Blitz got knocked on his sizable butt with some fierce flu-like symptoms over the weekend, leading him to abandon all hope of some weekend Bear Necessities.
Feeling marginally better, your favorite cartoon bear wanted to revisit Week 10 before we eye sectional semifinal action this Friday.
CLASS 4A
• The feeling was palpable that detractors of Coach Jason Garrett and the Bishop Dwenger program were just waiting to pounce if the Saints fell to one-loss Columbia City to open Sectional 19.
Instead, it was Garrett’s squad that shocked many in its 38-0 demolition of the Eagles on Friday at Shields Field.
It wasn’t surprising to Blitz that Bishop Dwenger won. After all, he picked the Saints to win by two. It was the complete domination in all facets of the game that really left most everyone, including your furry friend, absolutely stunned.
Columbia City entered the playoffs averaging 290 yards rushing per game. It had amassed 39 rushing touchdowns overall.
But the Eagles came out jittery. They turned the ball over twice early, both of which led to Bishop Dwenger touchdowns. By the time Columbia City seemed to catch its breath, it was staring at a 21-0 first-quarter deficit.
The game was effectively over after the first five minutes.
The Saints instill their will up front through their running game in demoralizing fashion, finishing with 234 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Junior AJ Shefferly had three of those scores.
After NE8 foe Leo handled the Saints in the sectional title game last year, some believed we would see a repeat this year as Bishop Dwenger came into the playoffs with a losing record.
Instead, if anything, we got a lesson in just how good SAC offenses are compared to most NE8 opponents.
• Dylan Krehl continues to make a solid case for the OTH Player of the Year honor. He rushed for 164 yards in the rout of South Side, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark for the season to go with 15 touchdowns for East Noble.
Defensively, he leads the team in tackles and is second in both tackles for loss and sacks.
He has been the tone setter for the Knights all year long, and will need to be again in the rematch with Leo coming up Friday.
• Will Kimar Nelson be available for Wayne in its showdown against Bishop Dwenger this week?
That’s the hope, as Coach Sherwood Haydock played it safe with his senior two-way star in the rout of New Haven last Friday and did not play him.
That’s two weeks in a row that Nelson has been out of the lineup as he nurses an injury. With Wayne the significant favorite each of the last two weeks, Haydock felt Nelson didn’t need to play. He was right.
But Wayne will definitely need him against the Saints. Here’s hoping Nelson is healthy enough to play a big role.
CLASS 3A
• Blitz is really starting to feel good about Garrett’s chance in the Class 3A North.
The Sagarin Ratings still feel really good about West Noble, which is weird considering Garrett beat them head to head. But hey, you can’t argue with computers.
But the north is void of any truly dominant team. Knox is good. West Lafayette. Even Bishop Luers and Mississinewa. But the favorites to win the state title – Lawrenceburg, Heritage Hills and Evansville Memorial – all are in the south.
Nothing is guaranteed, but this is the best Garrett team since 2016, which won its first 12 games before running into Concordia Lutheran. And people forget, the Railroaders gave the Cadets, the eventual state champion, the biggest challenge out of anyone in the playoffs. There is no team like Concordia Lutheran lurking in the north in 3A.
• Speaking of Concordia, some of the wildest box scores Blitz has seen this year have involved the Cadets. Friday against Fairfield was no exception.
Coach Tim Mannigel’s team amassed 380 passing yards, with junior Braden Corbett finishing 23-of-30 for 346 yards and four scores.
So how did Concordia lose by 14 points?
Well, the Falcons threw for just 63 yards, but rushed for 368, paced by Breckan Maran’s 31 carry, 207-yard, three-touchdown effort.
Fairfield attempted four passes, while Concordia attempted 31. The Falcons averaged 6.2 yards per carry, while the Cadets just 0.3 yards.
Craziness.
• The most encouraging stat from Bishop Luers’ 42-7 win over Norwell? Junior Jayce White at quarterback throwing for 196 yards and a pair of touchdowns without a turnover.
The Knights have struggled in regards to dynamic plays downfield in the vertical pass game, with White and Devin Patterson trading places behind center over the course of the year. Against Norwell, whether by decision or necessity, it was just White, and he looked strong.
Now, the competition is going to ramp up over the next few weeks, but Bishop Luers’ key to success in the playoffs is how multi-dimensional that offense can be. It can just be the run game, although that had plenty of success against the Knights as well to the tune of 216 yards and three scores.
• The biggest surprise in Week 10 in terms of winners and losers? Heritage falling hard at Delta. This was a team that was supposed to be able to go on the road as a veteran squad and handle business against a good foe. Instead, the Eagles were up 28-0 before Heritage was even able to get on the board in a 54-14 rout.
It was the most points allowed by the Patriots in the playoffs since Bishop Luers dropped 63 on Heritage in 2018.
Three turnovers didn’t help Heritage’s cause, but Delta quarterback Bronson Edwards, who worried Blitz in the run up to this game due to his abilities, threw just one incompletion the entire game as Delta amassed 422 yards of total offense.
Heritage was held to 18 rushing yards, with Lucas Weber held in check to the tune of 20 yards on 13 carries.
CLASS 2A
• There was some concern that Churubusco would go out with a whimper after a pair of lopsided losses to end the regular season, but we shouldn’t have worried.
Just as the Eagles turned things around after beginning the year 0-3, Coach Paul Sade’s crew went on the road and played a very inspired game at Manchester to win 42-23 and move on.
Senior Angelo Ianucilli has been so clutch all year at running back. Against Manchester, he rushed for 226 yards and three scores, part of a 419-yard effort from the ‘Busco running attack.
It’s been a fun year for Blitz following the Eagles, who have been the target of many a loss prediction over the course of the season, only for them to prove him wrong time and again.
QUICK HITS
Columbia City had not been shut out in the playoffs since 2015…Huntington North’s 77 points in its rout of Frankfort on Friday set a new program record for points in a game…It is also the Vikings’ seventh win of the season, the first time they have done that since the 2008 campaign…Adams Central has won 12 straight sectional games…South Adams held Union City to a combined 1-of-16 on third and fourth downs, including 0-for-5 on fourth down.
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
No mention that Columbia City lost their two best players to injury early in the game against Dwenger? Changed everything.