Gridiron Digest Indiana Football Report - Week 8

[crimsonace1]

LaVille hosting the Battle of the 3s this week. 

By Andrew Smith
GridironDigest.com

You could also call it the Battle of the 7-0s, or just the battle for the Hoosier North Conference title as 1A No. 3 North Judson visits 2A No. 3 LaVille. 

Both teams are unbeaten. Both are reigning sectional champions. Both have offenses scoring more than 40 points per game and defenses allowing an average of one touchdown every Friday night, with five shutouts between them. Their coaches - North Judson’s Brett Lambert and LaVille’s Will Hostrawser - coached together in the IFCA North/South All-Star Game last summer. 

Something will have to give - and given history, it may be the offenses. The last two years, North Judson won 10-9 in OT last season and 9-7 the previous year. The winning team has allowed seven or fewer points in regulation in each meeting dating to 2016. 

“The North Judson game is the next game on our schedule - all of the hype about records, rankings, etc really doesn't mean anything - it can become a big distraction if we focus on those things,” LaVille coach Will Hostrawser said. “Both teams have been successful to this point - so that means it should be a good game.  We will be focusing on the same details that have allowed us to find success to this point - just like we have every other week.  Come Friday night, the electricity in the air will be a little different I suppose - but it is different each week with each opponent we face.” 

North Judson enters having shut out three consecutive teams - Calumet Christian, Knox and Winamac - midway through the year. The Bluejays defeated Triton 62-22 last week behind 197 rushing yards from 220-pound sophomore fullback Brock Benson and 101 yards - on eight carries - from senior All-State rusher Cheyenne Allen. On the season, Benson has rushed for 742 yards and Allen 604. Quarterback Aldric Harper has thrown for 581 and run for 407 in leading the option attack. 

Lambert described Benson as “a tank who is the first option in our triple-option attack,” while Allen has 19 touchdowns “despite being the focal point of most defensive plans.” 

Defensively, senior Quenton Frasure - whom Lambert described as a coach on the field - leads the Bluejays with 81 tackles, including 18 for loss. Logan Radtke, another all-state player, has 48 tackles and three sacks from the defensive end position. 

Depth is a key for North Judson, which has a lot fewer two-way players than most 1A schools. 

“We only have 2 guys that play about every snap on offense and defense. This depth has helped us wear some teams out over the course of the season,” Lambert said. “It's really nice because our offensive and defensive lines play one way, which means we can get after each other in practice in preparation for Friday's game.” 

The Lancers’ offense is led by senior running back Paul DeWitt, who has 928 yards and averages 8.4 yards per carry. Quarterback Lucas Plummer, a junior, has thrown for 679 yards and 13 touchdowns. Wideout Owen Smith has been on the receiving end of nine passes for 279 yards - an average of 31 yards per catch. Six have gone for touchdowns. Fullback Noah Richart - who averages 13 yards per carry - slot Cody Allen and tight end Ross Wagoner are also key contributors. 

“Paul DeWitt and Lucas Plummer are special players,” Hostrawser said. “Our offensive line is experienced as a unit which leads to good on field communication and trust.  The guys up font have played pretty much the past three seasons together.  When our line is locked in, Lucas and Paul reap the benefits.” 

Richart, a linebacker, leads the Lancers defensively with 55 tackles, Sophomore Collin Czarnecki has four interceptions and Jon Neece three, while Allen has two for a defense that has 22 takeaways through seven games. 

“Each week has been a process refining the details to put the big picture together come tournament time,” Hostrawser said. “Our team has remained focused on that goal from the start.  What we find success in week to week greatly depends on our opponents.  Offensively, we feel we must run the ball effectively to find success.  Defensively, we keep things simple and focus on alignment, angles and pursuit.” 

While North Judson’s offense, tallying 47 ppg, is fifth in Class A in scoring offense, LaVille is second in Class 2A at 44.6 ppg. Both are in the top two in their classes in scoring defense and victory margin. 

This week is important, but it also can provide each team a preview of the postseason. LaVille won its 2A sectional last year before falling to eventual state champion Andrean in the regional. North Judson advanced to the semistate before falling to Adams Central. 

“No matter the outcome on Friday, this game will help prepare us and LaVille for the upcoming playoffs,” Lambert said. “ We want to win a conference championship, but our ultimate goal is to bring home hardware in the playoffs.” 

Cougars making another run

Also in northern Indiana, New Prairie has started the season 7-0 and appears poised to make a run in the Class 4A tournament. The No. 6 Cougars travel to 6A No. 10 Penn this week for the first of two games against 6A schools to close the season, as they’ll host Elkhart in Week 9. 

A year ago, the Cougars came within a touchdown of their first State Finals appearance since 2014. They’ve won two sectional titles in the last three seasons. Third-year coach Casey McKim said that experience of getting to the semistate made his team “extremely hungry in the offseason,” but also provided several weeks of additional practice and the opportunity to gain experience in high-pressure situations, which has suited them well.  

The winner this week will clinch at least a share of the Northern Indiana Conference’s East-West Division title. 

“It is an enormous challenge to play two programs that are so talented, deep, and well-coached let alone back-to-back weeks to finish up the season,” McKim said. “It is a wonderful opportunity for us to see where we are heading into the playoffs. We will see weaknesses tested and strengths challenged, in the end the question is how well we can execute play in play out throughout an entire game. Against Penn this week, we are going to need to win up front in the trenches, win the turnover battle, and execute at a high level if we are going to win the game.” 

The Cougars are averaging 36 points per game - their closest win was a 24-7 victory at Lowell in Week 3. Last week, they defeated South Bend Riley 42-21 in the first game in which the defense had allowed more than two scores. 

Senior Tayvion Ortman has 63 tackles, while junior Dylan Wilson has 36 stops and four sacks. Senior Brice VanBruaene has three of the Cougars’ 12 interceptions through seven games. 

Wilson, Adam Ziegler and nose tackle Jacob Mrozinski have moved into the defensive line and shone through seven games, allowing an experienced linebacking corps to roam. 

“Coming into the year we knew we were going to have another very strong defensive group,” McKim said. “We returned four of our five linebackers from the previous season including Tayvion Ortman. All of those guys are physical at the point of attack and athletic enough to make tackles in the open field. Just watching Tayvion you can see how athletic and long he is, but it is the tenacity that he plays with to pursue the ball that makes him special. Up front we had to replace a lot on our defensive line, but we had numerous guys who rotated in last year along that line.”

Offensively, junior quarterback Marshall Kmiecik has thrown for 618 yards and run for 601. Senior Noah Mungia has 907 rushing yards. 

“Teams are unable to key on just one guy because we have multiple guys who can touch the ball and make big plays with it,” McKim said. “Their running styles are also different as Noah has the ability to finish off runs in a physically punishing way. Marshall's ability as a dual threat is massive as it allows him to extend pass plays or scramble for first downs to move the chains.” 

Trojans, Golden Eagles meet 

In southeastern Indiana and exurban Cincinnati, the East Central Trojans have long been one of Class 4A’s premier programs. 

The Trojans most recently won a state title in 2017, but are coming off the program’s 20th sectional title and appear poised to make another run. At 6-1, the lone blemish on their record is a Week 3 loss to Cincinnati Moeller. In their other games, they’ve scored at least 35 points a contest and have allowed four total touchdowns - two of which came last week in a 42-14 win over Connersville that wrapped up the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference large school division title. It marks the 13th consecutive EIAC title and 29th overall for East Central. 

A year ago, the Trojans defeated Martinsville to win the sectional, but then dropped a 17-14 heartbreaker to Evansville Memorial in the regional. 

“That left a bad taste in our mouths all offseason and heading into this season,” coach Jake Meiners said. “We returned a lot of guys this year who played in that game last season. We have worked on fixing our issues from last season to give ourselves another opportunity to win football games this season.” 

East Central has been led by a dynamic offense that features junior running back Josh Ringer, who has 1,141 yards and 17 touchdowns. He is averaging 9.6 yards per carry. Junior quarterback Cole Burton has thrown for 1,008 yards and 11 touchdowns. Wideouts Ryan Brotherton and Eli Aston have combined for 956 receiving yards. 

“Cole Burton has done a really nice job this year executing the offense. We put a lot on his plate every week and he has responded by taking what the defense gives him,” Meiners said. “Josh Ringer is one of the most explosive players to have come through our program. He has done an incredible job running the football for us, but he also blocks really well and can catch the ball as well. He is one of the most selfless players I have coached. Eli Aston and Ryan Brotherton are explosive threats out on the edge. Our offensive line has also done a nice job opening things up this year. Our offense is really built around taking what the defense gives us. Our players have done a nice job adjusting so far this year.” 

The Trojans have been balanced defensively, with junior Brayden Rouse leading them with 43 tackles and junior Dylan Maxwell adding 35. They started the year with a 38-3 win over Lawrenceburg and have continued to roll, pitching shutouts of Franklin County and Batesville in Weeks 4 and 5. 

“Our defensive group has been great so far this season. Our one hiccup was against Cincinnati Moeller, who is Top 10 in the nation and has one of the nation's best running backs,” Meiners said. “Our defense still played well in that game, but they were put in some tough spots. We have just played really effective team defense so far. There is not one guy getting all of the stats. It is a different guy every week. We hang our hat on playing aggressive defense with all 11 guys rallying to the football. This group seems to keep getting better every week.” 

The Trojans finish the season against Guerin Catholic and Roncalli - the latter a Week 9 staple since 2008. 

“Guerin Catholic is a good football team and has put up a lot of points. It will be a test for our defense. Everyone knows the caliber of team that Roncalli has,” Meiners said. “We have had some great battles with them over the years, and I would expect that it will be another great game this season. We schedule these matchups heading into the playoffs so that our team is prepared. In order to win, we will have to play fundamentally sound football and execute.” 

Guerin Catholic’s record may be 4-3, but the Golden Eagles’ mark is a bit deceiving. The three losses came midseason against highly-ranked Brebeuf Jesuit, Roncalli and Indianapolis Chatard - the latter a 31-30 thriller in Week 6. A 59-35 victory over Northview last week got the Eagles back in the win column. 

They’ve had a strong passing offense averaging 33.3 points per game. Ryan Zimmerman was one of the state’s top passers to start the season, but went down after four games. Malcolm Houze has taken over and thrown for 648 yards in four games, including 281 in the loss to Chatard. 

“Ryan Zimmerman was off to a fantastic start to the season as our returning starter,” Guerin Catholic coach Tom Dilley said. “Losing him to injury was potentially devastating. It is a credit to all of our players that each one has picked up a portion of the slack created by his absence. Malcolm Houze has stepped into the starting quarterback role as a sophomore and performed well and shown great improvement each week. Malcolm demonstrated mental toughness and maturity in making his first few starts against such formidable opponents.” 

Guerin’s offense is averaging 33 points per game, but set a season-high in the 59-35 victory last week over Northview, one of the top teams in the Western indiana Conference. 

“Our team has been committed to getting better each week and our coordinators have done a good job of allowing players to grow throughout the season,” Dilley said. “In our game against Northview, a number of things that we have been working on all season started to click. I also felt that we were opportunistic against Northview and were able to force some mistakes and capitalize on good field position. Playing complimentary football was also key to our outcome against a good Northview team last week.” 

Wideout Will Fremion ranks fifth in the state with 833 receiving yards. He tallied his fifth 100-yard game of the season against Northview. He tallied a season-high 197 yards and three TDs on eight catches in a 47-10 Week 2 win over Lafayette Central Catholic. Jack Cherry adds 418 receiving yards. 

“We feel that the experience, skill, athleticism, and depth of our receiving corps is a strength of our team,” Dilley said. “Having quality athletes like Will Fremion and Jack Cherry on the field at the same time can force defenses to defend the depth and width of the field.  Additionally, receivers Alex Gibbs and Hayden Cler compliment Fremion and Cherry.  Running backs Justin Zdobylak and Cooper Navarro behind an experienced offensive line also present defenses with an effective running game. Our tight ends have also contributed to the run game and pass game. We hope that all of these elements give us the ability to capitalize on opportunities presented by defensive units making choices.” 

Sectional draw Sunday

The 2022 IHSAA football sectional draw will be held at 5 p.m. EDT (and 4 p.m. CDT) Sunday. It will be broadcast at IHSAAtv.org and on the IHSAA Champions Radio Network, with Bob Lovell and Paul Condry the hosts. The 48 sectional fields will be unveiled during the two-hour broadcast, starting with Class A. Indianapolis Lutheran (Class A), Andrean (2A), Gibson Southern (3A), Mt. Vernon (Fortville) (4A), Indianapolis Cathedral (5A) and Center Grove (6A) are the defending state champions. Cathedral is now in Class 6A due to the Tournament Success Factor, so there will be a new champion in 5A, but the other five classes' reigning champs will be looking to defend. The tournament begins Friday, Oct. 21. 

Potpourri

There are 23 remaining unbeaten teams in the state - but none in Class 5A. Three are in Class 6A - Brownsburg, Hamilton Southeastern and Carroll (Fort Wayne). Indianapolis Lutheran has the state’s longest winning streak at 22 games. … Brad Schultz of Triton Central leads the state with 989 receiving yards. He had 238 last week in a 58-15 victory over Indianapolis Ritter. … Roncalli’s Luke Hansen leads the state with 1,896 rushing yards, with Clarksville’s Robert Lamar second with 1,700 yards. Hansen tallied his third 300-yard game of the season last week with 316 on 37 carries in a 28-7 victory against Louisville (Ky.) Male. Lamar has topped the 200-yard mark each game and had 250 last week in a 46-8 victory over Greenwood Christian. … The state has had two 2,000-yard passers so far - Indianapolis Lutheran’s Jackson Willis (2,030) and Traders Point Christian’s Cooper Simmons-Little (2,021). … Merrillville returned to No. 1 in Class 5A in the AP poll after previous No. 1 Mishawaka dropped a 14-6 decision to NorthWood last week. Fort Wayne Snider became the fourth different school to occupy the top spot in the IFCA poll. … In Class 2A, Andrean and Linton are co-No. 1s in the IFCA poll. Andrean began the season in the top spot. 

Other key games this week

• Noblesville (2-5) at 6A No. 1 Brownsburg 

• 6A No. 6 Center Grove (6-1) at Lawrence North (3-4)

• 4A No. 10 Brebeuf Jesuit (4-2) at 6A No. 3 Indianapolis Cathedral (5-1)

• 6A No. 4 Hamilton Southeastern (7-0) at Franklin Central (3-4)

• 6A No. 5 Carmel (5-2) at Warren Central (3-4)

• Lawrence Central (4-3) at 6A No. 7 Ben Davis (4-3)

• 5A No. 1 Fort Wayne Snider (6-1) at 5A No. 8 Fort Wayne Dwenger (5-2)

• Lake Central (4-3) at 5A No. 2 Merrillville (6-1)

• 5A No. 5 Harrison (6-1) at Logansport (6-1)

• Cincinnati (Ohio) Elder at 4A No. 2 Indianapolis Roncalli (7-0)

• 4A No. 8 Martinsville (6-1) at 4A No. 9 Mooresville (5-2)

• 3A No. 1 West Lafayette (7-0) at Twin Lakes (1-6)

• Terre Haute North (2-5) at 3A No. 3 Indianapolis Chatard (4-3)

• Danville (3-4) at 3A No. 6 Western Boone (6-1)

• 2A No. 1 Andrean (5-2) at Kankakee Valley (4-3)

• 1A No. 6 South Putnam (6-1) at 2A No. 9 Heritage Christian (5-2)

• 2A No. 10 Eastbrook (5-2) at Madison-Grant (6-1)

• 1A No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran (7-0) at Speedway (5-2)

• Bluffton (4-3) at 1A No. 2 Adams Central (7-0)

• Clinton Prairie (5-2) at 1A No. 5 Carroll (Flora) (7-0)

• Hagerstown (5-2) at 1A No. 7 Tri (5-2)

• Eastern (Greentown) (5-2) at 1A No. 10 Sheridan (6-1)

 

[crimsonace1]