Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WARSAW AT HUNTINGTON NORTH
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Huntington
Coaches: Troy Akers (Warsaw), Rief Gilg (Hunt. North)
Records: Warsaw 4-5, Hunt. North 5-4
Last Game: Concord 31, Warsaw 19; Huntington North 31, Gary West 12
Last Meeting: Huntington North 20, Warsaw 18 (2003 sectional opener)
Matchup: For the third straight year, the Tigers and Vikings will cross paths in the sectional. Two years ago, Warsaw beat Huntington North 35-14 in the semifinal round at Fisher Field, while the Vikings won 20-18 last year in the sectional opener. Warsaw's offense has scored just 19 points the last three weeks but will get a boost this week with the return of senior quarterback Michael Wienhorst, who suffered a hand injury during Week 5 against Northridge at the RCA Dome. In the five games Wienhorst played, he completed 44 of 99 passes for 846 yards and seven touchdowns as the Tigers posted a 3-2 record. In the four games Wienhorst missed, junior Mark Sudhoff passed for 316 yards, while sophomore Tyler Akers passed for 190 yards. Senior Antonio Castillo enters the sectional as the No. 9 receiver in the state, having caught 27 passes for 815 yards, an average of 30.2 yards per catch, and eight touchdowns. He caught two touchdown passes in last week's loss to Concord and had five receptions overall for 167 yards. Thomas Balestri leads Warsaw's rushing attack with 58 carries for 838 yards, 5.9 yards per carry, on the season. No other Tiger ball carrier has 100 yards rushing on the season. Junior Shaun Cabrera leads Warsaw in tackles with 81, 31 of which are tackles for loss. Cabrera leads the team with 6-1/2 sacks. Tyler Wadkins has 60 tackles, 18 for loss, while Aristeo Gonzalez has 50 tackles, 17 of them behind the line of scrimmage. In last week's win over Gary West Side, Huntington North's Matt Kauffman carried the ball 18 times for 105 yards, while teammate Ian Vining rushed 16 times for 100 yards. Quarterback Chris Kramer completed 5 of 11 passes for 114 yards. The Vikings enter the sectional having won five of their last six games, the only loss being a 20-13 setback to Class 4A No. 3 and undefeated Muncie Central.
Akers: "Their head coach was the defensive coordinator last year. They do a lot of the same things, but their offense has changed a little bit. They like to run the option, they're similar to NorthWood in a lot of respects. The center of their offense is Chris Kramer. He's a big kid and very athletic. He plays offense, defense, special teams, he never comes off the field. They've put some points on the board this year. We've got to avoid a slow start."
Gilg: "We like to think it just took a little time for the kids to figure out what was going on with the new system. We've had a pretty good stretch since the first three games. Aside from the Muncie Central game, we've done what we've needed to do on the scoreboard. As a team, we're very impressed with how athletic Warsaw is. Film-wise, we haven't seen their quarterback (Michael Wienhorst), but I know he's gonna be a good upgrade for them and they're excited about having him back. Warsaw is athletic and very fast. We're expecting quite a dogfight."
F.W. BISHOP LUERS AT WHITKO
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in South Whitley
Coaches: Matt Lindsay (Luers), Bryan Sprunger (Whitko)
Records: Luers 6-3, Whitko 4-5 (1-7 with forfeits)
Last Game: Tippecanoe Valley 34, Whitko 13; Luers 28, Dwenger 14
Matchup: On paper, Whitko enters the season with a 1-7 record after having to forfeit a trio of Three Rivers Conference wins in which a pair of ineligible players competed. On the scoreboard, the Wildcats are 4-5. Luers enters Friday's sectional opener after forcing five turnovers in a 28-14 win over a 7-2 Bishop Dwenger team. Luers led 28-0 before giving up two second-half touchdowns. Logan Franke highlighted Luers' special teams play last week with a 53-yard punt return for a touchdown. In the first half of the win over Dwenger, the Knights held the Saints to 35 yards of offense and two first downs. For Whitko, Tyler Wilkinson has rushed 170 times this season for 1,156 yards, an average of 6.8 yards per carry, and has scored 12 touchdowns. Jarad Eberly has rushed 134 times for 674 yards and nine scores, while Travis Christman has 24 carries for 193 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback Nate Hart has passed for 487 yards, while Christman leads the receiving corps with nine catches for 151 yards.
Sprunger: "They're a traditional Luers team. They've got a fine group of seniors and they're a good team. They run a lot and pass a little. They're big and physical and we can't give them a lot defensively. We gotta do what we do best. We've had some adversity, and it's going to be key how we deal with that adversity."
WAWASEE AT CONCORD
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Dunlap
Coaches: Joe Rietveld (Wawasee), Tim Dawson (Concord)
Records: Wawasee 8-1, 6-1 NLC; Concord 7-2, 6-1 NLC
Last Game: Wawasee 41, Goshen 10; Concord 31, Warsaw 19
Last Meeting: Concord 27, Wawasee 21
Matchup: Wawasee is on the road in the playoffs for the seventh time in eight chances Friday when the Warriors travel to Dunlap. The Warriors play a Concord team who handed Wawasee its lone defeat on the season. The Minutemen beat Wawasee 27-21 in the fourth week of the season. Wawasee and Concord both clinched a share of the Northern Lakes Conference title with NorthWood for the first time in a long time for both teams. The Warriors hadn't won conference since 1986, while it was 1991 for the Minutemen. For Wawasee to reverse its fate against Concord they will need a big performance from the state's third leading rusher, Jordan Swain. Swain has rushed for 1705 yards on 191 carries. Through the air, Wawasee will be led once more by Kory Lantz and Ben Champoux. Lantz has thrown for 1298 yards with 431 of those yards going to receiver/kicker Champoux.
Rietveld: "Rankings you can move up and down but a conference championship speaks for itself. We're going to have to score some points by using the run and mixing in the pass. Concord definitely has a good defense, they really fly to the ball. On offense they have what everyone looks for, a duel threat. (Bob) Cira is a good quarterback, you don't consider to be just a sophomore anymore because he's played and played well all season."
VALLEY AT CULVER MILITARY ACADEMY
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Culver
Coaches: Scott Bibler (Valley), Andy Dorrell (CMA)
Records: Valley 7-2, 7-0 TRC; CMA 3-6
Last Game: Valley 34, Whitko 13; CMA 40, Fairfield 13
Last Meeting: Valley 14, CMA 3 (2002 sectional)
Matchup: Valley will have its hands full with 3-6 Culver Military Academy Friday. A week after the Vikings won their first outright Three Rivers Conference title since 1994, Valley will look to continue its journey for a sectional title. The Eagles play one of the area's toughest schedules with games against North Judson, Brebuef Jesuit, Woodlan and Western Reserve of Ohio, who to date are undefeated in the Buckeye State. Last week, CMA's Neven Fingerhut ran for a school-record 322 yards against Fairfield. The wing-T offense of the Eagles is predicated on the running of Fingerhut, Mabaje Erinkitola, Nic Salary and Andy Porchman. Valley's main option is 1300-yard rusher Bryan Wong. Wong is averaging 6.4 yards per carry and has 19 touchdowns on the season. Matt Hellums has become the Vikings' second option with 47 carries for 295 yards, 6.3 yards per carry. Bryce Kelley has grown into the quarterback position for the Vikings. Kelley has thrown 34 completions in 58 attempts for 539 yards and five touchdowns. Valley's defense has improved steadily since the first two games of the season. The Vikings are allowing just 12 points per game.
Bibler: "We're very pleased with the kids. Our defense is doing a great job. We really have played solid. It's been a key to our turnaround. Field position has helped our defense. (CMA) is a team that if you were to watch film, they're a better team than what their record shows. They show a lot of enthusiasm and look like they love to play football. They have some talent and they execute very well. CMA is a beautiful place to play and our kids are looking forward to it."
Dorrell: "I'd like to think we're coming along and developing. I'm just impressed with their defense. They just move to the football. We're a team that has big play potential but we have to move the sticks. We have a chance to start our season over. These last two weeks have been a primer. I've been telling them that the past two weeks are preseason to prepare us for this game."
WOODLAN AT MANCHESTER
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in North Manchester
Coaches: Leland Etzler (Woodlan), Brandon Baker (Manchester)
Records: Woodlan 7-2, 5-1 ACC; Manchester 3-6, 3-4 TRC
Last Game: Woodlan 13, Adams Central 10; Manchester 33, Northfield 20
Last Meeting: Woodlan 7, Manchester 6
Matchup: After an up and down season, Manchester looks to start anew in the postseason. The Squires will have quarterback Joe Egner for the second straight week. Egner, who was lost after the first game of the season, went 9-10 for 150 yards in the first half against Northfield. Manchester is facing a Woodlan team who knocked them out of sectional play last year and looks tougher this year. The Warriors are 7-2 on the season with their losses coming at the hands of Garrett and Heritage, who are a combined 17-1. Woodlan will be without the services of wide receiver Seth Lengacher, defensive lineman Aaron Logan and its running back. As a team, the Warriors have been less than stellar on offensive averaging 3.7 yards per carry despite scoring 22.3 points per game. The Squires are averaging 18.2 points per game.
Etzler: "They're kind of frightening in terms of their shotgun and how they spread you out. They have enough skill players on to be dangerous. We have not been potent offensively. We like to run the ball. I'd personally like four yards and a cloud of dust and if it's raining I'll take just four yards. They've been very aggressive. We've been gambling more on defense, which can lead to big plays for and against you. We've lost to some good teams this year but we've struggled at times as well. We need to work on our focus and intensity."
Baker: "We match up pretty well with Woodlan up front. Defensively, their linebackers are good. They're probably the best we've seen. On offense they're not tricky. You know what they're going to run, it just comes down to you being able to stop it. We've got to control the tempo of the game. We have to be able to run the ball and mix the pass in with it. I think we've got a great game plan. Nobody expects us to win. So we are going out with nothing to lose. So we're going to go out and be aggressive."
NORTH MIAMI AT TRITON
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Bourbon
Coaches: Greg Miller (North Miami), Rodney Younis (Triton)
Records: North Miami 3-6, 2-5 TRC; Triton 3-6, 2-5 NSC
Last Game: Rochester 29, North Miami 0; Jimtown 28, Triton 0
Last Meeting: Triton 27, North Miami 0 (1996 sectional)
Matchup: Triton looks for a second straight opening round sectional win as the Trojans host 4-5 North Miami. One of the Warriors' wins was a forfeit by Three Rivers Conference foe Whitko. The Trojans will have to deal with North Miami's dual-threat Devin McWhorter, while North Miami must contend with Bryon Overmyer. Overmyer has rushed for 883 yards on 164 carries.
Younis: "I thought we played really well against (Jimtown). We marched down the field several times before those drives stalled. The last three weeks I feel have gotten us ready for sectionals. (North Miami's) Devin McWhorter is an exceptional athlete and someone we'll have to try and contain. In the secondary we're working on some things to deal with their offense. We match up athletically with them. We need to establish the run. We're bigger up front so that's kind of nice. We're just going to try and establish ourselves between the tackles."
