My goal of finishing at 80 percent or better remains alive as I went 39-9 (81 percent) last week. Heading into the regional round, my overall record is now 209-46, which keeps me at 82 percent.
CLASS 6A
Carroll (Fort Wayne) (8-3) at Penn (11-0): The No. 10 Chargers earned a 35-7 win over No. 5 Penn in the 2022 sectional semifinals. Linkoln Grabner tallied eight tackles and two pass deflections in Carroll’s 42-23 win over Fort Wayne Northrop. Buddy Hurley caught six passes for 87 yards with a score in the Kingsmen’s 28-24 win over No. 2 Crown Point. Matt’s pick: Penn 23, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 14.
Fishers (8-3) at Westfield (9-2): The No. 6 Shamrocks edged No. 9 Fishers, 14-7, on October 10. Atticus Finley recorded 12 tackles with two for loss and caused two fumbles in the Tigers’ 28-20 win over No. 11 Hamilton Southeastern. Aiden Grabowski was 3-of-5 for eight yards with two touchdowns and ran 14 times for 52 yards with another tally in Westfield’s 23-20 overtime win over No. 3 Carmel. Matt’s pick: Westfield 21, Fishers 10.
Brownsburg (11-0) at Decatur Central (9-2): The No. 8 Hawks slipped past No. 1 and defending state champion Brownsburg, 14-12, during the 1993 campaign. Fa’Rel Carter ran 10 times for 56 yards and tallied five tackles in Decatur Central’s 17-14 win over Lawrence Central. Branden Sharpe came up with three catches for 62 yards with a touchdown in the Bulldogs’ 53-29 win against Avon. Matt’s pick: Brownsburg 34, Decatur Central 24.
Warren Central (7-4) at Center Grove (10-1): The No. 4 Trojans opened the 2025 campaign with a 22-6 win over No. 11 Warren Central on August 22. Nathan Stokes raced three times for 76 yards with a score in the Warriors’ 58-0 win over Southport. Brodie Tilton carried the ball 14 times for 34 yards with two touchdowns in Center Grove’s 30-27 win over Franklin Central. Matt’s pick: Center Grove 25, Warren Central 16.
CLASS 5A
Merrillville (9-2) at Michigan City (8-3): The No. 5 Pirates rolled to a 44-7 win over No. 12 Michigan City on September 19. Stanley Freeman racked up six tackles with two for loss, two sacks, and caused a fumble in Merrillville’s 45-14 win over Munster. Damarion Evans managed nine rushes for 51 yards and two receptions for 20 yards in the Wolves’ 28-21 win over LaPorte. Matt’s pick: Merrillville 40, Michigan City 19.
Lafayette Jeff (10-1) at Concord (10-1): Jamell Thomas caught two passes for 67 yards with a touchdown in the No. 2 Bronchos’ 57-0 win at Kokomo. Camari Jackson totaled nine tackles for the No. 6 Minutemen in their 34-29 win over Fort Wayne North. Matt’s pick: Concord 30, Lafayette Jeff 28.
New Palestine (11-0) at East Central (9-2): The No. 9 Trojans blanked No. 1 and defending Class 4A state champion New Palestine, 49-0, in the 2023 Class 4A southern semistate. Abe Walling chipped in eight tackles and two pass deflections in the Dragons’ 20-15 win over No. 2 Indianapolis Cathedral. Noah Long came up with 10 carries for 33 yards and two tackles in East Central’s 35-0 win over No. 8 Whiteland. Matt’s pick: New Palestine 31, East Central 17.
Floyd Central (10-1) at Bloomington South (10-1): The No. 4 Panthers clawed past No. 7 Floyd Central, 40-14, in the 2019 regional finale. Matt Polk finished with 19 tackles, a fumble recovery, and a blocked punt in the Highlanders’ 15-10 win over No. 12 Evansville North. Jalen Williams hauled in seven receptions for 61 yards with two scores in Bloomington South’s 31-28 win over Bloomington North. Matt’s pick: Bloomington South 33, Floyd Central 21.
CLASS 4A
Hobart (10-2) at Saint Joseph (11-1): The No. 7 Huskies claimed a 19-7 win over Hobart in the 2017 sectional quarterfinals. Nathan Sobczynski tallied seven tackles and an interception in the Brickies’ 35-15 win over No. 12 Lowell. Kobby Addo contributed seven tackles and a fumble recovery in Saint Joseph’s 13-7 win over No. 2 Mishawaka. Matt’s pick: Saint Joseph 17, Hobart 15.
Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (10-2) at Lebanon (10-2): Henry Jordan went 8-of-15 for 97 yards and ran five times for 12 yards in the No. 8 Saints’ 32-0 win over top-ranked and defending state runner-up East Noble. Jacob Jones ended with four catches for 62 yards with a score in the Tigers’ 21-17 win at Logansport. Matt’s pick: Bishop Dwenger 31, Lebanon 19.
Indianapolis Roncalli (9-3) at Yorktown (9-2): The No. 6 Royals crowed No. 13 Yorktown, 28-8, during the 2000 season. Will Hegwood accumulated six tackles and an interception in Roncalli’s 26-6 win over No. 3 Indianapolis Bishop Chatard. Sam Tokak went 9-of-14 for 84 yards with a touchdown and carried the ball twice for three yards and another score in the Tigers’ 28-10 win over No. 5 Pendleton Heights. Matt’s pick: Roncalli 36, Yorktown 11.
Martinsville (6-6) at Heritage Hills (11-1): Bradley Willison registered nine tackles, a pass deflection, and caused a fumble in the Artesians’ 49-35 win over Bedford North Lawrence. Hayden Smith finished with 10 tackles, including two for loss, in the No. 4 and defending Class 3A state champion Patriots’ 38-8 win over No. 11 Jasper. Matt’s pick: Heritage Hills 46, Martinsville 18.
CLASS 3A
Angola (7-5) at Knox (12-0): Alex Thomas mustered five catches for 52 yards, 11 tackles, and a sack in the Hornets’ 30-28 win over Garrett. Cain Weber totaled four carries for 26 yards and five tackles with two for loss in the No. 4 Redskins; 48-18 win over Marian. Matt’s pick: Knox 45, Angola 16.
Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (7-5) at Twin Lakes (10-2): Dallas Mata accounted for 12 tackles with two for loss, a sack, and a fumble recovery in the defending state runner-up Knights’ 23-10 win at No. 6 Mississinewa. Darin Baker scampered six times for 50 yards with a touchdown and tallied nine tackles in the No. 13 Indians’ 35-19 win over Western. Matt’s pick: Bishop Luers 29, Twin Lakes 26.
Cascade (12-0) at Lawrenceburg (10-1): Dayton Mink racked up 11 rushes for 35 yards in the No. 2 Cadets’ 49-21 win over Guerin Catholic. Isaiah Williams accounted for four trips to the end zone in the No. 5 Tigers’ 41-3 win over Greensburg. Matt’s pick: Lawrenceburg 37, Cascade 34.
Indian Creek (8-3) at Gibson Southern (11-1): Hunter Worley rambled 51 yards for a touchdown and hauled in three passes for 88 yards with two more scores in the Braves’ 49-13 win over No. 11 Scottsburg. Gunner Alexander managed 16 tackles and a sack in the No. 3 Titans’ 17-14 win over No. 14 Evansville Mater Dei. Matt’s pick: Gibson Southern 32, Indian Creek 12.
CLASS 2A
Southmont (11-1) at Andrean (10-1): Gunnar Shirk rambled four times for 69 yards with two touchdowns and added four tackles in the Mounties’ 44-39 win over Lewis Cass. Christian Gavin finished with 10 tackles in the No. 5 59ers’ 35-14 win at Rensselaer Central. Matt’s pick: Andrean 39, Southmont 13.
Eastbrook (12-0) at Adams Central (12-0): Curtis White finished with 13 tackles and a fumble recovery in the No. 4 Panthers’ 31-28 win over No. 12 Eastern (Greentown). Joey Everett scampered 25 yards for a score and caught a 25-yard touchdown pass in the top-ranked and defending state champion Flying Jets’ 53-32 win over No. 14 Eastside. Matt’s pick: Adams Central 41, Eastbrook 31.
Lapel (12-0) at Indianapolis Lutheran (11-1): The No. 6 Saints cruised to a 35-0 win over No. 3 Lapel in last year’s regional final. Jayden Lindsey contributed eight tackles and an interception in the Bulldogs’ 28-15 win over No. & Triton Central. With its 28-24 win over Heritage Christian, Lutheran and T.J. Clark earned its fifth straight sectional crown and 11th title in the last 12 years (2020 being the exception). Matt’s pick: Lapel 44, Indianapolis Lutheran 33.
Brownstown Central (12-0) at Linton-Stockton (9-3): The No. 2 Braves are looking to make amends for a 22-21 loss to No. 10 and defending state runner-up Linton-Stockton in last season regional finale. Trevor Brananman added eight rushes for 69 yards with a touchdown in Brownstown Central’s 55-0 win over Switzerland County. Russell Goodman registered 10 carries for 72 yards with a score and two catches for 62 yards with two more touchdowns in the Miners’ 58-27 win over Sullivan. Matt’s pick: Brownstown Central 47, Linton-Stockton 21.
CLASS 1A
LaVille (8-4) at Pioneer (11-1): The Lancers suffered a 29-13 loss to No. 3 Pioneer during the 2023 season. Konnor Amor came up with two receptions for nine yards, five tackles, and returned an interception 88 yards for a score in LaVille’s 49-6 win over No. 10 West Central. Micah Rans completed an 18-yard pass and ran four times for 10 yards with a touchdown in the Panthers’ 45-14 win over Carroll (Flora). Matt’s pick: Pioneer 42, LaVille 8.
South Adams (9-3) at North Miami (9-3): The No. 12 Starfires blazed to a 40-24 win over North Miami in the regional final a season ago. Will Patterson contributed three catches for 76 yards with two touchdowns, five rushes for 39 yards, and three tackles in South Adams’ 42-14 win over Hagerstown. Ryan Meredith ran for three scores and caught a pass for a fourth touchdown in the Warriors’ 51-7 win over Fremont. Matt’s pick: South Adams 49, North Miami 23.
Sheridan (8-2) at South Putnam (10-2): The No. 5 Eagles soared to a 60-19 win over No. 11 Sheridan a year ago in the regional final. Jonathan Barnes finished with eight rushes for 22 yards with a touchdown, six tackles, and a fumble recovery in the Blackhawks’ 14-7 win over Cloverdale. Hunter Weddle accounted for 16 tackles in South Putnam’s 29-21 win over No. 3 Riverton Parke. Matt’s pick: South Putnam 50, Sheridan 15.
Milan (6-4) at Providence (9-2): The No. 5 and defending state champion Pioneers marched past Milan, 28-10, in last season’s regional title clash. Micah Norman contributed four catches for 84 yards with a touchdown and three tackles in the Indians’ 27-7 win over No. 9 North Decatur. Lincoln Kruer ended with 15 carries for 81 yards with a score and nine tackles in Providence’s 42-26 win over No. 8 North Daviess. Matt’s pick: Providence 37, Milan 9.
