Indiana
IHSAA football sectional pairings takeaways: Early showdowns, tough draws, new champs
The path to Lucas Oil Stadium is set.
The Indiana High School Athletic Association unveiled the football sectional draw Sunday night for the 52nd annual tournament presented by the Indianapolis Colts. The first round sectional games for Class 4A through Class A are set for Oct. 25, with 5A and 6A to begin the following week. The state finals for all six classes will be played Nov. 29 and 30 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
IHSAA football sectional draw: Check out the 2024 tournament pairings
What we learned from Week 8: On Lawrence North, Cascade, surprises
Here are 10 takeaways from the sectional draw:
Big-time matchups in 6A
There might not be the major league showdown last year like there was last year when Brownsburg played Ben Davis in the first round, but there are some good ones. Three of the best:
∎ Franklin Central at Columbus North, Sectional 8: Franklin Central (5-2) has been one of the hottest teams in the class with wins the past two weeks over Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern and a four-game winning streak overall. Coach Jayson West’s Flashes are guaranteed of having a winning season for the first time since joining the Hoosier Crossroads Conference in 2018. Can Franklin Central get through No. 9 Columbus North (7-1) and get a shot at No. 7 Center Grove (5-3)?
∎ Lawrence North at Lawrence Central, Sectional 6: Beating a rival twice is always tough. Class 6A fourth-ranked Lawrence North (8-0) has proved itself against the toughest teams on its schedule with decisive wins over Ben Davis, Warren Central and Center Grove the past three weeks. But the Wildcats had to hold on in Week 1 for a 33-26 win over Lawrence Central. The Bears (3-5) are capable of making it tough for the Wildcats.
∎ Carmel at Zionsville, Sectional 3: Hard to believe but Carmel (3-5) has not won a sectional since 2020. Zionsville (3-5) won one sectional title in 6A in 2019 with wins over Pike and Brownsburg. Carmel has been struggling in recent weeks, losing four of five. Zionsville has dropped three in a row after a promising start. These programs have never met in tournament play. Third-ranked Westfield (7-1) will likely be waiting on the other side of the bracket.
Sectional 5 could still go through Ben Davis
If top-ranked Brownsburg (8-0) can win at Avon (2-6) in the first round of Sectional 5, the Bulldogs could be headed back to defending 6A champion Ben Davis for the sectional championship game.
Ben Davis (3-5) will have to win at an improved Pike (5-3) in the first round. After a 1-5 start, Ben Davis has won two in a row over Carmel and Lawrence Central by a combined 48 points. The Giants rallied last year from an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Brownsburg 28-25 in the first round of the sectional, then go on to win the state title.
Ben Davis and Brownsburg did not meet during the regular season. The Giants lost to Avon in overtime, but beat Pike 38-14. Brownsburg handled Avon 45-15 after a slow start.
A wide-open Sectional 4
Hamilton Southeastern (5-3), the two-time defending sectional champion, might still be the team to beat in Sectional 4. But it seems like a smaller margin than it has been. Despite its record, Noblesville (2-6) could be a sleeper pick. The Millers battled top-ranked Brownsburg into the fourth quarter on Friday before losing 22-18 and have lost five games by a touchdown or less, including a 28-21 loss to HSE in Week 7. Fishers (4-4) beat HSE 37-35 in Week 4.
Fishers plays at Noblesville and HSE is at Homestead (4-4).
A showdown in Class 4A
Bishop Chatard, the 3A state champion in 2022 and ’23, will attempt to win its first state title in 4A this season. The 4A third-ranked Trojans (6-1) will start with Crispus Attucks (5-1) in Sectional 22 and then play the winner of Mooresville (3-5) and Shortridge (2-5).
More of the intrigue in Sectional 22 will be on the bottom half of the bracket, where high-scoring No. 8 Brebeuf Jesuit (6-2) will host Danville (7-1) and Roncalli (3-4) hosts Northview (7-1). Chatard beat Brebeuf 58-35 in the opener and defeated Roncalli 9-3 in Week 3.
The Danville-Brebeuf game should be fun. Danville’s only loss came in Week 1 to 3A state-ranked Gibson Southern. Brebeuf, averaging more than 48 points per game, is putting up video game numbers every (non-hurricane weather) week.
A loaded local 5A sectional
The two teams to make it to the state finals the past two years from the bottom half of the 5A bracket will meet in the first round of Sectional 13.
Whiteland (3-4) is at fourth-ranked Decatur Central (5-2) in a rematch of a game the Hawks won 42-29 in Week 3. Decatur Central reached the state finals last year, losing to Fort Wayne Snider. Whiteland was the 5A entry two years ago, falling to Valparaiso.
Sitting on the other side of the four-team sectional is No. 5 Plainfield (7-1), which will play winless Anderson.
A great route for Martinsville
One of the stories of the season has been 4A second-ranked Martinsville (8-0), which ran into the freight train of East Central in the sectional each of the past three seasons. But East Central is now playing up in 5A and Martinsville has a much more favorable sectional this season in Sectional 23.
The Artesians will open at home against Charlestown (1-7) and then play the winner of Silver Creek (3-5) and Connersville (2-6) in the semifinal. The next-best team in the eight-team field is probably Greenwood (2-6). This is a good year for Martinsville to break a sectional title drought that dates to 1996. The Artesians can really sling with quarterback A.J. Reynolds and receiver Hunter Stroud.
I like Martinsville to make the semistate.
A murderer’s row in 3A sectional
How about Class 3A Sectional 32. Wow.
No matter how you slice it, Sectional 32 was going have some heavyweight matchups in the first round with four top-10 teams in the field. No. 1 Evansville Memorial (8-0) will play at seventh-ranked Evansville Mater Dei (7-1) in a rematch of a game Memorial won 41-13 in Week 4. Also, No. 2 Heritage Hills (7-1) will play at No. 6 Gibson Southern (6-2) in the bottom half of the bracket.
Southridge (6-2) is another team to watch in the sectional.
The path for Lutheran
Coach Dave Pasch’s Lutheran team, the three-time defending champion in Class A, is playing in Class 2A for the first time and will be one of the favorites to compete for a state championship. The 7-1 Saints, who saw their 45-game winning streak snapped by Triton Central earlier this season, will host sixth-ranked Heritage Christian (6-2), arguably the next-best team in the seven-team sectional, in the first round of Sectional 37.
The other top contender in Sectional 37 is Monrovia (6-2), which is hosting Scecina (3-5) on the top half of the bracket. Lutheran is 4-0 against the sectional field, including a 49-14 win over Monrovia. The Saints have not played Heritage Christian.
Tough draw for Western Boone
Western Boone, the Class 2A state champion three consecutive years from 2018 to 2020, is playing in 2A again after three years of playing up in 3A. The fourth-ranked Stars (7-1) are a contender to make a deep run but did not receive a favorable draw in Sectional 34. The first-round matchup is against North Putnam (7-1) with top-ranked Lafayette Central Catholic (7-1) awaiting in the sectional semifinal.
Lafayette Central Catholic, an eight-time state champion in Class A, won a regional for the first time last year in 2A before falling to Fort Wayne Luers in the semistate. This is a sectional with not a lot of familiarity; LCC, Western Boone and North Putnam have not played one another.
Odds and ends
There are guaranteed to be at least five new state champions this season with Fort Wayne Snider (moving up from 5A to 6A), East Central (4A to 5A), Bishop Chatard (3A to 4A), Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (2A to 3A) and Lutheran (A to 2A) all moving up after winning state championships via the tournament success factor. … There are 312 teams entered in the tournament. … Chatard has the most state championships in tournament history with 17, followed by Cathedral (14) and Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (12). … In addition to the five teams listed above playing up through the tourney success factor, Adams Central (2A), Cathedral (6A) and Lafayette Central Catholic (2A) are also playing up. … Lutheran has the longest active tournament winning streak with 17. … No. 1 New Palestine (7-0) will open Class 4A Sectional 21 at home against Mt. Vernon (4-4). Greenfield-Central (6-2) is on the other side of the bracket.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
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An LGBTQ advocacy group is once again suing Loogootee, Indiana, claiming the city is ignoring a recent court decision ruling its actions unconstitutional and is pushing its festival out of the public square illegally.
The Southern Indiana city of 2,600 people and festival organizer Patoka Valley AIDS Community Action Group have fought for years over LGBTQ expression on city property, specifically where the annual PrideFest would be held.
The city had enacted a special events policy that would prevent the group from holding the festival at the public square downtown. The U.S. District Court of Southern Indiana handed the city a major defeat in August, ruling that the policy was too broad and violated organizers’ First Amendment rights.
Now, Loogootee has enacted another special events policy that mirrors several measures in the one that the court struck down. In response, the Indiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Pakota Valley, filed a new lawsuit against the policy and filed a motion alleging the city is disobeying court orders.
“Court orders must be complied with, and Loogootee, by enacting an ordinance that contains provisions enjoined by the Court, is in contempt of its lawful orders,” ACLU Indiana legal director Ken Falk said in a news release. “Moreover, the ordinance it has adopted continues Loogootee’s pattern of attempting to unconstitutionally restrict this celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.”
The new legal twist is the most recent development in what’s been a tense local culture war between the LGBTQ+ community seeking to publicly celebrate their identity and the strong, sometimes threatening, community pushback to their efforts.
Is Loogootee’s ‘new’ policy new?
Judge Richard L. Young listed three primary factors in his August ruling as to why he found Loogootee’s old policy unconstitutional: a 45-day event permit application deadline, small group thresholds, and event location limits. He also disagreed with the city’s health and safety reasoning for such rules.
Public institutions can legally establish restrictions on the time, place and manner of free expression as long as these restrictions are narrowly tailored.
Enacted Dec. 29, the new ordinance reuses the same language regarding the permit deadline and small groups but broadens the locations where an event can be held. Instead of limiting an event to one of two places, an event can now be held anywhere except within 240 feet of the town center’s fountain.
In its complaint, the ACLU argued that the “verbatim” measures and the new location restriction are all unconstitutional.
“The ‘new’ Ordinance is therefore ‘new’ in name only and, in reality, Loogootee has simply reenacted provisions that this Court has explicitly enjoined as unconstitutional,” the ACLU’s complaint reads.
Loogootee Mayor Brian Ader previously told IndyStar that the city planned to appeal the District Court’s decision, but an appeal was never filed.
The USA TODAY Network – Indiana’s coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.
Have a story to tell? Reach Cate Charron by email at ccharron@indystar.com, on X at @CateCharron or Signal at @cate.charron.28.
The No. 5 Oregon Ducks are preparing to face the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers for the College Football Playoff semifinals. Ahead of the matchup, Oregon star linebacker Bryce Boettcher discussed the game, which will be a rematch of the Ducks’ only loss this season.
The Oregon Ducks are coming off a shutout win against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Boettcher addressed how the team can keep momentum, but called Indiana a better opponent.
“I mean, we had a really good game. I think it just obviously gives you confidence. You can’t get complacent with that confidence. You got to realize that Indiana is going to be a way better team than Tech. Tech was a good team, but Indiana is better. At this point, it’s win or go home. We’re pumped for the opportunity,” Boettcher said.
What Sticks Out About The Rematch Against Indana
“A couple things defensively. First off, when you stop the run, they’re really good at running the ball. We got to do that. Got to cage your quarterback. Feel like he’s overlooked for how good he is at scrambling at times, getting out of the pocket. Got to do that, just do our job.”
How Oregon Has Changed Since First Game Against Indiana
“We’ve sewn some things up within our defense. As we played them, we installed some new defenses that we’re still working the kinks out of. Now we’re experts at it. Everybody knows their job in and out. We’ve had a lot of reps at it.”
How Much The First Matchup Against Indiana Goes Into Playoff Preperation
“It definitely comes into play. I mean, obviously, they’re not a new team but an evolved team, and so are we. I think more so, kind of correcting our errors in where we went wrong in the first game, doing some self-scout and recognizing that. They may try to expose that again in this next game. Yeah, it comes into play a little bit. We also watched new film because they’re an evolved team.”
The Challenge In Beating The Same Team Twice
“I mean, I think obviously that’s a narrative. I know teams have been beaten twice. Sometimes it doesn’t happen. I don’t know, I think Indiana is a good team. We’re also a good team. The better team’s going to win.”
What Being In The Semifinals Means To Bryce Boettcher
“It means everything. It’s a pretty rare opportunity. There’s four teams left. Pretty cool. Surreal. I’ll be happy once we get this win. Honestly, I’m head down, focused on the task at hand. But it’s a cool opportunity.”
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How Bryce Boettcher Is Handling The Magnitude Of The Game
“I mean, I’ve played a lot of big games in my year here, whether it be football or baseball. I feel like I do a pretty good job at handling the magnitude of the game. At the end of the day, it’s a football game. We play the game every day in practice. We’ve been in pretty dang big games. It’s just another game, but it’s win or go home, so I’m pumped for that aspect.”
How Oregon Is Handling The Long Trips
“It’s always cool when you get to spend some time together. Obviously, most of the time we’re spending time together, it’s pretty locked in at the task at hand. We try not to spend a whole lot of time talking about other stuff other than football. There are other times on the plane or in the hotel room when you have some downtime that you can come together, bond. So it’s been fun.”
How The Defense Can Install New Ways To Stop Indiana
“You can’t be the same team every time you play another team, or else they’ll just scout you, know what you’re in every single time.”
“You got to do your assignment, play hard. At the end of the day, the team that plays the hardest and does their assignment is going to win. Some variables, throw in some new things at a team, which is definitely important. When Indiana comes out, I’m sure they won’t do everything we’ve seen on film. They’ll have a few wrinkles. That’s the exciting part.”
What Went Wrong Against Indiana In October
“Just doing our job within our defense. Honestly, the past Indiana game, couple mental errors where I didn’t necessarily do my job in the body of the defense. Same goes for other guys on our team. I think just sewing that up, better understanding our opponent, having a better game plan going into the game.”
What Makes Indiana’s Offensive Line Good
“They’re smart, fast, and physical. I know up front in their run game, they play physical, and they do their job. They don’t have a lot of unblocked hats. I know in the screen game, they get out and are elite at kind of retracing and blocking for their receiver in the screen game, which was present in our last game. We’ve done a lot of screen drills. They’re a good unit. They play well together and do their job.”
What The Loss Against Indiana Meant For The Rest Of The Season
“I believe everything happens for a reason. I think we needed that to kind of wake us up. We came out of a big Penn State win, kind of thought we were pretty cool going into that week, pretty confident. Got a little lackadaisical with our prep, I think. It was a good wake-up call. The rest of the season leading up to this point is a pretty good testament to the way we responded to that loss.”
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At some point in 2025, the FBI helped a local police agency foil an “ISIS-inspired plot” that at least one minor planned to carry out at an unnamed central Indiana school, according to an annual summary released by the federal agency’s Indianapolis field office on Jan. 5, 2026.
FBI agents “disrupted an ISIS-inspired plot targeting a Central Indiana high school through rapid coordination with local partners,” according to the news release.
Beyond that, the agency provided few details, sharing neither the name of the school involved nor the city or town in which the school was located. Nor did the agency clarify why the report characterized the plot as ISIS-inspired.
Chris Bavender, an FBI spokesperson, declined to answer an IndyStar request for additional information about the foiled attack, responding in an email that “this matter is ongoing.”
“Because the student had immediate access to firearms, FBI Indianapolis worked closely with the high school and our local law enforcement partner to remove all firearms from the house, and the student was expelled from school. DOJ did not file charges as the individual is a juvenile,” Bavender wrote.
Bavender did not provide any information on whether the student is facing charges in the juvenile justice system.
Although high schools in both Mooresville and Westfield were the site of high-profile threat investigations in 2025, neither matched the details mentioned in the FBI report.
In February 2025, Trinity Shockley, 18, was arrested after sharing plans for a Valentine’s Day school shooting at Mooresville High School. Though the investigation into Shockley began after the FBI received a tip, Shockley was not a juvenile at the time of her arrest. Nor did court documents filed in her case reference any connection to ISIS.
The Mooresville Police Department did not immediately respond on Jan. 5 to a request for comment.
In September 2025, Westfield High School was placed on lockdown after a “potential threat.” Billy Adams, the assistant chief of the Westfield Police Department, said there’s no indication the lockdown “had anything to do with an ISIS-inspired plot.”
IndyStar reached out on Jan. 5 to multiple police agencies in central Indiana, including the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Southport Police Department, the Speedway Police Department and the Beech Grove Police Department.
Officials for IMPD, Southport, and Speedway police said their agencies handled no such threat. Beech Grove’s police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@indystar.com.
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