With three of the top 15 teams in Indiana, the Franklin Sectional is one of state’s toughest girls soccer sectionals.
Class 3A No. 14 Columbus North will have to play only one of the other two ranked squads after drawing a first-round bye. The Bull Dogs, who have won back-to-back sectional and regional titles, will meet host Franklin in the semifinals on Oct. 4.
No. 15 Columbus East will play Whiteland in the sectional opener on Oct. 2. That game will be followed by Greenwood against 3A No. 9 Center Grove.
The first-round winners will meet in the first semifinal on Oct. 4, and the final will be Oct. 6. East beat North 4-3 earlier in the season and blanked Center Grove 2-0 on Saturday.
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"This is a tough sectional, and there’s excellent teams," East girls coach Ilya Schwartzman said. "We’re going to take it one game at a time, and we’re going to do the best job against each opponent as we go. It’s a favorable draw in the first round, and we just need to take care of business and take it one round at a time."
On the boys side, North will face Jennings County in the first round of the Jeffersonville Sectional, The winner to meet Floyd Central in the semifinals.
"We are going to prepare (today) for a regular-season fixture (Seymour) on Tuesday, and after the match, we will start our preparation for Jennings County," North boys coach Tom Pollert said. "We will need to be in our best form the entire 80 minutes against the Panthers to move on in this tournament."
East will play New Albany in the first round in a rematch of Saturday’s 2-2 tie. The winner will face the winner between Jeffersonville and Seymour.
"Seymour won (at least a share of) the conference, so they have to be one of the favorites," East boys coach Brad Barber said. "We get a chance to play New Albany, and it’s a good opportunity for us because we didn’t play our best match that day."
Meanwhile, in Class 2A boys, Brown County drew a first-round bye and will play Indianapolis Herron in the semifinals of the Monrovia Sectional.
The Hauser boys will face Indianapolis Lutheran in the first round of the Class A Southwestern (Shelby) Sectional. The winner to meet Greenwood Christian Academy or Oldenburg Academy in the semifinals.
The Trinity Lutheran boys will play Rock Creek Academy in the first round of the Class A Christian Academy of indiana Sectional. The winner will play Austin or Henryville in the semifinals.
In the girls Class 3A Floyd Central Sectional, Jennings will play New Albany in the first round. The winner will face Bedford North Lawrence or Seymour.
The Brown County girls drew a bye in the Class 2A Edgewood Sectional and will play Edgewood in the semifinals.
The Trinity girls will play Salem in the first round of the Providence Class A Sectional. The winner will face Christian Academy of Indiana.
