SCOUTING THIS WEEK’S MATCHUPS
Greenwood (2-6) at Whiteland (3-4)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Recent history: The Warriors pulled out a 28-24 road victory last year to run their series win streak to five games.
Sagarin ratings: Greenwood 48.50 (161st in Indiana), Whiteland 62.02 (103rd)
Players to watch: Greenwood — QB Parker Jarboe, RB Leland Morton, WR/DB Ben Hommell, OL/DL Carter Swain; Whiteland — QB Ollie Taylor, RB Slate Valentine, FB/LB Jordan Palmer, WR/DB Eli Taylor, LB Clayton Ratliff
What to look for: Already banged up, the Woodmen took two more big blows last week when leading tackler Ethan Lobb and top rusher Gunner Ruppert both went down. If neither can go, Greenwood will be relying on freshmen and sophomores in a number of key positions. The losses of Lobb and Ruppert left the middle of the Woodmen defense susceptible to big runs from Franklin’s Alex Leugers; would Valentine be able to exploit the gap in a similar fashion tonight?
St. Frances (Maryland) (4-3) at Center Grove (5-3)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Recent history: This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
Sagarin ratings: Center Grove 90.30 (seventh)
Players to watch: St. Frances — QB Tristan Sabb, WR Jeremiah Koger, DL Zion Elee, DB Jireh Edwards, DB Blake Woodby; Center Grove — QB Gabe McWilliams, WR Tristan Baxter, WR Brevin Holubar, LB T.J. Williams, DB James Soderdahl
What to look for: Don’t let the pedestrian record fool you — the Panthers play a national schedule and all of their losses are to teams ranked in the country’s top 25, including No. 1 Mater Dei (California) and No. 3 Duncanville (Texas). The St. Frances roster is loaded with Division I talent, with Woodby one of three on the team already committed to Auburn. Center Grove has been able to move the ball against more athletic teams all season long, but this may be their most difficult test of the year. The Trojans won’t see a more talented opponent in the postseason than the one they face tonight.
Decatur Central (5-2) at Franklin (3-5)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Recent history: The Hawks’ 36-0 win last year was their 11th in the last 12 meetings; Franklin won 21-13 in 2022.
Sagarin ratings: Decatur Central 78.25 (33rd), Franklin 59.58 (115th)
Players to watch: Decatur Central — QB Bo Polston, RB Fa’Rel Carter, WR Kasmir Hicks, LB Brayden Smith, ATH Mykul Campbell; Franklin — QB Greyson Betts, RB Alex Leugers, OL/DL Blake Smythe, LB Isaac Broughton, DB Landen Basey
What to look for: The Grizzly Cubs got a much-needed victory last week at Greenwood, riding a 338-yard rushing game from Leugers and pulling away in the second half. The Hawks, though, have been on a roll since what now looks like an outlier loss to Columbus North in the season opener. They’ve given up points at times (allowing 35 at Perry Meridian last Friday) but haven’t been held under 38 since Week 1. Franklin will likely need to slow the tempo to stay in this one.
Edinburgh (0-8) at Park Tudor (5-3)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Recent history: The Panthers rolled to a 65-6 road victory last fall, their third in a row over the Lancers since their series resumed in 2021.
Sagarin ratings: Edinburgh minus-2.18 (310th), Park Tudor 25.75 (252nd)
Players to watch: Edinburgh — QB Caleb Murphy, RB Landon Clouse, RB/DB Samson Parkhurst, RB/DL Milas Burkman; Park Tudor — QB Christopher Harris, WR/DB Mark Gaines, WR/DB Landon Guerra, LB Nathan Harris
What to look for: The Panthers aren’t as strong as they were in recent years, but they’re still a pretty sturdy favorite against the Lancers, who have been outscored 343-6 over the last seven games. Edinburgh hasn’t been able to generate any offense, which isn’t a good sign when facing an opponent that averages more than 36 points. Park Tudor’s defense is vulnerable at times — it allowed 72 points to Wes-Del in Week 7 — but can the Lancers take advantage at all?
Shortridge (2-5) vs. Greenwood Christian (6-2)
At Beech Grove Middle School
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Recent history: The Blue Devils beat the Cougars 50-0 in 2022; the teams did not meet last season.
Sagarin ratings: Shortridge 29.95 (238th), GCA 33.66 (225th)
Players to watch: Shortridge — QB/DB James Edmondson, RB Thomas Campbell, WR Shean Davis, LB Demetrius Davis; GCA — QB/DB Trey Dobson, RB/DB Daniel Honeycutt, RB/LB Evan McIntire, WR/DB Zach Haynes, OL/DL Eli Jackson
What to look for: A much different game than we saw two years ago, when GCA was a first-year program only playing a partial varsity schedule. Shortridge will still be one of the more difficult tests of the year for Andre Dobson’s squad, but GCA has proven it can score against anybody, putting up almost 45 points a game over the last six weeks. If the defense can hold up better than it did in losses to Park Tudor and Milan, the Cougars have a real chance to get to 7-2.
Indian Creek (4-4) at Northview (7-1)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
Recent history: The Braves snapped a three-game skid against the Knights with a 22-21 home win last fall.
Sagarin ratings: Indian Creek 51.56 (149th), Northview 57.78 (122nd)
Players to watch: Indian Creek — QB Evan Clark, RB Malachi Mink, WR Bobby Emberton, WR/DB Levi Pappas, WR/DB Jaxon Ramey; Northview — QB Colton Bath, RB/DB Slade Fell, WR Avery Perry, LB Gage Thompson
What to look for: Though the Knights have a much shinier record, common opponents tell us this could be a closer game than expected; Northview routed the same Sullivan team that Indian Creek had to rally past last week, but the Braves played unbeaten Cascade far closer than the Knights did. Tonight could come down to which side does a better job of exploiting mismatches (and avoiding big mistakes); it’ll be a bit of a surprise if it’s not close.
Roncalli (3-4) at East Central (6-2)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
Recent history: The two teams have split the last four meetings, with the Trojans routing the Royals last year on the southside, 41-7.
Sagarin ratings: Roncalli 77.17 (38th), East Central 82.13 (19th)
Players to watch: Roncalli — QB Collin Ash, RB Zach Dozier, WR Conner Kesler, DL Sam Neu, LB Carson Keller; East Central — QB Nolan Maple, RB Ryan Minges, WR Ethan Feldkamp, DB Nyden Euson, DB Carson Pieczonka
What to look for: It’s often tough to get a read on the Trojans, whose two losses are both against strong Ohio teams, because their in-state slate is always so light during the regular season. But they’re always a force to be reckoned with. Roncalli should be well equipped for the challenge — their schedule is significantly more difficult than East Central’s — but it’ll need to get more consistency from its feast-or-famine offense, even if this is a low-scoring contest.
