My Mike McGraw
Executive Director
I have followed so much football in the last two weeks that I am starting to hear snap counts in my sleep. I suppose that is better than seeing blitzes from Penn linebackers. I am too old to take the punishment.
Here are my observations after the first two rounds of the tourney:
Football is not a sport that is given to large numbers of upsets, but even at that there have been surprisingly few shockers. Through the first two rounds of the 2005 tournament, there have only been two upsets of real magnitude. Those are Class 4A Seymour�s defeat of Columbus East in the opening round, and Friday night�s 5A victory by Elkhart Memorial over LaPorte. With those exceptions, things have pretty much played out to form.
That should indicate some great battles in the upcoming weeks.
Despite the lack of upsets, change is on the horizon. Of last yearââ?¬â?¢s 10 visitors to the RCA Dome, four have already made exits this year — and we are assured of a brand-new matchup in Class A. Of the six remaining, two face stern tests this coming week. Class 4A defending champion Roncalli is an underdog at home to Indianapolis Cathedral, and 3A Heritage Hills will get all it wants from Evansville Mater Dei.
In 5A, Avon has looked very strong in the first two rounds, while Fort Wayne Snider has been impressive in doing what the Kingsmen always do, which is win. By the way, when the sectional dust clears, some team up north named Penn will have survived another challenge to its long dominance.
Class A may be the class to provide the most entertainment in the coming rounds. Literally none of the elites has really been tested with the exception of Whiting, and the Oilers came through. I know, I know — Linton went down. But it was at the hands of Perry Central and, besides, Linton always gets beat.
One thing has become crystal clear. The Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference does not get nearly the respect that it deserves. Four of the six EIAC teams are still alive, and the two that have been beaten fell at the hands of other conference members. Three of the four EIAC schools remaining should be favored to win sectionals — in three separate classes, by the way — and the only reason South Dearborn isnââ?¬â?¢t favored is that they face conference foe East Central.
We all spend a lot of time talking about the power of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (MIC) in Class 5A, but nobody notices the guys from southeastern Indiana.
OK, I am going back to sleep now. I think I was calling an audible, and I want to see how it turned out.
So what do you think? Share your thoughts in our forum.
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