KVB’s sectional matchup preview
On Sunday a total of 312 Indiana high school football teams found out their sectional opponents for the 52nd annual state tournament.
First round sectional play will begin Friday Oct. 25 in Classes 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A. Classes 5A and 6A will have that week off.
Sectional semifinals will be Nov. 1 and sectional championship games will be Nov. 8.
Regionals will take place on Nov. 15, semi-states on Nov. 22 and the state championship on Nov. 29-30 in Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium.
There were will 305 games played over the six-week tournament.
The breakdown in each of the six classes is as follows:
32 teams in 6A
32 in 5A
62 in 4A
62 in 3A
62 in 2A
62 in 1A
Kankakee Valley Broadcasting will be your HOME for our area’s IHSAA football tournament.
KVB’s MAX 98.3 FM WYMR, WKVI 99.3 FM and MAX983.net will broadcast three games on Oct. 25 and continue to cover the tournament as long as our area teams survive and advance.
Speaking of advancing, the top-ranked team in Class 1A is undefeated North Judson-San Pierre. The Bluejays have won three straight sectional championships.
Knox and LaVille are also looking to defending sectional championships won in 2023.
The Redskins will be looking to do so in Class 3A, while the Lancers will be hoping to repeat the feat in Class 1A, after they moved down from 2A in the off-season.
In addition to North Judson, the area’s only other ranked team entering the postseason is No. 8 Triton (6-2).
The lone one-loss team is Culver Academies at 7-1. The Eagles finish the regular season with a road game against 1-6 Glenn.
In case your wondering, the following teams enter the postseason as defending state champions:
Indianapolis Lutheran – Class 1A (have won 17 straight playoff games)
Fort Wayne Bishop Luers – Class 2A (six)
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard – Class 3A (12)
East Central – Class 4A (12)
Fort Wayne Snider – Class 5A (five)
Ben Davis – Class 6A (five)
How about our area teams’ draws and paths to sectional championships?
Well, Plymouth will advance past Wawasee in the opening round after beating it by 30 points in the regular season, but will likely meet No. 5 Mishawaka in the semis. The Cavemen just beat the Rockies 34-10.
Culver Academy (7-1) has its sights set on a long postseason run. The Eagles road to Indy begins on the road against the 6-2 Lebanon Tigers. If CMA wins, it would host Logansport. The Berries are also 7-1. Both the Eagles and Berries are not ranked in the top 10 in Class 4A, but received votes to be in the top 10.
Barring something unforeseen, 5-3 Huntington North will be waiting for either CMA or Logansport in the Sectional 20 championship game.
Glenn got a tough draw. To keep their season alive, the Falcons will have to knock off Jimtown on the road in their opener. The Jimmies beat Glenn 22-14 last month in Walkerton. If Glenn would knock off Jimtown, it would face the winner of 4-4 Calumet and 3-5 Mishawaka Marian.
The favorites to win Sectional 25 are 5-3 Knox and 8-0 and surprisingly unranked Griffith. Those two teams should meet in the sectional quarterfinals, a game that would be played at Knox.
Expect Bremen to get to the title game of Sectional 33. The Lions have to beat 2-6 Lake Station on the road and then would host 3-5 Rensselaer Central in the semis before meeting 4-4 Andrean. Don’t be fooled by the Fighting 59ers .500 record as three of those losses have come to top-10 teams in either 4A or 5A, including defending state champion Chatard, which is currently ranked third in 4A and is playing up a class because of the success rule.
North Judson-San Pierre will dominate Sectional 41 just like they have in the regular season.
The Bluejays have steamrolled through a perfect regular season, outscoring their opponents by an average of 51-4.8 per game. They’ve recorded four shutouts and have held all but one opponent to eight points or less.
Things will get interesting for North Judson-San Pierre in the regional championship Nov. 15 where it could meet No. 3 Carroll, which is also unbeaten.
If the Bluejays advance to semistate, they would likely meet No. 4 Madison-Grant (8-0). By the way, the other top five teams – Providence (No. 2) and North Decatur (No. 5) are on the other side of the bracket and one would perhaps be the opponent in the state championship game.
Culver Community (1-7) will have a great chance to advance to the second round as it drew 1-7 South Central to open sectional play. The two teams meet one another this Friday in the regular-season finale.
Waiting for the Cavaliers in Round Two will be the Bluejays. NJ beat Culver 70-0 earlier this season.
LaVille hosts 5-3 West Central to open postseason play. If the Lancers can find a way to get past the Trojans they shouldn’t have any problem with North Newton in the semis. A remarch with North Judson-San Pierre would await in the sectional championship game. The Bluejays beat the Lancers 32-8 early in the season.
In Sectional 42 the 3-4 Winamac Warriors got an interesting draw. Their first opponent is 4-4 Taylor. The winner of the 5-3 Tri-County and 4-4 North White would be the sectional semifinal opponent.
Assuming Carroll doesn’t get upset by No. 10 Pioneer (6-2), Carroll will play in the Sectional 42 championship game.
Sectional 43 is where you will find No. 8 Triton (6-2). The Trojans should win easily to open things up as they face 0-8 Southwood. Another winless team Southern Wells (0-8) got a first-round bye and will be Triton’s semifinal opponent.
6-2 North Miami should be waiting in the Sectional 43 championship game as they won’t play anyone with a winning record in the first two rounds.
*Sectional admission prices will be $7 per person. Children 5 and younger will be free.
*Kickoff times are 7 p.m. local time or determined by host school.
*Home teams were determined in the first round by a blind draw and are the second-named team on the bracket.
For the sectional semifinals (second round), the team without a first-round home game will host (a bye team will always be the visitor). If both teams were hosts or both were visitors, the second-named team in the quarterfinals bracket will host.
For the sectional championship games, the host team will be the team that has played the most away games. If both teams have played the same number of away games, the bottom bracket team shall host.
Following is who our area schools open sectional play against.
FRIDAY OCT. 25
Sectional 41 Class 1A
West Central (5-3) at LaVille (3-5) – kickoff at 7p.m. ET
MAX Game of the Week 98.3 FM WYMR (pregame starts at 6 p.m.)
Sectional 18 Class 4A
Wawasee (1-7) at Plymouth (5-3) – kickoff at 7 p.m.
Plymouth MAX983.net Game of the Week – internet at MAX983.net (pregame starts at 6:30 p.m.) & replayed Saturday at 9 a.m. on MAX 98.3 FM WYMR
Sectional 41 Class 1A
South Central (1-7) at Culver Community (1-7) – kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
MAX sister station WKVI Game of the Week 99.3 FM WKVI (pregame starts at 7 p.m.)
Sectional 25 Class 3A
Glenn (1-6) at Jimtown (5-3) – kickoff at 7 p.m.
Sectional 43 Class 1A
Southwood (0-8) at #8 Triton (6-2) kickoff at 7 p.m.
Sectional 33 Class 2A
Bremen (4-4) at Lake Station (2-6) – kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
Sectional 20 Class 4A
Culver Academy (7-1) at Lebanon (6-2) – kickoff 7 p.m.
Sectional 42 Class 1A
Taylor (4-4) at Winamac (3-4) – kickoff 7 p.m.
Sectional 41 Class 1A
South Newton (3-5) at #1 North Judson-San Pierre (8-0) – kickoff 7 p.m.
Sectional 25 Class 3A
Knox (5-3) at River Forest (4-4) – kickoff 7 p.m.
One of MAX 98.3 FM WYMR’s most loyal sponsors is Hoosier Racing Tire. Hoosier Racing Tire is the largest race tire manufacturer in the world and all of its tires are made in the United States. Hoosier Racing Tire has been in business since 1957 and is located in Lakeville. Give their website a look at http://hoosierracingtire.com
Special thanks to Woodlawn Health in Rochester for being another one of MAX 98.3 FM WYMR’S loyal sponsors. For more than 100 years, Woodlawn Health has provided quality, first-class healthcare to the residents of Fulton County and the surrounding areas. Please give their website a visit by going to https://woodlawnhospital.org/
Special thanks to Plumlee Dentistry in Plymouth for helping us bring you Indiana High School Athletics like no one else and for being the proud sponsor of the Plumlee Radio Booth, our on-location broadcast site at games. Please give their website a visit by going to https://plumleedentistry.com/
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