Indiana High School Football Games of the Week – Week 9 (Oct. 14)
By Kevin Messenger
Saving the very best for the very last week of the season, we have a shootout among the top four schools in the Power 25 and five premium games to watch this week!
This week’s top five games:
No. 1 Brownsburg (8-0) at No. 4 Hamilton Southeastern (8-0)
Battle of the Unbeatens for the Hoosier Crossroads title. It doesn’t get any better. Brownsburg got past Ben Davis and Cathedral before entering conference play and the Royals beat Lawrence Central and North Central. Slight edge to the Bulldogs in terms of ranking, but the Royals have the home field! Brownsburg hosted last year’s finale with HSE and won narrowly, 31-28.
No. 3 Indianapolis Cathedral (6-1) at No. 2 Center Grove (7-1)
The defending champion Trojans host the Fighting Irish in a battle of one-loss clubs that could make claim to the No. 1 ranking with a win (and Brownsburg loss). Center Grove has beaten Cathedral the past two seasons, 17-13 in 2020 and 21-6 last season, on the way to 6A state championships.
No. 11 Roncalli (7-1) at No. 12 East Central (7-1)
Neither team has lost to another team in the state of Indiana this season, both falling to Cincinnati powerhouse schools for their only defeat. East Central has dominated its past five weeks, 220 points to 27, and the highlight of the game is a pair of feature running backs. State rushing leader Luke Hansen (2,117 yards) fuels the Royals attack that relies on his yardage and touchdowns. The more balanced Trojans feature RB Josh Ringer whose 1,291 yards are fifth among 4A rushers. Ringer, though, boasts only half of Hansen’s 272 rush attempts and owns a superior 9.6-yard average.
No. 25 Lawrence Central (4-4) at No. 7 Carmel (5-3)
Lawrence Central may have missed its opportunity for a statement win last week at Ben Davis. This week they’ll travel to another traditional powerhouse in Carmel, and one who is licking its own wounds after an upset loss to Warren Central last week. Bears QB Bryson Luter is going to need to crack the Greyhounds’ stingy defense for more than one half this week.
No. 14 Evansville Reitz (8-0) at Evansville Mater Dei (6-2)
The last time Reitz finished a regular season unbeaten was in 2010. Twice since then, in 2014 and 2015, Reitz has taken an 8-0 record into its final contest and lost – both times to Mater Dei’s Wildcats. And don’t let the “2A” in front of Mater Dei fool you. They have outscored 4A and 5A opponents the past four weeks by a combined 120-32.
