Week 2: What did we learn?

For most of the HHC, last Friday night was the first week where they played conference games. The league race will shake out quite a bit over the next seven weeks, but instead of getting clearer, it just got muddier.

There's one thing we can figure out: Delta is the odds-on favorite. They impressed in an opening-week victory over Jay County, and then shut out a potent New Palestine team last Friday night. We knew the Eagles were loaded with IU recruit Logan Young at wideout and speedster Teddy Dawson at halfback, and a usually-stout defense. And Delta just plugs in QBs -- the latest in a long line of good ones is Ozzie Mann, who has had a couple of big weeks throwing the ball.

But behind the Eagles? Wow. The HHC seems to be as jumbled as it can be. Look at last week's results. Teams that were at the bottom of the standings last season -- such as Mt. Vernon and Pendleton Heights -- were green and talented then, and are experienced and talented now. Toss New Palestine into that mix, although the Dragons were mid-pack at 3-4 in league play. Teams that were at the top -- Shelbyville and Yorktown -- suffered graduations. And Rushville and Greenfield-Central appeared poised to make moves with some key players back.

Now what?

PH beats G-C 28-0. That's a big statement for the Arabians, who are two seconds away from being 2-0. PH appears to have its offensive mojo back, with QB Grant Hendershot slinging and WB Ravaughn White a run/catch threat. It brings up more questions about the Cougars -- as in "how good are they?"

Shelby beats Rushville 41-13. Graduate David Brown, just plug in more players. The Golden Bears remain strong and look like they might be one of the contenders.

Mt. Vernon beats Yorktown 32-0 -- one week after Yorktown beat PH. MV runs the Wing-T as well as anyone, and the Marauders ran it really well last week. However, the Marauders were able to do something few have been able to do, and that is shut down Derek Kundenreich.

What does this mean?

We don't know. All I can tell you is the middle of the HHC will be *very* jumbled, and the difference between 2nd and 8th won't be very great. There are some pretty good teams out there.

We'll preview this week's games later this week. NP-PH is our Game of the Week, and it could be a very pivotal one in helping sort out the HHC race early. Greenfield-Central vs. Delta is the only other league game this week, and Delta will be a heavy favorite. The other four teams are playing non-league contests this week.