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Warsaw (4-0, 2-0 NLC) at Wawasee (0-4, 0-2 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Warrior Stadium, Syracuse.
Series (last 40 years): Warsaw, 28-12.
John Harrell’s prediction: Warsaw, 56-7.
Last meeting: Sept. 12, 2025, Warsaw, 41-7.
About Warsaw: Bart Curtis’s Indiana Football Coaches Association 5A Tigers No. 4 beat visiting Mishawaka 43-7 in Week 4 … Michael Schenck ran 13 times for 126 yards and one touchdown, Mason Silveus 10 times for 83 yards and one TD and Mark Haynes 17 times for 50 yards … Haynes was 2-of-2 passing for 88 yards — 38- and 50-yard TD tosses to Tucker Reed … On the season, rushing yardage leaders are Schenck (476 and four TD’s), Reed (462 and seven TD’s), Brady Sauer (230 and one TD), Wyatt Harman (144 and one TD) ... John Conley is 10-of-11 kicking extra points and 1-of-1 on field goals … Tackle point leaders are Ty Martin (45), Matt Flores-Ortega (36), Cohen McCray (30), Andrew Robertson (27), Haynes (24), Nathan Villa (24), Jack Bradford (23), Ethan Sinclair (23) and Grady Nelson (22) … Warsaw is off to a 4-0 start for the first time since a 5-0 start in 2023 … Each year since 1969, Warsaw and Wawasee have battled for The “W” Trophy. The Tigers have won the “W” game 11 straight times … Warsaw holds an offensive average of 33.0 and defensive average of 21.8.
About Wawasee: Mark Osmialowski’s 4A Warriors to 64-6 at Northridge in Week 4 … Johnny Zachary was 5-of-16 passing for 41 yards and one TD … Kaden Andrew rushed 11 times for 45 yards including a 20-yard TD in the second quarter … Andrew, Luke Lehman, Luke Nettrouer, Jaylen Lowery and J’Ceon Evans caught one pass apiece … Total tackle leaders were Lehman (5) and Max Pena (4) … For the season, Zachary is 38-of-83 passing for 588 yards and two TD’s with five interceptions … Mason McKibben (136), Andrews (93 with two TD’s) and Evans (65) are rushing yardage leaders … Lowery has 10 receptions for 232 yards and one TD and Nettrouer has 11 catches for 126 yards, Lehman five catches for 93 yards and Andrew four receptions for 86 yards … Total tackle leaders are Westen Haab (33), McKibben (29), Pena (20), Lehman (19), Aidan Beer (18) and Jaxon Brown (16) … Lowery (2) and Keny’n Burney (1) have fumble recoveries ... Wawasee lost three fumbles and yielded an interception against Northridge … The Warriors hold an offensive average of 13.3 and defensive average of 44.8.
Per Coach Bart Curtis:
On Wawasee — I don’t put a whole lot of stock into records or scores. I put a whole lot of stock into matchups. How do we match up against them in their passing game and ability to spread the ball around? … We’re going to see an onslaught of effort of (Wawasee). We take nothing for granted. You can’t get caught up in how they did last week or the week before. You’ve got to prepare as if those games didn’t happen.
IPP — Intensity, Passion and Purpose. Now that we’ve seen that level out of these kids, that’s the expectation. You hope to get that type of effort every Friday night and every day in practice, but sometimes it doesn’t happen. But we saw that out of our kids (in Week 4) … When you have 24 seniors that have played together and are high-character kids with zero off-field issues, it makes the tight situations doable.
On Mishawaka game — We got off to a fast start (scoring 20 first-quarter points). I think that certainly helped our cause … We were fortunate offensively to hit a couple of big plays … Our kids played with a great deal of passion and a great deal of purpose … We grade our kids on how they did. Besides that, we have an effort chart to make sure the kids are going 1,000 mph every snap. We had effort charts and we had two loafs and one change of speed on defense.
Per Coach Mark Osmialowski:
On Warsaw — The good news is we were in the same offense (the flexbone) the last two years, so the boys kind of know what’s coming. We’ve just got to be able to do our job and see discipline when it comes to facing that offense on defense.
Positives — Getting (senior) Kade Andrews (who has been out since playing in the middle quarters of the Jimtown game in Week 1) back on Friday was huge. When he can get up to full speed, he’s hard to bring down in the open field being 6-3, 215. We’ve got to try to get him in space as much as we can … We’ve had a couple of sophomores that have stepped up, too, and are starting to see some varsity time. Hayden Irvine has been coming on at receiver and corner. Aidan Beer — with his leadership in the secondary and off the field as well — has really come a long way.
On Northridge game — We didn’t watch any film over it. We said (to the players) you’re not going to get much out of this. We’re going to move past this. We know you’re a better team than what you showed, so we’ve just go to keep getting better and focus on that each and every day.
Tippecanoe Valley (3-1, 1-0 INSC) at LaVille (1-3, 0-1 INSC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Lancer Field, Lakeville
Series: Tippecanoe Valley 2-0
Last Outing: Tippecanoe Valley defeated Knox 21-18, LaVille lost to Bremen 49-7
John Harrell’s prediction: Tippecanoe Valley 45-3
Last Meeting: Sep. 19, 2025, Tippecanoe Valley 38-28
About Tippecanoe Valley: Coming off their first loss of the season to Adams Central, the Vikings began Indiana Northern State Conference play with a comeback win over Knox last Friday, taking home a 21-18 victory after trailing 18-6. A 65-yard kickoff return by Owen Omondi brought the team within striking distance in the third, before a Hunter Paxton rushing touchdown gave the visitors the lead for the first time in the fourth. The Vikings were outgained 207 to 161 in the win, but took advantage of two turnovers and a special teams score. Paxton led the team with 83 rushing yards, while Omondi had 36. The pairing also each came up with an interception on the defensive side of the ball. Hunter Randall passed for 20 yards and a touchdown to Omondi. Three different players, Tyran Kiser, Charlie Moriarty and Mason Miller all recorded eleven tackles. This game against LaVille will be the second of three in a row for Valley.
About LaVille: After opening the season with a win over Triton, it has not gone the way of the Lancers over the past three weeks. Having given up at least 48 points in three straight losses, the team has been outscored by a combined 97-7 over the past two weeks. Last Friday, the team opened up INSC play against undefeated Bremen, and were handed a 49-7 loss on the road. Despite the team recording just 33 yards on 31 carries, senior quarterback Noah Menis led the charge with 41 yards on the ground. He completed just two passes for 20 yards. LaVille has not defeated Valley since the two schools joined the same conference. Trevor Whitman and Dylan Miller are the team’s two top defenders, averaging four tackles a game.
Tippecanoe Valley head coach Steve Moriarty:
On last week – This was a good win for us. It’s one of our better wins and one that will make us better. Knox is such a tough team. I’m pleased with how we fought back and came up with the stops that we needed at the end of the game.
On the extended road trip – It forces you to stay focused. Hopefully that will help us be prepared for the tournament. You need to be able to play in different environments and be ready for anything. It may end up being a positive for us.
On LaVille – We can’t turn the ball over. Penalties and turnovers have been our Achilles heel, so we need to prove we can clean that up.
Manchester (1-3, 0-2 TRC) at Northfield (2-2, 1-2 TRC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Dawes Field, Wabash
Series: Manchester 28-12
Last Outing: Manchester lost to Lewis Cass 34-14, Northfield defeated Southwood 52-18
John Harrell’s prediction: Northfield 38-24
Last Meeting: Sep. 19, 2025, Manchester 35-7
About Manchester: The Squires are still searching for their first win in the Three Rivers Conference this season after falling 34-14 to Lewis Cass at home. The team’s three regular season losses and two TRC losses already match the team’s total from last year’s campaign. Manchester got off to another slow start last Friday night, going down 28-7 at halftime before outsourcing their opponent 7-6 in the second half. Cody Carroll completed 6/13 passes for 44 yards, while also throwing a touchdown and a pick. The touchdown went to Hunter Hamilton, who caught four balls for 21 yards and the score. Maddux Greer led the rushing attack, totaling 90 yards on just five carries as well as a touchdown. The team fumbled three times in the loss, losing one of them. Caden Young had eleven tackles, two of them for a loss.
About Northfield: The Norsemen have already matched last season’s win total with a 2-2 record in 2026, and a win on Friday night would match the team’s 2025 TRC win count. Northfield’s 52-18 win over fellow Wabash school Southwood last week snapped a two-game skid. The team scored at least two touchdowns in three of the game’s four quarters. Quarterback Logan Holmes completed just three passes, but they went for 87 yards and resulted in two scores. The QB also ran for 110 yards and a touchdown. Briggs Baker and Kolten Prus both caught TDs in the win. The team’s top running back was Cooper Good, who carried the ball 10 times for 84 yards.
Manchester head coach Brian Enyeart:
On last week – It’s frustrating. We’re still trying to figure out why we struggle starting these games. When we do things right, we really do them right, but we’re not doing them on a consistent basis. When we’re feeling our worst, that’s when we need to be at our best. We are holding on to the negative stuff way too much.
On Greer – He’s playing really well. He’s playing a bit banged up but he’s worked really hard to get to this point. He’s been great, but a lot of it has to do with the other 10 guys that are blocking for him on the field and making it possible. He’s so good at getting hit early and churning his legs to keep picking up extra yardage.
On Northfield – We need to keep working on playing a complete game. They’re a very improved team. I’ve got a lot of respect for Brandon [Baker]. We used to coach together. He’s got a great group and they’re like a mirror image of us offensively. It’s going to come down to who executes their plays properly and who shows the most effort.
Whitko (0-4, 0-3 Three Rivers Conference) at Northwestern (3-1, 3-0 TRC)
When: 7 p.m. Friday, Tiger Field, Kokomo
Series last 40 years: Northwestern 2-0
Last meeting: Northwestern 50-0, Sept. 19, 2025
John Harrell prediction: Northwestern 56-10
About Whitko: To say the least, the youthful Wildcats have struggled against older, more experienced players. Most recently, Maconaquah had 18 seniors on the field in its 57-6 win at Whitko last Friday, while the home team has only eight upperclassmen on its 27-person roster. As if that challenge wasn’t enough, sophomore and leading rusher Mason Hersha was injured in the game against the Braves and, according to head coach Thomas Tyree, Hudson Routson and Hunter Smith, who have combined for 41 yards in the first four games.
About Northwestern: The Tigers come into Friday night’s game leading the conference by a half-game over Maconaquah and Rochester, who are both 2-0 in the Three Rivers Conference. Junior quarterback Colin Cook has completed 67 percent of his passes (82-of-122) for 1,046 yards and 13 touchdowns against three interceptions. Five Tiger receivers have at least 10 catches so far this season, paced by junior Braxton Schieffler with 18 catches for 284 yards and five scores. Senior Ayden Giles has 353 yards rushing on 62 carries with a trio of touchdowns.
Whitko head coach Thomas Tyree
On the last game: “We had a terrible first quarter. We were down 22-0 five minutes into the game. We had two bad snaps on punts that. You can imagine how that turned out. And then we threw a pick six. Then we finally started to move the ball and our running back, Mason Hersha, got hurt. So he ended up leaving the game, never came back, had to have surgery. It’s like we really haven't even played yet. I mean, we're down but we really haven't played. We kept shooting ourselves in the foot and we would have one thing go well and then seven things go bad. And it's like, basically, at some point, you guys have to, realize that, ‘hey, you have to give yourself a fighting chance.’”
On turning things around: “I just believe that we have to want to do the right things. We have to want to tackle. We have to want to play hard. We have to want to give ourselves a fighting chance. If you if you watch these teams on film, they're very predictable. And even still, some of our freshmen are right there to make the play. But they're just freshmen and they don't make the play. And I'm not a big proponent of playing freshmen, or sophomores for that matter, because I don't think they're ready. But this is where we are. I told our kids after the game ‘our time will come.’ But right now we have to at least give ourselves a chance and we're not. We have to change that mindset. We have to say to ourselves, ‘I'm going to use my tools and then I'm going to go out there and I'm going to give myself a chance.’”
Triton (1-3, 1-1 HNAC) at Winamac (3-1, 1-1 HNAC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Roudebush Field, Winamac.
Series (last 40 years): Triton, 9-5.
John Harrell’s prediction: Winamac, 45-7.
Last meeting: Sept. 19, 2025, Triton, 35-6.
About Triton: Andy Barker’s 1A Trojans won 37-6 at South Central (Union Mills) in Week 4 … Ryder Gayheart was 12-of-18 passing for 114 yards and two touchdowns … Gayheart ran 19 times for 135 yards and two TD’s … Lukas Nicely caught four passes for 37 yards and Cayden Bradley six passes for 32 yards … Total tackle leaders were Nicely (11), Christian McIntosh (8), Brayden Gunnels (7), Channing Heckaman (6) and Blake Ousley (5) … Dominique Bradley and Ashton Jacobs recovered fumbles … For the season, Gayheart is 12-of-22 passing for 108 yards and two TD’s … Rushing yardage leaders are Gayheart (406 with two TD’s), Cayden Bradley (57) and Chris Fenton (36) … Cayden Bradley has eight receptions of 78 yards and one TD and Nicely five catches for 30 yards … Total tackle leaders are McIntosh (33), Gunnels (25), Nicely (25), Heckaman (22), Ousley (21), Noah Mondy (16), Jacobs (14), Gayheart (14), Logan Collins (14) and Cayden Bradley (13) … With one fumble recovery apiece is Bradley, Fenton, Gayheart and Jacobs … Triton has won in the last three meetings with Winamac … The Trojans hold an offensive average of 10.8 and defensive average of 32.5.
About Winamac: Eric Davis’ 1A Warriors beat visiting Culver Community 32-14 in Week 4 … Xavier Adriano was 1-of-2 passing for 15 yards with one interception … Rushing leaders were Louis Rugg III (227 with three TD’s), Ivan Cardenas (86 with two TD’s) and Tearson Wolford (48) … Wolford had the one reception … For the season, Adriano is 5-of-12 passing for 143 yards and one TD with two interceptions … Yardage leaders are Rugg (538 with six TD’s), Wolford (277 with three TD’s), Cardenas (184 with five TD’s and Adriano (72 with one TD) … Rugg III has 13 receptions for 83 yards … Total tackle leaders are Wolford (40), Adriano (31), Michael Shidler (26), Cardenas (18), Parker Abbott (17), Lucas Perez (16), Jager Terry (12) and Cody Wheeler (10) … Adriano, Shidler and Terry have one fumble recovery each … Abbott, Adriano, Shidler and Wheeler have one interception apiece … Winamac holds an offensive average of 28.5 and defensive average of 22.5.
Per Coach Andy Barker:
On Winamac — They’re a rebounding program. They were way down for several years, and now they're on their way back up … On film, they look beatable. I told the boys yesterday (Monday), if we played the way we did Friday against Culver, that score would have been the other way around. If the (Triton) team that shows up Friday is the one that came last Friday, we'll compete with them. If not, it could be a tough night … They run the Wing-T. It’s a true test of (defensive) discipline when you play a team like that. You have to do your job, and then you have to trust the guy next to you to do his job, and then you have to do it every single snap.
Progress — We hadn't really shown a whole lot of what we're at least capable of. The fact that the boys were able to stay in it and focus during the week was definitely a pleasant surprise. You know morale is always an issue when you're 0-3 at the time and struggling to find your way … It’s a process. They need to understand there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes it’s a little further way than we’d like it to be. So far, so good, and the process continues.
On South Central (Union Mills) game — We had some things go our way and South Central had some things not go their way. The story is similar to us vs. Culver (in Week 3). It was just the other way around. We were able to run a pretty good offense and defense.
