Four of the six local football teams received what appear to be - on paper, anyway - good draws in the 1996 sectional.

Warsaw avoided No. 1 Penn in the first round and settled for a home game with 3-3 South Bend Riley.

Wawasee missed out on either No. 1 DeKalb or No. 5 Plymouth in the first round and will instead host 1-5 East Noble.

Whitko could have drawn No. 4 Fort Wayne Dwenger or No. 7 Fort Wayne Harding in the first round, but the draw gave the Wildcats a home game with 2-4 Blackford.

Triton, who lost to No. 10 LaVille 42-8 last week, could have faced the Lancers in the first round. But the draw was kind, and the Trojans will be hosting 1-5 North Miami.

Sure, you have to beat the good teams eventually. But it sure doesn't hurt to put it off as long as possible. Last year Whitko and Tippecanoe Valley were the only local teams to make it past the first game. This year, the draw could allow more local teams to advance.

Manchester and Valley were the two local teams who did not fare as well in the draw.

Valley travels to No. 5 Lakeland, home of the state's leading rusher, Scott Harshberger. There was just no easy way around it for Valley. NorthWood, ranked No. 2, and South Bend St. Joseph's, ranked No. 9, are also in the same sectional as the Vikings.

Manchester is at No. 9 Woodlan.

SOUTH BEND RILEY (3-3) AT WARSAW (2-4)

Warsaw got the draw it wanted, or at least a more favorable one.

The Tigers, 0-12 in 5A sectional games, will host a high school football 5A sectional game for the third straight season, but more importantly they will avoid playing No. 1 and defending state champion Penn in the first round.

Warsaw (2-4) will host South Bend Riley (3-3) in Sectional 2 Friday Oct. 25, a marked improvement over the prospects of the Kingsmen.

"Obviously, you don't want to go to Penn or have Penn come here in the first round," Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said. "It is as good as draw as we could have hoped for where we are at in our program. We get to play at home, and it is a team that is that is struggling team in a tough conference."

Although Jensen is a Penn graduate, it would like to see the homecoming against his former team be delayed as long as possible. It would be in the second round that Warsaw would face Penn.

"Our sectional is tough all the way through," Jensen said. "Riley is well-coached and has good athletes, but it is not the athletes you would face against Penn, or even an Elkhart Central."

In Tippecanoe Valley's case it would be pretty hard to avoid a ranked team in the first round, and the Vikings didn't. Valley (4-2) will travel to 3A No. 5 Lakeland (6-0) on Oct. 25 in Sectional 18. But the Vikes would not face either NorthWood or South Bend St. Joe until the championship game in the third round.

The theory is simple against Lakeland, stop Harshbarger and you stop the Lakers. But in practice, it is more difficult than that, since Harshbarger already has well over 1,000 yards rushing this season with two more games left.

In other area sectional matchups, Wawasee will host East Noble in 4A, Sectional 11; Whitko hosts Blackford in 3A, Sectional 19; Manchester travels to Woodlan in 2A, Sectional 27; and Triton hosts North Miami in Class A, Sectional 34.

TIPPECANOE VALLEY (4-2) AT NO. 5 LAKELAND (6-0)

The Vikings face the same team they faced last year in the first round. Last year Valley won at home, but Viking coach Scott Bibler knows things will be tougher this year.

"They'll be pumped up, and I guess they'll have the revenge factor on their side," he said. "Harshberger is a pheonomenal athlete. I don't know what his lowest output has been for sure, but I think it was 160 yards rushing against Angola. To me, that's containing him, and that's all you can do. You can't just go in there and shut him down. He's a back with good agility, makes nice cuts and has explosive power.

"Special teams and field position will play a big part in this game."

Bibler said his team has had two good weeks after the frustrating loss to Northfield, and the morale on his team is much improved. He likes the way his team is shaping up toward the end of the season.

"Two victories against Oak Hill and Rochester have helped us," he said. "By the time we play Lakeland, we hope we're a better club then than we are now. Our kids know Lakeland is tough, but they also know we can win if we play to our capabilities."

BLACKFORD (2-4) AT WHITKO (4-2)

This marks the first time that Whitko has ever played Blackford. Blackford has only two wins, but one win came against another team in this sectional, Mississinewa.

"I don't know a whole lot about them," Whitko coach Bryan Sprunger said. "They've played some pretty good football teams. They've beaten Elwood and Mississinewa.

"Sure, they're 2-4, but they could be tougher than nails. You don't know what kind of competition they play every week. Going in, it's a new season for everyone. Everyone is 0-0.

Sprunger said he doesn't spend much time worrying about how the draw turns out in the first round.

"There's been talking of seeding the sectional," he said. "I'm not in favor of that. Part of the fun is the blind draw."

MANCHESTER (1-5) AT NO. 9 WOODLAN (5-1)

Woodlan is arguably the favorite to win this sectional, with Heritage a close second. Woodlan beat Heritage in the regular season. Woodlan would come out of the bottom bracket and Heritage out of the top, so they could meet in the championship game.

Leland Etzler has been the head coach at Woodlan for several years, and his teams traditionally have a power running game. Manchester coach Al Bailey knows his team will have to contain the run, and he also knows his team will have to correct its mistakes to stay in the game.

"None of the games are easy in the sectional," Bailey said. "Everybody wants to win. You have to beat the good teams sometime. Hopefully, we'll get our fumble-itis corrected. I think that's a virus or something that's stuck with us."

NORTH MIAMI (1-5) AT TRITON (2-4)

Triton coach Brad Shields was very happy with the sectional draw. His team plays North Miami in the first round, but he was happier about another matchup.

"I'm glad to see LaVille and Adams Central playing each other," he said. "LaVille's definitely the favorite in our sectional."

Triton would not have to meet LaVille until the championship game. Triton would meet the South Adams/Southern Wells winner in the second game.

"I've wanted to play North Miami," Shields said. "I have tons of respect for (North Miami coach) Bob Bridge and their football program. You wouldn't have wanted to play them three years ago when they were the state champions. They will run the no-huddle, power wishbone. We know what they will do. This year, we're senior-dominant, while they're not." [[In-content Ad]]