Tanner Crouch has been a mainstay on both sides of the line of scrimmage for Greenwood.
Daily Journal file photo
Each of the state’s 37 high school football leagues offers up snippets of randomness — but four games in, the Mid-State Conference weighs heaviest on the scale of uncertainty.
Looking for a juggernaut? Go somewhere else.
In search of the automatic-W doormat? No such thing.
Founded in 1942, during FDR’s fourth and final term in office, with Greenwood, Decatur Central, Mooresville and Plainfield still part of the mix after being charter members, the Mid-State has been edge-of-the-seat theatre when it comes to in-league competition this fall.
Frantic finishes. The narrowest of point spreads. It’s all here.
Anyone can beat anyone. Anyone can lose to anyone. If this was the pre-overtime era, anyone could tie anyone.
Franklin coach Chris Coll, whose squad travels to Plainfield tonight in a battle of 3-1 conference co-leaders, senses one would have to dig deep into the Mid-State archives to locate a season comparable to this one when it comes to overall parity.
“There’s not a dominant team or a dominant two teams, but there are a lot of really good teams,” Coll said. “This is something. We’re just trying to compete week in and week out.”
With three Friday nights of conference action remaining, the Grizzly Cubs and Quakers are only two games ahead of cellar dwellers Mooresville and Perry Meridian, which have identical 1-3 Mid-State marks. Shoehorned into the middle are four 2-2 teams — Greenwood, Decatur Central, Whiteland and Martinsville.
The overall evenness is reflected in the latest Sagarin ratings, with the highest-ranked team (Plainfield) perched at No. 41 and the lowest-ranked (Greenwood) still a very respectable 92nd.
And though last-place teams aren’t supposed to be the story, Perry Meridian kind of is.
A perennial doormat since joining the Mid-State Conference in 2018 with a woeful 4-31 conference ledger, the Falcons have steadily improved under fourth-year coach Brett Cooper. They have so far outscored league competition 109-104, including a 28-13 victory over defending Class 5A state runner-up Whiteland in Week 5.
Perry Meridian’s three losses are by a total of 10 points; Franklin has been outscored against conference foes, 99-91, yet holds a two-game advantage on Cooper’s club.
“Perry Meridian is extremely competitive. They took us to overtime,” said Coll of the Grizzly Cubs’ 26-20 road win in Week 3. “(Cooper) has steadily built that program, and that has helped raise the level of the conference overall.”
Perhaps it was last week’s game between one-win (in-conference) Decatur Central and unbeaten Plainfield serving as the season’s ultimate microcosm. The Hawks rallied to score 17 second-half points on their way to a 26-23 win, further tightening the screws on a screwy conference season.
Nine of the 16 Mid-State games played to this point have been decided by six or fewer points.
First-year Greenwood coach Justin Boser, who figured he was wading into the waters of tremendous league parity, has seen his Woodmen rise up after two lean seasons.
“Most teams are evenly matched. Just watching other games, it’s who gets takeaways,” Boser said. “You look at our two wins, we get a couple of interceptions against Martinsville, and we had two fumble recoveries against Perry Meridian that totally changed the course of the game.
“I’ve told people I think this is a top five conference in the state.”
If nothing else, it’s definitely the most unpredictable right now.
TONIGHT’S GAMES
Center Grove at Pike, 7 p.m.
Franklin at Plainfield, 7 p.m.
Decatur Central at Greenwood, 7 p.m.
Whiteland at Mooresville, 7 p.m.
Indian Creek at Speedway, 7 p.m.
Irvington Prep at Edinburgh, 7 p.m.
Greenwood Christian at Clarksville, 7 p.m.
Roncalli at Louisville Male, 7 p.m.
