Warsaw (5-3, 4-2 NLC) at Northridge (3-5, 3-3 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Interra Field, Middlebury.
Series (last 35 years): Warsaw, 28-7.
John Harrell’s prediction: Warsaw, 31-21.
Last meeting: Oct. 13, 2023, Warsaw, 24-10.
About Warsaw — Bart Curtis’ 5A Associated Press No. 11/Indiana Football Coaches Association No. 10 Tigers won 35-21 at NorthWood in Week 8 … Warsaw trailed 21-0 in the first quarter then rallied back, outscoring the Panthers 21-0 in the second half … Led by Tucker Reed (five carries for 126 and a 41-yard touchdown), Brody Duncan (26 carries for 110 and 5-yard TD), Quinton Brock (15 carries for 89 and 2-yard TD) and Evan Davis (four carries for 58 yards and 31-yard TD), Warsaw gained 386 rushing yards on 52 totes … Brock was 2-of-2 passing with a 21-yard TD to Ethan Egolf … NorthWood gained 97 yards on the ground and 174 through the air … It was the first Tigers’ win at Andrews Field since 2012 … On the season, Brock is 7-of-14 passing for 85 yards and three TD’s … Top rushers are Brock (60 carries for 620 yards and seven TD’s), Duncan (95 carries for 392 yards and two TD’s), Reed (21 carries for 297 yards and seven TD’s), Drew Sullivan (72 carries fro 295 yards and five TD’s) and Davis (17 carries for 159 yards and three TD’s) … Egolf has 13 receptions for 194 yards and three touchdowns and three TD’s … Pacers in tackle points are Matthew Flores-Ortega (81), Daylor Vilamaa (77), Tristan Wilson (75), Gavin Schultz (67) and Jayden Habegger (64) … Mason Smythe is 30-of-32 on extra points and 2-of-3 on field goals with 30 or 42 kickoffs for touchbacks and 4-of-12 punts inside the opposing 20 … Of the Warsaw’s three losses, opponents are a combined 20-4 — Warren Central (7-1), Concord (8-0) and Plymouth (5-3) … This is the final week of the regular season. Goshen visits Warsaw in the semifinals of 5A Sectional 11 on Nov. 1. It is also fall break with no class … The Tigers score 30.5 points per game and give up 18.6 … In this week’s rankings, Warsaw is AP No. 10 and IFCA No.10 in 5A.
About Northridge — Chad Eppley’s Raiders won 42-3 at Goshen in Week 8 … Northridge held the RedHawks to less than 10 yards rushing … Two rushing touchdowns each were scored by Karsyn Rumfelt and Derek Sherwood. TD passes were thrown by Rumfelt to Judah Hochstetler and Avery Johnson to Wyatt Reschly … On the season, Rumfelt is 108-of-181 passing for 1,185 yards and 10 TD’s with eight interceptions … Hochstetler (53 catches for 574 yards and five TD’s), Braxton Nagy (10 catches for 201 yards and three TD’s) and Hayden Gorball (15 catches for 117 yards) are the top receivers … Rushing leaders are Sherwood (124 carries for 550 yards and four TD’s), Parker Janes (46 carries for 304 yards and three TD’s) and Adam Sloop (31 carries for 141 yards) … Total tackle leaders are Colt Granberg (80), Kaleb Vechera (7) and Tucker Baber (46) … Of the Raiders’ five losses, opponents are a combined 29-11 — Fort Wayne North Side (5-3), Elkhart (7-1), Concord (8-0), NorthWood (3-5) and Mishawaka (6-2) … Northridge scores 20.6 points per game and yields 19.5.
Per Coach Bart Curtis:
On Northridge — They are a dangerous, dangerous team. Their record is deceiving … They’re stout defensively against the run. They’ve got some talented backs and receivers. They’re a handful. They can make you look silly in a hurry if you’re not willing to play a whole lot better defensively than we did last week.
Fall break week — I don’t like it but I don’t control it. Normally, our fall break is on our bye week but the IHSAA calendar rolled forward. It’s not ideal but you make the most of it. You’ve still got to practice, a freshman game Thursday and a JV game Saturday … We all knew this was going to happen back in January when the school calendar was released.
NorthWood game — It was certainly not what we envisioned or drew up to get down 21-0 with a minute to go in the first quarter and to have snapped the ball one darn time … We were able to make our way back in … In the second half we played a little better defensively, not to the standard that we need to but we pretty much dominated offensively. We had the ball seven possessions — one fumble, five touchdowns and one kneel-down to end the game … I’m proud of our kids for their resiliency and deal with misfortune. We’ve handled hard pretty well the last few weeks.

Tippecanoe Valley (6-2, 2-2 INSC) at Bremen (4-4, 2-2)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Bunge Field.
Series: Bremen leads 8-5.
Last meeting: Valley won 51-16, Oct. 13, 2023.
Last Bremen win: 34-7, Aug. 17, 2018.
John Harrell’s prediction: Valley, 24-21.
About Valley: The Vikings visit the Lions with the winner securing sole possession of third place in the Indiana Northern State Conference’s inaugural season, a game behind 4-1 co-champs Knox and Jimtown. … Valley’s dramatic 22-21 win over Glenn last week — one that enabled the team to break a school record set in the 1970s with a 21st straight regular-season home victory — happened to be the program’s first win by exactly one point since a 21-20 game at Whitko in 2009. TV lost each of four one-point decisions from 2013 to 2018, and hadn’t played in one since. … The Vikings erased deficits three times, including twice in the fourth quarter, taking the lead for good at 5:40 left on Grady Moriarty’s 28-yard touchdown run. They also got an 80-yard scoring run from Wes Parker in the second period and an 85-yard kickoff return for a TD by Owen Omondi to start the second half. The Valley defense stopped each of three two-point tries by the Falcons to ultimately help seal the outcome. … Friday’s contest will serve as the Sports Michiana Game of the Week broadcast. … Valley will be home next week for its Class 3A sectional opener against Woodlan (5-3).
About Bremen: The Lions are coming off their 46-38 stunner over 3A No. 11 Knox, which enabled Jimtown to tie the Redskins for the INSC title. Bremen trailed by 16 points at the half, but rallied in large part behind the spectacular play of wideout Tyrus Graverson and quarterback Silas Laidig. Graverson caught 13 passes on the night for 235 yards and a touchdown, recovered two onside kicks and booted a 31-yard field goal. Laidig completed 21-of-35 passes for 333 yards and four TDs, including two to Luke Kincaid. Austin Young scored three touchdowns, including two rushing, and Carson Anderson ran for 92 yards. … The win improved the Lions to 3-1 at Bunge Field with the only loss a 13-12 decision five weeks ago against LaVille. … Graverson, who has battled injury and played in just five games, still has 29 catches for 508 yards and four TDs. A year ago, he ranked among the state’s premier receivers at 71 receptions for 1,323 yards and 10 TDs in 12 games. … Laidig is 67-of-140 throwing for 1,138 yards and 11 touchdowns against six interceptions despite his top target being sidelined over a third of the time. Last year, he finished 139-of-246 for 2,378 yards and 18 TDs with 10 picks. … Anderson has carried 166 times for 802 yards and five TDs. He, Graverson, Laidig, Young and Kincaid are all seniors. … On the defensive side, Bremen has 17 takeaways, including five by Graverson.
Valley coach Steve Moriarty:
On last week — “I think our kids played with heart. We never gave up. We just had to fight for the win, and I felt like we kept our composure. Gage (Overbey) hitting that (30-yard) field goal to put us up (16-15 early in the fourth quarter) was huge. And then (Grady Moriarty) breaking that run was huge. We turned it over once. … I’d rather have none, but I can live with that.”
On Bremen — “Graverson’s great and Anderson’s a good running back we’ll have to try to contain as well. Bremen’s one those teams hitting their stride at the right time. They knocked off Knox and are looking good going into the tournament.”
On Graverson — “He’s a game-changer, the way he gets open, the way he catches the ball in open space, and with 50-50 balls, he comes down with the majority of those. To slow him down will be huge. Once he gets the catch, he breaks a lot of tackles. He’s like a tailback in a receiver.”

Mishawaka (6-2, 4-2 NLC) at Wawasee (1-7, 1-5 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Warrior Stadium, Syracuse.
Series (last 35 years): Mishawaka, 4-0.
John Harrell’s prediction: Mishawaka, 45-10.
Last meeting: Oct. 13, 2023, Mishawaka, 41-22.
About Mishawaka — Keith Kinder’s 4A AP No. 6/IFCA No. 6 Cavemen won 34-10 against visiting Plymouth in Week 8.
Mishawaka, which trailed 3-0 in the first quarter, outscored the Rockies 20-0 in the second half. Landon Snyder had 12 carries for 124 yards and three TD’s, Kadyn O’Neal 26 totes for 106 yards and two TD’s … Jackson Snyder made 15.5 tackles and one interception, Xavier Juarez 13.5 tackles while Drew Ginter had two interceptions … Of the Cavemen’s two losses, opponents are a combined 13-3 — Concord (8-0) and Warsaw (5-3) … Mishawaka scores 32.5 points per game with opponents averaging 16.6 … In this week’s rankings, Mishawaka is AP No. 6 and IFCA No. 6 in 4A.
About Wawasee — Matt Thacker’s Warriors lost 44-7 to visiting Concord in Week 8 … The Warriors scored in the second quarter. Bradyn Pike caught a 10-yard TD pass from Cameron Senter and the PAT was good … Benjamin Brace had 19 carries for 76 yards on a night when his team had 113 total net yards (74 rushing) … Senter was 6-of-13 passing for 39 yards … Carson Nine (7) and Kassidy Carter (6) led in total tackles. Alex Tienda and Ryan Mack both intercepted a pass and Barrett Kelly and Cooper Garden recovered a fumble … The Warriors have an offensive average of 10.5 and 41.1 given up on defense.
Per Coach Matt Thacker:
On Mishawaka — We’ve got to be ready to play physical and for 48 minutes because that’s what they’re going to bring to us … We are doing our darnedest to emulate what they do. They’re definitely the product that we’re striving to become … Our base (Flexbone) stuff is similar to their base stuff. They have a few different wrinkles.
Eight weeks in — We just need to continue to keep working on who we are trying to become, not worry about things outside our control and just focus on us … We’re taking it one day at a time. I’m really excited about our young kids. We’ve been able to get a lot of kids substantial playing time in the varsity game. That’ll pay off. It just doesn’t pay off right now.
Concord game — When we fight and played spirit, we can play pretty good ball. Concord’s vastly more athletic and faster than we are. We were also able to do some things offensively and defensively. We’d like to be able to run the ball a little better.

Manchester (5-3, 5-2 TRC) at Peru (3-5, 3-4 TRC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Bengal Stadium, Peru, IN
Series: Peru 7-3
John Harrell’s prediction: Manchester 28-24
Last meeting: Oct. 13, 2023, Peru 52-6
About Manchester: The Squires most recent victory, a 49-28 win over Cass, was Manchester’s fourth in a row. The last time the team won four straight games came in 2009, when the Squires, led by Brandon Baker, won their first five games of the campaign en route to a 8-2 season. Offensively, Manchester was on fire last week, led by a breakout performance by quarterback Dallas Martin. The junior was 3-3 passing for 85 yards and two touchdowns, both to Eli Metzger. Martin also ran for 214 yards on 12 carries, adding three more scores on the ground. He was flanked by Reiss Gaerte (64 yards, TD) and Maddux Greer (57 yards and as score) in the backfield. Gaerte also accounted for 21 tackles on defense. The win clinched at least fourth place in the Three Rivers Conference for the Squires. It was announced during Sunday’s sectional draw that Manchester will host Churubusco to begin the 2A playoffs.
About Peru: In what has been an average year for the Tigers, Peru comes into Friday night’s matchup with a 3-5 record after falling 29-16 to Northwestern last week. Both Tiger touchdowns were scored by Isaiah Korba, who ran for 163 yards and the two scores. Tanner Boggs added 73 yards on the ground. Quarterback Johuan Antunez was 3-13 passing for 67 yards. Three different receivers caught the three completions. Boggs and Weston Marks each had a sack on defense. Peru will begin its 3A playoff run with a matchup with undefeated Maconaquah. The Braves won the first meeting this season 42-0.
Manchester head coach Brian Enyeart:
On last week - We played really well offensively and did enough defensively to limit their scores and produce turnovers. Everything was clicking and Dallas had a heck of a ballgame. We were turning plays that we normally get three to four yards on into 50-60 yard touchdowns.
On team’s improvement - The kids are understanding their roles and assignments on both sides of the ball. When they see it working they start to understand what we’re stressing. They’ve bought into the process and trusted it. We started the season with three plays going into our scrimmage and have added a little more each week. We’re hitting our stride, but we can’t be satisfied.
On Peru - We have to be happy to get a few yards at a time, we can’t expect to turn every play into those long touchdowns like last week. If we’re not getting the big plays we have to be satisfied with the positive ones. They’ve got some good athletes that can run the ball so we’ll have to be stout defensively. I think we’ll be up to the task.

Whitko (0-8, 0-7 TRC) at Wabash (1-7, 1-6)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Alumni Field.
Series: Whitko leads 12-7.
Last meeting: Wabash won 35-0, Oct. 13, 2023.
Last Whitko win: 30-24, Sept. 19, 2014.
John Harrell’s prediction: Wabash, 35-31.
About Whitko: The Wildcats were deadlocked 0-0 until the 8:24 mark of the second quarter in their 47-6 loss to Northfield last week and down just 14-0 at the half before the Norsemen pulled away over the final two periods. Whitko got to within 28-6 on freshman Hunter Long’s 5-yard touchdown run in the initial minute of the final quarter, but Northfield scored 19 points over the next eight minutes, capped by a 36-yard pick six. … Long rushed for 55 yards, while Trevor Freel and Landon Smith combined to add 74. … The Cats, who will host Eastside (4-4) in a first-round Class 2A sectional game next week, are seeking to avoid their fourth 0-10 season in the last eight years to go with a 7-33 mark over the other four of those seasons. … While Whitko and Wabash alike are winless against six common opponents, the Cats do own the closer result against four of those teams.
About Wabash: The Apaches’ lone win this season is 40-38 in Week 5 at Southwood (0-8, 0-7), a team that Whitko does not play this year. … Wabash fell 77-0 last week at Maconaquah for its most lopsided loss in 24 seasons. … The Apaches, close to a 50/50 run/pass mix this season, are led by junior running back Noah Baldwin with 760 yards and eight touchdowns on 142 carries for a 5.4 average. Sophomore quarterback Haiden McWhirt is 83-of-178 throwing for 988 yards and three TDs against nine interceptions. Junior wideouts DaVon Osborn and Korbin Brumley have paired for 48 catches, 644 yards and three scores. … A largely young club, like Whitko, Wabash’s top four individuals in tackles, and seven of the leading nine, are underclassmen, including freshman linebacker Harrison Phillipy setting the pace at 40. The Apaches own eight takeaways, albeit just one by interception.
Whitko coach Brad Sprunger:
On last week — “I feel like we did a flip flop. The first half wasn’t bad, but then the third quarter, it got out of hand. That first half, we played well. The defense played pretty well. We just can’t have turnovers like we’re having (four for the game to one by Northfield) and expect to win.”
On Wabash — “I think if our corners and safeties play a really good game and our defensive line gets after it, we’ve got a chance. We’re a little undersized compared to them, but I think we’re about the same speed-wise.”
On player hunger for elusive win — “I think it’s there. I think as the season has gone on, they can see how much they’ve improved. I think we’re just one bad quarter away in a couple games from having multiple wins. As coaches, we’re watching a lot of game film to try to figure it out. We feel like we’re on the edge of being a good football team. I’m not sure if the kids know that, but I feel like we are.”

Triton (6-2, 5-1 HNAC) at North Miami (6-2, 4-2 HNAC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Tim DuBois Field, Denver.
Series (last 30 years): Triton, 2-0.
John Harrell’s prediction: Triton, 28-24.
Last meeting: Oct. 22, 2004, Triton, 41-7 (sectional).
About Triton — Acting head coach Rodney Younis’ 1A AP No. 10/IFCA No. 10 Trojans won 28-21 against visiting Pioneer in Week 8 … Thanks to Isaac Quintana’s TD catch from Ben McFarland and Jayden Overmyer’s TD run plus PAT’s, Triton led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter … It was 14-7 at halftime … With Overmyer getting another rushing TD and PAT, the Trojans were up 21-14 going into the fourth quarter … The final Triton points were a Dante’ Workman TD pass from McFarland and a PAT in the fourth period … Triton’s two setbacks came against Bremen (21-3) in Week 2 and North Judson (40-0) in Week 6. The Lions are now 4-4 and the Bluejays 8-0 … The Trojans score 28.1 points per game and yield 13.5 … It is all break with no class … In this week’s rankings, Triton is AP No. 8 and IFCA No. 8 in 1A. Pioneer is AP No. 11 and IFCA No. 11 in 1A.
About North Miami — Joe Grant’s 1A IFCA No. 14 Warriors won 61-26 at Culver Community in Week 8 … North Miami led 46-20 at halftime … Paced by Ryan Meredith (4), Lake Musall (2), Jordan Korreckt (1) and Kody Whann (1), the Warriors got eight rushing TD’s … Primarily a running team, Meredith, Whann, Musall and Hartley Hoover are all over 450 yards rushing … Jordan Simon is tops in total tackles … North Miami’s two losses came to North Judson (46-0) in Week 4 and Pioneer (21-14) in Week 5. The Bluejays are now 8-0 and the Panthers 6-2 … The Warriors score 35.4 points per game and allow 20.6.
Per Coach Rodney Younis:
On North Miami — North Miami is going to be another strong opponent. They are doing a lot of strong things offensively. They are putting a lot of points on the board. It’s going to be important that we read our keys and stick to our assignments because they run a very good option offense. They run a lot of things similar to North Judson … They are very balanced. When you face an option offense, you always start inside-out and you’ve got to be able to stop that fullback. They have weapons that can hurt you from the outside as well.
Fall break week — We’ll try to keep things as consistent as possible.
Pioneer game — It was a great team effort. Our boys played well together as a unit. A lot of things clicked well. You can’t really point out one person because the whole group stepped up … We gave up some big plays defensively, but we had some key stops when we need them as well.