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Warsaw (3-2, 2-1 NLC) at Plymouth (3-2, 3-0 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., The Rock Pile, Plymouth.
Series (last 40 years): Warsaw, 21-19.
John Harrell’s prediction: Warsaw, 28-21.
Last meeting: Sept. 27, 2024, Plymouth, 33-32 (overtime).
About Warsaw: Coach Bart Curtis’ Indiana Football Coaches Association 5A No. 10 Tigers lost 38-7 to visiting Concord in Week 5 … Junior Wyatt Harman had second-quarter touchdown run and freshman John Conley added the extra point for Warsaw’s points … Led by senior Quinton Brock (88 rushing), the Tigers gained 278 total yards … Concord gained 345 (230 rushing) … Warsaw averages 350 yards of total offense (315 rushing) … On the season, the rushing yardage leader is junior Tucker Reed (354) … Total tackle leader is sophomore Ty Martin (34) … Season point averages are 27.4 on offense and 22.0 on defense.
About Plymouth: Coach Adam Handley’s Rockies won 21-20 at Wawasee in Week 5 … On the season, junior Ben Shively is 37-of-55 passing for 367 yards and three TD’s … Rushing yardage leaders are senior Finn Holm (559 and six TD’s) and Shively (413 and five TD’s) … Best in receiving yards are junior Davis Jones (103), senior Jose Fernando (101), senior Grady Metsker (73) and Holm (67) … Total tackle leaders are seniors Ethan Hall (33), Brady Coffin (32), Andres Medrano (31) and Lathan Cotton (30) … The Rockies have averages of 21.0 on offense and 20.6 on defense … Plymouth leads the all-time series vs. Warsaw 55-48-2.
Per Coach Bart Curtis:
On Plymouth — They’re very capable of moving the ball on people. They’re very capable of stopping people. They’ve got some weapons … They came over to our place and handed it to us last year (after four straight Warsaw victories) … They got off to a slow start, but they’ve played really well lately.
Bouncing back — You’ve got to find a heavy balance between not continuing to lose the Concord game on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but also using the things that were glaring defects to improve … When you get derailed like that you’ve got two choices. You can turn tail or you can rise up and fight.
On Concord game — My concerns came to fruition. It’s a bad combination of things when you can’t defend and tackle people in the open field and then you turn around and can’t significantly or consistently move the football or put drives together … We missed 33 tackles …
Jimtown (1-4, 0-2 INSC) at Tippecanoe Valley (3-2, 1-1 INSC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Smith-Bibler Field
Series: Jimtown 7-1
John Harrell’s prediction: Tippecanoe Valley 38-7
Last Meeting: Sep, 27, 2024m Jimtown 14-0
About Jimtown: Last year’s Indiana Northern State Conference co-champion has struggled to get to the midway point of the 2025 campaign. The Jimmies lone win came in week 3 when the team defeated Fairfield 29-28. In each of the last two weeks, Jimtown lost its first two INSC games by a combined eleven points to John Glenn and Bremen. In fact, three of the team’s four losses, excluding a week 2 41-13 thumping by Concord, have been by one possession. In last week’s loss to Bremen, the Jimmies led 15-0 at halftime and forced four turnovers. However, the team also gave up two touchdowns on turnovers themselves, as well as an 87-yard punt return. Owen Glass led the team in rushing with 46 yards. Cameron Inbody completed eight passes for 96 yards.
About Tippecanoe Valley: The Vikings were able to get back into the win column and snap a two-game losing skid last Friday night, defeating conference foe LaVille 38-28 at home. The win gave the Vikings its first INSC win of the year, as well as its first victory in front of a home crowd in 2025. A win this Friday would allow Valley to match its INSC win total from last season with two games left to play. It would also allow the team to get some form of revenge for last season’s 14-0 win by the Jimmies. Valley has defeated Jimtown just one time. Last week, the Vikings got off to a fast start, leading LaVille 31-14 in the second half. The Lancers were able to make things interesting, making it a three-point game before one final touchdown iced things for Valley for the 38-28 final score. The two-headed monster of Wes Parker and Grady Moriarty combined for 315 yards and three scores in the win, with Moriarty setting a new season high with 194 yards. Gage Overbey had an interception return for a touchdown.
Tippecanoe Valley head coach Steve Moriarty:
On last week - I think they put their foot in the dirt and started working hard. I thought we got a lot better defensively in this game and I thought our offense, specifically the running game, did a great job of working the clock, especially towards the end of the game. We had a couple big plays at the end like Overbey’s interception that kind of got us over the hump.
On the running game - We benefit from having two great runners in the backfield in Grady and Wes, and we get to add Owen Omondi and Jameson Phillips in that mix too. But to run it up the middle like we did, I thought the offensive line did a phenomenal job pushing them back and creating lanes. They maintained their blocks and got to the second level quite often.
On Jimtown - Any time you get the opportunity to play Jimtown, things change. We’re definitely not looking at their record. They’ve played a lot of tough competition so far. They’re still a good ball club that’s having a bit of difficulty right now, but that doesn’t change the way we prepare for them.
Wawasee (1-4, 0-3 NLC) at Goshen (1-4, 0-3 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Foreman Field, Goshen.
Series (last 40 years): Goshen, 26-15.
John Harrell’s prediction: Wawasee, 28-24.
Last meeting: Sept. 27, 2024, Wawasee, 36-7.
About Wawasee: Coach Matt Thacker’s Warriors lost 21-20 to visiting Plymouth in Week 5 … Wawasee went for two and were stopped after a 1-yard TD run by senior Cameron Senter at 2:34 of the fourth quarter … On the season, sophomore Mark Haynes is 12-of-26 passing for 249 yards and one TD … Tops in rushing yardage are Senter (216 and one TD), Haynes (212 and two TD’s) and freshman Mason McKibben (137) … Receiving yardage leaders are Senter (108 and one TD), junior Kaden Andrew (85 and one TD) and sophomore Luke Nettrouer (66) … Total tackle leaders are junior Max Pena (36), Senter (26), Andrew (23) and senior Jayden Stahl (20) … The Warriors have averages of 12.6 on offense and 28.4 on defense.
About Goshen: Coach Joey Hecklinski’s RedHawks lost 59-0 at Mishawaka in Week 5 … On the season, junior Carter Diaz is 80-of-125 passing for 742 yards and seven TD’s … Rushing yardage leaders are Diaz (104 and one TD), sophomore Jaxon Miller (86) and sophomore Spencer Elliott (36) … Receiving yardage leaders are Elliott (350 and one TD), senior Colton Rapp (233 and three TD’s) and senior Logan Mishler (164 and two TD’s) … Total tackle leaders are Mishler (33), Elliott (30), sophomore Michael Aimone (29), Diaz (28) and senior Jack Krider (28) …The RedHawks have averages of 15.0 on offense and 38.2 on defense.
Per Coach Matt Thacker:
On Goshen — We definitely have to be disciplined on defense, do our responsibilities and not try to play someone else’s position … (Diaz) can fling it and run it. You have to stay disciplined upfront and not let him run around all over the place … Our linebackers have to stay alert for screens and draw and not allow the big play to happen. Our front four are going to have to keep contain and our two inside guys are going to have to get pressure in his face … We’re going to have to be relentless when it comes to defense and offense … We’re going to try our darndest to be as physical as we can be.
Bouncing back — The kids are more resilient in those situations. As an adult or coach, you see all the opportunities that you didn’t take advantage of. (Kids) are playing the game and having fun … There’s definitely plenty of positives in the game that you can use, but there’s also opportunities to teach from as well ... If you want to be successful, sometimes you have to suffer … We definitely have shown progress. We need to just take it one day at a time and continue to learn from it. We wake up the next day, the sun’s going to come up and we keep working to get better.
On Plymouth game — There are no moral victories, We played hard, but we also provided some self-inflicted wounds to put us in position to not win the game, whether it be making a simple mental error or just not executing on offense or defense … We had plenty of opportunities before the two-point play arrived.
Manchester (3-2, 3-1 TRC) at Southwood (1-4, 1-3 TRC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m. Waggoner Field
Series: Southwood 29-11
John Harrell’s prediction: Manchester 42-14
Last Meeting: Sep. 27, 2024, Manchester 14-6
About Manchester: The Squires continued to look good in Three Rivers Conference play last Friday night, bouncing back from a week 4 loss to Lewis Cass to stack up another win with a 35-7 victory over Northfield. Manchester led the game 35-0 at one point, with the Norsemen’s lone score coming with a running clock. Quarterback Dallas Martin led the way once again for his team, completing just one pass to Eli Metzger for 35 yards. He made his real impact on the ground though, running for 155 yards and three scores. Maddux Greer also reached the century mark, running for 111 and a score. Caden Young also found the end zone in the win, rushing for 32 yards. Young and Metzger each made eleven tackles on defense to tie for the team lead.
About Southwood: The Knights have won just one game this season, 27-12 over a still winless Northfield side in week 4. Most recently, the team is coming off of a 28-20 loss to the previously winless Wabash Apaches. After being outscored 97-0 through the first two weeks of the season, Southwood’s point differential in the previous three games is +1. Last week, Quarterback Maddox Marshall threw for 109 yards and a touchdown and also led the team in rushing with 53 yards and a score. Receiver Cooper Drake had 99 yards and the TD grab. The defense forced two turnovers in the loss.
Manchester head coach Brian Enyeart:
On last week - I thought we played better. We spent a lot of the first quarter feeling each other out, got some offense going in the second and really exploded in the third. We were able to get some younger kids some playing time which is always good. It wasn’t a complete game but it was definitely one of the more complete games we’ve played.
On Dallas Martin - He’s getting better every week. He’s got to trust himself and believe in what he’s supposed to be doing. He’s making strides and that’s what we need from him right now.
On Southwood - We don’t look at anybody’s record before we play them. We’re more worried about ourselves than anything else. We want to keep improving each week so by the time sectionals roll around we feel like we’re in a good place. We have to go out and do our job and execute.
Whitko (1-4, 0-4 TRC) at Lewis Cass (3-2, 3-1 TRC)
When: 7 p.m. Friday, Owens Stadium.
Coaches: Thomas Tyree, 1-4 in 1st year at Whitko, 1-14 in 2nd year overall. Clayton Mannering, 25-31 in 6th year at Cass.
Last Outing: Whitko lost to Northwestern, 50-0. Cass lost to Rochester, 34-0.
Series: Lewis Cass, 3-0.
Last Meeting: Lewis Cass, 49-6, Sep. 27, 2024.
John Harrell’s prediction: Lewis Cass, 45-7.
About Whitko: The Wildcats managed just 99 yards of total offense in their 50-0 loss to Northwestern Friday night. The loss was the third consecutive shutout loss; the third such streak in the last four seasons and the fourth time it’s happened since Whitko’s last winning season in 2016. Whitko’s last Three Rivers Conference win was Sept. 17, 2021, a 21-14 victory over North Miami.
About Lewis Cass: It’s been a case of feast or famine for the Lewis Cass offense. In three wins, they have posted 43, 34 and 18 points, but both of its losses were shutouts. The Kings are led by senior running back Gavin Smith, who averages a tick under120 yards a game rushing and another 18 yards a contest receiving, and six overall touchdowns. Junior quarterback Cole Rush completes just over half his passing attempts, averaging 14.7 yards per completion and has tossed four touchdown passes.
Whitko Head Coach Thomas Tyree
On recent Wildcat struggles: “I wouldn't say we’re fighting history. I would say that we're fighting injuries and learning how to function without pieces. I explained to the coaches this this past week and then the kids yesterday: if you look at Week One (at Prairie Heights, a 30-22 victory) when we were on fire in the first quarter. We still weren't 100 percent but we were like 90 to 95 percent, and then we had injuries and cramps, and fatigue kicked in end of the first quarter and we struggle so our margin for error was already small and if we're out of eight, we're 90 to 100 percent, then you know we're functional we can we can operate. But right now where we're running at like, 60 percent. The things that I would say they are catching up with us is like the lack of weight room the last however many years or you know where the from the last year just the summertime kind of getting behind because I didn't start until June right even though I got hired at the end of April you can't really do anything because it was baseball season.”
On Injuries: “We’ve had to change our expectation. We have a lot going on and we're not healthy. I think that we have to be realistic in our evaluation, so right now we're learning how to function with kids who probably shouldn't be out there. We played four freshman on Friday night like, in addition to the three that we already had planned to play. Hopefully we will get (freshman quarterback) Cooper Laukhuf back in the next couple weeks. Lewis (freshman running back Skinner) was battling an ankle injury that happened at practice the week before so when you're just banged up like that, you gotta piece together and we're not quite there yet where we get pieces together and still be functional.”
On striving for success: “I tell people our margin for error is really, really small and so we can't afford things that other teams can and right now those errors are happening in a way that maybe two people do the right thing and one person doesn't; all the offensive line blocks but the quarterback misses the throw, or a receiver drops a catch or we have a kid miss a block. I feel like we're right there, but we're learning to be functional again with the pieces that we have.
Triton (4-1, 3-0 HNAC) at North Judson (4-1, 3-0 HNAC)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m., Liberty Field, North Judson.
Series (last 40 years): North Judson, 10-4.
John Harrell’s prediction: North Judson, 24-21.
Last meeting: Sept. 27, 2024, North Judson, 40-0.
About Triton: Coach Andy Barker’s Trojans beat visiting Winamac 35-0 in Week 5 … Senior Jayden Overmyer ran for 226 yards and two TD’s … Junior Ryder Gayheart had 39 yards and one TD … Senior Gage Riffle was 8-of-13 passing for 67 yards and two TD’s (senior Maddox Dennie and junior Cayden Bradley) … Total tackle leaders were senior Colton Reynolds (9), Dennie (5), Gavin Riffle (5), junior Preston Brookins (5), senior Vinnie Prater (5) … It was Triton’s third shutout of 2025 … The Trojans have averages of 32.0 on offense and 8.4 on defense.
About North Judson: Coach Brett Lambert’s IFCA 1A No. 3 Bluejays beat visiting Culver Community 41-0 in Week 5 … On the season, sophomore Ayson Harper is 13-of-27 passing for 227 yards and three TD’s … Rushing leaders in a Flexbone triple-option attack are senior Grason McDaniel (323 and three TD’s), sophomore Evan McGowen (287 and one TD), junior Logan Pradke (239 and four TD’s), sophomore Aiden McGowen (134 and two TD’s), Harper (128 and four TD’s) and junior Javen Christensen (106 and one TD) … Total tackle leaders are junior Elijah Allen (27), McDaniel (23), Evan McGowen (22), Aiden McGowen (21) and junior Zander Nowak (21) … The Bluejays have averages of 30.4 on offense and 14.8 on defense.
Per Coach Andy Barker:
On North Judson — They’re a solid football team. They’ve built a pretty good program. Fundamentally, they work hard. Physically, they’re strong. It’s one of those games where all of the process is going to be tested.
Transition — We’re probably on the timeline we’d like to be on. Naturally, as (head) coach and offensive coordinator, you’d love to be a little further along in the process. But it’s pretty much all new to the boys … They came out of a traditional wing-T and now we’re running more of a power spread gun-T sort of offense. There’s no verbiage and new coaches. I’m pretty impressed with how the boys have embraced it.
On Winamac game — Our defense is playing pretty darn well right now. We’re getting good, solid, fundamental football on the defensive side. Offensively, it took us like a quarter and a half to get going. Something that I’m going to be pumping on the guys this week about coming out quicker. We can’t come out flat.
