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High school polls don’t excite me anymore. I feel, especially among the media, the polls are based more on last year without considering who is coming back from the prior season’s top teams.
The coaches’ polls among various high school sports seem to be of better value than the USA Today Poll (in Indiana) because many (but still not all) of the coaches voting in those polls might swing and miss on determining how much this year’s squads are filled with athletes who played meaningful minutes last year.
It looks like the Warsaw Tigers are ranked third or fourth among high school football polls in the state. It’s exciting, but it wasn’t long ago when we had a squad with a strong senior class (in character, physical condition, in talent) who dug deep within themselves when they were smarting from a 3-3 record following an overtime loss to Plymouth.
As they regrouped and rolled onto seven consecutive wins en route to the 2024 Class 5A State Finals, knocking off the top three teams in the state rankings, it was more about how ready they were to make a deep postseason run.
This year’s Tiger seniors, regardless of their won-loss record when they get to the last third of their season, have the mental and physical makeup to do some great things.
This coming Monday I shall once again ignore the polls because the ranking that matters to me – as it likely does to the Warsaw Tigers – will be when we are looking on the IHSAA website to see what four teams are still dressing for the November 20 IHSAA football semi state run.
In the meantime, where will they land in the polls Sunday and Monday? Who cares?
Lady Tiger volleyball – case in point – is few games above a .500 winning percentage but look at their schedule and see how much trouble they’ve given to top tier opponents around the state.
Volleyball fans know – and of course we have to play ALL the games – what the conference run will be like. When I see the Northern Lakes Conference volleyball schedule, I know the Lady Tigers aren’t phoning it is, but as for me, I am wondering if they’ll go 21-0 in set play.
They aren’t going 21-0 in set play this season, but they’ve already hardened their armor for postseason rigor.
Where are they in the polls? Who cares?
Both soccer sides are off to a strong start. The boys and the girls will hit some walls that come with the territory of tough scheduling, but their schedules are also conducive to a deep playoff run.
The soccer depth in team quality in the NLC, however, makes it exceedingly difficult for the orange and black to sleep on their opponents. High school soccer is one of the sports where the conference is not bogged down by its lower tier’s quality of play. These NLC sides cannot be taken lightly.
Folks, I learned via direct dialogue or through other mediums how people really hated when I called the NLC the “Big Two and Little Six” over the last two or three girls’ basketball seasons.
Non-conference play was the big treat for Warsaw’s and Northridge’s girls’ basketball fans. Each school’s athletic staff and coaches did a great job of lining up top-flite opponents outside the NLC.
What else other than the Big Two/Little Six were we going to call it?
Of course, some people felt marginalized, and thought it was awful for me to make a harsh remark about all those athletes on the court giving their best in very lopsided contests.
High school sports are – most importantly – an extension of the classroom. I am also aware of the life skills, the camaraderie (priceless indeed) built among each team in the NLC.
With all this said, doesn’t the anticipation of several of our fall sports teams opponents one-by-one give us a little more of a rush knowing almost all of these sports will be chock full of games where – if there were a betting line – would be “pick ‘em”?
Has Tiger football bored anyone yet? If it seemed boring through its first three weeks (it’s Friday at my keyboard, folks), then paint yourself blue, pin a tail on your tukus, and call yourself Eeyore.
Who cares about the poles. The football conference slate has an exciting five more weeks of surprises for us. The same can be said for most of the other fall sports.
I’ve never been so excited about the depth of the NLC football lineup as I am this season.
Enjoy fall sports wherever you’ll spend the bulk of your time watching them. Who cares about the polls anyway?
