Preview and Predictions: IHSAA Saturday State Championship Games

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Happy Thanksgiving from the Prep Redzone family! I will preview the Saturday Indiana State Championship games and make predictions for the matches this weekend. Sam Erman and I will be at Lucas Oil this weekend, covering the games in person.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My predictions are just for fun and an educated guess based on statistics from the season and how teams have been performing in the playoffs. There will not be full write-ups in this article because we have done our best to cover a ton of players during the playoffs this season. Sit back, enjoy some turkey, and give this article a read.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2A: North Posey (13-1) @ Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (11-3)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two teams traveling from two opposite sides of the state for a great Game 1 matchup on Saturday. One team is looking for their first state title, and the other is looking for their 12th. Let's dive into the matchup below!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Posey heads into the state championship game, losing only one game this year. North Posey returns to the state championship game for the first time since 2005. This is North Posey's second time reaching the finals, and it would be their first time winning the state championship in school history. North Posey will look to win this game in the trenches and is led by a strong rushing attack. Junior RB [player_tooltip player_id='196689' first='Jed' last='Galvin'] has been stellar for this offense, with 1,200+ rushing yards and 26 rushing TDs on the season. Senior QB Liam Stone and RB Colton Gardner have combined for almost 2,000 yards rushing and 34 rushing TDs on the year. North Posey is coming off a 37-7 win against Southmont last week. This Vikings team is ready to dominate the run game and play stifling defense on Saturday morning.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bishop Luers is not new to the state championship scene. They are 3rd in most state championships won, with 11 total. 2020 was the last time Luers was at Lucas Oil, and lost by one point in the state finals that year. Senior RBs Giovanny Jimenez and Mickey Daring lead the offense with an explosive rushing attack. Jimenez has 803 yards and 13 TDs on the season, and Daring has 647 yards and 8 TDs. Senior DL [player_tooltip player_id='1100392' first='Damiun' last='Jackson'] is the man to watch on this Luers' defense. Jackson has been disruptive in the backfield with 26 TFLs and 9.5 sacks. On the other side of the line is Senior DL [player_tooltip player_id='1032216' first='Wesley' last='Javins'], who has been making plays in the backfield all season. Javins has 24 TFLs and 9 sacks on the year. The defense will be ready for the task on Saturday afternoon and knows this game will be won in the trenches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Game Prediction: </em></strong>I will take North Posey on this one to win their first state championship in school history. Their rushing attack wins this game and takes the ship back to Poseyville, Indiana.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>North Posey 35</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fort Wayne Bishop Luers 23</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">4A: NorthWood (12-2) @ East Central (14-0)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NorthWood is up against the undefeated defending state championships, East Central, in Game 2 on Saturday. East Central continues to dominate, and NorthWood has been playing its best football recently. Another great matchup; let's dive in.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NorthWood is playing in its 2nd 4A state championship game and looking to win its 2nd state title in school history. This is NorthWood's first time in the state championship game since 2016. They are averaging over 41 points a game in the playoffs and will need every point they can get in this one. NorthWood's offense is led by Senior QB Owen Roeder. He is averaging 233 passing yards and has thrown 38 TDs this season. Georgia WR commit Nitro Tuggle is an electrifying player with just under 1,300 yards receiving and 17 TDs on the year. NorthWood's high-powered offense will be fun to watch on Saturday afternoon.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>East Central is on a 20-game winning streak and continues to dominate every team that stands in their path. East Central is playing for their 4th state title on Saturday. They are playing with a team with a ton of experience, and most played in the state title game last season. East Central's offense has the best running back in the state, Miami (OH) commit [player_tooltip player_id='189083' first='Josh' last='Ringer']. Josh has rushed for 2,629 yards, 52 rushing TDs, and 5 receiving TDs. Senior QB [player_tooltip player_id='541783' first='Cole' last='Burton'] will be slinging the rock to Ringer, and Western Michigan commit [player_tooltip player_id='541853' first='Ryan' last='Brotherton']. East Central's offense is explosive and will put a lot of points on Saturday. This team is special and will be ready to play "Back to Back" by Drake in the locker room after the win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Game Prediction: </em></strong>I am a fan of underdogs and will root for them most of the time, but in this one, it will be hard to go against the defending state champs. East Central is the pick, and it will not be close. They are firing on all cylinders, and they will be tough to stop on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NorthWood 14</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>East Central 38</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">6A: Crown Point (12-1) @ Ben Davis (12-1)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The IHSAA State Championship games end with a heavyweight matchup in 6A. Both are one-loss teams and are playing tremendous football. The two team's rosters are filled with tremendous talent and will be exciting to watch as we cap off the season with this matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This will be the first time Crown Point has been in a football state championship game in their school history. Crown Point is coming off a 38-31 double OT win against Westfield in last week's Semi-State Championship game. This team is on a 10-game winning streak and is playing their best ball right now. This season, the Crown Point defense has allowed an average of 13 points a game. Their defense is led by senior brothers Will and [player_tooltip player_id='919480' first='Paul' last='Clark'], who are committed to the University of Buffalo. These two will be stellar on Saturday and look to win their last game as a Crown Point Bulldog. Junior QB [player_tooltip player_id='243219' first='Noah' last='Ehrlich'] has been impressive and has raised his stock this season. He had 4 passing TDs in the Semi-State title game last week. Look out for Noah to have a big game this weekend. The Crown Point Bulldogs are underdogs in this matchup, but they will be prepared to make this one a battle on Saturday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ben Davis is the #1 ranked team in Indiana and beat the defending 6A state champs, Center Grove, 37-34 in overtime last week. This team was a first-round exit last season and went 6-4. They have turned it around this season and are the toughest team to play in the state. Senior QB [player_tooltip player_id='371664' first='Thomas' last='Gotkowski'] is averaging over 200 passing yards a game and has been threading the needle in the playoffs. [player_tooltip player_id='334066' first='Alijah' last='Price'] is the Junior RB for Ben Davis, and that is lightning in a bottle. Keep an eye out for these two, as they are my impact players on offense for Ben Davis. Senior LB [player_tooltip player_id='236811' first='Toreeq' last='Oyesigi'] will be a problem for the opposing offense. He has over 100 tackles, 16.5 TFLs, and 7 sacks on the season. Ben Davis is focused on dominating both sides of the ball and bringing home their 10th state title in school history.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Game Prediction: </em></strong>This matchup is going to be closer than many might think. Crown Point and Ben Davis have been incredible on defense, and their offense has explosive players. This will be a great matchup to end the season, but I will take Ben Davis to win the state title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Crown Point 20</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ben Davis 27</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Friday Game Predictions</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In his most recent article, Sam Erman has the complete game breakdowns for Friday's matchups. Go check out his article; they are always a great read! These are my predictions for Friday's games just for fun! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">1A:</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Adams Central 13</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Indianapolis Lutheran 28</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">3A:</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Heritage Hills 28</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Indianapolis Bishop Chatard 38</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">5A:</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fort Wayne Snider 24</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Decatur Central 28</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->