Plymouth (3-2, 2-1 NLC) at Warsaw (3-2, 2-1 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Fisher Field, Warsaw.
Series (last 35 years): Warsaw, 18-17.
John Harrell’s prediction: Warsaw, 31-17.
Last meeting: Sept. 1, 2023, Warsaw, 41-7.
About Plymouth: Adam Handley’s Rockies won 30-0 at Wawasee in Week 5 … Plymouth led 7-0 at halftime and went on to gain 324 total yards (304 rushing) … On the season, Exzander Ramirez has completed 34-of-64 passes for 387 yards and three touchdowns with five interceptions … Ramirez has 75 carries for 691 yards and seven TD’s, Finn Holm 70 totes for 457 yards and six TD’s and Owen Verhaeghe 30 rushes for 113 yards and one TD … Jose Fernando has 12 catches for 179 yards and one TD … Total tackle leaders are Carter Bush (48), Brady Coffin (47) and Lathan Cotton (41) … The Rockies score 26.8 points per game and gives up 15.6.
About Warsaw: Bart Curtis’ Associated Press/Indiana Football Coaches Association Class 5A No. 5-ranked Tigers lost 28-24 at AP No. 4/IFCA Class 5A No. 2 Concord in Week 5 … Warsaw led 17-0 at halftime and lost as the Minutemen scored an 18-yard TD pass with 23.7 seconds to play after the Tigers went up 24-21 on a 50-yard TD run by Quinton Brock at 3:17 of the fourth quarter … Of Warsaw’s 195 rushing yards, Drew Sullivan (29 carries for 125) and Brock (five for 35 net) had the most … Sullivan connected on 3-of-7 passes for 61 yards and Brock 2-of-4 for 23 … The Tigers’ first points came on a 47-yard field goal by Mason Smythe … Warsaw possessed the ball 30:23 of 48:00. Concord's last three drives — all TD’s — were 69 yards in 3:05, 44 in 1:33 and 72 in 2:54 (with the decisive points coming at :23.7 of the fourth quarter) … On the season, Sullivan is 11-of-26 passing for 203 yards with two TD’s and four interceptions … Ground attack leaders are Brock (19 carries for 297 yards and five TD’s), Sullivan (72 carries for 295 yards and five TD’s) and Brody Duncan (39 carries for 185 yards and one TD) … Ethan Egolf has nine receptions for 153 yards and one TD … Smythe has 21 extra points, two extra points, 10 punts and 28 kickoffs (19 touchbacks) … The Tigers score 31.2 points per game and yields 16.4 … In this week’s rankings, Warsaw is AP No. 6 and IFCA No. 8. Concord is AP No. 2 and IFCA Class 5A No. 1.
Per Coach Bart Curtis:
On Plymouth — They are possibly the most-improved team in the conference. They are a very dangerous team at a very dangerous time. They have some weapons … They’re going to come over here and play their best game — without a doubt. They want to run the football but are very capable of passing it … They have the same record we have and have beaten the same teams in the conference — Goshen and Wawasee.
Moving on — If you don’t bounce back, you’re going to lose again. If you wallow in pity and wallow in yesterday, you’re going to be in trouble … We’ve only played two teams that are similar to us in ability, size and strength and that’s Concord and Michigan City. Both are fine teams. We split with them (beating Michigan City in Week 1).
On Concord game — They’re a very good team. We knew that going in.

Tippecanoe Valley (4-1, 1-1 INSC) at Jimtown (3-2, 2-0)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Sharpe Stadium, Elkhart.
Series: Jimtown leads 6-1.
Last meeting: Valley won 35-14 on Sept. 22, 2023.
Last Jimtown win: 27-6, Nov. 1, 2019, in 3A sectional semifinal.
John Harrell’s prediction: Jimtown, 28-24.
About Valley: Grady Moriarty blasted for touchdown runs of 36, 65 and 63 yards as the Vikings charged from behind to notch their first-ever Indiana Northern State Conference win last week, 32-21 at LaVille. Valley trailed 21-10 midway through the third quarter, but closed to 21-18 on a 31-yard TD run by Wes Parker and Moriatry’s two-point conversion. Moriarty added his two 60-plus scoring plays in the fourth period. He finished with 173 of TV’s 436 ground yards on seven carries. Parker added 132 yards. … Gage Overbey drilled a 37-yard field goal and went 3-of-3 on extra points to remain perfect on the season. … Through five games, Parker’s at 463 yards rushing with a dizzying 14.9 average and six touchdowns. Moriarty’s at 354 yards and a 9.3 norm, while Brock Derf and Brandon Stiles have paired for 426 yards, five TDs and a 5.5 average. … Linebackers Derf (58 tackles, 49 solo) and Moriarty (49, 39) are leading the defense, while Asher McGriff has three of the Vikings’ 10 sacks. … Host Valley’s 35-14 win over the Jimmies last fall marked the teams’ first-ever regular-season matchup. Jimtown had taken each of the other six meetings, all in postseason, from 1993 to 2019.
About Jimtown: The Jimmies, co-leaders of the INSC with Knox, have strung together three straight wins under rookie head coach Cody Vincent after dropping their first two games to defending 4A state runner-up NorthWood, 34-12, and 5A now No. 1-ranked Concord, 49-28. … In last week’s 36-7 win over visiting Bremen, Jimtown senior wideout Javen Jackson turned a short pass into a 54-yard touchdown in the first quarter, then added an 80-yard kickoff return for a score in the second period. Senior quarterback Mason Armstrong picked up TD runs of 25 and 15 yards during the second half. Star senior running back Ty Zartman closed at 64 yards on 12 carries. … For the season, Zartman’s averaging 110.2 ground yards per game to go with four TDs. Armstrong is 39-of-74 throwing. … A 2004 Jimtown grad who played for legendary coach Bill Sharpe, the well-traveled Vincent, among other stops, served four seasons as assistant director of football recruiting and graphic design at the University of Arkansas before rejoining the high school ranks in 2022 as a NorthWood assistant. He began his coaching career in 2011 as an assistant for four seasons with the Jimmies, followed by one season as a special teams advance scout at Notre Dame.
Valley coach Steve Moriarty:
On last week — “I thought we overcame the turnover bug we had early on (three giveaways on the night, including a pick six). Once we did, we were able to move the ball pretty smoothly in the second half. My concern is continuing to clean things up, not just turnovers, but the bobbled snaps, things like that.”
On Grady’s game — “I don’t like to talk about my son. Next question. … Nah, just kidding. He ran hard and refused to go down. Made me proud as a coach … and as a dad.”
On run-heavy offense — “I’d like to pass a little more. It’s something we’re working on, scheming to get the ball in the air more. We’re gonna go with one quarterback (sophomore Hunter Stage) instead of the 50-50 we’ve kind of had, and I think that’ll help clean up some of the timing issues.”
On Jimtown — “It’s old-school Jimtown football. They play hard every snap, fire off the ball really well. They might be the best team we’ll play this year. Their two losses came early on against two excellent teams.”

Goshen (0-5, 0-3 NLC) at Wawasee (0-5, 0-3 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Warrior Stadium, Syracuse.
Series (last 35 years): Goshen, 23-13.
John Harrell’s prediction: Wawasee, 31-30.
Last meeting: Sept. 1, 2023, Wawasee, 34-21.
About Goshen: Joey Hecklinski’s RedHawks lost 49-10 to visiting AP No. 6/IFCA Class 4A No. 7 Mishawaka in Week 5 … Goshen stopped the Cavemen inside the “red zone” three times but gave up four turnovers … Carter Diaz passed for 163 yards with 10 completions to Gabe Janisse … On the season, Diaz is 60-of-103 for 830 yards with three TD’s and eight interceptions with 32 catches for 488 yards and one TD to Janisse … Nick Johnson (22 carries for 62 yards) is the leading rusher … Top tacklers are Logan Mishler (50), Jazic Clevenger (26) and Janisse (21) … The RedHawks have lost eight straight dating back to 2023 … Goshen scores 7.4 points per game with opponents averaging 49.4. In this week’s rankings, Mishawaka AP No. 6 and IFCA No. 6 in 4A.
About Wawasee: Matt Thacker’s Warriors lost 30-0 to visiting Plymouth in Week 5 … Yardage leaders for Wawasee were Cameron Senter in passing (2-of-4 for 35 with one interception), Benjamin Brace in rushing (21 carries for 76) and Bradyn Pike in receiving (one catch for 18) … Total tackle leaders were Kassidy Carter (8), Barrett Kelly (7), Pike (4) and Reed Reidenbach (4) … J’Ceon Evans gathered one interception … On the season, Senter is 6-of-9 for 156 yards, two TD’s and one interception. Top rushers are Pike (20 carries for 135 yards and two TD’s), Senter (55 totes for 133 yards), Jayden Stahl (38 rushes for 125 yards) and Brace (27 carries for 108 yards) … Total tackle leaders are Carter (31), Reidenbach (24) and Derek Morrison (21) … The Warriors have an offensive average of 5.2 and 46.8 give up on defense.
Per Coach Matt Thacker:
On Goshen — We’re going to prepare for a lot of things (from Goshen’s offense). We’ve got to play sound defense and finish tackles … Offensively, we’ve got to run our stuff and hopefully have long, productive drives that finish in the end zone.
Improved — We are getting better. We’ve got to just continue to be in that process and continue to keep working.
On Plymouth game — Kids did a good job in the first half … Our depth issues kind of forced our hand and things got away from us in the fourth quarter. It’s a credit to our kids and coaches with how hard they played.

Southwood (0-5, 0-4 TRC at Manchester (2-3, 2-2 TRC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Burk Field, North Manchester
Series: Southwood 25-9
John Harrell’s prediction: Manchester 31-24
Last meeting: Sep. 22, 2023, Southwood 8-7
About Southwood: Despite coming into Friday night’s contest without a win this season, the Knights have improved dramatically over the course of the season, losing their last two games by a combined three points while combining to score 72 points in the process. Last week’s outing, a 40-38 loss to Wabash, saw Southwood mount a furious comeback in the fourth quarter, scoring 16 points before ultimately falling short. Quarterback Griffin Chambers had 205 yards passing and two touchdowns in the loss, connecting with five different receivers. His favorite was Owen Enyeart, who caught seven passes for 49 yards and a score. Running back Maddox Marshall had 56 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.
About Manchester: The Squires picked up their second win of the campaign last Friday, defeating Northfield 20-14 in overtime on the road. Manchester was down 14-0 at halftime before tying things up in the third quarter before winning it in overtime, holding the Norsemen scoreless in the second half and OT. Reiss Gaerte had 79 yards on the ground to go with a touchdown. He also returned a fumble for a TD on defense. Mason Rooney also found the end zone rushing to go with 13 tackles made on defense. Eli Metzger and Resto D’Andrea each had interceptions in the win. Dallas Martin made his first start at quarterback in the victory, going 2-5 for 17 yards.
Manchester head coach Brian Enyeart:
On last week - It really was a tale of two halves. We didn’t play well at all in the first half, on both sides of the ball. At halftime I told them that we need to be better. We need to step up and respond. We knew if we did what we were supposed to do in the second half, we could win the game. They came out with some fire and tied things up. Our defense was playing lights out and I was really proud.
On his team responding to adversity - They accepted the challenge, stepped up and got it done. We’re taking steps to change the culture here and build up a program, which is what I’ve been preaching to them since the beginning. In previous weeks or years I don’t think we would have pulled this off, and the players agreed. We’ve got guys stepping up and performing in their roles, hopefully we can keep it going and be clicking by sectionals.
On Southwood - You can’t look at them as an 0-5 team. The last two weeks they’ve lost by a combined three points. They’ve been in two really close games the last couple of weeks. They’re dangerous. We don’t want to overlook them. We should go out and execute, but we’ve still got to learn to finish contests. We hope we don’t get sucked into the trap and we play a great game from start to finish.

Lewis Cass (2-3, 2-2 TRC) at Whitko (0-5, 0-4)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Huff Stadium, South Whitley.
Series: Cass leads 2-0.
Last meeting: Cass won 52-6 on Sept. 22, 2023.
John Harrell’s prediction: Cass, 42-28.
About Cass: The Kings, in their second season in the Three Rivers Conference, fell 50-22 last week against Rochester, giving them and Whitko already three opponents in common this year. Cass also lost 64-55 at Northwestern in Week 4 and beat visiting Peru 24-20 in Week 3. The Wildcats’ scores against those teams are losses of 27-6 against Peru, 49-12 at Rochester and 47-16 last week at Northwestern. … Unlike Whitko’s last two foes, the Kings are not a pass-heavy club, but they’ve been potent on the ground, averaging 303.6 such yards per game and 7.0 per play. Senior running backs Jonathan Mack and Trevor Rowe lead the way. They’ve paired for 947 rushing yards, 8.2 per carry and 13 touchdowns. … In last week’s loss at Rochester (4-1, 4-0), the Kings got as close as 30-22 in the third quarter before being outscored 20-0 in the fourth. The Zebras cashed each of four Cass turnovers into touchdowns.
About Whitko: The Wildcats were missing 12 players, most due to minor injuries, in last week’s 47-16 loss at Northwestern. Eight of the 12 are expected back this week, including two-way standout Riley Harman. … Crew Ebbinghouse and Trevor Freel tallied touchdowns for Whitko, Freel’s being his fourth of the year, while freshman Hunter Long posted a third straight strong game at running back. He’s gained 152 yards on 19 carries over those contests for an 8.0 average. … Unbeaten 3A No. 14 Northwestern had a couple key injuries of its own, including state passing leader Brock Shank being out, but freshman Colin Cook bedazzled in his first extended varsity action, completing 16-of-25 passes for 416 yards and seven touchdowns. Three of his TD passes went to his senior brother, 6-5 Hayden Cook, who finished with six catches for 172 yards.
Whitko coach Brad Sprunger:
On last week — “We had four or five JV kids in there starting and they stepped up really well, but by a certain point, (Northwestern’s) size and speed were hard to overcome. We were down 13-8 halfway through the second quarter and moved the ball well most of the game except for a couple series. They had some mismatches that they took advantage of at receiver, but overall, I thought we played pretty well as a team.”
On youngsters stepping up — “(Sophomore cornerback) Haddyn Reed actually had some pretty decent coverage at times, but he’s 5-5 and on a really good 6-5 (senior) receiver, so it was tough. (Freshmen) Hunter Long, Jett Ocken and Brady Banacka are some of the young kids who played pretty well.”
On Cass — “They bring a tough, hard-nosed offense. Luckily, they run pretty much the same offense and defense we run, so that helps. They’re not very big, but they get off the ball well, and defensively, they fly to the ball well. They do what we’re trying to do and the challenge will be to match their physicalness.”

North Judson (5-0, 3-0 HNAC) at Triton (4-1, 3-0 HNAC)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m., Trojan Field, Bourbon.
Series (last 30 years): North Judson, 8-4.
John Harrell’s prediction: North Judson, 38-14.
Last meeting: Nov. 3, 2023, North Judson, 33-7.
About North Judson: Brett Lambert’s AP/IFCA Class 1A No. 1 Bluejays won 70-0 at Culver Community in Week 5 … For the season, leading rushers are Kole Wilcox (48 carries for 755 yards and 14 TD’s), Brock Benson (60 for 522 and six TD’s), Jesiah McDaniel (37 for 324 and five TD’s), Grason McDaniel (12 for 179 and two TD’s) and Ayson Harper (four for 112 and one TD) … Jesiah McDaniel is 11-of-22 passing for 251 yards, two TD’s and one interception … Total tackle leaders are Benson (24), Logan Pradke (20) and Grason McDaniel (20) … Jesse McDaniel has two interceptions … North Judson scores 50.2 points per game and allows 5.8 … The Bluejays bounced back in the postseason after a 40-7 loss to Triton during the 2023 regular season … In this week’s rankings, North Judson is AP No. 1 and IFCA No. 1 in 1A.
About Triton: Zach Whittaker’s AP No. 6/IFCA Class 1A No. 7 Trojans won 28-0 at Winamac in Week 5 … Dante’ Workman scored two TD’s (26-yard interception return and 22-yard run) and Wayne Reichert (18-yard pass from Ben McFarland) and Jayden Overmyer (7-yard pass from McFarland) one apiece … Overmyer (23 carries for 97), Vinnie Prater (11 for 65) and Workman (three for 26) were rushing yardage leaders as the Trojans gained 206 on the ground … McFarland completed 5-of-9 passes for 58 yards with two TD’s and one interception … Total tackle leaders were Esai Lemler (7), Colton Reynolds (7), McFarland (6) and Prater (5) … Interceptions were gathered by Overmyer, Workman and Gavin Riffle … Triton held Winamac to 80 total yards and five first downs … On the season, McFarland is 15-of-26 passing for 227 yards with six TD’s and four interceptions … Overmyer (80 carries for 646 yards for five TD’s), Prater (49 totes for 275 yards and three TD’s) and Workman (seven runs for 105 yards and one TD) are rush leaders … Workman seven receptions for 116 yards and two TD’s … Total tackle leaders are Lemler (36), Reynolds (31) and Reichert (25) … The Trojans score 31.0 points per game and yields 9.4 ... In this week’s rankings, Triton is AP No. 6 and IFCA No. 6 in 1A.
Per Coach Zach Whittaker:
On North Judson — It’s going to take our best. We have a lot of respect for this team … It’s a game we’ve been looking forward to. Anytime you get No. 1 to come to town it’s an exciting opportunity. We look forward to the challenge. We knew they’re going to be extremely physical. They’ve got great team speed and they execute their (multi-faceted) offense very well.
‘D’ — Our defense played lights out (against Winamac).
On Winamac game — I’m a little disappointed. We took care of business and we got the win, but turned the ball over four time in the “red zone” (interception, fumble and twice on downs). We didn’t execute and finish drives the way we need to, especially coming into this next week.