The 2023 football season is a little more than two months away, meaning it’s time for Outside the Huddle to begin ramping up its coverage.
Blitz? Yeah, he will be around. But before he gives his unique (often wrong) takes, we thought we would present some questions that need answered in each area league between now and opening night on Aug. 18.
First up, the Summit Athletic Conference, which is in for some major changes this fall.
EMERGING FROM THE ALLEN COUNTY BUBBLE
Carroll certainly crashed through the Class 6A glass ceiling a year ago when it ousted top-ranked Hamilton Southeastern in the semistate to earn a berth in the state championship. The Chargers were also the first area program to win a 6A regional since the creation of the class in 2013.
That Carroll run has raised the expectations for the SAC as a whole as 2023 sees the league broadening its horizons with a pair of non-conference games for each team to begin the season, part of the league revamp that also sees the 10 teams separated into two divisions.
Long have we wanted the ability to compare the SAC’s top squads with some of the best in the state. Not since the inclusion of Carroll and Homestead have we gotten it, but even then it was a mish-mash of non-league matchups throughout the schedule where Harding and Elmhurst used to reside.
Now, the entire SAC will partake in the fun over the first two weeks of the season.
How will Carroll handle itself with a rematch against HSE and a visit from Warren Central?
What about Homestead against the likes of Carmel and Noblesville?
Is Bishop Dwenger game to compete against 6A title contender Brownsburg and a nationally-ranked program in Cincinnati Moeller?
Weeks 1 and 2 will give the SAC the chance to showcase its power around the state and beyond. It could also show that perhaps the league isn’t up for the challenges of playing the best of the best.
QUARTERBACK BATTLES
Jimmy Sullivan of Carroll broke out in a big way in 2022, throwing for over 2,200 yards and 27 touchdowns as a sophomore for the Chargers.
Interestingly, he will likely take the field in Week 1 as the most experienced starting signal caller in the conference as a junior.
Eight teams graduated their starting QBs from last year, or at least the guy who saw the most action behind center. The lone exception outside of Carroll is Bishop Dwenger, where Sam Campbell (graduated) and Braxton Bermes saw a similar amount of playing time. And the Saints are far from settled at QB.
While some squads have already identified the heir apparent to the position, others need every rep they can possibly get over the summer to find their QB1 before August 18. It seems like a lot of time, but it really isn’t, particularly when you factor in the limitations of practices prior to August.
TRANSFER PORTAL
Who is transferring where? Who has already transferred? Who is threatening to transfer?
The transfer portal in the SAC is alive and well. It has even sucked in the Northeast 8 this year, with two-sport standout Ajani Washington now at New Haven from Concordia Lutheran.
The dust has begun to clear, but anything can happen between now and the start of school. For every actual transfer, there are three rumors circulating about who could move to another district (or “move”…IYKYK).
In many instances, summer workouts are one of the first definitive indicators that someone is elsewhere from where they were a year ago.
It’s tough to buy into rumors, but facts begin to emerge as the start of the season closes in.
SOUTH SIDE REBUILD
Former Bishop Luers assistant Andrew Goodwell is the latest to look to jumpstart a football resurgence off of Calhoun St. The Archers have lost 49 of their last 53 games dating back to 2017 and enter the fall with 17 consecutive defeats.
But there is some budding positivity for South, with artificial turf being installed this summer, giving the Archers a point of pride within the athletics program that has been missing.
Goodwell’s relationships in the football community have also garnered dividends, whether it be coaches joining his staff or athletes looking to part of a South Side football comeback.
It will no doubt be a multi-year process, but here is hoping Goodwell is precisely what the Archers have needed to revitalize a proud program, with summer workouts a crucial part of that march upward.
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