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North Judson eliminates Pioneer; Culver earns first win behind Rodgers’ big game; LCC eliminates Winamac, will play Zebras next
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Football
Caston 34, North White 28 (Friday): Jabez Yarber ran for a team-high 112 yards and a touchdown, and freshman Landen Rigney ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns and also had an interception on defense for the visiting Comets in a win over previously undefeated North White in a Class 1A, Sectional 43 quarterfinal Friday.
Grant Yadon also ran for 44 yards and a touchdown, caught a 25-yard touchdown pass, intercepted a pass and returned it 25 yards on defense, had seven tackles and a sack and blocked an extra point.
Chase Angot had 32 yards in six carries.
Gavin Mollenkopf threw for 49 yards and the touchdown to Yadon. He also tied Yadon for the team lead in tackles.
Kyle Roudebush also had two receptions for 21 yards on offense and had five tackles and forced a fumble on
defense.
Pete DuVall had six tackles and a hurry. Yarber also had five tackles. Ashton Bowyer had four tackles. Rigney and Levi Martin had three tackles each. Gage Minniear had two tackles and recovered a fumble. Brody Brewer also had two tackles.
Caston improved to 2-8 and will play No. 3 Carroll (Flora) on the road in the semifinals at 7 p.m. this Friday. The win was Caston’s first in a sectional game since 2020 and their first in a sectional road game since 2014. Carroll (10-0) knocked off Tri-County 42-8 in their quarterfinal.
This will be the first postseason meeting between Caston and Carroll since 2014.
North White, who defeated Caston 14-6 on Sept. 22, finished 9-1.
Caston 34, North White 28
Caston 6 6 8 14 – 34
North White 0 6 8 14 – 28
North Judson 40, Pioneer 14 (Friday): Jesiah McDaniel ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns and also threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Damien Frasure for the host Blue Jays in a win over Pioneer in a Class 1A, Sectional 41 quarterfinal Friday.
Kole Wilcox ran for 77 yards and also caught three passes for 47 yards for North Judson, who improved to 6-4.
Rylahn Toloza returned a kickoff for a touchdown for Pioneer, who finished 5-5.
North Judson led 20-14 at halftime.
Pioneer also lost to North Judson 33-12 in the regular season finale one week earlier.
North Judson 40, Pioneer 14
Pioneer 0 14 0 0 – 14
North Judson 6 14 14 6 – 40
Culver 40, South Central (Union Mills) 15 (Friday): Jack Rodgers ran for 193 yards and three touchdowns and also returned a kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown for the visiting Cavaliers as they earned their first win Friday.
Also, Jonas McCuen threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Beem and also returned an interception for a touchdown on defense for the Cavaliers (1-9).
Anthony Sommers had 51 yards on five carries, and Ethan Binion ran for 23 yards and had three receptions for 36 yards. Sommers and Binion each had interceptions on defense.
Culver committed no turnovers.
Culver will host No. 9 Triton in the semifinals at 7 p.m. this Friday. Triton beat Culver 58-6 on Sept. 15 in their regular season meeting.
Culver avenged a 44-22 loss to South Central on Aug. 25. South Central (3-7) played without starting quarterback Zack Hanchar and running back Aaron Hogan.
Culver led 34-8 at halftime and extended the lead on Rodgers 72-yard scoring run in the third quarter.
Culver won a sectional game for the fifth straight year. They eliminated South Central from the sectional for the fourth time in the last five years. South Central has not beaten Culver in a postseason game since 2010.
Culver 40, South Central (Union Mills) 15
Culver 20 14 6 0 – 40
South Central 8 0 0 7 – 15
Lafayette Central Catholic 42, Winamac 14 (Friday): Maddox Bucinski and Addison Allen each had touchdown runs in the fourth quarter, but the visiting Warriors lost to Lafayette Central Catholic in a Class 2A, Sectional 34 quarterfinal Friday.
No. 10 Lafayette Central Catholic (7-3) won their sixth straight game. They will host No. 12 Rochester, who received a bye, in the sectional semifinals at 7 p.m. this Friday.
Bucinski led Winamac with 59 yards rushing. Allen had 56 yards rushing and a team-high 23 yards receiving.
Lafayette Central Catholic quarterback Bobby Metzger threw for 397 yards and five touchdowns.
Lafayette Central Catholic led 28-0 at halftime and extended the lead to 42-0 after three quarters.
Winamac finished 3-7. They lost to Lafayette Central Catholic in the sectional for the second straight year.
Lafayette Central Catholic 42, Winamac 14
Winamac 0 0 0 14 – 14
Lafayette Central Catholic 7 21 14 0 – 42
