The first Friday of postseason play is behind us, and while it didn’t deliver too much in the way of excitement, it did set the stage for some big showdowns upcoming.
Before moving fully ahead into sectional semifinal week, allow Blitz to look back at what Week 10 gave us.
CLASS 4A
• Here’s the thing when it comes to skill position players.
It doesn’t matter how good they are if you cannot control the line of scrimmage.
In the first half of Friday’s game between Bishop Dwenger and North Side, the Legends were able to hold their own because they were able to get a consistent push up front against the Saints’ offensive line. The result? Just a pair of field goals for Dwenger in the first two quarters and a 6-0 game at the break.
The second half was a different story. The Saints were able to turn things around in the trenches and control the game, with the result being three rushing touchdowns, in additional to a pick-6 by Cooper Campbell from 20 yards out on a pass by North Side’s Brandon Sanders late in the game.
A six-point game turned into a 34-0 rout over the final two quarters at Shields Field. The Saints wore down the Legends, as they are prone to do. It is a program staple, and when Bishop Dwenger is strong up front, it is typically a state contender.
The first step towards a return trip to the state finals was achieved on Friday.
• On the other side of the field, did interim coach Jaylon Smith lead the Legends for the final time on Friday?
Smith did an exceptional job stepping into the role vacated by Coach Ben Johnson when he was dismissed by Fort Wayne Community Schools early in the season. Admittedly, Smith didn’t really know what he was getting into as a head coach, particularly with all of the off-the-field responsibilities that come with the role, but he seemed to gain more comfortable and confident as the weeks went on.
The decision for the future is two-fold. First, does Smith want to stay on as the leader of the North Side football program? It is not just an August to November job anymore, but a legit 24/7/365 role. With all that Smith is involved in business-wise, it could be a tough commitment. He also commented to WANE-TV a few weeks ago that he was offered roles by a few NFL organizations as a coach or advisor.
And what about FWCS? Do they want to clean house at North Side and start from scratch? Or did it like what it saw from Smith and would like to keep him on board if he is interested?
Time will tell.
• We have talked all year about how good the Columbia City running game has been, and Blitz has had valid concerns about what would happen if the Eagles had to go to the air with any type of consistency in a big game.
While Jordan Parrett only threw the ball five times, his 55-yard connection to Gabe McDevitt late in the first half of Friday’s game with Leo opened up the scoring and opened up the Columbia City offense in an eventual 27-6 victory.
Leo’s defense showed up in this one and made things more difficult for Columbia City than the first time around when the Eagles dropped 49 points in the regular-season game two weeks ago. It was Parrett that threw over the top and McDevitt hauling in the over-the-shoulder catch that broke a scoreless tie and gave Columbia City the momentum into half.
The confidence of Parrett will be important with undefeated East Noble looming next week.
• Bishop Luers had not been one-and-done in the playoffs since 1994, but Friday’s 35-14 loss at Yorktown broke that streak and brought to an end a disappointing season for the Knights in their first foray into Class 4A.
And considering how the season went offensively for Bishop Luers, it was fitting that the final game of the season saw TJ Epperson carry the load, because he did it all season.
The junior Epperson was the Knights’ only real offensive threat this year. With a stout offensive front led by All-SAC First Team player Myante Williams and Josh Morken, Epperson consistently had room to run week after week.
But he was all the Knights had.
On Friday, Epperson went for 231 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. He added a trio of receptions for 35 yards. All told, he accumulated 77 percent of the Knights’ yardage against the Tigers, 248 of the team’s 321 yards.
For the year, Epperson finished with 1,407 yards rushing. He averaged six yards per touch while defenses stacked the box and dared Bishop Luers to throw. The junior for all 18 of the Knights’ rushing touchdowns on the year.
Bishop Luers has a small senior class and played a lot of underclassmen this season, but that is not an excuse. This is a proud program that judges success by state title trophies. It needs to find some playmakers heading into next year or it could be more of the same, despite Epperson’s return as a senior in 2027.
CLASS 3A
• Bluffton didn’t hesitate to get started scoring in Friday’s Sectional opener against Garrett. Cooper Craig busted through for a 51 yard touchdown run just 14 seconds into the game, the first of 4 touchdown runs on Friday night.
Craig averaged 12.5 yards per carry for Bluffton in its win over Garrett. The senior had 162 yards and four touchdowns on the ground with another touchdown on a reception.
As a team, Bluffton went up 21-0 before Garrett was able to find the endzone. During that time, Garrett moved the ball well, but failed some fourth down conversion attempts. Then Bluffton hit back quickly on their scores; they put in their second touchdown of the night just five minutes in on an Ethan Ribich to Maddox White score. It was just 90 seconds after Garrett got on the scoreboard – with a 48 yard run – before Bluffton answered back.
The Tigers led 48-6 at the halftime break and never had to sweat in the second half, with many of their starters on the bench. It marks the second straight week that Bluffton was able to get some rest for their starters and they are still playing without starting quarterback Axton Beste.
That said, Bluffton is the 17th best offense in the state at 45.4 points per game and held under 40 just twice in wins over Heritage and Adams Central. Defensively, Bluffton’s 8.3 points per game they are giving up per game is 8th in the state of Indiana and their average winning margin of 37.1 points is tops in Class 3A.
Garrett didn’t manage must offense in their season ending loss, but senior Aiden Reed capped off his strong season with 150 yards, his ninth game of 100+ yards this season, a good paralell for Craig, who also was having his 9th game of 100+ yards for the Tigers.
• Angola and Mishawaka Marian met annual for a few years in the early 2020s, and twice the Hornets pitched a shutout in those meetings.
Weird how that works.
The Hornets shut out that same Mishawaka Marian program 13-0 in Angola on Friday to advance in Sectional 26. Coach Seth Wilcox’s team held the Knights to just 107 total yards, including only 15 yards through the air, in the victory.
The fact that the game was scoreless through the first three quarters led to heightened drama, but a pair of Garrett Sorgen touchdown passes sealed the deal for the Hornets.
The defense of Angola has looked sharp for most of the season, and it will now have to perform at Fairfield for the second time this year. The Hornets beat the Falcons 7-6 in Week 3 back in September.
• Blitz truly believes that Norwell is going to be a problem in the NE8 in the next few years, and a big reason for that is quarterback Hunter Kurtz.
After starting as a freshman for the Knights last fall, Kurtz has taken considerable steps forward in his development in Year 2. He showed out on Friday in a two-touchdown effort in Norwell’s 55-21 win over Woodlan in Sectional 27.
Kurts threw for 166 yards and a touchdown (to junior Cooper Bunn) and also rushed for an additional score. He has a solid build you want at quarterback at 6-foot-2 and about 185 pounds, and could very well end up a four-year starter for Coach Josh Gerber’s team, which at 5-5 has won more games this year than the last two seasons combined (four).
• Concordia and Adams Central’s first-ever matchup was always going to come down to which team made less mistakes and converted their opportunities.
Both teams had trouble with miscues early on, with Concordia throwing a pair of interceptions and the Flying Jets losing a pair of fumbles.
But as the game went on, Adams Central got right when it needed to. Coach Michael Mosser’s team converted 8-of-9 third downs on the night and scored six touchdowns in seven trips into the red zone.
Conversely, Concordia was just 1-of-3 in the red zone.
There was plenty of offense in Adams Central’s 48-27 victory, with the teams combined for 52 first downs and 919 total yards. But it was in the red zone and on third down where the Flying Jets were able to execute and win.
CLASS A
• Will Patterson hasn’t had the season he envisioned for South Adams. The senior was sidelined for most of the regular season with an injury, although his return has certainly boosted the Starfires’ already-dangerous offense.
That was on display in the 60-0 rout of Churubusco as Patterson scored five touchdowns in three different ways – two rushing, two receiving and an 85-yard punt return for a score.
The 30 points scored ties a program record that has been set by three other players, most recently Mav Summersett in 2022 against Bluffton. The five touchdowns ties the record set by Summersett in that same 2022 game against the Tigers and Scott Bixler against Southern Wells in 1986.
Class 1A opponents beware, Patterson is just another weapon in the Starfires’ arsenal.
QUICK HITS
DeKalb’s 55 points on Friday against New Haven was its most in program history in a playoff game…North Side had not been shut out in the playoffs since 2009 prior to Friday…Four of East Noble’s six scoring drives in its 41-0 win over Wawasee were two plays or less…Leighton Brown rushed for 143 yards for Jay County in its 47-0 blanking of Marion, giving the senior nine 100-yard rushing performances in 10 games this year…West Noble held South Bend Washington to just four first downs and a combined 0-of-11 on third and fourth downs in its 44-6 win.
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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