It was setting up to really take a big chunk out of our area teams.
Five of six teams on the road for regionals? Adams Central the lone home game against a battle-tested Eastbrook team in a showdown of undefeateds? Surely we would be down to just a couple squads for semistate.
Instead, northeast Indiana showed out with five teams capturing regional titles last Friday.
Blitz breaks down each team, including Angola, the lone loser that came close to knocking off Knox.
CARROLL
Remember when there were concerns about the quarterback position at Carroll after the graduation of Jimmy Sullivan?
Gabe Frisinger has been absolutely tremendous in his junior campaign, with his most recent performance his best of the year.
Frisinger went for 526 total yards against Penn in the Chargers’ 41-30 victory to win the program’s second-ever regional crown – 424 yards passing and 102 rushing. He was responsible for a pair of touchdown passes and one on the ground.
For the year, Frisinger has thrown for 3,148 yards and 26 touchdowns while rushing for 477 yards and seven more scores. His improvement from Week 1 to now has been off the charts, and his confidence is now through the roof.
And the scary thing is, he is only a junior, meaning Carroll will run it back with him again next season.
One player that Frisinger will not have next season is Jaidon Vanpelt, who continues to put up ridiculous numbers for the Chargers.
With his nine-catch, 197-yard effort against Penn, the senior wideout has surpassed the single-season program records for most receptions (66) and yards (1,365) in a season.
Vanpelt’s athleticism knows no bounds. The latest example came Friday when Frisinger was sent off the field by the officials to get checked out in the fourth quarter with the game in the balance. Instead of going to the backup quarterback, Carroll put Vanpelt behind center on a crucial third-and-eight in its own territory. Vanpelt took the snap, rolled left and his Mason Baughman for a 13-yard gain.
The confidence displayed by the Chargers to not only put Vanpelt at quarterback, but also have him throw, was well founded.
Two plays later, Frisinger hit Vanpelt for a 40-yard gain that moved Carroll into Penn territory for an eventual touchdown that iced it for Carroll.
There is so constant discussion about Fort Wayne closing the gap to Indianapolis in the big classes of high school football.
But we would be remiss if we didn’t recognize strides taken by area programs against other powers from other areas of the state.
Take Penn, for example. Since 1982, Penn and Snider have battled 17 times, with the Kingsmen winning nine and the Panthers eight. It is one of the most enduring non-conference rivalries in the northern half of the state.
For a long time, we felt that Snider was the ONLY area team who could consistently compete (and beat) big, bad Penn.
That’s what makes Friday’s win by Carroll so eye-opening. This was a “vintage” Penn team, not necessarily the one the Chargers beat in 2022 in sectional play. An undefeated powerhouse looking to instill its will against a northeast Indiana team not named Snider.
Instead, Carroll went to Granger, outscored the Kingsmen 20-0 in the fourth quarter and ended Penn’s season in convincing fashion.
Even a decade ago, no one else outside of Snider had the ability to do that.
That’s growth. And it should be recognized.
BISHOP DWENGER
We have talked so much about the Bishop Dwenger defense all season, and for good reason. But Friday’s 39-27 victory over Lebanon, a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated, saw the offense do some serious damage.
The Saints went for nearly 400 yards of total offense against the Tigers, and what made it so impressive was that it was nearly split between rushing and passing. Henry Jordan threw for 178 yards and two scores, while the running game picked up 219 yards on the ground. Jordan also accounted for the two rushing scores.
Jordan is a feel-good story. Blitz has been around Jordan a lot, and the kid always has a smile on his face. He is never going to be a prolific thrower with what Bishop Dwenger does, but he is capable of making all the throws that the Saints need to make in their offense. He runs the offense with comfort and confidence.
You cannot help but feel good about the entirety of the Bishop Dwenger team, but Jordan, in particular.
The Saints will take on South Bend St. Joseph on Friday for the chance to represent the north in the Class 4A state championship.
This will be just the first meeting between the programs since 2015. That game was also in the semistate round, as the Saints went on the road and captured a 41-7 victory.
One week later, Bishop Dwenger routed East Central for a state crown.
ANGOLA
Hawk Hasselman entered this game Friday being a part of 22 of Angola’s 27 touchdowns for the season. He continued that ridiculousness in the 28-21 loss to Knox that concluded the Hornets’ season.
Hasselman scored on a run, a reception and a punt return in the game, an impressive way to end his prep career.
In terms of most valuable players to their team, it is tough to argue for anyone other than Hasselman this season in the area.
What a player.
Yes, Myles McLaughlin got his on Friday to the tune of 372 yards and four touchdowns, one of which broke the national record for rushing scores in a season, but the Hornets had every chance to win.
Twice Angola was stopped on downs inside the red zone in the second half. And the game effectively ended when McLaughlin, who is an outstanding defender as well, picked off his seventh pass of the season around the 10-yard line in the final minute.
And that’s the thing with McLaughlin. He IS the Knox offense. He will get his, and he is very impressive at doing it, but Knox has no other player that is getting enough touches for opposing defenses to take notice of.
Angola nearly beat Knox DESPITE McLaughlin’s huge night. And that is telling for…
BISHOP LUERS
The Knights will get the next shot at McLaughlin and Knox on Friday at Luersfield after dispatching Twin Lakes 14-7 to win its state-best 24th regional title in program history.
It is shaping up to be an epic showdown between the record-breaking McLaughlin and a Knights defensive front that did not allow a point against Twin Lakes last week, with the Indians’ lone score coming on a pick-6.
The trio of Ayle Taylor, Jarron Taylor and Brayden Mygrant have combined for 58 tackles for loss for Bishop Luers this season. It will be the greatest test of the season so far for Knox’s offensive line.
As Blitz has said in recent weeks, you don’t have to stop McLaughlin, you just can’t let anyone else beat you.
The Knights have quietly produced a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in TJ Epperson (184 carries, 1,191 yards, 10 touchdowns) and Brandon Gaither II (199-1,048-7). It was Gaither that led the way last Friday, rushing for 160 yards in the victory, but both sophomores have had standout games sharing the rock out of the backfield.
With so much experience being gained, you can bet the duo will be an even bigger problem in 2026.
ADAMS CENTRAL
Down 14-0 in the second quarter is a place that Adams Central has not been in very much in recent years, but that’s where the Flying Jets were against Eastbrook on Friday.
In fact, AC didn’t crack the scoreboard until less than two minutes left in the first half on a 13-yard touchdown run by Jamison Roach.
That score led to the Flying Jets scoring 28 of the next 35 points to take control, but even then the Panthers came fighting back to tie the game with less than seven minutes left in regulation.
But a Vance Miller 63-yard touchdown and Roach to Joey Everett 22-yard pass completed the 42-28 win for Coach Michael Mosser’s team.
With a return trip to Andrean on tap this week, Adams Central desperately needed a game where it faced adversity and had to fight back from a deficit. Eastbrook presented a huge challenge, and the Flying Jets responded.
SOUTH ADAMS
What’s the old adage about winning games? Run the ball and stop the run.
Well, it was the opposite for the Starfires in their 25-22 victory over North Miami.
The Warriors ran the ball for 372 yards and three touchdowns while not completing a single pass. They only attempted two passes in the game, one of which was intercepted by Manny Juarez.
On the other side, South Adams rushed the ball 15 times for negative-31 yards. Its longest run of the game was nine yards by Will Patterson.
Tytus Lehman delivered again behind center, throwing for 322 yards and a trio of scores, the biggest coming with just over seven minutes left to Derek McKean that put the Starfires up to stay.
North Miami did what it wanted to do – establish the run and make South Adams one-dimensional.
The Starfires won anyway.
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