Had a lot of fun last week with some of the kids from area teams previewing some of the top games in the area, so I will do so again this week.
It’s Rivalry Week, so I was looking forward to hearing from the players and hearing their breakdowns on what they expect this Friday from their opponents and how they can pull out a victory.
Let’s Flip The Script as we head into Week 7 as we’re getting to the final stretch of the regular season.
SAC: Carroll @ Homestead
Carroll against Homestead is always a battle and represents two prestigious programs from our area going head-to-head. The last few meetings have ended in blowouts in Carroll’s favor. In fact, 2021 was the last game that was within a touchdown. The last time the Spartans beat the Chargers was back in 2020. Since then, Carroll has dominated. Prior to 2020, Homestead was mainly in control of this rivalry.
For Rivalry Week, I was able to catch up with a couple of players to preview this huge game. The first person I wanted to check in with was Carroll quarterback Gabe Frisinger, who has made a case to be considered for Mr. Football in Indiana. This is another huge game for him and he now has some additional pressure as Indianapolis media members are now including his name in Mr. Football discussions.
“We expect a heavy emphasis from them on defending the pass and limiting big plays from our skill guys,” Frisinger said. “They’ll want to put pressure on me and disrupt our timing.
“As a team we need to remain focused and not get caught up in the excitement of a rivalry game. We have to play at a high level and shut them down early.”
A big contributor in Carroll’s success on offense has been due to its blocking from the big guys up front. One of those guys is guard Adam Kline, who has been on a tear since being snubbed from All-SAC recognition from last season. He is pumped up for this matchup.
“We expect them to defend the pass more so installing the run early will set both up,” Kline said. “I’m expecting them to bring pressure so having good communication can stop that. We need to play at a high level and keep it up.”
The Chargers have playmakers on defense as well. One of those guys is Indiana State commit Linkoln Graber at defensive back. He is well aware what Homestead is going to be planning offensively and is ready for the challenge.
“They are going to try to stretch the field and try to run with their quarterback,” Grabner said. “We have to limit explosive plays from their offense and elevate our play. To prepare not only as a conference rival but as a possible sectional matchup.”
Homestead’s offense is led by versatile quarterback Logan Frieden, who has been dangerous through the air and on the ground. As great as he’s been, their defense has been what has stood out to me the most. It has gone completely overlooked in my eyes. The Spartans have some tough guys on defense that have disrupted offenses and kept them in games. With a tough task to slow down Carroll’s high passing attack, I wanted to see where the defense’s mindset was at.
Emerging edge rusher Tobe Agunanne has really been catching my eyes as of late. His speed off the edge and mechanics are definitely impressive. At 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, he’s got great size and will definitely be playing at the next level. He is just scratching the surface of his potential. He is definitely going to be in Carroll’s game plan to double team and not allow in the backfield. I was curious to find out what Tobe is thinking heading into this huge game.
“I expect a gritty fight out of Carroll,” Agunanne said. “They will try to get over my defense through the air, and out-discipline my team’s offense.
“I know that my team needs to come prepared, disciplined, and have a tank full of rivalry hate. We need to execute and make momentum off of our success and their mistakes.”
In the secondary, Caleb Hollingsworth has been the anchor and leader for a stingy pass defense at Homestead. He did inform me there is a possibility he may not play this Friday due to a finger injury, but as the leader, I wanted to see where his and the secondary’s mindset is at.
“We defensively are expecting a high-tempo offense with a lot of vertical passes aimed to the sideline,” Hollingsworth said. “We also are expecting a lot of wheel routes from inside receivers/ tight ends and hitches on the outside.
“In the run game we are prepared for tackle wrap runs and QB power. As a unit, we have worked on identifying Carroll’s top targets and dropping coverage accordingly as well as creating pressure up front to fluster the quarterback. When we execute our assignments and play together as one unit with an uncommon attitude and effort, our performance will get us the win.”
NE8: Columbia City @ East Noble
This game will likely decide who wins the Northeast Eight. The Columbia City Eagles are 5-1 and the East Noble Knights come in undefeated at 6-0. It’s simple, East Noble wins and it controls its fate to win the conference. Columbia City has a huge chance to fight for the conference in this matchup in Kendallville.
East Noble’s offense responded to all of the criticism it has been facing from media members and social media. Last week, the Knights put up 35 points on Norwell and surpassed 30 or more points for the third time this season. This is going to be a huge game that a lot of fans will be at.
I wanted to catch up with a couple of the top players from East Noble, who have really embraced the “bad guy” role every week where they want to spoil their opponents’ weekends. First, I talked with Alex Scott, who is having an incredible year on both offense and defense.
“They definitely run the ball a lot, so we are preparing for that,” Scott said. “Then also the occasional pass play they run can definitely hurt us. Just limiting big plays and playing up to our level and not to our opponents will be key.”
Scott has been on a tear limiting big plays with his five interceptions. Another player that makes a huge impact for the Knights on both offense and defense is top national prospect in the 2029 class, Austin Phillips. Playing both running back and linebacker, he is involved in just about every play the Knights run. I haven’t gotten to talk with him much this season, but with so much on the line in this battle, I was curious what he was looking forward to and expecting from the Eagles.
“They are a run-heavy team, so we have to be very disciplined and watch our keys,” Phillips said. “While also watching and waiting for them to throw the ball down the field. All we gotta do to win this game is stick to our assignments.”
Columbia City is known for running the ball offensively and have successfully done so up to this point with Lukas Duncan (811 rushing yards) and Noah Geiger (750 rushing yards). In addition to the running game, Eagles quarterback Jordan Parrett has the capability to make big completions down the field and catch the defense off guard. He isn’t called upon a lot to go vertical, but when he is, he makes plays. I believe he is an X-factor in this game, so I wanted to see what Jordan was thinking heading into this huge game.
“We are expecting East Noble to come out physical and try to establish the run early, while also taking shots downfield when they get the chance,” Parrett said. “For us, we just gotta execute our assignments, have confidence, have a goldfish mindset and limit the mistakes. If we stay disciplined, communicate, and play together for all four quarters, I think we’ll put ourselves in a great position to get the win.”
It should be a dandy in Kendallville, and if you’re able to make it out to that game, do so. You don’t want to miss it.
ACAC: Heritage @ Bluffton
The Bluffton Tigers are in the driver’s seat to win the ACAC for the first time since 1989. They come into this game against the Heritage Patriots undefeated, with a date with Adams Central looming next week. Meanwhile Heritage is 4-2 with two losses to South Adams and Adams Central. Bluffton is led by quarterback Axton Beste and running back Cooper Craig on offense. Craig has amassed 809 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns. He continues to be one of the top running backs in the area. I was able to catch up with him and see what he is expecting from the Patriots this week.
“We’re expecting them to come out on fire and try to stop our run game,” Craig said. “We also expect them to have a heavy run game on offense, too.
“We are prepared for what they give us on both sides of the ball and hopefully we do our thing and come out on top.”
The Patriots are the third-best defense in the ACAC in terms of points allowed, but they have the tough task this Friday traveling to Bluffton and facing the highest-scoring team in the conference. Fortunately for them, they’ve got a duel-threat quarterback of their own in Zeb Tigulis, who can beat you in multiple ways. He knows this week is going to be tough, but told me they’re up to the challenge.
“On defense we are expecting them to spread us out and run the ball,” Tigulis said. “We have to play violent in our gaps and win each down.
“On offense we have to establish the run and we can’t have mental mistakes with penalties and turnovers. To come out with the victory we have to play a really good game. Bluffton is a really good team with some good players so we have to be physical at the line of scrimmage. Play fast, limit mistakes, and play all 4 quarters. We have to try to keep the QB in the pocket. He is really good at scrambling and extending the play and taking a shot downfield.”
A battle of dual-threat QB’s and solid defenses – means it’ll be a good one down in Bluffton.
NECC: Angola @ Fremont
Finally, we head to the NECC, where we’ve got a battle between the 5-1 Angola Hornets and the 4-2 Fremont Eagles. Both teams are led by quarterbacks who can sling it. Fremont senior Jaret Laughlin has really become one of the best players in the area with his 962 passing yards and 10 passing touchdowns to go along with his 995 rushing yards and 14 rushing scores. Because there’s always so much attention on SAC and NE8 players from our area, I have made it my initiative to highlight this young man’s stat line as much as I can because they’re video game-like. He knows this week is different with the Hornets coming to town.
“This game is going to be huge for us,” Laughlin said. “We need to keep our composure and not let anything distract us from accomplishing our goals.
“With this being a huge rivalry game, we expect a hostile environment, and we can’t let anything get in between us and winning this football game. We need to play four quarters of sound Fremont football. This means we can’t get too ahead of ourselves if things go right, and we can’t hang our heads if things go wrong.”
Across the field will be an emerging junior quarterback for Angola, Garrett Sorgen. He has thrown for 989 yards and 14 touchdowns with four interceptions. But his 121 QB rating cannot go unnoticed and he has to be respected. He has been as good as any quarterback this season. With this guy being so huge for the conference, I wanted to catch up with Sorgen and see where his mind was approaching Friday.
“We are obviously expecting a bunch of (Laughlin) from Fremont offensively and defensively,” Sorgen said. “We expect them to try to take away the easy stuff for us and make us earn everything.
“We know we are going to face a super hyped up team that would do anything to beat us. We expect to see all their cards come off the table in this one. For us, our plan is to shut down their offense and kill their energy early. And on offense we just need to execute and continue to spread the ball around to all of our playmakers. If we are able to establish a running game and get the ball to our playmakers while keeping (Laughlin) in check we will come out with a victory on Friday.
“We know Fremont is a very versatile team with a wide playbook,” said Angola’s Landen Bussard. “A big theme without our locker room has been ‘do your job.’ If everyone does just that, it will help our chances of coming out on top.
“Regardless, it’s going to be a close, hard-fought game.”
The best of the NECC’s Big Division against one of the best of the Small Division, it should be a battle up in Fremont.
Have a fun Week 7! Check back next week!
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