My stretch of good luck ran out as I went 14-10 (58 percent) last week. My overall record is now 189-41, which leaves me at 82 percent.
CLASS 6A
Carroll (Fort Wayne) (9-2) at Crown Point (11-0): Jaiden VanPelt came up with three catches for 61 yards with two scores in the No. 10 Chargers’ 21-10 win over defending Class 5A state champion Fort Wayne Snider. Jacob Soley caught four passes for 33 yards in the No. 2 and defending state runner-up Bulldogs’ 35-0 win at Penn. Matt’s pick: Crown Point 46, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 12.
Westfield (10-1) at Fishers (7-4): The No. 3 Shamrocks rolled to a 46-12 win over Fishers on October 11. Carsen Melvin ran three times for 89 yards with two touchdowns and completed 3-of-4 for 70 yards in Westfield’s 35-13 win over Zionsville. JonAnthony Hall had 11 receptions for 194 yards with two scores in the Tigers’ 44-41 win over No. 8 Hamilton Southeastern. Matt’s pick: Westfield 33, Fishers 13.
Lawrence North (11-0) at Brownsburg (10-1): The top-ranked Wildcats posted a 34-13 win over No. 4 Brownsburg during the 2017 campaign. Monshun Sales tallied two catches for 31 yards in Lawrence Central’s 24-7 win over No. 9 Indianapolis Cathedral. Shakovon Sumpterbey scampered 18 times for 63 yards with a touchdown and caught six passes for 31 yards to help the Bulldogs rally for a 38-35 win over defending state champion Indianapolis Ben Davis. Matt’s pick: Lawrence North 40, Brownsburg 23.
Center Grove (7-4) at Warren Central (10-1):The Trojans blanked No. 5 Warren Central in last year’s regional final. Connor Riley returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown in Center Grove’s 52-14 win over Franklin Central. James Clark rambled three times for 91 yards with two scores in the Warriors’ 48-0 win over Perry Meridian. Matt’s pick: Warren Central 32, Center Grove 18.
CLASS 5A
Valparaiso (8-3) at Merrillville (10-1): The No. 3 Pirates cruised to a 35-7 win over No. 7 Valparaiso on October 4. Kellan Hosek went 9-of-18 for 222 yards with two scores in the Vikings’ 28-21 win over Chesterton. Aiden Shields racked up five tackles and an interception in Merrillville’s 55-14 win over Hammond Morton. Matt’s pick: Merrillville 26, Valparaiso 10.
Lafayette Jeff (11-0) at Warsaw (8-3): Omar Williams hauled in nine receptions for 182 yards with four touchdowns in the No. 2 Bronchos’ 45-14 win over Kokomo. Drew Sullivan came up with 32 carries for 120 yards with a score in the No. 9 Tigers’ 31-28 win over No. 1 Concord. Matt’s pick: Lafayette Jeff 31, Warsaw 19.
East Central (8-3) at Decatur Central (8-2): Nolan Maple was 4-of-10 for 49 yards in the No. 9 Trojans’ 21-0 blanking of Franklin. Bo Polston completed 8-of-15 for 74 yards with a score and ran six times for 26 yards with a touchdown in the No. 4 and defending state runner-up Hawks’ 35-7 win over No. 5 Plainfield. Matt’s pick: Decatur Central 27, East Central 20.
Castle (9-2) at Bloomington South (7-4): The No. 8 Knights crowned Bloomington South, 31-14, in the 2022 regional final. Boden Morgan went 8-of-17 for 100 yards with a touchdown and carried the ball eight times for 17 yards with two scores in Castle’s 31-21 win over Evansville North. Miles McKay racked up 10 tackles and an interception in the Panthers’ 27-3 win over No. 6 Bloomington North. Matt’s pick: Castle 32, Bloomington South 27.
CLASS 4A
New Prairie (9-3) at Mishawaka (10-2): The Cougars edged No. 6 Mishawaka, 28-27, in the 2019 season. Hayden Scott recorded 12 tackles in New Prairie’s 35-23 win over Hanover Central. Kamdon Putz ended with 13 tackles in the Cavemen’s 22-21 win at defending state runner-up NorthWood. Matt’s pick: Mishawaka 34, New Prairie 29.
Huntington North (9-3) at East Noble (11-1): The No. 2 Knights crowned Huntington North, 28-16, on September 6. Tony Decker threw for two touchdowns and ran for two scores in the Vikings’ 31-28 overtime victory Lebanon. Dallas Platner raced 22 times for 136 yards with a touchdown in East Noble’s 38-0 win over Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger. Matt’s pick: East Noble 35, Huntington North 16.
New Palestine (11-0) at Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (9-2): The top-ranked Dragons eliminated No. 5 Bishop Chatard, 27-14, in the 2013 regional finale. Jacob Davis went 6-of-7 for 92 yards with a score and ran three times for 28 yards with a touchdown in New Palestine’s 41-7 win over Pendleton Heights. Daniel Adams accounted for 71 yards on the ground with a score on 20 carries in the Trojans’ 28-24 win over Indianapolis Roncalli. Matt’s pick: New Palestine 20, Bishop Chatard 17.
Evansville Reitz (10-2) at Martinsville (11-1): The No. 3 Artesians suffered a 22-6 loss to Evansville Reitz in the 1977 Class 3A sectional final. Landon McClarney totaled 16 rushes for 79 yards with three scores in the Panthers’ 35-6 win over Boonville. Lucas Dewey ended with 21 carries for 121 yards with a touchdown in Martinsville’s 35-31 win over Greenwood. Matt’s pick: Martinsville 41, Evansville Reitz 22.
CLASS 3A
Knox (9-3) at Garrett (12-0): Jake Conroy came up with 24 carries for 77 yards with a touchdown in the Redskins’ 12-0 win over Marian. Alex Guzman registered 12 rushes for 61 yards in the No. 4 Railroaders’ 21-20 win against No. 10 West Noble. Matt’s pick: Garrett 36, Knox 33.
Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (8-4) at Maconaquah (12-0): The defending Class 2A state champion Knights opened the 2003 playoffs with a 20-12 win over No. 8 Maconaquah. Jayce White completed 11-of-19 for 141 yards with a touchdown and carried the ball four times for 15 yards in Bishop Luers’ 34-28 upset of No. 2 Mississinewa. AJ Kelly recorded seven receptions for 54 yards in the Braves’ 17-14 win at West Lafayette. Matt’s pick: Bishop Luers 26, Maconaquah 24.
Tri-West (8-4) at Batesville (8-3): Brody Saylor musted seven tackles and an interception in the Bruins’ 21-12 win over Guerin Catholic. Alex Krekeler tossed a 40-yards touchdown pass in the Bulldogs’ 21-7 win over No. 5 Lawrenceburg. Matt’s pick: Tri-West 25, Batesville 19.
North Harrison (9-3) at Heritage Hills (11-1): The No. 3 Patriots marched to a 31-18 win over North Harrison in the 2021 sectional quarterfinals. David Langdon was 7-of-9 for 116 yards and ran eight times for 31 yards in the Cougars’ 8-7 win over Madison. Hunter Meredith scampered 16 times for 97 yards with touchdown and caught two passes for five yards in Heritage Hills’ 38-24 win over No. 1 Evansville Memorial. Matt’s pick: Heritage Hills 42, North Harrison 15.
CLASS 2A
Andrean (8-4) at Lafayette Central Catholic (11-0): The 59ers recorded a 30-12 victory over top-ranked Lafayette Central Catholic in the 2022 regional finale. Brody Lane came up with four catches for 28 yards with a touchdown in Andrean’s 35-0 win over Bremen. Jackson Cain managed four receptions for 28 yards with two scores in the Knights’ 60-6 win over North Montgomery. Matt’s pick: Lafayette Central Catholic 41, Andrean 25.
Eastern (Greentown) (8-4) at Adams Central (11-1): The No. 4 Flying Jets soared to a 28-0 victory against Eastern (Greentown) in the 1986 Class 1A sectional quarterfinals. Owen Tolle accounted for four rushes for 55 yards with a score in the Comets’ 21-15 win over Tipton. Max Kaehr amassed 17 tackles, a quarterback sack, forced a fumble, and blocked an extra-point in Adams Central’s 41-19 win over Eastside. Matt’s pick: Adams Central 44, Eastern (Greentown) 19.
Indianapolis Lutheran (11-1) at Lapel (9-3): The No.3 Saints cruised to 38-7 win over Lapel a season ago. D’Marco Wilson rambled for three touchdowns in Lutheran’s 31-6 win over No. 10 Monrovia. Brice Burress caught six passes for 79 yards with two score in the Bulldogs’ 27-17 win over No. 9 Triton Central. Matt’s pick: Indianapolis Lutheran 45, Lapel 11.
Brownstown Central (12-0) at Linton-Stockton (10-2): Micah Sheffer was 3-of-8 for 100 yards with two scores in the No. 2 Braves’ 49-3 win over Tell City. Paul Oliver tallied three receptions for 79 yards with a touchdown in the No. 7 Miners’ 42-39 win against Greencastle. Matt’s pick: Brownstown Central 39, Linton-Stockton 30.
CLASS 1A
North Judson (12-0) at Taylor (7-5): Kole Wilcox scampered 13 times for 108 yards and caught a 37-yard pass in the top-ranked Bluejays’ 44-18 win over LaVille. Jalyn Wooten went 5-of-12 for 62 yards and carried the ball 16 times for 64 yards with a score in the Titans’ 28-6 win over Pioneer. Matt’s pick: North Judson 49, Taylor 15.
North Miami (10-2) at South Adams (7-5): The Starfires slipped past No. 10 North Miami, 20-14, in the 2010 sectional opener. Kody Wharin raced 17 times for 109 yards with a touchdown in the Warriors’ 28-21 win over Triton. Will Patterson added nine rushes for 36 yards with a score in the South Adams’ 43-36 win at No. 5 Madison-Grant. Matt’s pick: South Adams 37, North Miami 36.
Sheridan (7-5) at South Putnam (10-2): The Blackhawks breezed to a 49-12 win over No. 6 South Putnam in the 2016 sectional quarterfinals. Owen Bell was 4-of-6 for 94 yards with two touchdowns in Sheridan’s 42-14 win over Cloverdale. Bransyn Ensor had three catches for 94 yards with a score in the Eagles’ 44-6 win over Riverton Parke. Matt’s pick: South Putnam 38, Sheridan 14.
Milan (8-4) at Providence (11-0): The No. 3 Pioneers came away with a 35-21 win over Providence on October 4. Dylan Offill registered six receptions for 74 yards with a touchdown in the Indians’ 24-17 upset of No. 4 North Decatur. Preston Kempf completed 8-of-16 for 77 yards with two scores and ran five times for 41 yards with two more tallies in Providence’s 51-6 win over North Daviess. Matt’s pick; Providence 43, Milan 10.
