As we conclude the final week of the regular season, everyone is preparing for the second season that is famously known as the IHSAA State Tournament for football. The NECC’s Big School Division was decided in Week 7 when West Noble defeated Lakeland in a thrilling 35-34 OT game. Now, can these five teams put on a strong enough 3-week run in sectionals to go on a deep run to Lucas Oil Stadium?

West Noble Chargers (8-0, 4-0 Big) (1st in Big Div. and NECC)

• Last Week: W 48-0 @ Churubusco
• This Week: Friday vs Prairie Heights
• Series (1967): 40-18 West Noble

Following a dramatic homecoming win, where the game was decided by a PAT from freshman Nefty Silva, the Chargers ensure that there would be no suspense in Turtle Town as the Chargers dominated the entire game against a young Busco team.

Senior dual-threat quarterback Drew Yates continues to pile onto his impressive stat line in his senior season as he was 12-14 passing for 184 yards and recorded a combined 5 touchdowns. Junior Seth Pruitt added his 8th 100-yard rushing performance of the season with 111 on 24 carries and a pair of TDs. Averaging 6.9 yards per carry, Seth has 1,283 yards rushing and 20 rushing TD’s this season alone as he closes in on potentially surpassing his brother Brandon Pruitt in single season rushing. It is doable but won’t be easy.

The single season rushing record is 1,555 set by Brandon in 2017, his junior season. That means Seth would need 273 rushing yards to break this record. But at this point, the Chargers look to take care of the things they know they can do better and prepare for a tough sectional as they will begin postseason play by hosting a difficult Mishawaka Marian team one week from tomorrow.

Lakeland Lakers (6-2, 2-2 Big) (2nd in Big Div. and NECC)

• Last Week: W 33-7 vs Fairfield
• This Week: Friday vs Bluffton
• Series (2018): 4-1 Bluffton
• 2 of their 5 games have seen both teams scoring over 20 points
• Lakeland’s last season of 7 or more wins: 2013

It could have been easy to let that West Noble loss get to them, but Coach O’Shea said he was proud of how his team responded to adversity and was very determined to get back on the win column. Last year, they lost that game to Fairfield after a crushing loss to West Noble. That changed this year as they never allowed the Fairfield Wishbone offense to settle in.

Lakeland ran for 274 yards on just 11 minutes of possession time and held Fairfield to just 123 total yards, 82 on the ground. Junior Carson Mickem, who missed that all important PAT in overtime, did not let that deflate his confidence. Against the Falcons, Mickem had his best offensive game of the season rushing for 190 yards and combined to get 3 touchdowns against a stingy Fairfield defense.

Lakeland has spread the ball literally to everyone this season: Mickem, Sean Conley, Cole Frost, Levi Cook, and Keyan Arroyo have all played a key role in generating an entertaining but more importantly a dangerous offense to match up against. Last year, they showed flashes of brilliance, this season they are starting to turn the hype into results. Despite failing to ultimately win a conference championship, Lakeland has let the entire state know that the Lakers are on the rise.

Brayden Holbrook hasn’t needed to throw for ridiculous numbers every night, but that is ok because Brayden’s talents go a long way in making the entire team around them that much better. Holbrook still leads the NECC by a good margin with 1,277 yards, thus already becoming the school’s all-time leader in career passing yards (2,905)……he’s just a sophomore.

While Holbrook has thrown for fewer yards per game, his passing completion has greatly improved by nearly 5 percentage points to .632. It helps that the offensive line has shown growth with Bo Kerns, and Cam Riegling.

While Bluffton will prove to be a huge challenge trying to block and tackle their strong and big frontline, Lakeland is capable of getting stops on a consistent basis. With the forecast possibly calling for rain, the run game may be busier than usual tomorrow night in LaGrange.

Garrett Railroaders (3-5, 2-2 Big) (4th Big Div. 4th NECC)

• Last Week: L 18-13 vs Garrett
• This Week: Friday vs Central Noble
• Series (1981): 26-13 Garrett

After a hard-fought 22-19 senior night win over Fairfield, Garrett took a big setback losing to a Angola team that is much harder to beat than their record indicates. Dallas Davidson’s touchdown with 62 seconds left helped the Hornets complete the comeback.

It once again goes back to my concerns with the Big Train all season long. The offensive gameplan is perfect because it throws everyone off, and the defense is physical and tough. This style of football screams old-school Garrett football. So, why are they so hard to figure out?? It’s a young team that makes too many mistakes. This offense averages 3.9 yards per carry because that is the style of offense that works for them. Grind-it-out, milk-the-clock rushes, averaging 5-8 minutes per possession, and wearing down opposing defenses.

When the offense is moving the chains, taking care of the football, and not shooting themselves with offensive penalties, this team can be a problem. This team beat Lakeland, they nearly beat Eastside, and led at the half against West Noble. So, despite this last loss, I can’t drop Garrett because none of the teams below them have proven to be better than them, and they can play with anyone.

Against Angola, the defense forced 2 turnovers and had 6 tackles for a loss. Sophomore Jaxon McDowell had his best game yet recording a game-high 17 tackles. This is a good learning game to prepare for not just Central Noble but also Bellmont and their Double-Wing triple option in sectionals.

With the forecast potentially calling for a wet night of football, look for Garrett to rely on the power run and a lot of carries from their power-back Cam Ruble.

Fairfield Falcons (4-4, 1-3 Big) (4th Big Div., 5th NECC)

• Last Week: L 33-7 @ Lakeland
• This Week: Friday vs Churubusco
• Series (1987): 22-14 Busco
• Last Win vs Busco: Oct. 16, 2020

I don’t need confirmation to know that Head Coach Matt Thacker has to be frustrated with his team’s ability to consistently put 4 quarters of football. After losing a late 4th quarter lead to Garrett, you would think they would come out with a bounce back, but alas they continue to struggle to play consistent football.

In what was one of their worst showings of the season, these stats showcase a team with potential but cannot find a way to play a clean a game. Fairfield only had 10 first downs on 23 minutes of possession, which that is not good. Ironically, they were 4 for 12 on third down but also 2 for 5 on 4th down. It wouldn’t be an issue if it wasn’t for the fact that Lakeland ran for 274 yards. Fairfield also did not take good care of the football with two fumbles and a turnover, and the biggest takeaway being Lakeland was the aggressor and Fairfield was chasing the whole game.

If the Falcons are going to figure out how to beat this Jimtown spread offense in sectionals and attempt to make a run at a sectional title, they have got to clean things up on the frontline. They also need to take better care of the football. This Busco game is very important to Fairfield because they need some confidence going into the playoffs and get the Wishbone offense going.

Knowing how great of a coach Thacker is, I expect Fairfield to play their best game tomorrow night.

Angola Hornets (1-7, 1-3 Big) (5th Big Div., 6th NECC)

(Up 1 in NECC Ranks)

At one point, I was wondering if this team was ever going to win a game this season, but the Hornets never stopped believing they can do it and put on a good hard-fought game with Dallas Davidson’s touchdown resulting in a 18-13 win over Garrett.

Overall, this was their most complete performance all season and doing so at the right time. We know the talent is there, and we know this is a team that loves to get out and go, but to see the Hornets getting back to being themselves last week was a huge confidence booster. They have a chance to win another one vs Eastside on the road before sectionals.

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