SECTIONAL FINALS: Flip the Script with DC Hendrix

It’s finally time to start giving out some hardware this Friday, as it’s sectional championship week! And we’ve got teams across all six classes still alive.

Before we get to this week’s festivities, I have to spend a moment reflecting on something much bigger than football. I extend my thoughts and prayers to Gabe Steiner’s family, his friends, his teammates and everyone in Adams County. A tragic loss for the area and a reminder to hold our loved ones a little bit closer during times like these. Also, shoutout to Fremont’s football program for its class act of leaving its stadium lights on in honor of Steiner as the Eagles prepare for their sectional championship match-up against South Adams this Friday.

Tons of blood, sweat, and tears have been poured into this season. There is so much talent in our area that it feels like it gets better and better every year. This week was a lot of fun putting together ‘Flip The Script’ with some of the best players we have to offer from our area. I even got to talk to some kids from schools a little outside of the area that are opposing our teams.

Let’s get to it!

Two prestigious programs battle for Class 6A bragging rights

The Carroll Chargers have been on a tear all season, as they come into the week with a 9-1 record with the only blemish to an 8-2 Center Grove team that is also playing for a s sectional title this week. Much like recent years, their offense is one of the best in the state. Behind the dynamic duo of quarterback Gabe Frisinger and wide receiver Harrison Scheele, nobody outside of Center Grove has been able to slow them down. The only thing that stands in their way of another 6A sectional title is SAC foe and chief rival Homestead. 

These two teams clashed just four weeks ago, with Carroll dominating in a 45-14 victory. Frisinger threw for over 200 yards and three passing touchdowns and also added 70 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. He knows the Spartans’ approach will be different this time around.

“We expect them to throw anything and everything at our offense to try and disrupt us” Frisinger said. “It is a do or die game from here on out for all teams, so they will not hold back anything.

“That plays into what we have to do also because it’s the same for us. We have to put anything that happened in the regular season past us. It’s a whole new season and anything can happen and we need to treat it that way to take care of the game.”

The Frisinger to Scheele connection has been dangerous all year. In fact, it was announced this week that Scheele has broken the program’s single-season receptions record with his 76 receptions to go with 1,110 yards and 16 touchdowns. He believes Homestead’s defense is going to bring the fire early.

“I expect them to come out hot and get to Gabe fast, giving him less time to throw the ball, as well as come out hot on offense,” Scheele said. “To come out with a victory, we got to play our game and play physical.”

The Spartans do have a fundamentally-sound defense led by guys like Tobe Agunanne, Jon Bair and Caleb Hollingsworth. They have a plethora of guys on defense who can make plays to make this game interesting and will focus on altering Carroll’s offensive game plan.

“We are expecting the same offense from them and to win we have to get pressure on the quarterback (Frisinger) and play great coverage on the back end,” Hollingsworth said. “Offensively, we’ve got to control the football by limiting turnovers and controlling the clock.”

Homestead quarterback Logan Frieden has the ability to frustrate defenses with his arm and legs. As a dual-threat guy, he could be the X-factor in this game. His performance against Carroll a few weeks ago was pretty good overall. He threw for 172 yards for one touchdown and one interception and ran for 75 yards and a rushing touchdown. If the offensive line is able to create some holes for Shane Bardwell and the other backs, it could open things up more for Frieden. It all comes down to discipline on both sides of the ball for the Spartans to make sure this game doesn’t get out of hand again.

“We need to be disciplined and we need to eliminate the penalties,” Frieden said. “And we are expecting (defensive) pressure.”

“We expect Carroll to play extremely disciplined and look to minimize mistakes,” Homestead’s Henry Shaw said. “We have to force them to play on their heels and we have to run the ball effectively. We have made some adjustments for this week and we’re looking to capitalize on the opportunities that we are presented with on Friday night.”

The Spartans haven’t beaten the Chargers since the 2020 season. It should be a good one at Homestead this Friday.

A Rematch from Week 1 could once again be a smashmouth battle

Back in Week 1, Snider began its season on the road against Warsaw. Traveling back to that opening week, the Panthers program was instilled with a lot of hope and optimism for this year. Back down in Class 5A, Snider finds itself playing for a sectional championship for the first time in two years. The last time the Panthers won a sectional was back in 2023 when they captured a state title. What stands in the way of ending the three-year drought is a team they lost to 33-30 in Week 1 in a ground-and-pound style football game. 

In Week 1, both Warsaw running back Tucker Reed and Snider’s Braylon Burton ran for over 200 yards. Reed finished with three rushing touchdowns and Burton two. The Tigers won the game with on a 95-yard TD run by Wyatt Harman with a little more than two minutes left. Warsaw also finished with zero passing yards. Meanwhile, Snider quarterback Max Johnson was able to throw for 200 yards and a touchdown. Will the game plan be different this week? Probably not. While both are run-heavy offenses, these two teams are miles ahead of where they were to start the season. Warsaw knows Snider is a better team that comes into this week with added confidence.

“I mean they’re a solid team all-around so we’re expecting them to come out hot,” Reed said. “I think their main focus for trying to stop our offense will be to shut down the perimeter. And I believe if we play low, play fast and play together we’ll come out on top.”

“It’s gonna be a cold night with some light rain and they ran the ball really well against us the first time we played them,” Warsaw lineman Grady Nelson said. “So we expect them to use the ground as much as they can. Our game plan is to not let them live off big plays and keep the ball in our possession as much as possible and stay within ourselves and our offense.”

Snider is well aware that Warsaw is 9-1, with its only loss to Northridge in Week 9. Teams have really struggled to slow down the Tigers’ running game, but Snider’s defense has gotten better throughout the course of this season. Since Snider lost due to a 95-yard run, a focus will likely be to limit big plays.

“I expect Warsaw to come out with lots of energy and excitement,” Burton said. ” I am sure they will plan to stop our run game because we did have some success running the ball in our first game. They will run their offense like they always do and we have to stop them. 

“We can’t give up big runs on defense and we have to make plays on offense, defense and special teams. We have to limit our mistakes and be disciplined and play Snider football.”

Like last time, it could go down to the final snap and possibly even a field goal needed to secure the victory. Snider has an unsung hero of sorts with kicker Maddox Shovlin. In a game like this, it could come down to one moment and whoever is most disciplined will reign victorious.  

“This week we are focusing on getting our assignments right and making sure we are perfect in everything we do,” Shovlin said. “We are expecting Warsaw to be very disciplined and very tough. We also are expecting their special teams to do some things that aren’t normal.”

The game everyone in northeast Indiana has been waiting for in Class 4A

Since the beginning of the season, everyone around the area has been talking about how stacked Class 4A Sectional 19 was going to be with teams like Bishop Dwenger, East Noble, North Side, DeKalb, Leo and Columbia City. Once the ping-pong balls put Bishop Dwenger and East Noble on opposite ends of the bracket, this was the matchup everyone anticipated for the title. 

These two teams faced off last year with the sectional on the line, as Bishop Dwenger completely dominated in a 32-0 rout. Much like last season, East Noble comes into this year’s matchup undefeated, but this year feels a little different. There have been multiple games where the Knights were on the brink of defeat, but found a way to make plays to come out victorious. 

East Noble has had many different guys step up this season, but Austin and Alex Phillips, Alex Scott and Tayden Getts have been heroes multiple times and made big plays. Much of the success has been due in part of the line play on both sides of the ball. However, the Knights will be playing without Aaron Perlich, who splits a lot of carries with Austin Phillips in the backfield. The Knights know the task ahead won’t be easy by any means, but remain confident.

“I expect them to try to establish their run game early, then also try to take shots deep on us,” Alex Phillips said. “We got to make sure we don’t let them get much momentum. The key on defense is just do our jobs and not try to do too much. On offense, just get the ball to our playmakers to make plays.”

“We are definitely expecting their best,” Scott said. “They like to get in formations and drive the field, so we have to be physical. Defensively they want to make you have long drives and don’t want to give up big plays, so we need to take care of the ball and limit mistakes.”

After winning the state title last year, many thought the Saints would need a year to reload with the biggest senior class ever having graduated. What quarterback Tommy Coffman has done in his first year as the starter is nothing short of phenomenal. People that haven’t seen him play call him a game manager, but those who have seen him know he can do damage both in the air and on the ground. The offensive line has been arguably the best in the conference, if not the entirety of Class 4A. Kolyn Campbell has been impressive in the backfield all year despite missing a couple games to injury. 

Bishop Dwenger will need to continue being successful up front if it wants to sustain this run. The players know the ballers that the Knights across the field and will need the defense to limit big plays by the Phillips brothers and Scott on offense and execute their running game on offense to open things up for Coffman.

“We just gotta play like we do and have the confidence in ourselves and our coaches,” Campbell said. “We are gonna have to stop the run and their deep threat, but with the coaching staff we have we can play as free and confident as possible.”

“East Noble has some really talented athletes on both sides of the ball that we are hoping to contain including both Phillips brothers and Alex Scott. They are big up front and are going to try to dominate the line of scrimmage. It is key for us to control the clock and not make mistakes for 48 minutes,” Dwenger wide receiver/defensive back Carter Zent adds.

Just two years ago, East Noble beat Dwenger for the sectional title with a 38-0 shutout in their own right. So what happens this time around? We will see in Kendalville this Friday.

A showdown in Huntington with Lafayette Jeff coming to town

In the ‘other’ Class 4A final in the area, Huntington North welcomes Lafayette Jeff, a team that is high on offensive firepower. The Bronchos are averaging 51 points per game and haven’t been held below 28 points since Week 1.

The Vikings know their defense will need to be on point to have a shot.

“We’re expecting them to play it fast and have a good run game and good athletes across the board,” Huntington North’s Gage Clanin said. “We just need to play all four quarters and kill their confidence early by putting pressure on the quarterback and being more physical. 

Class 3A brings two conference rematches for hardware

Back on October 9, the NECC had a clash that ended up deciding the Big Division winner with West Noble coming out on top in a 14-7 victory over Angola. Lucky for us, we get a rematch, this time for some hardware in Sectional 26. 

In the first meeting, the Chargers did a great job defensively on slowing down Angola’s offense. West Noble’s Brayden Limerick picked off Angola quarterback Garrett Sorgen, changed the landscape of the game and led the Chargers to victory. Junior linebacker Brogan Parks has been a key contributor all season for the Chargers and knows they have to be even more aggressive this week.

His breakdown was simple, “They’re gonna try to stop our run and we’re gonna spread it out and score.”

Although they fell short last time, the Hornets’ leader seems to be pretty confident in the game plan. It’s always tough to beat a team twice. It’s even harder to do so when the first time time was as close as it was. Expect much of the same on Friday.

“We are expecting a lot of the same from West Noble,” Sorgen said. “It was able to hold us to seven points the first time and played effective football.

“We know they are going to come hungry for the title and we just have to control the game and play at our pace. We have made adjustments to the things we struggled with and worked to make sure our execution is better. We need to be able to finish drives, be physical, and limit mistakes to come out with the win.”

“The most important thing this game is playing clean,” said Landon Bussard of Angola. “Last time, we didn’t convert on opportunities to put ourselves ahead. Our defense has played lights-out this sectional and if we continue to produce on offense, we should come out on top.”

Another fantastic Class 3A title game is between Heritage and Bluffton in an ACAC clash. The Tigers won the conference outright for the first time since 1989 and have gone all season pretty much unchallenged. They have dominated their opponents all season, with the closest game being a 16-0 win over Heritage in Week 7.

In the meeting a month ago, Bluffton running back Cooper Craig looked mortal with just 130 yards on the ground and one touchdown, a light night of production for the senior. He’s been among the best running backs in the state all year and knows Heritage’s defense will be trying to find ways to slow him down.

“Offensively, they are going to try and establish the run and burn a bunch of time off the clock,” Craig said. “They are going to try and stop our run game as well. To win this, we have to play to our level and control the game.”

“Just like last time, we expect (Bluffton) to try and wear us down with the run game and make us play fast, physical football,” Bluffton’s John O’Leary-Freeman said. “What we have to do to come out victorious is stop their run and toss game. They are not a passing team, because their stud is in the backfield (Jaxton Litchfield).

“We know what this win means to our team and coaches, but even with (Heritage’s) rushing game I’ll take my 11 on defense rather than their 11 on offense.”

Heritage has revenge on the mind and believes since it was Bluffton’s only real test so far this season, it has a shot. The Tigers’ defense did a solid job limiting Heritage quarterback Zeb Tigulis to just 22 yards passing and minus-4 yards on the ground last time around. Litchfield finish with 110 rushing yards, but the Patriots did not score a point. They’re hoping to find more ways to be successful this Friday.

“We are expecting them to spread out and run the ball,” said Tigulis about Bluffton. “We want to stop the run, which they are very good at. When they pass, we have to contain the quarterback and don’t let him get out of the pocket.

“On offense, we expect them to load the box and play fast and physical to not let us run the ball. To come out with the victory we have to play sound football with very little mistakes. We have to be able to run the ball and put points on the board because we struggled against them during the regular season. Also, we have to stop the run. We must leave everything on the field and communicate very well. We want revenge.”

Can the Blazers keep rolling to their first sectional title since 2021?

Eastside comes into the sectional title game at 10-0. The only close game so far was back in Week 2 against Adams Central, and it has been domination since. They will face a 6-5 Rochester Zebras team that they’ve never played. 

The Blazers’ run-heavy offense led by quarterback Job Richman and running back Noah Dove has been unstoppable. Richman has run for 1,600 yards and 21 touchdowns. Dove added 1,106 yards and 23 scores. This duo has combined for over 3,000 yards on offense, but they’ve got a big test ahead for them this week.

Rochester senior running back Kale Shotts has rushed for 1,255 yards and 10 touchdowns. They also rely heavily on senior running back Trenton Meadows, who has also ran for 700 yards and leads the team with 11 rushing scores. I was able to catch up with Shotts, who is excited for this matchup.

“We’re expecting a hard-nosed running team (Eastside),” Shotts said. “We’re definitely going to see some great blockers and runners on Friday. We think they’re going to prioritize the run, since they’re not as strong on their passing game. It will probably be the same plan they had for Bremen (last week).

“To come out on top, it starts on defense. Our D-line has to be on point and stay disciplined and our linebackers need to get quick reads, since their backs have elite speed. On offense, we just have to have great blocking and see where it goes from there.”

Since both teams are designed to work around their running game, their gameplans are pretty similar. Rochester has the advantage in terms of depth with multiple running backs to go to, but Eastside has two studs that are hard to stop. A battle of two rushing powerhouses. Who comes out on top?

“Rochester is going to try and power through with the run game, so a big part is we have to stay disciplined and do our own job,” Richman said. “On offense, we just have to be more consistent with what we do. We can’t have all the ups and downs.”

Should be a fun one about an hour and a half west of Fort Wayne in Fulton County.

‘Steiner Strong’ community to come together in Berne

I will be making my first trip to Berne this week to cover the battle between two high-powered, flashy offenses in Fremont and South Adams.

Beyond football, it’s been a tough week for Adams County. Losing a youngster to a tragic accident and having to play for a sectional championship probably has the community, coaches and players on an emotional roller coaster. It isn’t an unnatural feeling to question the importance of a football game after such a tragedy.

From who I was able to talk to, everyone is excited to bring two communities together and provide some quality football.

Being in two different conferences, Fremont and South Adams don’t face each other on a regular basis, but did face each other in the first round of the playoffs back in 2022, with the Starfires winning 64-0. These are two completely different programs now. South Adams comes in with a 9-2 record and the Eagles are 8-3.

Fremont has been led by senior quarterback Jaret Laughlin. He’s put together some video game numbers and has become quite the fan favorite in our weekly OTH Player of the Week fan vote. And rightfully so, as he has thrown for 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns and has rushed for 1,500 yards and 22 more score. Over 3,000 total yards and 38 scores, insane.

Laughlin knows South Adams will be trying to find ways to limit his ability.

“South Adams’ gameplan for this Friday is going to be pretty simple – throw the ball,” Laughlin said. “We have been practicing coverages all week so we are able to stop the passing game. They have great athletes, and we need to make sure we suppress them as much as possible.

“We need to keep mistakes to a mere zero to even have a chance at winning this ball game. They are a great football team and we can’t give them anything if we have hopes of bringing a sectional championship back to Fremont.”

The Starfies have showcased one of the most dynamic, high-scoring offenses in the area. Coming into the year, it was unknown how junior quarterback Zaden Baumer would perform as a first-year starter. He has answered those concerns with 2,700 passing yards with 30 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He has also added 276 rushing yards and four rushing scores. His top targets have been senior wideouts Jax Wanner (989 yards, eight TDs) and Wes Summersett (793 yards and 11 TDs). Summersett, a Purdue commit, plays both sides of the ball and has made an impact at linebacker as he has 135 total tackles on the season. 

“Obviously it’s a hard week for our whole community,” Baumer said. “It’s been hard for everyone. It’s hard to see another one of our brothers go, and it really sucks.

“Our gameplan against them is to shut down their offense and their threats and contain them. We are gonna let our defense do their thing. On the other side of the ball, we are going to keep doing what we have been, put up points and make their defense lost and confused from our schemes. This is a game we need to win. Not for me and not for the team, but for Gabe and the Steiners. It will be an emotional game for sure, just like this week has been so far. It’s nice to know our brother is resting peacefully in heaven and the only thing he would want for us on Friday is to win a sectional. Keep praying for the Steiner family.”

I am looking forward to my first trip to Berne to cover this fun matchup and rally with a community that needs all of the thoughts and prayers they can get.