This weekend is a big weekend for games in the state of Indiana. The second State Championship event of the season is scheduled as eight boys tennis teams will vie for a state championships. Soccer will continue its state tournament with the regional round commencing. This round will pair the tournament down to 16 teams in each gender for next week’s semi-state. Finally, it is the final regular season night for football, so conference championships will be decided all around the state. Here is a look at some of the best games.
Friday:
Football:
Carmel (7-1, 6-0 Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference) at Ben Davis (5-3, 4-2) – The Greyhounds have one game left in order to get through the state’s toughest conference unscathed. Generally, the winner of the MIC is considered the favorite for the state championship in class 5A. Carmel has been playing with fire all conference season, winning three games by less than a touchdown. Ben Davis has three losses, but they are to top 10 mainstays Center Grove, Penn, and Warren Central. Carmel’s performance in close games gives them a slight edge here. Our pick: Carmel
Lewis Cass (5-3, 5-1 Mid-Indiana Conference) at Western (5-3, 5-1) – Last year’s class 2A state runner-up had a very slow start to the season and is still dealing with an injury to starting quarterback Devin Foreman, but Cass has come on of late. The Kings have won four in a row, while Western surprised some last week by upsetting conference leader Hamilton Heights at Hamilton Heights. Heights will be heavily favored in its season finale at Peru, so the winner of this contest will get a share of the other MIC title. Cass has won six in a row in this rivalry, costing the Panthers at least a share of the conference crown in four of those games. This is one of the better smaller school, end of the season rivalries in the state. Our pick: Lewis Cass
Center Grove (6-2, 4-2 Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference) at Warren Central (6-2, 5-1) – This game also has big MIC championship implications, as a Carmel loss would open the door for Warren Central to grab a share of the title with Carmel. Center Grove is reeling a bit after last week’s shocking overtime loss to North Central. Warren Central’s Shakir Bell currently ranks second in the state in rushing at 207 yards per game. That gives the Warriors an edge, but there very well could be a rematch on November 20th in the class 5A semi-state. Our pick: Warren Central
Fishers (7-1 Hoosier Crossroads Conference) at Brownsburg (6-2) – Fishers has come a very long way in a short time. The state’s newest public high school was 1-10 in 2006 playing without any seniors. The freshmen that played on that team are now seniors and have the Tigers in a position to win the Hoosier Crossroads Conference. Brownsburg features big play receiver Charles Torwudzo, who is headed to Purdue next season. The Bulldogs dropped a tough 7-0 game last week in the rain at Zionsville, who is the only team that has beaten Fishers. Should McCutcheon upset Hamilton Southeastern (7-1)and Zionsville (6-2) beat Avon this conference would finish in a four-way tie with a Brownsburg win. Fishers is the better team though, and they will likely share the conference crown with their bitter rivals Hamilton Southeastern. Our pick: Fishers
Fort Wayne Luers (4-4 Summit Athletic) at Fort Wayne Dwenger (8-0) – Dwenger has survived a difficult schedule to get 8-0 and they now face their Catholic school rivals from across town. Do not let Luers' record fool you, either. They finished the 2007 regular season with four losses before rolling through the state tournament for the class 2A state title. Luers is one of those teams that is always dangerous because they are toughened by a difficult regular schedule or bigger schools. Our pick: Dwenger
Boys Tennis (Friday and Saturday)
For the first time ever eight teams will comprise the Boys Tennis State Finals instead of four. The quarterfinals will be played on Friday at North Central in Indianapolis, while the semi-finals and finals will be played Saturday. Bloomington South is an interesting team to watch, as #1 singles player Ronnie Schneider is a freshman, but is 21-3 on the season. CoachesAid will have a more in depth feature on the tennis State Finals tomorrow, but if you’re looking for a favorite defending champ Center Grove is back, as well as last year’s runner-up Zionsville and 6-time champion Park Tudor.
Saturday:
Boys Soccer Regional finals
The first round of regionals finished up midweek, now 32 teams return to the 16 regional sites trying to advance to one of four semi-states. Some surprises so far: Undefeated Western (17-0-2) from Howard County upset favorite West Lafayette. Western had never won a sectional before last week, and they could find themselves in the semi-state next week. Culver Academies will also keep playing, as they carry a 7-10-1 record into a regional final against Portage. Four of Culver’s seven wins have come in tournament play.
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