In order to win Class 6A Sectional 5, the Fishers football team will need to beat a team it played the first week of the season.
The Tigers will host North Central at 7 p.m. on Friday at Reynolds Tigers Stadium. This marks the ninth consecutive year that Fishers will play for a sectional title. The Tigers won last year, while the Panthers last won a sectional in 1993.
Fishers is hoping to reverse the result of its regular season game with NC. The Panthers beat the Tigers 31-7 and has since gone on to an 8-2 season, the first time they’ve won eight games since 2006.
North Central’s other regular-season wins have come against Hamilton Southeastern 31-13, Lawrence North 12-7, Center Grove 26-14, Lawrence Central 26-7, Pike 40-37 (in overtime) and Ben Davis 38-23. The Panthers played the Royals again last week in the first round of Sectional 5, winning 41-12. Losses were to Warren Central 58-27 and Carmel 41-40, in triple overtime.
Senior quarterback Liam Thompson has been solid for the Panthers, completing 146 of 281 passes for 2,148 yards and 20 touchdowns. His top receiver is senior Tre’von Elliott, who has caught 50 receptions, including 10 TDs. Senior Jordan Bingham has 44 catches, including two touchdowns.
On the rushing front, senior Alexander Tarver is the leader with 771 yards in 169 carries, with four touchdowns to his credit. Junior Michael Brown has 135 tackles to lead the North Central defense, with senior Harrison Ochs making 133 stops. Senior Devontay Moore has 6.5 sacks to his credit.
Fishers will come into the sectional title game with a 4-6 record, including wins in three of its last four games. The Tigers have victories over Pike 31-14, Franklin Central 17-12 and Westfield 11-7 in the regular season, then beat the Red Devils 33-20 to open Sectional 5 play last week. After North Central, Fishers lost to Noblesville 21-9, Southeastern 14-10, Brownsburg 27-20, Avon 33-0 and Zionsville 13-12.
Junior quarterback Marcus Roux came back for the Tigers last week in the sectional and had a decent game, going 5-for-12 with 91 yards and a touchdown. For the season, Roux is 39-of-99 with 512 yards and two TDs. Senior Collin Statz has 28 catches, while junior Dylan Scally leads the rushing with 634 yards, including three scores.
CARMEL AT LAFAYETTE JEFFERSON
Carmel, ranked No. 3 in 6A, will travel to No. 8 Lafayette Jefferson’s Scheumann Stadium on Friday for a chance to defend its 6A Sectional 4 championship.
This will be a re-match of last year’s Sectional 4 final, which was played at Carmel Stadium. The Greyhounds won that game 41-20, stopping what had been an undefeated Bronchos team that had won 10 games for the first time since 2006.
This year, Lafayette Jeff holds a 9-1 record coming into the championship game. The Bronchos lost their opener to West Lafayette 38-29, but then swept through the regular season unbothered over Western 54-14, McCutcheon 48-7, Harrison 31-14, Kokomo 58-13, Anderson 76-0, Richmond 44-6, Logansport 55-7 and Arsenal Tech 46-0. Jeff then held off Noblesville 35-24 last week to win a sectional semi-final game.
Sophomore quarterback Maximus Grimes has been a remarkable story for the Bronchos. Grimes has completed 181 of 285 passes and compiled 3,175 yards and 46 touchdowns. His top receiver, senior Brian Jenkins, went past the 1,000-yard mark last week; Jenkins has 59 catches, including 18 touchdowns. Junior Derrick Matthews has 11 TDs as part of 43 catches.
Junior Marquis Munox leads Jefferson on the ground with 898 yards in 133 carries, including nine scores. On defense, senior Brittain Chandler has 95 tackles to top that list. Sophomore Kayden Sowers has 14 tackles for a loss, one of four Bronchos players with at least 10 tackles for a loss.
The Greyhounds are 8-2 for the season. Carmel has beaten Louisville Trinity 24-21, Noblesville 34-7, Pike 28-13, Lawrence North 23-9, North Central 41-40 (in triple OT), Ben Davis 21-7 and Lawrence Central 16-14 in the regular season, then defeated Westfield 28-7 last week in the sectional semi-final. The ‘Hounds lost to Center Grove 17-7 and Warren Central 41-17.
Carmel’s likely quarterback is Tyler Trent, who has completed 65 of 160 passes for 930 yards and 10 touchdowns. Christian Williams has 24 of those catches, including five scores, with Sam Rogers making 20 receptions, including four touchdowns. Zach White leads the Greyhounds’ rushing with 865 yards in 136 carries and eight TDs.
Fishers quarterback Marcus Roux passed for 91 yards and a touchdown last week in the Tigers’ Class 6A Sectional 5 semi-final game at Pike. Fishers hosts North Central on Friday for the Sectional 5 championship. (Kent Graham/File photo)