NOTE: Scroll to the bottom of this story to see the complete list of sectional groupings.
By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
Ever since the IHSAA announced its football classifications for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years, the speculation began: What would happen with Hamilton County teams in the Class 6A tournament?
All the questions were answered early this week, as the IHSAA released its sectional groups for the next two seasons in football, as well the other fall and winter sports. The big story is that Sectional 4, which contained all of the county’s 6A football teams, has been split up – and in more ways than one.
The changes are due to the continued growth of Westfield, which was a 5A state champion last fall, but will now play in 6A. The Shamrocks will move into Sectional 4, joining Carmel, Lafayette Jeff and Noblesville.
Sectional 4, as local football fans know, had been an all-county affair ever since the IHSAA introduced Class 6A in 2013. The Greyhounds and the Millers were joined with Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern, making it one of the toughest sectionals in the state.
But the now-6A Westfield had to go somewhere, and Sectional 4 is where the Shamrocks landed. This means the sectional will be unique in having two defending state champions, in addition to always-tough Noblesville and an improving Lafayette Jeff team. The Bronchos were in the same 5A sectional as the ‘Rocks the last four years, and Westfield played Jeff three times in the post-season.
“Our sectional is what I thought it would be,” said Westfield coach Jake Gilbert. “We are excited to rise up to 6A. It will be tough, but basically our entire schedule stays the exact same except we now have the potential to play Carmel. The HCC stays the same and we played the other two sectional opponents the last few years. We have a ton of respect for Carmel, Noblesville, and Jeff. We are working to become the best program in Indiana. Playing in this sectional will give us a chance to improve. Iron sharpens iron.”
While the Shamrocks and the Bronchos were familiar opponents to each other, it’s been a while since either team played the Greyhounds. In the past 25 years, Carmel and Westfield have faced off once – on Oct. 23, 2009 in the first round of the 5A sectional, back when 5A was the biggest class. The Greyhounds won 21-7. Carmel last played Lafayette Jeff on Oct. 31, 2008, in the sectional semi-finals, winning 44-21.
“It certainly didn’t get any easier with Westfield being added,” said Carmel coach John Hebert. “They are emerging as one of the top powers in all of Indiana and will continue to get better under Coach Gilbert. Noblesville will be vastly improved as well as Coach Simmons’ system moves into year two. They will be very good. I think it is an exciting new direction for football in Hamilton County.”
Noblesville and Westfield know each other very well. The Millers and the Shamrocks have played each other every season since 2001, when competition began in earnest in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference. The two teams also faced off twice in the sectional, when they were both 5A schools.
It was the same scenario for Noblesville and Lafayette Jeff, back when the Bronchos were part of the HCC. Jeff came into HCC competition in 2005 before returning to the North Central Conference in 2014, and occasionally played the Millers in the sectional during and before its run in the HCC.
“I look at the level of competition and say, it’s still 6A football,” said Noblesville coach Jason Simmons. “When you’re in Central Indiana in 6A, you’re going to have great competition, and our sectional is no different this year.
Simmons said his team is “just going to have to prepare and show up like a 6A football program does to have a chance to compete.” He noted that while Westfield is a known team, the Millers are “going to have to do a lot more digging” when it comes to Lafayette Jeff, since they haven’t played each other in a few years. The Bronchos finished last season 6-4 under first-year coach Pat Shandley, this after an 8-3 campaign in 2015.
“I know he’s done an outstanding job,” said Simmons of Shandley.
HEADING SOUTH
So where are Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern going? Down south – the south semi-state, that is.
The Tigers and the Royals, both HCC teams, will be playing in Sectional 5, along with North Central and Pike, both Metropolitan Conference squads.
Southeastern has played North Central the past three years during the regular season, but HSE has only taken on Pike once in recent history – on Nov. 9, 2007 the two teams played for a regional championship, with the Red Devils winning 13-6.
“In 6A everyone is good,” said Royals coach Scott May. “I think going south is a challenge but you have to win a sectional before you worry about that.”
May pointed out the last time HSE was in the south semi-state, it won a sectional, beating Warren Central the week before it played Pike.
“I still would like to see the playoffs seeded but it doesn’t sound like that will happen,” said May.
Fishers, meanwhile, has played all three teams over the past three years. In addition to is Mudsock battles with the Royals, the Tigers have opened their season by playing the Panthers in Week 1, and the Red Devils in Week 2.
The move will certainly be a change for us,” said Fishers coach Rick Wimmer. “We have always been in a northern sectional since our school opened in 2006, except for one 2-year cycle when we were in the south.”
Wimmer said every 6A sectional is tough, and Sectional 5 will be the same. He noted that his Tigers have been in Carmel’s sectional in seven of the 11 years that the new Fishers has been in existence, and the Tigers played Carmel every year.
“Carmel made it to the state finals every one of those years except twice – one of those times we won it all and the other time Carmel was knocked out in the semi-state, so to have the opportunity to go a different route is probably welcome on one level, but there are probably more really good programs in the south that make the road to a state final even more difficult,” said Wimmer.
OTHER FOOTBALL SECTIONALS
Hamilton County’s two 3A teams, Guerin Catholic and Hamilton Heights, will be together in Sectional 26, in the north semi-state. The Huskies are moved over from Sectional 28, while the Golden Eagles will shift from the south semi-state. This group contains all three Montgomery County schools, along with Brebeuf Jesuit from Indianapolis.
Sheridan also moves up to the north semi-state, as it goes to 1A Sectional 44. The Blackhawks are a little better geographically aligned this time, as they go from a group with mostly west-central Indiana teams to some old rivals, such as Clinton Prairie and Clinton Central.
CHANGE FOR SOCCER
The IHSAA’s soccer tournament will be changing next year, as that sport’s post-season will move up to three classes. Soccer had been a two-class sport since 2011, after being just one class since the IHSAA began hosting soccer tournaments in 1994.
The county’s big schools will be playing in 3A, to be sure, but there actually won’t be many changes in the sectional line-ups. Sectional 16 had been Anderson, Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern, Noblesville and Pendleton Heights ever since the two-class tournament started. Those schools will be in the same sectional again, for both boys and girls, now as Sectional 8. The only change will be a sixth team, Muncie Central, joining the group.
Carmel, Guerin Catholic, Westfield and Zionsville will continue to play together in Sectional 10, a change from Sectional 17. Guerin actually is a 2A soccer school by enrollment, but the Golden Eagles will be playing up to 3A in both the boys and girls post-season. These teams will be joined by North Central, Pike and Brebeuf; the Braves are also a 2A enrollment school, but opted to play up to 3A.
Hamilton Heights moves up from 1A to 2A, which is now the middle class of the soccer tournament. But the tournament will be dramatically different for the girls and the boys. The girls will play in Sectional 24, a five-team event with east-central Indiana schools that feeds into the north semi-state. The boys will participate in Sectional 25, which is seven teams, feeds into the south semi-state, and features six west-central Indiana schools.
It will be a big change, but it’s one that both Huskies soccer coaches are excited about.
“As might be expected by including only ‘mid-sized’ schools, the competition is greater, the talent is deeper, and the path to a sectional championship is going to be more difficult for us,” said Heights girls soccer coach Travis Kaufmann. “Even with same-class schools nearer, our sectional alignment puts us with schools that are a considerable distance to our east. These other schools all play and see each other during the regular season which can be an advantage to us because they won’t have seen us, but it can also put us at a disadvantage since we’ll have no familiarity with their teams or individual players. This is a challenge that I think will be good for our team and the program moving forward. In the end, to win championships you need to beat good teams and that will be the case with this new sectional alignment.”
Huskies boys soccer coach Derrick Dean said he likes his team’s new sectional, calling it “challenging but attainable.
“I see several teams in this sectional that will have very competitive games with probably just one goal differences,” said Dean. “The other factor I see is that some teams may be ‘written’ off but I think there are some ‘sleeper’ teams in this sectional that will sneak up and pull out some victories. It will be very interesting and competitive, I am looking forward to it.”
Sheridan and University, the 1A soccer teams, will be in the same sectional but have different groups for boys and girls. The girls teams will be in the north semi-state in Sectional 37, a five-team event with Tipton, Tri-Central and Western Boone. The boys were placed in Sectional 40, with all Indianapolis teams.
OTHER SPORTS
As for volleyball and basketball, there aren’t too many changes.
The big schools will stay in Sectional 8 in all three sports, with Carmel, Fishers, HSE, Noblesville and Westfield joining Anderson. The only change is in boys basketball, where Guerin Catholic will be moved back down to 3A after playing the past two seasons in 4A due to the success factor. The Golden Eagles boys join the girls basketball and volleyball teams in Sectional 27, playing all Indianapolis teams.
Hamilton Heights is staying put in 3A Sectional 24, with east-central Indiana teams. Sheridan will stay in 2A Sectional 40, also taking on teams from the east-central part of the state.
University will again be in 1A Sectional 58, taking on mostly the same line-up. The only big change is Tindley being moved over to Sectional 59 – the Tigers won state in boys basketball last year and a regional in girls basketball.
