INDIANAPOLIS — Only 24 high school football teams remain in the 2018 IHSAA playoffs with the semi-state round this weekend.
The Carmel Greyhounds travel to Valparaiso to face the Vikings Friday night. Bob Lovell, the host of Network Indiana’s “Indiana Sports Talk”, says the matchup will feature two outstanding defensive teams.
“This is a Valparaiso team that lost its first two games of the year and since then have just been really unbeatable. Carmel [has] a similar story. [They have] a little bit of a slow start coming on. Both teams are really tough to score against,” says Lovell.
In the other Class 6A game, Warren Central will host Center Grove. The two teams faced each other Week 1, in which Warren Central won 27-15.
“I think this will be a much closer game than it was the first time, but frankly I think this will be a toss-up. But I thought all along Warren Central has been the best team in [Class] 6A so I kind of stay with that,” says Lovell.
Among the other games, Lovell believes the Class 3A matchup between Bishop Chatard and Evansville Memorial is the game to watch.
“You look at a Chatard team that’s played a great schedule and won. It’s an Evansville Memorial team that won the championship a year ago [and is] undefeated right now. That’s the one [game] that jumps off the map and might be the best game in the entire state,” Lovell says.
Here are the high school football semi-state matchups for this weekend:
Class 6A
Carmel (10-2) at Valparaiso (10-2), 8 p.m. Friday
Center Grove (9-3) at Warren Central (12-0), 7 p.m. Friday
Class 5A
Michigan City (10-2) at New Palestine (12-0), 4 p.m. Saturday
Decatur Central (11-1) at Columbus East (11-2), 7 p.m. Friday
Class 4A
Fort Wayne Dwenger (12-1) at Mishawaka (12-1), 7 p.m. Friday
Marion (13-0) at Evansville Central (12-1), 3 p.m. Saturday
Class 3A
West Lafayette (13-0) at Fort Wayne Luers (9-4), 7 p.m. Friday
Bishop Chatard (11-2) at Evansville Memorial (13-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Class 2A
Bremen (11-2) at Eastbrook (12-1), 7 p.m. Friday
Southridge (10-3) at Western Boone (13-0), 2 p.m. Saturday
Class A
Adams Central (13-0) vs. Pioneer (13-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Logansport
North Vermillion (12-1) at Lutheran (10-3), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Photo: WISH-TV
