It didn’t disappoint this time and probably won’t disappoint next time.
Whether it is this postseason or next season, Blitz for one can’t wait to watch East Noble versus Leo again. So maybe it is time to start talking about how great this rivalry has become and maybe, just maybe, label it as northeast Indiana’s best.
On Friday night it was East Noble coming out on top – its third straight win in the series – 56-40, after the Knights came out on a torrid pace to build a lead that Leo never could quite cut into, despite the fact that the Lions outscored the host Knights in the second half 33-28.
The depth of intrigue happens every year, which is why most eyes in the area were on Kendallville. Friday’s game was a continuation of the theme we like in this series: high-scoring, physical, and full of momentum swings.
The game showcased what has made this rivalry so compelling. East Noble quarterback Rylee Biddle passed for 304 yards and two scores while also rushing for two touchdowns. His connection with Alex Scott was electric again, as Scott hauled in eight receptions for 224 yards, including a 69-yard strike in the first quarter. The Knights’ rushing attack, led by freshman Austin Phillips’ 158 yards and three touchdowns, gave balance to an offense that piled up 559 total yards.
Leo countered with its own star, Nathan Foster, who churned out 252 rushing yards and two long touchdown runs of 47 and 43 yards, while quarterback Titus Stoller threw for 188 yards and two scores and added a rushing touchdown.
This game may have been most notable for the breakout of the freshman Phillips, who, just to be clear, has been great all season so far. But big games bring big attention and Friday night was a showcase for Phillips. One of Phillips’ touchdown scores came from 93 yards as he turned on the jets and outran a pretty speedy and consistently good Leo defensive backfield. Phillips also forced a fumble by stripping Stoller in the first quarter and had a massive fourth down goal line tackle as he demonstrated just how versatile his game is.
And he is just a freshman.
The East Noble and Leo rivalry has illuminated breakout and potential stars over the years just as much as the big players have made plays. Phillips is just a recent example of that as the Knights, now 5-0, took ahold of the reigns in the Northeast 8 by giving Leo its first loss of the season as we passed the midway point for 2025.
Other fresher rivalries in the area since around 2020 are captivating too, so no disrespect to the likes of Carroll/Snider or Bluffton/South Adams that are on that newer list. But you always know that Leo and East Noble is going to be a banger, no matter what school plays host or who is on the field. Hell, both schools have different coaches than they did five years ago, but East Noble’s Alex Stewart and Leo’s Jason Doerffler have just carried on in the same manner that Luke Amstutz and Jared Sauder did before them on the sidelines.
The fireworks Friday night were reminiscent of several past meetings. In 2020, the teams split two games, with Leo winning the regular season 24–0 and East Noble taking the playoff rematch 10–0. From 2021 through 2023, Leo strung together a run of dominance, winning six straight, including multiple postseason thrillers decided by one score. But in 2024, East Noble swung momentum back, sweeping both meetings with a 35–29 regular season victory and a 21–0 playoff shutout. And every single game along the road, the game was in the argument for game of the week heading into a Friday night showdown.
There is a reason, after all that Blitz went on a prediction run of “East Noble by 1,” and no, it wasn’t just to get the Leo faithful rowdy. It was because we knew this game was going to be a shootout and super close, so the margin for error was slim. That and Blitz does kind of like getting fans rowdy.
On Friday, both teams struggled to contain the big play defensively, but East Noble capitalized on turnovers. The Knights recovered two Leo fumbles, while the Lions managed just one interception.
Offense though? No struggles there. The sheer offensive efficiency from both sides was interesting from the jump, East Noble just started faster. The Knights averaged 11.4 yards per play, while Leo managed 7.5 yards per play, giving fans nearly 1,100 yards of combined offense on the night. After Leo tied the game 7–7 on a Stoller-to-Luke Tackwell 35-yard touchdown, East Noble immediately answered with a 69-yard bomb to Scott, followed minutes later by a 93-yard run from Phillips. Those kinds of explosive plays have become defining moments in the series as much as the grind it out stylings have.
Jack Slater added a receiving touchdown for the Knights on Friday and Alex Phillips also ran in a score. Stoller threw for two touchdowns for Leo including the aforementioned strike to Tackwell; he also hit Tackwell for an 81 yard score in the fourth quarter. Noah Workman added the last score of the game on a 1 yard run with 47 seconds left for Leo.
In short, Leo and East Noble – especially since 2020 – have embodied everything fans love about this little feud: rivalry passion, playoff implications, and unforgettable individual performances.
Anybody else now eager for the Sectional draw to see if we get to do this again soon?
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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