Region Sports Forums

Hobart @ New Prairie in first round. Oof

Yeah, not a fan of seeing the best two teams in the sectional meet in round 1. To top it off, the winner will play the third best team in the sectional in round two against KV. Lowell could very well be in the sectional championship game because of how week their side of the bracket is.

Hobart/New Prairie could be very interesting. I know the NCC is down, but outside of Penn and Mishawaka so is South Bend area football. And even Penn has had offensive struggles as the year has went on.

Hobart has had defensive issues but has been putting a lot of points on the board; New Prairie defense is very, very good against the run but their offense hasn't been as explosive as in the past. They lost 21-0 to Penn last week....the margin wasn't a surprise and the New Prairie defense actually fared well. What was surprising is that Penn held New Prairie to an eye-popping 9 yards of offense.

Sometimes you have to wonder about the “blind” draw.


Nut

I'm in the minority here but personally I don't think it matters what round teams play in during the Sectional. You know you're going to have to play the other best team in your sectional at some point if you want to win. Whether its first round or in the championship is only a semantic issue.

scarab527 wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 09, 2023 4:55 pm

I'm in the minority here but personally I don't think it matters what round teams play in during the Sectional. You know you're going to have to play the other best team in your sectional at some point if you want to win. Whether its first round or in the championship is only a semantic issue.

I get that mindset. But for the clear two best teams in the sectional to draw each other round 1 just takes something away from the sectional. The sectional championship round should be meaningful and not an afterthought.

BallinFreak wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 09, 2023 4:58 pm

scarab527 wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 09, 2023 4:55 pm

I'm in the minority here but personally I don't think it matters what round teams play in during the Sectional. You know you're going to have to play the other best team in your sectional at some point if you want to win. Whether its first round or in the championship is only a semantic issue.

I get that mindset. But for the clear two best teams in the sectional to draw each other round 1 just takes something away from the sectional. The sectional championship round should be meaningful and not an afterthought.

Isn't Hobart and New Prairie the de facto Sectional Championship? I guess I just don't see the tragedy that they're playing round 1 or round 3. They would have to play at some point. If anything, its more advantageous for the winner of this to play this game early and get some rest in the next couple rounds before Regionals. And I'll say if any team is mad they lost in the de facto Sectional Championship as opposed to the official Sectional Championship they have their priorities in the wrong place.

scarab527 wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 09, 2023 5:12 pm

BallinFreak wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 09, 2023 4:58 pm

scarab527 wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 09, 2023 4:55 pm

I'm in the minority here but personally I don't think it matters what round teams play in during the Sectional. You know you're going to have to play the other best team in your sectional at some point if you want to win. Whether its first round or in the championship is only a semantic issue.

I get that mindset. But for the clear two best teams in the sectional to draw each other round 1 just takes something away from the sectional. The sectional championship round should be meaningful and not an afterthought.

Isn't Hobart and New Prairie the de facto Sectional Championship? I guess I just don't see the tragedy that they're playing round 1 or round 3. They would have to play at some point. If anything, its more advantageous for the winner of this to play this game early and get some rest in the next couple rounds before Regionals. And I'll say if any team is mad they lost in the de facto Sectional Championship as opposed to the official Sectional Championship they have their priorities in the wrong place.

Kankakee Valley is the third best team and they are much improved. They did give Hobart quite a game earlier in the season but yes, Hobart and New Prairie are definitely the two favorites in the sectional. No one is calling it a 'tragedy' that they are playing in the first round, just that if I had my druthers as a fan I'd prefer that they meet later rather than sooner.

I see sectional 17 playing something like this...

Lowell beats up on Culver & Highland while NP edges Hobart and beats KV in a closer the expected game.

NP then throttles Lowell in the sectional title game.

I would say that is a very realistic outcome.

Looking over the matchups around the state.

Brownsburg and Ben Davis, two top teams in class 6 in first round.

Then a in city battle between Bloomington South and Bloomington north in class 5. North beat South in a 1 point OT game earlier in the season, the only loss for either team this year.