Here is a look at my 5 sectional football games to watch for the sectional semifinal round. This week falls on Halloween. This leaves me to wonder: Will we see more Friday night scares?! Let’s find out. 

5A 11

Warsaw (6-3) vs Concord (8-1) @ Penn

Last season, these NLC rivals met for a sectional championship with Warsaw upsetting Concord 31-28 on their way to a trip to the 5A State Finals. Earlier this season, senior running back Reese Brevard and the Minutemen crushed the Tigers 38-7 at Warsaw. 

Can Warsaw make it 2 years in a row of ending Concord’s season? To do so, they’ll have to stop the run as Concord ran for 228 yards in that win over Warsaw back in Week 5. 

5A 16 

Floyd Central (8-1) @ Castle (6-3)

One of the more fascinating matchups in Southern Indiana comes in this sectional at Castle. Floyd Central averages over 45 points per game led by senior quarterback Jack Mull who is throwing for nearly 1,800 and 14 touchdown passes, and senior running back Sebastian Robertson is rushing for 1,475 yards and 21 rushing TD’s on 7.8 yards per carry. 

Castle takes pride on their defense holding opponents to 18.3 points per game, but they enter the state tournament with losses in 2 of their last 3 and giving up 28 or more points in both of those losses. They’ll turn to their defensive backfield led by senior corner Connor Richards who leads the team with 3 interceptions on the season. Castle is 7-1 all-time against Floyd Central (all coming in the postseason). 

Both 3A 26 Matchups 

Lakeland (6-4) @ Garrett (5-5)

Angola (5-5) @ West Noble (8-2)

Ok, I kind of cheated with this one. But let’s be honest, it’s the NECC Big School Division tournament…kind of. We are guaranteed of a sectional champion to represent the NECC’s Big School division when it’s all said and done. The question will be: Will Garrett repeat? Can Angola achieve their first sectional since winning back-to-back in 2017 and ‘18? Or will Lakeland/West Noble finally bring home their first football sectional? 

Lakeland has had some recent demons playing Garrett as they enter this matchup having lost their last 4 meetings to the Big Train. Garrett holds an all-time record of 28-16 against Lakeland and has won both of their postseason meetings against Lakeland. Since Garrett returned to the NECC in 2014, Lakeland has struggled at Memorial Field-posting a record of 2-5 when playing in Garrett. 

While Garrett is not the powerhouse offensively that they were last season-particular with their power run offense, this is still a really strong defense that is only allowing more than 2 scores once since Week 6. If Garrett can sustain drives (led by Junior running back Alex Guzman) and limit turnovers, they’ll have a solid chance of advancing. 

For Lakeland to attempt at winning their first ever sectional next week, they must overcome their postseason demons. This might be their last quality chance for a while to do so. How well senior quarterback Brayden Holbrook and senior wide receiver Keyan Arroyo perform will dictate how far this team can go. 

As far as the bottom half of the bracket goes, the stingy Angola Hornets in classic Andy Thomas fashion pulled off a pretty impressive win over Tippy Valley in Round 1 21-6. People say, “it’s an upset.” My response to that? NO!!
Angola is capable of elevating their game against the best. They showed that in their first three games of the season against DeKalb, Leo, and West Noble. Anytime you have an explosive player that is to the caliber of Hawk Hasselman, Angola will always believe they have a chance.

But their success on Friday will dictate on their performance in the trenches. They must make life miserable for West Noble’s quarterback Trey Shisler and the Charger backfield that is averaging 6 yards per carry and nearly 180 rushing yards per game. This spread pistol offense at West Noble is dangerous, but if any team is going to make this a ballgame, it’s going to be the athletes at Angola with their triple-option pistol attack and a gritty, hard-nosed defensive frontline.

Remember, when these two teams met in Week 3, it was a 14-14 tie late in the 3rd quarter before West Noble pulled away with a 28-14 West Noble win. In the season series, Angola leads 28-13 and are 3-1 against the Chargers in the postseason.

2A 35

Adams Central (10-0) @ Blufffon (9-1)

Just like Week 8, one of the best games in the state on paper will come in the Wild West of the ACAC. 5-time ACAC champion and defending state champion Adams Central will once again make the short drive to Bluffton. Jets hold a 39-11 all-time record against Bluffton with a lengthy 16-game winning streak against the Tigers dating back to 2009. This is only the 3rd postseason meeting between these two, but met last postseason when the Jets ended their season 35-7. 

Just three weeks ago, the Jets dominated 47-17, but it wasn’t like Bluffton didn’t have chances. The difference-however-was the Jets took every advantage of Bluffton’s mistakes, while the Tigers couldn’t capitalize on chances and turned the ball over 3 times. 

People will write this off as an automatic Jets’ win. But I cannot imagine Michael Mosser is taking Coach Kunkel’s Tigers lightly at all. They know they are capable of beating anyone. Bluffton, while they were given Busco’s best efforts in Round 1, never looked rattled and found a way when they needed it most. Junior quarterback Axton Beats will give Blufffon a chance everytime they’re on the field because of his swagger. The backfield duo of Khamel Moore and Cooper Craig allows Bluffton to open the field when needed. 

The key will be, can the Tigers figure out how to contain defensive end Cam Fravel, and can the defense make enough plays to dethrone the state champions? It’s going to be a really difficult game no matter how you slice it. 

2A 36

Eastbrook (10-0) @ Rochester (9-1)

The hype surrounding Eastbrook’s epic win in the “Miracle at Alexandria” is something fans will never forget, no matter how they feel about the ending of this game. When Pat McAfee and ESPN showcased that Eastbrook comeback win, you knew this was an unforgettable scene at Alexandria. That said, the page must be turned, and the focus must shift to Rochester. 

It’s going to be the duo of quarterback Bodie Howell and running back Ryder Gipson against Rochester’s Wing-T offense led by Brant Beck and Trenton Meadows. Both teams are experienced and connected groups who have went through the trials and memories of a football season for multiple seasons now. Expect the Zebras to pound the rock ad nauseam as they average 322 rushing yards per game or 8.5 yards per carry. 

But the difference is Rochester’s line has been so good, almost none of their competition has been able to slow them down. I say almost none of their opponents because only Tippy Valley was able to crack the code in a 7-2 win back in Week 2. 

If Eastbrook is gong to extend their season, they cannot fall behind early, and they cannot afford to have a lengthy drought like they had for the majority of last Friday’s second half game at Alexandria, before the miracle drive occurred. 

Of note, TRC champion Rochester is only allowing 4.1 points per game-which is currently on pace to being their best scoring defense in the program’s 105-years history. This will be their 6th ever meeting (Eastbrook leads 3-2) and the 2nd in the postseason. These two last met on October 26, 2018, where Eastbrook won 48-20 on their way to the state finals.