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Warsaw (4-2, 3-1 NLC) at Mishawaka (5-1, 4-0 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Steele Stadium, Mishawaka.
Series (last 40 years): Warsaw, 3-2.
John Harrell’s prediction: Mishawaka, 35-24.
Last meeting: Oct. 4, 2024, Warsaw, 21-13.
About Warsaw: Coach Bart Curtis’ Indiana Football Coaches Association 5A No. 10 Tigers won 42-14 at Plymouth in Week 6 … Warsaw led 28-0 after touchdown runs by juniors Michael Schenck and Wyatt Harman and TD passes from junior Quinton Brock to senior Logan Carl and junior Parker Sweet. After two Plymouth TD’s, Schenck and senior Brody Duncan both ran for TD’s … On the season, Brock is 10-of-24 passing for 250 yards and three TD’s … Rushing yardage leaders are junior Tucker Reed (354 yards and 1 TD), Schenck (296 yards and five TD’s), Brock (285 yards and four TD’s), Harman (283 yards and three TD’s), Duncan (271 yards and five TD’s), senior Daylon Fitzpatrick (129 yards and four TD’s … Receiving yardage leaders are Reed (60), Harman (47) Sweet (45 and one TD), Carl (43 and one TD) … Freshman John Conley is 13-of-17 on extra points and 1-of-1 on field goals … Tops in total tackles are sophomore Ty Martin (69), senior Matthew Flores-Ortega (68), junior Robbie Straughan (47), junior Grady Nelson (45) and junior Nathan Villa (45) … Warsaw scores 29.8 points per game and allows 20.7.
About Mishawaka: Coach Keith Kinder’s IFCA 4A No. 4 Cavemen won 35-20 at Northridge in Week 6 … On the season, junior Landon Snyder is 6-of-8 passing for 181 yards and three TD’s … Rushing yardage leaders are Snyder (741 and 13 TD’s), junior Kadyn O’Neal (736 and seven TD’s), senior Carson Francis (211 and one TD) and senior Will Mason (124 and one TD) … Senior Colten Handley (97 and one TD) is the receiving yardage leader … Total tackle leaders are senior Kamdon Putz (72), senior Ken Clemente (47), junior Abraham Preciado-Ramirez (44) and senior Drew Ginter (43) … Mishawaka carries averages of 35.8 points with its triple-option offense and 19.0 on defense.
Per Coach Bart Curtis:
On Mishawaka — We’ve got our hands full this Friday … They are road graders. They’ve got two-year starters running their show at quarterback (Landon Snyder) and fullback (O’Neal). They are extremely effective … They are racking up points big time and they’re not bad defensively. They can hunt you down in a hurry.
Expect physical — I believe in our kids’ competitive spirit. I know we will fight one point at a time and slug it out. Last year (vs. Mishawaka) was a literal automobile accident about every snap. That’s the kind of game it is when we get together. They’re as physical and they get.
On Plymouth game — We competed, which is very important … We threw the ball well on some play-action stuff … It was a little disappointing that we gave up two scores (in the second half against our No. 1 defense) …
Western (5-1) at Tippecanoe Valley (4-2)
When: 7 p.m., Smith-Bibler Field, Akron
Series: Tied 2-2
John Harrell’s prediction: Western 28-21
Last Meeting: Oct. 4, 2024, Tippecanoe Valley 31-14
About Western: Austin Colby’s Panthers are 5-1 in his first year at the helm, with all five of those victories coming in a row after the team dropped its season opener to Indian Creek 20-13. Since then, Western has won each game it’s played by more than a touchdown, most recently defeating West Lafayette 34-20 on the road. Quarterback Levi Shoemaker passed for 54 yards and ran for 156 more in the win, totalling two touchdowns. The team’s leading rusher this season, Matthew McKitrick, added 116 yards on the ground and two more scores. McKitrick is just as good on the other side of the ball, leading his team in tackles per game (6.2) as well as total sacks (3.5). The Panthers and the Vikings have played just one mutual opponent this season: Hamilton Heights. Unlike Valley, Western was able to beat the Huskies 22-13.
About Tippecanoe Valley: The Vikings are coming off of perhaps their most impressive win of the season, as the team blanked Jimtown 33-0 in last week’s Indiana Northern State Conference game. Valley racked up 512 yards in the victory, 414 of those coming on the ground. On the other side, the Vikings gave up just 91 yards and three first downs in the shut out. Wes Parker set a new career-high in rushing yards with 203 on 24 touches, including a 70-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage to start the second half. Grady Moriarty broke the century mark for the second-straight game, running for 168 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Hunter Stage completed six passes for 98 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter after taking a big hit on a scramble. Parker filled in for a majority of the second half, taking snaps and running the option. This week marks a brief break for the Vikings, a nonconference affair before the team ends the campaign with its final two INSC contests.
Tippecanoe Valley head coach Steve Moriarty:
On last week - I was glad to see how our defense set the tone for the game, just shutting down their offense. We went back to a more basic defense, flying to the ball and increasing our speed. It gave the opportunity for a lot of kids to play. I thought our offensive line was one of the most dominant factors in the game. They’re starting to get some consistency in playing together and it's showing when they take the field.
On Stage - He’s been on light duty this week. He’s definitely on the questionable list for Friday. It’s probably 50/50. Wes will take over if he can’t and I feel very comfortable if that’s the case. He’s a great senior leader and has the ability to do all of our offensive plays, plus the benefit of adding a blocker if we cut out the middle man handing him the ball.
On Western - We treat every week the same, conference or not. We’re using every game to prepare for the tournament. They’re a very good and well-coached team. This is the type of game that will prepare us for the postseason. Any chance we have to defend the Valley, it gets the guys excited.
Northridge (0-6, 0-4 NLC) at Wawasee (1-5, 0-4 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Warrior Stadium, Syracuse.
Series (last 40 years): Northridge, 23-20.
John Harrell’s prediction: Northridge, 28-17.
Last meeting: Oct. 4, 2024, Northridge, 44-15.
About Northridge: Coach Chad Eppley’s Raiders lost 35-20 against visiting Mishawaka in Week 6 … On the season, junior Karstyn Rumfelt is 87-of-164 passing for 992 yards and five TD’s … Rushing yardage leaders are senior Austin Horn (153 and one TD), senior Parker Janes (151), junior Adam Sloop (134) and Rumfelt (109 and two TD’s) … Receiving yardage leaders are junior Keivontre Copeland (445 and four TD’s), Horn (179), junior Hayden Gorball (161 and two TD’s), junior Aveary Johnson (157 and two TD’s) and freshman Mhyles Norman (85 and four TD’s) … Total tackle leaders are junior 45 C Granberg (85), senior Evan Wagner (51) and senior Tucker Baber (47) … Per game, Northridge scores 15.0 points with its diverse attack and yields 23.3.
About Wawasee: Coach Matt Thacker’s Warriors lost 24-15 at Goshen in Week 6 … Wawasee lost four fumbles and three led to TD’s … On the season, junior Johnny Zachary is 6-of-12 for 109 yards and one TD … Rushing yardage leaders are senior Cameron Senter (233 and one TD), Haynes (212 and two TD’s), freshman Mason McKibben (196 and one TD, scored against Goshen) and junior J’Ceon Evans (128) … Sophomore quarterback Mark Haynes (12-of-26 passing for 249 yards and one TD) has missed the past two games because of injury and is not expected to return to the lineup this week … Receiving yardage leaders are Senter (158 and two TD’s — one a pass from Zachary against Goshen), junior Kaden Andrew (85 and one TD) and sophomore Luke Nettrouer (66) … Total tackle leaders are junior Max Pena (43), Senter (29), Andrew (25) and senior Jayden Stahl (21) … Wawasee holds norms of 13.0 points on offense and 27.7 on defense.
Per Coach Matt Thacker:
On Northridge — Their record is very misleading. They’ve played a lot of teams very close, they just haven’t been on the right end of the win column … Coach Eppley (Wawasee Class of 2013) does a great job. They have great kids. They do a great job on offense. They are about to score points. They did very well against Mishawaka (in 35-20 loss) … We’re going to have to play our darnedest to go a W for ourselves.
Adaptability — Defensively, you have to be multiple nowadays with the varying offenses, especially in the NLC. You’ve got to tweak things on a weekly basis … You’ve got to vary your looks and disguise some things.
On Goshen game — Our kids didn’t quit. We were able to put ourselves in position to be back in the game (after it was 24-0). But mental mistakes and just not executing fully offensively, defensively and on special teams costs you in the end no matter what.
Manchester (4-2, 4-1 TRC) at Whitko (1-5, 0-5 TRC)
When: 7 p.m., Huff Stadium, South Whitley
Series: Whitko 26-18
John Harrell’s prediction: Manchester 38-17
Last Meeting: Oct. 4, 2024, Manchester 35-14
About Manchester: For the second straight week, the Squires were able to take advantage of a reeling opponent, jumped out to a big lead early, and were able to get the running clock going in the second half. This time around, It was a 47-7 win over Southwood that gave Manchester an impressive fourth Three Rivers Conference win this season. The team currently sits tied for third in the TRC behind 5-0 Rochester and Maconaquah. In last week’s victory, Maddux Greer led the way offensively with 101 rushing yards on just six carries and three touchdowns. Landon Bean, Caden Young, Dallas Martin and Reiss Gaerte all ran a score in as well. Four different players ran for at least 30 yards in the win. While Martin completed just one of his two passes for 22 yards, he made a huge impact on defense. The senior made three tackles for loss in the contest, two of which were sacks. Young led the team with 12 tackles and also added an interception with a 63-yard return for good measure.
About Whitko – To put it mildly, the Wildcats had a rugged September. Not only did they lose all four games by lopsided scores, but Whitko didn’t score until the final quarter of the month, after Lewis Cass had a big lead. Backup quarterback Crew Ebbinghouse completed 10 of 26 passes for 69 yards and a touchdown to senior wideout Landon Smith. Freshman Mason Hersha ran the ball for 116 yards, including a game-high 47-yard rush, on 16 carries and a touchdown. After Friday’s matchup with the Squires, Whitko closes out the regular season against at Southwood and at home against Wabash. Over the last three Friday nights, Southwood beat Northfield, then Wabash defeated Southwood before Northfield downed Wabash, leaving the trio of Three Rivers Conference teams with one win each for the year.
Manchester head coach Brian Enyeart:
On last week - Offensively we played really well in the first half, executed probably the best we have in a while. Defensively, I was extremely happy with how we played. WE were flying to the ball and pretty much shut them down
On gearing up for the tournament - We’re not where we want to be yet and that’s what we’re stressing right now. It’s always great to get wins but we can’t be satisfied with where we’re at. We’re in one of the toughest sectionals in the state and a high step up in competition. We’ve got a couple of tough opponents coming up to end the season and that will continue to test us.
On Whitko - Whitko’s dealing with some injuries and a new system. You can never take anything for granted. They can suddenly put everything together and find a way to beat us. Anything can happen. They’ve got some players, it’s at their place for homecoming. We can’t look at what they’ve done before, we have to be ready for them to give us their best.
Whitko Head Coach Thomas Tyree
On breaking the scoring drought – “Oh not really (a sense of relief) not for us. I mean, our expectation is kinda a little bit higher than that so I won’t say it was a moral victory. I would probably say that it was good. When our young kids are going against their younger kids, it gave us a good of idea of where we are. I think that they enjoyed the success for sure, and it was good for them to just see that some of the stuff does work when we do it right.”
On the progress of injured QB Cooper Laukhuf – “He’s in the process of getting clear we might have him by the last game of the year or maybe the next Friday we're not sure yet he still has to go back to the surgeon to see how close it is getting healed, and if it's not healed fully, probably won't play. It's just not worth his future. You know he has a really big future in baseball as well so obviously would help our team but you know sometimes you have to protect the kids from themselves.”
On the Squires – “Well, they're pretty big. Their quarterback does a really job. They fire off the ball on both sides of the ball really well so They're definitely gonna be a good matchup for us. We just have to be discipline. We're gonna start some young kids cause pretty banged up right now injury wise on our older kids missing few seniors due to injuries. It’s gonna be a battle that our young guys have to show up for. And just do the same thing over and over again because they just have one of those type of offenses.
Caston (2-4, 1-3 HNAC) at Triton (4-2, 3-1 HNAC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Trojan Field, Bourbon.
Series (last 40 years): Triton, 20-10.
John Harrell’s prediction: Triton, 28-14.
Last meeting: Oct. 4, 2024, Triton, 42-0.
About Caston: Coach Chris Ulerick’s Comets lost 12-7 to visiting Culver Community in Week 6 … On the season, senior Gavin Mollenkopf is 25-of-57 passing for 373 yards and four TD’s … Rushing yardage leaders are junior Ashton Bowyer (499 and five TD’s), Gavin Mollenkopf (361 and five TD’s) and junior Landen Rigney (217 and two TD’s) … Receiving yardage leaders are sophomore Logan Mollenkopf (183 and two TD’s) and Rigney (82 and one TD) … Total tackle leaders are sophomore Tucker Woolever (44), Bowyer (40), Rigney (21) and sophomore Parker Zimpleman (20) … Caston puts up 23.3 points per contest and gives up 21.0 … The Comets have lost nine straight to Triton.
About Triton: Coach Andy Barker’s Trojans lost 10-7 at North Judson in Week 6, a late safety for the Bluejays making the difference after giving up a touchdown and two-point conversion on North Judson’s first possession … On the season, senior Gage Riffle is 27-of-59 passing for 378 yards and six TD’s … Rushing yardage leaders are senior Jayden Overmyer (886 and eight TD’s), Gage Riffle (283 and four TD’s), junior Ryder Gayheart (147 and three TD’s) and freshman Tyler Painton (110 and one TD) … Receiving yardage leaders are senior Isaac Quintana (129 yards and two TD’s), Gayheart (117 and two TD’s) and junior Cayden Bradley (79 yards and two TD’s) … Total tackle leaders are senior Colton Reynolds (71), senior Vinnie Prater (51), Quintana (40), junior Preston Brooks (39) and Gage Riffle (34) … Triton’s scoring averages are 27.8 on offense and 8.7 on defense.
Per Coach Andy Barker:
On Caston — They’re a young team, but they’re super well-coached and that means they don’t quit … The mission this week is very much don’t let this be a trap game. Don’t overlook Caston just because we just had a heartbreaker with North Judson and we have Pioneer (in Week 8). We have to stay focused and win this game.
Adjustment — The biggest change over the first five weeks was moving Vinnie (Prater) and Colton (Reynolds) to the (offensive line). We had to find our identity at the beginning of the season. As opposed to a true run-pass-option team, we’re more of a read-option team, which is totally fine.
On North Judson game — We learned that we can compete with anybody in the state (at the Class 1A level). The only group that beat us was ourselves. We just could not execute. It was like one step forward and two steps back. We were the more violent team. We were right there. We just weren’t able to finish.
