they will face a struggling Marian program that is off to its worst start since 2008.

Mishawaka Marian lost 42-3 to Penn in Week 6, and they were held to just 99 yards of total offense. Can the Hornets make it four straight wins? Stay Tuned!

2. West Noble Chargers 5-1, 2-1 (Big)

Located in Ligonier, IN (Noble County)

3A Sectional 26

Current Ranking: 2nd Big School Division; 3rd NECC

Previous Ranking: 2nd Big School Division; 3rd NECC

Previous Outing: W 40-14 Garrett

Next Game: 9/30 @ Lakeland

• Head-to-Head Series: 36-23 Lakeland
• First Meeting: 10/23/1968 Lakeland won 14-0 at Lakeland
• Last Meeting: 10/01/2021 Lakeland won 14-11 at West Noble
• Lakeland has won 16 of their last 18 meetings against West Noble (last WN win v. Lakeland came 10/04/2019 in a 54-12 Charger win)

Initially, I wasn’t buying into the outside noise that was coming from Charger Country, home of the Charger House and Casa Macias Mexican Restaurant. Week 6 was a fiesta in Ligonier as fans witnessed the ‘los caballos grandes’ dominate in every aspect of the game against Garrett. For the third time in the last four weeks, the Chargers continue to “Pru-ve-itt”.

Speaking of Pruitt, Seth Pruitt had another monster game with another 126 yards on 21 carries as West Noble ran for 293 yards. A key stand-out on defense was the true freshman McKale Bottles, who continues to show why he belongs on the big stage with his electric 9 total tackles, 4 TFLs, a fumble recovery, and a thunderous 4 sacks. He could be a NECC Rookie of the Year candidate in 2022.

When you have as many stallions as West Noble does, you are bound to have a big season as their overall offense only trails Eastside in the NECC, and the Charger defense ranks third in the conference. West Noble leads the entire NECC in passing defense allowing opponents to just 92.5 passing yards per game.

They will make the 30-minute bus ride to the Swamp in LaGrange, IN, to take on an up-and-coming Lakeland Lakers team that has built a tremendous rivalry these days with West Noble.

3. Fairfield Falcons 4-2, 0-2 (Big) 

Located in Goshen, IN (Elkhart County)

3A Sectional 26

Current Ranking: 3rd Big School Division; 5th NECC

Previous Ranking: 3rd Big School Division; 4th NECC

Previous Outing: L 39-6 at Angola

Next Game: 9/30 vs Garrett

• Head-to-Head Series: 11-8 Garrett
• First Meeting: 8/30/1985 Fairfield won 28-12 at Fairfield
• Last Meeting: 9/24/2021 Fairfield won 16-7 at Garrett
• Fairfield is looking to avoid having consecutive seasons with a three-game skid for the first time since their 0-9 2018 season.

Remember back in Week 4 when it looked like maybe the Falcons were legit contenders in the Big School Division? If the last two weeks showed me anything, it’s the fact those title dreams are done. Fairfield’s offense went from wishbone to crushed bone in a matter of two weeks, and they need to turn the tides fast.

When you get outscored 72-13, this is not a fluke. This is a trend. While Fairfield’s wishbone offense still ranks fourth in the NECC in rushing at 224 yards per game (behind Busco, Angola, and Eastside ), it has only mustered a combined 245 rushing yards in the last two weeks. Now, Matt Thacker has said this is a team that is dealing with some injuries lately, which is probably true considering the grind of Fairfield’s schedule and their level of preparation. But it doesn’t take ‘Spidey-Senses’ to know there is a lacking confidence in being a little more willing to throw the ball.

In their loss to Angola, Fairfield threw the ball one time, and that was a 21-yard completion to Alex Hofer. Look, the Man of Steel gets the concept here: build an Iron Wall of tremendous studs and size up front and dominate the pound-and-ground game. But at some point, Fairfield is going to run into better competition that has the dawgs to steamroll the wishbone.

If they were to draw Jimtown or West Noble in sectionals, right now they’re going to have a disadvantage. The good news for Fairfield is the schedule opens up this week with a home-field advantage against winless Garrett, followed by another home game against Lakeland the week after.

The bad news is, unlike cats, falcons don’t get nine lives. They need to ride the ship and steer it back to its winning ways quickly.

4. Lakeland Lakers 3-3, 1-1 (Big)

Located in LaGrange, IN (LaGrange County)

3A Sectional 26

Current Ranking: 4th Big School Division; 6th NECC

Previous Ranking: 4th Big School Division; 6th NECC

Previous Outing: W 49-20 at Central Noble

Next Game: 9/30 vs West Noble

• Head-to-Head Series: 36-23 Lakeland
• First Meeting: 10/23/1968 Lakeland won 14-0 at Lakeland
• Last Meeting: 10/01/2021 Lakeland won 14-11 at West Noble
• Since 2006, Lakeland is 7-1 at The Swamp against West Noble (Their only loss during that stretch was 10/03/2014 where West Noble clinched the first ever NECC Big School Division with a 36-20 win)

Going into Week 6, everyone including yours truly was entertained at the idea of a true offensive shootout between two talented quarterbacks. All it took was the first play from scrimmage to destroy all these expectations. Normally as a wideout, Coach O’Shea made a pretty bold move to put Troyer under center and then use him on a jet sweep for a 56-yard touchdown run. Troyer would go on to produce 191 total yards and 4 TD’s.

Remember that Kham Malaivanh guy? Brayden Holbrook connected on a short screen pass to Kham, who found a huge hole to the right side and exploded for an 83-yard touchdown. Kham also had 191 total yards with 3 TD’s. Yes, we had a game where Lakeland’s top wide receiver scored on a massive touchdown run followed by their number one running back scoring on an even bigger touchdown.

I am not sure what kinds of fast-food LaGrange likes to cook, but the Lakeland offensive line should be getting some steak for blocking their tails off. And let’s not forget THE freshman himself Brayden Holbrook who threw ONLY 14 times for 258 yards and 4 scores. Fans saw him putting on a show, and the maturity and talent of Holbrook is beyond these words.

Now, we will find out if they can build off of this win Friday against West Noble, and their strong defensive unit.

5. Garrett Railroaders 0-6, 0-2 (Big)

Located in Garrett, IN (DeKalb County)

3A Sectional 27

Current Ranking: 5th Big School Division; 8th NECC

Previous Ranking: 5th Big School Division; 8th NECC

Previous Outing: L 40-14 at West Noble

Next Game: 9/30 at Fairfield

• Head-to-Head Series: 11-8 Garrett
• First Meeting: 8/30/1985 Fairfield won 28-12 at Fairfield
• Last Meeting: 9/24/2021 Fairfield won 16-7 at Garrett
• Garrett’s combined 8-game losing streak, which dates to Week 9 of last season, is the longest combined losing streak since 1999, when Garrett lost 9 straight from 9/28/1998 to 9/10/1999. Thankfully, this isn’t the worst combined skid ever as the program record for the longest combined losing streak in Garrett history is 19 (10/08/1948-10/25/1950).

Let’s make this clear; I love the great Garrett fans and their hardcore football fans. It is reminiscent of Smallville, where football reigns supreme and everyone is a part of something bigger.

However, the struggles from the first five weeks continued into their week 6 game in Ligonier, where the Chargers pounded the ball, and the turnover bugaboo became a problem.

If there’s any good news about Garrett right now, it’s the sudden breakout performances from senior Robert Koskie. In his last two games, Koskie is averaging 138 rushing yards per game and 8.12 yards per carry. If they can get these types of numbers from him, Garrett could see some good vibes coming soon.

The offensive line does not get nearly enough credit because (well) the young defense has faced tremendous growing pains that overlook the O-Line. Kyle Smith, Jack O’Connor, Aiden Hunt, and Nate Wells are among several guys that are really starting to gel on offense, and they’re slowly getting that lunch pale Garrett offense in the right direction, along with Luke Holcomb being a nice go-to target for Calder Hefty.

Now, the question becomes: can Garrett consistently play four quarters of smack-mouth Garrett football? It seems like they’re coming in portions, but we are still waiting to see that. Garrett’s rushing defense is dead last in the NECC (231 yards per game), and it will need to stop the heavily reliant rushing attack that is Fairfield’s wishbone offense. Last year, Garrett contained the run, but will the Big Train strike twice?

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