11.12.07 Regional Recap/Semi-State Preview
What an exciting weekend it was in the IHSAA football tournament’s regional round. 40 sectional champions battled for the right to play yet another weekend, and the games did
not disappoint.
In most cases the so-called “favorite” prevailed, but at this point in the season all teams are worthy and the word “upset” should be used carefully.
If you simply look at the scores, not all the games appear that close, but of course, the story behind the games is always more telling than the scores alone. Click here for many of those game stories, courtesy of IHSAASports.org.
Some of the best games included Merrillville’s come-from-behind 21-20 win over Penn, Pike’s 13-6 victory over Hamilton Southeastern, Heritage Christian’s 14-7 road win at North Putnam, Southridge’s 35-28 win over Providence, Rockville’s 25-13 win over Linton-Stockton in a battle of unbeatens, and Evansville Reitz’s wild 61-60 shootout win over Columbus East.
The Ft. Wayne Dwenger Saints earned their 14th regional title on Saturday with a 42-14 win over Jay County. That puts Dwenger alone in second place all-time behind Hobart – the Brickies have 15 regional championships, though none since 1996. On the other side of the spectrum, Heritage Christian, Pike and Rockville are celebrating their first regional crowns ever. Here’s how the regional champions rank:
15 – Ft. Wayne Dwenger
13 – Ft. Wayne Luers
12 – Carmel, Indianapolis Chatard
11 – Sheridan
10 – Indianapolis Cathedral, Indianapolis Ritter
8 – Heritage Hills
4 – Evansville Reitz, Lowell, Merrillville, South Bend St. Joseph’s, Southridge
3 – Cass, Columbus North
2 – Churubusco, Ft. Wayne Concordia
1 – Heritage Christian, Pike, Rockville
Of the 17 teams who’ve won a regional before, Churubusco has the largest gap between crowns – 24 seasons – while eight teams repeated their 2006 regional championships: Carmel, Columbus North, Ft. Wayne Dwenger, Indianapolis Chatard, Indianapolis Cathedral, Indianapolis Ritter, Sheridan, and Southridge.
Just six unbeaten teams remain in the state heading into the semi-state round. Evansville Reitz, Ft. Wayne Dwenger, Heritage Hills, Pike, Rockville and Sheridan all improved to 13-0 with regional wins. Three 12-0 teams had their seasons come to a close in the regional, including Linton-Stockton, North Putnam, and Penn.
The winners of this week’s 10 semi-state contests will advance to the RCA Dome for the State Finals November 23-24. Here’s the schedule:
Class 5A
Merrillville (12-1) at Carmel (11-2)
Columbus North (12-1) at Pike (13-0)
Class 4A
Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (13-0) at Lowell (12-1)
Evansville Reitz (13-0) at Indianapolis Cathedral (11-2)
Class 3A
Fort Wayne Concordia (9-4) at South Bend St. Joseph’s (11-2)
Heritage Hills (13-0) at Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (10-3), Saturday
Class 2A
Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (9-4) at Cass (11-2)
Heritage Christian (12-1) at Southridge (10-3), Saturday
Class A
Churubusco (11-2) at Sheridan (13-0)
Rockville (13-0) at Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter (10-3)
Something has to be said for strength of schedule, especially for the two Ft. Wayne schools that had 5-4 regular season records yet are still alive. In the 10-team Summit Athletic Conference, every regular-season game is also a conference game so there is no time to ever let up. The conference is a mixture of 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A schools, so the likes of 2A Bishop Luers and 3A Concordia finishing 5-4 in the league is an accomplishment in itself, and it’s no huge surprise the Knights and Cadets have advanced this far.
Not a bad game in the bunch this weekend, and we hope that you support your favorite team this weekend. If your team is out, any one of these games would be an excellent choice for spending your Friday (or Saturday) night. What game will you see, and who do you think advances to the dome? Share your thoughts with fans around the state with the Indiana Sportstalk Message Boards!
