5A Sectional 11 Semifinals
Goshen (0-9) at Warsaw (6-3)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Fisher Field, Warsaw.
Series (last 35 years): Warsaw, 25-11.
John Harrell’s prediction: Warsaw, 49-7.
Last meeting: Sept. 6, 2024, Warsaw, 56-7.
About Goshen — Joey Hecklinski’s RedHawks drew a first-round tournament bye after a 42-0 loss at NorthWood in Week 9 … On the season, Carter Diaz is 109-of-177 passing for 1,204 yards and four TD’s with nine interceptions. He completed 20-of-30 for 160 yards against NorthWood … Nick Johnson has 46 carries for 87 yards … Gabe Janisse has 55 receptions for 653 yards and one TD and Anthony Longstreet 12 catches for 183 yards and one TD … Total tackle leaders are Logan Mishler (102), Jack Krider (39) and Janisse (36) … Janisse has two interceptions … The RedHawks score 5.2 points per game and yields 46.2 … Since 1978, Goshen is 43-40 in tournament games.
About Warsaw — Bart Curtis’ Tigers drew a first-round tournament bye after winning 42-13 at Northridge in Week 9 … On the season, Warsaw has 137 first downs (to the opponent’s 119) with 2,130 yards rushing (1,211 for opponents) and 361 passing (1,265 for opponents) … Quinton Brock is 11-of-20 passing for four touchdowns and one interception and has 72 carries for 699 yards and seven TD’s … Other top rushers are Brody Duncan (104 carries for 455 yards and three TD’s), Tucker Reed (24 carries for 322 yards and seven TD’s), Drew Sullivan (72 carries for 295 yards and five TD’s), Evan Davis (19 carries for 176 yards and three TD’s) and Daylon Fitzpatrick (34 carries for 160 yards and two TD’s). Sullivan has been injured and last played in Week 5 against Concord … Ethan Egolf has 15 receptions for 231 yards and four TD’s … Tackle point leaders are Matthew Flores-Ortega (88), Tristan Wilson (79), Daylor Vilamaa (77), Gavin Schultz (75), Jayden Habegger (71) and Cohen Heady (59) … Wilson has four interceptions and Heady two … Mason Smythe is 36-of-38 on extra points, 2-of-3 on field goals with 35-of-50 kickoff for touchbacks and 4-of-12 punts inside the 20 … The Tigers, which gained 466 total yards against the RedHawks in a 56-7 Week 3 running-clock victory, have won 17 straight against Goshen … Warsaw scores 31.8 points per game and give up 18.0 … In the rankings, Warsaw is AP No. 9 and IFCA No. 10 in 5A … The winner of Goshen at Warsaw plays the winner of Concord at Fort Wayne North Side in the sectional championship … Since 1985, the Tigers are 18-39 in tournament games.
Per Coach Bart Curtis:
On Goshen —I’m thinking they’re going to come out and play with their tails on fire. What happened eight weeks ago has nothing to do with what’s going to happen Friday night … They present a lot of challenges with formations, their passing game and some inside zone runs. We’re going to have to be at our best to advance.
Defense — I’d give (the defensive unit) at B (grade). We’re playing more aggressively and are less concerned about making mistakes … I like the demeanor and confidence with which they are practicing and playing. They are becoming a selfless unit. They’re not worried about stats or accolades … We’ve had a spree of personnel changes. It’s like, ‘which pieces of the puzzle can we utilize this week?’ ... We’ve given up yard but we haven’t given up a lot of points lately. (Against Northridge) the picked up a pass (for a TD) and scored on our JV’s late in the game … We don’t have a lot of sacks this year. Getting better at our pass-rush moves is going to be imperative going into the tournament.
Offense/Special Teams — I like our offensive line. We’re getting some things figured out with the football and protecting it a little better … We have put some points on the board, but it doesn’t feel like it all the time. It’s really strange … We’re getting a little more consistent, but we have still been turning the ball over more times than what we should … You won’t last very long in the tournament if those things are part of your repertoire … We have the potential for some big plays … Throwing the ball, we’re doing better … Missed assignments and penalties are still an issue. I’d probably give our offense at B — up from a B-minus at the midway point … Our kicking game has been pretty solid other than we didn’t field an onside kick against (NorthWood) and Plymouth blocked some PAT’s which were huge at the time … We’re blessed to have one of the best in the state (Mason Smythe) kicking the football for us. The kids that go unnoticed are long snapper Jayden Habegger and our holder Daylor Vilamaa.

3A Sectional 26 Semifinals
Garrett (10-0) at Tippecanoe Valley (7-3)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Smith-Bibler Memorial Field, Akron.
Series: Tied 1-1.
Last meeting: Valley won 22-8 in 3A sectional first round, Oct. 22, 2021.
Last Garrett win: 27-14 in 3A sectional first round, Oct. 21, 2011.
John Harrell’s prediction: Garrett, 35-21.
About Garrett: The 3A No. 4-rated Railroaders rolled by visiting rival Lakeland 50-26 in last week’s sectional opener, reaching at least 42 points for the fourth straight game. On the season, Garrett’s averaging 38.5 points while allowing 14.3. … Led by third-year starting dual-threat QB Calder Hefty (832 rushing yards, 9.3 average, 15 TDs; 30-of-66 throwing, 688 yards, 10 TDs against two picks) and fellow senior Camren Ruble (1,118 yards rushing, 5.5 average, 14 TDs), the Railroaders are averaging 306.7 yards per game on the ground. Three underclassmen backs have added another 1,026 yards, an 8.3 average and seven TDs to complement the Hefty-Ruble production. … Senior receiver Parker Skelly has six TDs off 18 catches for 455 yards. … Defensively, senior linebacker Nate Wells has been in on 65 tackles and junior backer Brayden Nusbaum 57. Havoc-wreaking junior lineman Aiden Hunt has 17 tackles for loss, including six sacks. Skelly has picked off four passes at safety, part of Garrett’s 19 takeaways as a team. … The Railroaders, blasting back into prominence after six straight non-winning seasons, have already clinched the program’s best record since the 1974 team went 11-0 on the way to a Class 1A state title. … Coach Chris DePew is in his 13th year heading Garrett with a 77-63 record to go with sectional and regional crowns in 2016.
About Valley: In their 51-25 first-round win over Woodlan last week, the Vikings posted their highest point total in postseason in 45 years, surpassed only by the 67-0 and 63-6 victories that the fabled 1979 club recorded over Central Noble and North Judson on its way to a state crown. … Brock Derf scored three TDs for Valley, which led just 14-12 late in the second quarter, before scoring the next 30 points to take a commanding 44-12 spread into the final period. … TV won for just the second time in its last 16 postseason home games dating back to 2002, and now will try to win two straight home playoff games within the same year for the first time since none other than that 1979 state title season. … For the season, Wes Parker (771 yards, 13.1 average, nine TDs), Grady Moriarty (614, 6.7, six), Brock Derf (503, 7.2, eight) and Brandon Stiles (317, 4.2, three) have all posted impact ground numbers. … Wideout Owen Omondi has 12 catches for 263 yards and two TDs, while fellow sophomore Hunter Stage is 30-of-66 passing for 451 yards … On defense, linebackers Derf, Moriarty and Stiles have been in on 107, 98 and 56 tackles, respectively, including nine TFLs by Derf, seven by Moriarty and another six by Asher McGriff. … The Viking defense owns 20 takeaways, including a team-leading five by junior corner Hudson Shepherd, who last week turned his fourth fumble recovery into Valley’s first defensive score of the fall. … The Vikings face an unbeaten club for the third time in the last five years in the playoffs, falling 40-7 at eventual state champ Indianapolis Chatard last fall and 41-24 to eventual regional champ Marian in 2020. … With a win, Valley would be on the road for the sectional final against West Noble (9-1) or Fairfield (5-5).
Valley coach Steve Moriarty:
On last week — “I was pleased. I thought we did a good job moving the ball on them. Our offensive line came out pretty aggressive, and Brock, Wes Parker, Grady did a great job running it. Defensively, we slowed them down a little bit, made them have to try to beat us opposite-handed by throwing the ball.”
On Garrett — “They’ve got a really good team, run the ball well and are coached extremely well. Coach DePew has ’em rolling. They’ve always been fundamentally sound. We’ll have to try to match their intensity and slow down that running game, (though) to be honest, they’re well-balanced at least in terms of efficiency. Their quarterback moves well in the pocket, has a good arm and is willing to take off.”
On Hudson Shepherd — “He’s really stepped up this year. He only started playing football his freshman year. Never played before that. He missed a couple games (due to injury), but he’s back and doing very well.”

1A Sectional 43 Semifinals
Southern Wells (0-9) at Triton (7-3)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Trojan Field, Bourbon.
Series (last 30 years): Southern Wells, 3-0.
John Harrell’s prediction: Triton, 49-7.
Last meeting: Nov. 14, 2008, Southern Wells, 32-0 (regional).
About Southern Wells — Blake Blaker’s Raiders drew a first-round tournament bye after a 58-0 home loss to South Adams in Week 9 … On the season, Trey Slusher is 44-of-105 passing for 480 yards two TD’s with 15 interceptions and has 89 carries for 236 yards and two TD’s … Levi Blake has 22 receptions for 268 yards and one TD and Joshua Aulbach 11 catches for 162 yards … Total tackle leaders are Blake (33), Slusher (17), Jarrett Martin (15) and Clayton Peterson (15) … Aiden Dollar has recovered two fumbles … The Raiders have been shut out five times … Southern Wells scores 3.6 points per game and gives up 53.4 … Opponents are a combined 48-39 including 9-1 Adams Central, 9-1 Madison Grant and 8-2 Heritage (lost in sectional quarterfinals) … Since 1985, the Raiders are 38-37 in tournament games …
About Triton — Rodney Younis’ Trojans beat visiting Southwood 49-7 in the first round of the tournament. The point total tied the season high … On the season, Triton has 126 first downs (to the opponent’s 113) with 2,070 yards rushing (1,591 for opponents) and 604 passing (683 for opponents) … Ben McFarland is 32-of-58 passing for 591 yards and 11 TD’s with six interceptions and 33 carries for 90 yards and three TD’s … Rushing leaders are Jayden Overmyer (148 carries for 1,015 yards and 11 TD’s), Vinnie Prater (92 carries for 557 yards and five TD’s), Dante’ Workman (22 carries for 147 yards and two TD’s) and R Gayheart (17 carries for 116 yards and one TD) … Workman has 17 receptions for 365 yards and five TD’s and Isaac Quintana five catches for 122 yards and three TD’s … Total tackle leaders are Esai Lemler (67), Colton Reynolds (66), Workman (47) and Wayne Reichert (41) … Workman has three interceptions and Overmyer and Gage Riffle two each … Reichert and Dominique Bradley have two fumble recoveries apiece … The winner of Southern Wells at Triton plays the winner of North Miami at Fremont in the sectional championship … Triton scores 28.7 points per game with opponents averaging 13.6 … Opponents are a combined 46-53 including 10-0 North Judson, 8-2 North Miami, 7-3 Pioneer and 6-4 Bremen … In the rankings, the Trojans are IFCA No. 10 in 1A … Since 1985, Triton is 28-39 in tournament games.
Per Coach Rodney Younis:
On Southern Wells — If they had any injuries, I’m sure that helped get some of their kids back … They’ll run a spread offense (similar to Southwood). They will throw the ball around … Defensively, they’ve got some kids that will get after it. We’ll have to know where they’re at and stick with our game plan … They play a strong schedule so you can’t take that for granted either. They have losing to lose. They’re going to throw everything at us. We have to be ready for anything and make sure we are sticking to our keys.
Health — We’re where we’ve been for the last few weeks. We’re no worse; we’re no better. We’re moving right along with the injury report … We’re close to around 20 (players seeing the field each game). We’ve got a number of kids that play both sides of the ball and with 1A football you’re going to have that. But we have kids that we can sub in at a spot for a series or two.
Southwood game — All week we had talked about how we needed to put four quarters together. I was pleased with our guys. We got the ball first and had a great drive. Once we scored, we took off from there. We put a complete game together. Coaches called the right play. Defensively, we were in the right position. It was just a great team effort.