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Posted by: MSFOOTBALL Aug 14 2013, 05:20 PM

Hello to all of the City football fans!!! Michigan City Wolves kick off their season this Friday night at Ames field with a scrimmage against New Prairie High School at 7:00 pm. Please come out and support your home team and get a preview of how the team looks. We are excited about this upcoming season and want you to be too. We have 26 Seniors returning this year which are all very experienced. This will be Coach Mike Karpinski's third season with the Wolves and the old wives tale states that "third times a charm." May this season be the Wolves lucky charm and be their best season ever!!! Go Wolves!!!

Posted by: MSFOOTBALL Aug 14 2013, 10:03 PM

I guess they are starting at 6:00 pm this Friday night bc NP is an hour ahead so they were going by 7:00 pm being their time--which is 6:00 pm our time in Michigan City

Posted by: MCRogers1974 Aug 15 2013, 05:24 AM

New Prairie Schools are on Central time since they are a La Porte county school, FYI.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Aug 15 2013, 07:59 AM

I don't know about this year, but they have always started this scrimmage early in the past. I got caught by that a few years back myself.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Aug 16 2013, 09:26 AM

I'm looking forward to seeing the team this year. I am curious what the defense looks like, and if we can get a running game going this year.

Posted by: MSFOOTBALL Aug 19 2013, 03:58 AM

I am excited to see if the seniors can pull together like they did previously. They have the most wins under their belt from previous years and still have their key players. The senior class number is 24 if I figured correctly. The last class that the the team with this number was 2 years ago but they didn't produce the numbers like this group of players. I have heard that there are many of these players that have colleges showing interest in them as well, which is great. I hope many of the fans come out to support the team and give them a chance. Last year they may not have had the "W's" but they were in every game for all 4 quarters. The Chesterton game which was played away- they actually held them 0-0 for more than a quarter then Chesterton came back after the half with an adjusted game plan and our guys tired. I have heard that the team is well conditioned and ready to play. Plus they have to remember to not allow room for the officials to take away what they have earned. Over all, each year under Coach Karpinski the team has showed improvement. A true sports person looks at more than just the outcome at the end. Unfortunately they will have to win a DAC game before MC will take notice because that was what happened 4 years with Coach Busea. You win 1 DAC game and the stands will be full. So I wish the best for this team and may your friday night lights shine on you with wins. Fill those stands guys and make this a memorable season for you, the coaches and the city. GO WOLVES!!!

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Aug 19 2013, 02:08 PM

The scrimmage wasn't bad. The first defensive series where both teams started from their own 30, was pretty bad as NP just shredded the defense, but then the D really stiffened up as the night went on. I couldn't tell if it was scheme related where the D took a bit to figure it out, or if their heads weren't in it at the beginning.

The offense looked OK in their first series. The running game might be spotty again as the backs are both small, but the passing game should carry them. They moved the ball well for the first half of their series, and it kind of stalled. Kaletha and Wilson are going to be hard to stop, as is Ryan Washington if he gets time.

The offense scored 4 times in 10 plays on the drill inside the 10 yards line, and looked really good doing it. The defense also looked really good in that series, only giving up two scores in that same run.

Posted by: MCRAVEN Aug 20 2013, 12:53 PM

Word is that Sr. WR Donnie Wilson is out with a leg injury that he is cleared to play on, but that he has made the choice to not practice at all because he is still sore. This will be a very interesting situation. Hopefully he gets healthy.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Aug 20 2013, 01:15 PM

I am always of the opinion that a guy who is a veteran player doesn't need risk tweeking a minor injury in a glorified practice. If he is still sore, I'd even be fine with his sitting out the Gary game to help the pain go away. He isn't really needed until week 2 against Washington.

Posted by: Jesse B Aug 20 2013, 04:49 PM

I hope you are right about this but I have my doubts. I guess I don't remember last year as well as you do but didn't the team barely score last year against Washington, Chesterton(twice), Valpo, LaPorte, Portage and Crown Point? They better be in shape and avoid injuries if they want to be competitive. Thank God the Chesterton coach left so maybe now they will not be able to come out at halftime with an adjusted gameplan. I hope the Wolves run the ball 50 times against Gary and not let any secret plays get out so others can scout. I wouldn't throw once. We don't want to expose any of the big three to injuries in a glorified practice against an undermanned Roosevelt team. The conference is weak this year and the Wolves should be able to feast against the 5A sectional competition. I am going to go out on a limb and say 7-2 or 8-1 in the regular season with a sectional and regional crown. I think the Wolves fall in the semi-state game at Ames Field before a packed house to Ft. Wayne Snider 49-42 in OT. This is the year we have all been waiting for MC Football fans, the Pop Warner program bears it fruit this season and Coach Karp rights the ship from this point on. 2014 the Wolves will be heavy favorites to bring home the state trophy. Mark it down!!!!!

Posted by: taxthedeer Aug 20 2013, 11:08 PM

This is the first time in the 20 years that I've lived here that I purchased a fall sports pass.

I will be following the freshmen team all season long both home and away and might come out and take in a few home varsity games on Friday night.

The freshmen team opens their season at New Prairie Saturday morning at 9AM then play the rest of their games on Thursday nights beginning September 5th.

Posted by: Jesse B Aug 21 2013, 06:46 AM

I can understand the optimism, the kids at the high school now and in 8th grade are a group that has dominated in Pop Warner. They have won state championships and National Titles. No real reason to expect anything less than continued sucess. Good coaches + good facilities + great players = Wins!!!!

Posted by: taxthedeer Aug 21 2013, 10:23 AM

There are 16 players listed on the Wolves varsity roster that weigh at least 230lbs. or larger. There are three kids weighing 300lbs.

44 Java Oliver 12 TE/DE 6'3 245
50 Scott Paull 12 OL/DL 6'0 230
57 Dylan Bogart 12 OL/DL 6'2 235
62 Jacob Kubath 12 OL/DL 6'2 250
63 Deandre Webb 11 OL/DL 5'10 235
69 TyRon Kent 11 OL/DL 6'3 255
70 Ben Washington 10 OL/DL 6'4 270
71 X Coan 12 OL/DL 6'3 245
72 Michael Warren 12 OL/DL 6'0 300
73 Brandon Smith 11 OL/DL 6'2 250
75 Chris Hartsburg 12 OL/DL 5'6 285
76 Greg Jamieson 10 OL/DL 6'4 280
77 Hunter Wroblewski 11 OL/DL 6'4 300
78 Ryan Wilson 10 OL/DL 5'10 240
79 Alex DeSantiago 12 OL/DL 6'1 230
91 Charles Phillips 12 OL/DL 5'9 300

Posted by: MCRAVEN Aug 21 2013, 10:43 AM

Let my edit my comment and say QUALITY big guys. There are definitely heavy guys but I know that the line on both sides of the ball is an injury away from an issue. Please dont take my comments as I do not believe we can win. This year is going to be awesome, but the JV line is not very good and needs a good offseason. It is imperative that the bar gets set high this year. I think this class can set the bar as high as they want to. GO WOLVES

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Aug 21 2013, 06:48 PM

The big difference is that high school football doesn't allow for older and lighters, and doesn't have weight limits. Pop Warner is a completely different game that caters to the type of players City historically develops. We'd be great if guys like Ficks and Harmon could come back for 5th years.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Aug 22 2013, 09:59 AM

This group should be better than last year, though the defense still scares me. I am calling a 3-6 or 4-5 team this year. Sectionals all depends on match ups. As long as we avoid Mishawaka, we could win games.

Posted by: Jesse B Aug 22 2013, 10:24 AM

I don't understand what is meant by QUALITY big guys? I think every child who happens to come out for a demanding sport like football, conditions as hard as everyone says they are and has been coached by this staff for 2 or 3 seasons has to be a QUALITY kid. That list contains 13 juniors and seniors that are huge. QUALITY overfills the cup my friend. A small army could hide behind guys that are 6'4" 300 lbs. Go CITY!!!

Posted by: MCRAVEN Aug 22 2013, 08:44 PM

There is a huge difference between 6'4'' 300 that has been in the weight room and 6'4'' 300 that has not. But either way you can think what you want. I hope that I get to watch an awesome season.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Aug 23 2013, 12:16 PM

Wolves football preview

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/highschools/21875710-419/timeout-football-michigan-city-preview.html

Posted by: Jesse B Aug 23 2013, 03:02 PM

Ditto Raven. . .let's hope awesome starts tonight

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Aug 23 2013, 08:43 PM

City wins in runaway fashion, 55-0 over Gary Roosevelt tonight. Ryan Jones ran for two TD's, Ryan Washington ran for two 2 TDs and threw for another amongst the highlights of the night. City also held the Panthers to negative yardage for the game.

Posted by: taxthedeer Aug 23 2013, 10:01 PM

This series needs to be dropped from the Wolves schedule. Playing against teams like Gary Roosevelt are fine if you are just looking for wins or want to maintain a constant home series but the whole program suffers because it's not really a challenge for the varsity, plus there are no JV or Freshman games.

Posted by: taxthedeer Aug 24 2013, 01:17 PM

Wolves Freshmen team lose to New Prairie 24-14 this morning at Amzie Miller Field. Aryuan "Buck" Cain-Veasey runs for two TDs and QB Jimmy Henrich score a two point conversion for City. Freshmen team will host South Bend Washington at Ames Field on Thursday, September 5th at 5:30PM. GO WOLVES!!!

Posted by: MCRAVEN Aug 24 2013, 05:06 PM

Fyi. Next year roosevelt is off schedule. The wolves picked up a south bend team.

Posted by: sunny Aug 24 2013, 05:13 PM

Has anybody heard how the JV team did today? Win or Lost and who did they play if Gary doesn't have a JV team?

Posted by: taxthedeer Aug 24 2013, 06:12 PM

Michigan City JV hosted the Hobart Brickie JV this morning at Ames Field, I don't know the result.

Posted by: taxthedeer Aug 24 2013, 09:10 PM

If it's South Bend Riley, the Wolves should just go ahead and continue with the Roosevelt series.

Posted by: MCRAVEN Aug 24 2013, 10:57 PM

I do not really know which South Bend school it is. Could be Adams or Clay too.

Posted by: taxthedeer Aug 25 2013, 12:07 AM

I hope it's Adams, they're in our sectional now. I'm figuring it's Riley since they played a team south of Indianapolis Friday night and the Wildcats were on our non-conference schedule between 1999 and 2004.

Posted by: MCRAVEN Aug 25 2013, 08:31 AM

Honestly anyone would be better than Velt. I know Riley sucks but they are better than Velt. I believe that Washington would become week 1 and this other school is know week 2.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Aug 27 2013, 03:40 PM

At this point that is just silly. They murder Roosevelt annually. let's see what they do with Washington. If they win that game, then we can get excited.

Posted by: taxthedeer Aug 27 2013, 04:11 PM

That's the thing, we really never know how good the team is going to be until they play their first competitive game against South Bend Washington. The Panthers are only two years removed from being a 4A state finalist and similar to Michigan City has a great football tradition, it's a really nice school, they don't call themselves this Pride of the West Side for nothing.

I will have to watch Friday's game when it's posted on the ALCO site. I'll be in Three Oaks, MI taking in the La Lumiere VS. River Valley Mustangs game but will be at Ames Field next Thursday for the Freshmen game against the Panthers, Friday for the DAC opener VS. Chesterton, in Elkhart on Saturday for the La Lumiere game then in Lowell on Sunday for a couple Pop Warner games.

Posted by: taxthedeer Aug 27 2013, 07:17 PM

Next reclassification the IHSAA needs to tweak the format somewhat and make 6A 32 teams, 1A the (32 + x) team overflow class and 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A 64 teams.

There are a couple of boys that are going to Marquette on the voucher system and playing football at La Lumiere. They are coming out to our games and we are going out to their games and I'm going along for the ride. I doubt that it will amount to much of anything,the Lakers only play a seven game schedule with no playoff system and I doubt they will make much of an impact as freshmen playing on a varsity team.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Aug 30 2013, 01:15 PM

I didn't realize that Washington lost their stud QB to a transfer and had gotten whipped 42-6 last week by Concord.

Posted by: taxthedeer Aug 30 2013, 02:45 PM

http://articles.southbendtribune.com/2013-03-14/sports/37724378_1_riley-athletic-director-walt-ballard-daigien-morgan

Posted by: mcstumper Aug 30 2013, 09:26 PM

How did the game go tonight?

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Aug 30 2013, 10:49 PM

They won 57-14

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Aug 31 2013, 07:16 AM

A few notes from last night. The Wolves scored the most points they have ever scored against a non-Gary Roosevelt team in school history with the 57. The previous high was 49 in 2005 against Chesterton. they also broke their record for most points scored over two games combined with 112 points. Their previous high was 101 in their first two games of 2004.

Posted by: taxthedeer Aug 31 2013, 12:15 PM

This mornings JV game at South Bend Washington was cancelled.

South Bend Washington is good for that, they cancelled last years senior night girls basketball game as well.

Posted by: MSFOOTBALL Aug 31 2013, 01:25 PM

It end up being beautiful football weather once the storm rolled through. Unfortunately a lot of fans missed an exciting game. I think this next Fridays game against Chesterton will be exciting but close. The seniors beat them freshman year at home and sophomore year away in 90 degree heat. I had never seen such long faces by an opponent as there was that day. They thought City was going to be an easy win but the wolves proved them wrong. The Wolves are hungry and they are going to stay unsatisfied until sectional time. These players have a lot of potential with a lot of talent. It just takes finding the right combination. SB QB situation may have been a factor in our advantage but the QB they had was pretty good. It was difficult to tell if their linemen were that weak or our Wolves were that exceptional. I'd like to feel our guys were executing well and giving them the power. The proof will come as they enter DAC play this Friday. I'm choosing Wolves to finish on top. Go Wolves !!!

Posted by: taxthedeer Aug 31 2013, 04:34 PM

Munster - Chesterton game has been rescheduled for Monday at 6PM that mean that the Trojans will be playing City on Friday night only on three days rest.

Posted by: MCRAVEN Sep 1 2013, 08:13 PM

I am sure if city wins this game you will say that this is the reason why. To me it looks like the kids have put in some work. Even if SB wash is down and gary is gary these kids rolled through both of these very easily. I find it funny that you keep giving reasons why MC is winning and not that they were just the better team or that worked hard in the off season. They will have issues in the DAC that they have not faced yet, but to me they seem improved as a team.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 1 2013, 09:39 PM

The team is improved, there is no doubt about that. But the season gets a lot tougher the next four weeks.

Posted by: Jesse B Sep 2 2013, 07:26 AM

Congratulations go out to the young Wolves!! They are receiving 23 votes in the latest IFCA Poll and are now ranked 7th in 5A. I have to believe this is the highest ranking for a MC team in decades.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 2 2013, 08:56 AM

great to see!

http://ifca.zebras.net/ifca/ifcapoll.cfm

Posted by: taxthedeer Sep 4 2013, 11:48 AM

Not to mention that the reigining co-DAC champs graduated 36 seniors and made a head coaching change.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 4 2013, 12:27 PM

I think either way we learn more from this game than we did from the last two.

Posted by: MCRAVEN Sep 4 2013, 12:52 PM

Oh yea I forgot about that...hmm did not stop them from stepping on Munsters toes. This town is always so negative on everything. I mean for christ sakes, these kids lose and you will say "here we go again" and then pick apart the reasons why they are losing from behind a keyboard. And if they win you pick apart the reasons why the other team lost the game, NOT why MC won the game..... MC might win on Friday, they might also lose. Either way this team is headed in the right direction.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 4 2013, 01:20 PM

I don't think taking a critical look at the team is an awful thing. There is no doubt that Roosevelt is an awful, awful team, and the results are hard to read into.

Washington has been a really good team in recent history, but after losing Morgan, plus a lot of graduates, and realizing that they lost their first game to Concord 42-6, that Washington might be a pretty bad team too.

Chesterton lost their first game to a really, really good football team on a very late TD. They absolutely plastered Munster. I know they graduated a lot, and had a coaching change, but this team on the scoresheet looks to be a lot better than either GR or SBW. If they win this game, the DAC better get scared, because City is for real. If they beat the Trojans, there is a chance they go into homecoming undefeated.

Posted by: Jesse B Sep 4 2013, 02:39 PM

Munster and Chesterton are both good teams but they are can be beat. For that matter the Wolves should be able to hang with any team in the conference and sectional this year. They may not beat them but they can give each of them a game if they stay healthy.

Posted by: taxthedeer Sep 5 2013, 07:55 PM

Michigan City Freshman team shutout a 15 man South Bend Washington squad 28-0 tonight at Ames Field. Offense leaders for the Wolves were quarterback Jimmy Henrich who opened the scoring with a touchdown run and two 1st half touchdown passes to D'Mariay Young. Henrich also hooked up with Gavyn Smith for his third TD pass in the 2nd half. Defensive leader for the Wolves was strong safety Aryuan Cain-Veasy with two 1st half interceptions. Kicker William Rubino added to the Wolves scoring on special teams with a 30 yard field goal and an extra point, each of his kick offs reached the end zone for a touchback.

The Wolves ninth graders move their record to 1-1 and open up DAC play as they host Chesterton next Thursday night at Ames Field at 6PM.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 6 2013, 09:54 AM

The Wolves are actually pretty deep at QB right now.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 6 2013, 09:06 PM

Tough loss for the Wolf Pack tonight. After being up 31-14, two late INTs give Chesterton the window to come back and win 35-31. Next week City travels to Valpo before Homecoming week the following week.

Posted by: Jesse B Sep 7 2013, 12:49 PM

It is painfully obvious that a lot was learned last night,let's keep our fingers crossed that EVERYONE learned something. The JV came up on the short end of the score against Chesterton today.

Posted by: MCRAVEN Sep 7 2013, 02:09 PM

If you would elaborate on what you mean here I would love to hear you blast the coaches, assuming that is what you are implying?

Posted by: Jesse B Sep 7 2013, 05:44 PM

Far from blasting the coaches I am here to heap praise on them. We learned last night that the Wolves are competitive and can compete against any DAC team in my opinion. We learned that even without Coach Snyder that Chesterton still has a good program that can beat Munster and play with a very good SB St. Joe team. We learned that they know how to win since they have had success the last few years and don't quit. We learned that the Wolves who got beat soundly by the Trojans last year came up 4 points short last night. We learned that no game is over at halftime, or after 3 quarters, but not until the scoreboard reads 0:00. We learned at times the Wolves can look good in all phases of the game(Special Teams, Offense & Defense). We learned that 17-18 year old football players are far from perfect but can provide a good nights worth of entertainment for a cheap price.
If you want to blast the coaches go ahead Raven. These guys put in an incredible amount of time. Are they perfect? No, but who is. I have to believe no one feels worse than the coaches about not bringing home a win when one seemed certain. I am sure they will learn from last night's game too. Why, what would you want them to do differently with the program or during the game last night?

Posted by: MCRAVEN Sep 7 2013, 06:32 PM

Oh trust me I am on the coaches side.....you took me wrong. All I have heard is how the coaches did wrong when city showed that once the growing pains of winning subsode that they should win.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 8 2013, 08:12 AM

If you don't talk about what went wrong, how do you learn from it? I don't think there is any question the last INT was a pretty aggressive pass call for that situation. Washington had been underthrowing the ball all night long, and had been lucky not to have thrown more INTs than he did at that point. In a situation where you are at about 6 minutes to go, and the other team has no timeouts, the clock is your friend. Also remember the running game had been very successful up to that point. Run the option with Washington, if you don't convert, punt the ball out of bounds and make Chesterton go 80-90 yards in about five minutes after you run down the clock.

Posted by: MCRAVEN Sep 8 2013, 01:04 PM

High risk high reward offense. They were down a linemen and a back. They also just lost six yards running, they checked to a fade when kaletha got press one on one coverage. That goes for a td 7 outta ten times. also chestertons offense was hot. They had multiple 50+yrd drives in a lot shorter 4 min. better throw and we are talking about a win.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 8 2013, 02:17 PM

Part of that is KYP. Washington was underthrowing the ball most of the night. Even the first TD to Kaletha was underthrown, he just got lucky with the bounce off of the DB.

The thing is in that situation, you don't need high reward. You need to run clock. If you don't get the first, you pin them back with needing to go 80-90 yards in about five minutes.

Posted by: Jesse B Sep 8 2013, 06:29 PM

I agree Southsider but what is done is done now. I would be curious if the newspaper asked the coach who made that call to throw in the first place. Does Coach Karp make that call or the O-Coordinator? The defense had only given up 14 points up until that time(one on a short field) and had a couple of turnovers and the d-line had been getting pressure on the QB. I agree there is a time to be high risk and a time to kill the clock and get out with a W. No real good reason to push the issue and win by 24. If I remember right Coach Synder called off the dogs a few years ago in a sectional game so there cannot be any built up animosity towards our neighbors to the west for having run up the score in the past. My take on reading the N-D and the Times is no one thought it was possible for the Trojans to come back down 17 with less than a quarter to go and the Wolves deep in Chesterton territory but the impossible did happen. MC will do better next week when the big playmaker WR gets back from injury.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 8 2013, 06:52 PM

Donnie Wilson did play against Chesterton.

Posted by: MCRAVEN Sep 8 2013, 07:13 PM

Donnie Wilson played this week on every offensive play. He was thrown the ball on multiple occasions including the slant that hit him in the hands and bounced into trojans DBs hand. He will have a explosive game when he gets back to game speed. As far as who called that play it is on the OC. My biased opinion is that the game was called well on both sides of the ball. Coach Karp can overrule any call I am sure, but It looks like they work together pretty well. Everyone will learn from this game. TRUST ME in saying that this team is even more determined now. These kids believe in what they are doing this year and are on a mission. This will be a interesting week on the road in Valpo.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 9 2013, 09:25 AM

I've got no problem giving Donnie a pass for that game. I know he will be beating himself up for letting that INT go through his hands, but the kid has had no game action this year. He'll be fine.

It is also strange to say, but after watching this game, I think City can play with any DAC team this year. There are things to still work on for sure, but the fruits of the last two years are starting to payoff.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 9 2013, 02:07 PM

Even after the heartbreaking loss to Chesterton, the Wolves are still ranked #11 in the latest IBCA poll for football, in 5A, and #16 in the AP poll.

http://indianahsfootball.homestead.com/files/topten5A.htm

Posted by: taxthedeer Sep 12 2013, 07:44 PM

City freshmen team loses to Chesterton 19-14 tonight at Ames Field. Wolves score a first quarter 50 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jimmy Henrich to Tight end Darnell Johnson in the 1st quarter. Michigan City added their second touchdown on running back Aryuan Cain-Veasey's 30 yard touchdown run and two point conversion plunge in the 4th quarter.

Four turnovers, a couple untimely penalties and the inability to defensively contain the Trojans option ground attack cost the Wolves a victory. Michigan City Frosh squad record falls to 1-2 overall and are 0-1 in the Duneland Conference.

The 9th graders will travel to Valparaiso to take on the Vikings next Thursday night beginning at 6PM.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 13 2013, 08:34 PM

Final score 17-7 Valpo.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 14 2013, 06:15 PM

All of the DAC is either 0-2 or 2-0 in conference play.

Posted by: taxthedeer Sep 19 2013, 07:58 PM

City freshmen team loses to Valpo 14-0 tonight at Viking Field.

Wolves offense only generated two second half first downs the entire game.

Freshmen record falls to 1-3 overall and a winless 0-2 in the DAC.

Michigan City freshmen will host Merrillville next Thursday night beginning at 6PM at Ames Field.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 20 2013, 02:34 PM

Homecoming tonight at Ames Field!

Posted by: taxthedeer Sep 21 2013, 12:30 PM

City JV loses to Merrillville 42-14 this morning at Demaree Stadium.

Wolves took an early 8-7 lead on an interception return for a touchdown and two point conversion and added a 3rd quarter touchdown pass early in the 3rd quarter.

JV team will host Lake Central next Saturday morning at 10AM at Ames Field.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 23 2013, 01:51 PM

I'm not sure what happened, but this team hasn't been the same since the 4th quarter of the Chesterton game. I get the defense has some holes, but man oh man, the offense is just gone. 14 points in 9 quarters of play isn't good with that kind of talent. Also a lot of bad penalties. They don't have that kind of margin for error against good teams.

Posted by: big schwag Sep 24 2013, 08:11 AM

They dont have the talent to compete in the DAC and this is very obvious the last few games.they get manhandled up front every game. No team speed no size cant compete. I knew the defense might struggle a little bit this year if you look at the roster they only have 3 seniors starting the rest are sophs and juniors. They look small and weak and cant stop the run although the dline has been getting sacks this year. The offense has 7 seniors they are suppose to have two good recievers returning a few olineman qb and backs so far they have been horrible in dac play. Do they have a sled there cuz they cant drive block and run the ball. Its lloks like all they throw is deep passes idk why they cant block. Cant washington is good or bad cuz hes running for his life and wings passes up. And they have lc cp and portage coming up hope we can score but i expect more of the same unfortunatly. Thought we might have a chance against these teams cuz tthey arent that good but at this rate they wont even beat laporte. They are going gey kicked out of the dac cuz they cant compete in any sport

Posted by: taxthedeer Sep 24 2013, 08:41 AM

I agree with big schwag. There is has been some scuttlebutt that Michigan City, La Porte and New Prairie may join the NIC and form a 12 school conference consisting of two divisions.

Whenever Michigan City is mentioned outside of this area, inevitably these other communities come immediately to mind:

South Bend
Elkhart
Gary
Hammond
East Chicago

Fair or not, that is the natural correlation. The public high schools from these communities would give Michigan City a much more competitive balance in athletics.

The DAC is a "suburban" conference, while the NIC is a "city" conference. City seems to be a more natural fit for the NIC.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 24 2013, 09:16 AM

City competes in other sports for sure. Ask the basketball and tennis teams.

Posted by: taxthedeer Sep 24 2013, 09:56 AM

Michigan City girls' tennis is in a 4 team sectional (Marquette, La Porte, New Prairie being the others). They have to win 2 matches to win the sectional and one team in that sectional is 9 times smaller than them.

In Football all Michigan City gets are 10 games and a scrimmage.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 24 2013, 10:18 AM

I had not heard NP in the expanded NIC discussions. That would be an odd duck for the NIC, though I guess most of the NIC schools have been shrinking to the point where they are getting closer to NP size.

Posted by: big schwag Sep 24 2013, 11:52 AM

They won cause they had two all state guys in issacs and harmon. Issacs is at purdue another lineman went d2 ferris state and another went to wabash. Probably more guys played college too and With all that talent they barely were above 500 they went 6-5. Thats not very good thats just mediocre and it was the best season ever.theres no d1 guys or all state guys on this team. Hopefully they man up and get going in time for sectionals

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 24 2013, 12:06 PM

There is talent on this team, not as much as that team, but there is talent. I also think the DAC isn't as good as it was that year. The good thing for city is that there is no team in their sectional this year who are as good as a Merrillville or Lake Central.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 24 2013, 01:13 PM

I think the biggest difference is in school size. Lake Central is almost twice our size. Others are almost 800 students bigger. The only school we are really close to is LaPorte. It makes it much harder to compete. Being in a town that shrinking itself out of the DAC is a tough obstacle to over come. Another perspective is that the difference between City and Crown is equal to the entire enrollment of New Prairie.

Lake Central 3271
Portage 2640
Crown Point 2620
MVille 2339
Valpo 2178
Chesterton 2019
LaPorte 1892
City 1802

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 24 2013, 02:02 PM

--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jesse B @ Sep 24 2013, 02:44 PM) </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
I think the biggest difference is in school size. Lake Central is almost twice our size. Others are almost 800 students bigger. The only school we are really close to is LaPorte. It makes it much harder to compete. Being in a town that shrinking itself out of the DAC is a tough obstacle to over come. Another perspective is that the difference between City and Crown is equal to the entire enrollment of New Prairie.

Lake Central 3271
Portage 2640
Crown Point 2620
MVille 2339
Valpo 2178
Chesterton 2019
LaPorte 1892
City 1802
I can buy the enrollment arguement but if you are saying you cannot compete with the sectional teams now how do you think you will be able to compete with Penn, Mishawaka, SB Adams, St. Joe, LaPorte, New Prairie, Mishawaka Marian in the future. You might as well give up and join Wirt, Westside, Lew Wallace and Roosevelt right now.
[/quote]

Penn is the big outlier of those schools. Really if it weren't for the distance, Penn would be a perfect DAC school. The South Bend schools have all fallen down a level.

Penn 3401
City 1802
Elk Memorial 1745
Mishawaka 1514
SB Clay 1372
SB Riley 1230
SB Washington 1226
SB St Joe 869
New Prairie 865
Marian 681

Posted by: taxthedeer Sep 24 2013, 03:08 PM

Here is what a 12 team two division NIC conference would look like, the divisions would be based on enrollment, if a schools enrollment would go up or down they would change divisions not conferences:

Black Division:

Elkhart Central
La Porte
Michigan City
Mishawaka
Penn
South Bend Adams

Blue Division:

Mishawaka Marian
New Prairie
South Bend Clay
South Bend Riley
South Bend St. Joseph
South Bend Washington

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 24 2013, 03:09 PM

is that a proposal or is it your idea? I do like it either way. Also worth suggesting that I doubt Memorial would go somewhere without Central or vice versa.

Posted by: taxthedeer Sep 24 2013, 08:06 PM

Elkhart Central competes in the Northern Indiana conference, Elkhart Memorial competes in the Northen Lakes Conference.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 25 2013, 05:43 AM

Talking about outside blame... Buzz left City for $50,000 extra dollars a year, and no principal responsibilities.

EDIT, I guess Sunny deleted her post.

Posted by: taxthedeer Sep 25 2013, 07:13 AM

I thought Sunny made some excellent point regarding the Crown Point Jr. Bulldogs program.

http://www.midamericabroadcasting.com/files/August2013_MAB_Monthly_FB_Preview.pdf

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 25 2013, 08:14 AM

I do tend to agree that there needs to be more work with coordinating Pop Warner with the high school program. The most successful sports communities start their sports with the lowest levels learning the basic pieces of the high school's system. By the time the player gets to the high school, they already know the system and their teammates. In football that doesn't happen here. They are taught one way through Pop Warner, and another at the HS. The Older/Lighter thing also really skews City's success and it shows up at the older levels.

Posted by: sunny Sep 25 2013, 09:46 AM

Sorry, meant to edit and I deleted post...Chesterton, Valpo, Merrillville, Portage, Lake Central and CPt, all send their "bigger' kids to the Crown Point Youth Football Program called Bulldog Football. This way, the "bigger" kids have the opportunity to start playing football at a much younger age than MC. They learn the blocking schemes, blitz packages and work on footwork as offensive and defensive linemen. MC Pop Warner is not set up for the "bigger" kids. They seem to be more interested in feeding adults ego's to just win. The "bigger" kids don't have the opportunity to play football until the 8th grade, which puts them way behind other DAC schools. At some point the players need to step up. We have junior & senior leaders that claim they are injured during the week to get out of practice but seem ok to play on Friday's. This can not be acceptable. This is something the coaches need to address. Our off season weightlifting program is very weak. We have seniors that can bench press 185 lbs only 4 times. Other schools have sophomore's that can lift more than that. The DAC schools have strong off season weightlifting programs. We tell this kids how great they are after we whip up on weak teams such as Gary and South Bend. Let's be realistic, there are no Ryan Issac's or Adam Harmon's on this team, we have no D1 prospects. I've stated in the past that D1 schools don't recruit 2-8 or 3-7 football teams. As far as enrollment, Chesterton has 200 more students than MC. That's approximately 100 males, of those probably only 10 play on the football team. Maybe 2 of those 10 are starters or get significant playing time. Let's quit making excuses. When we had a higher enrollment than Chesterton, we were still losing to them. Our kids need to start worker harder during the week, be in the weight room in the off season working harder. Maybe my Buzea comment was out of context but until our players start taking responsibility, we will continue to be embarrassed on Friday nights. IMO...

Posted by: taxthedeer Sep 25 2013, 09:53 AM

I seems to me that people are now banking on the hope that Michigan City having a winless or one win record against the 6A DAC schools will prepare the team for the post season against the weaker 5A teams that comprise sectional 9.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 25 2013, 10:03 AM

For football I have no knowledge of what happens on the practice field and locker room. Hopefully that isn't the case, but if it is, that is all on Karpinski and his staff. They either have to get the kids to do what they need to do, or get rid of the kid.

Posted by: sunny Sep 25 2013, 10:25 AM

I agree Southsider2k12...but are you really going to get rid of your top offensive weapons? At some point, the kids have to take responsibility and have some pride.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 25 2013, 10:59 AM

It is a tough position to be in as a coach, my opinion is you build no respect if you don't hold everyone accountable. If that means getting rid of a star player, so be it. It isn't about the individual, it is about the team. That kid isn't just letting himself down, he is letting the whole team down. Obviously you don't start there, but somewhere like a benching. If the kid doesn't learn, they don't deserve to be on the team. It is a great life lesson. I know many of these kids have their hangers on telling them how great they are, but that doesn't teach them reality. The reality is that if you try that half-assed stuff at the next level, or at your work for example, you will be replaced. Better to learn that at 16 years old , versus 26.

Besides, what are we going to do, lose more games? Look worse on the field? Do the right thing.

Posted by: MCRAVEN Sep 25 2013, 11:17 AM

The bottom line about size of school is that MC cheats on their numbers. They say their is 1800 but in reality we graduate in the 300-360 every year. Simple math makes that number much smaller. Even if the freshman class is huge by the time they are seniors/juniors the class has shrank to that number. Seniors and Juniors are your contributors. Off-season is what wins games. Thing is there are limited athletes and a lot of multiple sport athletes that once FBall is over they go on to another sport/training for next sport. I said earlier that size is what sets MC behind. They go 210,195,175,230,295 across the oline. And I am telling you those are the best kids for the job on the roster. Of the 30+ freshman team that played last year there are only like two of four of their best players playing. That is because of eligibility and being expelled. I say blame the coaches not the kids for one reason only and that is they are adults and are getting paid, but lets look at the community and ask if they really want to varsity team to win? Look at coaches records once leaving and when at MC

Bob Holmes= 16-35 at MC.....31-11 to date at Bremen

Buzea= 12-18 at MC.....dont know but sure he is winning at H-F

Schreiber= 1-9 at MC.....14-6 currently at Hammond

God Holmes was such a horrible coach that he led a Bremen team to Semi-state?
Buzea was god
Schreiber everyone hated so much cause he lost, when in reality he took over a team drained by graduation. Hammond is happy.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 25 2013, 11:21 AM

They don't "cheat" on their numbers. You can't cheat the State of Indiana on your enrollment. Look closely at the enrollment by years 9/10/11/12 and you'll see where the issue is.

Posted by: outsider Sep 25 2013, 11:42 AM

More fodder for NIC discussion - Marian is exploring possibility of leaving NIC for new conference - see link

http://www.fox28.com/story/23518702/2013/09/24/rochester-and-tippecanoe-valley-say-no-to-nsc

Also, see the interesting history of Northern Indiana Conference - It has included almost every large school from Elkhart to Illinois state line at some point in its 86 years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Indiana_Athletic_Conference

My daughter is a student/athlete at Penn. We have not seen any media discussion or heard any rumors of adding additional teams to NIC.

Posted by: taxthedeer Sep 25 2013, 11:47 AM

Homewood-Floosmoor is off to a 4-0 start and are currently ranked #7 in class 8A in the state of Illinois.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 25 2013, 12:04 PM

On Marian they got asked to join the NSC. Other schools have turned down the same invitation, and there are only five committed schools in it. Reports are that they will turn it down because it isn't very big , aka very strong.

There was a report that the NIC was looking at inviting LP, MC, and NP about a month ago.

http://www.theseniorreports.com/indiana.htm

Posted by: MCRAVEN Sep 25 2013, 12:08 PM

Socioeconomically MC is far behind all other DAC schools. The AK smith career center gets a lot of kids that should be in sports and helping all athletics.. Honestly it is just not football, generally speaking it is seen in all other sports as well. Yes occasionally we have a good season in girls and boys Basketball or tennis, but overall all athletics are affected by our failing enrollment. Especially since it is declining from freshman to senior and not just that the freshman enrollment is low, because it is not. Hard to develop a high number of solid athletes when you are fighting to keep them in school as well. I am not saying that some athletes are not developed. But consistency is horrible.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 25 2013, 12:20 PM

City enrollment by year 9->12 555, 484, 404, 359.

That isn't the coaches fault. That is the kids fault.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 25 2013, 12:21 PM

Marian just turned down the NSC formally.

Posted by: outsider Sep 25 2013, 12:59 PM

LaPorte and City would be good additions to NIC. City has similar socioeconomic demographics to SB Washington, SB Riley, and SB Clay. LaPorte has similar socioeconomic demographics as Elkhart Central and Mishawaka.

I think the time zone differences would be an issue - especially for weekday games. We already have kids coming home at 11:00 PM on a lot of Tuesday's and Thursday's (my kid is one of them) for out of town games that are not that far away and are in the same time zone.

The big difference in NIC between top and bottom of conference in almost all sports is the use of clubs. Most of the athletes at Penn, SJ, Marian, Adams, Mishawaka, and Elk Central have been in a year round clubs for the same sport since before age 12. These clubs are expensive - City's socioeconomic make-up does not allow for enough of these kids to participate in year-round athletic clubs. SB Washington, Riley, Clay are at the bottom of the conference every year because of this. Even in football - Penn and Mishawaka have year-round "optional" workouts for the kids and almost all of these kids have been in rocket football and other conditioning clubs that are year-round clubs since before age 12.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 25 2013, 01:24 PM

These are all good points. City has travel problems too when it comes to places like Crown Point, Lake Central, and Valpo.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 26 2013, 08:01 AM

So for all of the back and forth, there is always some perspective. RIP.

http://www.wndu.com/home/headlines/LaPorte-football-player-passes-away-at-practice-after-suffering-cardiac-arrest-225285322.html#.UkQEbxzudD8.facebook

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 27 2013, 09:31 AM

A coach in Utah suspended his whole team for various actions. This is what I mean by doing the right thing. They lost a game, but won the war.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/26/utah-school-football-suspends_n_3991469.html

Posted by: CaddyRich Sep 27 2013, 10:26 PM

Lake Central 24, Wolves 10.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Sep 28 2013, 08:13 AM

And 3 of that was by the offense. They had a fumble return for their only TD.

Posted by: taxthedeer Sep 28 2013, 12:09 PM

Michigan City JV team loses to Lake Central 26-19 this morning at Ames Field.

Posted by: big schwag Oct 1 2013, 11:26 AM

wow the offense has been awesome, 17 points in 13 quarters, the defense had 9 points in the last 8 quarters. they had 11 rush attempts only for a whopping 21 yards, and was on the field 30 less plays than l.c., whos the oline coach they need to get fired or do they not even have one? the defense didnt do so bad now that you look at the box scores

Posted by: taxthedeer Oct 2 2013, 10:36 AM

The numbers are not pretty.

Currently this group of seniors have complied an overall varsity football record of 1 - 26 (.037) and have been outscored a combined 833-276 in the Duneland conference during their four year cycle of high school. Michigan City freshmen and JV teams also so far remain winless in the DAC in 2013. Quarterbacks and tailbacks are literally running for their lives in the backfield at every level with no protection from their teammates in down in the trenches.

Pop Warner football in Northern Indiana is beginning to decline as all they have to offer Michigan City is a weak four team double round robin regular season schedule at the division II level for the Pee Wee and Junior Midgets with Tri-Town, Southlake and Gary being the other three teams. In the meantime Pee Wee and Junior Midget teams from Portage, Valpo, Munster and Boone Grove opted to take the easy way out and play the 2013 campaign at the division III level. It's looking quite possible that the Michigan City Junior Midgets will be squaring off with the Gary Steeler Junior Midgets four times this year. It's no wonder why for various reasons more and more parents across northern Indiana are choosing to leave Pop Warner to have their boys sign-up to play for the more favorable Jr. Bulldog and Rocket Football leagues or play for their middle school teams.

Across the state, high schools athletic departments are repositioning themselves to insure future competitive balance and to reduce athletic department travel costs.

Several major changes that have already occurred are as follows :

Terre Haute South and North were asked to leave the Metropolitan Conference in Indianapolis and subsequently joined Conference Indiana.

Lawrence Central and Indianapolis Pike left Conference Indiana and joined the Metropolitan, basically switching spots with the Terre Haute schools.

Huntington North is leaving the North Central Conference to join the Northeast Hoosier

New Castle has left the North Central and joined the Hoosier Heritage.

Culver, Knox, Triton and LaVille are all leaving the Northern State and will join the newly formed Hoosier North Conference with several other small schools including North Judson, Knox, Caston, Winamac, West Central and Pioneer.

Frontier, North White, South Newton and Tri-County of the Midwest conference are now seeking to replenish it's league now that four of it's members have bailed out to join Hoosier North.

New Prairie is considering a move to the Northern Indiana Conference and Jimtown, Bremen and John Glenn are looking to move into the Three Rivers Conference as it watches the Northern State disintegrate under its feet.

So on and so on and so on.

So where does this leave programs like Michigan City and La Porte?

While the majority of the Duneland Conference schools and communities continue to grow, Michigan City and La Porte's student and community population will remain stagnant or will likely see future declining enrollments and sizes. A move to the more 4A / 5A centric Northern Indiana Conference along with New Prairie would address the competitive balance issues and also likely result in better travel options to the South Bend/Mishawaka/Elkhart corridor.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 4 2013, 12:57 PM

Tonight is the final regular season home game for the Michigan City Wolves Football team in 2013, which means it is also Senior Night. Come on out and honor the leaders of the Pack as they take Ames Field for one last time. City takes on Portage tonight starting at 7pm.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 7 2013, 10:29 AM

Another quiet offensive game. Next week is the seasons best chance for a 3rd win as we visit LaPorte. They do have to figure out a way to stop the LP power run game.

Posted by: UnderTheLights Oct 7 2013, 08:39 PM

I agree with you on they need to slow down or stop the run game to beat LP, but the offense needs to show up to the game for once. The last 4 game the offense scored a combine 24 points with a nice avg. of 6 points per game, thats not including a fumble recovery for a td against LC or the safety against Merrillville that the defense score for them. You aren't going to win a single game if you can't score more than 6 points a game. Maybe coach karp needs to make a couple chances on offense to light a fire under these kids or tell them that turning over the ball multiple times a game is a bad thing. Which ever is easier.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 8 2013, 11:14 AM

Teams have taken away the deep passing game after the third week of the season. We can't really "take chances" anymore, as that is how they are getting played. City is going to have to run the ball successfully to make teams stuff the box if they want to get their passing game back.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 11 2013, 09:46 AM

Tonight is the City/Laporte game at LaPorte. It is also LaPorte's homecoming. Should be fun.

Posted by: taxthedeer Oct 13 2013, 06:17 PM

Sectional Draw:

Sectional 9 5A
Game #1 LaPorte at Mishawaka
Game #2 SB Adams at Winner Game #1
Game #3 Munster at Michigan City

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 13 2013, 06:53 PM

Tough draw for the local teams.

Posted by: MSFOOTBALL Oct 14 2013, 09:27 AM

I'm sorry but the only time this is the kids fault is if they drop out of school or get expelled. Everyone suffers when these numbers drop. People who really care about their children's education will not move here based on our scores educationally. Families move away because of hopes of a better school system. I know families that moved to New Prairie just for their son to play football. Read the writing on the wall people because it isn't going to get any better!! I kept my son in this school system with hopes to attempt to change things because if all the better students and families leave--what will be left? It just cost me probably 25,000 dollars in tuition money for college. He use to be in the top 5% of his graduating class but because of the decrease in student population he is barely in the top 10% and if he drops below that it gets even worse.
Next, lets talk football. I'm not placing blame here by any means but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this all out. Any good team has three quarterbacks? How many do we have?? one? lets see we had two on JV but now are both out with injuries. Hmm we only have one?? WHY? If something would have happened to our QB early in the season then what? I blame this on poor coaching at all levels. I blame the AD of athletics for not questioning this too. How can a team be successful with all your eggs in one basket? For the last four years it has been the same thing repeating. Now we had different coaches but the same AD and he has more control over the program than you realize--who hires these coaches???HMMM. him. Now lets look at all the prior coaches records that have left MC--wow they are all having much better seasons than MC has seen. The only half way decent season MC had was BUZZ's last year here. Sure he moved to a system where there is a lot of money invested in the team but it doesn't take only that for a winning season. It takes intelligence people!! We have plenty of talent in MC. Sure we lack size but everyone knows that where you lack in size you must make up for in speed. We lack size because the larger kids never play because of Pop Warner. Yes that puts us at a definite disadvantage in the DAC. Our kids need agility and speed training at the middle school level. Very few in MC can afford to send their son to a private trainer.
Football is a year around sport in MC. My son has been lifting weights for five years because he started in eight grade. Our team went to the NWI weight lifting competition last year and took first place among 13 schools. This year they were either second or third at NWI because they did have kids placing in the top three spots in their weight class. The kids take weight training during school to keep up in the weight room. Maybe this helps or does it hurt? Are they fatigued from this and now not performing at practice or the game like they should. Back to the size of our players--they are to small if you aren't 6'-4" and 225+. These are the only kids D-1 schools are looking at. Every college I have been to in the last year--and there have been many, the first thing they do is see how tall the player is, weigh them, then have them run a 40. Top three things they are interested in right off the bat when you walk in the door. Most of these schools already knew who they were interested in and the rest were there to just make a comparison for the recruit Sure a winning record might get you a better LOOK from a school that otherwise wouldn't look but over all that is the problem. We also don't have kids on our team that have fathers that have played college ball at the D-1 level. Why?? Because they are educated people that have to go where the jobs are and that is not in MC. Hirsch and Lemon are the last left in the area that I am aware of that played college football and Hirsch's are graduated. If you haven't figured it out--a lot of it is who you know. Even if you are a D-1 player you are still the little fish in the big ocean because there are plenty of kids out there just like you. You need connections to colleges and I really don't think we have any here in MC. We can't even get coaches that have even played football in college. Trust me, I'm not saying that because you played it makes you a better coach either--fact is some can coach and others can't.
I don't understand why MC doen't stick with plays that work? You will see them run a play-get 8 yards and never see that play for the rest of the game. You win the games moving the chains not throwing to a receiver under double coverage. The news-paper and /or the coach never gives any credit to the kids that did well in the game. They might make a mistake to but if they had a great game for them why can't you throw them a bone? Like Anthony Lemon-the most announced name in three years. Last year he had 25 tackles in one game. When I brought this up to some one their response was " our linebackers aren't doing their job and making him look good." REALLY?? he makes the tackle and stops them from getting even more yards? The last two games he scored a TD on defense with a fumble recovery and ran one back at Laporte 86 yards or some insane number for another. What about all those kids who were talked up in preseason?? I don't recall ever hearing this young mans name or seeing his picture? Other kids that I have noticed and can say they have improved a great deal are Janatik, Warren, Mike Oberholtzer, Joshua Nowatzke, Coltyn Nowatzke, Matt Schoof, Medina, Jacob Kubath, James Lane, Scott Paull, Wroblewski, Kent, Stevenson and I'm sure there are more. Why does the QB always have to be on the front page of the sports? I'm not blaming him either. He has talent but it isn't being used appropriately. Now there I guess it does all go back to the coaches...

Posted by: big schwag Oct 14 2013, 09:40 AM

Posted by: MCRAVEN Oct 14 2013, 10:20 AM

I was with you until you started mentioning names. Sounds like you have a kid that you want his name thrown out there in the paper. Email a coach or Parkhouse if you feel that your kid is better than the rest they will gladly mention him I am sure. You had all good points until you said that its not about bashing the kids and then bash one. The QB is the kid that takes more heat than anyone so he receives more credit when he does right and more negativity when he does wrong. Then you list a names of kids that you want to be said and then I am really lost.... I understand as a parent it can be frustrating, trust me, but pointing the finger at everyone is not the answer. Every year its the same thing up here. "Culture" is hard to break. after the first loss everyone including the kids fall into the same realm of City football that has been here even when Buzz was here. Think, he did not win in post season. His best season was 6-4 with a 5-0 start. They lost one and everyone took that opportunity to bail and point fingers. It is honestly sad to watch. Most of you people probably liked dallas in the 90s? Then jumped on the patriots or colts wagon?....I have seen many broncos jerseys in MC this year as well. They will lose too and I am sure it will be the coaches fault....

Posted by: MSFOOTBALL Oct 14 2013, 11:16 AM

I am not bashing kids.. I back our QB 100%--and how do you know that he isn't my son? I am proud to claim all these boys. I claim Chris Hartsburg, Caleb Kalvaitis, Erik Karpinski, Dallas Thacker, Crishard Williams,Ryan Jone, Marcus Horton, Eric Stevenson, Scott Paull, Jacob Kubath, David Medina, Joshua Nowatzke, Logan kaletha, JaVarrie Oliver, Michael Warren, Donovan Wilson, Anthony Lemon, Michael Oberholtzer, Gordon Terry, David Lundy, Dylan Bogart, Jalen Smith, X Coan, Alex De Santiago and Charles Phillips too. These are all seniors that hardly get to play, if at all. That is another problem I don't understand. How do you have 25 senoirs and not have enough players ready to win games? All of these seniors should be playing because they have been playing for four years. They all have their own special qualities that give to this team. So I do believe in the team and that was the point I was trying to make. All you ever hear about are the skilled position players that do get their name in the paper regardless of how they play. So on that note I am proud to have those boys as well but they are already recognized every week. Sure everytime Logan Kaletha jumps up into the air to make an amazing catch I hold my breath because he worries me to death. He is the teams only receiver able to do that and yet again he has made the front page for these. Donovan Wilson and JaVarrie Oliver are all known for their talents--everyone has heard their names and seen their pictures. Anyone who gets the newspaper knows who gets recognized. So back to my point-I was saying that the coaches, the photographer and the writer are the ones who have control over publicity of the players. It's this publicity that also controls getting a kids name out there. Responding to someone elses post about kids that cut practice yet still play friday night.. that is the responsibility of the coach to handle as well. More importantly how many of these seniors came to every single practice and didn't see enough field time for a whole quarter during the entire season? Then they wonder why there aren't kids interested in playing. Back to the QB-- I said that I feel they don't use his skills appropriately. He has a great arm and most the time to much heat on the ball. Sounds to me you are getting defensive for no reason. I named names of kids that you hear at the games but never get any credit from the coaches when interviewed. I also think every senior should have had more play time senior night--actually I think they should try to utilize more of them for sectionals. I know you hear--but we need to win games...news flash....we aren't so lets try to mix it up and try something else. MC has nothing to lose but everything to win in supporting these players as they are all very intelligent, mature, responisible and deserving.

Posted by: Jesse B Oct 14 2013, 01:37 PM

I don't think it is that bad of a draw for MC. They have a bye and a home game. You have to beat two teams at a minimum to win the sectional, you might as well have a game at home.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 14 2013, 02:26 PM

Munster is a really good team. They already beat Lake Central this year, who blew City out.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 14 2013, 03:55 PM

Looking at the discussion, it probably is too simple to give an us versus them type answer to why football doesn't succeed here.

First and foremost I think the biggest problem here is football isn't the primary sport of Michigan City. That is basketball, and it has been for at least three generations. Even back in the pre-consolidation days Elston and Rogers football teams were historically mediocre to bad, while the basketball teams were usually pretty good. Football has never really been a big deal. Kids aren't going to the football field, they are going up to the basketball court.

Second, our feeder programs and a varsity football team aren't aligned at all, whereas in the really successful towns they are run by the same basic group of people at the very least, if not being overseen directly by the head varsity football coach.

Third, the Pop Warner program does miss out on a very important subset of players due to its rules and regulations, and it just so happens to be the spot where City seems to be weakest on a regular basis, which is in the trenches. Annually it feels like we have issues protecting the QB, we have issues with the power running game, and we have issues getting pressure on the opposing QB.

Forth, we have a real problem with kids staying on the team. A big part of it coincides with our problem as a school system of kids not being able to get past 9th grade. We have the numbers all of the way through 9th grade, and then suddenly the numbers drop dramatically. Kids fail, they get in trouble, and they quit in WAY higher numbers than most any school system in our area. I have my theories as to why, but for this discussion, they don't really matter. What matters is it happens, and it hurts the athletic teams, including football.

Fifth, with the other problems in the school system, and in the town in general, we are bleeding high school aged students to other school systems. We are now the smallest school in the DAC. While it can be overcome, when you have as much as twice as many students to pick from, it doesn't lend itself to favoring the teams with the smallest pools. There is a reason the state champs come from the biggest schools.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 14 2013, 04:46 PM

I didn't quite finish my thought before, but let me continue...

Sixth, us adults need to get over the Elston/Rogers/MCHS thing. It happened almost 20 years ago now. The kids in school now weren't even born when Elston High School went out of existence. While there is room for being upset about how it happened, it is only hurting our kids today to grow in a town that has multiple generations who act like the current high school either doesn't exist, or is not as valuable as the memory of the place that they went to. The big problem is this schism has created a complete lack of community pride. Kids today get to hear about 1966 and 1992, and so on. We were making the history that everyone wanted to be part of. It is time to put the community pride back into the school system.

Seventh, there are some really uncoachable kids in our schools. Kids won't get good grades, won't listen to coaches, won't show up to practices, etc. I think with as few big players as City has produced in recent years, the kids who really are good hear about how good they are too much and start to believe their own print. A wake up call to how the outside world views them is in order for many kids.

Eighth is this town has the worst self-opinion of just about anywhere out there. As a whole Michigan City looks down on itself like nobody's business, and it extends to the high school. We are "Little Gary", we are "ghetto" etc. Kid hear this crap all of the time while growing up. What happened to community pride? What is there to inspire kids to succeed?

Posted by: Jesse B Oct 14 2013, 08:21 PM

Why not take the approach that Chesterton beat Munster by 21 points and MC had Chesterton down by 17 well into the 4th quarter(or did everyone forget that). If you look at it that way plus being at home, you might want to think about a sectional championship game on November 8th against Mishawaka at Ames Field.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 15 2013, 05:34 AM

--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jesse B @ Oct 14 2013, 09:21 PM) </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Why not take the approach that Chesterton beat Munster by 21 points and MC had Chesterton down by 17 well into the 4th quarter(or did everyone forget that). If you look at it that way plus being at home, you might want to think about a sectional championship game on November 8th against Mishawaka at Ames Field.
[/quote]

Because we gave up the last 21 points to Chesterton and lost that game, and haven't scored 31 points combined since that game.

Posted by: MCRAVEN Oct 15 2013, 07:03 AM

[quote name='Southsider2k12' date='Oct 14 2013, 03:26 PM' post='40915']
--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jesse B @ Oct 14 2013, 02:37 PM) </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
I don't think it is that bad of a draw for MC. They have a bye and a home game. You have to beat two teams at a minimum to win the sectional, you might as well have a game at home.
Munster is a really good team. They already beat Lake Central this year, who blew City out.
[/quote

Munster is also the team that got blown out by chesterton. They also play a generally 4a schedule that is def not as hard as citys

Posted by: Jesse B Oct 15 2013, 07:26 AM

I didn't think the MC-LC game was a blow out. 10-10 at half is a competitive game.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 15 2013, 08:06 AM

The score might have said 10-10, but it was not a 10-10 in the trenches. The huge fumble recovery and return turned that from a 17-3 game to a 10-10 game. The yardage in that first half was hugely lopsided for the Indians.

I know it sounds bad, but I wonder about the mental state of this team. They have not been the same since the 4th quarter of the Chesterton game. The entire season changed right there. Heck I can almost pick out the exact play even.

Posted by: Jesse B Oct 15 2013, 11:38 AM

You have to admit kickoff returns, punt returns and defensive scores are still part of the game. You can't count on them but the points still count. The mental state of the team I cannot comment on that but I wouldn't doubt what you are saying and yes I think everyone can almost pick out the exact play. It seems like the offense have been a little confused since that game too. I am not sure if anyone has picked up on this but it seems like the Wolves come out for the first series or two and try something new each week and whether it is successful or not go back to the same predictable sweeps and long passes which lead to a lot of 3 and outs. I assume they been working on these play packages all summer long but they have no real identity. Are they a power team, are they a spread option team, are they a speed sweep team, are they a gunslinging pass 50 times a game team or are they whatever that offense was against LaPorte team? I give the coaches credit they are willing to trying about every offense in the book maybe they just haven't found the perfect one for this team.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 15 2013, 11:45 AM

I'm saying that the second half and final score more accurately represented that game, versus the score of the first half.

Posted by: Jesse B Oct 17 2013, 06:21 PM

Only one more regular season game left for the 2013 MC Wolves(practice game) to perfect their craft before the post season starts. I hope the Wolves spent time this week working on stopping the run on defense, running north & south(at some point you have to turn up and pick up positive yards) on offense and not running in circles on the kickoff return. I thought I saw a first last week when the MC return man fielded the kickoff ran to the 11 and turned around, probably frightened, and nearly ran backwards into his own endzone for a safety.

For those who want to blame the o-line you can't help the run game if the carrier is afraid to run forward. Someone needs to tell these kids that there are good athletes all across the DAC not just in MC.

I still believe the Wolves will win the sectional and regional this year. I hope there is still 11 kids on the team that also believe it too.

Posted by: UnderTheLights Oct 17 2013, 07:00 PM

I agree with you jesse on this, everyone thinks its the o-lines fault that the offense is struggling but they aren't looking at the big picture. You can't move the ball forward running sideline to sideline (unless they changed the rules).

Rule number 1 you never run backwards at all, you at least lower your shoulder and gain an extra yard to help your team out. The defense can't give up 300 plus yards running the ball and the offense needs to maintain a drive not going 3 and out all the time making the defense tried even more.

To solve the problem starts with the WRs need to catch the ball (when the ball is thrown, if the QB throws it on target) offense needs to control the clock by running it and the defense needs to hold the run game. Easier said then done.!!! But I can see a 21-17 win for the wolves going into sectionals!!

Posted by: Fancy Nancy Oct 18 2013, 01:25 PM

I agree!!! Any given Friday night any one is beatable! You have to believe you are going to get hit, it is football and if you have the ball your for sure going to get hit! A great o-line needs to give their QB at least a good 5 to 10 seconds to make a decision, and a great QB needs to be able to make that decision in that time frame. I have counted and there are times his is not getting those seconds and there time he does. Running west and east does not score points, nor does running backwards and dancing in place. Make decision, protect the ball and stop complaining and pointing fingers. Rub some dirt on it and get it done! I am going to throughout a question: Does Ryan Washington really want to play as the Quarterback of this team? HMMMM!!

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 21 2013, 07:49 AM

Nice effort to try to rally on Friday, but the big deficit and inability to stop the running game costs City again.

They have two weeks to try to come up with something to beat Munster now at Sectionals.

Posted by: sunny Oct 21 2013, 09:33 AM

WOW...are we really going to single out just one player on this team? After our "great" start, this team has turned into a real disappointment and it's not just one player, IMO. What happened to our self-proclaimed Division 1 receivers? You have to be on the field to succeed. You have to run the proper routes and "hustle" when running those routes. You have to be able to catch the ball. Quit reading and believing your own press clippings... How about linemen that can't sustain their blocks and give Ryan more time? I won't even talk about the defense. Who is the defensive coach? Does he have any experience besides Pop Warner Football? There is plenty of blame to go around on this team besides Ryan... The most exciting and athletic player on this team is our SAFETY (leading tackler) Anthony Lemon. If it wasn't for him, I can't imagine what the scores would be. He is without a doubt our offensive MVP, defense MVP, and special teams MVP.... We need to quit getting so excited after we beat up on a couple of cupcake teams like Gary Roosevelt and SB Washington... I agree with MSFOOTBALL that things are not getting better. Families have moved their kids to different school systems such as New Prairie, where their son is now playing on a winning (undefeated) team. I know of one (MC) family that moved their son to another school and their son has gone on to become an All-State football player... As a community, we cannot blame one individual on this team or any team. It is easy to blame the quarterback. He receives all of the glory when we win and all of the blame when we lose. I just don't understand that to call out one player on a 2-7 team serves any purpose. Why question whether or not he wants to be our QB is unfair IMO, especially considering he has another year to be our QB.

Posted by: JohnnyCakes Oct 21 2013, 11:35 AM

The blame could be pointed in several directions but certainly not at the players themselves. The Head Coach is too lethargic and inept for this level of competition. A response of "oh shucks and we'll get em' next time!" after repeated failures and costly game mismanagement is no longer an appropriate response! It is time to make a change in the Athletic Director position and the Football Coaching staff! Parents and Players are frustrated because nothing has changed over the course of Karpinski's regime and there are no real expectations moving forward.

Parent's with Middle School athletes are looking at NP, Marquette, Andrean etc. for a reason, they are well coached and there are high expectations.

The writing is on the wall!

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 21 2013, 02:37 PM

Now that is just silly. The players play the games. Of course they deserve some level of blame.

Posted by: taxthedeer Oct 23 2013, 08:48 PM

Freshmen team concluded it's season with a 12-6 overtime loss to Crown Point this evening at the Dog Pound.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 24 2013, 02:06 PM

The Middle School team was undefeated FWIW.

Posted by: taxthedeer Oct 24 2013, 04:35 PM

--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jesse B @ Oct 24 2013, 02:53 PM) </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Is there any promise on the 9th grade level for better days? Do they look to have any talent and size? How did they end up record wise?
[/quote]
I believe the 9th graders went 1-8 only winning against South Bend Washington, the I think JV went 0-8, South Bend Washington cancelled their game.

My freshmen RB shuttled between the Freshmen, JV and varsity team the entire season.

I'm not about to just sit back and watch him lose all of his games for the next three years.

Posted by: UnderTheLights Oct 24 2013, 05:23 PM

The 8th grade team that is going to come in will have losing seasons every year that they play. There is no hope for this program at any sport besides girls basketball and thats pretty much it. We are the Gary Roosevelt in the DAC. We have been in last place in conference standings as a point total as i can remember so "CITY IS NOT ON THE RISE". To be a successful program you need money and people with winning attitude to change the culture of the school and the kids in it, like in schools like Valpo, crown point, and Chesterton. Plus kids over there look like football players like in the case of Valpo and CP. Lets not get ahead of ourselves about the freshmen runningback every game I saw him on freshmen and jv, he must of had a butterfinger b4 the game because he cough up the ball a lot. As I stand and sit under the lights and watch our team play every friday, I see and hear certain kids (maybe like 2 or 3) on the give 110% every down of every play. Others I don't know if they are worried about there love life or what "party" they are going to after the game. You have 48 minutes of your season left and I'm wondering what team will show up. The team that scored 100 plus points in the first 2 games, or the team that choke against Chesterton in the last 7 minutes of the game. I believe that we can beat Munster by a score of 27-21 but we need to be perfect on the Offense, Defense, and special teams.

Posted by: MCRAVEN Oct 24 2013, 05:44 PM

In my book sitting behind a keyboard and typing is sitting back.....

I know the freshman that you talk about, being that there is only one that floated around. How is he YOUR freshman?

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 24 2013, 06:20 PM

Girls basketball is not the only successful program at City. Not even close.

Posted by: taxthedeer Oct 24 2013, 07:53 PM

I'm his mentor.

Posted by: taxthedeer Oct 24 2013, 08:02 PM

I have no idea what he eats before the game, probably on Thursday, probably whatever was on the menu in the MCHS lunchroom on Thursday and a bowl of cereal on Saturday mornings.

Posted by: big schwag Oct 25 2013, 07:55 PM

Why dont you support the,team and help out if you care so much taxthedeer, your probably in his ear telling him how great he is and how all the other players and coaches suck, hes never going to workout cause hes going to rely on "talent", he was so great he help his team win a combined 1 game between frosh and jv, theres already enough guys on the team like and it shows when they get outworked, besides what makes you think he,would play anywhere else

Posted by: taxthedeer Oct 25 2013, 10:03 PM

I never told them nothing like that.

A month ago we were driving home from his brothers Pop Warner game in Schereville and I gave all the boy my pep talk about everything that happens when all the team does is find ways to do nothing but lose all the time, I covered it all, the heads hanging, shoulders drooping, teardrops flowing, clikity clak, clikity clak, clikity clak, the long sad bus ride back home, never getting to wear their uniform again, their girlfriend breaking up with him, etc. I basically shared some of my life experiances.

They just laughed at me and told me I was fat.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 26 2013, 07:32 AM

And people wonder why the kids don't care about football, in this town. This is the type of crap they get to see and hear.

Posted by: MSFOOTBALL Oct 26 2013, 02:20 PM

I'm sorry but some of this mentality needs to stop. The true problem in Michigan City is politics and self centeredness. The reason the 8th grade went undefeated is structure and coaching. Coach Summers has done a great job for many years now and we are lucky to have him. You must remember we are talking about high school teenagers here. Maybe they have two tests on their mind which are in their college credit classes or how about the SAT or ACT that Saturday morning. I think it's wrong for you to assume these boys are more worried about their social lives and parties. You think they enjoy losing? Maybe if they would have been placed in positions that were appropriate for their talents we wouldn't be having this conversation. Sure it's easy to put this on the kids--I don't--I place it on individuals like you who don't know how to step up and be helpful to the program. Performance in athletics is up to the boys--the rest falls on the coaches and the parents.

Posted by: sunny Oct 26 2013, 09:19 PM

Hahaha...just wait, you're going to love this parent group coming up and the drama that comes with it. lol

Posted by: MCRAVEN Oct 27 2013, 12:21 PM

I will not disagree that Coach Summers does a lot of good for the middle school program, but if you went to their games you would see that the reason they win is they were more athletic than other teams. Specifically a few kids. They will have to develop a line at some point if they want to compete. They were significantly smaller across the line than any other team they saw. Speed is great, but size will need to be found. They ran sweep sweep sweep. When they passed the ball they did have issues protecting. Its all about finding some linemen on both sides of the ball. Remember in '09 when Buz won... He had a great line...

Posted by: UnderTheLights Oct 27 2013, 04:21 PM

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink it, one of my favorite idioms and quotes. You can give them the information to block, tackle, and read or know what to do in a cover 3 or cover 2 defense but it comes down on players doing it right. I'm pretty sure ACT/SAT are not every weekend (that is held at the high school) and i am sure the whole team is not going to take the test every weekend to, because they have film the next day. Plus those test cost a lot of money to take and some of the members on the team don't have that type of money to take the test that often. Why the wolves were successful in the 09 season because of one person and one person only Adam Harmon. The line was average at best in 09 and to be honest i think our line today is just as good or on par with them. To be a successful program you need to have competition with other kids to get the best kids at the right positions even if they have to go both ways. Maybe you don't have 22 kids that can play offense and defense, maybe you have only 15 that are good enough to play. In the crown point game for example i saw a couple of kids play both ways and the team as a whole looked a bit better.

Posted by: Jesse B Oct 27 2013, 06:26 PM

This analysis could be said for most City teams lately. They have great "athletes" in Pop Warner or Middle School but never seem to develop when they get to the High School. Buzea won because of Adam Harmon and he required kids to lift and condition. A lost coaching tool. I don't believe he had a great line, if I recall Ryan Issac was spotted at guard and only played defense full time, and the other big kid had mono and missed about half the season. Great line no, maybe an experienced staff that knew what to look for? A few "athletes" will only win you games in basketball not football.

How is one coach able to find a "great line" and no one else has been able. Isn't that coaching and not "on the kids"? If other teams are stronger and MC has size but not "quality" as has been said before is that all on the kids too? The kids shouldn't be off the hook but competition and enforcing a work ethic sometimes comes from the top down. The kids from the 2009 team and the kids on the varsity now or 8th grade team aren't much different. Maybe the difference is how they are developed, pushed and the expectations that are placed on them.

Posted by: MCRAVEN Oct 27 2013, 07:29 PM

I also want to point out that we are judging success off of a 6-4 season with no playoff wins. Coaching is an aspect of it, but you also can not turn water into wine.

Posted by: Jesse B Oct 28 2013, 07:12 AM

So once every 19 years we get wine and come to find out it was Boone's Farm. So I guess there is little hope of future success if I read this correct.

Posted by: JohnnyCakes Oct 28 2013, 08:27 AM

Why would the parent group be an issue?

Posted by: Jesse B Oct 28 2013, 08:57 AM

I don't understand that either. . . I wouldn't believe a coach would be that insecure to frequent this site to begin with. All of their time should be tied up with X's and O's. I don't even know what a parent group does, do they provide gatorade for the kids and those pretty pink accessories?

Posted by: JohnnyCakes Oct 28 2013, 04:44 PM

I don't know whether it's a personal jab at the Middle school or the Freshman parents.

Posted by: Big Blue Oct 29 2013, 12:34 PM

I have a question . Why do we have only one middle school football team? We have 3 middle schools. I remember when Barker and Krueger had football teams. LaPorte has two middle school teams. Is it because of numbers? If you had three teams you would have 3 quarterbacks, at least 15 lineman or more, 6 or more runningbacks, etc. It would bring competition at the freshman/high school level. I also, don't understand why the school system doesn't allow the private school kids the chance to play. The parents are tax payers. I would love to hear your comments.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 29 2013, 01:19 PM

The idea was to get the players playing together as soon as possible, instead of against each other. Most towns do it this way.

As to the private school kids, with school funding the way it is, those kids funding formula is gone from the public schools if they don't go to them. I wouldn't let them play either until they brought their dollars back to the public schools.

Posted by: Fancy Nancy Oct 30 2013, 11:17 AM

Let me clarify what the parent group does, for everyone concerned! They are a support group for the football team. They figure out a nice meal for the team every Thursday Night, pack Gatorade and sack lunch for away games, get game sponsors for home games, put the senior boys banners up on Franklin street, put the program together for home football game, and try to have a nice banquet at the end of the season for JV and Varsity! If the parent group did get those pretty pink accessories you can bet everyone would have one! Each year the group of parents are different but they are all working for the same cause "the boys"!

Posted by: taxthedeer Oct 30 2013, 01:07 PM

I love all of Buck's teammate's parents. Many of them are among some of my best friends.

Posted by: Big Blue Oct 30 2013, 02:55 PM

I just want to wish the boys varsity football team the best of luck this Friday. I sure hope this town is behind these boys. I do believe they will win. They need to believe they can win.
Good luck to the coaches, bring this town a WIN!!!!!

Posted by: Fancy Nancy Oct 30 2013, 03:00 PM

Hey Jesse B! I been believing in the W since the start, more since after the Chesterton Game. I can believe all I want but they have to see the W and believe in it to! As I call it this week starts the " Road To Indy"! BELIEVE and SEE! Anything is possible, any Friday Night!

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Oct 30 2013, 03:03 PM

It would be great to see a win. It is a home game, so hopefully there is a good crowd, and good weather!

Posted by: taxthedeer Oct 31 2013, 05:34 PM

I expect the Munster backfield trio of Seth Gutwein, Joe Jumonville and Dom Lucito to have a field day tomorrow night.

The Wolves run defense has been non-existent week in and week out.

Let's review some of the things that have happened during the 2013 regular season campaign:

• Two weeks ago Crown Point's Tristian Peterson gained 200 yards on 39 carries including 4 touchdowns against Michigan City
• La Porte's Charles Salary went absolutely berserk and set the Slicer's all-time single game rushing record by gaining a whopping 353 yards on just 27 carries
• In City's final regular season home game Portage had 353 yards of total offense and 24 first downs at Ames Field
• Brandon Scott of Lake Central ran for 143 yards on 32 carries over at The Burial grounds
• Bryant Isabell gained 199 yards on 18 carries while QB DJ Wilkins was 15 for 17 passing for 156 more yards in the Merriville Pirates 56-9 homecoming rout of the Wolves
• DAC opener the Chesterton Trojans put up 236 yards on 36 carries on the ground with Avery Beeks and John Horvath getting the bulk if the carries in their shocking 35-31 4th quarter miracle comeback win over City

Wolves lost their running back Ryan Jones week 4 against Valpo and their run game has sputtered with Marcus Horton Jr. getting most of the carries. City has a formidable receiving core in Scotty Kaletha, Donavon Wilson and Michael Olberholtzer but they are expecting crappy, cold and windy weather on Friday night which will most likely negate QB Ryan Washington in the passing game.

City has only done well in only one phase of the game all year punting.

I like Munster to win this one in front of a sparse crowd at Ames Field 28-7.

I'm looking forward to getting into the nice warm gym for some hoops.

Posted by: Jesse B Nov 1 2013, 08:27 AM

Way to stay positive Tax. Why not sit in the gym now and be disappointed there too!! Let me predict how that will go, how about near .500 record overall with a slightly under .500 record in the DAC. I expect a heartbreaking loss in sectionals in front of a sparse crowd at the Wolves Den. The attendance at BB games are getting smaller due to the die-hard white hairs from back in the day dying off.

I'm predicting a close game tonight. I hope the Wolves can hold onto the ball with the expected rain and the Butterfingers you supply as a mentor.

Posted by: Fancy Nancy Nov 1 2013, 10:41 AM

Jesse B I am with you! Hoping for a close game, strike first and often! Go M.C.! Nay sayers stay home please, all the boys need is positivity in the stands!

Posted by: sunny Nov 2 2013, 12:30 PM

Why was Anthony Lemon in at QB for that last play of the game? Didn't we need him and his speed in as a 3rd receiver? He was the only player on the field making plays last night...Why wouldn't you have Ryan Washington and his strong arm in on that play to throw the ball deep down field? I have heard rumors that he was in the locker room and don't like what I'm hearing...anybody know the scoop?

Posted by: Jesse B Nov 2 2013, 06:57 PM

I don't know the whole scoop but I believe he was already ejected from the game with a few minutes to go in the fourth quarter. I am not sure what he did. I read where Coach Karpinski said he was frustrated. That's too bad I assume a lot of kids get frustrated but you still need to keep your cool and compete.

Posted by: UnderTheLights Nov 3 2013, 01:38 PM

2013 is done and over with sadly to say. We had a lot of talent at the skill players probably best in a couple of years. I believe if we played the way we did it the last 2 weeks minus the bye week during the regular season we would be a 5 to 6 win team. Now the question that is to come who deserves to All- Conference. I know one kid who deserves it hands down and should be consider for All-State in mind. The other two are up in the air for now. Hopefully the players and coaches look at what it takes to win. Players looking at other players on their team or other teams to see what is the work needed to win and the coaches to look at the film or look at the coaches themselves to see what system or style they need to coach to make the players to succeed. I will leave this post in a positive out look in the future. In the 2010-2011 season we went 1-9 both times, 2012-2013 season we went 2-8 both both times, if history tells you anything we should win one more game next year. To the seniors that look at the future, I hope they will be successful in life going to college and becoming good young men in many years to come.

Posted by: backwoods Nov 5 2013, 08:32 AM

Sunny for someone that earlier was calling out a poster on calling out a player, you sure enjoy doing the same thing in your own little way. What does it matter now. It seems like you know the story but want someone else to put it out there so you aren't blamed for doing so, Or you really don't know and are just fishing for information. For a minute there I thought I was back in grade school. Also, make sure you know what you are discussing before you post. City does not play Gary Roosevelt next year.

Posted by: Jesse B Nov 18 2013, 08:34 AM

Congrats to the three players who made all conference Kaletha, Lemon & Washington.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Dec 3 2013, 04:47 PM

Some good suggestions in here.

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2013/12/03/sports/columnists/doc5294faa60630a089377101.txt

Posted by: taxthedeer Dec 4 2013, 07:18 PM

--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jesse B @ Dec 4 2013, 03:40 PM) </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
I thought I read where Muncie will consolidate their two high schools for next year. They were both 4A teams. Does anyone know if the IHSAA will reconfigure classes next year due to this? I thought they only did that every two years. If Muncie becomes a 6A school any chance Chesterton drops down to 5A? I wonder what they will do with only one "extra" school now, 6A still with 32 and 5A with 33 or some other configuration. It sure would be nice to have a sectional of Chesterton, MC, LaPorte and Munster and keep the South Bend-Mishawaka schools seperate.
[/quote]Muncie Central has an enrollment of 927 and Muncie Central has an enrollment of 915. The 6A/5A cutoff was 1929. The new consolidated Muncie High School will have around 1850 students making it a 5A class school for football.

Even with Muncie Central and Muncie Southside consolidating and Union HS of Dugger closing, Hanover Central, Indianapolis Covenant Christian and Scottsburg will be coming with new programs into the tournament in 2015, the overall tourney field will still consist over 320 schools meaning there will still be a need to keep 5A as the overflow class.

Posted by: Jesse B Dec 7 2013, 08:35 PM

Congrats go out to Anthony Lemon & Logan Kaletha as they were named to All-State team for 5A:


http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/12/07/3803765/indiana-class-5a-all-state-team.html

Posted by: backwoods Dec 9 2013, 08:31 PM

BIG Congradulations go out to Anthony Lemon. All State 1st Team

http://ifca.zebras.net/ifca/candler/foot2013/5a.pdf
Indiana Football Coaches Association

2013 Senior 5A All-State Football Team
Name
DEFENSE
Pos School Year
DL Michael McQueen Concord 12
DL Cameron Thomas Mishawaka 12
DL Donavin Oday FW Snider 12
DL Junior Berry TH South 12
DL W.R. Sanders FW North 12
DL Nick Powell Munster 12
LB Calab Harper McCutcheon 12
LB Cody Shively Mishawaka 12
LB Jacob Kronk Concord 12
LB Rahju Blackmon FW Snider 12
LB Nick Maines Zionsville 12
LB Wyatt Stoetling TH North 12
DB Jerian Beard Anderson 12
DB Dallas Forler Martinsville 12
DB Anthony Lemon Michigan City 12
DB Nick DeFreeze Concord 12
AL Eli Eads Bloomington South 12
AL Nate Deno McCutcheon 12
AL Scott McClellan Huntington North 12
P Brock Elmore Bloomington North 12
2013 Senior 5A All-State Football Team

Posted by: backwoods Dec 9 2013, 08:42 PM

This list was the AP list. The IFCA is a more realistic list since it is voted on by the coaches. The AP list is put together by a reporter in Indy that only knows Indy football. A classic example of this is that QB from Andrean, who is up for Mr. Indiana Football, didn't even make the AP List. As to the IFCA has the Andrean QB as a 1st Team for their class. As a matter of fact noone from the State Champion Andrean Football Team or the Breubuf State Runner Up Team was noted on the AP List.

Posted by: sunny Dec 9 2013, 09:54 PM

Congrats go out to Anthony Lemon & Logan Kaletha as they were named to All-State team for 5A:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/12/07/3803765/indiana-class-5a-all-state-team.html

I see that Drey Devereaux, formerly of Michigan City was named 1st Team All-State also. This would make him a 2 time All-State selection. He would of made a nice addition to the MC Wolves.

Indiana Class 4A All-State Team

The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS -- Class 4A

OFFENSE

QB-Alex Cowan, 5-8, 160, Sr., Columbus East
RB-Markell Jones, 5-10, 200, Jr., Columbus East
RB-Avion Sullivan, 6-0, 190, Sr., Evansville Central
WR-Jordan Hogue, 5-11, 175, Sr., New Haven
WR-Tyler Walden, 5-8, 160, Sr., New Palestine
TE-Ryan Watercutter, 6-2, 190, Sr., Fort Wayne Dwenger
OL-Mirko Jurkovic, 6-5, 260, Jr., South Bend St. Joseph
OL-Evan Kuhn, 6-3, 255, Sr., Columbus East
OL-Matt McCann, 6-5, 280, Jr., Indianapolis Chatard
OL-Nathan Niese, 6-2, 240, Sr., Fort Wayne Dwenger
OL-Cal Scifres, 6-4, 284, Sr., Indianapolis Roncalli
K-Chase Sadler, 6-2, 180, Sr., Indianapolis Chatard

DEFENSE

DL-Mike Annee, 6-1, 240, Sr., Indianapolis Chatard
DL-Noah Grable, 6-1, 220, Jr., New Palestine
DL-Nick Neu, 6-2, 216, Sr., Indianapolis Roncalli
DL-Ian Saylor, 5-11, 185, Sr., New Prairie
LB-Martayveus Carter, 6-0, 200, Sr., East Chicago Central
LB-Sam Dwenger, 5-9, 180, Soph., Columbus East
LB-Piercen Harnish, 6-1, 215, Jr., Norwell
DB-Austin Bauer, 5-9, 155, Sr. Angola
DB-Drey Devereaux, 5-9, 175, Sr., Hobart
DB-Da'Mario Johnson, 6-1, 175, Jr., Hammond Morton
DB-Jordan Summers, 6-3, 190, Sr., Evansville Reitz
P-Josh Springer, 6-0, 180, Jr., Evansville Reitz

Posted by: Jesse B Dec 10 2013, 09:20 AM

Awesome accomplishment Anthony Lemon! I can't remember the last 1st Team All-Stater from Michigan City High School. That list would have to be pretty small. For that matter not just Football but in any sport. I think they had Surface in Wrestling and Novak in Golf and a girl track(Bassett) winner but not much more. Regardless, not too shabby.

Posted by: backwoods Dec 10 2013, 01:16 PM

I would agree with you that Dev would have made a nice addition to the MC Wolves Team this year as well as the 2 or 3 kids that were impact players for the New Prairie Team too. But as some of us know, there is a common thread here as to why some of these kids were not playing here and it wasn't because of the school system... Happy for them that they did well, but sad for City Sports too. They also make impacts in Baseball and Track so it is not only football that took the loss of them going else where...

Posted by: sunny Dec 10 2013, 02:41 PM

Good point Jesse B...my husband also informed me that what was really impressive about Surface, Novak and Bassett being All-State was the fact that their sports were individual sports. Which would mean they HAD to win in their respective sport to be at All-State status. Congratulations Anthony Lemon! He's a great kid, great family and a great student/athlete. A fine representative for MC school system. Does anybody know when was the last time MC had a 1st team All-State football player? It had to be quite a few years back.

Posted by: JohnnyCakes Dec 10 2013, 06:14 PM

The same can be said about Logan Kaletha!

Posted by: taxthedeer Dec 11 2013, 08:59 AM

Ryan Isaac 2009

http://ifca.zebras.net/ifca/candler/foot2009/09allstate/2009_top_50_allstate.pdf

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Dec 12 2013, 07:33 AM

Jeremiah Wincek from Elston at LB?

Posted by: backwoods Dec 15 2013, 10:15 AM

Congradulations again go out to Anthony Lemon for being named News Dispatch Defensive Player of the Year!

This kid did it all from Defense to Special Teams and Offense at the end of the season. Let see the kid Started at Safety, was a return man on kick returns, played wide reciever, and in the last game looked real good when he played QB! Best of Luck to him in the future!

Posted by: outsider Dec 30 2013, 09:52 AM

I had the opportunity to speak to Ben Karasiak (Penn HS Athletic Director), Jim Aldrich (Mishawaka HS A.D), and Brian Buckley (Elkhart Central A.D) in last two weeks. All three said there has never been any talk or consideration to invite new schools to the NIC. All three were also adamant about the negatives of the geography and time zone differences between MC and LaPorte.

Posted by: big schwag Jan 8 2014, 03:02 PM

You talk about cp, valpo, and chesterton like they are good but there not, mville couldnt even beat l.c. Afor the,sectional, who lost to muster who city should have beat in sectionals...then l.c got pisss pounded by penn who gpt crushed in semistate, just shows you that none of these teams are that good. There needs to be a new coach that brings some discipline and accountability to these guys cuz karpinski isnt cuttimg it obviously, rumor has it all of his assistants are leaving cuz there fed up with his softt

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Jan 8 2014, 04:59 PM

I'm curious who this mystery coach is that is wanting to come to City? It isn't exactly a destination job right now.

Posted by: taxthedeer Jan 10 2014, 07:10 AM

Allow me try to translate. What the schwagger is basically wanting to know "Is the DAC really that good or is Michigan City football really that bad?"

Posted by: big schwag Feb 11 2014, 03:39 PM

Ya i typed that from my phone and it came out horrible, all im saying is that the d.a.c. really isnt that great and michigan city should win at least 4 or 5 games every year with the right coach and talent they have, too bad they got rid of karras he might have helped

Posted by: taxthedeer Mar 21 2014, 03:24 PM

John Harrell's site has City hosting Roosevelt again week 1 in 2014.

http://indianahsfootball.homestead.com/files/logs173.htm

Posted by: sunny Mar 28 2014, 08:25 PM

It's been kind of slow. Signing Day has come and gone...most colleges/universities have signed the players that they have targeted for their 2014 rosters. I haven't seen any member from the 2013 football team commit to any university as of this time. I am really surprised that Anthony Lemon has not committed as of yet. He is an excellent football player as well as a honor student. It has also been rumored that other senior's grades are not up to college standards. Is that the reason? Does anybody know of any signings? What will happen to the coaching staff now that Mr. Falls is retiring? I've read posts of mutiny on the football coaching staff? How will the recent MCAS cuts affect the sports programs and especially the football program?

Posted by: Jesse B Mar 29 2014, 09:49 AM

I haven't heard of any players officially signing to play for scholarship. I do believe one or two might be playing DIII. I have to believe maybe some have signed and it just hasn't been publicized. I'd have to think that even if some of the guys that were touted as DI players in pre-season had grade issues they could land at a Junior College. It is rumored that one is getting drafted by a major league club so possibly that is your answer.

Posted by: taxthedeer Mar 29 2014, 01:11 PM

I attended the last two school board meetings. The athletic director position is going to be "restructured" but no details were given what that means. Coaches/programs are going to be cut at the elementary school level but nothing at the middle or high school level. I believe the February enrollment count in grades 9-12 at the high school has dropped to 1645 which would put MCHS about 150 students above the 5A 4A cutoff and system wide MCAS is projected to lose between 50 and 100 students each year for the next 10 years.

Posted by: sunny Mar 29 2014, 04:09 PM

--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jesse B @ Mar 29 2014, 09:49 AM) </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
I haven't heard of any players officially signing to play for scholarship. I do believe one or two might be playing DIII. I have to believe maybe some have signed and it just hasn't been publicized. I'd have to think that even if some of the guys that were touted as DI players in pre-season had grade issues they could land at a Junior College. It is rumored that one is getting drafted by a major league club so possibly that is your answer.
[/quote]
That rumor has been started by his father...Just because you pay money to go to camps, doesn't mean that universities/teams are looking to sign or draft you. But they do appreciate your money. If major league teams are looking at you, you would be receiving ALOT of phone calls and receiving much more publication than he is. MLB teams are not looking at players that have 17 errors in only 25 games. If you check out "Perfect Game" website, you'll see that his name is nowhere to be found as a top prospect in Indiana, much less throughout the country. If he was a MLB prospect, MLB scouts would be attending his HS games, watching his travel team play, contacting his HS coach or AD to schedule times to come watch him play. He would be busy traveling the whole summer between his junior and senior year playing in showcase games for MLB scouts. If you are a high school phenom, agents would be contacting you after your junior year. Major League teams are watching players down south. Can anyone name the last player from this area that was drafted by MLB straight out of high school? MC (Elston & Rogers) has had players with more talent than this kid and were never considered a draft prospect. The only reason this kid is a draft prospect is because that's what his father is telling everyone. Remember, his father also claimed that he would be playing D1 football.

Posted by: outsider Mar 29 2014, 06:27 PM

Larry Dombkowski - Elston 1971 - 7th round Philadelphia Phillies.

Posted by: sunny Mar 29 2014, 06:52 PM

Thank you outsider...43 years. Was Jeff Kahlil drafted about that time?

Posted by: backwoods Mar 29 2014, 08:07 PM

If all this is true, its too bad that the kids can nolonger just enjoy playing the game and being in high school. Seems like alot of pressure is being put on them. If they are Really D1 or MLB Prospects, they will be found. If they are not those prospects, hopefully you have raised a productive member for our community that enjoyed their time they had both in high school, sports, or any club that they may have been a member of...

Posted by: indianamaniac Mar 29 2014, 09:44 PM

Posted by: taxthedeer Mar 30 2014, 07:07 AM

Chris Bootcheck pitched for Rogers his sophomore year then transferred to La Porte the year Elston and Rogers consolidated.

Posted by: Jesse B Mar 30 2014, 09:31 AM

I think John Gardner got drafted out of college(ISU) maybe not high school. Dave Shinn was a pretty good ball player at Iowa State but I don't know if he was ever drafted.

Posted by: sunny Mar 30 2014, 08:19 PM

--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jesse B @ Mar 30 2014, 09:31 AM) </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
I think John Gardner got drafted out of college(ISU) maybe not high school. Dave Shinn was a pretty good ball player at Iowa State but I don't know if he was ever drafted.
[/quote]
I'm not familiar with the names mentioned because I'm not from MC...I just don't think a .350 hitter with 17 errors last year is major league material. Much less a MLB draft pick out of high school. Last year there were players in the DAC (i.e. Olund, Burvan, Seren, Dye, Ralph) hitting well over .400 and didn't get drafted by MLB. I just don't think this player is even college material. There's a reason he didn't receive a football scholarship. IMO...His father is setting him up to fail. But this post is about football, not baseball. So nobody knows of any college (MC football) signings? What's going on with the MC football coaching staff? Anything going on now that basketball is over with? By the way...Keenan Simmons is an All-Stater and should be representing Indiana in the IN/KY game.

Posted by: taxthedeer Mar 31 2014, 05:57 AM

Boys are going to attend continuing to workout at the NAC everyday and are attending another combine in Chicago. New offensive coordinator comes from La Porte plans on moving Ryan Washington to WR and LB.


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=618203068260314&set=vb.100002118787536&type=2&theater

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Mar 31 2014, 06:01 AM

I would love to see this.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Mar 31 2014, 06:02 AM

That is really interesting. Washington's accuracy was pretty awful last year, and with as much of an athlete as he is, I could see the move benefiting him.

So who is the starter at QB this coming season?

Posted by: sunny Mar 31 2014, 08:19 AM

Didn't MC do this with his older brother Rodney? Wasn't he a wide receiver or tight end and they switched him to QB?

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Mar 31 2014, 08:26 AM

Rodney was a QB his last 3 years there. Don't know about before that time.

Posted by: UnderTheLights Mar 31 2014, 08:31 AM

Why would you change him as starting QB now? He was All-Conference last year as QB, if you didn't want him as quarterback you should of made the change during the middle of the season last year. Before you went on that big loosing streak. Now someone brought up something about basketball now. Is Keenan Simmons that good?
Because during the sectional championship he was getting shut down. Making him a non factor in the game.

Posted by: taxthedeer Mar 31 2014, 08:48 AM

Buck tells me they want to make him the quarterback.

Posted by: Jesse B Mar 31 2014, 09:16 AM

Oh God! Why would you move Washington to another position now? Is he really going to see any balls thrown his way? QB and running back are the most important postions in High School football. You have a kid you have touted as a leader on the field and in the film room and you want to bring in a sophmore with no experience. Why not just have a freshman call the shots. If I am Ryan Washington I might as well graduate early.

Posted by: sunny Mar 31 2014, 11:06 AM

--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jesse B @ Mar 31 2014, 09:16 AM) </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Oh God! Why would you move Washington to another position now? Is he really going to see any balls thrown his way? QB and running back are the most important postions in High School football. You have a kid you have touted as a leader on the field and in the film room and you want to bring in a sophmore with no experience. Why not just have a freshman call the shots. If I am Ryan Washington I might as well graduate early.
[/quote]
As a wide receiver, I can't see to many balls being able to be thrown Washington's way. Other teams are going to double team him, the defense(s) will have a number of blitz packages for an inexperienced offensive line and quarterback. And I don't know who the running back will be. At least as the quarterback, Ryan will have the ball in his hands on every offensive play. If making him a wr is true, wouldn't they (coaches) already have a game plan for this? Don't they (coaching staff) prepare themselves at the JV level for such a move? Who was the JV quarterback last year and is he ready for the varsity? This should be interesting...

Posted by: taxthedeer Mar 31 2014, 11:54 AM

Kyle Karpinski was the JV qb. When he got hurt in week 4 Buck was moved up from the freshmen team to the JV and became the QB. Jimmy Henrich III was the freshmen qb all season. The varsity, JV and freshmen all at DAC records of 0-7.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Mar 31 2014, 01:23 PM

Washington had the ball in his hands all year and we all saw how that turned out. Ryan's accuracy has not improved since his freshman year. I am OK with trying to get him into a position better suited for his game.

Posted by: Jesse B Mar 31 2014, 01:47 PM

That sounds like BS all I heard last year was how good he was and the line couldn't block. What is his game better suited for. . .WR? Are we saying he can't play QB so let's get him out of there and go a different direction or do we have some proof he will be an impact WR? So a 3 year experiment is called a failure now. I really thought this coming season had some promise now I am scratching my head. I hope the defense can post shut outs and score a TD or two every game. Are we still playing Roosevelt and Washington next season?

Posted by: taxthedeer Mar 31 2014, 01:58 PM

Roosevelt @ home in week 1. Washington away in week 2.

Posted by: sunny Mar 31 2014, 02:08 PM

So we didn't win a game in the DAC at all levels last year, correct? WOW!!! Does it sound like Karpinski makes the move putting Washington in at WR so that his son can QB? I just don't see how we are going to get Washington the ball. The coaches have to realize that other teams will double and maybe even triple team him. Who are the other WR's? Who's in the backfield? How big is our line going to be? Thank goodness we have Gary and SB Washington on our schedule next year. I see us going 1-7... Maybe a win against Gary.

Posted by: taxthedeer Mar 31 2014, 03:12 PM

When Karpinski played at QB he was very ineffective.

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Mar 31 2014, 04:22 PM

I'd rather see him as an option or wildcat QB. I could also see him being a great return man.

Posted by: MCwolves Apr 7 2014, 11:09 AM

I couldn't agree more with this. This kid is not going to be drafted or even considered. No MLB team is looking for a kid that barely throws 80 mph across the diamond. He is moved to 2nd base this year because he had so many errors playing shortstop last year. There have been plenty of better players in this area that were not even considered being drafted, but his dad thinks he will be. The sad thing is that maybe there family should spend more time educating their kids, so they will be able to pass college courses.

Posted by: taxthedeer Apr 16 2014, 02:54 AM

Interesting college choice, never even heard of this college before:

http://www.heraldargus.com/sports/city-s-wilson-oliver-to-play-at-college-of-the/article_59ebb7f4-c4f0-11e3-8381-0019bb2963f4.html

Posted by: Southsider2k12 Apr 16 2014, 09:13 AM

Great to hear. Best of luck to both, who are great kids.