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TRIP TO LUCAS OIL STADIUM HANGS IN THE BALANCE
Ten games, two in each class, are scheduled this weekend as the 36th Annual IHSAA Football State Tournament reaches the semi-state round. The winners of each game will have stamped their tickets for the first state championship games to be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis over Thanksgiving weekend.
Nine of the 10 games are set for Friday with the Class 4A northern semi-state game featuring unbeatens Lowell (13-0) and Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (13-0) scheduled for Saturday in Fort Wayne. It’s the only rematch from last year’s semi-state round won by Lowell, 10-7.
One other game pits a pair of unbeatens as Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter (13-0) travels to Linton-Stockton (13-0) in the Class A southern semi-state.
Five of last year’s defending semi-state champions, one in each class, are still alive and attempting to play for another state title next week.
Sheridan (Class A), Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (3A) and Carmel (5A) each won it all a year ago and are joined by Heritage Christian (2A) and Lowell (4A) which finished as state runners-up in 2007.
Three-time defending champion Sheridan (12-1), which will face a stiff challenge from another unbeaten in Southern Wells (13-0), has won 22 consecutive tournament games over the last four seasons. A 23rd straight win would move them into a tie for second place in state history with Roncalli (2002-05). Warren Central won 26 straight tournament games from 2003-07. Southern Wells on the other hand won its second sectional championship in school history two weeks ago. Their first sectional title came in 2001 – the year the Raiders won the state championship.
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (11-1), the 2006 and 2007 state champs in Class 3A and winners of 15 straight tourney contests, travel to Evansville Memorial (11-2) on Friday. Chatard, like Sheridan, will be looking to tie a state record with its fourth consecutive semi-state win. Memorial, which won its first regional crown since 1993 last week, is one of six teams eyeing its first semi-state championship. The Tigers are joined by Columbus East (4A), Bellmont (3A), Brownstown Central and Cass (both 2A) and Linton-Stockton (A).
Columbus East, also unbeaten at 13-0, will host Indianapolis Cathedral (10-2) in the Class 4A southern semi-state title game. The Olympians, haven’t played for a state championship since taking the 3A title in 1979, the largest class at the time. Since the semi-state round didn’t come into existence until the 1981 state tournament, a semi-state victory would also be a first for the school. Cathedral hopes to advance to the state championship for the second time in three seasons.
Bellmont (12-1), which won its first sectional championship in school history two weeks ago, finds itself hosting NorthWood (11-2) in the Class 3A northern semi-state. NorthWood will be looking to get back to Indianapolis for the first time since its state championship season of 2005.
In Class 2A, Jimtown (11-2) travels to Cass (12-1) in one pairing while Brownstown Central (11-1) heads to Heritage Christian (12-1) in the other. Jimtown has six semi-state titles to its credit, most recently in 2005, while Cass hopes a home-field advantage will yield its first championship. Brownstown Central has the same aspirations but its first trip to state must come on the road at last year’s state runner-up Heritage Christian.
With the exception of Carmel which will be playing for a third straight trip to state, the other three teams in Class 5A hope to end their respective semi-state “droughts”. The Greyhounds (12-1) host Penn (10-3) which hasn’t hoisted a semi-state trophy since 2003, while Center Grove (12-1) hosts Ben Davis (10-3) in the other matchup. Center Grove hopes to end a string of eight years without a semi-state title while Ben Davis’s dry-spell is at six seasons.
Visit www.ihsaa.org this weekend as scores from each game become available as well as information for next weekend’s five state championship games at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Semi-States
Date: Friday, November 21.
Times: 7 pm local time or as determined by host school.
Admission: $7.00.
Determining Home Team
Classes 2A and 4A: *Regional non-host, if applicable, or lower sectional # (i.e., Sect. 1 is lower than Sect. 2).
Classes A, 3A and 5A: *Regional non-host, if applicable, or higher sectional # (i.e., Sect. 2 is higher than Sect. 1).
*If regional winner has not hosted either sectional final or regional, that school will be the designated host.
Class 5A
Penn (10-3) at Carmel (12-1). 7:30 pm
Ben Davis (10-3) at Center Grove (12-1).
Class 4A
Lowell (13-0) at Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (13-0). Sat, 7 pm ET at Zollner Stadium
Indianapolis Cathedral (10-2) at Columbus East (13-0).
Class 3A
NorthWood (11-2) at Bellmont (12-1). 7:30 pm
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (11-1) at Evansville Memorial (11-2). 6:30 pm CT at Bosse HS
Class 2A
Jimtown (11-2) at Cass (12-1). 7:30 pm
Brownstown Central (11-1) at Heritage Christian (12-1). 7:30 pm
Class A
Southern Wells (13-0) at Sheridan (12-1). 7:30 pm
Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter (13-0) at Linton-Stockton (13-0). 7:30 pm
State Finals
Lucas Oil Stadium, 500 S. Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis. | Indiana Convention Center & Lucas Oil Stadium website
Dates: Friday, Nov. 28; Saturday, Nov. 29.
Admission: $15 per day; $25 both days (all seats general admission).
Determining Home Team: Home team shall be determined by a coin toss at the pre-tournament meeting on Monday, Nov. 24.
Times:
Class A, Friday, 3:30 pm ET.
Class 2A, Friday, 7 pm ET.
Class 3A, Saturday, 12 pm ET.
Class 4A, Saturday, 3:30 pm ET.
Class 5A, Saturday, 7:05 pm ET.
Notables
All-Time Consecutive Tournament Victories
26: Warren Central, 2003-07.
23: Roncalli, 2002-05.
22: Penn, 1995-98; Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, 2001-04; Sheridan, 2005-current.
Active Consecutive Tournament Victory Streaks
22: Sheridan, 2005-current.
15: Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, 2006-current.
10: Carmel (2007-current).
Defending Semi-State Champions Still Alive (5 of 10)
5A: Carmel.
4A: Lowell.
3A: Indianapolis Bishop Chatard.
2A: Heritage Christian.
A: Sheridan.
Active Semi-State Championship Streaks
3: Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, Sheridan.
2: Carmel.
Most Consecutive Semi-State Championships
4 by Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, 1999-2002; 4 by Roncalli, 2002-05; 4 by Warren Central, 2003-06.
Seeking First Semi-State Championship
5A: None.
4A: Columbus East.
3A: Bellmont, Evansville Memorial.
2A: Brownstown Central, Cass.
A: Linton-Stockton.
Drought-Breakers? (Five or more years since last semi-state championship)
8: Center Grove (2000).
7: Southern Wells (2001).
6: Ben Davis, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (2002).
5: Penn (2003).
Top 10 All-Time Semi-State Championships
11: Fort Wayne Bishop Luers; Roncalli.
9: Ben Davis, Hobart, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, Penn, Sheridan.
7: Indianapolis Cathedral.
6: Franklin Central, Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter, Jimtown, Warren Central.
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