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Valley draws streaking Woodlan; Pioneer to visit Caston; Winamac to host Taylor; Culver, South Central to meet again
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
The Rochester, Tippecanoe Valley, Caston, Culver and Winamac football teams will open postseason play at home on Oct. 25, according to the IHSAA draw released Sunday.
But while Rochester, Valley and Winamac’s opponents will have to make long drives, Caston and Culver will host conference rivals.
Sectionals will continue on Nov. 1 and Nov. 8, regionals are Nov. 15, semistates are Nov. 22, and the state championship games are Nov. 29-30 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Sectional tickets are $7, regional tickets are $10, semistate tickets are $12, and state finals tickets are $15 per person per day.
Rochester
The Zebras will host Elwood in a Class 2A, Sectional 36 quarterfinal on Oct. 25.
Elwood is 1-7 this season. Their only win was over Southern Wells, who is winless, in Week 1.
Elwood is 2-38 in their last 40 games dating back to the 2020 season, and they have not won a sectional game since 2016.
Elwood has failed to score in five of its eight games. Meanwhile, the Rochester defense has recorded three shutouts, including a 29-0 win over Southwood Friday.
The Elwood-Rochester winner will face the Blackford-Eastern (Greentown) winner in the semifinals. If Rochester beats Elwood, their semifinal game will be on the road.
In the other half of the draw, Alexandria will travel to Wabash, and Eastbrook will head to Tipton.
Rochester (7-1) and Alexandria (5-3) are the only teams with winning records in the sectional. Alexandria beat Wabash 39-6 on Aug. 30.
Tippecanoe Valley
While Valley won their second straight game when they edged John Glenn 22-21 on Friday, Woodlan won their fourth straight game when they beat South Adams 35-28.
Now Woodlan (5-3) will make the 80-minute drive from Woodburn to Indiana 19 to face the Vikings (6-2) in a Class 3A, Sectional 26 quarterfinal.
This is believed to be the first meeting between the teams.
Valley’s recent history of home postseason games at Smith-Bibler Memorial Stadium: Home of Death Valley Football has not been good. They are 1-14 in their last 15 postseason home games dating back to 2002.
Woodlan is led by quarterback Ty Louden and running back Drew Fleek. Fleek was averaging 8.1 yards per carry through the Warriors’ first seven games.
The Woodlan-Valley winner will face the Lakeland-Garrett winner in the semifinals. Garrett is 8-0 and ranked No. 5, and they beat Lakeland 41-27 on Sept. 13.
In the other half of the draw, West Noble will travel to Angola, and Fort Wayne Concordia will visit Fairfield. West Noble is 7-1 and ranked No. 11 with their only loss coming to Garrett. They beat Angola 35-10 on Sept. 13.
Caston, Pioneer, Winamac
Pioneer won at Caston 63-6 in their Hoosier North meeting on Sept. 13, and they will make a return visit in a Class 1A, Sectional 42 quarterfinal.
Pioneer has won the last 33 meetings with Caston and have not lost to the Comets since 1996.
Caston is 1-5 in their last six postseason home games dating back to 2013.
Class 1A, No. 8 Pioneer is coming off a 28-21 loss to Class 1A, No. 9 Triton Friday.
Pioneer has not won a sectional game since beating Delphi 18-0 in the 2021 sectional semifinals. Pioneer has not gone three straight years without winning a sectional game in at least the last 30 years.
The Pioneer-Caston winner will meet the Carroll (Flora)-Frontier winner in the semifinals. Carroll, ranked No. 3, is the three-time defending sectional champion and 8-0 on the season. Frontier, ranked No. 10, is 7-0 under first-year coach Jack Barron and averaging 48 points per game.
Meanwhile, Winamac is in the bottom half of the draw, and they will host Taylor in a quarterfinal. The Warriors are 3-4 and coming off a 50-12 win over South Central (Union Mills) Friday. This marks the first time Winamac is hosting its sectional opener since they routed Gary Roosevelt 45-0 in 2019.
The last six times Winamac has started the postseason at home, they have won. It’s a streak that dates back to 2012.
As for Taylor, they are 4-4, and the four wins equal their most in a season since 2015. The Titans are trying for their first winning season since 2008 under first-year coach Rob Patchett, who moved to Taylor after coaching the previous three seasons at Northwestern.
The Taylor-Winamac winner will face the North White-Tri-County winner in the semifinals. Tri-County beat North White 36-12 on Sept. 13 in their regular season meeting.
Culver
The Cavaliers are to become familiar with South Central (Union Mills). The teams will meet at South Central this Friday in their regular season meeting, and they will meet again the following Friday at Culver in their Class 1A, Sectional 41 quarterfinal.
Culver is 1-7, having lost seven straight since winning their opener against Attica. South Central is also 1-7, having beaten Bowman Academy in their opener before their current seven-game losing streak.
This will mark the fourth straight year that Culver and South Central will meet in the sectional. Culver knocked out the Satellites in the 2021 and 2022 sectional semifinals and the 2023 sectional quarterfinals.
The South Central-Culver winner will face either South Newton or North Judson in the semifinals. North Judson is ranked No. 1 and the three-time defending regional champion.
In the other half of the draw, Bowman Academy will travel to North Newton, and West Central will go to LaVille.
Beside undefeated North Judson, West Central (5-3) is the only other team in Sectional 41 with a winning record.
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