Wayne County sectional football: Who’s playing whom and a look back at the regular season
RICHMOND, Ind. — It’s time for sectional football. Not much left to say other than that.
Of the five Wayne County teams, two were part of a three-way tie for a conference championship, one finished in the middle of the pack and two were winless. But none of that matters anymore. Sectionals is about surviving and advancing, and Wayne County’s teams will try to do just that this Friday, Oct. 21, in the first round.
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Here’s a look at each area team’s matchup and how they got here:
Richmond Red Devils (4A)
Record: 0-9 (0-7 NCC)
Sectional opponent: Connersville (5-4)
Game info: 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at Connersville
Last season: Lost in sectional semifinals
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The Red Devils’ first regular season under new head coach Randy Kerns didn’t go the smoothest, as they lost each game by an average of 46 points and got shut out four times.
Part of their struggles can be attributed to losing junior starting quarterback Jayden Shipp due to a torn meniscus before the season started. Another factor — and probably a bigger one — is this is a young, inexperienced team. Richmond threw a lot of freshmen on the field this season to fill in for a number of injured key players, and their inexperience showed.
Kerns said he has a group of young players who need to grow up fast to play well at the varsity level, and what better time to do it than sectionals.
Richmond fell to Connersville 47-14 to start this season, and the Red Devils will hope it plays out the same as last year. In 2021, Richmond beat Connersville to start the season but fell to the Spartans in sectionals. The Red Devils will look to flip the roles this time.
The winner of this game will move on to play the winner of Beech Grove and New Castle.
Centerville Bulldogs (3A)
Record: 7-2 (7-1 TEC)
Sectional opponent: Batesville (4-5)
Game info: 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at Centerville
Last season: Lost in sectional championship
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The 2021 Bulldogs made quite a bit of history, including playing in their first-ever sectional championship game. This year, they’re in a new sectional after moving up to Class 3A.
The 2022 Bulldogs didn’t have the same undefeated regular season success as the year before, but they still had plenty to cheer about. Centerville’s offense was led by junior quarterback Jake Tinkle, who is comfortably in second place in the Tri-Eastern Conference with 1,675 passing yards and 21 touchdowns. He spread the ball around well, and the balanced offense scored nearly 48 points per game in the seven wins.
The defense was just as good, if not better. Senior linebacker Collin Clark, second in the TEC with 100 tackles, said the goal of this defense is to outscore the opposing offense. With three shutouts on the year and opposing teams’ average score during wins under five points a game, the Bulldogs gave themselves a good chance to accomplish that goal.
Centerville’s loss to Northeastern cost the Bulldogs a third straight outright TEC crown, but they did earn a co-championship. However, a first-ever sectional title would sound even better. They’ll take their first steps toward that goal against Batesville. The winner will play the winner of Indian Creek and Franklin County.
Northeastern Knights (2A)
Record: 8-1 (7-1 TEC)
Sectional opponent: Heritage Christian (6-4)
Game info: 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at Northeastern
Last season: Lost in sectional semifinals
Earlier:Northeastern football ready to ‘show the county what we’re made of’ against Centerville
The Knights captured their sixth TEC title in the last 10 years this season, and they have their senior duo of quarterback Carson Terrell and receiver Noah Ammerman to thank for a lot of it.
Terrell led the conference with 1,982 passing yards and 27 touchdowns. Ammerman did the same in the receiving category with 842 yards and 13 touchdowns. Their success led Northeastern’s offense to scoring nearly 50 points per game in its eight wins.
The defense, which included five of the TEC’s top 10 tacklers — led by Calvin Berhalter, Blayne Bry and Ethan Neeley — held opponents to just 10 points per game in the wins.
The Knights are also looking for their first-ever sectional championship. A win against Heritage Christian would put them against the winner of Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter and Shenandoah.
Lincoln Golden Eagles (1A)
Record: 0-9 (0-8 TEC)
Sectional opponent: Winner of Knightstown (1-7) and Edinburgh (4-4)
Game info: 7 p.m. Oct. 28 at TBD
Last season: Lost in first round of sectionals
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The Golden Eagles did not have a good year, finishing the regular season winless for the second straight year, but they did improve. Through the first four games, Lincoln only scored 12 points and was shut out twice. Through the last five games, Lincoln scored 66 points.
While the wins aren’t there, the momentum is, and the first-round bye the Golden Eagles drew is exactly what they needed.
Lincoln will play the winner of Knightstown and Edinburgh in the sectional semifinals. The Golden Eagles had their highest-scoring game against Knightstown this season, and Edinburgh lost its last four games on the schedule.
Despite the struggles this year, Lincoln is in as perfect a spot it could be to get its first win.
Hagerstown Tigers (1A)
Record: 5-4 (5-3 TEC)
Sectional opponent: Wes-Del (1-8)
Game info: 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at Hagerstown
Last season: Lost in first round of sectionals
A third of Hagerstown and Wes-Del’s schedules were played against the same opponents. The Tigers and Warriors each played Tri, Shenandoah and Union County.
Both teams took lopsided losses to Tri and Shenandoah, but the Union County outcomes could offer a look into this Friday’s outcome. Hagerstown beat the Patriots 26-7, and Wes-Del lost to the Patriots 20-0.
Throw in Hagerstown junior Peyton Meyer leading the TEC with 119 tackles, and the Tigers could be on their way to the second round. The winner of this game will play the winner of Indiana School for the Deaf and Tindley.
Zach Piatt reports on sports and education for The Palladium-Item. Contact him at zpiatt@gannett.com or on Twitter @zachpiatt13.
This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Wayne County sectional football: Who’s playing whom?
