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Valley gets rematch with Jimtown; Caston to host Argylls; No. 2 Panthers start at home vs. Taylor; NM to visit Sheridan; Culver to host W. Central; Winamac to visit winless S. Central
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
The Rochester and Lakeland football teams have a limited history with each other, but that will change when they meet in a Class 2A, Sectional 34 quarterfinal at Rochester Oct. 23.
Those were among the revelations of the IHSAA football draw held Sunday.
Also, Rochester was among four area teams that will begin postseason play at home, joining Caston, Pioneer and Culver.
Tippecanoe Valley, North Miami and Winamac will open on the road.
Sectionals will be held over three successive Fridays – Oct. 23, Oct. 30 and Nov. 6. Regionals are Nov. 13, semistates are Nov. 20, and the IHSAA state finals will be held Nov. 27-28 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Sectional tickets are $8 for each week of the sectional. Regional tickets are $10, semistate tickets are $12, and state finals tickets are $20 per person per day.
The Class 2A, 4A and 6A state finals will be held Nov. 27, and the Class 1A, 3A and 5A state finals will be held Nov. 28.
Here is how the draw fared for area teams:
Rochester
Hailing from LaGrange, Lakeland has been participating in the IHSAA state football tournament since 1983, and they have never played Rochester in a postseason game.
While Rochester is 4-4 playing a schedule consisting of no Class 4A teams and three Class 3A teams, Lakeland is 2-6 playing a schedule of two Class 4A teams and four Class 3A teams.
Lakeland has never won a sectional title, and only twice in the last decade have they won a sectional game.
Lakeland coach Tom Wogoman is in his second season there and his 18th as a high school head coach. Previous stops include Wawasee, Northridge and Goshen.
Wogoman guided Wawasee to three consecutive winning seasons from 2010-12 while he was there. Since he left, they have had one winning season in 14 years.
The Lakers have lost three straight games, including a 49-32 loss to Garrett Friday. It would appear that star freshman Kyren Arroyo moved from running back to quarterback after injuries to both starter Brady West and second-stringer Bryar Alleshouse against Garrett, though it is unclear how seriously either West or Alleshouse might be injured.
Alleshouse ran for three touchdowns against Garrett from his running back spot and is also the starting middle linebacker for Lakeland. Cruz Richard is a top receiving threat.
The Lakeland-Rochester winner will face the Manchester-Central Noble winner in the semifinals. Rochester would play their semifinal game on the road, regardless of the opponent and the sectional final at home if they get that far.
In the other half of the draw, No. 4 Eastside (8-0) received a bye and will face the Bremen-Prairie Heights winner in the semifinals. Bremen (6-2) is the only other team in the sectional to have a winning record.
Rochester has not won a sectional title since 2000.
Tippecanoe Valley
When Valley beat Jimtown 17-15 in their regular season meeting Sept. 25, it marked Valley’s first ever road win over Jimtown.
Valley will get a chance at duplicating that feat when they visit Jimtown in a Class 3A, Sectional 26 quarterfinal Oct. 23.
Jimtown has bounced back since that loss to beat Knox and LaVille and improve to 5-3. They have already more than doubled last year’s win total (two).
The Valley-Jimtown winner will play the West Noble-South Bend Washington winner in the semifinals. West Noble is 7-1, and South Bend Washington is 0-8. Valley would play West Noble on the road or South Bend Washington at home.
In the other half of the bracket, Fairfield will travel to John Glenn, and Mishawaka Marian will visit Angola.
Valley has not won a sectional title since 1992.
Caston, North Miami, Pioneer
Coming off a 21-14 loss to North Judson Friday, Caston will look to bounce back against Winamac in the regular season finale Friday.
Then Caston will get another game at the Crater when they host No. 9 Madison-Grant in a Class 1A, Sectional 43 quarterfinal Oct. 23. Like Caston, Madison-Grant is also 6-2. The Argylls won their first six games before back-to-back losses to Alexandria and Mississinewa.
Madison-Grant has beaten Central Indiana Conference powerhouse Eastbrook in two of their last three meetings; prior to 2024, they had lost 15 of 16 to Eastbrook.
While Caston is after their first sectional title in school history, Madison-Grant is seeking their third sectional and their first since 2008.
The Madison-Grant-Caston winner will face the Tri-Central-Clinton Central winner in the semifinals. Tri-Central and Clinton Central will also meet in the regular season finale Friday. Tri-Central is 0-8 and has been outscored 422-25. Caston would also host a hypothetical meeting with Clinton Central.
In the other half of the bracket, the Taylor-Pioneer winner will face the North Miami-Sheridan winner in the semifinals.
Pioneer is 8-0 and ranked No. 2 and the defending semistate champion. Taylor is 1-7 and coming off their first win over Tri-Central Friday. Taylor beat Pioneer 28-6 in the sectional final at the Panther Pit on Nov. 8, 2024, in their most recent meeting.
Pioneer would play their semifinal game on the road regardless of opponent.
The North Miami-Sheridan matchup is a rematch of teams that are looking to extend sectional streaks. North Miami (2-6) is a two-time defending sectional champion while No. 12 Sheridan (5-3) is a four-time defending sectional champion.
Sheridan is 4-0 against other Class 1A teams this year.
North Miami coach Joe Grant is a former Sheridan assistant coach.
If North Miami beats Sheridan, they would host their semifinal game.
Culver, Winamac
Culver lost 36-0 to West Central on Aug. 28 in their regular season meeting but will get a chance to avenge that loss in a Class 1A, Sectional 41 quarterfinal at Culver Oct. 23.
West Central is 7-1 and on their way to their fifth straight winning season under coach Marc Hall. They have won seven straight since a season-opening loss to Winamac.
West Central has won the last four meetings against Culver, but Culver routed West Central 49-14 in their most recent sectional meeting in 2017.
The West Central-Culver winner will face the North Newton-Bowman Academy winner in the semifinals.
North Newton beat Bowman Academy 28-14 in their regular season on Oct. 2 in Morocco.
Culver would travel to North Newton or play Bowman Academy at home in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Winamac will play South Central (Union Mills) on the road in their Sectional 41 quarterfinal. Winamac got by South Central 44-6 in their regular season meeting Friday with Bryant Galbreath, filling in for the injured Xavier Adriano at quarterback, earning his first win as a starter.
South Central has lost 19 straight games. Only six schools in the state have longer current losing streaks.
The Winamac-South Central winner will face the winner between No. 3 North Judson and Triton in the semifinals. North Judson is 8-0 and beat Winamac 35-0 Oct. 2.
North Judson has won the last six meetings against Winamac, including the game from two Fridays ago.
