SCOUTING TONIGHT’S SEMISTATE GAMES
Class 6A
Center Grove (10-2) at Cathedral (10-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Live video: ihsaatv.org
Recent history: The Fighting Irish rallied in the fourth quarter for a 40-29 road win on Oct. 14, snapping the Trojans’ two-game series win streak.
Sagarin ratings: Center Grove 98.72 (fourth in Indiana/fourth in Class 6A), Cathedral 106.56 (first/first)
Players to watch: Center Grove — QB Tyler Cherry, RB Micah Coyle, RB/DB Jalen Thomeson, WR Noah Coy, LB Owen Bright, DB Gage Rees; Cathedral — QB Danny O’Neil, RB Carson Johnson, WR Jaron Tibbs, TE Brennan Wooten, DL Kendrick Gilbert
What to look for: That’s anybody’s guess at this point. The Trojans were up by 16 points and were a yard away from taking a three-score lead when the teams met in Week 9, but Cathedral came up with a goal-line stand and scored 27 unanswered to stun the Ray Skillman Stadium crowd. Will we see the Center Grove team that dominated the first 39 minutes of that game, or will the Fighting Irish that owned the last nine minutes show up again? The Trojans haven’t quite looked as sharp this postseason with Thomeson (ankle) at less than 100% — but Eric Moore’s teams seldom lay eggs in November games like this. Neither team winning would be a surprise.
Class 5A
Whiteland (11-1) at Castle (8-4)
Kickoff: 8 p.m.
Live video: ihsaatv.org
Recent history: This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
Sagarin ratings: Whiteland 92.31 (ninth/second in 5A), Castle 71.01 (57th/11th)
Players to watch: Whiteland — QB Kevin Denham, RB Peyton Emberton, RB/DB Nyrius Moore-Smith, WR/DB Brady Stanifer, OL/DL Tayton Schakel, LB/P Dalton Hughes; Castle — QB Brayden Bishop, RB Max McCool, WR Weston Aigner, DL Zach Shultz, LB John Purdy
What to look for: For the second straight week, the Warriors register as a pretty hefty favorite — but don’t expect them to take the game lightly, especially after seeing the Knights spring a mild upset of Bloomington South that’s forcing Whiteland to take a much longer bus ride this evening. Castle lost starting quarterback Caden Gordon to injury six weeks ago, but Bishop has fared well in his stead, leading the team to three straight double-digit wins. Whiteland has played the much tougher schedule — the Knights played just one 5A team in the regular season and lost four games to smaller schools — and that week-in, week-out seasoning should make it the more prepared team as it tries to reach the state title game for the first time in school history.
Class 4A
Roncalli (12-1) at East Central (11-2)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Live video: ihsaatv.org
Recent history: The Royals pulled out a 21-19 road victory on Oct. 14. This will be the third semistate meeting between the teams in the last eight seasons, with the Trojans winning in 2015 and Roncalli returning the favor a year later.
Sagarin ratings: Roncalli 93.16 (sixth/first in 4A), East Central 90.52 (11th/second)
Roncalli — QB Arik Moyers, RB Luke Hansen, OL Trevor Lauck, DL Luke Swartz, DB Andrew Baugh, DB Judson Lawrie; East Central — QB Cole Burton, RB Josh Ringer, WR Eli Aston, WR Ryan Brotherton, LB Brayden Rouse
What to look for: A plus-three turnover margin enabled the Royals to escape with a two-point victory in St. Leon last month. That game likely left the Trojans with a worse taste in their mouths than the Skyline Chili across the street from their campus, and they’ll be primed for payback. Roncalli will need to bring the same defensive energy while also being more productive offensively; Moyers, who’s come into his own as a passing threat as the season has progressed, might be able to help with that. If East Central keys on Hansen (now the Royals’ career rushing leader with 4,427 yards) too heavily, Moyers is more capable of exploiting that than he was five weeks ago. Much like Center Grove-Cathedral, this is a coin flip. Either way, the winner will be a prohibitive favorite at Lucas Oil Stadium next week.
