Let's take a look ahead at the state tournament in the HHC and Hancock County. Our Game of the Week will be from Sectional 13, where the Mt. Vernon Marauders of coach Doug Armstrong will face the defending sectional champion and fifth-ranked Pendleton Heights Arabians. We'll also be keeping you up on as many other sectional games as we can, so make sure you log in to HancockCountySports.com at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
There's also a "looking ahead" spot to show where the local teams would go if they win Round 1.
All games at 7 p.m. Friday
Class 4A, Sectional 13
Muncie Central (2-7) at #1/2 New Palestine (9-0): The Dragons have practically rewritten the school's record book offensively, but the Dragons' defense has been equally-strong in the last half of the season. Connor Simmons broke the NPHS single-season passing record last week and has the career record in his sights. Muncie Central has four receivers with at least 200 yards receiving and a running game led by JaRon Terry. NP will be heavily favored.
Frankfort (0-9) at Delta (6-3 on the field): The Eagles have hit their groove after a mid-season 3-game losing streak. QB Ozzie Mann hooked up with Jake Greenberg for a couple of big scorers last week against Shelbyville. Delta should be a heavy favorite in this one.
Muncie South (3-6) at Greenfield-Central (5-4): A Cougar victory would give them back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1973-75 -- a time period in which the Cougars were a state champion and a state runner-up. G-C had a tough loss to Pendleton Heights last week, but the Cougars have a ballhawking defense and a balanced offense with one of the top athletes in the HHC in Matt Dickerson. Two of Muncie South's three wins are against Connersville.
Mt. Vernon (5-4) at #5/6 Pendleton Heights (8-1) (LISTEN LIVE!): The Arabians have been one of the state's most impressive teams all season. They've been dominant, scoring at least 30 points in eight of their nine games this year, led by QB Mitch Patishall and two rushers who will likely finish over the 1,000-yard mark in Jacob Lyons and Jon Furrow. But MV's defense is very strong and can give the Marauders a shot. Since a 38-6 loss to PH in Week 5, the Marauder defense allowed just 15 points in regulation the next three weeks.
Looking ahead to Round 2 for HHC/county schools:
New Palestine -- on the road in Round 2 regardless of opponent
Delta -- at home vs. NP, on road vs. MC
Greenfield-Central -- on the road in Round 2 regardless of opponent
MV -- at home in round 2
PH -- at home vs. G-C, on road vs. Muncie South
Week 3: Team that has played the most road sectional games will host. If both teams have been the road team the same number of times, the team in the bottom bracket shall host.
Class A, Sectional 37
Indiana Deaf (0-9) at Northeastern (4-5)
Eastern Hancock (3-6) at Cambridge City Lincoln (7-2): CCL is coming off its best season in school history, but the Golden Eagles won't be overlooking the Royals. EH's 3-6 record is a bit deceiving, as the Royals play a schedule primarily made up of bigger schools and they've been competitive throughout much of the year. QB Logan Gilbert and RB Spencer Gilbert are important, but EH has been developing lots of contributions and coach Pat Echeverria has done a nice job in Year 1.
Knightstown (6-3) at Hagerstown (5-4): The marquee matchup in the sectional. Coach Pat Mallory's Panthers head to the road. Hagerstown's record is deceiving -- the Tigers have been one of the area's top teams, and will be a tough out at home.
Scecina (6-3) at Tri (0-9): Scecina just beat a ranked Lutheran squad handily last week. They're on a roll headed into the tourney.
Looking ahead to Round 2 for HHC/county schools:
Eastern Hancock -- at home in Round 2 regardless of opponent
HHC sectionals
Class 4A, Sectional 15
Richmond (4-5) at Franklin County (7-2): A good matchup. Richmond is a solid team that gave New Palestine all it could handle for a half. The Red Devils are also young and athletic. Franklin County is a solid program from a strong football tradition. Homefield will help.
Connersville (2-7) at New Castle (0-9): Two programs who have struggled to get traction meet up. Both are well-coached teams.
East Central (8-1) at South Dearborn (7-2): Wow! What a matchup. EC was a top-5 team before the loss to Roncalli last week. Add in the intra-county rivalry and this will be a blast.
Columbus East (8-1) at Shelbyville (1-8): Shelby gets a tough draw facing Gunnar Kiel and the Columbus East Olympians right out of the chute. Kiel is one of the nation's top QBs this season, and is an Indiana recruit. This will be a tough task for a Golden Bear squad that has had an opportunistic, strong defense led by Ethan Runnebohm, but has struggled with turnovers.
Looking ahead to Round 2 for HHC/county schools:
Shelbyville -- home vs. SD, road vs. EC
Class 3A, Sectional 19
Yorktown (5-4) at Eastbrook (9-0 on the field): Eastbrook had to forfeit three games, but the Panthers are one of Class 3A's top programs year-in and year-out. Yorktown more than held its own in the tough HHC, winning its last two games in the fourth quarter in come-from-behind fashion to beat both Shelbyville and Rushville. A midseaon victory over Delta can propel Mike Wilhelm's club to have a lot of confidence now that it's not facing 4A teams every week as it had for seven games thsi season.
Bellmont (3-6) at Blackford (2-7)
Mississnewa (7-2) at Maconaquah (2-7)
Western (7-2) at Peru (0-9)
Looking ahead to Round 2 for HHC/county schools:
Yorktown -- home vs. Blackford, road vs. Bellmont
Class 3A, Sectional 22
Howe (5-4) at Edgewood (6-3)
Batesville (3-6) at Greensburg (4-5)
Brown County (4-5) at Rushville (2-7): Again, the Lions played eight of their nine games against 4A competition, so the record can be a bit misleading. It's a big factor in this being Rushville's second-to-last year in the HHC before leaving for the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference, which will have four 4A schools instead of six. This is a winnable game for Rushville, which is a young team that is continually improving, with Kaleb Lambert and Garrett Hittle leading the way.
Beech Grove (0-9) at Indian Creek (5-4): IC was a semistate team last season. The Braves are tournament-tested and could be a favorite in this sectional.
Looking ahead to Round 2 for HHC/county schools:
Rushville -- home vs. BG, road vs. IC
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