Much to the same as the Big School Division, Week 7 is filled with some interesting headlines, dominated by The Battle of Baseline. But make no mistake, Eastside is going to want to put themselves in the best position possible to clinch their fourth straight division title (outright) against Central Noble in Week 8. Let’s see how I view the Small School Division through six weeks of action. Will SuperSam get to talk about how this CN-Busco game became a classic showdown in Turtle Town or will this be a less than memorable week of NECC football in this division?
Small School Division
1. Eastside Blazers 4-2, 2-0 (Small)
Located in Butler, IN (DeKalb County)
2A Sectional 35
Current Ranking: 1st Small School Division; 1st NECC
Previous Ranking: 1st Small School Division; 1st NECC
Previous Outing: W 54-12 Prairie Heights
Next Game: 9/30 vs Fremont
- Head-To-Head Series: 37-18 Eastside
- First Meeting: 10/26/1966 Fremont won 14-7 at Fremont
- Last Meeting: 10/01/2021 Eastside won 49-0 at Fremont
- Eastside has not lost to Fremont since 10/02/2009 when Fremont defeated Eastside 21-0 at Eastside. Eastside has won 22 of their last 25 meetings dating back to 1996.
The outcome of Week 6’s win over Prairie Heights doesn’t catch my attention, but the way they dominated the Panthers was super impressive. The Blazers ran for 323 yards on just 37 carries, 12 fewer than their Week 5 win over Garrett, and they threw for a season-high 161 yards. That is something I want to see them showing more confidence in because that will come in handy for the state tournament, especially with the likelihood of having to play Bishop Luers again for a sectional crown.
Carsen Jacobs was previously seen as an elite corner that dominated every aspect of the game just from his defensive coverages alone. But now they see the versatility and strength on a different level as Jacobs’ consistency on defense is complemented by the fact, he can run an offense with his speed and strength with the football. Against Prairie Heights, Jacobs added 336 total yards and 6 total touchdowns.
Dackotia Reed, who normally gets mentioned for his work as a defensive back, had a big game on the offensive side of the ball where he caught three passes for 76 yards and two scores. Dax Holman was not necessarily needed on the offensive side in this game, but he did record his first career INT against the Panthers, so DAX the FACTS.
Eastside will look to clinch a share of the Small School Division as the Blazers host Fremont on Eastside’s senior night. If you look at the numbers, the Blazers lead in most of the main categories. Eastside has the NECC’s top offense (35.8), top rushing offense (309), and defense (122.8), and they are ranked fourth in the conference in overall defense (17.8). They will play a Fremont team that has not scored any points since the second half of their Week 3 loss to North Central (Ohio).
2. Churubusco Eagles 4-2, 2-1 (Small)
Located in Churubusco, IN (Whitley County)
2A Sectional 35
Current Ranking: 2nd Small School Division; 4th NECC
Previous Ranking: 2nd Small School Division; 5th NECC
Previous Outing: W 44-0 at Fremont
Next Game: 9/30 vs Central Noble (THE BATTLE OF BASELINE)
- Head-to-Head Series: 31-21 Busco
- First Meeting: 10/31/1975 Central Noble won 7-6 at Busco
- Last Meeting: 10/01/2021 Busco won 21-12 at Central Noble
- Central Noble has not won at Busco since 9/20/2002 when the Cougars won 34-7 in route of CN’s second of four straight NECC divisional championships between 2000 and 2003. Busco has an all-time home record of 18-9 vs CN.
I liked the way they came prepared against a struggling Fremont team, and that was acknowledging areas they needed to work on and playing hard the entire game. It’s hard to truly measure how well Busco has improved since that 28-6 loss at Eastside, However, you have to like how Paul and his staff are still utilizing the depth on Busco’s lineup to get that experience, but still staying true to their strengths.
In their last two games, Busco has outgained their opponents by over 300 total yards. Now, sure, it is easy to point out that Fremont and Prairie Heights are the NECC’s two worst teams, but it is how Busco is taking advantage of the easier matchups that I like about Busco’s last two weeks. For example, I like that they are using more of Cullen Blake and Kameron Rinker’s versatility on both sides of the ball to keep the offensive distribution fresh without exhausting their talents on defense.
What is more encouraging is Busco has been making hay on the defensive side of the ball. They have combined for a whopping 6 sacks, 25.5 TFL’s, and 5 INTs in their last two games. Again, I am a big fan of Cullen Blake’s tape, and Ethan Smith is starting to become a local name we should be talking about a little more. You can see Coach Sade and his staff are paying attention to those details of moving the football, converting on special teams, and tackling well upfront.
Right now, if I am Central Noble, I hope I have a plan to slow down Busco’s blitz Friday. And that also includes being able to contain Riley Buroff (he’s had two big punt returns for TDs in the last two weeks). If Buroff shines like he does during track season with his sprints, Turtle Town will be turning out those lights faster than the speed of light.
3. Central Noble Cougars 2-4, 2-0 (Small)
Located in Albion, IN (Noble County)
2A Sectional 35
Current Ranking: 3rd Small School Division; 7th NECC
Previous Ranking: 3rd Small School Division; 7th NECC
Previous Outing: L 49-20 Lakeland
Next Game: 9/30 at Busco (THE BATTLE OF BASELINE)
- Head-to-Head Series: 31-21 Busco
- First Meeting: 10/31/1975 Central Noble won 7-6 at Busco
- Last Meeting: 10/01/2021 Busco won 21-12 at Central Noble
- This will be their first meeting at Busco since 9/28/2018 where Busco won 42-14 to avenge their loss to CN in 2017 and clinch the NECC Small School Division Outright.
- Unofficially, sophomore Brody Morgan needs 135 more yards to break the program’s single-season passing record.
Much to the same as my thoughts from Lakeland’s point of view, the week 6 game didn’t live up to the hype. The details and execution on CN’s defense looked a bit flat, and it showed on Lakeland’s two plays that ended up for 56 and 83-yard touchdowns. Little late to react to Lakeland’s play calling, not properly positioned, and miscommunication. All three of these things led to big enough breakdowns to allow Lakeland to put this game out of reach in the first half.
The point being is the execution on defense was below the standards of a Hayden Kilgore defense that takes that side of the football very seriously. Now, it wasn’t the worst performance in the recent memory of Central Noble football. On the other side of the ball, the Cougars’ offense still had flashes of being a very entertaining, and (to a degree) dangerous shotgun spread offense.
Despite the 3 INTs, I still liked Brody Morgan’s game as he went 14-23 for 231 yards and 2 TD passes. But even the most talented of gunslingers are human too, and this is where I want to see this Cougars’ offense balancing the wealth of the offense efficiently while trying to use the passing game to establish the Wing-T, whenever they can. For instance, I love that downfield throw to Tysen Deck, who had a tremendous read to give the Cougars some confidence.
Again, it goes back to whenever the SummitCitySports gang talks about New Haven, we suggest getting shorter routes, simplifying the offense a little, and managing field positioning well enough to get that big homerun pass to Mylan Graham. It’s the same thing with CN; I want to see them utilize Ethan Skinner’s volume more as Ethan caught 3 passes for 98 yards (32.7 yards per catch) as a blocking tight end. I want to see them try to mix some things on offense where you’re getting field position, but you’re still sticking to the gameplan.
As we get closer to Friday’s kickoff in Turtle Town, I, first and foremost, need to see CN clean up the breakdowns on defense because Busco is best at exploiting mistakes (especially on special teams!!), and I want to see them show some confidence in spreading the wealth a little more in the passing game to help their young backfield.
The wild card question I have with Central Noble is: Will they be able to provide enough pass protection to use Morgan’s talented arm effectively and expand the playbook? That’s where I have concerns. If Morgan is pressured too often, then mistakes could multiply faster than Daniel Jones’ infamous fumbles on primetime.
Now, because this is the Battle of Baseline, games are never won by what the experts say or what John Harrell calculates on his analytical computer screen. These games are won based on if each team can stay focused, remain disciplined, eliminate the turnovers, and being able to stop the big homerun plays.
Central Noble fields the NECC’s best passing offense (188.3), but also the NECC’s worst passing defense (143.4). Busco, on the other hand, fields the NECC’s third-ranked rushing offense (240.5) and second-ranked passing defense (99).
4. Prairie Heights Panthers 1-5, 0-3 (Small)
Located in Brushy Prairie, IN (LaGrange/Steuben County)
2A Sectional 35
Current Ranking: 4th Small School Division; 9th NECC
Previous Ranking: 5th Small School Division; 10th NECC
Previous Outing: L 54-12 at Eastside
Next Game: 9/30 vs Bremen
- Head-To-Head Series: 4-0 Bremen
- First Meeting: 10/21/2011 Bremen won 57-7 at Prairie Heights
- Last Meeting: 10/01/2021 Bremen won 37-14 at Bremen
Prairie Heights has not won a game since their 39-0 win in week 1 against a struggling Whitko program. However, I believe the Panthers are competing better in ball games. Plus, they are still able to generate some energy and momentum for the Panthers, and The Daniels twins are still connecting well on offense.
Now, someone did comment that 394 of Trenton Daniels’ 439 passing yards went to Jaden Daniels, and that seems like a top-heavy offense. But when you look at the recent history of Prairie Heights football, it makes more sense.
Prairie Heights has to use the most out of the talent they have due to smaller numbers on the program that are not able to have a balanced offense. For instance, Ethan Hoover became a very reliable passer and distributor in the running game during his time in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, Hoover threw for 1,124 yards, where 682 of those yards went to Ryan Rasler who also targets (31 more than the next closest guy).
Here’s a fun stat for you. While Heights allowed 323 rushing yards and 484 total yards, the Panthers posted season highs in passing yards with 170 and had their best rushing numbers since week 2 against Bronson (MI) with 62. Unlike Fremont, I can honestly say Prairie Heights is starting to plant some seeds of confidence heading into the final laps of the 2022 season. This is a key point for an inexperienced offensive line and a scrappy defense.
5. Fremont Eagles 2-4, 0-2 (Small)
Located in Fremont, IN (Steuben County)
1A Sectional 44
Current Ranking: 5th Small School Division; 10th NECC
Previous Ranking: 4th Small School Division; 9th NECC
Previous Outing: L 44-0 Churubusco
Next Game: 9/30 at Eastside
- Head-to-Head Series: 37-18 Eastside
- First Meeting: 10/26/1966 Fremont won 14-7 at Fremont
- Last Meeting: 10/01/2021 Eastside won 49-0 at Fremont
- Fremont will try to avoid being shutout four times in a season for the first time since 2015. This has happened seven times in program history (1969, 1970, 1971, 1992, 2011, 2014, and 2015).
- Fremont has not been shutout for four straight games since 1969 when Fremont failed to score any points for six straight games.
I was really hoping Fremont would just end the scoreless drought before it got to this week with a much more physical Eastside team. The dropoff in power rankings suggests, that obviously didn’t happen. This is not ideal news for Fremont because they must find some way to compete and deal with the physical nature of this game on Eastside’s senior night no less.
Now, they have no choice but to hear me talk about how Fremont has not scored any points since late in their week 3 game with North Central (OH). At this point, I hope they are getting tired of hearing this because the longer this drought lingers on, the more it starts to get into their heads and tarnishes their confidence.
For a program that has struggled to bring in strong enough numbers to compete with the big dogs on a yearly basis, I feel like Fremont has done a nice job of handling this rebuild to where it simplifies their competition but still challenges them to learn how to win. Trevor Thomas comes from his productive high school career, as well as his collegiate career at Central Michigan. This is honestly the best type of young coach for a program that is still changing the football culture.
However, it is essential that they can gather any kind of confidence they can get going into that big Prairie Heights game next week. Realistically, we know Eastside is a great team, but I really hope Fremont can get some confidence on offense and work on cutting down those homerun passes that Fremont seems to be struggling with lately.
I want to hear more from Zak Pica and Collin Green using their athleticism and their magic with the football.
