Carmel, Fishers, HSE, Noblesville, Westfield all idle with Class 6A sectional semifinals starting on Oct. 27
By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
Class 3A Sectional 28
Sectional facts: Three of the four first-round matchups have never met before. The only pairing that has faced off is Northwestern-Maconaquah. This will be the 30th meeting between the Tigers and Braves. Tippecanoe Valley won the Class 1A state championship in 1979 (over Hamilton Southeastern, 44-14) and lost the 1977 1A state title game to Cardinal Ritter (15-6). Bishop Chatard has the most state championships (16) in the 51-year history of the football tournament. The Trojans have 14 titles in 3A (one runner-up) and two 2A championships (1983, 1984).
Hamilton Heights was the 2012 3A state runner-up (lost 30-13 to Bishop Chatard). Northwestern was the 1992 3A runner-up (lost 33-14 to Cathedral). Oak Hill won the 1982 1A state crown over Southridge, 14-7. Peru won its lone sectional in 1982, advancing all the way to semi-state before losing to McCutcheon (eventual 1A runner-up).
No. 2 Guerin Catholic (7-2) at No. 15 Peru (9-0)
Guerin Catholic takes a 57-mile road trip up U.S. 31 in the first round of probably one of the more competitive sectionals in the entire state. The Golden Eagles and Tigers have never faced each other in Guerin’s short 18-year football history. GC hasn’t won a sectional championship since 2014, but not nearly as long as the Tigers’ sectional slide of not winning since 1982. The Guerin-Peru winner will face either Tippecanoe Valley or Bishop Chatard in the semifinals next week.
Last Friday, Guerin closed out the regular season on the road at Culver Academy and did it in grand fashion. After the host Eagles got up 7-0 through one period, it awoke a burst of scoring. The Golden Eagles scored 28 points in the second to lead 28-7 at halftime. Peter Rooney had two and Malcolm Houze had one rushing score, while Chase Reed caught a 60-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Zimmerman.
Houze snagged a 38-yard scoring pass in the third and Jack Linden scored in the fourth for the 42-7 win. Linden had an even better game than he did the week prior against Terre Haute North (116) with 166 yards on 28 carries at Culver Academy.
Peter Rooney now has 870 yards on the season in 154 carries with eight touchdowns. Jack Linden helps provide a great one-two punch in the backfield with 82 rushes and 467 yards and a handful of TDs. Ryan Zimmerman has thrown for 1,426 yards and 15 touchdowns. Aaron Keller leads the Guerin defense with 113 tackles, two interceptions and three fumble recoveries.
No. 7 Hamilton Heights (9-0) at Oak Hill (5-4)
The Huskies are on a quest to exceed what the 2012 team did. Eleven years ago, Heights lost its season opener to Tipton and then rattled off 13 straight wins before falling in the 3A state championship game to Bishop Chatard, 30-13. Hamilton Heights and Oak Hill have never met, but will do so when the Huskies head 38 miles north to Converse on Friday.
In its regular season finale last week at West Lafayette, Heights outlasted the host Red Devils in a Hoosier Conference East-West championship showdown, 26-23. After West Lafayette got on the board with a safety, Heights got its first score in grand fashion. Carson Fettig returned a WL punt to the house 80 yards for a TD for a first half scorigami of 6-2. “Carson Fettig’s the man of the night,” said Kirschner.
Running back Dawson Martin gave West Lafayette the lead again at 9-6 on a rushing score. That didn’t last long with Fettig then returning the ensuing kickoff all the way back for a 76-yard touchdown and a 13-9 lead that Heights wouldn’t give back. Rushing scores by Eric Balcom and Bodie Derrer sealed the deal and the Hoosier Conference title. “I have to give credit to the entirety of the team, because at some point, we had a massive, game-changing contribution from every side of the ball,” said Heights coach Jon Kirschner.
Derrer has now completed 66 percent of his passes for 1,356 yards and 12 touchdown tosses. Owen VanHaaren leads the Husky rushing attack with 684 yards and six touchdowns, while Eric Balcom helps give Heights another option to run the ball with 367 yards and six scores himself. Derrer has scored seven on the ground as well. Tyler Champion has 542 receiving yards and six TDs. Balcom also leads with 60 tackles, while Michael Cain (nine sacks) and Dean Mason (seven) have been forces up front. Jaylyn Pugh has five interceptions, 10 pass deflections and has also blocked two punts.
Other games:
No. 6 Tippecanoe Valley (9-0) at No. 1 Bishop Chatard (9-0)
Northwestern (3-6) at Maconaquah (6-3)
1A Sectional 45
Sectional facts: Sheridan has the majority of the history in Sectional 45. Winning 14 sectional and regional and 10 semi-state crowns, the Blackhawks have won nine state championships and had one runner-up finish in 10 appearances in the 1A State Finals. Bud Wright’s record at Sheridan speaks for itself, as he’s been at the helm of the ‘Hawks for 58 seasons now, with a remarkable 452-209 mark (453-212 in 59 years overall).
Monroe Central won its only sectionals back-to-back in 2017 and 2018, but lost in the semi-state to Pioneer and current Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser. Union City is still in search of its first sectional title in football. Wes-Del has one sectional championship, back in 1975. That season, it was the 1A state runner-up, losing the state championship to Lawrenceburg, 28-14. Indianapolis Tindley has not yet won a sectional in its short football history, which began in 2012.
Hagerstown (6-3) at No. 10 Sheridan (6-3)
It will be just the third all-time meeting between the Tigers and Blackhawks. Last year, Sheridan won a high-scoring sectional title game at Hagerstown, 75-36. The only other time these two have met was in the 1994 1A regional championship. The Blackhawks were victorious 28-14 on the way to a runner-up finish that season. Hagerstown has 10 sectional titles, most recently in 2010. The Tigers also won the regional in 1982 and 1985.
In the final week of the regular season, No. 10 Sheridan unfortunately ran up against a buzzsaw in 1A third-ranked Carroll (9-0). The Blackhawks weren’t able to get much rhythm going offensively and they allowed Keegan Ellis to run for 168 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Sheridan had plenty of key stops on defense, but a few big plays gave Carroll the opportunities needed in the rainy conditions at Bud Wright Stadium. Zach Bales (57) and Eli Kolb (47) were held well below their normal yardage output.
Kolb is up to 876 yards and Bales 341, combining for 19 touchdowns on the ground. Nolan Page (244) and Trent DeCraene (229) have combined for 473 of Owen Bell’s 487 passing yards that have helped open up the Blackhawk offense. Bales also leads the defense with 93 tackles. Eli Kolb has six sacks, an interception and two fumble recoveries.
Other games:
Monroe Central (4-5) at Union City (2-7)
Wes-Del (4-5) at Winner Game 1
Indianapolis Tindley (4-5) at Winner Game 2
Hamilton County’s Class 6A schools have a bye this week, so they will all begin sectional play next Friday, Oct. 27. Here is the schedule for those games.
6A Sectional 3
Fishers (6-3) at Homestead (5-4)
Hamilton Southeastern (7-2) at Fort Wayne Northrop (1-8)
6A Sectional 4
Westfield (8-1) at Carmel (5-4)
Noblesville (3-6) at Zionsville (3-6)
