10.09.07 Week 9: Conference Titles on the Line
Tournament time is nearly here, with sectional pairings to be announced Tuesday evening. But there is still a lot to be decided in the regular season as IHSAA football
enters Week 9.
Churubusco, Ft. Wayne Snider and North Miami lost their first games of the season in Week 8, leaving just 21 unbeatens heading into this Friday’s regular season finales.
At the same time, Evansville Memorial, Rushville, Turkey Run and Western Boone won their first games, dropping the number of winless teams to 19.
Several conference championships are on the line this Friday night. Let’s take a look at what is up for grabs around the state:
Allen County Athletic Conference
Garrett and Woodlan are tied atop the conference at 5-1, with Adams Central, Leo, and Heritage in a 3-way tie for 3rd at 4-2. Heritage is at Garrett, Woodlan is at Adams Central, and Leo is at 6th-place Bluffton, so there is a possibility that these five teams could all share a claim of the league title when the dust settles Friday night.
Big Eight Conference
Mount Carmel, Illinois is 5-0 in the conference and hosts last-place Boonville Friday night, and with a win the Golden Aces claim an outright championship. Jasper and
Mount Vernon (Posey) are tied for second place at 4-1 and go head-to-head Friday. Should Mount Carmel falter, the winner of that game becomes co-conference champs.
Central Indiana Conference
The Eastbrook Panthers, at 6-0, have claimed the conference championship and host 2nd-place Madison-Grant this Friday in a good tune-up for both teams heading into the postseason.
Conference Indiana
The Pike Red Devils are 6-0 and host 5-1 Franklin Central Friday. A win and the Red Devils have the title. A loss, and the Devils and Flashes are tied, and 5-1 Columbus North could make it a three-way tie if the Bull Dogs defeat 0-6 Southport.
Duneland Athletic Conference
Merrillville and Crown Point sit tied atop the conference at 5-1, with Chesterton right behind at 4-2. Chesterton travels to Merrillville, while Crown Point hosts 0-6 Michigan City. Should the Bulldogs win that one, it’s up to the Pirates to knock off the Trojans to earn a share. If not, Merrillville and Chesterton will tie for 2nd place.
Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference
The conference season came to a close last Friday, with East Central taking the title for the 8th straight year, and for the 7th time outright. The Trojans have gone 38-2 in the conference the last eight years. The six members of the conference all have non-league games to wrap up the season this Friday.
Great Lakes Athletic Conference
Hammond High is 2-0 and hosts 1-1 Hammond Clark Friday. 1-1 Hammond Morton hosts 0-2 Hammond Gavit. The Wildcats have the inside track, but if they lose to the Pioneers they’re sharing the conference title with at least one team and possibly two.
Hoosier Conference
Sheridan and West Lafayette are both 5-0 in the conference and 8-0 overall. The Blackhawks host the Red Devils Friday night with the conference title on the line in one of two 8-0 vs. 8-0 matchups in the state.
Hoosier Crossroads Conference
Avon and Hamilton Southeastern are tied with 6-2 marks, with Fishers, Lafayette Jeff and Westfield all right behind at 5-3. Virtually every game this Friday will have a bearing on who takes the conference: Fishers is at Brownsburg, Hamilton Southeastern hosts McCutcheon, Westfield is at Lafayette Jeff and Avon hosts Zionsville.
Hoosier Heartland Conference
3-0 Lafayette Central Catholic travels to 2-1 Clinton Prairie in the lone remaining conference game. Clinton Central is at 3-1 and plays a non-conference game at Eastern Hancock. If the Gophers knock off the Knights, it’ll result in a three-way tie for the conference crown. Clinton Prairie’s last win over LCC was in 2001.
Hoosier Heritage Conference
It’s another 8-0 vs. 8-0 game to decide a conference championship. Shelbyville travels to Delta in a winner-take-all showdown. The Golden Bears haven’t beaten the Eagles since 2003, but none of those games had as much riding on it as this one obviously does.
Hoosier Hills Conference
Columbus East’s 35-0 win over Jeffersonville last Friday broke a tie for first place. The 6-0 Olympians have the title unless they lose to 4-2 Bedford-North Lawrence AND Jeffersonville beats 2-4 Jennings County. In that scenario, the Red Devils would earn a piece of the championship.
Indiana Crossroads Conference
League play wrapped up this past Saturday as Scecina defeated Ritter 21-7. The Crusaders finish 3-0 with the Raiders right behind at 2-1. Scecina has an eastside
matchup at Howe while Ritter travels to Heritage Christian this Friday.
Indiana Public Schools Athletic Conference
Arlington is 5-0 and hosts 2-3 Manual this Friday. With a win the Golden Knights are outright champions. Should they falter, they’ll have to share the crown with Howe, as the Hornets finished up 5-1 by beating Manual 18-6 last week.
Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference
Two big games in the MIC on Friday. 6-0 Center Grove travels to 5-1 Warren Central, while 5-1 Carmel is at 4-2 Ben Davis. The Trojans have clinched a share in this ultra-competitive conference, but a lot remains to be decided. As close as these two games could be, it’ll probably be well past 9:00 before a champ can be declared.
Mid-Indiana Football Conference
4-0 Triton Central hosts 3-1 Milan, while 3-1 Indian Creek travels to 1-3 South Decatur. After knocking off the Braves last week to break a first-place tie, the Tigers look to take the conference outright with a win over the Indians. But Milan, after starting their season 0-4 overall, could claim an improbable conference title with an upset win.
Mid-Indiana Conference
After losing their first two games, both non-conference affairs, Hamilton Heights has gone 6-0, all in the conference, to claim a share of the title. The Huskies are at 2-4 Peru Friday, while Lewis Cass and Western, tied for 2nd at 5-1, go head-to-head for a possible opportunity at sharing the conference championship.
Mid-Southern Conference
The conference wrapped up intra-league play last Friday, with surprising Charlestown finishing up 6-0, ahead of 5-1 Brownstown Central. The Pirates are at Lawrenceburg and the Braves host West Washington this week.
Mid-State Conference
The Mooresville Pioneers wrapped up the conference title with a win over Plainfield last Friday. They have the lone non-conference game in the league this Friday at Franklin County, while Decatur Central looks to wrap up 2nd as they travel to Whiteland.
Midwest Conference
6-0 Pioneer hosts 2-4 West Central Friday. South Newton wrapped up a 6-1 conference season with a 46-6 win over North White last week, and looks to claim a share of the conference if the Trojans can beat the Panthers.
North Central Conference
The Kokomo Wildcats are 6-0 and travel to 2-4 Marion Friday with an opportunity for an outright conference title. 5-1 Huntington North is still alive for a shot at a tie, and hosts 2-4 Richmond.
Northeast Corner Conference
Fairfield wrapped up a perfect 8-0 conference mark last week by edging Churubusco 30-26. The previous week the Falcons beat Lakeland. Those are the only losses for Churubusco and Lakeland, and the Eagles and Lakers play Friday in what has become a battle for second place.
Northeast Hoosier Conference
Homestead has wrapped up the conference, up two with one to play. The Spartans travel to New Haven on Friday night. East Noble is all alone in 2nd place currently at 4-2, but with a four-way tie for 3rd at 3-3, there’s a possibility of multiple teams tying for 2nd.
Northern Indiana Conference
Penn has earned yet another conference title; over the last quarter-century they’ve finished out of the top spot only once. The Kingsmen travel to South Bend Adams in their tournament tune-up this Friday.
Northern Lakes Conference
5-1 Concord hosts 4-2 Warsaw Friday night. 4-2 Elkhart Memorial hosts 1-5 Northridge. The situation is simple if the Minutemen beat the Warriors. With a Warsaw win, the Chargers could make it a three-way tie.
Northern State Conference
Jimtown sits at 6-0 as the Jimmies travel to 2-4 Triton on Friday. 2nd place New Prairie, 5-1, hosts 3-3 Knox. New Prairie took the title last year by going undefeated and dealing Jimtown their only loss; the stage is set for a potential reversal of that situation this year.
Northwest Crossroads Conference
Andrean, Lowell and Hobart are all 4-1 heading into Friday’s games. Lowell hosts Andrean, and the winner could be sharing the title with the Brickies if Hobart can handle 0-5 Highland.
Northwestern Conference
2-0 Gary Roosevelt travels to 1-1 Gary Wirt. The Troopers earn a tie for the championship with a win over the Panthers; otherwise, Wirt falls into a three-way tie for second with Gary West and Gary Wallace.
Olympic Conference
Conference play concluded this past Friday with Anderson Highland’s 68-27 win over Connersville. The Scots finish a perfect 3-0 and host Pendleton Heights this Friday.
Patoka Lake Athletic Conference
Perry Central has clinched the conference title, despite still having a league game against a much-improved Paoli squad this Friday. With an upset win, the Rams would forge a three-way tie for second place with Mitchell and Springs Valley.
Pocket Athletic Conference
Heritage Hills is at their usual spot atop the conference, but the title is still undecided. The 6-0 Patriots travel to 2-3 South Spencer, while 5-1 Gibson Southern is at 5-1 Southridge. That one’s probably for second place, but if the Rebels can give the Patriots their first conference loss since 1998, it’s for a share of the championship.
Sagamore Conference
Danville has clinched a share of the championship, and the Warriors look to close out a perfect conference slate Friday at 4-2 Tri-West. 5-1 Frankfort looks to keep their hopes alive with a win at 3-3 North Montgomery.
Southern Indiana Athletic Conference
Evansville Reitz locked up the conference title last week with a 47-19 win over Evansville Bosse. This week the Panthers host Mater Dei in a great matchup to prepare for the tournament. For the Wildcats, they’re in a 4-way tie for second with Castle, Evansville Central and Evansville North, so this game still means something to them.
Southwest Seven Conference
5-0 Linton-Stockton travels to 4-1 North Central (Farmersburg) Friday, while 5-1 North Knox has a non-conference home matchup with Washington. A Miners win gives them the outright crown; otherwise it’s a three-way split of the title.
Summit Athletic Conference
A great season in Fort Wayne wraps up with 8-0 Dwenger hosting 5-3 Luers, and 7-1 Snider hosting 2-6 Wayne. Should the favorites win, we’ll look back at last week’s 32-13 Dwenger win over Snider as the difference-maker.
Three Rivers Conference
6-0 Rochester hosts 5-1 North Miami, who lost their first game last Friday to Tippecanoe Valley, who lost their only game the week before to Rochester. If the Warriors can continue the pattern and give the Zebras their first loss, it’s a three-way tie for the title.
Tri-Eastern Conference
Centerville is 6-0 and looks to wrap up the conference Friday at home against 4-2 Winchester. 5-1 Northeastern looks to put the pressure on the Bulldogs as they host 1-5 Union City. Centerville beat Northeastern 16-14 in Week 6 in the game that may ultimately decide the champion.
Wabash River Conference
Rockville knocked off Seeger 16-14 way back in the season’s opening week. Heading into Week 9, the Rox are 6-0 and the Patriots are 5-1. Rockville hosts 4-2 Fountain Central with a chance to clinch, while Seeger travels to 1-5 North Vermillion with a chance to salvage a tie for what would be a 7th straight conference title.
West Central Conference
North Putnam is 5-0 and hosts 1-4 Cloverdale on Friday for an opportunity at an outright conference title. 2nd-place Speedway has wrapped up their conference schedule at 5-1 and has a great tournament tune-up against Brebeuf.
Western Indiana Conference
Northview’s 40-13 win over West Vigo last Friday gave the Knights the inside track at the conference title. Northview wraps up this Friday at Brown County. But West Vigo, now 3-1, is still alive in the hunt, as is 3-1 Sullivan, the Vikings’ opponent this Friday.
There’s a look at how all of Indiana’s football conferences shape up heading into Week 9. What game will you be going to see this Friday night, and why do you feel it’s an important contest? Share your thoughts with fans around the state with the Indiana Sportstalk Message Boards!
