Where are South Bend-area high school football teams opening playoffs? We got you covered
The stage is set for the Indiana high school state football tournament as the oairings for the 50th event were drawn Sunday night in Indianapolis.
There is one more game of regular season action coming this Friday night before sectional play begins on Oct. 21 for Class 1A-4A and Oct. 28 for Class 5A and 6A. Regional games will be played on Nov. 11 and semi-state games on Nov. 18 before the six state championship games at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, on Nov. 25 and 26.
On paper, the most competitive sectional featuring South Bend-area teams is sectional No. 2 in Class 6A featuring Fort Wayne Carroll at Penn and Elkhart at Warsaw. The four teams have combined for 27 wins. Penn and Elkhart played in an instant classic earlier this season with the Kingsmen coming out with a 21-20 victory.
More:2022 High school football schedules/results
Sectional 33 in Class 2A featuring undefeated LaVille also could be an interesting field, with 2021 state champion, Andrean holding a bye into the semi-finals. Andrean features University of Notre Dame 2023 commit Drayk Bowen. If LaVille wins its first game against Whiting, it would meet Andrean in the sectional semi-finals. The two teams played for a regional championship last season, with the 59ers coming out on top.
Sectional 18 in 4A features 2021 Northern Indiana semi-state champion Northridge, which will travel to an up-and-coming South Bend Riley team, which has won five games for the first time in three seasons. But the favorite in that sectional is undefeated NorthWood, which has outscored its opponents 310-68 and is one win away from clinching this year's Northern Lakes Conference championship. The Panthers could be a candidate to be playing in Indianapolis on Thanksgiving Weekend.
For complete pairings, including dates and times, visit ihsaa.org
Area Sectional Pairings
Records shown are after Week 8 results
Class 6A
Sectional 2:
Game 1: Carroll (Fort Wayne) (8-0) at Penn (6-2), Game 2: Elkhart (7-1) at Warsaw (6-2), Game 3: sectional championship
Class 5A
Sectional 10:
Game 1: Valparaiso (5-3) at LaPorte (2-6), Game 2: Chesterton (3-5) at Michigan City (2-6), Game 3: sectional championship
Sectional 11
Game 1: Concord (3-5) at Goshen (2-6), Game 2: South Bend Adams (1-7) at Mishawaka (7-1), Game 3: sectional championship
Class 4A
Sectional 17
Game 1: Lowell (5-3) at Culver Academies (2-6) , Game 2: Kankakee Valley (4-4) at New Prairie (7-1) , Game 3: Gary West Side (6-2) at Hobart (5-3), Game 4: Highland (2-6) at East Chicago Central (2-6), Game 5: semi-final 1, Game 6: semi-final 2, Game 7: sectional championship
Sectional 18
Game 1: Wawasee (1-7) at Logansport (6-2), Game 2: Northridge (5-3) at South Bend Riley (5-3), Game 3: NorthWood (8-0) at South Bend Washington (2-6), Game 4: South Bend Saint Joseph (2-6) at Plymouth (0-8), Game 5: semi-final 1, Game 6: semi-final 2, Game 7: sectional championship
Class 3A
Sectional 26
Game 1: Mishawaka Marian (2-6) at West Noble (6-2), Game 2: Lakeland (3-5) at Knox (5-3), Game 3: South Bend Clay (0-8) at Jimtown (6-2), Game 4: Fairfield (5-3) at Glenn (4-4), Game 5: semi-final 1, Game 6: semi-final 2, Game 7: sectional championship
Class 2A
Sectional 33
Game 1: Whiting (3-4) at LaVille (8-0), Game 2: Wheeler (3-5) at Bremen (4-4) , Game 3: Hammond Bishop Noll (0-7) at Lake Station Edison (3-5), Game 4: semi-final 1, Andrean (6-2) at Whiting/LaVille, Game 5: semi-final 2, Game 6: sectional championship
Class 1A
Sectional 41
Game 1: Bowman (3-4) at South Central (Union Mills) (1-7), Game 2: North Newton (0-7) at Culver Community (5-3), Game 3: Triton (5-3) at Pioneer (2-6), Game 4: North Judson (7-1) at South Newton (5-3), Game 5: semi-final 1, Game 6: semi-final 2, Game 7: sectional championship
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: IHSAA: 50th high school football tournament playoff sectional pairings
