Intense rivalry game: Can Whiteland hand Greenwood its first defeat?

All that stands between Greenwood’s first undefeated regular season in nine years and coveted postseason momentum is that team a few miles down the road.

Considering it’s the Whiteland Warriors, it’s a pretty formidable obstacle.

Whiteland owned a seven-game winning streak in the series from 2006 to 2010, outscoring the Woodmen by an average of 22 points along the way, before Greenwood broke through last season with a 37-23 victory.

Both squads have plenty of incentive heading into tonight, as if being longtime county rivals wasn’t enough.

While Greenwood, the No. 3 team in Class 4A, looks to stay undefeated, Whiteland coach Darrin Fisher realizes a win gives the Warriors a full head of steam entering next week’s Class 5A sectional-opener at Columbus North.

“The thing I always enjoy about this game is that it’s always physical, and it’s always well-played,” said Fisher, whose team has won four of the past five weeks and still has hopes of tying tonight’s Plainfield-Martinsville winner for second place in the final Mid-State standings.

“We stress October football around here, and you have to sort of guide all your activities to that,” Fisher said. “Fortunately, we’ve been fairly consistent over time that way, and this group has learned those lessons and made them their own.”

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