Prep football sectional storylines that may interest you

Let the overanalyzing begin!

Sunday’s sectional draw has everyone scrambling to dissect who plays who and when. Blitz doesn’t buy in to a lot of the sectional craziness. Eventually, you have to play and beat the best in order to bring home a trophy. My hope is we have some good matchups sprinkled through the few weeks of sectional play.

After Sunday’s draw, it looks like that will happen.

CLASS 6A

• Of course we get the Snider v. Carroll rematch right out of the gate in Sectional 3. Technically, we will have to wait until the second week of sectionals for this one since 6A will take Oct. 19 off for the most part due to having four-team brackets.What the Chargers did to Snider in Week 2 still reverberates in this bear’s mind. But what has happened since makes that game even more befuddling for Carroll. Since the victory over the Panthers, the Chargers have won just twice, beating North and South. They have lost four times in that span by an average of 21 points.

  Snider wanted this rematch and it gets it. With the way Carroll has been playing, it could be a long night.

  CLASS 5A

• Could North Side win a sectional championship?OK, go with me here. No team in Sectional 10 has a winning record. Elkhart Central and Concord have played it close against some good teams, but at 4-4 neither are instilling much fear in people.

  The Legends are only 2-6 but have been highly competitive in the second half of the year. Take away a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns last Friday and North captures a victory over Northrop.

  Then again, North hasn’t won a playoff game since 2013, let alone a sectional.

  CLASS 4A

• Things are really falling Angola’s way. Assuming the Hornets can go on the road and knock off Culver Academy to start postseason play (not a given), Angola will host the sectional semifinal and in all likelihood the championship against (Blitz is spitballing here), NorthWood or East Noble.The Hornets twice needed overtime to earn sectional victories last year over NorthWood and Culver, both on the road. Another hard road to a trophy is ahead, but at least Angola should have the benefit of playing at home in the final two rounds of sectional, unlike last season.
• The draw did us a favor in Sectional 20, with the inevitable (in Blitz’s mind) rematch between Wayne and Bishop Dwenger not coming until the championship.Both teams will be challenged along the way, but the Generals and Saints are the two most talented teams in the sectional. However, neither team can afford to look ahead. Teams like New Haven and Leo are good enough to be a tough out if the two favorites aren’t focused.
  

  CLASS 3A

• Sectional 28 also sets up well with Concordia and Bishop Luers far away from each other in the bracket.Consider this: Up until 2013, the two programs had matched up just once in the postseason – a 24-14 Luers victory in 2005. Granted, Concordia was in 3A and Luers in 2A for the majority of history, but recently the rivalry has grown hot. The two teams have met in four of the last five postseasons, with each program winning twice. Three of the recent meetings have been in the sectional championship game.

  The trend must continue.

• West Noble has one postseason victory since 2001. Yes you read that right, just one.A first-round matchup with Norwell doesn’t look like a sexy showdown, but it is a big one for a Chargers team that turned some heads over the weekend in knocking off Churubusco.
  

  CLASS 2A

• All due respect to the other six teams in Sectional 34, but the champion will likely be decided when Woodlan (4-4) goes to Bremen (7-1) in the opening round.While much has been made about what the Warriors lost to graduation on offense, the defense was gutted just as much, and it has showed. Woodlan has allowed 28 or more points in three games this year – all losses. From 2015-17, the Warriors surrendered that many points to a foe just three times total.

  Bremen averages close to 40 points a contest and is balanced offensively with Ryan Caldwell at quarterback (1,039 yards passing, 14 TDs) and a rushing attack that averages six yards per carry.

  CLASS A

• Two years ago, South Adams shocked many by beating No. 1 Woodlan in the sectional then followed it up with a two-point victory over Churubusco to earn the title.The Starfires and Eagles have not played since that epic 29-27 game that saw Churubusco fall short of tying the game in the closing minutes on a two-point conversion.

  Many of the leading characters in that game have moved on, but if you’re looking for the best game of sectionals Week 1, this may be it.

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