Class 6A Sectional 2 Semifinals
Fort Wayne Carroll (7-2) at Warsaw (8-1)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Fisher Field, Warsaw.
Series: Carroll, 6-3.
John Harrell’s prediction: Carroll, 28-21.
Last meeting: Nov. 4, 2022 (sectional), Carroll, 34-17.
About Carroll: Doug Dinan’s Associated Press No. 9/Indiana Football Coaches Association No. 9 Chargers drew a bye in Week 10 after beating Fort Wayne North Side 52-14 in Week 9 … Through nine games, Jimmy Wilson has completed 115-of-213 passes for 1,508 yards and 18 touchdowns with seven interceptions … Sullivan has 70 carries for 406 yards and five TDs, Nate Starks 83 rushes for 375 yards and two TDs and D Green 38 runs for 332 yards and six TDs … Hansen Haffner 29 receptions for 481 yards and eight TDs, Brady Rhoad 30 catches for 386 yards and two TDs, Jaidon VanPelt 18 grabs for 256 yards and two TDs and Mason Baughman 22 receptions for 244 yards and two TDs … Total tackle leaders are Ashton Pesetski (79), Cameron Lentz (60) and Braden Steely (52) … Quarterback Wilson, wideout Haffner, tight end Rhoad, center Jake Wilson, offensive tackle Caiden Abbs, defensive end Pesetski, safety Steely, kicker Victor Barreto and punter Dominic Dempsey made the all-Summit Athletic Conference first team for the SAC A Division co-champions … The Chargers score 35.4 points per game and give up 15.3 … Carroll beat Warsaw in the sectional championship on the way to a state runner-up finish in 2022 … Friday’s winner meets the Elkhart (3-6) at Penn (8-1) winner in the sectional championship on Nov. 3.
About Warsaw: Bart Curtis’ AP No. 11/IFCA No. 11 Tigers drew a bye in Week 10 after beating Northridge 24-10 in Week 9 and earning a share of the Northern Lakes Conference title with Mishawaka … Through nine games, Quinton Brock has completed 12-of-26 for 221 yards … Reed Zollinger has 241 carries for 1,436 yards and 16 TDs, Luke Ransbottom 43 runs for 389 yards and four TDs and rock 73 totes for 277 yards and one TD … Ransbottom has eight receptions for 144 yards … Total tackle leaders are Eric Pohl (76), Jette Woodward (73), Isaac Beam (62 with 9 sacks), Cohen Heady (60 with 3.5 sacks), Nathan Rosas (54 with 5.5 sacks), Corbin Johnson (38), Tristan Wilson (34), Mason Gabrich (31), Leyton Isbell (29), Daylor Vilamaa (28) and Ethan Egolf (27 with 1 sack) … Tops in interceptions is Pohl (4), Wilson (4) and Vilamaa (2) … The Tigers score 24.4 points per game and yield 12.9.
Per Coach Bart Curtis:
On Carroll — They’ve got weapons that are incredible. They’re a really, really great team — well-coached, athletic and cutting edge as far as what they’re doing offensively … They can play different styles depending on what kind of game it is. They’re very versatile, adaptable to situations and difficult to prepare for, for sure … We’ve improved (in pass defense). Our front seven has done a really good job of defending against the run for the most part. We have to be ready for whatever they decided to come out and do … We have to at least a threat of some kind of (quarterback) pressure. (Wilson) is a really good athlete that is also able to throw the ball.
Bye week/fall break — It gave us a chance to step back a little bit and work on Warsaw. We slowly implemented some things regarding Carroll … I’d say 75 percent of our time was spent on Warsaw getting better and 25 percent looking at our next opponent … The kids were off (from 9:30 a.m. Wednesday until after-school practice Monday). I know five days is kind of a long time but we also warned the kids and the coaches to have some time to themselves. I’d have felt a whole lot different if fall break didn’t fall on the bye week.
On Northridge game — That was a good win for Warsaw. It was a hard-fought game and in the balance until the fourth quarter … We were able to make some plays when the game was on the line.

Class 4A Sectional 18 Semifinals
Wawasee (2-8) at Northridge (8-2)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Interra Field, Middlebury.
Series: Wawasee, 22-21.
John Harrell’s prediction: Northridge, 31-17.
Last meeting: Sept. 22, 2023, Northridge, 14-7.
About Wawasee: Jon Reutebuch’s Warriors beat South Bend Riley 35-26 in Week 10 (first round of the sectional) … In knocking off the Wildcats (8-2), Hunter Tinkey scored on runs of 55, 48 and 35 yards. Mason Shoemaker threw TD passes for Dallas Miller and Bradyn Pike. Shoemaker passed for 199 yards, Tinkey rushed for 159 and Donovan Blair had 91 receiving yards … Total tackle leaders were Lucas Linder (12), Pike (11), Devin Sewell (10), Blair (9), Dawson Schmucker (9) and Payton Sewell (9) with one interception each for Derek Bontrager and Hunter Kunish … The defense stopped Riley twice in fourth-and-goal situations … Wawasee snapped an 11-game postseason losing streak … The Warriors score 17.7 points per game and yield 28.2 … Friday’s winner meets the South Bend Washington (3-7) and NorthWood (8-2) winner in the sectional championship on Nov. 3.
About Northridge: Chad Eppley’s AP No. 8/IFCA No. 11 Raiders beat Logansport 39-3 in Week 10 (first round of the sectional) … McClain Miller (3) and Derek Sherwood (2) producing the rushing TDs and Chase Clark (1) caught a scoring pass. Brayden Clark was 5-of-7 for 46 yards passing … Through 10 games, Brayden Clark is 96-of-171 for 1,080 yards and eight TDs with five interceptions … Miller has 116 carries for 725 yards and nine TDs, Sherwood 100 rushes for 447 yards and six TDs and Brayden Clark 54 totes for 268 yards and six TDs … Chase Clark has 36 receptions for 479 yards and five TDs, Zach Baugh 19 catches for 288 yards and three TDs and Judah Hochstetler 26 grabs for 258 yards and one TD … Total tackle leaders are Beau Bojanich (81), Brock Thompson (10) and Conner Roth (61) … Roth, Braxton Nagy, Brad Borsodi and Tucker Baber have two interceptions apiece … The Raiders score 26.9 points per game and allow 16.8.
Per Coach Jon Reutebuch:
On Northridge — We thought we had an opportunity to win the (Sept. 22) game. We feel like we have the opportunity to win this game if we play well and don’t hurt ourselves … (Northridge) is an NLC team and a pretty balanced team (with the run and the pass) … We get Brandon Kelly and Reed Reidenbach this week. That will help us immensely.
Resolve — Our (11) seniors wanted to make a difference and change the direction of this program … We’re going to fight hard, have fun and play to our heart’s content. This is a fun game. That’s why we started playing it. It’s the (seniors’) resolve and effort that’s carried us through.
On Riley game — We got off to a great start. The defense played really well. We were able to put points up on the board. We had only one turnover. We played a very physical brand of football. We made a few mistakes but not so terrible that we couldn’t overcome them. Our guys had confidence. Our schedule had prepared us for a game like that.

2A Sectional 35 Semifinal
Central Noble (4-6) at Manchester (4-6)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.. Burk Field, North Manchester
Series: First meeting
John Harrell’s prediction: Manchester 24-23
Opponents Records: Central Noble 41-59, Manchester 45-54
About Central Noble: The Cougars defeated Prairie Heights 14-0 in the first round of sectionals last Friday. Senior running back Devin Hiestand ran for 133 yards and both touchdowns in the game. Quarterback Brody Morgan added 53 yards on the ground. Hiestand averages just over 45 rushing yards a game and leads the team in total touchdowns with seven. Linebacker Brayden Kirchner makes an unreal 16 tackles per game and leads the team with six sacks on the season. The Cougars finished 3-1 and finished in second place in the Northeast Corner Conference. Central Noble has won four of seven games after starting off the season 0-3.
About Manchester: The Squires defeated Whitko for the second time this season, 49-19, last week to advance to the sectional semifinal game. It was the best game of Reiss Gaerte’s young career so far, as the sophomore ran for 311 yards on 31 carries and scored five touchdowns, a Manchester record. The do-it-all man for the Squires also led the team in tackles with 13 and tackles for loss with two. Quarterback Logan Eastgate completed just three passes for 27 yards but also ran for 68 yards and a score. Eli Metzger had an interception on defense. Manchester is seeking its first five-win season since 2009. The winner of this game will take on the Eastside/Fort Wayne Luers winner in the sectional championship next Friday.
Manchester head coach Eddie Fields:
On Gaerte’s huge game - It was sort of an accumulation of all that hard work. He comes in every day and gives 100%, so it was great to be able to let him loose and see what he can do. That game of his should have been even bigger. He had another 60 yard touchdown called back on a penalty and two picks on defense called back as well. He’s a special kid.
On offensive outburst - It was huge for use to be able to rack up the points like that. We haven’t really had any offensive consistency since our first game since North Miami so it was good to get that going. We had to try a couple new things to get it going but this is the time of year.
On Central Noble - They like to air the ball out. They’re a solid team but we like our chances. I’m sure they do too. We’re probably two teams that saw the draw we got and thought there’s a good chance we could be playing for a sectional title. This is a big game for our program.

Class 1A Sectional 41 Semifinals
Triton (7-3) at Culver Community (1-9)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Cavalier Field, Culver.
Series: Culver Community, 26-21.
John Harrell’s prediction: Triton, 45-14.
Last meeting: Sept. 15, 2023, Triton, 58-6.
About Triton: Zach Whittaker’s AP No. 9/IFCA No. 9 Trojans beat North Newton 71-6 in Week 10 (first round of the sectional) with a single-game school record for team points, surpassing the 70 scored against South Newton in 2017 … Cole Shively completed 10-of-14 passes for 219 yards and five TDs (a single-game school record) while Gage Riffle connected on his only pass for a TD … Javan May caught four TDs (a single-game school record) and Dante’ Workman two … Rushing TDs were tallied by Shively, Ryder Gayheart, Connor Stetzel and Tucker Worsham … Gayheart (85) and Shively (76) led in rushing yardage, Workman (90) and May (84) in receiving … Through 10 games, Shively is 56-of-95 for 1,304 yards and 20 TDs with five interceptions … Vinnie Prater has 111 carries for 683 yards and four TDs, Shively 128 rushes for 620 yards and 11 TDs and Jayden Overmyer 68 totes for 381 yards and six TDs … Workman has 28 receptions for 731 yards and eight TDs and May 24 catches for 495 yards and 14 TDs … Total tackle leaders are Colton Reynolds (69), Shively (58) and Esai Lemler (53) … Shively has three interceptions and Riffle, Isaac Quintana and Tanner Witt-Hoyo two picks each … In the Week 5 meeting with Culver Community, Triton got three rushing TDs from Overmyer and one from Shively who also passed for two — both to Workman … Jack Rodgers rushed for the Cavaliers’ lone TD … The Trojans score 33.5 points per game and yield 15.3 … Friday’s winner meets South Newton (4-6) at North Judson (6-4) winner in the sectional championship on Nov. 3.
About Culver Community: Austin Foust’s Cavaliers beat South Central (Union Mills) 40-15 in Week 10 (first round of the sectional), avenging a 44-22 regular-season loss in Week 2 … Rodgers ran for 193 yards and scored three TDs (two rushing and one on a kickoff return). Ryan Beem caught a TD pass from Jonas McCuen … For 10 games, Jonas McCuen has completed 49-of-119 passes for 334 yards for two TDs with 11 interceptions … Rodgers has 79 carries for 696 yards and eight TDs … Total tackle leaders are Rodgers (42), Anthony Sommers (33) and Caleb McCuen (31) … Jonas McCuen has gathered three intereceptions and Sommers and Ethan Binion two apiece … Culver snapped a 10-game losing streak dating back to 2022 … The Cavaliers score 13.0 points per game and give up 46.4 … Former Culver head coach/athletic director Neil Wagner, who led the program’s first two sectional winners in 1999 and 2000, died Oct. 18 and is being remembered this week at the school.
Per Coach Zach Whittaker:
On Culver Community — It’s always hard to beat a team twice. We’ve definitely got to come in prepared … I can see on film that they’re vastly improved.
10-week review — I’ve learned about our team’s ability to adapt under stressful situations or adversity. We’ve been able to plug in kids wherever we need them. The grit of this team is something I just haven’t experienced. They’re all-in. If we can continue to fight and show the grit that we’ve been showing I think our goals are in reach.
On North Newton game — We can out and executed the way we wanted to and that team has some talent despite its record. We did a good job (on the line) and executing our passing game early and we were able to finish it off with our running game and our JV.