11.05.07 Sectional Recap/Regional Preview
40 sectional champions were crowned this past Friday night. The favorites prevailed in most cases, but there were a handful of games where the popular choice to win ended up going home.
Three 11-0 teams saw their seasons come to a close, but it would be difficult to call any of those games upsets. Shelbyville lost to Columbus East in Class 4A, Jimtown was defeated by Ft. Wayne Bishop Luers in Class 2A, and Perry Central was on the short end against fellow-undefeated Linton-Stockton in Class 1A. Nine undefeated teams remain alive in this year’s tournament.
On the other hand, two teams with sub-.500 records in the regular season put together three consecutive wins and claimed a sectional title. Both are in Class 1A; Triton is now 6-6 after beating South Newton in Sectional 33, while Tri stands at 7-5 with their Sectional 38 win over Northeastern.
Heading into the sectional championships, 13 teams were looking for the first title in school history, and five emerged victorious. Wheeler, Heritage Christian and Triton prevailed in their first-ever championship games, while Pike and Jay County advanced after falling short in previous title tilts.
A total of 13 teams were able to defend their 2006 sectional championship: Carmel, Cathedral, Chatard, Columbus East, Columbus North, Evansville Reitz, Ft. Wayne Dwenger, Griffith, Lowell, North Putnam, Ritter, Sheridan and Southridge.
Carmel won a state-record 21st sectional championship, while Hobart fell short in their bid to earn a 20th. Warren Central’s 7-year sectional string came to an end as the Warriors lost to Hamilton Southeastern, and with it the bid for a record fifth-straight state title also fell by the wayside.
The longest current sectional streak now belongs to Chatard, as the Trojans claimed their 7th straight title by beating Hamilton Heights. Lowell is next in line with five straight championships, knocking off last year’s state runner-up Concord on Friday.
All-time sectional championship totals for this year’s winners: Carmel 21, Chatard 18, Ft. Wayne Dwenger 17, Ft. Wayne Luers 17, Penn 17, Ft. Wayne Snider 16, Sheridan 16, Griffith 14, Cathedral 12, Andrean 11, Evansville Reitz 11, Indianapolis Ritter 11, Hamilton Southeastern 9, Heritage Hills 9, Lowell 8, South Bend St. Joseph’s 7, Danville 6, Linton-Stockton 6, Merrillville 6, Columbus East 5, Providence 5, Southridge 5, Westfield 5, Columbus North 4, Jeffersonville 4, Lewis Cass 4, Northwestern 4, Churubusco 3, North Putnam 3, Rockville 3, Tri 3, Tri-County 3, Ft. Wayne Concordia 2, Mt. Vernon (Posey) 2, Western 2, Heritage Christian 1, Jay County 1, Pike 1, Triton 1, Wheeler 1.
Looking forward to this weekend’s regional championships, every game is huge and all are intriguing. In addition to the five teams playing in their first-ever regionals, five other teams are looking for their first regional win: Jeffersonville, Mt. Vernon (Posey), Rockville, Tri and Western.
Ft. Wayne Dwenger has the most regional championships amongst this year’s participants, with 13. Also in Ft. Wayne, Luers has 12 and Snider has 11. Carmel, Chatard and Penn also have 11 regional titles.
Among the 30 teams who have at least one regional title, Churubusco has the longest drought, not winning since 1983. Chatard has the longest current streak, claiming six consecutive regional titles – and 8 of the last 10.
Though just 13 teams were able to repeat as sectional champions this year, 11 of those teams were also regional champions in 2006 and are looking to repeat in 2007: Carmel, Cathedral, Chatard, Columbus East, Columbus North, Ft. Wayne Dwenger, Griffith, North Putnam, Ritter, Sheridan and Southridge.
There will be plenty of excitement in all 20 championship regional matchups this weekend. What game are you going to see this week, and who do you think will win? Share your thoughts with fans around the state with the Indiana Sportstalk Message Boards!
