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 3A, Sectional 26 as it moves to the semi final round with four teams remaining.
THE DRAW
Lakeland (6-4) at Garrett (5-5)
Angola (5-5) at West Noble (8-2)
Last Week:
Lakeland 32, Woodlan 0
Garrett 7, Fairfield 0
Angola 21, Tippy Valley 6
West Noble 42, Concordia 0
THE FAVORITE
WEST NOBLE
The Chargers will get a rematch with Angola in the semi final round after a 28-14 win in the regular season against the Hornets. The NECC Big Division champions have put together a strong season, where they have only been beaten when giving up more than 20 points in a game. In last week’s 42-0 win over Concordia, that defense was stout headed by Xavier Yates three interceptions and Brogan Parks‘ 2.5 sacks. This is a team that picked off 19 passes this season and also has had 26 sacks. That defensive alignment has found a lot of success with Parks tallying nine sacks and McKale Bottles and Lucas Kilgore adding 5.5 more each. Xavier Yates and Ethan Yates lead the way in tackles with 80 and 72 respectively, while tackles for loss have been pushed by 11.5 from Bottles (72 total tackles) and 11 from Parks (65 total tackles).
On the offensive end, the Chargers have found comfort in Trey Shisler, who has completed 58 percent of his passes and thrown just three picks versus his 1,377 yards. Shisler’s ability to push out of the pocket has helped extend plays as he has run for 167 yards and six touchdowns. He has had four different receivers go for over 250 yards on the season, with Bottles’ 380 leading the way and Brayden Limerick adding 281 receiving yards and a team best five touchdown receptions. On the ground, West Noble has also stayed diverse; Parks’ 599 yards leads the way but senior Dustin Richardson (325) and sophomore Xymire Barnes-Bridges (491) have also done a lot of work.
THE CONTENDER
ANGOLA
In this field, it may be safe to say that Angola had the best opening round win with an upset of Tippecanoe Valley that was headed, as usual, by dominating play on both sides of the ball by Hawk Hasselman. The senior has run for 986 yards, going over the 100 yard mark five different weeks while scoring 14 touchdowns; he also completed his only pass of the season and is second on the team with 200 yards receiving. Hasselman’s fellow seniors have also put on quality performances that have the Hornets in the thick of this Sectional. Dallas Davidson has run for 271 yards behind Hasselman, while Alex Thomas is the leading receiver at 234 yards; another senior, Tyler Ruple, has added 154 yards receiving this season.
Five of the top 6 players in tackles for the Hornets are also seniors, showing the upperclass strength on both sides of the ball. Gus Heavin‘s 71 tackles leads the way, followed by Hasselman’s 69 and Davidson’s 65. Davidson also has a team second best three interceptions, while Ruple has five and Thomas’ 3.5 sacks leads Angola in getting at the opposing QB. But it isn’t just seniors that are finding success on the defensive side of the ball. Sophomore Niles Knox has had a really strong campaign with 64 tackles and three sacks; freshman Owen Shull has 42 tackles.
THE REST
GARRETT
The Railroaders eked out a win last week on the road, topping Fairfield 7-0 in the closing minutes of the game. Things are trending up in Big Train country with Garrett being winners of 3 of their last four and the only loss along the way being a fun 14-11 battle with Angola. All of those games have come after Garrett moved to senior Kayden Bush at quarterback, and while Bush isn’t a heavy throwing arm (12 of 32 for 248 yards), his speed in the backfield opens up a lot of options for this run heavy offense. Five different Railroaders have more than 50 carries and 140 or more yards rushing, headed up by junior Alex Guzman‘s 508 yards on 63 carries and 366 yards on 51 carries from junior Aiden Reed. The majority of the passing though goes to a senior, Josh Hogle, who has caught 18 of Garrett’s 43 completions for 310 yards.
Defensively, the Railroaders have been stronger than their 5-5 record may indicate. They are only giving up 15.1 points per game, holding opponents to seven or less points in three of their five wins. Reed’s 97 total tackles leads the program after five solo and 15 assists last week in the win over Fairfield. Senior Aiden Hunt has 77 tackles, but a program (by far) best 24 tackles for loss; fellow senior Brayden Nusbaum joins him in double figures with 11 tackles for loss. Hunt and Nusbaum each lead the team with three sacks, while Jake Gonya (2) and Jacob Reynolds (1.5) also have multiple sacks. Bush’s three interceptions lead Garrett’s defensive backfield.
LAKELAND
The Lakers will get another crack on Friday at a Garrett team that beat them 28-7 in the regular season. The Lakers have lost every game but one where they have given up more than 12 points so while their offense looks to be firing well (29.7 ppg in wins), the defense will be a point of emphasis as long as Lakeland can continue in the playoffs. Bryar Alleshouse (89 tackles) and Thatcher Cowley (85 tackles) have been the catalyst for Lakeland’s defense, coming off a shutout win to open Sectionals. Keegan Merrifield‘s five sacks lead Lakeland’s 15 on the season, adding another one last week, while Keyan Arroyo added his third pick of the season.
Brayden Holbrook has been the face of Lakeland for years and his hype was critical early on his career, but substance as a senior has been critical too. He is flirting with his first career 2,000 yard season after 114 yards last week in the win over Woodlan. Holbrook sits at 1,918 yards, the best passing season of his career in yardage and touchdowns and has done so with less completions and attempts than any other season. He has done so with a pair of fantastic senior receiver teammates as Arroyo has caught 38 passes for 879 yards and Levi Cook has 37 catches for 720 yards; the duo has caught 17 of Holbrook’s 19 touchdown passes. Of note, Holbrook may sit just 82 yards from 2,000 for the season but also sits just 82 yards from 7,000 passing yards in his Lakeland career.
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