CLASS 5A SECTIONAL 8

CASTLE AT JEFFERSONVILLE

• TIME: 8 p.m.

• PLACE: Blair Field.

• RECORDS: Castle 6-3, Jeffersonville 5-4.

• ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY: Castle leads 9-3.

• LAST MEETING: Nov. 7, 2008 at Blair Field — Castle 49, Jeffersonville 39 (Sectional 8 championship).

• KEY FACTS: The Red Devils and Knights have met in the sectional in four of the past five seasons with the two squads splitting the two matchups. … The Knights and Red Devils have won the last two Sectional 8 titles with Castle taking last year’s crown with a win over Jeff. … Castle’s 2008 sectional crown was its eighth in school history. The Knights also won state titles in 1982 and 1994. … The winner of this game will host Bedford North Lawrence, which drew a first-round bye, in the sectional semifinal. The Stars beat Jeff in Week 3, 16-12. … Andrel Williams eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark last week, becoming the 17th different Red Devil to do so. His 227 rushing attempts this season is the third-most in school history. ... Castle is led by quarterback Schuyler Cooper, who is a dangerous runner and passer for a balanced Knights’ offense.

• BURNING QUESTION: Just who is the favorite to win Sectional 8?

Until last week, Jeffersonville probably would have been the pick. After last week, it’s probably Castle. Even after a 27-10 loss to Evansville Memorial, the Knights have to be considered the sectional’s hottest team with three wins in their last four games, including an impressive 32-29 victory over Evansville Mater Dei. The truth is that Castle, Jeff, Bedford North Lawrence and Floyd Central have to all be considered four-way favorites.



EVANSVILLE NORTH AT NEW ALBANY

• TIME: 7:30 p.m.

• PLACE: Buerk Field.

• RECORDS: Evansville North 3-6, New Albany 1-8.

• SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Evansville North leads 2-0.

• LAST MEETING: Oct. 26, 2007 at North — Evansville North 42, New Albany 13 (Sectional 8 first round).

• KEY FACTS: New Albany kicker Kameron Jenkins’ last-minute field goal helped the Bulldogs to a 17-15 win over rival Floyd Central, their first win of the season. … After giving up at least 28 points in its first seven games of the season, the New Albany defense gave up just 28 over the past two weeks combined. … The North program has struggled over the past decade or so. In the 90’s, however, the Huskies won five sectional titles and were the 5A state runners-up in 1995. … New Albany has won two sectional championships — in 1984 and 2002 under current coach Kevin Roth. … If the Bulldogs do beat North this week, New Albany would go on the road for a second-round contest. The Bulldogs would go to either Floyd Central or Jennings County. New Albany hosted the Highlanders and Panthers this season, going 1-1 against them. ... In North’s 28-21 win over Central last week, the Huskies’ Richard Compton rushed for 261 yards and three touchdowns, including the 5-yard game-winning run with 5:55 to play. He also rushed for two two-point conversions.

• BURNING QUESTION: Can New Albany win its second straight game after starting 0-8?

No doubt about it. For the first time in a long time, the Hoosier Hills Conference matches up favorably with the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference — at least at the top of the conference. At least two of the Huskies wins have come against teams New Albany almost certainly would have beaten. The computer-based Sagarin Ratings, which becomes more accurate the longer the season goes, has North as a one-point favorite when home-field advantage is taken into account. If the Bulldogs play like they did the last two weeks, they should advance and could face Floyd Central again in next week’s sectional semifinal.



FLOYD CENTRAL AT JENNINGS COUNTY

• TIME: 7 p.m.

• PLACE: Panther Stadium.

• RECORDS: Floyd Central 6-3, 5-2 HHC; Jennings County 3-6, 2-5.

• SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Floyd Central leads 15-1.

• LAST MEETING: Oct. 9, 2009 at Ron Weigleb Stadium — Floyd Central 40, Jennings County 12.

• KEY FACTS: The mood has changed in two weeks for these two programs. Just a week after the Highlanders beat Jennings, the Panthers upset Jeffersonville, 12-6, and the Highlanders were beaten by previous-winless New Albany, 17-15. … The Highlanders have gone 11 years since their last sectional crown. The 1998 team is still the only in school history with a sectional crown. Jennings has never won a sectional title. … With a win over the Panthers, Floyd would host a sectional semifinal game. The Highlanders would face either New Albany or Evansville North. … Last year, the Highlanders opened sectional play with a 23-14 upset win over Bedford North Lawrence before bowing out to Jeffersonville the following week.

• BURNING QUESTION: Why could this time be different for Floyd Central against Jennings County?

The Panthers seemed to have found their identity last week under first-year coach Scott Buening. Jennings was successful stopping the run against Jeffersonville, something it had struggled with during its five-game losing streak. The Panthers seem to have also found a second receiver to go along with Tommy McDaniel. Tieler South caught his first two touchdown passes of the season in last week’s win over Jeff.



CLASS 3A SECTIONAL 23

INDIAN CREEK AT CHARLESTOWN

• TIME: 7 p.m.

• PLACE: Dutch Reis Field.

• RECORDS: Indian Creek 9-0, Charlestown 7-2.

• SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Indian Creek leads 1-0.

• LAST MEETING: Oct. 19, 2001 at Indian Creek — Indian Creek 48, Charlestown 28 (Class 2A Sectional 31 first round).

• KEY FACTS: Both the Pirates and Braves were conference champions this season, yet neither has had much luck in the postseason as of late. Charlestown hasn’t won a sectional since 1996, and Indian Creek is just 6-6 in the playoffs since winning its only sectional title in 2002. … Last year, the Braves dropped a 30-28 heartbreaker to eventual Class 2A regional champion Brownstown Central, while Charlestown lost to Heritage Hills for the second straight season, 32-6. … With its problems at quarterback, Charlestown is likely to turn to its strong running game even more. Josh Graham and Michael Baines have both rushed for more than 800 yards this season. Baines is the team leader with 880 yards in the ground game, and Graham leads the Pirates with seven rushing touchdowns. … With a win on Friday, Charlestown will either host 6-3 Corydon Central, which it beat 6-0 in Week 6, or the Pirates would go to Ellettsville to face 6-3 Edgewood. … The Braves are ranked No. 7 in the latest Associated Press Class 3A poll and No. 10 in the Indiana Football Coaches Association Class 3A poll. … Indian Creek junior signal-caller Trey Reese is continuing the long tradition of strong quarterback play in Trafalger. Reese has thrown for 1,828 yards this season. He has a strong pair of wide receivers in Jared Weiss and Walker Vleck, who have combined for more than 800 receiving yards.

• BURNING QUESTION: Is last week’s loss reason for concern in Charlestown?

Losing to a 2-6 team is always concerning and doing it with only 189 total yards is even more of a concern. The Pirates went just 1-2 outside of the MSC this year, and the Braves present a strong non-conference foe.



CLASS 2A SECTIONAL 31

TRITON CENTRAL AT PROVIDENCE

• TIME: 7 p.m.

• PLACE: Murphy Stadium.

• RECORDS: Triton Central 6-3, Providence 5-4.

• SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Providence leads 2-0.

• LAST MEETING: Oct. 22, 2004 at Murphy Stadium — Providence 35, Triton Central 0 (Sectional 31 first round).

• KEY FACTS: Providence beat Clarksville 37-8 last week, but the Pioneers have yet to win back-to-back games this season. … Triton Central lost its last two regular-season games following a five-game winning streak. … Providence won the last of its five sectional titles two years ago. Triton Central’s two sectional crowns came in back-to-back seasons, 1988 and ’89. … With a win over the Tigers this week, Providence will go on the road for the sectional semifinal round, at either unbeaten and second-ranked Paoli or across town to Clarksville. … Pioneer running back Spencer Corrao had 119 yards and scored twice against Clarksville last week. He now has 402 yards against the Generals over the past two years.

• BURNING QUESTION: Does Triton Central’s superior record make it a favorite over the 5-4 Pioneers?

Not even close. The Pioneers play the toughest schedule in the Sectional 31 field — by far. By contrast, the Tigers play a very weak schedule. If you look at Triton Central’s history, it will tell you everything. Over the past three years, the Tigers have gone 24-3 in the regular season and just 1-3 in the postseason. Triton has won one of his last seven playoff games.



PAOLI AT CLARKSVILLE

• TIME: 7 p.m.

• PLACE: Clarksville Stadium.

• RECORDS: Paoli 9-0, Clarksville 3-6.

• SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Clarksville leads 2-1.

• LAST MEETING: Oct. 19, 2007 at Paoli — Paoli 23, Clarksville 20 (Sectional 31 first round).

• KEY FACTS: Clarksville fell to Providence 37-8 last week to finish 3-6 for the second straight time in the regular season. … Paoli beat five-time defending Patoka Lake Athletic Conference champion Perry Central 14-13 last week to win its first PLAC championship since 1997. The Rams finished the regular season ranked No. 3 in the AP Class 2A poll and No. 2 in the IFCA Class 2A poll. … The Rams are 25-4 in their last 29 regular-season games. … Paoli is led by senior quarterback Logan Laswell. The fourth-year starter is averaging more than 100 yards rushing and passing per game this season.

• BURNING QUESTION: Is Paoli really as good as it appears?

You’re right to be skeptical of a program that didn’t win a game just two years ago. But the truth is, yes, the Rams are really good. Maybe not the second-best team in Class 2A good, but they certainly earned their 9-0 record. The Ram defense surrendered just 34 points all season and they defeated previously unbeaten Perry Central. Paoli head coach Brian Balsmeyer has come into town and turned one of the worst programs in Indiana to a team with a potential big tournament run ahead of it.