The draw

It's draw night, and our partners at The Gridiron Digest are lighting up, as usual, with discussion about the pairings.

We're also getting ready for our final broadcast of the 2009 season -- the Boundary Rail game between New Palestine and Mt. Vernon on Friday. You can listen here. We'll preview the game -- and the rest of the HHC race -- this week. We'll also look back at previous battles between the Marauders and Dragons.

Those two teams could meet again in the 2009 sectional finals, but they'll have to get through two games to get there. And that's what we're looking at tonight ... the full draw is at the IHSAA site, and also at John Harrell's site and we'll look at the sectionals involving HHC schools and those located in our home base of Hancock County.

Class 4A
Sectional 13
New Castle (1-7) at Mt. Vernon (5-3)
Greenfield-Central (1-7) at Anderson Highland (6-2 on field)
Arlington (4-4) at Anderson (0-8 on field)
Pendleton Heights (2-6) at New Palestine (6-2)
The outlook: This is a really competitive sectional with, according to Sagarin, three clear favorites -- NP, MV and Olympic Conference champion Highland. The Dragons have won four straight games and they've been impressive on both sides of the ball, especially on defense. They've allowed five total touchdowns in the last 18 quarters, and they're coming off a strong offensive game -- scoring on eight of nine possessions, totaling 502 yards, and holding the opposition to minus-2 rushing yards in a win over Greenfield-Central. Meanwhile, MV is also playing its best football of the year -- despite the loss, the Marauders took 4A No. 5 Delta to the wire last Saturday before falling 24-16. MV moved the ball effectively, with Corey White scoring a 32-yard touchdown and Jake Davis reeling in a 50-yard reception to set up another score. MV's defense has also been solid throughout the last few weeks. Highland's signature win was a 49-41 victory over Heritage Christian in Week 3. The one HHC team the Scots have played is Yorktown, and they fell 24-20 at the gun. Pendleton Heights is a sleeper -- the Arabians have dropped two games in the final minutes, falling to Yorktown and Rushville. The Arabians and Scots meet in the regular-season finale on Friday. When NP and PH first met, the Dragons won 49-14, with Pat Feeney having a 300+ yard night. Another team that can be a sleeper is Arlington. First, one can never count out a Rob Patchett-coached team. Second, the Knights have a 4-4 record, but three of those losses have come to teams with 7-1 or 8-0 records -- Kokomo, Cathedral and Hammond Clark. Looking at the first-round matchups, this is as close to being seeded as one can probably get, as the top four teams record-wise drew opposite each other. There are enough rivalries in this tournament that a few spoilers could result, too. This could lead to a dynamite final game. This sectional feeds into a Sectional 14 field that includes Cathedral, Plainfield and Roncalli.

Sectional 12
Jay County (2-6) at New Haven (4-4)
FW Wayne (5-3) at Marion (4-4)
#10/8 FW South (7-1) at #5/6 Delta (8-0)
Muncie Central (3-5) at Muncie South (5-3)
The outlook: Two favorites, and they drew each other. Delta is 8-0 and has outscored teams by an average of 41-11. The Eagles have a couple of signature wins -- beating New Palestine 23-0 and beating Mt. Vernon 24-16 last week. With 1,000-yard rusher Teddy Dawson and IU recruit Logan Young on the path to a 1,000-yard receiving season, the Eagles have a difficult-to-stop offense. Meanwhile, South has wins over FW Snider and FW Luers -- the only blemish a loss to No. 2 FW Dwenger. From there, the winner will be the odds-on favorite -- Delta defeated Muncie South earlier this seaon, and the only other team with a winning record is FW Wayne. It could be a sleeper, having posted a 5-3 record in the tough Summit Athletic Conference. This sectional feeds into Sectional 11, which includes FW Dwenger.

Sectional 15
Madison (3-5) at South Dearborn (3-5)
Franklin County (0-8) at Shelbyville (7-1)
Connersville (2-6) at No. 9/9 East Central (7-1)
Greenwood (2-6) at Franklin (1-7)
Outlook: The Golden Bears have never won a sectional, but during their recent surge, they've always seemed to run into either a solid East Central or Columbus East team. With East now in 5A, the two favorites here are Shelbyville and East Central. Shelby's only blemish was a 10-7 defeat to New Palestine. EC's only loss was a narrow 14-10 defeat to unbeaten Batesville. Shelbyville has an explosive offense -- which has scored 30+ points in 5 of the 8 games so far. EC has a strong defense, allowing an average of 6 ppg. Only two teams -- Richmond and Batesville -- have scored more than 10 points against them. Some of the other programs have some tradition -- Franklin County nearly knocked off Batesville a few weeks back, while Greenwood and Franklin play in the tough Mid-State Conference. This sectional feeds into Sectional 16, which features unbeatens Jasper and Evansville Reitz.

Class 3A
No. 5/7 Batesville (8-0) bye, vs. Rush/Greensburg winner
Rushville (3-5) at Greensburg (4-4)
Yorktown (4-4) at Hamilton Heights (6-2)
Howe (2-6) at Beech Grove (5-3)
Outlook: Batesville was already the favorite in this sectional, and now the Bulldogs have one less game to play to get to the final. With QB Connor Kelley and RB Chris Miller running a tailored-for-them single-wing offense, Batesville can be a very difficult team to deal with come playoff time anyway. They have signature wins against East Central and New Palestine so far this year. The Bulldogs won six straight sectionals from 2001-06. A potential second-round foe is Rushville, which would have to avenge a Week 3 loss to Greensburg. The Lions have won two of three, beating Greenfield-Central and Pendleton Heights, sandwiched around a loss to Delta that was tied at halftime. However, this sectional is loaded. Yorktown is 4-4, but they have a big win over Anderson Highland in recent weeks, and they play a primarily 4A schedule. Hamilton Heights has returned to prominence under coach Jason Simmons this season, and the Huskies have a chance to tie for the Mid-Indiana Conference title. Beech Grove is a team not to overlook. Dave Coudret's team runs its option system well, and it has posted a big win over Heritage Christian. This sectional feeds into Sectional 21, which includes Chatard, Southmont, North Montgomery and Brebeuf, all of which have at least six wins.

Elsewhere, in Hancock County ...
Class A
Sectional 37
Guerin (2-6) at Sheridan (2-6)
Indiana Deaf (0-7) at Clinton Prairie (4-4)
Tri-Central (0-8) at Clinton Central (5-3)
Lapel (5-3) at Eastern Hancock (1-7)
Outlook: So, Lapel leaves the White River Athletic Conference, but the Bulldogs can't leave their old haunts behind. Lapel was the only ex-WRAC team that wasn't on EH's schedule this season. The Bulldogs have bounced back recently, with a big 33-14 win over Knightstown last week, and a win over Clinton Prairie the week before. EH had a big 53-20 win over Wes-Del in Week 7, and played well in the second half last week against Shenandoah. Unfortunately, the Royals were down 28-0 when they did. Steven Stunda is a run/pass threat as a QB, and a defense led by J.P. McDaniel leads a defense that slowed the Raiders in the second half. Clinton Central is another strong team, one that plays in a tough conference and usually runs the ball very well. The top half of the bracket looks a lot worse than it really is. Guerin and Sheridan play schedules predominately made up of larger schools -- Guerin beat an undefeated Winchester team two weeks ago, while three of Sheridan's losses have been by a touchdown or less.