Football
Sectional Semifinals Game Predictions: Week 1
Huntington North (2-7) at South Side (1-8)
Prediction: South Side wins 36-28
This game between the Vikings and the Archers looks very even. Both teams have similar records and struggled in their conferences, but South Side may have the edge since their conference is more talented overall. QB Demere Clark (658 yds, 6 TD) has been a great asset for the Archers and has led them to closer losses over Concordia, Northrop, Carroll, North Side, and Bishop Luers. All of those games were tight around halftime and this week the Archers would like to actually pull out a win by playing just as well in the second half. Huntington North only won 1 game in their conference and have been blown out in all of their losses. This seems like a good time for South Side to get a big win and advance in their bracket.
Concordia (4-5) at Maconaquah (7-2)
Prediction: Maconaquah wins 21-6
The Cadets will have to treat Maconaquah as another Dwenger. The Braves run the ball a lot and are very good at it. The rushing attack is lead by Carter Little (1,409 yds, 7.1 yds/car, 14 TD), with Jared Blake (678 yds, 6.1 yds/car, 9 TD) and Bryce Smyth (328 yds, 5.7 yds/car, 7 TD) being just as dangerous on the ground. Those three alone bring the Braves to a total of 2,415 yds and 30 TD. So you can see that Maconaquah is just as capable, and possibly even more capable, of eating up yardage on the ground as Dwenger is. The Cadets actually did a nice job of holding the Saints to 147 yds rushing, but this is a whole other animal. The Braves take running the football to the extreme, often running with all 11 guys up to the line. Maconaquah’s ability to run down the clock and score will be key in this game and should give them the win.
Central Noble (2-7) at Bishop Luers (2-7)
Prediction: Central Noble wins 14-10
Similar to Concordia, Luers will have to stop the run if they want to win. Central Noble comes in with three solid rushers: RB’s Kyle Bollinger (420 yds, 5.6 yds/car, 5 TD), Will Hoover (182 yds, 5.1 yds/car), and Noah Christopher (166 yds, 2.9 yds/car, 1 TD). The Cougars will lean on their ground game, which should be able to find some success against the Luers defense. The Knights will have to lean on their own ground game, led by RB Cecil Hale (446 yds, 5.0 yds/car, 3 TD). It will be a low scoring, close contest that should end with the Cougars gutting out a victory.
Wayne (0-9) at Marion (7-2)
Prediction: Marion wins 35-0
This game is a mismatch. The Marion Giants come in with RB Khalid Stamps (972 yds, 9.9 yds/car, 15 TD) and QB QB Keshaun Taylor (567 yds, 6 TD, 0 INT), who have played very well thus far. Stamps especially shouldn’t have much trouble running the football against the Generals and will play a big part in this game, as he nears 1,000 yds on the season, and will play a big part in this game. Wayne RB Keshaun Fields (694 yds, 5.0 yds/car, 8 TD) has done a good job of at least keeping the Generals competitive in some games this year. However, the Giants defense has been holding opponents to a conference-best 140 points and won’t allow many more on Friday.
