On The Gridiron]

\No. 4 (5A) PENN AT WARSAW

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Friday in Warsaw

Coaches: Chris Geesman (Penn), Phil Jensen (Warsaw)

Records: Penn 8-1; Warsaw 8-1

Last Game: Penn 42, South Bend Riley 0; Warsaw 20, Concord 3

Matchup: This is a matchup between two of the premier football teams in northern Indiana. Penn is ranked No. 4 in the 5A division, while Warsaw received 22 votes in the state poll. Penn is a team that runs the ball the majority of the time, then throws in play-action pass to trick defenses. Jim Lizzi will lead the Kingsmen's ground attack. Lizzi has 133 carries for 1,090 yards. Quarterback Jason Cencelewski has completed 57 of 104 passes for 932 yards and 14 touchdowns with only three interceptions. Cencelewski has connected with his favorite target, Zach Hill, 22 times for 467 yards and eight touchdowns. Defensively, Dan Phillips is a strong player to watch. Warsaw will be facing a challenge this week as they take the field against Penn. The Tigers will be at a disadvantage with Ross Kesler out for the remainder of the season with a back injury. Before the injury, Kesler was ranked sixth in the state in receiving. However, the Tigers will look to Greg Seiss to lead the air attack in the quarterback position. Seiss set a school record for passing with 1,659 yards on 90 completions and currently sits in a tie with NorthWood's Charlie Roeder at the 13th slot in the state. A younger Seiss, Brad, leads the Tigers ground attack with 134 rushes for 694 yards.

Jensen: "(Penn) will be extremely well-coached. They have true Division I players on the football field, and they play every down like it's for the championship. They have a great football team; we need to raise our level of play to try to match them. Their tradition, coaching and game preparation is second to none. They won't try to trick you offensively. They will line up and throw the ball a little bit on play-action. They have great special teams."

Geesman: "Well, I'm familiar with Phil Jensen and the great job he has done everywhere he has been. Warsaw is a tough team to play. They have improved, no doubt. Warsaw and Penn are two of the top five teams in northern Indiana. It's a shame that one will have to bow out this early in the tournament. We'll stay with our basic offense and defense. We'll play a split back offense and on defense we'll play a 4-3 or a 4-4."

WAWASEE AT CONCORD

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Friday in Dunlap

Coaches: Joe Rietveld (Wawasee), Tim Dawson (Concord)

Records: Wawasee 2-7; Concord 5-4

Last Game: Goshen 47, Wawasee 7; Warsaw 20, Concord 3

Matchup: When Wawasee faced Concord earlier this season, the Minutemen defeated the Warriors 49-21. However, the situation has changed at Concord. With their first- and second-string quarterbacks out due to injuries, the Minutemen are struggling, losing four of their last five games. Wawasee will look to leading rusher Logan Lees to head up the ground attack. He has run the ball 131 times for 496 yards so far this season. Brent Doty, the Warrior quarterback, has completed 81 of 140 passes for 832 yards and four touchdowns. Paul Gilliam leads all receivers with 19 catches for 275 yards. Concord will look to Ricky McKenzie, tailback, and Josh Staley, fullback, to lead the Minutemen's ground attack. Matt Koontz is continuing to improve in the quarterback slot, but the offensive line will be a key factor in Concord's game. Defensively, Staley, Mike Robinson, Toby McGraw and Mark Casey will be players to watch.

Rietveld: "Concord's quarterbacks are young, and they are limited as to what they can do right now. They are a good football team with a strong offensive and defensive line. Their defensive line is very aggressive. Josh Staley is one of their better players. The key for us will be to throw the ball effectively on offense. Defensively, we will need to know where McKenzie is at all times. We cannot give up the big plays."

Dawson: "We've already played Wawasee once this year, so we know each other fairly well. However, we have a different football team. We played them in game four when we were healthy and at full strength. Now we have a few injuries. Anytime you play somebody twice in a season, it could be anybody's game. They are better than when we played them earlier in the year. At quarterback, (Brent) Doty has fit in well, and when (Adam) Brown came back, he fit in well at tailback and other places. Logan Lees is a good running back who really moves the ball."

FORT WAYNE ELMHURST AT No. 5 (3A) NORTHWOOD

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Friday in Nappanee

Coaches: Mike Anderson (Elmhurst), Rich Dodson (Nappanee)

Records: Elmhurst 0-9; NorthWood 8-1

Last Game: Fort Wayne South 47, Elmhurst 7; NorthWood 37, Plymouth 6

Matchup: This will be a battle of teams on opposite ends of the spectrum. NorthWood, at 8-1, is one of the top teams in the state, while Elmhurst is a team at the bottom of the heap. The Trojans were scoreless until last week, when they scored seven points against Fort Wayne South. NorthWood will look to senior quarterback Charlie Roeder for leadership. Roeder, who is ranked 13th in the state with Warsaw's Greg Seiss, has thrown for 1,654 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushed for 751 yards and 10 touchdowns. Chaz Scherer is NorthWood's No. 2 rusher with 636 yards on 86 attempts. Brock Doty is the leading Panther receiver with 27 catches for 461 yards. Elmhurst will look to leading rusher Steve Drive, who has gained 400 yards and only started in four games this season, to lead the ground attack against a tough NorthWood defense. Quarterback Nick Philpot will look to connect with Steve Vaugh, who has 300 yards receiving, to lead the Trojan air attack. Chuckie Geyer will lead the Elmhurst defense.

Anderson: "The big thing I know about NorthWood is that they beat Jimtown earlier in the year. We are preparing for them like we have every other game this year, by watching game film and putting their formations into our practices. We are running basically a normal practice. The only difference between this week and the rest of the season is that we have to travel two hours to get there. We are going to focus on keeping our offense going from last week. We finally managed to score last week, and we would like to keep that going. Defensively, we will concentrate on stopping the long pass."

Dodson: "Elmhurst has struggled this year. They are not a real strong football team right now. At this point in the season, we do not focus as much on our opponent as we do on becoming a better football team ourselves. We just want to go out and play our best game to advance in the tournament."

TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT WESTERN

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Friday in Russiaville

Coaches: Scott Bibler (Valley), Jim Plummer (Western)

Records: Valley 5-4; Western 5-4

Last Game: Valley 35, Whitko 10; Cass 17, Western 7

Matchup: This is a matchup between teams with identical records. While Valley is on the upswing and has won their last two ball games, Western has lost their last two games after starting the season 5-2. The Vikings will look to Nathan Patterson to lead the running game after gaining 492 yards in 74 attempts. Quarterback Brandon Eaton leads the air attack with 50 completions for 635 yards and seven touchdowns. His favorite target is Patterson, who has caught 15 passes for 241 yards. Defensively, Rustin Birge leads the Vikings with 228 tackle points. Western will focus their offensive effort on tailback Walter Vaughn. To this point in the season, Vaughn has 925 yards rushing and averages around five yards per carry. Defensively, the Western squad will rely on three linebackers, Nick Courts, Matt Mueller and Jed Hunt, to stop the Valley offense.

Bibler: "Western started out the season on fire -Êat one time they were 5-2 -Êbut they lost their last two games. They lost their last two games of the season. As far as momentum goes, I like where we're at, winning our last two games. (Western) has gotten beat by some good teams. ...They like to throw the ball a lot on first down, and they have many formations, so our base defense needs to be solid. I also think they have good team speed. Our secondary will need to be ready for the pass and our linebackers will need to help out by putting pressure on the quarterback. This should be an exciting ball game."

Plummer: "We have never played Tippecanoe Valley before, so basically what I know about them is what I've seen on film. They are a run-and-shoot team. We plan to play our standard defense against them. They key to this game will be containing Patterson running the ball and putting pressure on Eaton when he passes. We'll also try to contain Rustin Birge at the line of scrimmage."

WEST NOBLE AT WHITKO

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Friday in South Whitley

Coaches: Monty Mawhorter (West Noble), Bryan Sprunger (Whitko)

Records: West Noble 6-3; Whitko 2-7

Last Game: West Noble 23, Churubusco 12; Valley 35, Whitko 10

Matchup: West Noble will rely on running backs Chad Howard and Doug McDonald to lead the ground attack. Howard has 670 yards rushing, while McDonald has added 550. Quarterback Charlie Gabet had 20 completions for 400 yards. Defensively, Mike Sparks, Jessie Johnson, Chris Stanton and Travis Nelson will work to stop Whitko's offensive push. After losing several players earlier in the season, Whitko is trying to adjust with players in new positions. The Wildcats will rely on senior leading rusher/receiver Seth Slater to lead the inexperienced offense against West Noble. Last week against Tippecanoe Valley, Slater had nearly 100 yards rushing. New quarterback James Miller completed 3 of 10 passes for 48 yards and one interception. Julian Thiel, Wildcat kicker, hit a 27-yard field goal to keep the Whitko squad alive in the first half against Tippecanoe Valley last week.

Mawhorter: "I know Whitko has a really good coach. They have several players back from last year. Offensively, we know they run a wing-T and hand off to several different people. We need to make sure we play our assignments on defense. Whitko's defense has given up a lot of points, but they have scored a lot of points on offense. The key to the game will be turnovers. Whoever has fewer turnovers in the game will more than likely come out on top."

Sprunger: "This year's West Noble team is very similar to the West Noble team we played last year. They had a coaching change, but he was an assistant under (Ted) Davis. They run a lot of the same plays with some of the same personnel. Bascially we are concentrating on ourselves. We need to adjust, adapt and overcome. We are working on running our offense more smoothly. Our offense did work more smoothly last week and were hoping to improve upon it again this week."

HARDING AT MANCHESTER

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Friday in North Manchester

Coaches: Steve Cooley (Harding); Al Bailey (Manchester)

Records: Harding 3-6; Manchester 6-3

Last Game: Fort Wayne Northrop 17, Harding 14; Manchester 66, Northfield 0

Matchup: At 3-6, Harding's record is deceptive. Five of the six losses have been by less than a touchdown, and they played tough Fort Wayne opponents. Harding will look to David Tubbs, who has 960 yards rushing and averages nine yards per carry. Trai Essex, tight end/receiver, has 350 yards receiving. The Hawks will look to two quarterbacks, Kelvin Norfleet and Courtney Reese, to lead the air attack. Defensive leaders are Brandon Lyons and Jamarkus Walters. Manchester will look to state-ranked rusher Josh Peden to lead the running attack against the Hawks. Peden has rushed 215 times for 1,388 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Squires. He is ranked 11th in the state polls with an average of 173.5 yards per game. Receiver Annon Gaerte had four receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown against Northfield in Manchester's 66-0 defeat of Northfield. Defensively, Kory Rupley is a Squire to watch.

Cooley: "I know (Manchester) is a very good, well-coached team. They execute their offense well. Josh Peden has over 1,000 yards rushing. They also got their quarterback back last week. Defensively, we will have to watch the passing game. They do a good job defensively as well. They get to the ball. In order to be successful, we have to find a way to contain Peden. He had over 200 yards in the last two games, and if we let him get 200 yards, we are in trouble. We'll try to contain the running game and not give up the big plays. Turnovers will also be a key as they are in any playoff game."

Bailey: "Harding is a big, fast, athletic team. They play in a tough conference and compete well. Their record is not outstanding, but they played some close games with Snider and Northrop and others. They are a physical and talented team, and we will have to play awfully well this week. Offensively, we will have to play without mistakes, and defensively we will have to play well also. Harding also has depth so their players do not have to play both sides of the football and stay fresh through the game."

TRITON AT No. 6 (A) WEST CENTRAL

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Friday in Francesville

Coaches: Rod Wildman (Triton), Damon Groves (West Central)

Records: Triton 0-9; West Central 7-2

Last Game: Jimtown 62, Triton 6; Pioneer 23, West Central 14

Matchup: Jason Clemons, who has 800 rushing yards on 123 carries, will lead the West Central ground attack, while quarterback Trent Metzger leads the air attack. Metzger has 765 yards passing and 12 touchdowns. Defensively, Brian Sederer leads the Trojans with 72 tackles at the linebacker position. Triton will look to Nate Setser and Joe Potter to lead the running game. Setser has rushed 73 times for 195 yards, and Potter has added 144 yards on 40 carries this season. Kenny Miller is the Trojan signal caller with 468 yards on 27 attempts. Rob Salyer is Miller's favorite target with nine catches for 186 yards.

Wildman: "West Central is a good football team. They are one of the top teams in the state. Offensively, they use a wing-T formation and run the option well. They have a good quarterback in Trent Metzger, and their best running back is Jason Clemons. They are not real big, and we will try to take advantage of that. Execution will be the key in this game. We need to execute what we do well."

Groves: "Our main concerns are Nate Setser and Kenny Miller. They are two good athletes, and containing them will be a key to winning. Another concern is Triton's size. They have nice size on both size on the front lines. Triton also has multiple formations, and that takes time in practice to prepare for. Their record does not indicate the quality of their team. They play bigger teams than we do, so they are used to playing tough teams."