Playoffs continue this week with sectional semifinals across the state of Indiana.
Here are five to keep an eye on locally heading into Friday:
CLASS 3A: #11 West Noble (10-0) at #9 Knox (10-0), 7:30 p.m.
Overall series: Knox leads 1-0
In the battle of two undefeated teams, the West Noble Chargers make the hour and 25 minute drive west to Knox.
The Chargers are coming into this game after defeating Mishawka Marian 46-43 on a 32-yard field goal by freshman Nefty Silva with 3.8 seconds left in regulation. Coach Monte Mawhorter said he is thrilled about that win, the team’s compete level and their trust with one another.
“We knew we would have to make plays just to be in the game,” said Mawhorter on last week’s game. “Drew (Yates) is an incredible player, leader and all-around kid. The team has complete confidence that he will make every play. He put the team on his shoulders on the last drive to get us into field goal range.”
Drew Yates had the best statistical game of his high school career, completing 16-23 passes for 262 yards with 3 TDs while running 24 times for 101 yards and two more scores. West Noble managed to score 46 points despite the fact that leading rusher Seth Pruitt was held to 23 yards on 11 carries and a TD due to Marian using a box formation to contain him.
That was Pruitt’s second-fewest rushing yards in a game of his entire career and the first time that West Noble won where Pruitt didn’t rush for 50 yards. Despite that, however, Mawhorter said Pruitt made a huge impact in the game.
“Seth (Pruitt) is a target every week and I am sure he will continue to be,” said Mawhorter. “He never missed a beat and he found other ways to help out the team. He caught passes and blocked tremendously. This is one of the least selfish teams I have ever been a part of.”
What’s amazing about last week was West Noble was down 35-21 with 5:15 left in the third quarter, its largest deficit of the season. But the Chargers never lost confidence.
“We did have a second pre-game speech at halftime,” said a laughing Mawhorter. “We had told the kids all week this was a very good (Marian) team and they are going to do some good things. We just have to continue doing what we do and make some stops and give yourselves a chance to win at the end.
“The kids believe in what we are doing and never felt we were out of the game. I do feel the safety (from McKale Bottles in the 4th quarter) changed the whole atmosphere of the game. The comeback is something these kids will talk about for years to come. We have a great coaching staff that the team believes in completely.”
The ultimate goal is bigger than knocking off Marian, but rather to win the program’s first-ever sectional. To do that, West Noble must find a way to stop Coach Russ Radtke’s Knox Redskins and their powerful triple-option.
When it comes to scheme, it starts and ends with sophomore slotback and outside linebacker Myles McLaughlin. He is Knox’s best athlete. Against Lakeland last week, McLaughlin ran 10 times for 224 yards and four touchdowns. He holds multiple school records and he’s already Knox’s all-time leader in rushing.
These two teams met in last year’s sectional semifinal where Knox shut out West Noble 22-0. The Chargers have not won multiple games in a single postseason since 1990 when they defeated ACAC foes Heritage and Woodlan.
Mawhorter knows that for his team to be successful in this game, they have to play a clean game and cannot let this become a “track meet.”
“Knox is a very good team that will be a handful,” said Mawhorter. “No one has beaten them this year. We struggled to score last year and a couple of turnovers cost field position. We feel there were things we could have done that would have helped make the game closer. We will have to play a perfect game to have a chance to pull this one off.”
Knox is looking to repeat as sectional champions for the first time in program history. It won its first two sectional titles in 2019 and 2022,
One notable stat is that with a victory over the Redskins, Mawhorter can tie the school record for career wins set by Harold “Dutch” Raether, who coached at West Noble from 1973-1991.
CLASS 4A: #6 East Noble (8-2) at #9 Leo (8-2), 7 p.m.
Overall series: Leo leads 8-6
Whenever you get two NE8 heavyweights in a postseason game, you know it has the makings of being really good. Amplify that by the fact that it’s an East Noble-Leo showdown, this could be a classic.
This will mark the fifth straight year that these two will have met in sectionals. In that span, the squads have split the matchups, with East Noble claiming sectional titles in 2019 and 2020 against Leo. The Lions have not won a football sectional since winning back-to-back regional championships in 2010 and 2011.
Leo coach Jason Doerffler said his team played well in the 42-0 win over South Side last week and it was a good way to “kick off sectionals.” But Doerffler stressed that this game will be a huge challenge.
“East Noble has a three-year starter at QB (Zander Brazel) that does a great job of running their offense,” said Doerffler. “They are very big up front on the offensive line and they have three good running backs (Michael Moseley, Dylan Krehl, and Tyson Reinbold).
“Defensively, East Noble is a very physical team. They play very aggressively at linebacker and have two good safeties (Logan Hatton and Rylee Biddle) that fly to the football. They are the toughest defense we’ve faced this season.”
East Noble’s defense has been its calling card all season, holding teams to 12.4 points per game while posting three shutouts. One of them came in last week’s 43-0 shredding of a very good New Haven team, holding it to just 87 rushing yards.
To be fair, however, Leo’s defense has also been remarkable, limiting opponents to just 10.3 points per game and posting four shutouts. However, since the Lions’ 14-7 win at East Noble in Week 5, they have scored at least 40 points in every game.
The keys will be which team is able to stop the run and who can make the fewest mistakes. Leo will need another stellar defensive performance and strong games out of big-time players like Brock Schott and Kaden Hurst to have a chance at playing for a sectional title.
“We have great respect for East Noble and the program they have,” said Doerffler. “They are a tough team to play, because they require you to be good at every facet of the game or they will exploit you.
“The message will simply be to play with a lot more toughness, as we thought we got pushed around a little in the first matchup. We also have to play together and create momentum off of each other. Have fun and enjoy this great playoff atmosphere.”
CLASS 2A: Eastside (7-3) at #7 Bishop Luers (7-3), 7 p.m.
Overall series: Bishop Luers leads 6-3
For the fifth straight year, Bishop Luers and Eastside will clash in the playoffs. During that span, both teams have a pair of wins, with the Knights winning their last meeting, 35-21.
Eastside coach Alyx Brandewie was impressed by his team’s bounce-back win over Wabash following a disappointing loss to Angola in Week 9.
“We executed the fundamentals of the game much better, as we were a better blocking and tackling team against Wabash,” said Brandewie. “Linkin (Carter), Wyatt (Davis) and Gage (Spalding) all contributed to our efforts on the ground and really helped us control the tempo of the game. EJ (Miller) has been a playmaker in our secondary all year and he made another big play last week with the pcik-six.”
Carter was dominant again for Eastside, rushing for 130 yards and four TDs on 16 carries. The Blazers as a team ran for 320 yards. Bishop Luers coach Kyle Lindsay calls Carter “an explosive runner who has a lot of power for a sophomore.”
As for Luers, which won a share of the SAC championship, it was a much different experience at Churubusco where the Knights, who came in as heavy favorites, went into intermission trailing by four. Despite the struggles, Luers outscored ‘Busco 21-7 in the second half to eliminate the scrappy Eagles. Coach Lindsay was very pleased by his team’s no-quit mentality and finding a way to “survive and advance.”
“‘Resilient’ is a word I’ve used to describe this group all year,” said Lindsay. “We’ve played in several close games. Games where we’ve been down in the second half. And the kids have put themselves in position to win each of them. It’s a group that will play hard until the last whistle, no matter the situation.
“We’ve had some big stops late in games this year, and we’ve found ways to run the ball late (even when we haven’t run it well all night) to help pull out some close wins. I think those experiences helped the kids keep their cool last Friday at Churubusco and hopefully it’s something that helps us moving forward in this tournament.”
In the Week 10 victory, Mickey Daring and Gio Jimenez combined for 39 carries for 178 yards and four TDs. When discussing the Blazers, Lindsay calls them a very, very good team.
“Eastside’s physicality as a program from year to year is impressive,” said Lindsay. “This year’s team is no exception. They have guys who seem to enjoy contact on both sides of the ball and on special teams. (Dane) Sebert and (Joey) Eck lead very good fronts on offense and defense. They push people around and also move well when they trap or get to the second level. Defensively, they are disruptive and can change the line of scrimmage at any moment.
Lindsay also commented on the skill players.
“I’m impressed with Wyatt Davis’s play leading the offense,” continued Lindsay. “He makes good decisions and has the skills to hurt a defense with his legs or his arm. The Blazers secondary play is very solid. EJ Miller is a great athlete and a ball hawk from his safety position. (Tobin) Biddle and Carter fly around.”
Brandewie has stated his defense has improved over the course of the season at stopping big plays. In their last seven games, the Blazers has limited opponents to just seven points per game. That must continue against the talented athletes that Bishop Luers deploys onto the field.
“We must continue to be a good blocking and tackling team,” said Brandewie. “If we can run the ball effectively and control the tempo of the game a little bit, that will be a huge factor for us. Getting into a track meet-style game with a team that has the caliber of athletes Luers has is not really in our best interest. Running the ball and just focusing on getting first downs will be huge.
“On the defensive side, we have got to tackle well. They have explosive athletes all over the field and it is crucial for us to not let small gains become huge plays due to missed tackles. We know they’re going to complete passes, we just have to be good at keeping things in front of us and tackling after the catch.”
For Lindsay’s Knights, field position is crucial when playing against a very physical Eastside team. Against Busco, Luers committed three turnovers. Therefore, it is paramount that it takes better care of the football.
“We have to find ways to move the chains on third downs,” said Lindsay. “We cannot afford to have quick possessions against a team that has really thrived on controlling the ball against us the past four years. The great thing about last week’s game (vs Busco) is we had to play 48 minutes of playoff football, and we had to find ways to get stops on ‘D’ and move the chains on ‘O.’
“This meant buckling down against the run and spreading the ball around to backs and receivers. Taking care of the ball is paramount and taking advantage of scoring opportunities is a must.”
CLASS 6A: #9 Carroll (6-3) at #11 Warsaw (8-1), 7 p.m.
Overall series: Carroll leads 6-3
Another matchup between teams familiar with each other, Carroll and Warsaw will meet for the fourth-straight postseason. The Tigers last beat the Chargers in 2020. It was Carroll’s 34-17 home win in last year’s sectional championship that helped propel Carroll to Lucas Oil Stadium and the Class 6A state finals.
For Coach Doug Dinan’s team, it is time to showcase what it has learned in a challenging but rewarding regular season. Dinan has seen tremendous improvement over the course of the year. From the first two weeks in non-conference action, he knew that the Chargers were capable of playing at a high and mature level.
“Through these early tests, including a very close loss to Snider (in Week 5), we continued to grow, gain depth, increase physicality, and improve as a team,” said Dinan. “It has always been our mindset to continue to improve and be playing the best football by Week 10 of the season.”
One interesting note with Carroll’s growth has been the evolution of junior quarterback sensation Jimmy Sullivan. Opposing teams have gotten better at containing the great talents that “Jimmy Football” brings on a weekly basis. Yet over the last 3 weeks, Sullivan has recorded 10 combined TDs (6 passing, 4 rushing) while tossing just one interception.
“Jimmy (Sullivan) is a very good quarterback and football player, and for nearly the first six games of the season, we had discussion in regards to limiting his quarterback run plays,” said Dinan. “However, at the end of the regular season and moving into the playoffs, we intend to utilize all facets of all players’ games to give us the best opportunity to be successful.”
That is something to watch as Carroll takes on Coach Bart Curtis and Warsaw. Other than its 34-11 loss to Mishawka in Week 6, Warsaw’s Wishbone offense has rarely missed a beat.
In Week 9 vs Northridge, Reed Zollinger had 2 second half TDs to secure a share of the NLC crown. As the old adage says, defense always travels, so look for Carroll’s defense to led by Ashton Pesetski and Cameron Lentz to step up.
“Our sole focus currently is playing at the highest level, improving every day, fostering great relationships within the team, and preparing at a high level to give ourselves an opportunity to be successful,” said Dinan. “Win the moment. Be the best version of ourselves every day.”
CLASS 2A: #14 Eastbrook (7-3) at #8 Bluffton (8-2), 7 p.m.
Overall series: Eastbrook leads 9-3
Bluffton will be the site of a very interesting and entertaining football game tonight, a rematch from last year’s sectional final.
A season ago, Bluffton proved doubters wrong with a 42-35 win over Eastbrook to clinch its first sectional championship since 1988. While a win this week wouldn’t guarantee a sectional title repeat, it would put Bluffton in a good position to achieve that goal.
Against No. 6 Alexandria, the Bluffton defense made several key plays in holding Alex to three rushing yards while forcing two turnover. Bluffton senior Tucker Jenkins ran for 109 yards and three TDs in the victory.
Look for the Tigers to continue to pound the football led by Jenkins and sophomore Khamel Moore, with the potential of quarterback Braxton Betancourt being able to to put pressure on Eastbrook’s defensive line to slow it down.
The Bluffton defense, led by the likes of Hunter and Fletcher Wenger, Andrew Hunt, and Griffin Morgan will need to continue to play strong defense to contain Eastbrook’s powerful Flexbone offense.
This is Jeff Adamson’s 35th season as Eastbrook coach, with the Panthers having achieved a culture of excellence. But it’s been nearly three years since the Panthers have won a sectional, and they remember how last season ended for them.
The Panthers have rushed for 2,203 yards this season and average 5.3 yards per carry. Their go-to players in the backfield are senior Gage Engle and sophomore quarterback Bodie Howell.
Engle has 3,321 yards rushing in his career. This season, he has 1,079 rushing yards with a career-best 19 touchdowns.
Sophomore quarterback Bodie Howell is Eastbrook’s most talented kid. If you know about the Howells down in Marion, they are exceptional athletes and exceptionally explosive. Bodie, who also plays basketball and is a sprinter in track, has rushed for over 900 yards, averaging 6 yards per carry.
If Bluffton doesn’t tackle well, Howell will sprint to the end zone, showcased by his 76-yard touchdown run against Frankton last week in the Panthers’ 28-3 win.
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