10 takeaways from IHSAA football sectional draw: Whoa, the 1st round isn't messing around.

The path to Lucas Oil Stadium is set.

The high school football sectional draw was unveiled Sunday. Tournament play for Class 4A through Class A will begin Oct. 21, while the sectional tournament will start in full for Class 5A and 6A on Oct. 28. The state finals for all six classes will be played the weekend after Thanksgiving on Nov. 25-26.

IHSAA football sectional draw: 2022 tournament pairings revealed

Here are 10 Indy-area takeaways from the sectional draw:

Big-time first-round matchups in 6A

Well, there is no shortage of high-stakes Class 6A first-round sectional games. Sheesh. How about these two, especially:

>> Brownsburg at Ben Davis: The Class 6A top-ranked Bulldogs travel to No. 9 Ben Davis (5-3) in the first round of Sectional 5. Brownsburg beat Ben Davis 21-16 in Week 1, but the Giants did knock off Brownsburg 32-14 in last year’s regional. High drama.

>> Westfield at Carmel: This game will likely decide Sectional 4 and could decide which team reaches Lucas Oil Stadium from the north side of the 6A bracket. No. 10 Westfield (5-3) has made it two years in a row to the state finals, but fifth-ranked Carmel (5-3) was on the south side of the bracket for that time frame. These teams have not met since the 2019 sectional final, a 35-7 Carmel win.

Cathedral’s route in 6A not easy

One of the tournament storylines is how third-ranked Cathedral (6-1) fares in its move up to 6A via the tournament success factor. The Irish will likely have to get through their Lawrence Township neighbors to advance, opening with visiting Lawrence North (3-5). The winner there would play the winner of North Central (0-8) at Lawrence Central (4-4) for the championship.

Cathedral last played in 6A in 2015 and ’16, winning the sectional both years before falling in the regional round.

Defending champion Center Grove’s path

Class 6A back-to-back defending champion and second-ranked Center Grove (7-1) opens at Franklin Central (3-5), the toughest challenger in the four-team Sectional 8 field. The Trojans also played the Flashes in the first round last year, winning 35-7. Center Grove has knocked Franklin Central out in the sectional four times since the 2017 season.

Roncalli’s route

Class 4A No. 2 Roncalli (7-1) received a beneficial draw in Sectional 21 with an opening game at Shortridge (4-4), followed by Crispus Attucks (5-2) or Washington (1-7). The other side of the bracket is loaded as No. 9 Brebeuf Jesuit (4-3) is at Northview (5-3) and Lebanon (6-2) is at No. 10 Mooresville (6-2).

Roncalli is the clear favorite, but Brebeuf led the Royals at halftime on Sept. 23 in an eventual 31-14 Roncalli win. The winner of the Mooresville-Lebanon game will also be a factor.

Boundary Rail matchup in first round

Defending Class 4A state champion Mt. Vernon (5-3) is not as loaded as last year’s team, but still figure to present the toughest challenge to top-ranked New Palestine (8-0) in Sectional 22. And Boundary Rail rivals will meet in the first round at Mt. Vernon. The Dragons won the first meeting between the teams, 42-6, on Sept. 9.

New Palestine had been playing in 5A under the tournament success factor before moving back to its enrollment class this season.

The next two best teams in the sectional will also meet in the first round as Pendleton Heights (4-4) is at Greenfield-Central (5-3). Greenfield-Central won the first two meetings between the teams, 35-0, on Sept. 9.

Beech Grove (4-4) has a clear path to the championship with a game at New Castle (2-6), followed by the winner of Richmond (0-8) at Connersville (4-4).

Unbalanced bracket in Class 3A Sectional 29

Nothing against North Montgomery, Monrovia or Purdue Poly, but Speedway (5-3) was probably the happiest of teams in Class 3A Sectional 29 when the bracket was unveiled.

The Sparkplugs, who moved up to 3A from 2A this year, open against a solid North Montgomery (4-4). The winner there will play either Monrovia (2-6) or Purdue Poly (3-4) and be the clear favorite to reach the sectional final.

The other side of the bracket is loaded.

No. 8 Western Boone (7-1) is at Crawfordsville (2-6), then would play the winner of Tri-West (6-2) at Danville (3-5). Western Boone’s only loss came to Tri-West, 41-34, on Sept. 9. The Bruins are the defending sectional champion and advanced to the semistate in 2021.

More 3A drama

The best 3A bracket may be Sectional 28, where fifth-ranked Bishop Chatard (5-3) opens at Northwestern (1-7) and then would face the winner of Hamilton Heights (6-2) at Maconaquah (6-2). The big game on the other side of that bracket is fourth-ranked Oak Hill (8-0) at Guerin Catholic (4-4).

Triton Central and Scecina on a collision course

In Class 2A Sectional 39, fifth-ranked Scecina (7-1) and No. 7 Triton Central (6-2) are aligned to meet in the championship game.

Scecina, which knocked off Triton Central 21-20 in overtime on Sept. 30, played in the semistate last year, falling to Evansville Mater Dei. Coach Ott Hurrle’s Crusaders open with visiting Switzerland County (4-4), followed by the Clarksville (3-5) and Eastern (Pekin) (1-7) winner.

It seems inevitable, however, that Scecina will meet Triton Central again. The Tigers open at Cristel House Manual, then would play the winner of Brownstown Central (5-3) vs. Brown County (0-8) game.

Defending Class A champion Lutheran’s path

In Class A, top-ranked Lutheran (8-0) is the clear favorite to repeat. The Saints have an interesting opener at No. 7 South Putnam (7-1), which could be the next-best team in the sectional. The other contender there is Covenant Christian (5-3), which opens at Parke Heritage (1-7). Covenant Christian won the Class A title in 2020 and gave Lutheran its toughest challenge last year in the tournament, losing 34-27.

Odds and ends

Purdue Poly, playing in Class 3A Sectional 29, is the only one of the 313 schools playing in the tournament for the first time… Cathedral has the longest current tournament win streak at 11 games, followed by Center Grove at 10… Bishop Chatard is the all-time leader in state championships with 15.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school football tournament: Sectional pairings takeaways