St. Joseph (MI) head coach Andrew Pratley lost 34 seniors from a 9-2 squad. To re-establish success, all-state LB Isaac Codde and his teammates are working on strengthening their bonds on and off the field and keeping their goals high. St. Joseph opens the season at Niles on Friday and then will host Edwardsburg on September 5th in our Sports Michiana Game of the Week.

Mark Frey brings back an experienced Buchanan team that likes to get physical. What the Bucks would really like is some elusive hardware. Buchanan opens the season on the road at Saugatuck Thursday.

Lakeshore reached the playoffs with a 3-6 record last year, because of a rugged schedule. The slate doesn’t get easier, but Danny Thompson expects the Lancers to be a lot tougher. Lakeshore opens the season on the road at Grand Haven on Thursday. They’ll host Niles on September 5th.

North Judson went all the way to the state finals for the first time in 38 years. Now that the players and coaches have had a taste of that, they want more. The Bluejays open the season on the road at rival Knox Friday at 8pm ET in our Sports Michiana Game of the Week.

All-State back Myles McLaughlin gets plenty of attention…which 6993 career rushing yards merits…but what excites 49-year coaching vet Russ Radtke are big hosses up front and a defense almost as senior as the coach. Knox opens the season hosting rival North Judson Friday at 8pm ET in our Sports Michiana Game of the Week.

Ron Brown and his players hear the outside noise after a 1-8 season in 2024. But the Falcons believe a healthier team and a more experienced quarterback will lead to some different chatter this fall.

Joey Hecklinski enters his second season at the helm of the Goshen football program, still looking for his first win. But an active offseason for a young squad has Goshen building confidence. The RedHawks open the season at Fairfield.

For the first time in his tenure, Chad Eppley has a Northridge squad coming off a losing season. Veterans like Colt Granberg and Karsyn Rumfelt see changes on and off the field, which has them expecting success. The Raiders open the season at Fort Wayne North before returning home to host Elkhart in Week 2.

The Zebras have produced 4 straight winning seasons but the program hasn’t won a sectional in 25 years. With 17 starters returning & nearly 50 kids in this 2A program, they are hungry for sectional gold in 2025. Rochester opens the season at Southwood before facing Tippy Valley in the Bell Game in Week 2.

Has there been a better turnaround in Michiana over the last 3 years than at Plymouth? Adam Handley has done an exceptional job at Plymouth getting the Rockies from 0-10 the year before he arrived to 6-5 last season. Now the seniors are looking to cement their legacy in 2025. Plymouth opens the season hosting Tippy Valley.

“I don’t think you’ll find a group more hungry than us.”

Washington did not win a game in 2024 but they were really young and gained a lot of experience last year. The Panthers are led by 18 seniors & return 15 starters in 2025. Washington opens the season at Hammond Central.

Scot Shaw took Niles to the MHSAA Division 4 state title game last year. Now the Vikings move up to Division 3, but that doesn’t change the standard. Niles opens the season with a massive challenge on the road at St. Joseph on August 29th.

Matt Thacker is rebuilding the Warriors. Wawasee was 1-9 in Thacker’s first season. The Warriors haven’t won more than 3 games in a season since 2016 and haven’t had a winning season in 11 years. He’s working from the ground up, but at the top are seniors who expect progress in 2025.  Wawasee opens the season by hosting Jimtown.

Penn had to replace 10 starters on defense & their coach last year, resulting in an 8-3 season. Now their defense & head coach have experience, bringing lots of confidence for the Kingsmen heading into year 2 of Pete Riordan era. Penn opens the season at Valpo and then will host arch rival Mishawaka August 29th in our Sports Michiana Game of the Week.

Tippy Valley’s inaugural year in the INSC had some bumps finishing at 7-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play, but valuable experience was gained. That gives head coach Steven Moriarty and his players optimism heading into 2025.The Vikings open the season at Plymouth.

Despite a bevy of injuries in 2024, Nate Andrews’ squad was just one play short of a sectional title last year. Players like Deondray Monroe and Hayden Lechlitner are part of a highly-motivated pack of Panthers coming out of the 6-6 season. NorthWood opens the season by hosting Columbia City.

Despite a tumultuous 2024, ‪Triton enjoyed an 8-4 record. New boss Andy Barker inherits good talent. But the Trojans want to be better — on and off the field. Triton opens the season at LaVille. 

Elkhart doesn’t have the big D-1 kids they had last year but coach Travon Curry says they have “speeds freaks” on defense to lead the way as they look to repeat as NIC Champs in 2025. The Lions open the season with one of the biggest games in the state of Indiana on August 22nd against Concord.

The LaPorte Slicers did not win a game in 2024 but with 29 seniors this season, they have belief that they can turn the program around. You have to go back to 2017 for the last time LaPorte had a winning season. It never starts easy as they open at home against arch rival New Prairie. Adding extra intrigue to this year’s matchup is that LaPorte’s new offensive coordinator is longtime New Prairie OC Bill Gumm.

Jeff Miller is the newest addition to Berrien County football, taking over Brandywine. He’s working on rebuilding the culture and numbers. So far, players like what they see. The Bobcats are in search of their first winning record since 2019. They open the season hosting Hartford on August 28th.

As practice begins in SW Michigan, a lot of eyes are on Edwardsburg. Dan Purlee has a young, but physical squad this year, and the seniors want to get the program back to the level of the 2010’s. We’ll have the Eddies on September 5th when they travel to St. Joseph (MI) in our Sports Michiana Game of the Week.

The 2nd Jimtown football squad for Cody Vincent has pockets of experience. But after sharing the INSC championship last year, the Jimmies would like an experience they haven’t had since 2014…a sectional title. Jimtown opens the season at Wawasee.

Two years ago, Riley was 8-2. Last year, they were 2-7. What happens this year? With 16 starters back, the Cats feel they can get back to that 2023 form. Riley opens the season at Hammond Noll.

Yes, Craig Koehler and his Concord football squad know it’s August. And while players want to win games now and in September and October,  the Minutemen are focused, maybe obsessed, with November. After a 10-1 season in 2024, the Minutemen are poised for another big year. They’ll open the season with a big matchup at Elkhart.

Marian has been known for its high end talent at skilled positions over the year. This year, the high end talent comes on the offensive and defensive lines for Marian. The Knights were 6-6 last season. They open the season with a big challenge on the road at Mishawaka. The Knights, who play in Class 3A, play all nine of their regular season games against 4A, 5A, and 6A teams.

Frank Karczewski starred at quarterback at John Adams High School. No one wants John Adams to succeed more than him. But since Karczewski became head coach, the Eagles have won just 4 games in 3 years. Why can this year be the breakout year? The players want it as much as their coach. The optimism is strong! The Eagles will host Culver Academies to open the season.

A new NSC slate proved challenging to Jeff Kaiser’s LaVille squad last season, resulting in a 6-6 season. But the Lancers have their sights set on big things in 2025! They’ll open the season by hosting Triton.

23 seniors gives Saint Joe a lot to be excited about as the Huskies look to navigate a difficult regular season slate & a loaded sectional. Saint Joe was 6-5 last season. They open the year at home against Lakeland. They’ll host Marian in Week 4 in our Sports Michiana Game of the Week.

West Noble is 20-3 over the last two years, but has no postseason hardware. Veteran coach Monte Mawhorter hopes this is the year in Ligonier, thanks to seniors like Trey Shisler and Xavier Yates.

A painful semistate loss and the experience of coach Keith Kinder have put “fight” in Mishawaka for 2025. Ken Clemente and Lucas DeWilkins help take us into the weeds of what’s behind the team’s motivation. The Cavemen were 11-3 overall and finished 2nd in the Northern Lakes Conference with a 5-2 league record. Mishawaka opens the season hosting Marian August 22nd. We will broadcast Mishawaka at Penn in week 2 in the Sports Michiana Game of the Week.

Veteran coach Tom Wogomon takes over at Lakeland, hoping to boost the Lakers to the next level. It doesn’t hurt to have a pair of all-state candidates in Brayden Holbrook and Keyan Arroyo. The Lakers were 5-5 last season. They open the season at Saint Joseph on August 22nd.

A 5-6 record for Cory Stoner in his first year at Fairfield serves as a foundation. Now the idea is to build and the seniors say consistency is the key. The Falcons open the season by hosting Goshen.

Justin Bogunia wants to prove you can go home again. Returning at the end of May to Bremen, Bogunia discovered the “Long Green Line” has a mighty good line, which could be a difference maker for the Lions. Bremen was 7-5 last season. They open the season at Busco.

New Prairie has a new head coach in Ryan O’Shea, who comes over from Lakeland. For O’Shea, his first day of fall camp at New Prairie felt “like Christmas”. But playing on Thanksgiving is the goal for the Cougars! New Prairie was 9-4 last season and have reached regionals four straight seasons. The Cougars open the season at arch rival LaPorte.

Warsaw’s Class of ‘25 reached the 5A state finals and “set the standard”. With those players gone, a new group of Tigers has a daunting challenge before them…meeting that standard. Warsaw was 10-4 overall last season. The Tigers open the season at FW Snider. We will have Warsaw hosting Concord in week 5 in our Sports Michiana Game of the Week.