Week 9 lookahead

What a big week in the HHC and in local high school football. We are excited about what will be a great finish to the regular season, with three games in the league that are essentially "playoff" games for position. Friday should be a great night, and we'll be happy to bring it to you.

Our game is the annual Boundary Rail Game between New Palestine and Mt. Vernon. Since the Boundary Rail has been put into play, the Dragons have won all four regular-season meetings. However, the two teams are (as usual) closely-matched and that should lead to some great football on Friday night. Also, Delta has clinched a share of its sixth HHC title and will win it outright with a victory over Shelbyville. However, if the Golden Bears pull the upset, the title will be split between those two teams. If New Palestine is to beat Mt. Vernon, it would make a 3-way tie for the championship. Needless to say, this is a big night.

Let's preview the games, starting with the TGD Game of the Week
New Palestine (6-2/5-1) at Mt. Vernon (5-3/4-2)
Broadcast: 7 p.m. with Andrew Smith, Jim Ryan, Tim Adams
Listen LIVE here

The coaches
NP: Tim Able (1st season at NP, 6-2; 18th overall, 101-94)
MV: Doug Peacock (16th season at MV, 101-72; 20th overall, 121-92)
The series: This is the 41st regular-season meeting between these taems and 47th overall. NP leads the all-time series 25-19, including a 4-0 record in Boundary Rail games. In the regular-season, NP has a 22-18 advantage. NP won 21-7 a year ago and 20-13 in 2007. In 2006, the teams split, with NP winning in OT in the regular-season and MV winning 17-14 in the sectional final. NP swept the regular-season and playoff meetings in 2004 and 2005. Since 2000, NP has an 8-4 edge. Since the HHC began, NP has won 10 of 18 meetings.

The Dragons (off. avg 27.5; def. avg 14.1): New Palestine is enjoying a renaissance season, and is coming off its best two games of the year. The Dragons scored on 8 of their 9 possessions last Saturday in a 56-0 win over Greenfield-Central. NP's offense clicked -- gaining 502 yards overall, with 243 coming through the air and 259 on the ground. WR/RB Pat Feeney had another big day, with 69 yards rushing and a TD, 140 receiving yards on five catches and a TD, and a 54-yard punt return to the 1-yard line that set up another score. On the year, Feeney has 624 yards rushing and 562 yards receiving, and is averaging 13.9 yards per offensive touch. He is closing in on the 1,200-yard mark from scrimmage -- he needs 14 yards to get there. However, NP spreads the ball around. WR Nathan Penley had four catches and 61 yards on offense and two big pass break-ups on defense last week. RB Michael Phelps and RB Bryce Pierson have both topped 100 yards on the year, and they will handle a little bit of the load. QB Cary Albrecht loves the big stage -- he was 12-of-14 last week and is 27-of-37 inside Lucas Oil Stadium in two games this year. He has a 53% completion percentage and throws for 102 yards per game on the year. NP's defense has been solid, too. In the last 18 quarters -- 4.5 games -- the Dragons have allowed five touchdowns. That's been key in their four-game winning streak. The only score they've given up in the last eight was an 88-yard TD run by Shelbyville QB Kevin Prosch in the third quarter of their Week 7 matchup. The Dragons need help from Shelbyville to clinch their first HHC title since 2006 and third overall. A victory and a Delta loss to Shelby would create a 3-way tie for the title between NP, Shelby and Delta.

The Marauders (off avg. 28.9, def. avg. 18.3): Mt. Vernon is coming off a loss, but one of its best performances of the year in a 24-16 defeat to Delta. MV's defense covered Delta's Logan Young admirably and also took away 1,000-yard rusher Teddy Dawson, holding him to 3.3 yards per carry. The Marauders took a 9-7 lead in the second quarter on halfback Corey White's 32-yard touchdown run, and after Delta took a 17-9 lead in the third, came right back with Austin Parker's 50-yard pass to Jake Davis setting up a TD run by FB Trey Ross. White led the running game, with 46 yards on 8 carries, while Ross had 37 yards on 9 carries. MV does running back by committee. Ross averages 8.9 yards per carry this season, and has 11 TDs. With 586 yards from scrimmage, HB Zach McKinney is MV's second-biggest yardage gainer, and is a rushing/receiving threat. White, a speedster who has been rapidly improving and gaining more of the load, averages 8.6 yards per carry and has three TDs the last two weeks. QB Parker completes 40% of his passes on the year for an average of 56 yards per game. MV's defense has also been strong. Led by LB Jason McCalley and DLs Corbin Bundy and David Reimlinger, the Marauders held Delta to 3.8 total yards per carry last week. CB Cameron Hope drew the assignment on Logan Young, and held Delta's IU-bound wideout below his average. MV cannot win the HHC title, but a victory would give the Marauders a shot at a 3-way tie for second place, which would happen if Delta beat Shelbyville.

As usual, the Boundary Rail classic will be a classic. We'll look at the history of the Rail game tomorrow! Listen live with Andrew, Jim & Tim starting at 7 p.m. Friday.

Elsewhere in the HHC
Shelbyville (7-1/5-1) at No. 6/5 Delta (8-0/6-0), 7:30 p.m.: Delta has already clinched a piece of the HHC title -- its seventh in school history. Shelbyville needs to win to share it with Delta and win its second in three years. The Eagles ground out a victory over Mt. Vernon last week, and did so with some big play from wingback Zach Overfield, who had 102 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. Delta's triplets also led the way -- Mt. Vernon was keying on 1,000-yard rusher Teddy Dawson and held him to 65 yards on 20 carries. Logan Young, despite being double-teamed, had 57 yards and two TD receptions. QB Ozzie Mann was 15-of-23 for 146 yards. Mann completes 58% of his passes on the year, while Young is closing in on the 1,000-yard receiving mark. Shelbyville will hope to use its speed on the turf, as QB Kevin Prosch had another big game running the football last week. The Bears got back to their scoring ways, as they totaled 30 points for the fifth time this year -- but first since Week 4 -- in last week's 30-13 victory over Yorktown. RBs Jake Knight and Derek Ellis both scored TDs last week, and Shelbyville's defense forced four fourth-quarter turnovers to score 17 straight points and pull away.
Yorktown (4-4/2-4) at Rushville (3-5/2-4), 7 p.m.: Yorktown was on the other end of that loss to Shelbyville, but the Tigers have found their passing game in recent weeks. QB Kyle Weiss was 20-of-34 against New Palestine in Week 6, and then threw a last-second TD pass to beat Anderson Highland two weeks ago. Weiss threw for 236 yards last week against Shelbyville's defense, including an 80-yard TD to Austin Anderson. Meanwhile, the Lions have been a second-half team in their wins. In Week 6, the Lions scored 19 straight points to beat Greenfield-Central 19-15. In Week 8, Rushville trailed Pendleton Heights by 13 points early in the 4th quarter, but scored two late TDs to win 21-20. A long kickoff return by Stephen Davis set up the comeback, which ended with QB Spencer Comer's TD. FB Dustin Gilbert scored the Lions' first TD and their last, and helped set up Comer's score by running the ball to the 1. He had a big day running the ball for the Lions' veer-option offense. This game is a playoff for fifth place in the HHC, as the winner will take that position.

In non-conference action
Chatard (7-1) at Greenfield-Central (1-7): The Cougars and Trojans were on opposite ends of shutouts last week. G-C fell 56-0 to New Palestine, while Chatard shut out Northwest 77-0. Chatard has pitched back-to-back shutouts, and has outscored its last there foes 181-6. Chatard also played first-round G-C sectional foe Anderson Highland and won 42-13. The Trojans are led by RB Ari Pappas, the school's all-time leading rusher, and a defense that has allowed only 9 ppg. Meanwhile, G-C is looking to pick up where they left off two weeks ago in a 21-17 loss to Mt. Vernon, in which QB Tyler Colclazier threw two late TD passes to Michael Dickerson and John White. Colclazier and Dickerson hooked up for a 50-yard pass last week that was the Cougars' biggest offensive play of the game.
Pendleton Heights (2-6) at Anderson Highland (6-2 on the field): Highland's record is actually 5-3, as a 47-7 victory over Anderson had to be forfeited. But the Scots have been solid, winning the Olympic Conference title and scoring 34 ppg. This figures to be a shootout -- both teams are averaging 23+ points per game and allowing 20+. PH's defense has two shutouts on the year -- against Greenfield-Central and Jay County. The Arabians built a 20-7 lead last week but fell to Rushville on two fourth-quarter TDs. Highland beat Connersville 33-7. Both teams have a common opponent -- Yorktown. And both fell to the Tigers the exact same way, getting beat on a last-second TD pass. Records aside, this matchup should be a close one, and be a good tune-up for Sectional 13 play. PH opens at New Palestine, while Highland faces Greenfield-Central that evening.

HHC standings
Delta 6-0/8-0
Shelbyville 5-1/7-1
New Palestine 5-1/6-2
Mt. Vernon 4-2/5-3
Yorktown 2-4/4-4
Rushville 2-4/3-5
Pendleton Heights 1-6/2-6
Greenfield-Central 0-7/1-7

One other game from our home base: Eastern Hancock (1-7) at Edinburgh (1-7): The Royals had a big second half last week, but couldn't find the end zone. QB Steven Stunda and RB Doug Spegal combined for 104 yards rushing, most of it after halftime, and the Royals held Shenandoah to 51 total yards after the break. Unfortunately for EH, most of the damage was done in the first half, when the Raiders scored four times in a 34-0 victory. Edinburgh is back on the Royals' schedule after a 10-year absence. The two teams will be foes in the Mid-Indiana Football Conference next season. The Lancers snapped a five-year losing streak by beating Indiana Deaf a couple of weeks back, but they fell 66-0 to Milan last week. Edinburgh is averaging 48 points per game allowed on defense, but 7 scored on offense.