Now that nine weeks of the regular season are in the books for area prep football teams, it is time to look ahead to the Sectional round.
We kick off our Sectional football primers in Class 1A.
DRAW
Madison-Grant (6-3) at Northfield (4-5)
North Miami (1-8) at Southern Wells (1-8)
South Adams (6-3) at Adams Central (9-0)
Fremont (3-6) at Southwood (4-5)
THE FAVORITE
ADAMS CENTRAL
This one is a no brainer. The Flying Jets have played the perfect season and have themselves in position to be the North’s top contender in Class 1A for the third straight season. They’ve done so by relying on a formula that his tried and true for the boys from Monroe: hard hitting defense, a killer run game and an underrated passing attack used in sparsity.
Jack Hamilton has stepped into the QB1 position as a multi talented player and has found really good success. He has been a speed option for the heavy Adams Central run game but he has also gone under the radar as a passer. Adams Central doesn’t put the ball up much but when they do, he has thrown dots, often to Ryan Tester. On the ground, the Flying Jets have used a multitude of weapons but Keegan Bluhm has been the powerhouse.
Defensively, Adams Central has been tough, surrendering just 5 points per game on average with only Blackhawk Christian (10 points) getting past the single touchdown mark. Adams Central has the second best defensive average in the entire state.
THE CONTENDER
SOUTH ADAMS
While contender would be a tough tag for anyone in this Sectional because of AC’s power, their first round opponent and county rival would be at the top of the list. South Adams’ run this season has been solid but low compared to their standards; this could be their lowest win total since Grant Moser’s first season coaching in 2015 if they don’t win a Sectional game, yet the Starfires still have six wins and a guaranteed winning season. Outside of their win over Jay County, no South Adams games have really been close with all others being strong wins or overwhelmed losses.
The Starfires have been more ground focused than in recent memory with Colton Bollenbacher’s near 1,000 yard season being a big push in wins, especially a dominant Week 8 win over Woodlan. Yet, Owen Wanner has still had a solid season at quarterback and it allows South Adams to have an advantage over most because of their ability to mix up their offense.
THE REST
MADISON-GRANT
Madison-Grant have been world beaters, in wins. The Argylls have scored over 50 points in four of their six wins and have not scored less than 38 in these wins while averaging just less than 15 points per game in their three losses. They do have a near top 10 best scoring average in Class 1A during the regular season.
Maverick Miller has been a significant threat for Madison-Grant, who you could list as a contender in this Sectional based off the fact they are the best team on the opposite side of the bracket from Adams Central. Miller’s ability and history of having big nights on the ground, including a 198 yard night against Frankton this season, makes him a major threat for most defenses in Sectional 44.
NORTHFIELD
Northfield will host Madison-Grant in the opening round after having an inconsistent regular season. The Norsemen started the season 0-4, but went 4-1 over the next five weeks, only giving up 28 total points in their wins.
Northfield’s offense is predicated on the run game, led by senior Turner Stephens, who ran for 143 yards in a win over Wabash but also put up 95 yards and three scores in the win over Whitko. A couple of sophomores have taken snaps under center but Northfield has only thrown for 329 yards throughout he first eight weeks of the season. Jake Perney, one of those quarterbacks, and junior Maddux Daniels have also contributed on the ground. Defensively, senior Kody Stambaugh leads the Norsemen in tackles and has one of five fumble recoveries for the team.
NORTH MIAMI
The Warriors will visit Southern Wells in a game where one of the two teams with the least wins in the conference will get a postseason victory to try and build program momentum. North Miami has had a couple of closes losses but are giving up 33.8 points per game on the season.
Like many in this Sectional, North Miami is a ground oriented team with 14 different players registering at least one carry so far. Hartley Hoover, Lake Musall and Kody Whann have each run for over 300 yards total while Bruce Gosnell has ran for over 200 yards so there is diversity in their run game that goes for for over 190 yards per contest.
SOUTHERN WELLS
Getting back to a place of semi consistency has been the biggest part of Southern Wells’ season. The Raiders’ only win came in a 29-26 opening week win at Elwood. But, that is also the first win since 2019 for the program so even if it’s a baby step, it is a step.
Everything Southern Wells does is on the ground; they threw just 20 total passes in the first eight weeks of the season. Case Boxell has gone for over 500 yards rushing this season and the team has run for over 1,200 yards.
FREMONT
Fremont has spent much of the season moving pieces around because of a multitude of injuries they have had to deal with but could be back to close to full strength for the postseason. They do come into this Sectional though tied for the third longest winning streak of any team with two in a row to end the regular season. Prior to that, they had five straight losses in which they only scored more than three points once.
Gage Cope took over under center after an injury sidelined Fremont’s original QB1 Brody Foulk. Carmyne Moreno has been a really solid running back for them to end the season, including 202 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns in a win over Prairie Heights in week 8.
SOUTHWOOD
Southwood has had a real back and forth season when it comes to the win/loss column but back to back losses in week 7 and 8 by a combined score of 102-7 put a real damper on the momentum that four straight wins had given them. They have lost three in a row to conclude the regular season.
Bryce Rigney has ran for over 500 yards to lead Southwood on the ground but the one to keep an eye on now and into the future is sophomore quarterback Griffin Chambers, who has thrown for over 700 yards and accounted for more than 200 on the ground with more than 2/3 of the team’s touchdowns. Chambers’ biggest issue is his interceptions thrown are double his touchdowns thrown.
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