FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – We are down to the crown in Indiana high school football this week as a handful of local teams will be playing for a sectional title this Friday night – and no better way to get prepare then to check in with Justin Kenny of Optimum Performance Sports & WANE sports director Glenn Marini for your latest edition of “Inside The Zone!”
Taking center stage will be your Highlight Zone “Game of the Week” as Leo hosts Bishop Dwenger for the 4A sectional 19 crown. The Saints beat DeKalb on the road last week 42-28 while Leo got a last-second field goal to knock off East Noble 45-42. For all the success Leo has had recently in the regular season, the playoffs have been a different beast, as Leo has lost in the sectional title game four years in a row with the program’s last sectional crown coming in 2011.
In 5A sectional 12, Snider will host a well-rested North Side team at Spuller Stadium, as the Legends are coming off a double-bye and will see their first action of the postseason in the sectional title game. Snider, meanwhile, outscored Anderson 35-0 in the first quarter on the way to a 44-14 win last Friday. Thanks to the SAC’s new scheduling format, the Panthers and Legends did not meet during the regular season.
In 6A, 11th-ranked Warsaw travels to no. 9 Penn as the Tigers knocked off defending 6A state runner-up Carroll last Friday in the Highlight Zone “Game of the Week” by a score of 31-17. The Tigers rushed 61 times for 298 yards with Reed Zollinger’s 168 yards and two TD’s leading the way. Penn crushed Elkhart 35-0 last Friday to advance.
Perhaps no team in northeast Indiana pulled off a bigger upset last week than Garrett. The Railroaders handed Heritage only their second loss of the season, and Garrett rallied from a 6-0 deficit to beat the Patriots 20-6 in Monroeville. Junior quarterback Calder Hefty threw for a score and ran for another, as the Railroaders will now host a Delta team that defeated Yorktown 24-21 last Friday and Norwell 47-7 the week before.
In 2A, Bishop Luers held on to defeat Eastside 14-10 at Luersfield last Friday. Now, the Knights will go on the road to face upstart Manchester. The Squires won a back-and-forth contest last Friday against Central Noble by the score of 28-21 after defeating Whitko 49-19 in the first round of the playoffs.
The 2A sectional 36 title game pits 2A no. 8 Bluffton against a solid Eastern club in the Parlor City. Sophomore running back Khamel Moore dominated Eastbrook last week with 30 carries for 238 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 35-21 Tigers win. Eastern enters Friday’s game with Bluffton with a 9-2 record following a 42-0 win against Tipton. Eastern has outscored its two opponents (Tipton & Elwood) 97-0 so far in the playoffs, with both of those games coming at home. Running back Jayden Eagle has almost 1,700 yards this season while quarterback Eli Edwards has thrown for over 2,100 yards with 24 touchdown passes for an offense that’s averaging 38.9 points a night.
Adams Central is seeking its third straight trip to the 1A state title game, and the next opponent standing in the way is Madison-Grant, as the Jets hit the road to face the Argylls for the sectional 44 title. AC is coming off another dominant win, beating Southwood 48-0 on the road last week behind a balanced offense attack that saw receiver Trevor Currie haul in six receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Madison-Grant beat North Miami 43-14 last week on the road while defeated Northfield 50-0 in its sectional opener.
Tune into coverage of thes game
