Columbus North’s Asher Ratliff is chased out of the pocket by Bloomington South’s Luke Arnett Oct. 3 at Columbus North High School.
Tommy Walker | For the Republic
Columbus North and Columbus East avoided first-round matchups with the powerhouses in their respective sectional brackets, but both still will face formidable opponents when they begin sectional play Oct. 31.
The Bull Dogs will visit Frankin Central in a rematch of last year’s opening-round matchup. If North wins, it would host Class 6A No. 4 Center Grove (assuming it beats Jeffersonville) in the sectional final Nov. 7.
The IHSAA conducted its postseason tournament draw Sunday night.
Franklin Central (4-4) took 7A No. 8 Fishers to overtime last week and lost by a field goal at 6Ao. 12 Hamilton Southeastern Friday. The Flashes beat the Bull Dogs 21-17 in last year’s sectional.
“They’re a very good football team,” North coach Logan Haston said. “We had a very good game with them last year that unfortunately didn’g go our way. I think we learned from that game, and heading into this year, we’re a little more prepared. They’re very well coached and play in arguably the toughest football conference in the Midwest, so we have a tough task ahead of us.”
The Bull Dogs (4-4) close the regular season Friday against Terre Haute South, then will have a bye week before traveling to Franklin Central.
“I think this time of year, it”s really easy to focus on the tournament, but we have to focus on Terre Haute South,” Haston said. “But then we have to look at Franklin Central and go up to their place and get a win.”
Columbus East’s Kyson Villarreal looks to escape the grasp of Floyd Central’s Campbell Turnage Sept. 26 at Columbus East High School.
Tommy Walker | For the Republic
Meanwhile, the Olympians are in the only 5A sectional that has five teams instead of four. They will visit the winner of the Oct. 24 Whiteland at Seymour game Oct. 31.
“I think the bye for us will be good,” East coach Eddie Vogel said. “We’re pretty banged up, so we have a chance to get some guys back healthy. We’ll take the extra week to get better ourselves, then we’ll take that next week to get ready for whoever we play, which will be a good team.”
If the Olympians (4-4) beat 5A No. 10 Whiteland (6-2) or Seymour (2-6), they would host the winner between Franklin and 5A No. 5 East Central in the sectional final Nov. 7. The Olympians scrimmaged against Whiteland and beat Seymour 49-28 in Week 3.
“East Central is probably the class of the sectional with their history,” Vogel said. “But Whiteland is playing pretty well right now. That offense is pretty tough to prep for. But anything can happen.”
