The high school football season goes by so fast.
The latest example? One week from Sunday, we will be breaking down the sectional draw.
Talk about crazy.
But before we talk playoffs, we have Week 7 to put a cap on.
Let’s get to it in Bear Necessities.
SAC
• How fun was Friday at Spuller Stadium?
Well, if you are a Northrop Bruin, at least.
The 35-14 victory for Coach Quentin Bowen’s squad exorcised so many demons for Northrop. The 28-game losing streak to Snider, snapped. The 26-year drought without a dub over the Panthers, ended.
And it never really felt like Snider had a shot in this game, either. After forcing a punt on the opening possession, Northrop scored on its first possession and led 21-0 before the Panthers got on the board in the third quarter.
Northrop was the better team on the field against Snider on Friday, and it wasn’t close.
How long has it been since we have said that?
• While it is great that Snider is FINALLY getting its own on-campus stadium next year, Blitz will miss some of the pettiness that has gone with the sharing of Spuller Stadium between the two programs.
The talk over whose home field it “really” was has been ongoing forever, with Snider having the upper hand in that argument for a long time.
The back-and-forth jabs continued into Friday, with Snider fans showcasing a “Five decades of excellence” t-shirt in regards to its final regular-season matchup with Northrop at Spuller.
In return, Northrop players after the game ripped off the goalpost padding adorned with Snider’s name as a bit of a “your reign is over” statement.
It was harmless and fun and led to spirited conversation over the years, which fed the rivalry. In a way, it’s sad to see it go.
• The chase for the Victory Bell in the SAC is, barring some craziness, down to three teams – Northrop, Bishop Dwenger and Carroll. Since we actually break ties in the SAC (unlike every other league in the area), we will be able to crown a champion in all likelihood.
All three of the aforementioned teams are 4-1. Northrop holds the tiebreaker over Bishop Dwenger due to its win over the Saints. The same goes for the Saints over Carroll.
Northrop and Carroll face off next Friday. If the Bruins can find a way to knock off the Chargers, with winless Wayne on the slate for Week 9, they will be in commanding position to capture their first SAC championship since 1977.
Back in 1977, Northrop and Bishop Luers met in the SAC championship game, as the conference had divisions at the time, with the division winners meeting in a title game. The Bruins under Coach Buzz Doerffler beat the Knights, 7-6.
• Over the course of a week’s time, Homestead went from handing Snider its most lopsided defeat in its history in a conference game to the Spartans losing 49-0 to Carroll, marking the worst-ever loss for either the Spartans or the Chargers in the rivalry’s 54 games dating back to 1971.
Homestead was able to move the ball, finishing with 235 total yards, but it turned the ball over three times and had no answer for Carroll’s playmakers.
The Spartans are just impossible to figure out. They own wins over Northrop and Snider, but have lost to Carroll and Bishop Dwenger by a combined score of 64-3.
With North Side on deck for Week 8, Blitz has zero clue what to expect.
• One of the big plays for the Chargers in Friday’s rout came from an emerging junior on the back end of the defense – Linkoln Grabner. The junior took an interception back 70 yards for a touchdown that pushed the lead to 42-0.
It was the second pick-6 of the game for the Carroll defense, with sophomore Henry Sholl taking a pick back 23 yards to pay dirt in the first quarter.
Grabner is tied for the team lead with three picks as he has solidified his positioning in the Chargers secondary. Sholl has looked more comfortable too at the third level, an aspect of the defense that had a lot of questions coming into the season with the wealth of underclassmen.
• Kudos to the Cadets! First SAC victory since 2022 with the 21-20 dub over Wayne on Friday.
Heroics were needed. After Wayne scored with just less than three minutes left to bring the Generals within one, Concordia was able to block the extra point with a few guys getting penetration.
Wayne actually got the ball back with one more chance, but a Hail Mary try at the end of the game fell incomplete.
Winning is hard and losing becomes easy when they pile up. The Cadets ending a 14-game losing streak is a big deal and hopefully they can build on it.
• With the Battle of the Bishops tied at seven late in the first half, Bishop Dwenger was in the red zone looking to get some points to take the lead and momentum into the break.
A Lucas Nguyen field goal would be nice, but a touchdown would be even better.
The Saints refused to settle. Quarterback Henry Jordan was flushed out of the pocket and found Max Jordan right at the pylon, who made a sliding catch for a touchdown to lift the lead to 14-7.
Bishop Dwenger then piled it on, adding two more scores in the second half in the 27-7 win, the largest win for the Saints in the rivalry since 2020.
Max Jordan’s play was even more impressive when you factor in that it was his first game of the season seeing significant time at wideout.
NE8
• With 18 touchdowns on the season, Leo senior Nathan Foster continues to amaze.
His latest stat line Friday against Huntington North – 25 carries for 212 yards and three scores, along with a 56-yard touchdown reception.
Foster’s biggest night so far was against an East Noble team that is barely allowing 10 points per game when he ran for 252 yards.
The kid is simply amazing.
ACAC
• Bluffton’s domination of Heritage wasn’t only a surprise, it adds even more intrigue to next week’s undefeated showdown between the Tigers and Adams Central.
Junior quarterback Axton Beste threw three more touchdowns on Friday, giving him 15 on the year against just two interceptions.
A few weeks ago, the Flying Jets shut down the prolific passing attack of South Adams, forcing Tytus Lehman into four interceptions. You can be sure that a lot of the same principles that AC used against the Starfires will appear on defense against Bluffton.
For the Tigers to have a shot against Adams Central, Beste has to be at his…best. Sorry, not sorry.
NECC/Area
• Anyone who knows the offenses of Warsaw and Mishawaka knows that both are very run heavy, but what we saw in their matchup on Friday was at another level.
The two teams combined for 726 yards in Mishawaka’s 42-21 victory. All 726 yards came via rush.
That’s right – 726 rushing yards, 0 passing yards.
Mishawaka did not even attempt a pass, while Warsaw went 0-for-3 in pass attempts.
Kadyn O’Neal ran for 245 yards and three touchdowns for Mishawaka, while Landon Snyder added 179 yards and the other three touchdowns in the win for the Cavemen.
No passing yards at all. Straight out of 1979.
• West Noble wrapped up the NECC Big Division title on Friday with its 34-7 rout of Lakeland. The Chargers went 4-0 in the division, winning all by double digits.
Last year, West Noble came two points away from winning its first-ever sectional crown, falling 21-20 to Garrett in the final. Could this be the year that the program secures that elusive title? Sectional 26 appears to be very winnable once again.
• Meanwhile in the Small School Division, Churubusco clinched its second-straight title in its 62-3 rout of Central Noble. The 62 points is the most for the Eagles since a 62-19 victory over Fremont on Sept. 28, 2019.
Churubusco accounted for 411 yards on the ground and eight of its nine touchdowns. Carson Tonkel, Grant Sievers and Colt Singleton each ran for two each, while Bryce Lawrence and Levi Dammeyer accounted for one apiece.
• Chip Bennett of Blackhawk Christian had himself a night in the Braves’ 66-0 pasting of Irvington Prep on Friday. The junior had 11 carries for 215 yards and three scores while also taking an interception back to the house…all in the first half.
The win is Blackhawk Christian’s most lopsided victory since it began IHSAA football competition in 2023.
QUICK HITS
North Side has beaten South Side eight-straight times, the longest streak by either team in the Totem Pole Game since North beat its rival 11 times in a row from 1986-1998…Prior to Friday, DeKalb’s last shutout of Norwell came in 2018.
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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