Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Goshen (2-3, 1-2 NLC) at Warsaw (5-0, 3-0 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Fisher Field, Warsaw.
Series (last 40 years): Warsaw, 28-13.
John Harrell’s prediction: Warsaw, 45-10.
Last meeting: Sept. 5, 2025, Warsaw 37-7.
About Goshen: Griff Heckaman’s 5A RedHawks beat visiting Plymouth 5-2 in overtime in Week 5 … After an exchange of first-half safeties, Goshen won on a 25-yard field goal by Trenton Clark … Graham Harkenrider made seven tackles (one for lost yardage) and recovered a fumble … The RedHawks feature Kerrington Lee at fullback, Bennett Short at halfback, and for the last couple weeks, Kanyn Diemer-Abney at quarterback … Goshen has lost in its last 18 meetings with Warsaw. The last win against the Tigers came in 2007 … The RedHawks carry a 19.0 offensive average and 28.4 defensive average.
About Warsaw: Bart Curtis’ Indiana Football Coaches Association No. 4 5A Tigers won 38-7 at Wawasee in Week 5 … Warsaw led 31-0 at halftime on the way to the “W” Trophy and the 12th straight win against Wawasee … The Tigers forced three turnovers … Of 334 rushing yards for the Tigers, Wyatt Harman (90 with one TD), Mark Haynes (78), Mason Silveus (46 with one TD), Tucker Reed (34 with one TD) and Michael Schenck (22 with one TD) were the leaders … Tops in tackle points were Nathan Villa (8), Matthew Flores-Ortega (7), Grady Nelson (7), Andrew Robertson (6), Walker Perry (6) and Ty Martin (5) … Flores-Ortega and Graham Dees had fumble recoveries. Jack Bradford and Cannon Swinehart intercepted passes … On the season, rushing yardage leaders are Schenck (498 with four TD’s), Reed (496 with eight TD’s), Harman (234 with two TD’s), Brady Sauer (230 with one TD), Silveus (144 with three TD’s) and Haynes (128 with two TD’s) … John Conley is 12-of-13 on extra points and 2-of-2 on field goals … Tackle point leaders are linebackers Villa (57), Martin (50) and Flores-Ortega (43) plus Robertson (34), Jack Bradford (34), Nelson (29) Ethan Sinclair (25) and Haynes (24) … Bradford, Deeds, Ortega, Martin, Nelson have one fumble recovery each. Interceptions have been collected by Bradford (3), Martin (1) and Swinehart (1) … Warsaw is tied with Northridge atop the Northern Lakes Conference standings … It’s the third time since 2001 Warsaw has gotten off to a 5-0 start. The Tigers started 5-0 in 2023 on the way to 9-2 in ’23 and began 10-0 en route to 10-1 in ’01 … Warsaw holds a 34.0 offensive average and 18.8 defensive average … This week is homecoming.
Per Coach Bart Curtis:
On Goshen — They present their own concerns and problems for us. Looking throughout the course of the season, they do not look like the same outfit from four or five weeks ago. They’ve certainly improved a great deal from summer camp …They’ve got some weapons, and there are a lot of similarities with what it is we're trying to accomplish (on offense with former Warsaw assistant Heckaman). When I look at them, I see personnel that are more than capable. I see a team that understands who they are and what they're trying to accomplish … We’ve just got to make sure we understand the purpose of homecoming and continue to practice with purpose.
Defense — We're improving and playing with some passion and persistence. We're playing with a purpose and are fairly aggressive most of the time.
On Wawasee game — We were sloppy (missing blocks, fumbling the football, not identifying personnel) at times. We ultimately did what we needed to do … Defensively, I thought we started fairly fast. We continue to improve tackling … Jack Bradford had a pick-six from about midfield, which got us on the board first.
Tippecanoe Valley (4-1, 2-0 INSC) at Jimtown (3-2, 2-0 INSC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Knepp Field, Elkhart
Series: Jimtown 7-2
Last Outing: Tippecanoe Valley defeated LaVille 40-3, Jimtown defeated Bremen 44-22
John Harrell’s prediction: Jimtown 31-24
Last Meeting: Sep. 26, 2025, Tippecanoe Valley 33-0
About Tippecanoe Valley: The Vikings head to Elkhart on Friday night for their third road game in as many weeks. This one holds a bit more weight than the previous two, as Valley and Jimtown both head into the contest with a 2-0 record in the Indiana Northern State Conference. The winner will leave the game with sole possession of first place. Last week, the Vikings faced little resistance in a 40-3 win over last-place LaVille. The team amassed 260 yards on the ground, headlined by 75 by Owen Omondi and 73 from Hunter Paxton. Both scored a touchdown. Quarterback Hunter Randall scored twice with his legs, picking up 51 yards on the ground to go with 45 through the air. Mason Miller scored a touchdown on both sides of the ball, reaching the end zone on a 46-yard interception return as well as a 52-yard rushing score. Valley is 1-1 against the Jimmies since both schools became founding members of the INSC.
About Jimtown: The Jimmies 44-22 win over Bremen last Friday boosted the team’s record to 3-2, already eclipsing last season’s win total. After losses to Concord and Edwardsburg (Mi.), Jimtown heads into Friday’s clash against the Vikings having won two in a row against conference foes John Glen and the aforementioned Lions, the team’s first loss of the season. No statistics were available online for Jimtown. The game will be broadcast live as Sports Michiana’s Game of the Week.
Tippecanoe Valley head coach Steve Moriarty:
On last week – We played well defensively. Stopped the run, held down the pass. The D-line played very well. Offensively, we had some big plays that broke for us. Mason had a great game, he’s getting better every week which is great to see.
On Jimtown – We’re going to have to slow down their offense. They have that old-school Jimtown offense again. Their two losses are to two very good teams. This could be the toughest game of the season so far, to be honest. As far as keys to the game, we can’t turn the ball over and we have to win the field position battle.
Blocking out the noise – We do the same thing every week for practice. We don’t switch anything up. Coach Bill Patrick taught me about doing an hour on fundamentals and an hour on scheme. Take care of the little things and the big stuff will take care of itself.
Wawasee (0-5, 0-3 NLC) at NorthWood (2-3, 1-2 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Andrews Field, Nappanee.
Series (last 40 years): NorthWood, 35-10.
John Harrell’s prediction: NorthWood, 38-21.
Last meeting: Sept. 5, 2025, NorthWood 36-7.
About Wawasee: Mark Osmialowski’s 4A Warriors lost 38-7 to visiting Warsaw in Week 5 … Wawasee scored with three minutes to go on a 14-yard run by Johnny Zachary and extra point by Cash Walter … The Warriors gained 187 total yards — 112 rushing and 75 passing. Andrew (86) and Zachary (26) accounted for ground yardage. Zachary was 8-of-19 passing with two interceptions … Total tackle leaders were Max Pena (10), Jaxon Brown (7), Mason McKibben (7) and Aidan Beer (5) … Brown recovered a fumble … On the season, Zachary is 46-of-102 passing for 663 yards and two TD’s with seven interceptions … Andrew (179 and two TD’s), McKibben (136), J’Ceon Evans (65) and Zachary (42 and three TD’s) are rushing yardage leaders … Reception yardage leaders are Jaylen Lowery (14 catches for 279 and one TD), Luke Nettrouer (12 receptions for 133), Luke Lehman (five catches for 93), Andrew (four receptions for 86 and one TD) and Evans (eight catches for 51) … Total tackle leaders are McKibben (36), Westen Haab (36), Pena (30), Beer (23), Brown (23) and Lehman (21) … Lowery has two fumble recoveries and Keny’n Burney one. Mason Hatfield has one interception … Wawasee posts a 12.0 offensive average and 43.4 defensive average.
About NorthWood: Nate Andrews’ 4A Panthers lost 22-21 at Mishawaka in Week 5 … Gage Lechlitner was 16-of-21 passing for 200 yards and one TD with one interception to go with one rushing TD … Rushing leaders were Brady Weaver (45) and Spencer Elliott (32) … Leading in receiving yardage were Elliott (four catches for 114 and one TD), Darrien Bew (eight receptions for 46) and Ben Yoder (four catches for 40) … Total tackle leaders were Ethan Miler (13), Elliott (7), Kale Symons (7) Sade Yoder (7) and Brady Blackford (5) … Cruz Garcia recovered a fumble … On the season, Lechlitner is 44-of-76 passing for 604 yards and five TD’s with two interceptions … Rushing yardage leaders are Elliott (254 with four TD’s), Miller (139 with three TD’s) and Weaver (111) … Pacers in receiving yardage are Elliott (14 catches for 221 and two TD’s), Brandt Sark (six receptions for 216 and three TD’s) and Yoder (17 for 202 and one TD) … Total tackle leaders are Miller (40), Sade Yoder (33), Elliott (32), Symons (32) and Blackford (24) … Miller, Wesley Burkholder and Garcia have one fumble recovery each and Blackford, Elliott, Sade Yoder and Jett Rulli have one interception apiece ... NorthWood has won in the last 13 meetings with Wawasee. The last loss to the Warriors came in 2014 … The Panthers have a 23.6 offensive average and 26.2 defensive average.
Per Coach Mark Osmialowski:
On NorthWood — Coach Andrews really has those guys dialed in. They're a disciplined team and they play hard. They have a couple athletes that they like to get the ball to. So if we can kind of keep those guys maintained a little bit and not let them get outside of us, I think we'll have a pretty good shot … Defensively, they have a couple really good inside linebackers and a couple good pieces on their defensive line. But if we maintain our blocks and execute and be able to hit the right cuts and just mainly protect the football, we'll have a really good chance of coming out of that.
Down the stretch — We're getting ready to hit a stretch these next four games that we know that we can win, so we have to be able to play like it and have that confidence in ourselves … These last three games were against teams that are ranked in the state for a reason with Concord, Northridge and Warsaw. We are through that part, and you know we have some teams coming up on the schedule that if we execute and do our job, these games can go our way.
On Warsaw game — I really liked our physicality and the way we matched them up with that. Our guys played hard. There's a couple alignment issues that they were able to exploit defensively, and then offensively, we were able to move the ball on them … The score doesn't indicate the effort the guys put in, but again, we're getting closer … We’ve got to take care of the football, and that’s first and foremost.
Southwood (1-4, 0-3 TRC) at Manchester (1-4, 0-3 TRC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Burk Field, North Manchester
Series: Southwood 28-12
Last Outing: Southwood defeated Wabash 33-12, Manchester lost to Northfield 24-7
John Harrell’s prediction: Manchester 38-17
Last Meeting: Sep. 26, 2025, Manchester 46-7
About Southwood: The Knights picked up their first win of the season last Friday, defeating Wabash 33-12. It was the Apaches’ first eleven-man game of the season, as the team spent the first four weeks of the year playing eight-man football. Before the 33 points scored last week, Southwood had scored a total of 30 over the first four games. That includes a 52-18 loss to Northfield, the team that stumped the Squires a week ago. Kaidan Valdez was the main source of offense in last week’s win, as he ran for 105 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Tripper Schnepp also found the end zone, carrying the ball nine times for 71 yards. Quarterback Eli Shellhammer has completed 12 of 35 passes this season for 191 yards and one touchdown to eight interceptions.
About Manchester: The Squires dropped their third conference game in as many tries last week, falling 24-7 to Three Rivers Conference rival Northfield. Despite holding a 7-6 lead after the first quarter, Manchester was outscored 18-0 the rest of the way. The three losses in the TRC exceeds last year’s total, when the Squires went 6-2 in the conference. Caden Young made up most of the team’s offense, running for 62 yards and the team’s lone score. Maddux Greer, the team’s leading rusher, was held to just eleven yards on 10 carries. Quarterback Cody Carroll turned the ball over three times in the loss, throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble. Manchester’s offense has been held to two touchdowns or fewer in four of their five games this season.
Manchester head coach Brian Enyeart:
On last week – The first three minutes of the game were great but we didn’t continue to execute. We had a turnover on our second drive, they scored a 60-yard touchdown on the very next play and the wheels fell off. We’re struggling to move on from the bad plays and it prevents us from making better ones.
Dealing with injuries – We haven’t had our first group offense and first group defense practice together since the first week of the season. Injuries have hurt us pretty bad. We have guys practicing at positions they’ve never played before. On one hand, it gives these guys a lot of varsity reps, but on the other, a lot of them aren’t ready for those reps. I know everybody’s dealing with injuries but something’s wrong when you’re thinking about what lineman you can pluck to turn into a full back.
On Southwood – If we want to win we need to play our game and do our jobs. That just hasn’t happened this year. We need to focus on the positives and let the negatives go. Southwood is going to play hard. They’re going to see a team with one win on the other side too, so they’re not going to lay down. It’s a new offense and coaches for them this year and they’ve been learning quickly.
Lewis Cass (3-2, 3-1 Three Rivers Conference) at Whitko (0-5, 0-4 TRC)
Game time: 7 p.m., Huff Stadium, South Whitley
Series last 40 years: Cass 4-0
Last meeting: Cass 48-13, Sept. 26, 2025.
John Harrell prediction: Cass 51-0
About Peru: The Kings enter play Friday night in third place in the Three Rivers Conference, trailing unbeaten Maconaquah and Northwestern, Whitko’s last two opponents. In two losses, Lewis Cass was shut out by Peru and managed just 15 points in a season-opening loss against Pioneer, but has scored at least 28 points in three wins. The Kings have run the ball about 80 percent of the time, led by senior Connyr Mack averaging 76.6 yards per game on the ground and five touchdowns. Junior Brinxston Jones and senior Zion Grogg average around 60 yards per game between them. Senior quarterback Cole Rush averages 14 yards per pass completion with four touchdowns.
About Whitko: Senior Crew Ebbinghouse moved over from his wideout position to become the Wildcats’ third starting quarterback this season. Chase Miller, the second starter at the position this year, was reported to have been injured and left the team. Ebbinghouse had a pair of second-half touchdown passes, one each to Tucker Laukhuf and Zamien Mayes. Whitko struggled mightily to establish a running game, but finished the contest at Northwestern with minus six yards rushing.
Head coach Thomas Tyree:
On building during an adverse time: “I would say it just takes us a little while to like get that basic belief in what we're trying to do. You know, they go into the games questioning their ability. And as the game goes on, they go, ‘oh, okay, like, maybe we can play.’ Obviously, our team has made a drastic change from the beginning of the year to now. Uh, so we're just trying to adjust and play young kids that have to grow up at the end of the day.”
On Lewis Cass: “They do run the ball a lot, and they're pretty good at it too. So we definitely have to come out and give ourselves a chance. I think that's the hardest part is us giving ourselves a chance at the moment.”
