And here we go. No more distractions, no more holidays…well, for a couple of weeks.
A lot of boys teams got their feet wet last week, but this week we are going fully forward with that side of things.
On the girls side, we aren’t honing in on conference races or anything yet, but things like Jay County’s first ACAC loss in 5 years last week certainly make more games more interesting.
LAST WEEK: 11-3 (4-2 boys, 7-1 girls)
THIS SEASON: 29-11
GIRLS
Warsaw at NorthWood, Tuesday
A battle of unbeatens is always interesting. Make it the first conference game for each of these teams and color me intrigued. One team is winning by 27.8 points per game on average (Warsaw) and the other by 22.5. If Warsaw can walk into the Panthers’ gym and win on a Tuesday, who beats the Tigers this regular season? Bounce picks Warsaw
Eastside at Woodlan, Tuesday
Eastside’s win over Luers last week wasn’t a landmark one, but still an important statement to make. Meanwhile, Woodlan just beat Jay County for the first time in 5 years in the regular season and could have seized some early ACAC control. Lot of momentum in this one up for grabs. Bounce picks Eastside
Carroll at DeKalb, Tuesday
DeKalb suffered their first loss of the season last week to Northrop but things have been going well in Baron land. At Carroll, things have been going better than well as the depth of coach Mark Redding’s roster has shown and Jersey Paul is coming off a near 30 point outing. Bounce picks Carroll
Huntington North at Bishop Luers, Tuesday
Both of these teams would like a win here to really give them some positive momentum going into the season. Marissa Trout is coming off a 22 point performance for the Vikings and to be able to travel to the Lu and get a win helps them more than a Luers win helps them in my opinion. Bounce picks Huntington North
Angola at Fairfield, Tuesday
Look how Angola is on the radar now after a great game against Norwell last week where they were tied at halftime. If you can contend with Norwell, you can contend with anyone in the NECC, right? Angola has a conference loss, but only by 13 to the preseason favorite. Bounce picks Angola
Northridge at East Noble, Thursday
East Noble’s loss to Carroll was a bummer but the Knights did a lot of things right in that game too. With a get right game against Lakeland likely earlier in the week, they should be back in form come Thursday. Northridge though is a different beast, 6-1 heading into the week with their lone blemish a 2-point loss to Homestead. Bounce picks Northridge
Central Noble at Angola, Friday
These have always been great games over the years and while it may not be the NECC’s premiere rivalry anymore, it will still be important. With Central Noble unbeaten in conference at 3-0 heading into the week, this game could muck up things. Is Angola the team to throw the conference into a slight bit of chaos this week? Bounce picks Angola
Homestead at Carroll, Friday
Always a fun rivalry week for these two squads, who both find themselves around the top of the SAC. Homestead is built different. Sorry Carroll. Bounce picks Homestead
Bellmont at DeKalb, Saturday
Another big conference game in a week we are starting to see more of those on the girls side. DeKalb has a heavy week coming off their first loss and Bellmont really wants a positive week after a lopsided lost to the area’s best in Homestead. Bounce picks Bellmont
Homestead at Notre Dame Academy (OH), Saturday
Homestead has been battling with Notre Dame for years and it is always a good out of area/out of state test. They’ll pass it again, I think, as they are 7-1 lifetime in the series. Bounce picks Homestead
BOYS
Homestead at Manchester, Tuesday
I hate to pick against Homestead twice in a row. In fact, it is downright stupid to pick against Chris Johnson. Case in point: they beat Tippy Valley last week and I certainly didn’t pick the Spartans. Mancehster could be a different breed after a 40 point destruction of Oak Hill and I am not sure the matchup for Sparty against Gavin Betten. All of that said, ain’t gonna fool me twice this early. Bounce Picks Homestead
LaVille at Westview, Tuesday
A good matchup up north as Westview showed last week that they have a pretty diverse scoring front, which gives them plenty of options as they adjust to matchups. LaVille is now slouch and Collin Czarnecki can score in a lot of ways, but do they have the depth to match up? Kaden Grau v. Czarnecki is a fun one to watch here. Bounce picks Westview
Wayne at Leo, Wednesday
The Generals take the court for the first time this season, looking for another deep run. While Leo looked solid last week, they still have some things to figure out. That is likely not the case for Wayne right now. Bounce picks Wayne
New Haven at Blackhawk Christian, Friday
The Braves opened their season with a win, New Haven opened theirs with one too. So what matters more in an early season setting like this? A blowout win or a grind it out victory? New Haven’s athleticism should scare you; they are quick and they are aggressive while Blackhawk is conditioned to look past that. Still a pretty new Braves team, but the things they do have back are good. Bounce picks Blackhawk Christian
Canterbury at Columbia City, Friday
Canterbury is certainly on the radar after their opening night win that was a bit unexpected. Depth is a very important tool early though and Columbia City looked really balanced in working by Whitko. That balance should run down Canterbury this early in the season. Bounce picks Columbia City
Warsaw at Homestead, Friday
Sign me up. Warsaw is ready to go one would think, carry the momentum of the best football season in school history even if not many of the football guys cross over. Bounce picks Warsaw
Lakeland at Fremont, Friday
The first big NECC conference game of the year pits two of the league’s contenders against eachother. Lakeland was very balanced in their tight win over the Fort Wayne Hawks last week while Fremont has yet to play as of press time but will have by the time this game is played. Lakeland is in a place where they will need to find success inside against bigger teams and it starts here. Can they avoid Bryce Parnin, who should have set Fremont’s single game block record earlier in the week? Lakeland is deep, Fremont is big. Let’s see what happens. Bounce picks Fremont
Jay County at Woodlan, Friday
Early ACAC bragging rights and a lead up for grabs here with two of the better teams in the conference. Do we get a repeat of the girls side? Each team split their first two but only Woodlan plays prior this week. Bounce picks Woodlan
Bishop Luers at Marian, Saturday
After falling to Blackhawk Christian last week, Marian will host a hungry and ready to play Luers squad that didn’t get to get on the court week one as their football team too made a state finals appearance. Bishop Luers can score 80 on you if you aren’t careful. Bounce picks Bishop Luers
Central Noble at South Side, Saturday
The Cougars will get the chance to bounce back from an opening loss this week and the NECC at SAC school battle is a rare one. South has a lot of height and athleticism on their side with Zachary Belcher and Damarcus Barr, among others. How can Central Noble match up? Bounce picks South Side
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