EAST NOBLE AT WARSAW Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Warsaw Coaches: Luke Amstutz (East Noble), Phil Jensen (Warsaw) Records: East Noble 0-1, Warsaw 1-0 Last Game: Indpls Cathedral 48, East Noble 0; Warsaw 30, Columbia City 7 Last Year: East Noble 34, Warsaw 23 Matchup: Following a season-opening win at Columbia City, the Warsaw Tigers are set to host East Noble at Fisher Field in Week 2. Warsaw will celebrate senior night prior to Friday's game, which will be the first varsity contest on the new synthetic turf field. Since the opening of the current Fisher Field in 2005, the Tigers are 31-28 at home. This is the fourth meeting in the series with the Knights, who are 2-1 against Warsaw. The Tigers were 25-24 winners at home in 2014. En route to last week's 30-7 win at Columbia City. Warsaw outscored the Eagles 30-0 in the second half. D'Andre Street started the second-half scoring surge with an 85-yard kickoff return, becoming the first Warsaw player to return a kick for a score since Zach Rooney in 2011. Rooney's return was also against Columbia City in a season opener. Mason Faas scored two TDs for the Tigers, one on a 5-yard run and the other after blocking a punt. The defense scored a safety, and then quarterback Michael Jensen ran for a 17-yard TD to cap Warsaw's scoring. Jensen completed 5 of 14 passes for 61 yards. Will McGarvey led Warsaw's ground game with 19 carries for 144 yards, while teammate Rob Sullivan tallied 36 yards on nine carries. Jeremy David led the Tigers defensively with seven solo tackles, while AJ Villareal, a move-in from Wawasee, had two sacks. East Noble opened the season with a 48-0 loss to Class 6A No. 5 Indianapolis Cathedral. It was the first time the Knights were shut out in 10 years. Jensen: "They played if not the best the best team, one of the best teams, in the state Friday … and they didn't blink. They were aggressive, and the came out with an onside kick. I know what the score was, but they didn't back down from Cathedral at all. East Noble ran their QB like they're going to run him against us. They weren't just trying to survive, they were aggressive. They just got beat by a team with 11 Division I players, one who's going to Notre Dame and another who's gonna end up at Alabama. Individually, East Noble's QB is possibly the best we'll see all year. They also have a wideout who's a MAC-type receiver. They're a very good team, that's why we schedule. They're like a Plymouth or Concord or NorthWood of our conference."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT WESTERN Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Friday in Russiaville Coaches: Darin Holsopple (T. Valley), Ron Jankovich (Western) Records: T. Valley 0-1, Western 0-1 Last Game: Culver Academy 47, T. Valley 0; Frankfort 22, Western 6 Last Year: Western 21, T. Valley 14 Matchup: Tippecanoe Valley hits the road this week, going south to Russiaville to take on the Western Panthers. Both teams lost their season opener – Valley 47-0 to Culver Academy and Western 22-6 to Frankfort. The Vikings, who suffered a number of injuries to key players in the loss, were held to just 104 total yards of offense, while Culver Academy racked up 430 yards, including 288 on the ground. Valley ran 80 offensive plays last week, but only managed 73 yards through the air and 31 yards on the ground. Valley and Western met a year ago in Akron, with the Panthers taking a 21-14 win back to Howard County. Holsopple: "Western is a physical team. They have a back who is very good. He is fast and runs hard. Their quarterback is accurate in the quick passing game and is also a good runner. On defense, we must be able to defend the trap and do a better job of attacking the ball carrier when we recognize the play. I feel that they are led defensively by their linebackers. They are strong and like to hit. Offensively, we must do a better job gaining leverage and position on our blocks. We must also maintain our blocks better in the passing game."
COLUMBIA CITY AT WHITKO Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in South Whitley Coaches: Brett Fox (Columbia City), Jeff Sprunger (Whitko) Records: Columbia City 0-1, Whitko 1-0 Last Game: Warsaw 30, Columbia City 7; Whitko 32, Cambridge City 6 Last Year: Columbia City 10, Whitko 8 Matchup: After having to make a two-hour bus ride to Cambridge City for last week's season opener, the Whitko Wildcats be at home this week, hosting Whitley County rival Columbia City. The Eagles have won the last 12 meetings in the series. Columbia City won the last six meetings from 1999 to 2004, and the last six since the rivalry was renewed in 2010. Whitko's last win over the Eagles was a 20-17 victory in South Whitley in 1998. In the Wildcats' season-opening win over Columbia City, the first career win for coach Jeff Sprunger, Garrett Elder ran for 175 yards and four TDs. Columbia City led Warsaw 7-0 at halftime last week but was outscored 30-0 in the third and fourth quarters. Warsaw scored in all three phases in the second half.
WEST NOBLE AT WAWASEE Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Syracuse Coaches: Monte Mawhorter (West Noble), Josh Ekovich (Wawasee) Records: West Noble 1-0, Wawasee 1-0 Last week: West Noble 21, Central Noble 12; Wawasee 13, SB Washington 0 Last year: Wawasee 37, West Noble 12 Matchup: Both teams appear to be better this season than last, and West Noble matched its win total from 2015 with its victory Friday night. In the second half of Wawasee's win over Washington, the Warriors put themselves in bad field position with a fumble and a blocked punt. The Warrior defense bent, but didn't break, withstanding a barrage of passes from Washington quarterback Tyrese Belcher into the end zone and preserving Wawasee's first shutout since 2011. Both teams will look to run the ball first and foremost. The Warriors used an effective outside running game to set up solid runs inside the tackles in Week 1, and the formations the Chargers will employ will keep the Wawasee defense on its toes. Ekovich: "West Noble will throw a lot at you in regards to various wing T and flex-option principles. Dravyn Rasler is a big bruising fullback, and they have some impressive speed on the perimeter. We are going to have to do our job and play assignment football to come out with a victory."
TRITON AT LAVILLE (HNAC) Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Lakeville Coaches: Will Hostrawser (LaVille); Ron Brown (Triton) Records: LaVille 1-0 (1-0 HNAC); Triton 0-1 (0-1 HNAC) Last week: LaVille 63, West Central 16; Caston 6, Triton 0 Last year: LaVille 56, Triton Matchup: If recent history is any indicator, it may be a long night for Triton. The Trojans haven't beaten LaVille since 2012, and this year's senior class has never seen Triton score in four games (including a 2014 sectional semifinal game) against the Lancers. Defensively, the good news for Triton is they held Caston to one first-quarter touchdown; the bad news is the Trojans defense gave up 271 yards on the ground, allowing Caston to have longer possessions and control the game clock. Triton quarterback James Snyder completed nine passes, and they'll need a lot more than the 104 total yards they gained against the Comets to take down the Lancers. Still, coach Ron Brown said the Trojans can use the loss last week for motivation this week. Brown: "I can't be disappointed in all my boys' performances; after all, the kids on defense, even when put in bad situations, fought the entire game and gave us two opportunities to score. We're going to focus our anger and frustration into proving the nay-sayers wrong by not rolling belly-up and going into Friday with the objective to win. We don't have to be perfect. We just have to not shoot ourselves in the foot."
BLUFFTON AT MANCHESTER Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in North Manchester Coaches: Randy Hudgins (Blufton); Greg Miller (Manchester) Records: Bluffton 0-1, Manchester 0-1 Last week: Northfield 34, Bluffton 7; Mississinewa 48. Manchester 7 Last year: Bluffton 41. Manchester 20 Matchup: The series has been one-sided in recent years; The five seniors on this year's Squire roster were fifth graders the last time Manchester beat the Tigers. Bluffton has won just 16 games in those six seasons. Meanwhile, Manchester has 18 wins in the same span, so it seems fans on both sides will have this game circled on the calendar. Junior quarterback Hayes Sturtsman completed 14 passes against Mississinewa and averaged 6.5 yards per completion. Manchester will need to improve its running game; the Squires got less than two yards a carry last week. Miller: "Week one is always a tough week, with lots of unknowns with both your team and your opponent. I thought our young men competed for the duration of the game, and some of our young players stepped up and showed us they can compete at the varsity level. Friday night we have to eliminate turnovers. We have to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, play our game and execute the way we know we can. I spoke with the team (Monday) about claiming their place in the history of Squire football; being the team that puts the sword in the ground and says 'enough is enough.' This game with Bluffton is one of those moments that can define who we are as a team."
