Coaches: Mike Eshbach (Wawasee); Andy Thomas (Angola)
Records: Wawasee 3-6; Angola 9-0
Last Game: Wawasee 20, Goshen 0; Angola 42, Eastside 13
Last Meeting: Angola 19, Wawasee 18 (Oct. 22, 2010, sectional)
Matchup: If Wawasee is going to win a sectional title, the Warriors will have earned the trophy. Of the eight teams in 4A Sectional 19, six are ranked in the top 16 in the state; No. 4 Northridge, No. 5 Angola, No. 11 NorthWood, No. 12 East Noble, with Plymouth and Culver Academy tied for No. 16. Getting past the Hornets will be no easy task for the banged-up Warriors. Angola has a 32-point average margin of victory and racked up 64 points against Fairfield on Sept. 22. The Hornets' lowest offensive output was 24 points against Garrett two weeks ago, while Wawasee has cleared that number just twice, against Lakeland and Concord. The good news is Wawasee comes in having won its last two games, and playing arguably its best football of the season. The Warriors earned their first shutout of a Northern Lakes Conference opponent in 13 seasons Friday night at Goshen, and allowed just six point to Elkhart Memorial two weeks ago. Earlier this season Wawasee coach Mike Eshbach said he felt the Warrior defense "isn't playing that bad, but the offense has been putting it in some tough spots." For Wawasee to win Friday night, the offense will need to win the time of possession and turnover categories, as well as capitalize on any Angola miscues.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT PERU (CLASS 3A SECT. 27)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Friday in Peru
Coaches: Steve Moriarty (Valley), Bob Prescott (Peru)
Records: Valley 2-7, Peru 4-5
Last Game: North Miami 40, Valley 14; Rochester 21, Peru 6
Last Meeting: Peru 21, Valley 17 (sectional – Oct. 20, 2000)
Matchup: While the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings haven't faced the Peru Tigers on the gridiron in exactly 17 years, there is a common theme between their meeting on Oct. 20, 2000, and Friday's matchup. In both cases, Peru has been the home team, and been led by an impressive running game. In the 2000 sectional meeting, which the Tigers won 21-17, Valley had to try and slow Peru running back Brandon Jones, who went on to play for the Purdue Boilermakers. This time around the Vikings will need to limit senior Jordan Rader, the Three Rivers Conference's leading rusher with 236 attempts for 1,319 yards and 16 touchdowns. As a team, Peru averages 347 rushing yards per game and just 57 through the air. Other ball carries for the Tigers include seniors Gavin Gysin (64 att, 611 yds, 5 TDs) and Robert Cunningham (142-484, 4 TDs), and junior Darien Cleaver (77-406, 4 TDs). Cunningham has completed 20 of the 63 passes he's attempted for 450 yards with six scores and five interceptions. The Vikings, looking for their first postseason win since a 44-0 victory at West Noble in 2012, average 234 yards of offense per game – 131 on the ground and 103 via the pass. Sophomore Tanner Trippiedi has completed 69 of 142 pass attempts for 895 yards with five TDs and nine interceptions. Junior Noah Miller leads Valley in receiving yards with 233 on 10 catches and has caught four of the team's six TD passes. Classmate Jalen Shepherd has the other two TD catches and has nine receptions and 137 yards overall. Senior Isaac Randall and junior Wes Melanson have 139 and 115 receiving yards, respectively. Junior Alex Morrison leads Valley in rushing with 90 carries for 379 yards and five scores, while classmate Cameron Parker has 285 yards and two TDs on 58 attempts.
Asst. Coach Jeff Shriver: "They're a big, strong, powerful team. It's like they play football in a phone booth, they have foot to foot splits and they double and triple-team at the point of attack. We're going to have to have a great night of football up front. We can't let them get a big push at the point of attack. They're a senior-laden offense, I think they start nine seniors. Their running backs and their fullback do a good job, and their quarterback runs the offense well. They also get after it defensively. We've been through a lot of adversity this year, as well as the last four years. The challenge we have is to get the kids to believe they can play with anybody, that we can compete with anybody. We control our own fate, but we have to have some great practices and be ready Friday night."
MANCHESTER AT WABASH (CLASS 2A, SECT. 34)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Wabash
Coaches: Greg Miller (Manchester); Floyd McWhirt (Wabash)
Records: Manchester 4-5; Wabash 2-7
Last Game: Manchester 25, Maconaquah 17; Wabash 28, Whitko 22
Last Meeting: Manchester 38, Wabash 16 (Sept. 1)
Matchup: As unlikely as it seemed when sectional pairings were released Oct. 1, both teams come in with modest winning streaks. Manchester beat Whitko, Rochester and Maconaquah to close out its regular season, and Wabash edged Tippecanoe Valley in a wild game before downing Whitko in a Three Rivers Conference playoff matchup Friday. In the first meeting of these two teams back on Labor Day weekend, Manchester got out to a 30-0 lead before the Apaches got on the board. This game has the potential to be an aerial shootout, with each team having its greatest success moving the ball through the air. Wabash passed for more than 500 yards in its two wins, and ran for less than a total of 75 in both games. The Apaches tend to give up points in bunches. Other than its 8-0 season-opening loss to Rochester, Wabash has surrendered at least 22 points in every game, and in six games has allowed at least 38 points. Manchester coach Greg Miller will ask more from his defense, which has allowed an average of 30 points per game, but has held five opponents to 20 or fewer points.
Miller: "We've worked hard all year, and to get this nice run right at the end of the year and heading into the playoffs, we're pretty excited about it. In their last four games Wabash has thrown the ball 62 percent of the time, and with the big plays they make, you only have to complete a few of them. We're going up with a game plan that we hope will neutralize at least some of that. There are going to be times when we're going to have to make a big stop, and our defense has been doing that the last month or so. It's going to be a hard-fought battle in the first week of sectionals. We're excited about this opportunity, and we're going to pin our ears back and get after it."
WHITKO AT CENTRAL NOBLE (CLASS 2A SECT. 34)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Albion
Coaches: Jeff Sprunger (Whitko), Greg Moe (Central Noble)
Records: Whitko 0-9, Central Noble 6-3
Last Game: Wabash 28, Whitko 22; Garrett 29, Central Noble 13
Last Meeting: Whitko 28, Central Noble 24 (sectional – Oct. 21, 2016)
Matchup: Friday's sectional opener between the Whitko Wildcats and Central Noble Cougars features a pair of teams hungry for some success in different ways. Whitko is looking for its first win of the season, while Central Noble is 6-3 but looking for its first postseason victory in nearly a decade. The Cougars last won a playoff game on Oct. 23, 2009, with a 29-26 win in South Whitley. These two teams met in the tournament opener last year as well, with Whitko pulling out a 28-24 win in Albion. The Wildcats have been outscored 414-75 this season and average just 163 yards of offense per game – 132 yards on the ground and 31 through the air. In a 28-22 loss to Wabash last week, Whitko had its highest-point total of the season. Central Noble's six wins came in consecutive weeks. The Cougars opened the season with a loss to West Noble, won their next six, and have since lost 21-7 to Eastside and 29-13 to Garrett. Central Noble averages 28 points per game, while giving up 17.
Sprunger: "I have talked with the players this week about being committed. I said we can talk about wanting to win, but at the end of the day we have to come out to practice and do what it takes to win. We have to be committed to what we say. The season isn't over for us, and many teams are going to overlook us. We just have to come out and play like we have nothing to lose, because, honestly, we have nothing to lose. Central Noble lines up in double tight end and runs the football between the tackles very well. However, in the same breath, they are able to spread teams out in the shotgun look and throw the football. They will challenge both our defensive line and our secondary. We must force them to become one-dimensional. Defensively, they have a lot of size on their line and will challenge our offense greatly. They are a disciplined team that is coached by a great coach, who has a lot of my respect."
CASTON AT TRITON (CLASS 1A, SECT. 41)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Bourbon
Coaches: Tony Slocum (Caston); Ron Brown (Triton)
Records: Caston 1-8; Triton 6-3
Last Game: Knox 31, Caston 6; Triton 36, Winamac 19
Last Meeting: Triton 50, Caston 13 (Sept. 1)
Matchup: Caston's Kasey Ault finished seventh in the Hoosier North Athletic Conference with 463 yards rushing, and he added 299 yards receiving, accounting for 55 percent of the Comet offense. Defensively, Ault is involved with about 20 percent of Caston's stops. Triton coach Ron Brown said it was important to know where Ault is on the field at all times. Meanwhile, the Trojans have racked up some impressive offensive numbers of their own. James Snyder finished sixth in Class 1A with 1,567 passing yards and seventh with 17 touchdown passes. Delano Shumpert was fourth in 1A with 10 touchdown catches and fifth with 656 yards receiving. He also has the fourth-longest reception in 1A (87 yards). Max Slusser was third in the conference with 329 rushing yards. The bugaboo? Snyder is tied for 11th in 1A with eight interceptions. Brown said the team played well against Winamac trying to get a sixth win in honor of the late Cam Scarberry.
Brown: "I was happy with the way we played in the Winamac game, especially on defense with four stops inside the 20-yard line. I think the guys had extra motivation. I interview each player before the season starts, and one of Cam's goals was to win six regular-season games. And with the chance to do that for him, I think they played with a lot more intensity. I expect this Friday we'll get a healthy dose of Kasey Ault. He's one of the best athletes in the conference, and probably their best weapon on both offense and defense. I know they haven't had a great year record-wise, but I've been saying all year long that they'll trip somebody up before the season's over. We'll need to play well, take care of the ball and not turn it over, or we might end up being that team that they get."
