Indiana High School Football Section Draw: 2024 IHSAA Takeaways

The route to Lucas Oil Stadium is set.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association announced the football section draw for the Indianapolis Colts’ 52nd annual tournament on Sunday evening. First-round games for Classes 4A through 6A are scheduled for Oct. 25, with 5A and 6A games beginning the following week. The state finals for all six classes will be held Nov. 29 and 30 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

IHSAA Football Section Draw: Check out the 2024 tournament pairings

What we learned from Week 8: About Lawrence North, Cascade, surprises

Here are 10 takeaways from the partial draw:

Big matchups in 6A

Last year may not have had the major league showdown like last year when Brownsburg played Ben Davis in the first round, but there are some good ones. Three of the best:

∎ Franklin Central at Columbus North, Section 8: Franklin Central (5-2) has been one of the hottest teams in the division with wins over Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern in the last two weeks and a four-game winning streak overall. Coach Jayson West’s Flashes are guaranteed a winning season for the first time since joining the Hoosier Crossroads Conference in 2018. Can Franklin Central get through No. 9 Columbus North (7-1) and get a shot at No. 7 Center Grove (5-3)?

∎ Lawrence North at Lawrence Central, Section 6: It’s always hard to beat a rival twice. Class 6A fourth-ranked Lawrence North (8-0) has proven itself against the toughest teams on its schedule over the past three weeks with decisive wins over Ben Davis, Warren Central and Center Grove. But the Wildcats had to persevere in Week 1 to earn a 33-26 victory over Lawrence Central. The Bears (3-5) are in position to make things difficult for the Wildcats.

∎ Carmel at Zionsville, Section 3: It’s hard to believe, but Carmel (3-5) hasn’t won a sectional since 2020. Zionsville (3-5) won a sectional title in 6A in 2019 with wins over Pike and Brownsburg. Carmel has struggled in recent weeks, losing four of five games. Zionsville has lost three straight games after a promising start. These programs have never met in tournament play. Third-seeded Westfield (7-1) will likely wait on the other side of the bracket.

Section 5 could still be about Ben Davis

If top-seeded Brownsburg (8-0) can win at Avon (2-6) in the Section 5 first round, the Bulldogs could face reigning 6A champion Ben Davis again in the section championship game.

Ben Davis (3-5) needs to win in the first round against an improved Pike (5-3). After a 1-5 start, Ben Davis has won back-to-back against Carmel and Lawrence Central with a total of 48 points. The Giants rallied from an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit last year to beat Brownsburg 28-25 in the sectional first round and then win the state title.

Ben Davis and Brownsburg did not meet during the regular season. The Giants lost to Avon in overtime but defeated Pike 38-14. Brownsburg defeated Avon 45-15 after a slow start.

A wide open section 4

Hamilton Southeastern (5-3), the two-time defending section champion, could still be the team to beat in Section 4. But the gap seems smaller than ever. Despite its record, Noblesville (2-6) could be a good choice. The Millers struggled in the fourth quarter against top-ranked Brownsburg on Friday before losing 22-18 and have lost five games by a touchdown or less, including a 28-21 loss to HSE in Week 7. Fishers (4-4 ) defeated HSE 37-35 in Week 4.

Fishers is at Noblesville and HSE is at Homestead (4-4).

A showdown in Class 4A

Bishop Chatard, the 3A state champion in 2022 and 2023, will look to win its first state title in 4A this season. The third-seeded 4A Trojans (6-1) begin Section 22 with Crispus Attucks (5-1) and then play winner Mooresville (3-5) and Shortridge (2-5).

Things get even more exciting in the bottom half of the tournament in Section 22, where high-scoring No. 8 Brebeuf Jesuit (6-2) takes on Danville (7-1) and Roncalli (3-4) takes on Northview (7-1) . Chatard defeated Brebeuf 58-35 in the opening game and beat Roncalli 9-3 in Week 3.

The Danville-Brebeuf game should be fun. Danville’s only loss came in Week 1 against 3A state ranked Gibson Southern. Brebeuf, who averages more than 48 points per game, puts up video game numbers every week (excluding hurricane weather).

A polluted local 5A section

The two teams that made it to the state finals from the bottom half of the 5A round the last two years will meet in the first round of Section 13.

Whiteland (3-4) will face fourth-ranked Decatur Central (5-2) in a rematch of a game the Hawks won 42-29 in Week 3. Decatur Central reached the state finals last year, losing to Fort Wayne Snider. Whiteland was the 5A entry two years ago, falling to Valparaiso.

On the other side of the four-team bracket sits No. 5 Plainfield (7-1), which will play winless Anderson.

A great route for Martinsville

One of the stories of the season was 4A runner-up Martinsville (8-0), which faced East Central’s freight train in the section each of the past three seasons. But East Central now plays in 5A and Martinsville has a much more favorable section in Section 23 this season.

The Artesians open at home against Charlestown (1-7) and then play the winner of Silver Creek (3-5) and Connersville (2-6) in the semifinals. The next best team in the eight-team field is probably Greenwood (2-6). This is a good year for Martinsville to break its title drought that dates back to 1996. The Artesians can really keep up with quarterback AJ Reynolds and receiver Hunter Stroud.

I like Martinsville making semistate.

A Murderer’s Row in Section 3A

How about Class 3A, Section 32? Wow.

Any way you look at it, Sectional 32 would feature some heavyweight matchups in the first round with four top-10 teams in the field. No. 1 Evansville Memorial (8-0) plays seventh-ranked Evansville Mater Dei (7-1) in a rematch of a game Memorial won 41-13 in Week 4. Also No. 2 Heritage Hills (7-1). ) will play at No. 6 Gibson Southern (6-2) in the bottom half of the group.

Southridge (6-2) is another team to keep an eye on in the sectional.

The way for Lutherans

Coach Dave Pasch’s Lutheran team, a three-time defending Class A champion, is playing in Class 2A for the first time and will be one of the favorites to compete for a state championship. The 7-1 Saints, whose 45-game winning streak was broken by Triton Central earlier this season, host sixth-seeded Heritage Christian (6-2), arguably the second-best team in the seven-team first-round bracket, on the season Section 37.

The other top contender in Section 37 is Monrovia (6-2), which hosts Scecina (3-5) in the top half of the group. Lutheran is 4-0 against the sectional field, including a 49-14 win over Monrovia. The Saints did not play Heritage Christian.

Difficult lot for Western Boone

Western Boone, Class 2A state champions three years in a row from 2018-2020, is back playing in 2A after playing in 3A for three years. The fourth-seeded Stars (7-1) are contenders for a deep run, but didn’t receive a favorable draw in Section 34. The first-round game is against North Putnam (7-1), with top-seeded Lafayette Central Catholic (7-1) awaiting in the section semifinals.

Lafayette Central Catholic, an eight-time state champion in Class A, won its first regional in 2A last year before losing to Fort Wayne Luers in the semistate. This is a passage with little familiarity; LCC, Western Boone and North Putnam did not play each other.

knick-knacks

With Fort Wayne Snider (moving up from 5A to 6A), East Central (4A to 5A), Bishop Chatard (3A to 4A) and Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (2A to 3A), there are guaranteed to be at least five new state champions this season) and Lutheran (A through 2A) all advance after winning state championships via tournament success factor. … There are 312 teams registered for the tournament. … Chatard has the most state championships in tournament history with 17, followed by Cathedral (14) and Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (12). … In addition to the five teams listed above playing through the tournament success factor, Adams Central (2A), Cathedral (6A) and Lafayette Central Catholic (2A) are also in contention. … Lutheran has the longest winning streak in active tournaments at 17. … No. 1 New Palestine (7-0) will open Class 4A Sectional 21 at home against Mt. Vernon (4-4). Greenfield-Central (6-2) is on the other side of the bracket.

Call Star Reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.