By Times-Union Sports Staff

Columbia City at Warsaw

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. in Warsaw

Coaches : Phil Jensen (Warsaw); Ron Frickey (Columbia City)

1998 Records: Warsaw 5-6; Columbia City 4-8

Last Year: Warsaw 30, Columbia City 14

Matchup: The Tigers sport a big, strong offensive line, while their defensive seondary returns as an experienced unit. Warsaw will look to returning quarterback Greg Seiss, wide receiver Ross Kesler and fullback Mike Moore for experience in the offensive attack. Seiss completed 75 of 174 passes for 1,047 yards last season, while Kesler caught 32 passes for 562 yards. Moore rushed 52 times for 163 yards. Columbia City has several skilled players on offense and six defensive starters returning this season. The Eagles will rely on quarterback Seth Hoppe, who completed 69 passes for 791 yards, along with wide receiver Lewis Fuller and running back Joel Cearbaugh to head their offensive attack.

Jensen: "In the first game what do you know? You know who they have returning and what they've done in the past, but that's about all you know. I know they like to belly, they like to run the ball. They usually finish strong. I think they finished 4-8 last year, but in the playoffs they beat Ft. Wayne Dwenger and Wayne before losing in the sectional championship. They have some kids coming back that will play well. We have to come out and control the ball offensively, our defense has to tackle well, stay away from penalties and we can't give up big plays."

Frickey: "It's not easy at all to prepare for a team like Warsaw. Warsaw, within the last two years, has stepped up big time. Their line is big, strong and quick, and they have good running backs and defensive backs. We feel like it could turn into a track meet. We think we have good receivers and running backs; we know they do. The key for us will be to get the ball into their (Fuller and Cearbaugh) hands as many times as possible. Our quarterback did a fine job in the playoffs last year. Warsaw can present problems not only with formations but with speed."

Tippecanoe Valley at North Judson

Kickoff: 7 p.m. in North Judson

Coaches: Scott Bibler (Valley); Gary Cox (North Judson)

1998 Records: Valley 4-6; North Judson 5-7

Last Year: Valley 44, North Judson 14

Matchup: Valley is looking to improve its record after sporting losing records the two previous seasons. For the Vikings, quarterback Brandon Eaton (73 of 134, 930 yards) and receiver Josh Wagoner (16 catches, 213 yards) will lead the offense, while cornerbacks Eric Carlin and Derek Eby are solid in the secondary. North Judson returns four starters up front while seven solid starters return on defense. The North Judson Bluejays will look to running backs Brett Lambert, Jared Dietrich and Blake Radtke along with fullback Jeff Wright to head the offensive attack.

Bibler: "I know last year they went something like 5-7 and went to the sectional championship. Those two playoff victories sparked the young players into the offseason. They have a big fullback in Wright, who's a horse at like 5-10, 225. He had close to 1,000 yards last year. They're kind of an option team and their fullback is a big key to that. Our people know their assignments and they know they have to do their jobs. They had three runningbacks that had close to 1,700 yards together last year and they're back. They lost their quarterback but they have some big kids too."

Cox: "Defensively they spread you out good. I'd say their quarterback (Brandon Eaton) had a pretty good arm last year. They had good speed in (Eric) Prater, he's gone, but they usually have good speed year in and year out. We want to work on our speed offensively and defensively. They ran a lot of misdirection plays last year, I hope we can get that shored up. Their defense was just outstanding last year. Their defensive coordinator did a great job from the first time we played them to the second time."

Wawasee at Whitko

Kickoff: 7 p.m. in South Whitley

Coaches : Joe Rietveld (Wawasee); Bryan Sprunger (Whitko)

1998 Records: Wawasee 1-10; Whitko 6-5

Last Year: Wawasee 50, Whitko 20#

Matchup: Wawasee is looking to redeem itself after last year's 1-10 season. After losing last year's leading rusher, Rustin Mikel, the Warriors will look to Adam Brown to lead the offense in the quarterback position. Brown completed 64 of 151 passes for 688 yards. Jimmy Meyer also returns for the Wawasee squad after rushing 74 times for 558 yards and catching eight passes for 90 yards last season. Whitko will look to returner Seth Slater to barrel through opposing defensive schemes. Slater rushed for 1,223 yards last season. The Wildcats will also look to replace quarterback Ben Mohr who graduated.

Sprunger: "My coaching staff alway meets on Sunday night, and this week we talked about Saturday's scrimmage. We did some things right, but we also did some things wrong. We'll work on becoming more fundamentally sound this week. This early in the season, you can't really focus on your opponents, so we will focus on ourselves at this point in time. In the long run it will pay off."

Rietveld: "I don't know a lot about them, we didn't switch films with them this year. We don't have an idea exept last year's film and their sectional game with NorthWood. They will be a well coached team and will probably run the same stuff they have for a while. I think our line has to handle all the pulling lineman they give you. We looked at their roster and they have some size up front. (Last year) we had a couple of good offensive schemes and everything went our way. It won't be like that again. Seth Slater is a great running back. He could start for any team he wanted to. Our defense is keyed to know where he is."

Manchester at Mississinewa

Kickoff: 7 p.m. in Mississinewa

Coaches: Al Bailey (Manchester); Vince Lorenzano (Mississinewa)

1998 Records: Manchester 10-2; Mississinewa 5-6

Last Year: Manchester 19, Mississinewa 6

Matchup: Manchester will be looking to replace state-recognized rusher David Barrett (343 rushes for 2,394 yards), quarterback Rex Reimer and fullback Greg Groombridge this season. However, the Squires return a good group of receivers, including Annon Gaerte and Gary Young. Defensively, the Manchester squad will see juniors Kiel Rager and Jarrod Kopkey return after they both started as sophomores. Senior offensive lineman Korey Rupley is out this game with a sprained ankle, putting more pressure on Klay Bechtold, who is making his first varsity start at quarterback. Offensively, Mississinewa will look to Braden Bushman to lead the backfield, while defensively, they will have a solid line.

Bailey: "We definitely have to worry about things like execution on offense and defensively knowing where to go. These are things we know we can do, but sometimes you play an opponent that can drastically change things. As John Wooden used to say, 'We want to prepare ourselves first'. Traditionally they play a lot of power football and use a lot of flood patterns in their passing game. Defensively they're much the same way: very physical. Our quarterback has to have a big game in his first varsity start."

Lorenzano: "Coach Bailey is coming off a good year. They return their receiving corps and some linebackers. Basically we want to get ourselves ready. This early in the season you have to make sure you have all of your ducks on the pond. Our backfield returns, and we have a couple of lineman returning. They'll be key performers for us. If they play well, we can do well and have a chance to win. They (Manchester) have size, I know that."

Caston at Triton

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. in Bourbon

Coaches : Rod Wildman (Triton); Chris Ulrick (Caston)

1998 Records: Caston 1-9; Triton 1-9

Last Year: Caston 53, Triton 13

Matchup: After a 1-9 season last year, the Trojans are hungry to improve their record this season. With an experienced backfield and secondary returning, the Triton squad is optimistic. However, Triton is facing a season with reduced numbers - just 21 upperclassmen. Triton will look to junior quarterback Jake Burnett (52 of 119, 501 yards, four touchdowns), senior running back Nate Setser (83 carries for 322 yards) and senior wide receiver Brandon Clauss (eight receptions for 73 yards) to spearhead the offense. Caston will rely on running back Greg Zimpleman to lead the offense, but the Comets will be working to replace several members of last year's starting offense including quarterback Bill Zartman. Early indicators say that Caston should have a decent secondary.

Wildman: "We don't know much about Caston. We trying to be competitive. We want to try and run the ball well and establish our running game and complement that with the passing game. We need to control the ball. In our scrimmage we didn't have very good ball control. Defensively we need them to have a lot of three-and-outs. We're really working on our field position and special teams."

Ulrick: "We're just getting ourselves ready. There's not a whole lot you can do in the first game, just hope to get yourselves ready and be able to make adjustments."

Jimtown at NorthWood

Kickoff: 7 p.m. in Nappanee

Coaches: Bill Sharpe (Jimtown); Rich Dodson (NorthWood)

Records: Jimtown 15-0; NorthWood 11-4

Last Year: Jimtown 21, NorthWood 20

Matchup: Both NorthWood and Jimtown are coming off seasons that led them to the state finals. NorthWood was the state runner-up, falling to Indianapolis Chatard in the Class 3A state final. The Panthers will look to three-year starting quarterback Charlie Roeder (122 for 242, 1,824 yards passing and 172 carries for 1,300 yards rushing) for leadership, along with Andy Mitschelen, Brock Doty and Ian Reed. Jimtown is one of the few teams that defeated NorthWood last season. The Jimmies have won the Class 2A state championship for the past two years and sport a 30-0 record the past two seasons. Jimtown's record-setting kicker, Robert Menchinger, will take over for Keith Kinder at quarterback, and Adam Johnson is the lone returning starter for the Jimmies. Johnson, a linebacker, is a two-time all-conference performer for the Jimtown squad.

Dodson: "Coach Sharpe and his staff do an excellent job preparing their football team. They are very physical, and they won't do anything to hurt themselves on the field. They are a very good team that doesn't make many mistakes."

Sharpe: "We have to replace 10 starters on offense and seven on defense. They are very well coached team and have great athletes. We will have our hands full. We can't turn the ball over or let them throw over our heads. We can't go three-and-out. They return key players who have 15 game under their belts from last season. I think they are a very good football team, and we're kind of a mystery." [[In-content Ad]]