Mishawaka (5-1, 3-1 NLC) at Warsaw (3-3, 2-2 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Fisher Field, Warsaw.
Series (last 35 years): Tied, 2-2.
John Harrell’s prediction: Mishawaka, 31-28.
Last meeting: Sept. 22, 2023, Mishawaka, 34-11.
About Mishawaka — Keith Kinder’s 4A Associated Press No. 6/Indiana Football Coaches Association No. 6 Cavemen won 27-7 against visiting 4A Northridge in Week 6 … Landon Snyder passed for 34 yards and one touchdown with one interception … Kadyn O’Neal ran 15 times for 74 yards and one TD … Jackson Snyder had five carries for 43 yards and one TD … Tackle leaders were Jackson Snyder (11), Kamdon Putz (9.5) and Xavier Juarez (8) … Mishawaka has won three in a row after a 35-35 setback at Concord in Week 3 … The Cavemen score 35.5 points per game and gives up 17.0 … The Cavemen have a two-game win streak against Warsaw … In this week’s rankings, Mishawaka is AP No. 4 and IFCA No. 4 in 4A.
About Warsaw — Bart Curtis’ 5A AP No. 8/IFCA No. 10 Tigers lost 33-32 in overtime to visiting 4A Plymouth in Week 6 … The game ended with the Rockies making a touchdown and 2-point run in OT. As the extra session began, Warsaw went up 32-25 on a 1-yard TD run by Brody Duncan and extra point kick by Mason Smythe … The regulation TD’s were scored by Quinton Brock (23-yard run and 21-yard pass to Grady Nelson), Evan Davis (28-yard run) and Daylen Fitzpatrick (2-yard run) … Brock (13 carries for 97 yards) and Fitzpatrick (15 totes for 52 yards) were rushing leaders. The team finished with 42 runs and 218 yards … Brock was 1-of-4 passing for 21 yards … Plymouth had 50 total plays to 46 for Warsaw … The last time the Tigers lost two straight was 2021 (against Concord in Week 9 and Carroll in the first round of the playoffs) …
For the season, rushing leaders are Brock (32 carries for 394 yards and six TD’s), Drew Sullivan (72 carries for 295 yards and five TD’s) and Duncan (47 carries for 215 yards and one TD) … Sullivan is 11-of-26 passing for 203 yards and two TD’s with four interceptions and Brock 3-of-9 for 44 yards and one TD … Ethan Egolf has nine receptions for 153 yards and one … Tackle point leaders are Matthew Flores-Ortega (57), Gavin Schultz (54) and Daylor Vilamaa (51) … Cohen Heady has two interceptions … Warsaw scores 31.3 points per game and yields 19.2 … In this week’s rankings, Warsaw is AP No. 11 and an IFCA vote-getter in 5A.
Per Coach Bart Curtis:
On Mishawaka — They are the template right now for what the (Flexbone) offense should look like. We are spinning to try to get to that level slowly but surely … We’ve had some kids out who played a significant role (early in the week, linemen Ivan Ponce, Wyatt Dawson and Kameron Kauffman were expected back and quarterback Sullivan was unknown).
Bouncing back — How do you bounce back from that? You have to have faith in the kids and you keep coaching the things you believe to be right. You don’t get too excited when things go right and you don’t get too down when things don’t go great.
Plymouth game — They were a confident group. If we did not play well and turned the ball over (Warsaw had three turnovers to the Rockies’ zero and Plymouth turned those into 17 points after going five games without a lost fumble) and did not shut the door, they could beat us and that’s what happened. Credit goes to them. We left the door open many times.

Tippecanoe Valley (4-2) at Western (0-6)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Western High, Russiaville.
Series: Western leads 2-1.
Last meeting: Western won 65-14 on Aug. 26, 2016.
Last Valley win: 35-21 on Oct. 22, 1999, in 3A sectional first round.
John Harrell’s prediction: Valley, 31-10.
About Valley: Coming off a 14-0, four-turnover loss at Jimtown, the Vikings will be playing the last of four straight road games and stepping momentarily away from the Indiana Northern State Conference grind. … Valley standout running back Wes Parker (468 yards rushing, 14.2 average, six touchdowns) is expected to miss this week, according to coach Steve Moriarty, after suffering a first-half head injury in the loss to the Jimmies. … Other ground leaders for TV include Grady Moriarty (421 yards, 7.3 average, four TDs), Brandon Stiles (245, 4.7, three) and Brock Derf (223, 6.0, two). … An oddity to the three times the Vikings have faced the Panthers is that the teams wound up with virtually identical records all three years. In 1999, visiting Valley and Western each entered their above-noted sectional matchup at 5-4 (the Vikings finished 6-5, the Panthers 5-5). In 2015, each side closed 2-8 (visiting Western won that meeting 21-14) and in 2016 each went 3-7. That makes that above-noted 65-14 blowout loss by visiting Valley even more odd. It’s the most points allowed in program history, and matches the second-most scored by Western in the last 14 years.
About Western: The Panthers, members of Class 3A like Valley, have struggled for points, not scoring more than seven in any game and averaging just 4.5, yet their defense has kept them within reasonable range in most outings, including an average of 24.8 allowed over the last five weeks. The widest losing gap in those five contests is 26-0 at Class 2A No. 4-ranked Western Boone, which is now 6-0. … Coming off a 20-0 home loss against West Lafayette, Western is led offensively by junior running back Matthew McKitrick, who has rushed 40 times for 230 yards, a 5.8 average and half his team’s four touchdowns. Quarterbacks Levi Shoemaker and Kyler Norman have combined to net 399 ground yards and a 3.7 average. Through the air, they’ve paired to complete 29-of-69 passes for 157 yards with no TDs and three interceptions. Defensively, linebacker Mason Tedder is the team’s runaway leader at 41 solo tackles and 35 assisted. … Coach Blake Conklin is in his first year as Alex Stewart’s successor. Stewart, now at East Noble, went 44-29 over seven seasons.
Valley coach Steve Moriarty:
On last week — “Field position was a big deal. We hung with them, moved the ball some, but turnovers were the difference. We need to find a way to not fumble the snaps or exchanges (Valley had six fumbles, three lost), let alone have the turnovers. Too many bobbled balls. We’re working a lot on the passing game this week, trying to spread (defenses) out a little more so they can’t load the box so much.”
On Parker’s absence — “Oh my, it’s very big, what he gives this team. He’s a very explosive runner, has the potential to break a play at any time, but he’s also a great defender as well.”
On Western — “This is not a bad team. It’s a good team. They’ve done very well defensively and they’re well-coached. I think they’ve just had some misfortune, but the defense is solid and it’s a good running game.”

Wawasee (1-5, 1-3 NLC) at Northridge (1-5, 1-3 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Interra Field, Middlebury.
Series (last 35 years): Northridge, 21-17.
John Harrell’s prediction: Northridge, 35-10.
Last meeting: Oct. 27, 2023, Northridge, 49-20 (sectional).
About Wawasee — Matt Thacker’s 4A Warriors won 36-7 against visiting 5A Goshen in Week 6 … Benjamin Brace ran 38 times for 156 yards and three touchdowns (all three from 3 yards) and Cameron Senter 23 rushes for two TD’s (7 and 5 yards) for Wawasee. The team finished with 76 plays and 308 yards — all on the ground … For the season, Brace (65 carries for 264 yards and two TD’s), Senter (78 carries for 240 yards and two TD’s) and Bradyn Pike (24 carries for 162 yards and two TD’s) are rushing leaders … Senter is 6-of-9 passing for 156 yards and two TD’s with one interception … Reed Reidenbach has two receptions for a team-best 94 yards and one TD … Total tackle leaders are Kassidy Carter (34), Reidenbach (25), Derek Morrison (25) and Barrett Kelly (20) … Jayden Stahl has two fumble recoveries … The Warriors have an offensive average of 10.3 and 40.2 given up on defense.
About Northridge — Chad Eppley’s 4A Raiders lost 27-7 at 4A Mishawaka in Week 6.
Parker Janes ran for 63 yards and a TD and Karsyn Rumfelt competed 11-of-17 passes for 71 yards for Northridge … For the season, Rumfelt is 73-of-133 passing for five TD’s and eight interceptions … Derek Sherwood (109 carries for 437 yards and two TD’s), Janes (32 carries for 204 yards and one TD) and Rumfelt (37 carries for 104 yards and one TD) are rushing leaders … Best in total tackles are Colt Granberg (62), Kaleb Vechera (54) and Tucker Baber (41) … Braxton Nagy has intercepted two passes … Northridge has nine straight wins against Wawasee, including two in 2023 … The Raiders score 13.2 points per game with opponents averaging 23.0.
Per Coach Matt Thacker:
On Northridge — Northridge is a very good team … You look at their formations and you think maybe they want to throw the ball more, but they don’t. They want to get after it. They want to run the football. You have to be physical when you play Northridge always. If not, they’re going to keep running the football until you can stop it.
Spoils to the victors — Passing out helmet awards will be different. We haven’t gotten a chance to do that this year because we don’t pass them out unless we win. It’s a team game. Every aspect of football complements another aspect of football. When you win, you get rewarded.
Goshen game — We did quite a few things right. We still turned the ball over too many times. We gave up a big play when we shouldn’t have. We had too many penalties. I like our aggressiveness … It’s that process of understanding football, where you’re at and what other teams are trying to do … We still have a lot to work on.

Whitko (0-6, 0-5 TRC) at Manchester (3-3, 3-2)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Burk Field.
Series: Whitko leads 34-20.
Last meeting: Manchester won 49-19, Oct. 20, 2023, in 2A sectional first round.
Last Whitko win: 20-14, Oct. 2, 2020.
John Harrell’s prediction: Manchester, 35-17.
About Whitko: Thanks to sectional matchups in both 2022 and 2023, the Wildcats have met the Squires four times over the two years prior to this one, with the closest of those meetings, each won by Manchester, being last fall’s 21-0 regular-season game. … Whitko’s coming off a 49-6 home loss to Lewis Cass. Freshman Hunter Long caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Crew Ebbinghouse for the Wildcats’ lone score. Junior Landon Smith rushed for 31 yards and senior Riley Harman recovered a fumble. … On the season, Smith and Long have each rushed for 162 yards, with Long also owning a 6.8 average. Smith’s at a 3.5 norm. Senior Trevor Freel has added 144 yards, a 5.0 average and three touchdowns. … Among Whitko’s six opponents so far, the Cats have faced one team currently 6-0, two that are 5-1, two that are 3-3 and one that’s 2-4 for a combined 24-12.
About Manchester: The Squires picked up their second win in as many games last Friday night against Southwood, 14-6, to improve to .500 this season as well as a game over .500 in conference play. Mason Rooney was the bell cow out of the backfield in the victory, carrying the ball 26 times for 107 yards and a touchdown. Rooney also made an impact on the defensive end, totalling three tackles for losses, six tackles total. Reiss Garete only had eight carries, but his explosiveness made them count, as he totalled 91 yards and a score. The big play for him came on a 61-yard scamper to the end zone. Quarterback Dallas Martin didn’t complete a pass, but finished the game with 40 yards on the ground. Manchester is looking to win three straight games for the first time since the 2021 season. The Squires won both meetings in the series last year, including a 49-19 win in the opening round of sectionals. This is the final home game of the season for Manchester, as the team closes out the regular season with games at Lewis Cass and Peru.
Whitko coach Brad Sprunger:
On last week — “I felt we played really well at times. We have to figure something out with the second quarter. That seems to be where we lose a lot of momentum. We gave them the ball around our 10 twice. Stopped them one time and not the other. It was 18-6 in the second quarter, and then I’m not sure after that if the kids were tired or what, but we’ve gotta figure it out as a coaching staff.”
On what’s most encouraging — “I’m pretty encouraged by some of our younger guys. We’re just trying to find their niches. We had some guys step up well (in Monday’s 21-8 JV loss to Cass). I thought we played better than the score, but had two scoring opportunities in the second half we didn’t capitalize on.”
On Manchester — “They’ve had some injuries, but are still a pretty tough team. If we play our best game, we can hopefully make it a game. They run a triple option, flexbone look, and they have Reiss Gaerte, who is just fast and a heck of a player.”
Manchester head coach Brian Enyeart:
On last week - We’re playing well, I think we can still play better. Southwood played with a lot of heart and determination. We struggled a little bit in terms of being aggressive but played well defensively. We have to find that edge that allows us to dominate teams as opposed to playing at their level.
On finally having an injury-free week - This is the first week this season that we have the same group ready to go two weeks in a row. We still have to figure out who the number twos and threes are going to be, but it's nice not having to mess with the special teams and starters for once.
On Whitko - We have to make sure we take away running lanes and fill gaps. They have some big kids running the ball and can use that running game to utilize play action. If we can make them one dimensional, that can set us up so we’re not playing the guessing game every time they snap the ball.

Triton (4-2, 3-1 HNAC) at Caston (2-4, 2-2 HNAC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Comet Crater, Fulton.
Series (last 30 years): Triton, 18-11.
John Harrell’s prediction: Triton, 38-14.
Last meeting: Sept. 1, 2023, Triton, 30-14.
About Triton — Zach Whittaker’s 1A AP No. 6/IFCA No. 6 Trojans lost 40-0 to visiting 1A AP No. 1/IFCA No. 1 North Judson in Week 6 … Triton gained 14 total net yards and gave up 469 (289 rushing) to the Bluejays … It was the first shutout loss for Triton since 2021 in Week 2 against LaVille (7-0 in overtime) … With Jayden Overmyer and Vinnie Prater as top ball carriers and Esai Lemler among leading defenders, the Trojans score 25.8 points per game and yield 14.5 … In this week’s rankings, Triton is AP No. 6 and IFCA No. 9 in 1A. North Judson is AP No. 1 and IFCA No. 1 in 1A.
About Caston — Chris Ulerick’s 1A Comets won 21-20 at 1A Culver Community in Week 6 … Gavin Mollenkopf completed 4-of-7 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown. Jabez Yarber had 13 runs for 132 yards and one TD and Ashton Bowyer 32 carries for 108 yards and one TD. Logan Mollenkopf caught two passes for 93 yards and one TD … For the season, Gavin Mollenkopf is 16-of-28 passing for 354 yards, three TD’s and two interceptions … Logan Mollenkopf has nine catches for a team-leading 263 yards and three TD’s …. Tops in rushing are Bowyer (89 carries for 482 yards and five TD’s), Yarber (64 carries for 438 yards and five TD’s) and Gavin Mollenkopf (47 carries for 159 yards and one TD) … Total tackle leaders are Yarber (50), Tucker Woolever (49), Gavin Mollenkopf (27) … Caston has won two straight after opening the season with four losses … The Comets score 18.0 points per game and allow 34.7.
Per Coach Zach Whittaker:
On Caston — They’re a young team but definitely a talented team. We have to make sure we are much better (on the line) than we were last week … We’re going to focus on the small details and focus on us this week.
Bouncing back — We have to make sure our mistakes and correct them and get back to the basics. We will continue to emphasize what’s most important: Effort and attitude. We have to put our hard hats back on and get to work.
North Judson game — We didn’t play our best game. We missed a lot of blocks and didn’t execute the way we wanted to. When you’ve got the No. 1 team, you’ve got to make sure you play your best game and we didn’t.