15 Remain: Indiana Football’s Undefeated Contenders Enter the Regional Round

Football | Four undefeated teams remain in Class 6A. Four more remain in Class 2A. By Friday night, at least four perfect seasons will be over.

Fifteen.

That is all that remains of Indiana’s undefeated list.

The number was much larger when the tournament started. Sectional championship Friday cut it down quickly.

Class 4A lost three previously unbeaten teams in one night. Class 6A kept all four of its perfect contenders. Class 2A still has four. Class 3A has three, and Class 1A sends three 12-0 teams into regional weekend.

Class 5A has none.

The undefeated record gets more interesting now because the bracket no longer lets everyone protect it.

Crown Point and Penn meet Friday.

Indian Creek and Evansville Memorial meet.

Eastern Hancock and South Putnam meet.

North Daviess and Riverton Parke meet.

Four perfect seasons are guaranteed to end before semi-state.

The question is which teams have built résumés that can carry a zero all the way to Lucas Oil Stadium.

Class 6A: Four perfect teams, four very different paths

Brownsburg, Warren Central, Crown Point and Penn are all 11-0.

That does not make their résumés equal.

MaxPreps currently rates Brownsburg No. 1 overall in Indiana, with a 103.8 rating and a 51.9 strength-of-schedule figure.

Warren Central is No. 2 statewide.

Penn is No. 20.

Crown Point is No. 23.

That gap splits the Class 6A unbeaten conversation into two layers.

Brownsburg and Warren Central have already played schedules full of teams built to survive deep into November.

Penn and Crown Point have been dominant, and Friday gives one of them the chance to strengthen its résumé against another undefeated opponent.

Brownsburg | 11-0

Brownsburg has the strongest body of work of any unbeaten team in the state.

The Bulldogs finished the regular season No. 1 in the Indiana Preps Power 25 and have done nothing in the tournament to weaken that case.

They beat Zionsville 48-10.

Then they beat Ben Davis 42-7 in the sectional championship.

The Ben Davis game was supposed to test whether a 5-5 team built on one of Indiana’s toughest schedules could push back in the postseason.

Brownsburg ended the competitive portion before halftime.

That is the difference between being undefeated and looking like a team built to stay that way.

Lawrence North is next.

The Wildcats are 9-2 and currently No. 4 in MaxPreps’ Indiana rankings. They have the speed, defensive personnel and offensive explosiveness to make this Brownsburg’s most important test yet.

The path gets harder right away.

That also makes Brownsburg’s perfect record more credible.

Championship outlook: strongest of the 15.

Warren Central | 11-0

Warren Central’s record has also held up against quality opposition.

The Warriors closed the sectional with a 49-20 win over Franklin Central and now draw Center Grove.

That matchup changes the evaluation.

Center Grove is 9-2 and ranked No. 5 statewide by MaxPreps. Warren Central is No. 2.

This is what an undefeated November résumé should eventually require.

Not another opponent that looks good only because of its record.

A team with legitimate championship personnel.

Warren Central has been balanced enough to win in multiple ways. Keyon Thomas gives the offense one of Indiana’s most productive running backs. Sean Fox and Kaleb Elkins give the defense high-level playmakers.

The Warriors have not needed the same formula every Friday.

That matters now.

Center Grove has enough defensive structure and postseason experience to force Warren Central away from its preferred plan.

If the Warriors survive, the undefeated conversation moves from impressive to championship-level.

Championship outlook: legitimate, with the regional providing the first major November stress test.

Crown Point | 11-0

Crown Point keeps winning.

The Bulldogs finished the sectional by beating Lake Central 57-27.

The perfect record now runs straight into another one.

Penn.

MaxPreps gives Crown Point a 67.9 rating with a 33.1 schedule-strength figure. Penn sits at 71.0 with a 28.3 schedule figure.

That is not enough separation to call either team clearly better on résumé alone.

Crown Point’s path has been built on consistency.

The Bulldogs beat Merrillville 43-33 in the semifinal, then scored 57 in the sectional final.

The concern is defense.

Thirty-three against Merrillville.

Twenty-seven against Lake Central.

Those totals do not necessarily signal weakness, but Penn is better equipped than either opponent to turn defensive leaks into a season-ending problem.

Friday gives Crown Point the game its undefeated résumé needed.

Championship outlook: real, but Friday may be the clearest coin flip among the four perfect 6A teams.

Penn | 11-0

Penn has been more dominant than its statewide computer ranking suggests.

The Kingsmen beat Elkhart 48-7 for the sectional championship after beating the Lions 44-0 during the regular season.

That is control.

The question has always been the schedule.

Penn’s MaxPreps strength-of-schedule figure is 28.3, well below Brownsburg’s 51.9 and Warren Central’s 46.8.

Crown Point gives Penn the chance to remove some of that uncertainty.

One undefeated team leaves Friday 12-0.

The other stops at 11.

Championship outlook: the regional will tell us more about Penn than its first 11 games combined.

Class 4A: Northridge is the last one standing

A week ago, Class 4A had four undefeated teams.

Now it has one.

East Noble lost to Bishop Dwenger 35-14.

Danville lost to Bishop Chatard 41-8.

Logansport lost to Muncie Central 31-27.

Northridge beat NorthWood 43-21.

Three perfect seasons disappeared on sectional championship night.

That leaves the Raiders.

Northridge | 12-0

Northridge now carries the entire Class 4A undefeated conversation by itself.

The Raiders scored 43 against NorthWood behind five total touchdowns from quarterback Jake Scholl.

Now they face 9-3 Hobart.

The interesting part of Northridge’s résumé is that MaxPreps ranks the Raiders only 10th in Class 4A despite the 12-0 record.

Their 61.1 rating trails Chatard, Dwenger, Roncalli, East Central and several one-loss teams.

That does not invalidate the record.

It frames the next question.

Can Northridge’s offense keep producing as the level of opponent rises?

Scholl’s dual-threat ability gives the Raiders a real postseason advantage because defenses have to account for him as a runner and a passer.

The schedule asks for more evidence.

The record says 12-0.

The regional begins the harder evaluation.

Championship outlook: unbeaten, but not yet the clear favorite in its own class.

Class 3A: Three undefeated teams, and two are about to meet

Evansville Memorial.

Bluffton.

Indian Creek.

All undefeated.

Only two can reach semi-state that way, because Memorial and Indian Creek meet Friday.

Evansville Memorial | 12-0

Memorial has the strongest rating and schedule profile of the three.

MaxPreps has the Tigers No. 1 in Class 3A, with a 67.4 rating and a 33.2 schedule-strength figure.

The more important evidence came during the season.

Memorial beat Reitz.

It came back from 21 down to beat Floyd Central.

It beat Castle.

Then it survived Gibson Southern, one of the strongest 3A sectional tests in the state, on the way to 12-0.

This has not been an undefeated season built on favorable matchups.

Luke Brown gives Memorial a quarterback who can win through the air when the game requires it.

The Tigers have also shown they can recover when a game turns against them.

That is valuable in November.

Indian Creek provides the next test.

Championship outlook: strongest unbeaten résumé in Class 3A.

Indian Creek | 11-0

Indian Creek has played one fewer game than Memorial and has no losses.

MaxPreps ranks the Braves No. 2 in Class 3A, with a 64.4 rating and a 27.4 schedule-strength figure.

They beat Sullivan 37-7 for the sectional championship.

Now the evaluation changes considerably.

Evansville Memorial is their first unbeaten opponent.

The regional also comes on the road.

This is where Indian Creek can move from an impressive undefeated season to the center of the 3A championship conversation.

Championship outlook: Friday is the defining résumé game.

Bluffton | 12-0

Bluffton has quietly answered every question.

The Tigers beat Heritage 25-7 for the sectional title and enter the regional 12-0.

MaxPreps ranks Bluffton third in 3A, just behind Memorial and Indian Creek.

Cooper Craig’s sectional championship performance showed why Bluffton’s offense can create problems in multiple ways.

He rushed for 124 yards and three touchdowns and added 71 receiving yards.

Hamilton Heights is next at 9-3.

That gives Bluffton something the other two undefeated 3A contenders do not have Friday.

It does not have to eliminate another perfect team.

Championship outlook: favorable regional path, but the class gets much harder after Friday.

Class 2A: Four remain, but the bracket forces separation

South Putnam, Eastern Hancock and Brownstown Central are all 12-0.

Eastside is 11-0.

They are the class’s four undefeated profiles, though MaxPreps slots one-loss Lapel ahead of Eastside in its overall 2A rankings.

Two of them cannot both survive Friday.

South Putnam | 12-0

South Putnam has the strongest Class 2A computer résumé.

MaxPreps has the Eagles No. 1 in the class with a 72.4 rating. They are also No. 19 statewide across all classes.

That is significant for a 2A program.

The defending 1A champion moved up to 2A and has not slowed down.

South Putnam beat Monrovia 49-18 in the sectional championship.

Now comes Eastern Hancock.

There is no gradual regional step.

Two of the state’s best small-school teams meet right away.

Championship outlook: perhaps the strongest small-school unbeaten, but Friday guarantees one major contender disappears.

Eastern Hancock | 12-0

Eastern Hancock sits right behind South Putnam.

The Royals are No. 2 in MaxPreps’ Class 2A rankings and No. 22 statewide.

They beat Indianapolis Lutheran 39-6 for the sectional title.

Blake Whittington rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns. Luke Manship caught three touchdown passes.

That kind of offensive balance is why this regional should be one of the best games in the state.

South Putnam vs. Eastern Hancock is not just undefeated vs. undefeated.

It is No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the current Class 2A computer rankings.

Championship outlook: strong enough to win the class, unlucky enough to draw another championship-level unbeaten right away.

Brownstown Central | 12-0

Brownstown Central is unbeaten with one of the lowest schedule-strength figures among the state’s highly rated teams.

MaxPreps lists the Braves at 18.6.

That raises the same question that follows several perfect teams at this stage.

What happens when the quality of opponent changes?

North Posey is 11-1.

The Vikings just beat Linton-Stockton 56-26 and have multiple offensive weapons who can turn a game quickly.

Brownstown Central has earned 12-0.

Friday shows how well that record prepared it for a regional-level opponent.

Championship outlook: legitimate, with North Posey a substantial jump in difficulty.

Eastside | 11-0

Eastside is the fourth undefeated team in Class 2A and currently No. 6 in the MaxPreps class rankings.

The Blazers beat Rochester 42-0 in the sectional championship.

Job Richman accounted for four touchdowns in that win.

Eastside now gets 11-1 Wheeler.

That may be one of the most interesting small-school matchups Friday, because Wheeler just scored 57 in its sectional championship and has one of the most productive backs still playing in Levi Murray.

Eastside’s zero remains intact.

Wheeler has the offense to put it under pressure.

Championship outlook: dangerous, but Friday is a major step up from the sectional final.

Class 1A: Three perfect teams, and two meet right away

Pioneer.

Riverton Parke.

North Daviess.

All 12-0.

One of the three is guaranteed to lose Friday.

Pioneer | 12-0

Pioneer has the strongest Class 1A computer profile.

MaxPreps ranks the Panthers first in the class with a 61.5 rating.

They beat Caston 21-14 for the sectional championship.

That score is useful.

Pioneer did not cruise.

It had to close out a one-possession postseason game.

The Panthers now travel to 10-2 South Adams, which MaxPreps ranks fourth in Class 1A.

The opponent has losses.

The matchup is not easy.

Championship outlook: strongest unbeaten résumé in 1A, but South Adams may be the most dangerous regional opponent any of the three faces.

Riverton Parke | 12-0

Riverton Parke has scored 528 points and allowed 112 through 12 games.

That is a dominant season profile.

The concern is schedule strength.

MaxPreps gives Riverton Parke a 12.1 schedule figure, lower than both Pioneer’s and North Daviess’.

Friday settles that question directly.

North Daviess is also 12-0.

The comparison is no longer theoretical.

Championship outlook: Friday tells us whether the dominance holds up against another perfect team.

North Daviess | 12-0

North Daviess has scored 509 points and allowed 147.

The Cougars have also played tighter games than their point totals suggest, and they have handled postseason pressure without simply overwhelming opponents.

MaxPreps ranks North Daviess sixth in Class 1A, behind both Pioneer and Riverton Parke.

The regional gives the Cougars the cleanest way to challenge that evaluation.

Beat Riverton Parke, and the ranking becomes secondary.

Championship outlook: lower computer profile, but a direct chance to change the hierarchy.