Week 7 is rivalry week across the 260, and that also includes some big rivalry matchups in the NECC. Last week, I picked all 5 games correctly, thus improving my season record to 31-7.

Week 7 NECC Predictions

NECC Game of the Week: 2-4, 2-0 (Small) Central Noble Cougars @ 4-2, 2-1 (Small) Churubusco Eagles 4-2

THE BATTLE OF BASELINE:

This is without a doubt the most talked about NECC game for week 7 simply because of the nostalgia it brings, the physical and competitive nature of this rivalry, and these two schools don’t like each other at all. Other than the Battle of Noble County (includes the Battle for the Bell games with West Noble in football) or the great games with Westview (outside of football of course), this is THE rivalry I grew up with. Perhaps some will say I am biased, but it is the most intense rivalry in NECC History!

This is a rivalry that has a rich history that dates back generations of fans across Albion, Wolf Lake, and Churubusco. Separated by just 16 miles from each other, East Baseline Road is the most common route to commute from Albion to Busco. A lot of these kids grew up as neighbors, former classmates, or as long-time rivals. And for these two schools, they have blue-collar loyal fans that wear their school colors very proudly, and they of course love their football.

The first 35 meetings saw the Cougars with a slight 20-15 lead, where Trevor Tipton and the Cougars were at an all-time high of four straight division championships, four straight double-digit winning seasons, and claiming their only sectional championship in 2002 against Jimtown. Hayden Kilgore, the current head coach at Central Noble, is a 2014 grad that played for Paul Sade and this Busco football team during their own streak of winning seasons. However, he and his CN team want to pull off another major upset that the 2017 Cougars were able to do, and recently that hasn’t happened too much.

Busco has beaten the Cougars in 16 of their last 17 meetings, with 14 of Busco’s 16 wins being decided by double figures. As mentioned earlier, Busco has not lost at home to these Cougars since 2002. In games decided by 10 points or less, it has been dead even at 9 apiece. Last season, Busco pulled off a gutsy performance in a 21-12 win at CN, which was their first win by single digits against this team since their 25-20 comeback win in 2005.

If Central Noble is going to beat Busco, they first and foremost have to come out with a much cleaner defensive gameplan and lay the hammer to the nail against a physical and quick Churubusco offense that runs the Wing-T. The other part is figuring out to create enough pass protection to utilize Brody Morgan’s talented arm and expand the offense to force Busco to adjust.

For Churubusco, this is homecoming for the fans in Turtle Town. There’s already going to be a lot of excitement in the air over homecoming king and queen, the excitement and hoorah about Friday’s big game, and the higher stakes of a division title. Busco must figure out how to stay focused at the task at hand and still come out aggressive against this CN team that can be resilient if you allow them to hang around. The other part for Busco is they need to tackle well against this Cougars Front 7 and create more pressure on Morgan.

Players to Watch:

Central Noble: Brody Morgan So. QB

Churubusco: Wyatt Marks Sr. RB

I personally REALLY hope this ends up being a competitive football game because this rivalry needs more of these great games. I see Central Noble showing a sense of urgency and play a much more competitive game Friday. HOWEVER….despite the potential Central Noble can bring, Busco is a whole different type of matchup, and I do see Riley Buroff, Wyatt Marks, and the Busco defense have a good enough game to get the win. Here is my preview that goes a little more in depth on this game.

Busco by 14

4-2 Angola Hornets @ 2-4 Mishawaka Marian Knights

This is Angola’s first trip to Mishawaka Marian, and the team they will face Friday is much different to the one that ran over the Hornets 42-0 last season. If the Hornets’ Pistol Motion offense can move the ball well, and the Hornet defense can shut down the run once again, I like the chances of the Hornets’ winning streak extending to four.

Players to Watch:

Angola: Ethan Miller Sr. CB/RB

Marian: Brian Osman So. RB/CB

Angola by 12

3-3 Bremen Lions @ 1-5 Prairie Heights Panthers

It is homecoming for the Panthers as they face the traditional powerhouse Lions in Brushy Prairie. Now, Bremen isn’t your usual 2A powerhouse as they suffered three blowout losses to their closest rivals LaVille, Triton, and of course Jimtown. But after their 14-7 win over an improved John Glenn team under John Barron, Bremen has some confidence back to spoil Prairie Heights’ moment. Against Glenn, Bremen only threw the ball twice for no yards and ran for 211 yards. Look for them to go to the run again.

Players to Watch:

 Bremen: Lance Moser Jr. RB/OLB

Prairie Heights: Jaden Daniels Sr. WR (Broke the career receptions record with 56)

Bremen by 28

2-4, 0-2 (Small) Fremont Eagles @ 4-2, 2-0 (Small) Eastside Blazers

This is Senior Night for the Blazers, and Blazer Nation is going to be loud once again as they play a struggling Fremont program. The likelihood of an upset is basically zero, but I do hope Fremont can start to turn a corner as next week is a big chance at stopping Prairie Heights. Will the scoreless streak end? One can only hope for the confidence of Fremont, but this will be a night Eastside gets to celebrate at the possibility of clinching a share of the Small School Division.

Players to Watch

Fremont: Collin Green Sr. RB

Eastside: Brair Munsey Sr. RB/DB

Eastside by 45

0-6, 0-2 (Big) Garrett Railroaders @ 4-2, 0-2 (Big) Fairfield Falcons

Don’t let the records fool you. This can be a trap game for Fairfield if their struggles continue into Week 7. However, Fairfield will have a much easier matchup to run the football as they are going against a much inexperienced Garrett defensive line. Garrett’s chances of a possible upset really depend on containing the Wishbone Triple-Option and being able to score points effectively in both the passing and running games. However, Fairfield has learned enough from the past two weeks to eventually get things turned around. I see the Falcons bouncing back, but don’t rule out this game being closer than expected.

Players to Watch:

Garrett: Jack O’Connor Sr. C/NG

Fairfield: Brecken Maran So. FB/MLB

Fairfield by 10

5-1, 2-1 (Big) West Noble Chargers @ 3-3, 1-1 (Big) Lakeland Lakers

Arguably the best NECC game of week 7 could come in LaGrange where the Chargers face the Lakers in what should be a great game. What’s interesting about this matchup is West Noble runs a very similar offense to that of Angola with the Pistol offense. This West Noble offensive unit has some serious stallions that might make the local Noble County saddle club jealous. All jokes aside, West Noble has a legit Front 7 capable of competing against the best talent in the area, and if that’s not enough, Seth Pruitt has 549 rushing yards and 9 TD’s, along with Drew Yates adding another 413 on the ground. Yates, by the way, averages 8.1 yards per carry as a quarterback who also throws for 445 yards and 5 TD’s.

In the air, Xavier Yates and McKale Bottles combine for 236 receiving yards on 15 receptions for 2 TD’s as freshmen. Up front, the Chargers are led by Zach Beers, Nolan Parks, Wes Hilbish, and Jordan Eash. This is a team that allows the fewest passing yards in the NECC at 92.5 and they will have to stop the NECC’s second-best passing offense in Lakeland (137.2 per game). Against CN, Lakeland had 437 yards of total offense, which includes Brayden Holbrook’s career high of 258 yards on just 14 passes in the FIRST HALF. Kham Malaivanh and Owen Troyer accounted for a combined 382 total yards and 7 touchdowns in the 49-20 win over the Cougars.

It is clear if West Noble is going to beat Lakeland, they must be able to contain Malaivanh and create a lot more pressure at Holbrook. That’s going to be the challenge for Lakeland’s Front 7 is being able to protect their quarterback well against a strong Charger defense. This is the kind of game that really can be decided by a fluky bounce towards the end of the game or a huge field goal kick. This game has all the makings of a classic showdown.

Look, I get it Lakeland has had their number for most of the 21st century, and they are a dangerous football team to stop, especially when they have confidence. Watching that CN tape, I was thrilled with the way Lakeland played hard and played an efficient Lakeland offense…..

NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND

West Noble continues to silence the doubters, and I know games are won by the battle at the trenches and your defense. GIVE ME WEST NOBLE!!

Players to Watch:

West Noble: McKale Bottles Fr. SB/OLB

Lakeland: Kham Malaivanh Sr. RB

West Noble by 3

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