The regular season is over and now we enter the portion of the season where if you don’t bring your best each and every week, there’s a good chance your year is gonna end.
The mission is a simple one, win and advance or lose, turn in equipment and begin getting ready for a long off-season.
Let’s take a look at Class 4A, Sectional 19.
THE DRAW
Wayne (0-9) at South Side (2-7)
New Haven (2-7) at East Noble (9-0)
Columbia City (5-4) at DeKalb (7-2)
Bishop Dwenger (7-2) at Leo (7-2)
THE FAVORITE
EAST NOBLE (9-0)
The defending state runner-up has put itself right back in the position to make another deep state run. The Knights are the only team in this sectional to be unbeaten against the field, as well as in Class 4A.
The diversity in East Noble’s explosive offense has been at the forefront of its 9-0 start. Rylee Biddle has accounted for 33 touchdowns, with 21 through the air and 12 on the ground. His favorite target has been Alex Phillips with 45 catches. Meanwhile, Alex Scott has less catches (34), but has racked up the most yardage (789) with 10 touchdowns and is averaging 87.7 yards per game as a receiver. On the ground, the Knights have five guys who have run for over 100 yards, including three who are over 400 yards, led by freshman Austin Phillips’ 791 yards.
Defensively, you will see some of the same names at the top. Austin Phillips (84), Biddle (74) and Alex Phillips (73) are three of the top four on the team in total tackles, joined by Andrew Oakes’ 77 tackles. Meanwhile, Scott has four of the team’s nine picks to go with his seven pass deflections. The front line for the Knights has been able to get at opposing offenses well, limiting yardage given up with the 17 sacks they have, led by 4.5 from Koen Quake.
THE CONTENDERS
BISHOP DWENGER SAINTS (7-2)
With the SAC Victory Bell firmly cemented back at Shields Field for the first time in seven years, the Saints now turn their attention to winning their first sectional title since 2021. That may not seem like a long time for most programs, but for Dwenger, winners of seven sectionals between 2013 and 2021, the drought seems immense.
The biggest takeaway from the regular season? The Saints lost two games by a combined six points. That makes kicker Lucas Nguyen immensely important. He has hit 12 of 14 field goals this season, including a long of 53 against Carroll in a 9-6 game where the kickers did the only scoring. The Saints can also score in different ways, with five different guys having over 200 yards of offense. Senior Beckham Russell is the the only receiver to do so with 382 yards on 36 receptions. On the ground, two Saints have been workhorses with 85 carries and 445 yards for Kolyn Campbell and 73 carries and 431 yards for AJ Shefferly.
Doug Henry is flirting with the century mark in tackles, sitting at 94 currently, including 59 solo and 11.5 for loss. That strong defensive unit is also led by 5.5 sacks each from Shefferly and Houston Ellinger, while KC Pieper has three sacks, 13 hurries and 81 tackles on the year.
LEO LIONS (7-2)
Leo took a bump to end the regular season in a loss to DeKalb, but did so without its running back work horse Nathan Foster, who has arguably been the best rusher in northeast Indiana this season. The Lions last won a sectional title in 2023.
Seven times in eight games played this season, Foster has surpassed 100 yards and has racked up a total of 1,401 yards while punching it into the end zone 18 times, almost half of Leo’s total touchdowns. His numbers are downright gaudy, including a 10.9 yards per carry average. Quarterback Titus Stoller and freshman rusher Aaron Perlich have also each gone for north of 375 yards on the ground. Stoller doesn’t have the weaponry that Leo was able to employ on the outside in recent years, but has still completed 64 of his passes and thrown for over 1,000 yards.
THE REST
DEKALB BARONS (7-2)
DeKalb has not won a sectional crown since 1995, but is one of the area’s most pleasant surprises in 2025, especially with the big win last Friday night over Leo.
The emergence of Eli McCormick under center has been a spark plug for this offense. He is completing 58 percent of his passes for 1,844 yards. DeKalb threw for just 819 total yards all of last season.
Five guys have double-digit receptions on the year, led by senior speedsters Noah Spears (42 rec, 658 yds) and Xavier Bell (39 rec, 641 yds). In the backfield, Brady Culler averages 80.7 yards rushing per game.
A pair of juniors, Eli Schwab and Drake Hall, have been leaders, with Schwab pacing the defense with 83 tackles and 13 for loss, including 15 total tackles in a battle with NE8 champion East Noble in Week 4. Hall and Austin Kirkpatrick have led the defensive backfield in back-to-back weeks as Hall had multiple INTs in Week 9, while Kirkpatrick did the same in Week 8. Kirkpatrick also leads DeKalb with 4 sacks on the season.
COLUMBIA CITY EAGLES (5-4)
To clinch a winning season for the fourth-consecutive year, the Eagles need to open sectional play with a win against a DeKalb team that beat them 28-7 on September 19. In that game, the Barons defense was able to hold the Eagles to a season-low in points. Yet Columbia City has flourished in its two wins since with 42 points scored in each of those dubs, although it scored just 17 total points in the two losses over that same span.
Just last week, in a get-right game against Norwell, the Eagles clicked early with 28 first half points. Ian Berry, Sam Bean and Gavin Smith continue to be very good in the secondary as they prepare for a rematch with a pass-loving Baron team this Friday. Jaidan Williams has been the man under center for the Eagles in each of the last two weeks, completing 19 of 36 passes for 209 yards and two scores, while also running for 69 yards and three touchdowns. The change there could be good in Round 2 with DeKalb.
SOUTH SIDE ARCHERS (2-7)
Don’t let South Side’s record fool you. A roster with plenty of athletic playmakers and a couple games that South let get away against the likes of Marion, Bishop Luers, North Side and Bishop Dwenger show that this squad could cause some postseason chaos.
The draw is favorable, with an opening game against winless Wayne, who the Archers beat 46-0 in Week 5. The monstrous Detrick Smith leads the South defense with 125 tackles, while Kyon Beasley has 8.5 sacks and 18 hurries to his name.
Chris Mhoon’s season has included records and 892 total yards rushing, so the drive to surpass 1,000 is likely to be a powerful motivator in the postseason. He has notched one-third of South Side’s offensive touchdowns this season, with fellow senior Devin Patterson sitting next with four scores (and 231 rushing yards). But a big talk of the year have been the highlight reel, next-level plays from Jayvon Irby. The senior receiver has 596 yards on 43 catches, while also running the ball quite a bit himself. He has 88 total touches between the two and has amassed 854 total yards and two scores each way.
WAYNE GENERALS (0-9)
While the Generals sit winless, they do boast a 1,000-yard passer in Jayce White. The senior has had five games with double-digit completions including his wild 23-of-31 Week 7 performance against Concordia in a nail biter that the Cadets took by a single point. Juniors Tyree Eldridge (384 yards on 15 receptions) and Jaston White (303 yards on 40 receptions) have shown themselves as credible playmakers for a team searching for a playoff victory to be win No. 1 on the year.
Eldridge also has five of Wayne’s 10 interceptions on the season, while Javonte Eldridge and Mykalan Westmoreland each have a team-high three sacks.
NEW HAVEN BULLDOGS (2-7)
New Haven is looking to slow down opposing offenses by any means. At 2-7 overall, the Bulldogs are giving up more than 39 points per game, Two weeks ago, they faced first-round opponent East Noble and lost, 59-21. Last week, the Bulldogs gave up 601 yards of total offense to Huntington North.
The positive is that after Week 1, the Bulldogs have not been shut out and are actually averaging 21.6 points per game. Tre McCraney was solid in the first meeting with the Knights, completing 22 of 35 passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns. Calvin Dobson also had a nice fumble recovery for New Haven in that game, where the Bulldogs were only outscored 25-21 in the second and third quarters.
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
Be the first to comment