Sectional semifinal night delivered on the drama in the area, as we saw a host of teams see their seasons end, while others moved another step forward to earning some postseason hardware.
Allow Blitz to recap Week 1.
CLASS 6A
• It was an Aaron Vance to Trevor Jarvis touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter that was the winning score for Snider in its 14-7 victory at Elkhart, but Blitz didn’t have that play as the key to the dub.
It was rather an early-game play. In fact, it was the first snap from scrimmage.
With pressure in his face on a rollout, Elkhart quarterback Quinn Rost threw downfield only to be picked off by senior Brandon Logan, who returned it 22 yards for a score merely seconds into the game.
A few minutes later, Logan would block an Elkhart field goal attempt to keep the Lions scoreless.
Yes, there were many pivotal plays over the final three quarters that decided the game, but the pick-6 by Logan, coupled with the blocked field goal, truly set the tone. Elkhart never was able to get its passing game on track, with Logan’s pick in the mind of the Lions the rest of the game.
• While Northrop was able to move the ball against Carroll, it never had an answer for the Chargers’ offense.
Carroll rushed for 400 yards – including 176 yards from Will Jeffries and 175 from Dajaun Green – in the 48-18 rout. Jimmy Sullivan only attempted seven passes and was replaced in the second half by backup Gabe Frisinger.
The Chargers scored touchdowns on their first five drives. It is safe to say this offense is firing on all cylinders heading into the rematch with Snider, a team that Carroll put 30 points on in Week 5.
• Trailing 17-0 entering the fourth quarter, all seemed lost for Homestead in its matchup with Hamilton Southeastern, but credit to the Spartans for putting up some points over the final 12 minutes.
Michael White threw a pair of touchdowns – both to Kail Swager – in the eventual 20-14 defeat. What doomed the Spartans was the inability to run the ball, forcing the offense to be one-dimensional.
The defense held up, but couldn’t stop Hamilton Southeastern from controlling the ball (and thus the clock) with a rushing attack that garnered 318 yards.
CLASS 5A
• When senior Rushawn James returned an interception 75 yards to the house midway through the fourth quarter on Friday, North Side had life against top-ranked Concord as it had cut the deficit to just six points.
But Concord responded by scoring the final 11 points of the game, including immediately responding to the pick-six with a touchdown and two-point conversion on its very next possession.
It was a spirited effort by the Legends, but their inability to get off to a quick start doomed them. Concord scored the first 20 points of the game and shut North out in the first half.
It is difficult to erase a 20-point deficit against anyone, let alone the No. 1 team in Class 5A.
CLASS 4A
• It was a game straight out of the 1930s at Wayne Stadium between the Generals and Bishop Dwenger, as the teams combined for three completions and minus-6 yards passing.
In fact, it was all Wayne with those two metrics, as Bishop Dwenger’s Nick O’Keefe attempted just one pass as the running game picked up over 200 yards on the ground.
The Saints actually called more pass plays, but Wayne, particularly Kimar Nelson, did not allow O’Keefe to get comfortable, with the sophomore taking off several times instead of trying to throw the ball under pressure.
Nelson was a one-man wrecking crew, as he ended his prep career with 12 tackles, a tackle for loss and numerous QB pressures.
• For as strong as East Noble‘s offense was running the clock and grinding it out with a lot of work from Dylan Krehl on the ground on Friday (146 yards), their defense should be ecstatic with the effort.
The Knights blanked rival Leo 21-0 to improve their winning streak against the Lions to two after losing 7 of the previous 8 meetings between the two teams. Friday was the first shutout for the Knights against Leo since a 10-0 win in the 2020 Sectional round.
Rylee Biddle, Mason Treesh and Anthony Mitchener each picked off a pass and Leo also had a couple of fumbles that they were able to recover and retain possession of, but the Knights never let the Lions offense get comfortable. They even forced Leo to work from their own endzone in the third quarter, nearly causing a safety before eventually ending that possession with Treesh’s interception.
CLASS 3A
• Garrett and West Noble are set for another showdown after both were victorious in convincing fashion on Friday.
Seth Pruitt has gone for at least 135 yards in every game this season except one, when he was held to only 39 yards on 16 carries in Week 6 in a 17-6 loss to the Railroaders.
The real question regarding Round 2 is, can the Chargers find a way to get Pruitt some space to run? Conversely, can Garrett bottle up the stud senior running back again, stay undefeated and capture its first sectional in eight years?
CLASS 2A
• That’s another relatively clean week for Bishop Luers in the turnover department, a team that has committed 18 giveaways – seven interceptions and 11 fumbles lost – over the course of the year.
The margin for error for the Knights is much smaller this year, not only because of being bumped up to Class 3A, but also that this is by no means a dynamic offense.
However, Coach Kyle Lindsay’s team has found its groove in the postseason. The scoring outputs of 42 and 41 points the last two weeks are higher than any performance in the regular season.
Mississinewa is no slouch, evidenced by its undefeated record heading into next Friday. And don’t overlook the Indians purely because they play in a lesser conference than the SAC. The last time Ole Miss took on an SAC foe, it destroyed Wayne 42-6 in a 4A sectional title game in 2021.
• The playoffs see heroes emerge, and that was the case for Eastside in Friday’s win over Prairie Heights.
Sophomore Job Richmond got the start behind center for the Blazers, and while he only completed three passes, he rushed for 165 yards and three touchdowns in place of QB1 Linkin Carter.
The status of Carter is uncertain for the sectional final against Adams Central, but Richmond attributed himself well and got some key postseason experience he can take into next year.
CLASS 1A
• How did South Adams turn a 25-point deficit to host Tri into an 11-point victory?
There were various reasons why, but a crucial stretch midway through the third quarter was the key.
A Wes Summersett one-yard plunge into the end zone brought the Starfires to within 32-13, although the two-point conversion failed. South Adams then recovered an onside kick, with Jackson Garcia falling on his own kick.
After a hook-and-ladder picked up a first down, South Adams went with its ‘circus’ formation, which hid Summersett at the tackle spot. He was able to get behind the defense for a 36-yard touchdown reception from Tytus Lehman. With the two-point conversion, the Starfires had scored 15 points in 23 seconds.
But the Starfires weren’t done. On Tri’s first play of its next drive, it fumbled and South Adams recovered, leading to a 22-yard strike from Lehman to Caiden Neuenschwander, followed by another two-point conversion.
In 46 seconds, South Adams went from trailing 32-7 to being down 32-29.
Tri never recovered.
QUICK HITS
Warsaw averaged 8.8 yards per rush in its win over Goshen. It had more rushing attempts (38) than Goshen had rushing yards (35)…East Noble played keep away from Leo on Friday, holding the ball for over 29 minutes compared to just 18 minutes for the Lions…Huntington North is a win away from its first sectional title since 1993, while West Noble is close to capturing its first-ever postseason crown…Adams Central had more fourth-down conversions (four) in its win over Churubusco than the Eagles had third-down conversions (three).
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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