For the 40th year, plans for postseason play have been announced as 315 schools were placed into brackets Oct. 7 for the IHSAA Football State Tournament presented by the Indianapolis Colts.
Sectional play begins Friday, Oct. 19, for all but five teams that drew a bye in their respective seven-team sectionals: Evansville North in Class 5A Sectional 8, Evansville Central in Class 4A Sectional 16, Western Boone in Class 3A Sectional 20, Forest Park in Class 2A Sectional 32, and South Decatur in Class A Sectional 39. Those teams will play on the road Friday, Oct. 26, in the sectional semifinal round.
Forty sectional champions will be crowned Friday, Nov. 2, with regional games played Friday, Nov. 9, and semistates Friday, Nov. 16.
The 10 teams that earn a berth in the state finals will play on Thanksgiving weekend in Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL’s Colts.
The Class A and 2A championship games are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 23, with the 3A, 4A, and 5A finals the next day. In all, 310 games will be played around the state over the six-week tournament.
Class 5A No. 1 Carmel is the only defending state champion currently holding the top spot in this week’s state coaches’ poll. The Greyhounds will open at home with Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference rival No. 12 Warren Central right out of the gate in Sectional 5.
In Class 4A, top-ranked Columbus East will travel to No. 5 East Central in Sectional 15.
In Class 3A, No. 1 Jimtown will host Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran in Sectional 18.
In Class 2A, top-ranked Indianapolis Ritter will host South Vermillion in Sectional 30.
And in Class A, No. 1 Linton drew a road game and will play at North Knox in Sectional 40.
Of historic note …
Total schools entered 315 schools with 18,429 student-athletes; each class is divided evenly with 63 schools each
New schools entered for first time None
Most state championships 11: Indianapolis Chatard 10: Fort Wayne Luers 9: Indianapolis Cathedral, Sheridan 8: Roncalli 7: Ben Davis, Carmel, Warren Central 5: Lafayette Central Catholic, Penn
All-time consecutive tournament victories 26: Warren Central, 2003-07 23: Roncalli, 2002-05; Sheridan, 2005-08 22: Indianapolis Chatard, 2001-04; Penn, 1995-98 18: Fort Wayne Luers, 2009-current; Lafayette Central Catholic, 2009-current
Active consecutive tournament win streaks 18: Fort Wayne Luers, Lafayette Central Catholic 12: Indianapolis Chatard, Indianapolis Cathedral 6: Carmel
Defending sectional champions (listed alphabetically)
5A: Bedford North Lawrence, Ben Davis, Carmel, Center Grove, Crown Point, Evansville Central, Fort Wayne Snider, Hamilton Southeastern, Penn
4A: Columbus East, Evansville Central, Hammond Morton, Indianapolis Cathedral, Leo, NorthWood, Pendleton Heights, South Bend Washington
3A: Bellmont, Corydon, Evansville Memorial, Indian Creek, Indianapolis Chatard, Jimtown, South Bend St. Joseph’s, West Lafayette
2A: Bremen, Evansville Mater Dei, Fort Wayne Luers, Guerin Catholic, South Putnam, Tipton, Triton Central, Wheeler
A: Adams Central, Indianapolis Scecina, Lafayette Central Catholic, Linton, Milan, North Vermillion, Sheridan, South Newton
Active sectional championship streaks (three or more years) 11: Indianapolis Chatard 6: Indianapolis Cathedral 5: Fort Wayne Snider 3: Evansville Mater Dei, Fort Wayne Luers, Hammond Morton, Lafayette Central Catholic, West Lafayette
Most consecutive sectional championships 19: Hobart, 1979-97
Top 10 all-time sectional championships 24: Carmel 22: Indianapolis Chatard 20: Fort Wayne Dwenger, Fort Wayne Luers, Fort Wayne Snider, Jimtown 19: Ben Davis, Hobart, Penn 18: Sheridan
SECTIONALS First round: Friday, Oct. 19 Semifinals: Friday, Oct. 26 Championships: Friday, Nov. 2 Times: 7 p.m. local time unless noted Admission: $6 Determining home team:
First round:The second-named team in the blind draw is host school unless the two teams agree to switch the site.
Semifinals: The team without a home game will host. Exception: The bye team will always be the visitor. If both teams were home or both were visitors, the second-named team in the quarter bracket will host.
Championships: Host team will be the team that has played the most away games. If both teams have played the same number of away games, the bottom bracket team shall host.
About the Draw: To conduct the random drawing for the football state tournament, the IHSAA places ping-pong balls representing each school in a given sectional into a lottery-style air mix machine. A fan in the bottom of the machine blows the balls around the inside of the transparent container and air then forces each ball up through a tube in random order. For example, the first ball retrieved from the machine will be the visiting team in game one with the second ball representing the home team in game one. The third ball to come out is the visitor in game two and the fourth ball the home team in game two. That same method is followed through all 40 sectionals. In the case of seven-team sectionals, the seventh ball drawn is the team assigned the bye and an automatic road game in the semifinal round.
CLASS 5A (63 teams) Sectional 1 (8 teams) Game 1: Valparaiso at Crown Point. Game 2: Portage at Lake Central. Game 3: Merrillville at Munster. Game 4: Michigan City at Chesterton. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 2 (8 teams) Game 1: Elkhart Central at Elkhart Memorial. 7:30p Game 2: South Bend Adams at Goshen. Game 3: Carroll (Fort Wayne) at LaPorte. Game 4: Penn at Warsaw. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 3 (8 teams) Game 1: Fort Wayne North at Fort Wayne Northrop. Game 2: Fort Wayne South at Huntington North. Game 3: Fort Wayne Wayne at Kokomo. Game 4: Homestead at Fort Wayne Snider. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 4 (8 teams) Game 1: McCutcheon at Harrison (West Lafayette). Game 2: Noblesville at Westfield. Game 3: Fishers at Anderson. Game 4: Hamilton Southeastern at Lafayette Jefferson. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 5 (8 teams) Game 1: Southport at Lawrence Central. Game 2: Warren Central at Carmel. Game 3: Indianapolis Tech at Perry Meridian. Game 4: Lawrence North at North Central (Indianapolis). Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 6 (8 teams) Game 1: Ben Davis at Pike. Game 2: Zionsville at Brownsburg. Game 3: Decatur Central at Avon. Game 4: Terre Haute South at Terre Haute North. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 7 (8 teams) Game 1: Bloomington South at Franklin Central. Game 2: Whiteland at Columbus North. Game 3: Martinsville at Center Grove. Game 4: Bloomington North at Franklin Community. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 8 (7 teams) Game 1: New Albany at Jeffersonville. Game 2: Castle at Floyd Central. Game 3: Jennings County at Bedford North Lawrence. Semifinals Game 4: Evansville North at Winner of Game 1. Game 5: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3. Championship Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5.
CLASS 4A (63 teams) Sectional 9 (8 teams) Game 1: Hammond Morton at Hammond Clark. Game 2: East Chicago Central at Hammond. Game 3: Highland at Griffith. Game 4: Gary Roosevelt at Gary West. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 10 (8 teams) Game 1: Hobart at Kankakee Valley. Game 2: Lowell at Mishawaka. Game 3: South Bend Clay at New Prairie. Game 4: South Bend Washington at South Bend Riley. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 11 (8 teams) Game 1: Plymouth at NorthWood. Game 2: Wawasee at DeKalb. Game 3: Angola at Northridge. Game 4: Concord at East Noble. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 12 (8 teams) Game 1: Fort Wayne Dwenger at Jay County. Game 2: Leo at Columbia City. Game 3: Logansport at Norwell. Game 4: Marion at New Haven. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 13 (8 teams) Game 1: Greenfield-Central at Muncie Central. Game 2: Delta at Frankfort. Game 3: Muncie South at Pendleton Heights. Game 4: Mt. Vernon (Fortville) at New Palestine. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 14 (8 teams) Game 1: Plainfield at Roncalli. Game 2: Greenwood at Owen Valley. Game 3: Northview at Indianapolis Cathedral. Game 4: Mooresville at Lebanon. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 15 (8 teams) Game 1: Shelbyville at Richmond. Game 2: New Castle at Franklin County. Game 3: Columbus East at East Central. Game 4: South Dearborn at Connersville. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 16 (7 teams) Game 1: Madison at Evansville Reitz. Game 2: Seymour at Evansville Harrison. Game 3: Boonville at Jasper. Semifinals Game 4: Evansville Central at Winner of Game 1. Game 5: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3. Championship Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5.
CLASS 3A (63 teams) Sectional 17 (8 teams) Game 1: Knox at South Bend St. Joseph’s. Game 2: Hammond Gavit at Calumet. Game 3: Culver Academies at Glenn. Game 4: Gary Wallace at Mishawaka Marian. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 18 (8 teams) Game 1: Garrett at Whitko. Game 2: Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran at Jimtown. Game 3: Tippecanoe Valley at West Noble. Game 4: Lakeland at Heritage. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 19 (8 teams) Game 1: Peru at Eastbrook. Game 2: Yorktown at Bellmont. Game 3: Mississinewa at Blackford. Game 4: Maconaquah at Western. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 20 (7 teams) Game 1: Southmont at Crawfordsville. Game 2: Hamilton Heights at West Lafayette. Game 3: Twin Lakes at North Montgomery. Semifinals Game 4: Western Boone at Winner of Game 1. Game 5: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3. Championship Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5.
Sectional 21 (8 teams) Game 1: Indianapolis Arlington at Tri-West Hendricks. Game 2: Greencastle at West Vigo. Game 3: Indianapolis Chatard at Danville. Game 4: Indianapolis Northwest at Brebeuf Jesuit. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 22 (8 teams) Game 1: Batesville at Edgewood. Game 2: Greensburg at Brown County. Game 3: Indianapolis Howe at Beech Grove. Game 4: Rushville at Indian Creek. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 23 (8 teams) Game 1: Salem at North Harrison. Game 2: Heritage Hills at Brownstown. Game 3: Silver Creek at Corydon. Game 4: Mitchell at Charlestown. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 24 (8 teams) Game 1: Evansville Bosse at Vincennes Lincoln. Game 2: Mount Vernon (Posey) at Gibson Southern. Game 3: Pike Central at Washington. Game 4: Princeton at Evansville Memorial. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
CLASS 2A (63 teams) Sectional 25 (8 teams) Game 1: River Forest at Bowman Academy. Game 2: Rensselaer Central at North Newton. Game 3: Boone Grove at Lake Station. Game 4: Andrean at Wheeler. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 26 (8 teams) Game 1: Bremen at Cass. Game 2: Fairfield at Prairie Heights. Game 3: Rochester at Wabash. Game 4: Manchester at North Judson. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 27 (8 teams) Game 1: Elwood at Madison-Grant. Game 2: Oak Hill at Churubusco. Game 3: Fort Wayne Luers at Woodlan. Game 4: Bluffton at Eastside. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 28 (8 teams) Game 1: Seeger at Tipton. Game 2: Northwestern at Taylor. Game 3: Benton Central at Fountain Central. Game 4: Delphi at Eastern (Greentown). Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 29 (8 teams) Game 1: Guerin Catholic at Centerville. Game 2: Heritage Christian at Alexandria. Game 3: Frankton at Winchester. Game 4: Shenandoah at Union County. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 30 (8 teams) Game 1: North Putnam at Speedway. Game 2: South Vermillion at Indianapolis Ritter. Game 3: Cascade at Park Tudor. Game 4: Indianapolis Broad Ripple at South Putnam. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 31 (8 teams) Game 1: Clarksville at Eastern (Pekin). Game 2: Lawrenceburg at Crawford County. Game 3: Triton Central at Monrovia. Game 4: Providence at Paoli. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 32 (7 teams) Game 1: South Spencer at Sullivan. 7:30p Game 2: Evansville Mater Dei at Southridge. Game 3: Tell City at North Posey. Semifinals Game 4: Forest Park at Winner of Game 1. Game 5: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3. Championship Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5.
CLASS A (63 teams) Sectional 33 (8 teams) Game 1: South Newton at Hammond Noll. Game 2: Tri-County at Winamac. Game 3: Culver Community at West Central. Game 4: South Central (Union Mills) at Whiting. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 34 (8 teams) Game 1: Carroll (Flora) at Clinton Prairie. Game 2: Frontier at Pioneer. Game 3: North White at Lafayette Central Catholic. Game 4: Clinton Central at Caston. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 35 (8 teams) Game 1: Fremont at Southwood. Game 2: Triton at Adams Central. Game 3: Northfield at Central Noble. Game 4: LaVille at North Miami. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 36 (8 teams) Game 1: Wes-Del at Tri-Central. Game 2: Lapel at South Adams. Game 3: Southern Wells at Sheridan. Game 4: Union City at Monroe Central. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 37 (8 teams) Game 1: Indianapolis Scecina at Cambridge City Lincoln. Game 2: Knightstown at Indiana School for the Deaf. Game 3: Hagerstown at Eastern Hancock. Game 4: Tri at Northeastern. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 38 (8 teams) Game 1: North Vermillion at Covington. Game 2: Turkey Run at North Central (Farmersburg). Game 3: Cloverdale at Riverton Parke. Game 4: Rockville at Attica. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
Sectional 39 (7 teams) Game 1: Indianapolis Lutheran at West Washington. Game 2: Milan at Edinburgh. Game 3: North Decatur at Springs Valley. Semifinals Game 4: South Decatur at Winner of Game 1. Game 5: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3. Championship Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5.
Sectional 40 (8 teams) Game 1: North Daviess at Union (Dugger). Game 2: Wood Memorial at Tecumseh. Game 3: Linton at North Knox. Game 4: Eastern Greene at Perry Central. Semifinals Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4. Championship Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6.
REGIONALS Date: Friday, Nov. 9 Times: 7 p.m. local time or as determined by host school Admission: $7 Determining home team:
Classes 2A & 4A: Sectional final game non-host, if applicable, or higher sectional # (i.e., Sect. 2 is higher than Sect. 1)
Classes A, 3A, & 5A: Sectional final game non-host, if applicable, or lower sectional # (i.e., Sect. 1 is lower than Sect. 2)
SEMISTATES Date: Friday, Nov. 16 Times: 7 p.m. local time or as determined by host school Admission: $8 Determining home team:
Classes 2A & 4A: Regional non-host, if applicable, or lower sectional # (i.e., Sect. 1 is lower than Sect. 2)
Classes A, 3A, & 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.
STATE FINALS Dates: Friday, Nov. 23; Saturday, Nov. 24 Times: All times ET Admission: $15 per day. All seats are general admission, with preschool children admitted at no charge. Single-day tickets may be purchased at participating schools the week of the state finals (contact schools for ticket distribution hours). Tickets also will be available game day at the Lucas Oil Stadium Ticket Office located on the southeast side of the venue at street level nearest Capitol Avenue. Site: Lucas Oil Stadium, 500 South Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis Gates open: Lucas Oil Stadium will open its gates to fans beginning one hour prior to kickoff of the first game each day (gates will open at 2:30 p.m. ET Friday and at 11 a.m. ET Saturday).
Friday, Nov. 23 CLASS A: Semistate winners. 3:30p CLASS 2A: Semistate winners. 7p
Saturday, Nov. 24 CLASS 3A: Semistate winners. 12p CLASS 4A: Semistate winners. 3:30p CLASS 5A: Semistate winners. 7:05p
