Warsaw (3-1, 2-0 NLC) at Concord (4-0, 2-0 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Jake Field, Dunlap.
Series (last 35 years): Concord, 19-16.
John Harrell’s prediction: Concord, 35-24.
Last meeting: Sept. 8, 2023, Warsaw, 10-3.
About Warsaw: Bart Curtis’ Associated Press No. 6/Indiana Football Coaches Association 5A No. 6-ranked Tigers won 56-6 at Wawasee in Week 4 … Quinton Brock (five carries for 105 yards and three touchdowns with long gains of 60 on the team’s first play from scrimmage and 35 yards), Tucker Reed (five for 83 and three TD’s with a long of 48), Daylen Fitzpatrick (seven for 66) and Brody Duncan (five for 41) paced a Warsaw rushing attack which gained 336 yards … Drew Sullivan completed a 40-yard pass to Ethan Egolf … On the season, Brock (14 carries for 262 yards and four TDs), Sullivan (43 for 170 and three TD’s), Duncan (32 for 163 and one TD) are rush leaders … Sullivan has completed 8-of-19 passes for 142 yards and two TD’s with three interceptions … Kicker/punter Mason Smythe is 18-of-18 on extra points, 2-of-2 on field goals with 15 touchbacks in 23 kickoffs and two of seven punts inside the opponent’s 20 … Total tackle point leaders are Gavin Schultz (40), Matthew Flores-Ortega (33), Daylor Vilmaa (29), Cohen Heady (23 with two interceptions) and Tristan Wilson (20 with two interceptions) … Warsaw is 3-1 in its last four games against Concord … In this week’s rankings, the Tigers are AP No. 5 and IFCA No. 5 in 5A.
About Concord: Craig Koehler’s AP No. 5/IFCA 5A No. 4 Minutemen won 34-17 at Northridge in Week 4 … Concord gained 186 rushing yards on 36 carries (led by Jaron Thomas with 20 for 123 and two TD’s and Char’rese Breveard 12 for 59 and one TD) and 127 passing yards on nine completions … Breveard also caught five passes from Bo Brunner for 85 yards and one TD … The Minutemen come up in Week 5 of the conference schedule after a change to the rotation. For years, Warsaw played Plymouth, Concord, NorthWood, Mishawaka, Wawasee, Goshen and Northridge in that order. In 2024, it’s Goshen, Wawasee, Concord, Plymouth, Mishawaka, NorthWood and Northridge … In this week’s polls, Concord is AP No. 4 and IFCA No. 2 in 5A.
Per Coach Bart Curtis:
On Concord — They’re really, really good. I don’t believe they have a weakness. We kind of saw this coming last year. They have a nice bevy of weapons offensively and defensively. They’re a year older, a year stronger and a year better … They can do so many different things (on offense) … (Purdue University commit Jaron) Thomas is just a phenomenal football player as a running back and middle linebacker. He’s well-schooled and he has the size and speed to go with it. He’s a huge weapon on both sides of the ball.
Improvement — We cut the penalties way down … I don’t want to jinx us but hanging on to the football and not putting it on the ground is something that we feel is vitally important. We’ve been able to possess the football pretty certain the last two weeks.
On Wawasee game — We were going to worry about Warsaw and we tried to do that. We expected to come out and play hard and execute well and we can say we did that … I was a little disappointed with our junior varsity. They had two touchdowns taken off the board and gave up one. When they go in I expect them to execute at the highest level possibly can and I don’t think they did that. But that’s why we practice.

Tippecanoe Valley (3-1, 0-1 INSC) at LaVille (2-2, 1-0)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Lancer Field, Lakeville.
Series: Valley leads 6-0.
Last meeting: Valley won 28-14 on Oct. 23, 1981.
John Harrell’s prediction: Valley, 24-17.
About Valley: The 3A No. 13 Vikings suffered just their second regular-season loss in their last four seasons Friday, falling 26-3 at Knox in each team’s Indiana Northern State Conference debut. Valley’s only other regular-season defeat in that span is a 28-26 decision in 2022 at Southwood. … The Vikings limited the Redskins to 233 yards, but countered with just 111 of their own. Brandon Stiles led Valley with 34 yards on seven carries. Wes Parker added 17 on six. Quarterbacks Jamison Phillips and Hunter Stage were held to a combined 3-of-14 through the air for 42 yards. Owen Omondi had a 28-yard reception. … For the season, Parker’s rushed for 331 yards and five touchdowns on 24 carries, a gaudy 13.8 average. Stiles, Grady Moriarty and Brock Derf have chipped in 162 to 176 ground yards apiece with averages between 4.9 to 6.0 per attempt and a combined six TDs. … Defensively, Derf’s been in on 46 tackles, including 39 solo, and Moriarty 39, including 29. … The Vikings faced LaVille every year from 1976 to ’81 before the series went dormant. Valley prevailed 49-0, 6-0, 11-8, 41-6, 14-6 and 28-14.
About LaVille: The 1A No. 15 Lancers scored with just 36 seconds left to beat host Bremen 13-12 in each team’s INSC debut last week. Trailing 12-7 and taking possession at its own 32 with 3:21 remaining, LaVille embarked on an 11-play touchdown drive for the win, capped by senior quarterback Collin Czarnecki’s 6-yard scoring pass to junior Brayden Schwitz. … The Lancers have won two straight after starting the season with losses of 27-6 at 1A No. 6 Triton (3-1) and 32-8 to 1A top-ranked North Judson (4-0). … Czarnecki has not been intercepted in 79 pass attempts this year, completing 35 throws for 390 yards with two TDs. Senior running back Cody Allen has rushed for 371 yards, a 4.0 average and four touchdowns. … On defense, junior linebacker Braedyn Foster’s been in on 42 tackles, including four for loss, and senior backer Jon Neese 40 with five TFLs. Sophomore defensive back Konnor Amor has picked a pair of passes. Junior Cole Stafford is averaging 41.0 yards on nine punts. … LaVille’s in its second year under coach Jeff Kaiser and went 11-2 last fall with a sectional title on its way to the program’s 10th straight winning season.
Valley coach Steve Moriarty:
On last week — “We just weren’t where we need to be yet. We were having a hard time blocking up front. A lot of things took place, but it came down to execution and (multiple) turnovers. We gave them the ball in good field position and they made some big plays.”
On LaVille — “They’ve got a really good ballclub. They played a good game against Bremen. They play hard, their linebackers fly around. Their offense likes to spread the ball around a bit. We’ll have to contain their passing game, and on defense contain their front three and pick up their blitzing linebackers.”
On bouncing back off rare loss — This group hasn’t felt that much. We have to clean things up a little bit, focus on the basics. It’s important this week to get back to the way we play football, and I think the mindset’s been good. There are no weeks off in this conference and we have to realize that. We’ve been dialing it up this week.”

Wawasee (0-4, 0-2 NLC) at Plymouth (2-2, 1-1 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., The Rockpile, Plymouth.
Series (last 35 years): Plymouth, 25-15.
John Harrell’s prediction: Plymouth, 38-17.
Last meeting: Sept. 8, 2023, Plymouth, 25-19.
About Wawasee: Matt Thacker’s Warriors lost 56-6 against visiting AP No. 6/IFCA 5A No. 6 Warsaw in Week 4 … Bradyn Pike 32 yards for Wawasee’s touchdown in the third quarter … Led by Barrett Kelly (six carries for 59 with a long gain of 50) and Kassidy Carter (two for 40 with a long of) 40, Pike (one for 32), Benjamin Brace (six for 32 with a long of 11) and Reed Reidenbach (five for 31 with a long of 21), the Warriors had 190 rushing yards … Kaden Andrew completed one pass for minus-2 yards … Wawasee ran more plays than Warsaw (46-41) and lost three fumbles … The Warriors were 2-of-9 on third down and 2-of-2 on fourth down … Total tackle leaders were Carter (9), Reidenbach (7), Max Pena (6), Dallas Miller (5) and Jayden Stahl (5) … For the season, Cameron Senter is 4-of-5 passing for 121 yards with two TD’s and Andrew is 3-of-7 for 20 yards … Rushing yardage front-runners are Stahl (38 carries for 125 yards), Pike (13 for 125 and two TD’s) and Senter (41 for 116) … Total tackle leaders are Carter (23), Reidenbach (20) and Derek Morrison (18) … Wawasee is 2-8 in the last 10 meetings with Plymouth, the wins coming in 2021 and 2022.
About Plymouth: Adam Handley’s Rockies won 31-3 at Goshen in Week 4 … Running back Finn Holm (136) and quarterback Exzander Ramirez (125) led Plymouth in rushing. The touchdowns were Holm runs of 6 and 1 yards plus a 18-yard run by Ramirez and 18-yard pass from Ramirez to Kaden Milliser … For the season, Ramirez is 30-of-55 passing for 353 yards and two touchdown TD’s with four interceptions. Rushing yardage leaders are Ramirez (565 with seven TD’s), Holm (357 with four TD’s) and Owen Verhaeghe (113 with one TD). Jose Fernando has caught 11 passes for 166 yards and one TD … Total tackle leaders are Lathan Cotton (34), Brady Coffin (33) and Carter Bush (32).
Per Coach Matt Thacker:
On Plymouth — They do a good job with the run and the pass … If we can stay disciplined (on defense) and keep them in front of us and force them to play football and not get big plays on us, we can do some things defensively. Offensively, if we can take care of the football help our defense out that would be huge for us.
Consistency — We do some things pretty decent in spurts then — all of a sudden — we have a total lapse of cognitive football acuity.
On Warsaw game — We have to learn how to play football the right way ... We’ve had several setbacks and have had to overcome adversity quite often. There’s no reason to not fight and stay after it. That’s where we’re at right now. We have to figure it out.

Manchester (1-3, 1-2 TRC) at Northfield (1-3, 1-2 TRC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Dawes Field, Wabash
Series: Manchester 23-12
John Harrell’s prediction: Manchester 28-24
Last meeting: Sep. 15 2023, Northfield 28-7
About Manchester: The Squires were shut out at home Friday night by Three Rivers Conference leaders Rochester, 36-0. The downfall for the home side was turnovers, as two fumbles and an interception stopped drives that had yielded positive results up to that point. Rex Moore started at quarterback for Manchester, serving as the backup for starter Logan Eastgate, who is expected to miss the rest of the season. Moore himself was hurt early in the game, forcing the Squires to turn to Dallas Martin, their third-string QB. Martin completed two of his seven passes for 45 yards, including a big 32-yard gain to Eli Metzger. Mason Rooney led the rushing attack, picking up 47 yards on 13 carries. Martin ran for 39 yards, while Reiss Gaerte had 31.
About Northfield: The Norsemen picked up their first win of the season last Friday, defeating Southwood at home in a 35-34 shootout. Northfield scored more points in that contest than their first three games combined. Maddux Daniels led the way, rushing for 120 yards on eight carries and adding a touchdown. Kameron Pratt also found the end zone, adding 85 yards on six rushes. Quarterback Brayden Rice completed three passes for 52 yards, the big one being a 34-yard reception by Carter Rodgers. The defense combined for seven tackles for losses, with Ethan Bruce making three of them. Rodgers and Pratt also had interceptions on defense.
Manchester head coach Brian Enyeart:
On last week - We did a lot of things right, but enough wrong to shoot us in the foot. We were on a great drive right before the half and were about to score but then a bad pass gets picked off. Instead of 16-7 it’s 16-0 at the half. We had a couple of other drives that we were moving the ball well but couldn’t capitalize. Defensively we were there to make plays but we don’t finish the tackle. They had two big runs late to make it look worse than what it was.
On the next man up mentality - We’re still looking for that leader on offense with Logan out. He had his first surgery the other day. Dallas has only had four offensive practices at quarterback. We’re just hoping to have the same group two weeks in a row. These kids are willing to step in and do whatever it takes for the team. We’re down to some freshman having to start games for us. Hopefully if their number is called they can go out and do it.
On Northfield - I coached with Brandon [Baker] for several years so their offense is our offense. We’ll be mirroring each other. They do it a little more efficiently because they’ve been doing it for several years while our guys are still learning it. We’re looking at what gives our offense trouble because that’s what we need to do to them. We’re basically getting double the reps because we’re working our offense on both sides of the ball.

Whitko (0-4, 0-3 TRC) at Northwestern (4-0, 3-0)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Tiger Field, Kokomo.
Series: First meeting.
John Harrell’s prediction: Northwestern, 45-24.
About Whitko: The Wildcats will play their first-ever game in Kokomo and make their longest trip of the 2023 regular season at 67 miles. … Whitko fell 62-0 last week against Maconaquah, its second-most lopsided defeat in the last 51 years behind a 70-0 loss at Rochester in 2022. … The Braves led 48-0 at halftime with sophomore Aiden Robinson completing 13-of-17 passes for 307 yards and six touchdowns by the break. The Cats finished at 2 yards of total offense and crossed midfield on just one possession. … For the season, Whitko wideout Riley Harman has 10 catches for 215 yards and two TDs besides being the team’s top tackler on defense, but he’s not expected to play this week due to injury. Freshman Hunter Long has rushed 11 times for 101 yards over the last two games. … The Cats’ first four opponents are a combined 11-4, and now 4-0 Northwestern beckons.
About Northwestern: The 3A No. 15 Tigers — first-year members of the Three Rivers Conference and led by state passing leader Brock Shank — played in the second-highest scoring game in Indiana this season when they outlasted visiting Cass 64-55 last week (the highest-scoring is Brebeuf’s 69-62 shootout win over Guerin Catholic). … Northwestern trailed 28-14 after one quarter, but outscored the Kings 47-13 over the middle periods to take a 61-41 lead into the final quarter. Shank’s six touchdown passes alone totaled 285 yards. Fellow senior, Hayden Cook, a 6-5 wide receiver, finished with nine catches for 223 yards and three TDs. … On the season, Shank’s at 80-of-132 passing for 1,487 yards and 16 TDs, to go with six interceptions. Cook has 27 receptions for 498 yards and eight scores. … The Tigers are averaging 494.3 yards per game, including 373.5 through the air. … Northwestern replaced North Miami in the TRC, keeping league membership at 10 schools. The Warriors moved to the Hoosier North, while the Tigers arrive from the Hoosier. … With a win, Northwestern, under first-year coach Caleb Small, would already clinch ending a streak of seven losing seasons. The Tigers went just 7-52 over the last six of those years.
Whitko coach Brad Sprunger:
On last week — “We had some key injuries during the game, kept some kids out that possibly could’ve come back in, but didn’t want to hurt them (further). We put some JV and freshman kids in to finish out the second half.”
On whether Northwestern’s similar to Maconaquah — “Yeah, I think so. I know Maconaquah’s fast, but Northwestern has a really good quarterback. I’m not sure he’s DI, but he could possibly be a pretty good college quarterback.”
On status of injured players — “I’m keeping Riley Harman out, which will definitely weaken us some, and then we have a couple kids that will be Thursday night decisions, so we could be pretty young going into the game. With Riley, he actually got hurt in (Week 3), but he came back, tried to go, but sat from about the middle of the second quarter on. We need him more the last four games than to play (Friday).”

Triton (3-1, 2-0 HNAC) at Winamac (2-1, 1-1 HNAC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Roudebush Field, Winamac.
Series (last 30 years): Triton, 10-3.
John Harrell’s prediction: Triton, 31-10.
Last meeting: Oct. 13, 2023, Triton, 35-6.
About Triton: Zach Whittaker’s AP No. 6/IFCA 1A No. 9 Trojans won 48-12 at South Central in Week 4 … Jayden Overmyer (10 carries for 222 yards and two touchdowns) led a Triton running game that gained 425 yards with Vinnie Prater (eight carries for 65 yards and two TD’s), I Quintana (one for 35 and a TD) and Dante’ Workman (two for 34) the top contributors … Workman caught two passes for 15 yards and one TD. Ben McFarland completed 3-of-4 passes for 30 yards and the TD … Total tackle leaders were Esai Lemler (6 with one sack and two for loss) and Quintana (5). Overmyer and Tanner Witt-Hoyo intercepted passes. McFarland, Overmyer, Ryder Gayheart and Wayne Reichert also recovered fumbles … For the season, McFarland is 10-of-17 passing for 169 yards and four TD’s with three interceptions … Overmyer (57 carries for 549 yards and five TD’s) and Prater (38 for 210 and three TD’s) are season rush leaders … Workman has five catches for 82 yards and two TD’s … Total tackle leaders are Lemler (29), Colton Reynolds (24) and Reichert (23) … In this week’s rankings, the Trojans are AP No. 6 and IFCA No. 7 in 1A.
About Winamac: Josh Burgess’ Warriors won 22-14 against visiting Culver Community in Week 4 … Winamac led 22-8 at the end of the first quarter … Tearson Wolford ran 14 times for 113 yards … Louis Rugg caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Xavier Adriano (who also had a TD run). Total tackle leaders were Talen Garner (20), Wolford (11 with an interception return for a TD and a fumble recovery), Ethan Burgess (11), and Hayden Taylor (6) … The Warriors lost to Triton in 2022 and 2023.
Per Coach Zach Whittaker:
On Winamac — They’re very young, but you can see the talent on the field …. They’re always very aggressive on defense. I expect them to be better than the last two opponents we faced (Culver Community and South Central). The competition only gets better from here … We always take our opponent seriously.
Depth — We’ve had some injuries (primarily on the offensive line). What I’m surprised and pleased about that our No. 2’s have been able to come in execute without missing a beat.
On South Central game — I like how we executed on the ground. We had over 400 yards rushing and a lot of that credit goes to our offensive line. Our backs also executed really well.