With the big schools taking the first round of football sectionals as a bye week, the smaller schools will get some time in the spotlight Friday.
A good amount of the light will shine on Class 3A Sectional 28. This one is arguably the toughest sectional in that division, with four teams ranked in the IFCA coaches poll’s top 10. The highest-ranked teams play each other: No. 1 Bishop Chatard (8-1) will travel to No. 3 Brebeuf Jesuit (7-2) for what is sure to be a great game.
Hamilton Heights will take on another one of the ranked teams, hosting No. 4 West Lafayette. This game starts at 7:30 p.m. due to travel constraints and the distance between the schools. Meanwhile, Guerin Catholic is ranked No. 10, and it travels to Yorktown for a 7 p.m. game. The winners of these games will play each other in next Friday’s semi-finals. The Chatard-Brebeuf winner takes on the winner of North Montgomery at Crawfordsville.
West Lafayette will enter the Huskies’ stadium with a 7-2 record. The two teams played each other during Week 3, with the Red Devils winning 56-7. Both teams are in the Hoosier Conference, but play in different divisions, so it was not a conference game.
West Lafayette’s only losses were in the first and last weeks of the regular season. In Week 1, it fell to Lafayette Jefferson by the score of 74-66. The Red Devils’ fell to Lewis Cass last week in the Hoosier Conference championship game, 49-42; those teams also played each other during Week 7, with West Lafayette winning 58-21.
The Red Devils’ other wins have been over McCutcheon 46-16, Lafayette Central Catholic 50-0, Rensselaer Central 44-6, Benton Central 73-7 and Twin Lakes 48-7.
“West Lafayette is very well coached,” said Heights coach Jon Kirschner. “They are effective at what they do and their kids have confidence in their abilities to execute at a high level.”
All of those Red Devils points translate into big numbers for their senior quarterback Kyle Adams. He has completed 235 out of 318 passes for 3,105 yards and 45 touchdowns, while also scoring six touchdowns on the ground. Adams’ top receivers are sophomore Cannon Melchi, who has 79 receptions, including 11 TDs, and senior Harrison Truitt, who has 58 catches, including 14 scores.
Senior Spencer Blankman is West Lafayette’s top runner, with 715 yards and 11 touchdowns. On defense, senior Lamont Johnson leads in tackles with 84. Both Johnson and sophomore Mariere Omonode have 13 tackles for a loss, with senior Hojun Yun making 10 tackles for a loss.
Hamilton Heights is 2-7 for the season, dropping its regular-season finale to Twin Lakes 28-21 last Friday. The Huskies have been using two quarterbacks this season: Junior Isaac Wilson has completed 57 of 113 throws for 775 yards, while sophomore Guy Griffey has made 66 of 125 passes for 838 yards. Both have thrown for seven touchdowns; Wilson also has a rushing touchdown.
Senior Camron Knott is the top receiver, with 27 catches, including six scores. Senior DeShawn King has rushed for 367 yards and four touchdowns. King has also been dominant on defense with 142 tackles for the season.
GUERIN CATHOLIC-YORKTOWN
While Heights will be at home, Guerin Catholic is making a trip to Yorktown to take on a 6-3 Tigers team. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two squads.
Yorktown defeated Anderson 18-0, Muncie Central 33-14, New Castle 32-13, Shelbyville 42-0, Greenfield-Central 42-6 and Pendleton Heights 15-6 this season, with losses to New Palestine 55-19, Delta 38-6 and Mount Vernon 19-8. The Tigers finished Hoosier Heritage Conference play tied for fourth with a 4-3 record.
“Yorktown is a very good team,” said Golden Eagles coach Tom Dilley. “They are dynamic on offense with talent at all skilled positions and a physical offensive line. Their quarterback is very talented. Defensively, they pursue very well. They are aggressive and have good team speed. They are opportunistic, scoring a couple of defensive touchdowns in the last few weeks. They are also very good defensively in the red zone.”
Senior Reid Neal is the Tigers’ quarterback. He has made 108 of 190 attempts for 1,377 yards and 15 touchdowns. Two seniors have over 30 catches for Yorktown: Austin Hill totals 34 receptions (four TDs) and Milon McCowan has 32 (three TDs).
Junior Jamarius Evans leads the Tigers running game with 384 yards and three touchdowns, with Neal right behind him at 377 yards and six scores. Senior Gehrig Smalstig is on top of the defense with 65 tackles.
Guerin Catholic finished the regular season 5-4, falling at Roncalli 42-14 in its Week 9 contest. The Golden Eagles have the second-toughest schedule in 3A according to the Sagarin ratings, and the 28th toughest overall. Only Chatard is higher, ranking first in 3A and 20th overall.
“Our regular season schedule has given us some great experience and helped us improve throughout the season,” said Dilley. “We are looking forward to playing our best game this Friday.”
Senior Christian Gelov has completed 88 of 141 attempts as GC’s quarterback, totaling 1,072 yards and 10 touchdowns, also rushing for three scores. Senior Bernie McGuinness leads the receptions with 35, five of them TDs.
Senior Gus Baumgartner is on top of the rushing game with 1,172 yards and 12 touchdowns. Senior Tom Hokanson leads the defense with 84 tackles, followed by junior Jagger Albert with 81.
SHERIDAN-LUTHERAN
After a big win at Bud Wright Stadium last week, the Blackhawks will have another big game Friday in the first round of Class 1A Sectional 46: Sheridan hosts Indianapolis Lutheran in a 7 p.m. kickoff.
The Saints are the No. 1-ranked team in 1A, and unbeaten at 8-0. After a close win over Beech Grove, 27-22 in its opener, Lutheran has won its other games fairly easily, beating Cardinal Ritter 35-14, Triton Central 28-14, Cascade 46-28, Scecina 42-21, Monrovia 49-7, Speedway 42-13 and Traders Point Christian 63-27. The Saints did not play a game during Week 4.
“They’re a good, solid football team,” said Wright. “They got all the ingredients.”
That includes a good running back (senior Marcus McFadden, 1,009 yards and 15 touchdowns), a good quarterback (junior Blake White, 90-of-163 passing, 1,121 yards and 14 touchdowns) and good linemen. White also has a rushing touchdown.
In addition, Lutheran has three receivers close to each other in total catches: Junior Luke Snow with 18, including one TD, junior Joseph Faubion with 17, four of them touchdowns and senior Logan Beard with 16, three of them TDs. Junior Hayden Filipovich has 51 tackles to lead the defense.
Sheridan finished the season 6-3, getting an exciting regular-season finale victory over Carroll 64-56 last week.
“We needed that win bad,” said Wright. “6-3’s a heck of a lot better than 5-4,” he said, noting that the win will give the Blackhawks “a little bit of confidence” as this week’s sectional game approaches.
“That was the first win we had without Hovey,” said Wright. “They just go to realize they can play and get the job done.”
Junior Cameron Hovey is Sheridan’s star running back, but he has missed the last several weeks due to a broken collarbone. He won’t be playing on Friday.
“He’s doing good, he’s just not ready to come back yet,” said Wright.
The ‘Hawks could have two players back. Keenan Warren missed last week’s game, but he practiced earlier in the week without contact, and Wright hopes he will be back for Friday’s game. Peyton Cross also returns after missing last week.
Sophomore Silas DeVaney is the quarterback, and he has mad 28 of 67 attempts for 759 yards and five touchdowns. On the ground, DeVaney has 493 rushing yards and 10 TDs, with another sophomore, Evan Bourdon, at 487 yards and six scores. (Hovey had rushed for 1,225 yards and 16 touchdowns before his injury.)
Warren leads the receptions with eight catches, two of them for touchdowns. Senior Chris Starks is on top of the defense with 75 tackles, including 17 for a loss. Bourdon and senior Charlie Cronin both have 11 tackles for a loss.
Guerin Catholic senior Bernie McGuinness has 35 catches, including five touchdowns, for the Golden Eagles this season. Guerin Catholic will travel to Yorktown on Friday in first-round play of Class 3A Sectional 28. (Richie Hall/File photo)