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 continue our sectional football primers in Class 2A with a field that has become the focus of an annual rivalry of late.
THE DRAW
Wabash (2-7) at Eastside (6-3)
Bishop Luers (6-3) at Churubusco (2-7)
Prairie Heights (0-9) at Central Noble (3-6)
Manchester (3-6) at Whitko (1-8)
THE FAVORITE
BISHOP LUERS
All of the conversation about the SAC, the divisions, the split title and so forth are in the past. Now, the Knights will look to see if playing the bigger schools of the SAC really pays off by sharpening them for the postseason. That is the intent most of the time, anyway. After starting the season with two tough losses to NE8 foes, Luers ran through its SAC schedule before dropping a close decision to 6A Homestead in Week 9.
The Knights now face Churubusco for just the sixth time in 30 years, but they have won all five of those previous meetings.
After a slow start, quarterback Kohen McKenzie has produced a solid 1,000-plus yard passing season where his touchdown to interception ratio (15-3) is ideal. Issac Zay and Jaylen White have been great targets for him, while Gio Jimenez and Mickey Daring have both been game changers on the ground. Defensively, a lot of people have contributed well for the Knights, but Damiun Jackson and Wesley Javins have been phenomenal. Jackson’s 59 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks lead the way, but Javins is right behind him in each category 58 tackles, 16 TFL and six sacks.
THE CONTENDER
EASTSIDE
It has been a pretty quiet year for Eastside by traditional standards in Butler, yet first-year coach Alyx Brandewie still has the Blazers as NECC Small Division champs and serious contenders, with a possible second-round meeting with Bishop Luers circled on both fan bases’ calendars. Two of Eastside’s losses came in back-to-back weeks, while a puzzling defeat to Angola in Week 9 in which the Blazers only scored three points the lasting impression from the regular season.
Eastside’s ground game success has been buoyed by sophomore Linkin Carter, who has ran for 1,000 yards. Quarterback Wyatt Davis has also added to the dual-threat tradition at Eastside by passing and throwing for over 500 yards each. Eastside’s defense has been efficient in spurts with Gage Spalding and Dane Sebert leading the charge. EJ Miller has three interceptions for Eastside while sophomore Jake Warstler has a pair.
THE REST
WABASH
Wabash has struggled, losing by an average of 20 points per game, although it did torch Whitko 35-0 in Week 9. After scoring just 7 total points in the first two weeks of the season, Wabash is scoring in double figures every week and the offense is consistent, even if the numbers aren’t rising a lot.
Izaak Wright has been, throwing for over 1,600 yards with a 17-to-3 touchdown to interception ratio. Wright has steadily fed Trevor Daughtry for close to 900 yards along the way and the connection of the duo is one to respect. Senior Keaton Fields has over 120 total tackles on the year and Daughtry has three takeaways for the Wabash defense.
CHURUBUSCO
Early in the season, ‘Busco looked like it could be tough offensively when it hung 39 points on Lakeland in a loss. But four shutouts the rest of the way, including back-to-back entering the playoffs, put the Eagles’ offense into question entering the matchup with Bishop Luers.
One bright spot for Churubusco has been Angelo Ianucilli on the ground where he has rushed for over 1,100 yards, including his massive output of 355 yards and six touchdowns in the win over Fremont. Churubusco does have three other 200-plus yard rushers. Defensively, Brennan Gaff has established himself as one of the toughest hitters in the NECC small division with over 130 combined tackles and three interceptions.
PRAIRIE HEIGHTS
The Panthers will look for their first win of the season against conference foe Central Noble, who beat them 52-0 back in Week 4. The Panthers are being outscored 43-8 per game but are just two years removed from winning a sectional game in 2021.
Heights has scored just eight touchdowns on the year, led by sophomore Mac Armstrong’s over 700 yards passing and Tanner Czarnecki’s 350 yards rushing. That isn’t a lot of yardage for a team which has been shutout three times this season, twice against teams in Sectional 35.
CENTRAL NOBLE
The Cougars come into sectionals after playing for the NECC Small Division title a few weeks back. They’d love to get a rematch from that one opposite Eastside and they are likely the favorite on the bottom half of this sectional. The Cougars struggled out of the gate, but got wins over division foes Fremont, Churubusco and Prairie Heights.
Junior Brody Morgan, who is looking like one of the best offensive players in recent memory for CN, has thrown for over 1,200 yards and takes some chances, positive and negative to get the Cougars going. Tysen Deck and Drew Pliett have both been heavy recipients of Morgan’s passes. A standout for the Cougars defensively has been Brayden Kirchner, who has a combined 151 tackles to go with five sacks.
MANCHESTER
The Squires sit as the favorite in their first round matchup with two wins against sectional opponents, including a shutout of first-round foe Whitko in Week 7. Manchester also won its first round game last season, also against Whitko.
This is a fairly young Manchester team, with an offense led by a junior and two sophomores. That junior, Logan Eastgate, has thrown for 854 yards but has just a 46 percent completion rate. His main target is one of those sophomores, Eli Metzger, who has caught 17 passes for 367 yards. Another sophomore is Reiss Gaerte, who leads a solid rushing group with 583 yards. Eastgate has added 346 yards rushing, followed by the biggest senior offensive contributor, Preston Duffy, with 253 yards rushing.
WHITKO
It was a big positive for the Whitko program to open up the season with a win. However, since that 20-0 shutout of Prairie Heights, the Wildcats have not found the win column again and have been held to six or less points seven times, including a 21-0 loss to first-round opponent Manchester. The Wildcats have just two wins in the past three seasons combined and have not won a postseason game since 2016.
Whitko is led by senior Jack Hill’s 425 yards passing and Trevor Freel’s 371 yards on the ground, but the offense has only managed eight touchdowns on the season with most coming from Hill (five TDs). Defensively, Kaden Long, Isaac Irwin and Breyden Kirkdorffer each have two sacks while Long has a pair of INTs.
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