It may not feel like it yet, but the IHSAA fall sports season is only days away from beginning.
The first sport to begin is girls golf, which will start their practices on Friday and then can begin competition on Monday. The other fall sports will begin practices on Monday – football can start non-contact practices, with contact practices to begin on Wednesday.
All the other fall sports except football can begin their seasons on Saturday, Aug. 11. The first football games are scheduled for Friday, Aug. 17.
After that, it’s a mad dash to the post-season. In this article, the Reporter will take a look at the post-season groupings and state tournament routes for each sport.
GIRLS GOLF
Sectionals
The teams from Carmel, Guerin Catholic, University and Westfield will again travel to the Ben Davis sectional, which takes place at South Grove Golf Course in Indianapolis. This sectional is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 14. Other teams competing are Brebeuf Jesuit, Cardinal Ritter, Covenant Christian, Pike and Speedway.
As for the other county teams, Noblesville will again host a sectional this year at Harbour Trees Golf Course. Fishers, Hamilton Heights and Hamilton Southeastern will also play at this site, which will tee off on Saturday, Sept. 15. Other teams competing will be Alexandria, Anderson, Elwood, Lapel and Shenandoah.
Regionals
Advancement: The top three teams and top three individuals not on an advancing team move from the sectional to the regional. All regionals are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 22.
Qualifying teams and individuals from the Ben Davis sectional advance to the Roncalli regional, which moves back to its traditional site at Smock Golf Course on the south side of Indianapolis. Advancers from the Noblesville sectional play at the Lapel regional, again hosted by Edgewood Golf Course.
State finals
Advancement: The top three teams and top five individuals not on an advancing team move from the regional to state.
Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel will host the girls golf state finals on Friday, Sept. 28 and Saturday, Sept. 29. This is the fifth year that Prairie View will host both the girls and boys golf state finals as part of a 10-year deal between the club and the IHSAA.
BOYS TENNIS
Sectionals
Tennis teams are scheduled to host their sectionals from Wednesday, Sept. 26 to Saturday, Sept. 29. In Hamilton County, the tennis sectionals have recently taken place on Wednesday and Thursday in order to allow for rain dates.
The sectional lineup is unchanged from last year. Carmel, Guerin Catholic, University and Westfield will play at Carmel’s Todd Witsken Tennis Center. Fishers, Hamilton Heights, Hamilton Southeastern and Noblesville will play at Southeastern.
Regionals
Sectional winners will play at their respective regionals on Tuesday, Oct. 2 and Wednesday, Oct. 3. The winner at Carmel will travel up to Kokomo, while the winner at Southeastern heads down to North Central’s Barbara Wynne Tennis Center.
Semi-state
The semi-state round takes place on Saturday, Oct. 6. The Kokomo winner will play for one of the Culver Academies championships, with the North Central winner playing for one of the Homestead titles.
State finals
Quarter-finals take place on Friday, Oct. 12 and will be hosted by Carmel and Center Grove. The semi-finals and championship match are Saturday, Oct. 13 at North Central.
UNIFIED FLAG FOOTBALL
Starting this season, the IHSAA will conduct a Unified Sports Flag Football Tournament. The IHSAA is anticipating that 32 or more teams will compete in the tournament.
The schedule is as follows:
Saturday, Sept. 29: Sectional first round at eight sites, with four to six schools per site. Games 1 and 2 will begin at 10 a.m., with Games 3 and 4 starting a half-hour after the conclusion of the first two games.
Saturday, Oct. 6: Sectional finals and regional finals. Sixteen schools will compete at four sites, with the first two games starting at 10 a.m. to decide the sectional championship. The regional championship will be played a half-hour after the conclusion of the first two games.
Saturday, Oct. 13: State semi-finals and state championship. Four schools will compete at one site, with the semi-finals starting at 10 a.m., and the championship following a half-hour after the semi-finals finish.
SOCCER
Sectional games are scheduled for the week of Oct. 1, followed by regionals on Saturday, Oct. 13.
Girls Sectionals
Class 3A: Hamilton Southeastern will host Sectional 8, welcoming teams from Anderson, Fishers, Muncie Central, Noblesville and Pendleton Heights. Guerin Catholic hosts Sectional 10 and will join teams from Brebeuf Jesuit, Carmel, Pike, Westfield and Zionsville.
Class 2A: Hamilton Heights will host Sectional 24, welcoming teams from Delta, Jay County, New Castle and Yorktown.
Class 1A: Sheridan hosts Sectional 37, which includes Tipton, Tri-Central, University and Western Boone.
Girls Regionals
Class 3A: The winner of the Southeastern sectional will play in the Logansport regional in the north semi-state. Guerin Catholic’s winner will travel to Zionsville as part of the south semi-state.
Class 2A: Heights’ sectional winner plays in the Marion regional, which is in the north semi-state.
Class 1A: Sheridan’s sectional winner plays in the Northwestern regional, also in the north semi-state.
Boys Sectionals
Class 3A: Noblesville will host Sectional 8, with the same lineup as the girls’ Sectional 8: Anderson, Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern, Muncie Central and Pendleton Heights.
Pike hosts Sectional 10 this year. Other teams playing there are Brebeuf Jesuit, Carmel, Guerin Catholic, North Central, Westfield and Zionsville.
Class 2A: Hamilton Heights will play at Sectional 25 in Lebanon, along with Crawfordsville, Frankfort, North Montgomery, Southmont and Western Boone.
Class 1A: Sheridan and University will play in Sectional 40, to be hosted by Heritage Christian. Other teams playing there are International, Park Tudor and Shortridge.
Boys Regionals
Class 3A: Noblesville’s sectional winner will play at the Kokomo regional, which is in the north semi-state. The Pike sectional winner will travel to Carmel to play in the regional, which aligns with the south semi-state.
Class 2A: Lebanon’s sectional winner travels to Greensburg, which is in the south semi-state.
Class 1A: Heritage Christian’s sectional winner plays in the Taylor regional, in the north semi-state.
Semi-state
All regional championship teams will be assigned to a specific site once the regional championship games have been completed.
North semi-state teams will play at either Kokomo or South Bend St. Joseph, with south semi-state teams competing at either Evansville North or Seymour. All semi-state games are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 20.
State finals
All six state championship games will take place at IUPUI’s Carroll Stadium this year. Two will be scheduled for Friday, Oct. 26 at 6 and 8 p.m., and the other four will be played on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Assignments will be made once the semi-state games have been decided.
CROSS COUNTRY
Sectionals
The biggest change this year is a re-alignment in the cross country sectionals.
Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern have been moved to the Pendleton Heights sectional. The Tigers and the Royals will now compete with the following teams: Alexandria, Anderson, Anderson Prep, Blue River Valley, Elwood, Frankton, Lapel, Liberty Christian and Shenandoah, along with the host Arabians.
All the other Hamilton County schools will continue to compete at the Noblesville sectional, which runs at the Chinquapin Ridge Cross Country Course at White River Elementary School. Teams from Lebanon, Tipton and Western Boone will also compete there.
All sectionals take place on Saturday, Oct. 6.
Regionals
Advancement: The top five teams advance from the sectional to the regional, along with the top 10 individuals not on an advancing team.
Qualifiers from Pendleton Heights travel up to Delta for that regional, while sectional qualifiers from Noblesville return to Chinquapin Ridge. All regionals are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 13.
Semi-state
Advancement: The top five teams advance from the regional to the semi-state, along with the top 10 individuals not on an advancing team.
Delta qualifiers advance to the New Haven semi-state, while qualifiers from Noblesville will travel to Shelbyville. The semi-states take place on Saturday, Oct. 20.
State finals
Advancement: The top six teams and top 10 individuals not on an advancing team move from the semi-state to the state finals.
The state meet will again take place on Saturday, Oct. 27 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute.
VOLLEYBALL
Sectionals
Class 4A: Westfield is this year’s Sectional 8 host, welcoming teams from Anderson, Carmel, Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern and Noblesville.
Class 3A: Hamilton Heights will travel to Wapahani for Sectional 24, joining teams from Blackford, Delta, Jay County, Muncie Burris and New Castle. Meanwhile, Guerin Catholic will play in Sectional 27 at Crispus Attucks, along with Bishop Chatard, Brebeuf Jesuit, and Cardinal Ritter.
Class 2A: Sheridan heads to Lapel for Sectional 40, joining Alexandria, Elwood, Frankton and Monroe Central.
Class 1A: University will host Sectional 58 this year, welcoming Bethesda Christian, Indiana School for the Deaf, International, Metropolitan, Tindley and Traders Point Christian Academy.
Sectional matches are set for Tuesday, Oct. 9, Thursday, Oct. 11 and Saturday, Oct. 13.
Regionals
All games are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 20.
Class 4A: Noblesville will host the regional this year, welcoming sectional champions from East Noble, Fort Wayne North Side, West Lafayette and Westfield.
Class 3A: The winner at Wapahani will travel to Norwell, which is in the north semi-state. Meanwhile, the Crispus Attucks winner heads to Danville, which plays in the south semi-state.
Class 2A: The Lapel winner plays in the Taylor regional, part of the north semi-state.
Class 1A: The University winner will travel to Morristown, part of the south semi-state.
Semi-state
North semi-state games will be played at either Frankfort or Huntington North, with south semi-state games taking place at Columbus East or Jasper. All games will be played on Saturday, Oct. 27.
State finals
Ball State University’s Worthen Arena will host the state finals on Saturday, Nov. 3.
FOOTBALL
Sectionals
Sectional contest begin Friday, Oct. 19 in Classes 1A through 5A, although only a handful of games are scheduled for 5A. The other 5A teams and all of Class 6A receive a bye that week. Sectional semi-finals are set for Friday, Oct. 26 in all classes, with the championship games on Friday, Nov. 2.
Class 6A: Carmel, Lafayette Jefferson, Noblesville and Westfield will compete in Sectional 4, with Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern, North Central and Pike in Sectional 5.
Class 3A: Guerin Catholic and Hamilton Heights will play in Sectional 26, joining Blackford, Brebeuf Jesuit, Crawfordsville, North Montgomery, Northwestern and Southmont.
Class 1A: Sheridan will compete in Sectional 44, with Anderson Prep, Clinton Central, Clinton Prairie, Monroe Central, Tri-Central, Union City and Wes-Del.
Regionals
All games take place on Friday, Nov. 9.
Class 6A: The Sectional 4 winner will play the Sectional 3 winner, with Sectional 5’s winner taking on the Sectional 6 champion.
Class 3A: Sectional 26’s champion plays the Sectional 25 winner.
Class 1A: The Sectional 44 winner takes on the Sectional 43 champion.
Semi-states
All games are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 16. Note that if there is considerable distance between the two teams playing, some games may be pushed back to Saturday, Nov. 17.
State finals
The state championships will take place at Lucas Oil Fieldhouse the weekend after Thanksgiving, on Friday, Nov. 23 and Saturday, Nov. 24.
The Noblesville volleyball team is the defending champion in Sectional 8 this season, which will be played at Westfield. Whoever wins Sectional 8 will head to The Mill at Noblesville, as the Millers host one of the four volleyball regionals this year. (Kirk Green/File photo)