3A State Tournament: OFFICIAL Thread

[temptation]

One week to go in the regular season but with the draw being last night, figured it'd be as good a time as any to generate some discussion around the 3A tournament.

Myles McLaughlin is the story here.  The nation's leading rusher is putting up video game numbers on a weekly basis and legendary coach Russ Radke is looking to take the Redskins to uncharted territory.  They are the favorites in the north but there are a handful of capable squads.

The south boils down to a couple of story lines for me.  Cascade has also been putting up video game numbers, albeit against a mediocre schedule which gives some folks pause.  They finished the 2024 regular season undefeated also before getting upended by county rival Tri-West in the opening round of the tournament.  The two are likely to meet again, this time in round 2.

Gibson Southern and Evansville Memorial are breathing a sigh of relief that Chatard is now in 4A and both think it is their time.  Neither has lost to an in-state foe and like Cascade/Tri-West, appear to be on a second round collision course.

Temp's Title Odds:

Gibson Southern:  30%

Evansville Memorial:  30%

Cascade:  15%

Tri-West:  10%

Knox:  10%

The Field:  5%

Whatcha think?

[Bobref]

26 minutes ago, temptation said:

Myles McLaughlin is the story here.  The nation's leading rusher is putting up video game numbers on a weekly basis and legendary coach Russ Radke is looking to take the Redskins to uncharted territory.  They are the favorites in the north but there are a handful of capable squads

Week 2 of the sectional should be interesting. If form holds, Knox will play a 9-1 Griffith team. Of course, Griffith is where Russ Radtke made his bones, leading them to a state championship. On the other sideline, coaching a revitalized Griffith program, is Phil Mason, who coached Andrean to a championship in 2013. Coach Mason is about as old school as it gets, and I’m confident he and Coach Radtke have crossed swords before. Knowing those two — I officiated many games for both — I would guess the atmosphere at this game might be really nasty.

[Rodney]

have not followed 3a enough this year

 

 

give me GS to win it all since they beat HH

[Komets2727]

Just a reminder that Luers is lurking out there. Pay zero attention to their record in the regular season as they play up all year, they are always dangerous come tourney time…

[tango]

7 hours ago, temptation said:

Gibson Southern and Evansville Memorial are breathing a sigh of relief that Chatard is now in 4A and both think it is their time.  Neither has lost to an in-stat

Our coach has never lost to Chatard... 3-0. 

[Donnie Baker]

Kinda weird not seeing West Lafayettes in the 3A discussion 

[Muda69]

Go Braves.

 

[Indiansreloaded]

Mississinewa is a balanced team and is very good.   Luers and Mississinewa are in the same sectional.  If the bracket plays out to Luers and Mississinewa in championship the game will be at Mississinewa.  The regional matchup on this side of the bracket will be Luers/Mississinewa vs Maconaquah which would be interesting.  Can't overlook either of these teams.  

[First_Backer_Inside]

2 hours ago, Indiansreloaded said:

Mississinewa is a balanced team and is very good.   Luers and Mississinewa are in the same sectional.  If the bracket plays out to Luers and Mississinewa in championship the game will be at Mississinewa.  The regional matchup on this side of the bracket will be Luers/Mississinewa vs Maconaquah which would be interesting.  Can't overlook either of these teams.  

Can Mississinewa put up enough points to contend in 3A this year? Defense is still very solid, but doesn't seem like they have the fire power on offense that they had a year ago. 

[Basementbias]

As I round out the Adams County teams, Good Luck to the Bellmont Braves! We all know it's been a tough go for awhile, but the community & county are noticing the grit these players have. It is not easy to keep going when in the tough times these Braves have been in. However, they put the pads on and keep going at it. Another reason football & sports are great, as they can teach life lessons. In life you will get knocked down frequently and you must get back up. These Braves have done just that. Eventually it's all going to change and the Braves will get back on track.

[scarab527]

Radtke takes his 4th different program down to state on the back of McLaughlin. Don't think Knox has enough to finish the job against Memorial or GS though. 

[Indiansreloaded]

10 hours ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

Can Mississinewa put up enough points to contend in 3A this year? Defense is still very solid, but doesn't seem like they have the fire power on offense that they had a year ago. 

The offense isn't has high powered as last year but still has an All-State RB.  They can put up points but opponents have limited Mississinewa's offense by using up the clock a lot.  A couple of games Mississinewa only ran 4 or 5 plays in the first half but scored on each possession.  Just because they haven't put up the points like they did the last few years doesn't mean that they can't.

 

[Komets2727]

1 hour ago, Indiansreloaded said:

The offense isn't has high powered as last year but still has an All-State RB.  They can put up points but opponents have limited Mississinewa's offense by using up the clock a lot.  A couple of games Mississinewa only ran 4 or 5 plays in the first half but scored on each possession.  Just because they haven't put up the points like they did the last few years doesn't mean that they can't.

 

You were the one last year that was running the off at the mouth about the greatness of Mississinewa when they hadn’t beat anyone all year and they got Luers, who played 4A, 5A, and 6A teams all year, and you lost and you subsequently disappeared for the rest of the year. Welcome back, part 2…

Edited October 15 by Komets2727

[foxbat]

14 hours ago, Donnie Baker said:

Kinda weird not seeing West Lafayettes in the 3A discussion 

Thinking the same thing, but barely escaping a 2-6 LCC squad by a TD just seems to whisper "early exit."

[First_Backer_Inside]

27 minutes ago, foxbat said:

Thinking the same thing, but barely escaping a 2-6 LCC squad by a TD just seems to whisper "early exit."

Not to derail the thread, but a quick question. Is LCC's enrollment still 1A? Might see them move down in the next few years if that is the case.

[Lysander]

On 10/13/2025 at 2:13 PM, temptation said:

One week to go in the regular season but with the draw being last night, figured it'd be as good a time as any to generate some discussion around the 3A tournament.

Myles McLaughlin is the story here.  The nation's leading rusher is putting up video game numbers on a weekly basis and legendary coach Russ Radke is looking to take the Redskins to uncharted territory.  They are the favorites in the north but there are a handful of capable squads.

The south boils down to a couple of story lines for me.  Cascade has also been putting up video game numbers, albeit against a mediocre schedule which gives some folks pause.  They finished the 2024 regular season undefeated also before getting upended by county rival Tri-West in the opening round of the tournament.  The two are likely to meet again, this time in round 2.

Gibson Southern and Evansville Memorial are breathing a sigh of relief that Chatard is now in 4A and both think it is their time.  Neither has lost to an in-state foe and like Cascade/Tri-West, appear to be on a second round collision course.

Temp's Title Odds:

Gibson Southern:  30%

Evansville Memorial:  30%

Cascade:  15%

Tri-West:  10%

Knox:  10%

The Field:  5%

Whatcha think?

It's hard for me to imagine that the winner of Sectional 32 isn't the ultimate State Champion.  Per @foxbat's moniker this is the new "Sectional of Death".  

One note....Evansville Memorial has, unfortunately, never seen Chatard as a particular impediment in 3A...they are also the only 3A team who has also won 4A so far.  All that said, I respect and admire both the EM and GS programs.   

Edited October 15 by Lysander

[1st_and_10]

6 hours ago, Lysander said:

It's hard for me to imagine that the winner of Sectional 32 isn't the ultimate State Champion.  Per @foxbat's moniker this is the new "Sectional of Death".  

One note....Evansville Memorial has, unfortunately, never seen Chatard as a particular impediment in 3A...they are also the only 3A team who has also won 4A so far.  All that said, I respect and admire both the EM and GS programs.   

Cascade.

Don't crown GS or Memorial just yet... Cascade beat Danville at Danville by 16.  GS beat Danville by 7 at GS.  I know you can't always compare it, but Cascade is legit if they stay healthy.

[foxbat]

10 hours ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

Not to derail the thread, but a quick question. Is LCC's enrollment still 1A? Might see them move down in the next few years if that is the case.

Yes, LCC's enrollment is around 302 during the last classification, so they have 1A enrollment.  This would put them at the 275th smallest enrollment for Indiana football.  For reference, 1A currently holds the 250-314 smallest schools.  For additional reference, it would put LCC just below NJSP and just above Monroe Central.  Other notables ... without meaning to slight any that I miss ... above LCC's enrollment, in 1A, include LaVille [373], South Adams [357], Sheridan [336], and Carroll [321].  Of note is that, for a long time, LCC and Pioneer were pretty close to each other in enrollments with Pioneer typically the "larger" of the two schools.  Pioneer's enrollment is still fairly close to where LCC and Pioneer were back in the glory days of #1 vs. #2 right around 286.

Given that they drew Seeger for Round 1, that there are probably at least 4-5 teams in that sectional with better odds of getting out than LCC, and given LCC only got 1 SF point last season, they are pretty likely to be heading down to 1A next season.

[tango]

3 hours ago, 1st_and_10 said:

Cascade.

Don't crown GS or Memorial just yet... Cascade beat Danville at Danville by 16.  GS beat Danville by 7 at GS.  I know you can't always compare it, but Cascade is legit if they stay healthy.

I know nothing about Cascade other than they are undefeated like us (Ev. Memorial), which I don't think means much now and certainly won't mean anything come post-season time. At 4-4, Danville appears to be a pretty mediocre 4A school so I don't think a 9 point difference in MOV means much of anything as between GS or Cascade. GS knocked off Heritage Hills, who will very likely coast through 4A South to the semi-state and a match-up with Indy Chatard. GS is the favorite in 3A IMO. John Herrel has them as the odds-on favorite as well, and he is usually pretty accurate. 

[Titan32]

5 hours ago, tango said:

I know nothing about Cascade other than they are undefeated like us (Ev. Memorial), which I don't think means much now and certainly won't mean anything come post-season time. At 4-4, Danville appears to be a pretty mediocre 4A school so I don't think a 9 point difference in MOV means much of anything as between GS or Cascade. GS knocked off Heritage Hills, who will very likely coast through 4A South to the semi-state and a match-up with Indy Chatard. GS is the favorite in 3A IMO. John Herrel has them as the odds-on favorite as well, and he is usually pretty accurate. 

Every Human poll has Memorial picked to be the 3A state champ..only the stupid computers like GS.  USA today, AP, Coaches....all believe Memorial has the stuff to get a blue ring.

For the record the computers have GS, Memorial and Cascade all less than a touch down apart for the most part.

[TigerBLenthusiast69]

Any love for Lawrenceburg? 6th in the AP, 4th in the IFCA should have VERY smooth sailing through their sectional. Always a team that seems to turn it on in November...

[jets]

1 hour ago, TigerBLenthusiast69 said:

Any love for Lawrenceburg? 6th in the AP, 4th in the IFCA should have VERY smooth sailing through their sectional. Always a team that seems to turn it on in November...

It happens....geography is what it is (I guess) - but the discrepancy (I don't know if that's the right word) or "balance" of some sectionals compared to others....whew.

In wrestling, I have real-life examples and emails used by IHSAA brass moving teams from one sectional to another for the reason of "competitive balance" ....but apparently that doesn't apply in the football world. 

Or...the right/wrong people are on the right/wrong committees ....

Anyway, I digress 

[hhpatriot04]

38 minutes ago, jets said:

It happens....geography is what it is (I guess) - but the discrepancy (I don't know if that's the right word) or "balance" of some sectionals compared to others....whew.

In wrestling, I have real-life examples and emails used by IHSAA brass moving teams from one sectional to another for the reason of "competitive balance" ....but apparently that doesn't apply in the football world. 

Or...the right/wrong people are on the right/wrong committees ....

Anyway, I digress 

Would Heritage Hills have been in that sectional were the they still in 3A?

[jets]

10 minutes ago, hhpatriot04 said:

Would Heritage Hills have been in that sectional were the they still in 3A?

Sure would....just like they were last year. 

[OlMarksmenTiger]

7 hours ago, TigerBLenthusiast69 said:

Any love for Lawrenceburg? 6th in the AP, 4th in the IFCA should have VERY smooth sailing through their sectional. Always a team that seems to turn it on in November...

Is there any thing especially different about them this year?  My perception is L-burg is always a strong program and expect to see them coming out the far east.  They have been able to break through a couple of times to get to State, but I think mainly their strong teams usually take their East Central beating each year and then make a undefeated run after that as far as there match up with the southwest area regional opponent.
What's there for extra love this year?
I will say my elementary school age son that goes down the interweb rabbit holes of maxpreps, etc.. sports research, specifically asked me about L-burg and has no desire to face them this year.