Sectional draw day remains – and will remain for all of Blitz’s time – one of the most exciting and perhaps emotionally-draining days of the season.
Teams looking to flip their regular season fortunes with a positive draw. Teams looking to continue to dominate. Teams perhaps looking for some revenge from the regular season.
The Sunday before Week 9 is just plain interesting, both fun and cruel depending on who you are. So with this season’s draw handled, lets look at some of the big winners and the so-called losers from how Sunday’s random draw shook out.
WINNER/LOSER: PROPONENTS OF SEEDING
Always one of the most controversial topics on sectional draw day, this season wasn’t exactly a glaring issue, but that’s not to say that it didn’t exist. So those people who want the IHSAA tournaments seeded, they kind of won because they have another solid example to use. But they also kind of lost because there is still clearly work to do.
An outside loser was 3A Sectional 26, where four of the top five teams reside on the same side of the bracket. But more on that later.
The biggest area example of a need for seeding comes in Class 2A Sectional 35, where again four of the top six teams reside on the same side, but the first-round matchup between 7-1 Adams Central and 6-2 Bluffton is the most egregious area example this season. Take into consideration as well that these two teams just played. Are any of us itching for a first-round rematch between the two best area Class 2A teams in Week 1 of the postseason?
Sure, Bluffton wants another shot at AC. But in no way should it be in Week 10 in a sectional with just one other team that has a winning record (Manchester at 5-3).
WINNER: COLUMBIA CITY, KIND OF
The Eagles are riding a wave, despite any alleged controversy, out of their Week 8 win over Leo. And as much as the Lions want to run that one back immediately, they won’t get the chance without some work. Both Leo and NE8 champion East Noble sit on the other side of the bracket in Class 4A Sectional 19.
That bodes well for Columbia City.
And not to say that the Eagles couldn’t take another win over Leo or give East Noble a better challenge than the regular season. It is simply to say that you’ve got to prefer the path of least resistance. While Leo gets a potentially dangerous (on the right night) DeKalb team, followed by in all likelihood a semifinal meeting with East Noble – which could be a classic as usual – the Eagles get to avoid those high-emotion rematches until the final.
Columbia City’s path isn’t necessarily easy though, having to open at Bishop Dwenger against a Saints team that we are still trying to figure out. Likely awaiting the winner of that will be a Wayne team which has potential despite a surprising 30-point loss to North Side in Week 8.
So the Eagles win by avoiding the NE8 battles, but now they may have to take out a pair of SAC teams to ultimately get a big rematch.
LOSER/WINNER: LAKELAND AND WEST NOBLE
Coming into the season, the three teams worth keeping an eye on that would likely decide the NECC Big Division were Lakeland, West Noble and Garrett. As it turned out, the Railroaders had no issue with either; stifling the Lakeland pass game and being the only team to really slow West Noble’s all-time leading rusher – Seth Pruitt.
But we always knew that all three teams would be in the same sectional.
West Noble wins in Class 3A Sectional 26 because it not only is separated from its two NECC foes, but on a side of the bracket that includes against 3-5 Angola with 2-6 Concordia and 3-5 Fairfield. Fair to call it a relatively easyeasy road to the finals for West Noble? Probably.
Meanwhile, Lakeland doesn’t just land on the same side of the bracket as Garrett, the Lakers have to visit Big Train Country on the opening night of sectional play. What have the Lakers figured out since their first meeting with Garrett, a 41-27 Week 4 loss? Right now, Garrett sits as the only remaining unbeaten team in the area and one of 23 teams left in the state without a loss.
LOSER: HERITAGE
Bishop Luers has had a rough go of things the last two weeks, first getting shut out by rival Bishop Dwenger and then being on the wrong side of one of the area’s biggest upsets in recent memory with a Week 8 loss to South Side.
But the postseason could be favorite to the Knights, now in Class 3A. Their path to a potential Sectional 28 title puts them on the same side of the bracket as three teams with a combined record of 4-20.
Meanwhile, Heritage sits on the bottom side of that bracket and is just rolling on both sides of the ball right now. The problem with the draw is a trip to Delta to open sectionals. While the Eagles are just 4-4 against the Patriots’ 7-1 record, the nearly 90-minute drive is never a good way to kick off the postseason, and Delta is a solid team. And if Heritage pulls off a win, looming in the next round is likely to be Mississinewa, one of those previously-mentioned 23 undefeated teams left in the state.
WINNER: BLACKHAWK CHRISTIAN
No, going to 6-2 North Miami isn’t a win.
Any road for the 1-6 Braves is likely a tough one, actually. But, the win comes in Blackhawk Christian playing their very first sectional game. This is a continually exciting time for the program despite the growing pains that have been involved.
A lot of times, there may not be a lot of excitement in the starting of a program because of the lumps you have to take. But this is Blackhawk Christian, the school and athletic department have done a great job in the past two decades of building high-level programs and championship programs in multiple sports. Will football be next? Hard to tell, but that first-ever sectional game should be an exciting footnote in the history of the program.
These opinions represent those of Blitz and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Blitz on Twitter at Blitz_OTH
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