Week 11 football preview: Feeling ‘good nervous,’ Rochester thrived vs. Lakeland, now gets Central Noble

After ‘one of the better ones’ vs. Madison-Grant, Caston to host Clinton Central; Pioneer visiting balanced Sheridan; Winamac gets another chance at No. 4 Judson

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

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Trenton Meadows Kale Shotts

Rochester (5-5) at Central Noble (2-8), 7 p.m.

(winner plays Eastside-Bremen winner in Class 2A, Sectional 34 final)

Rochester football coach Isaac Shaffer acknowledged that his team did not practice well in preparing for last week’s sectional quarterfinal against Lakeland, but he said the team had a different manner about it once they reported to Barnhart Field for the game.

He said they had their best pregame warmup of the season and followed by scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions to jump out to a 28-0 halftime lead. They went on to win 36-14.

“Our guys were kind of – maybe the word is nervous,” Shaffer said. “And it was a good nervous. They wanted to go out there and perform really well. And we talked about all week we didn’t have the greatest week of practice last week. I was nervous going into the game. I felt like we were the better team, but we just didn’t have a great week of practice. Friday, as you were seeing guys walk through the gate and in the locker room just getting ready, there was just a different mentality and a different look to each of their faces that I felt really good about. … I’d say that there is a sense of urgency, and guys are responding well to it.”

Rochester had 374 yards rushing with both fullback Kale Shotts (177) and halfback Trenton Meadows (136) both rushing for over 100 yards. Grant Holloway added 52 yards on the ground. Still, Shaffer believes that the offensive line can do a better job of blocking.

Shaffer said some of the struggles had to do with offensive linemen knowing their “rules” based on what they see from the opponent.

“I thought they played well enough to win,” Shaffer said. “We went back and watched some film, and there are some things we have to work on, and again, we’re playing a sophomore in Cain Cortez, and that was his first time playing a full varsity game at guard. He made a lot of mistakes, but I thought his effort was good enough, so it was good for him to just get on film and to see some of the things he needs to work on.

“And then I thought Camden Susaraba did a really good job filling in at the tackle position, and then Trevor Coplen did a really good job. Whenever Camden needed a break, we were able to put Trevor in, and he did a really good job with a lot of his down blocks.”

What could help the offensive line this week is the return to good health of junior Gavin Pinder, a starting guard who has missed the last three games due to a shoulder injury. He will return against Central Noble.

Cortez filled in at right guard last week.

This week, they will take on a Cougar team that snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 40-21 win over Manchester last week. Despite the loss, Manchester did have 169 yards rushing on 4.8 yards per carry last week. Central Noble’s defense is allowing 34.4 points per game.

“It almost looks like a 3-3 stack,” Shaffer said. “They’ll have three interior linemen, and they’ll line them up in different spots. They’ll put a guy head up on the center. They’ll put their other two d-tackles head up on the guard. They’ll put him in the gap between the center and the guard. They’ll put him in the gap between the guard and tackle. They mix up those three a little bit, but then they’ll have what we would call ‘spurs’ that are almost like outside backers walked up all the way on the line. They’re their contain guys, so it’s going to make it really hard to run jet and rocket against them. And then they’ve got three linebackers stacked behind those three interior guys, and then they’ll have a three-man shell in the secondary with two corners and a safety. It’s kind of a different look than we’ve seen. We’ve seen it in the past. Peru used to run a 3-3 stack really well. They will muck it up every once in a while and go with a 5-2 look and maybe back a guy up to another safety spot. We’ve just to be communicating at all times on rules and knowing where we’re going blocking-wise, and we think we’ll have some different areas we can attack against them.”

Offensively, Central Noble will be Rochester’s third opponent to play a spread in their last four games. Junior quarterback Ryan Lemish will look for receivers Porter Kleeberg and Zack Chenoweth. Chenoweth caught three touchdown passes during the regular season and then caught three more against Manchester.

Rochester beat a spread team in Northwestern 30-22 three weeks ago but lost to undefeated Maconaquah’s spread 49-6 two weeks ago in their regular season finale. The 40 points were a season high for Central Noble, but they have also been shut out four times. 

Sophomore Atticus Duncan leads the Cougars with 233 yards rushing, but no other Central Noble player even has 100 yards rushing for the season, and Central Noble averages only 2.7 yards per carry.

“I think he’s pretty athletic,” Shaffer said of Lemish. “Probably people would say on film that he’s not, but I’ve been impressed with it, just his ability to understand where he is in the pocket, and he’s got that built-in clock in his head like he knows, OK, I’ve stood in here for this long. It’s time to move around and maybe escape the pocket and get outside. He does a really good job of keeping his eyes downfield and looking for people when he’s scrambling, and so that’s something that we’ve had to work on that we kind of saw with Lakeland as well. Our DBs (defensive backs), we’ve had really good initial coverage. Now we have to be able to, when you’re playing a zone, after a certain amount of time, it becomes man. You just have to stick with whatever man is in your zone and continue with it.”

Shaffer said that Kleeberg and Chenoweth both impressed with their ability to gain yards after the catch. He said that Central Noble will run “now screens,” which are quick passes at the line of scrimmage to either Kleeberg or Chenoweth. Shaffer said that even though they are passing plays that they are like “extended” running plays.

Shaffer also said that defensive end Owen Lett will miss the game due to an ankle injury that he suffered against Maconaquah. He played sparingly against Lakeland.

Look for Pinder and Navan Goodman to replace Lett at defensive end.

Gavin Fincher will return after missing the Lakeland game, and Derek Wortley will play despite a sore ankle.

Central Noble has not reached a sectional final since 2017, and their only sectional title occurred in 2002. They are 1-6 in their last seven sectional semifinal games dating back to 2003. 

Rochester has not reached a sectional final since 2022, and they have not won a sectional title since 2000. They are 1-13 in their last 14 sectional semifinal games dating back to 2003.

If Rochester wins, they would host the sectional final against either Eastside or Bremen.

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Brody Brewer Tucker Woolever

Clinton Central (5-5) at Caston (8-2), 7 p.m.

(winner plays Pioneer-Sheridan winner in Class 1A, Sectional 43 final)

The only way Caston’s game-winning drive in their 23-22 win over Madison-Grant last week in their Class 1A, Sectional 43 quarterfinal could have been more of an odyssey would be if they had been returning home from the Trojan War and hanging out with Matt Damon.

It started ominously with Tucker Woolever being inadvertently tripped by his own teammate Ashton Bowyer for no gain.

On the second play, a holding penalty wiped out a 56-yard touchdown pass from Logan Mollenkopf to Bowyer. A 4-yard run from Mollenkopf made it third-and-16. A 9-yard run from Bowyer, which featured a helpful push from Parker Zimpleman at the end, made it fourth-and-7.

Down to one timeout, Caston coach Chris Ulerick elected to go for it. He called for Mollenkopf to waggle to his right. He started right and then scrambled back left. 

He saw Owen Chapman open behind the defense. Chapman had just caught the first pass of his high school career earlier in the game for a 38-yard gain. Madison-Grant’s Jebediah Moore had his back turned to the play as he ran back in the direction of Chapman. With his back to the play, he appeared to contact Chapman as the pass fell incomplete.

Two different officials threw a flag. Pass interference on Madison-Grant. The 15-yard penalty gave Caston a first down.

Mollenkopf ran for 4 yards. Bowyer ran for 4 yards. Mollenkopf ran for 3 yards behind Zimpleman for a first down at the Argyll 27.

Woolever then exploited a big hole on the left side created by Zimpleman and left tackle Brody Brewer with a seal block from Bowyer. He gained 22 yards.

And then as soon as he got up, he was hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Instead of having it at the 5, the ball was moved back to the 20.

The odyssey continued.

Bowyer gained 9 yards. Woolever gained 4 yards and a first down.

Mollenkopf then was stopped for a 3-yard loss, and Bowyer was stopped for no gain.

But Woolever gained 8 yards on third-and-goal from the 10.

Ulerick used his last timeout on fourth-and-goal from the 2 with 1:52 left.

Caston then ran Woolever to the left again between guard and center. Madison-Grant’s all-Central Indiana Conference defensive end Cooper Rudy shed his block and tried to wrap up Woolever just as Woolever lunged.

It was too late. Woolever stretched the ball just over the goal line for the go-ahead touchdown. Caston was up 23-22.

A fourth-down stop with 1:08 left at their own 28 and a first down run from Mollenkopf sealed a clutch Caston win.

Madison-Grant finished 7-3. This marked the first time Caston had won a sectional game at home over a team with a winning record since 2011.

“The kids were into it,” Caston coach Chris Ulerick said. “The crowd was into it. But yeah, it was a good football game. The sideline kids were focused. Everybody was focused. It was a really good atmosphere to be around.”

Caston allowed 342 yards of offense to the Argylls, and Ulerick said the defense was dealing with alignment issues. Woolever was on the sideline with a cramp in the fourth quarter.

“Madison-Grant, they’re a good football team, so they were able to take advantage of things that we weren’t doing, and luckily, our offense did the same things, and we were just kind of able to answer that punch back,” Ulerick, who is in his 24th season as coach, said. “That was the best thing, to see our kids respond. It was just a good, tight football game. It’s probably one of the better ones that I’ve been a part of to be on the sideline.”

The aforementioned postseason home win over a team with a winning record from 2011 occurred against Clinton Central, who just happens to be Caston’s opponent this week.

Clinton Central is back at .500 following back-to-back wins over Tri-Central. They beat the Trojans 51-7 two weeks ago in the regular season finale and 64-0 last week in the sectional quarterfinals.

Like both Caston and Madison-Grant, Clinton Central runs a wing-T offense.

They scored six offensive touchdowns and gained 424 yards on just 27 snaps last week. They led 48-0 at halftime and played the entire second half with a running clock.

They also went eight for eight on two-point conversions.

Tri-Central finished 0-10. Clinton Central also has wins over Frankfort (0-10), Taylor (1-9) and Faith Christian (2-8), which means their wins are over teams with a combined record of 3-37.

The win was Clinton Central’s first in a sectional game since 2020. However, they have not won a sectional game against a team with a winning record since they beat Covington in 2016, and they have not won a sectional title since 2009.

Clinton Central relies on running backs Kaleb Griffy, Luke Shelley and Keaton Albaugh.

Griffy leads the team with 750 yards rushing, including 106 against Tri-Central last week. Shelley ran for 176 yards last week on just four carries, including a 98-yard touchdown run. Albaugh ran for 66 yards and a touchdown on just three carries.

Senior Kyson Albaugh hooked up with quarterback Kaleb Robinson for a 34-yard touchdown pass.

“The Griffy kid, you’re going to have to hit him hard and hit him low and gang-tackle, much like 31 (Harry Brooks) from last week,” Ulerick said. “So we’ve got to continue to read our keys and be able to shut down big plays. A lot of their offense is off big plays, so we’ve got to really try and limit those opportunities for them. For the most part, our kids have done that. The games that we limit big plays, we tend to come out on top or play it right down to the wire.

“If you can limit big plays in high school football and make a team drive at least 80 yards, if you’ve got an ounce of credibility at all, you’re going to get a stop somewhere in those 80 yards.”

Michael Griffy is in his first season as the head coach after eight seasons as an assistant coach and a coach in the feeder system.

“They’re gap sound, they come downhill, and they do a little twisting up front,” Ulerick said of Clinton Central’s defense. “We’ve worked on that. It’s always hard to emulate the other teams. We have worked on it quite a bit, so we’re going to continue to try to line up and do that, but until you get that first series under your belt, you’ve got to do that feeling-out stage. They come down and get after it. They will play some man defense, and they will play some zone defense. They’ve got kids that can play football. Just got to limit their abilities.”

If Caston wins, they would play Pioneer on the road or Sheridan at home in the sectional final.

Pioneer (10-0) at Sheridan (6-4), 7 p.m.

(winner plays Clinton Central-Caston winner in Class 1A, Sectional 43 final)

Class 1A, No. 1 Pioneer routed Taylor last week, jumping out to a 56-0 halftime lead and going on to win 70-0.

Eight different Pioneer backs had at least one carry, but no one had more than five carries. 

Phillip McFatridge led the ground attack with 104 yards, including a 79-yard touchdown run.

Carter Mize added a 49-yard touchdown reception, and Shiloh Rine added a 47-yard touchdown catch.

Defensively, not only did Pioneer notch their second shutout of the season and trim their defensive average to 9.1 points per game, but they also had two interception returns for touchdowns – one by Gage Lakes and one by Mason Shaver.

“I think we only ran 15 offensive plays the first half with our varsity,” Pioneer coach Adam Berry said. “We put our JV in the entire second half, but very efficient. I think we scored on three of our first four plays and hit some big plays obviously, and we just got that momentum. Made some big plays offensively and had a couple interceptions early defensively with two pick-sixes. We got a pretty big lead early, just had that momentum and kept it going.”

Lakes, a junior, has taken on a bigger role in the Pioneer secondary.

“When Micah (Rans) went down last year, he jumped in there at the cornerback spot and had six games in the postseason of varsity experience and did a nice job for us last year and really just continued that momentum going into this year,” Berry said. “There’s a lot of times he’s making tackles at the line of scrimmage, and he just keeps getting better and better in his coverages week-in and week-out. Hopefully, he gets even better this week because he’s definitely going to have to be able to cover.”

Pioneer will now travel to Bud Wright Stadium to take on Sheridan, who beat North Miami 40-21 last week and who is in search of its fifth consecutive sectional title.

Sheridan relies on running back Hayden Alexander, who ran for 166 yards and three touchdowns against North Miami.

Berry said Alexander can both run between the tackles and on the perimeter.

“He is quick and just makes those subtle quick cuts, but defenders just fly by him, and he’s able to get more yards,” Berry said.

But what might make Sheridan a more difficult challenge is that they balance it with a strong passing attack led by quarterback Brock Hagan, who completed 11 of 14 passes for 201 yards against North Miami. Hagan is a senior, and his top five receivers – Landon Moffitt, Brady Heck, Desh Donathen, Braxton Schwerdtfeger and Alexander – are also seniors.

“This is truly probably in a long time since I’ve been head coach, a true 50-percent run, 50-percent pass (offense),” Berry said. “They have a lot of weapons down there at Sheridan.”

Defensively, Sheridan allows 17.7 ppg, but their losses are to Maconaquah (51.2 ppg), Alexandria (33.1), Eastern (Greentown) (41.4 ppg) and Carroll (Flora) (23.9 ppg). Those four teams are a combined 33-7, and even though they all won, all of them scored below their average against Sheridan.

“They are an attacking defense,” Berry said. “They creep guys up in the box, even against some passing teams. Their DBs (defensive backs) are aggressive enough to when they read pass, they’re not going to get beat deep. But they are up there. Their safeties are up there. They’re in the box a lot of times making plays on the run game. Their linebackers do a great job of flying to the ball and reading their keys. … Most people talk about their offense, and rightfully so, but their defense is no slouch. They go against a lot of high-scoring teams and keep them in check. A very quality team that we are facing this Friday.”

If Pioneer wins, they would play Clinton Central on the road or Caston at home.

Winamac (7-3) at North Judson (9-1), 7:30 p.m.

(winner plays North Newton-West Central winner in Class 1A, Sectional 41 final)

• Winamac handed South Central (Union Mills) their 21st consecutive loss last week in a 49-16 triumph in a Class 1A, Sectional 41 quarterfinal. It was Winamac’s first sectional game win since 2021. Meanwhile, Class 1A, No. 4 North Judson scored 41 points in the first quarter and cruised to a 62-7 win at Triton. North Judson won their sectional opener for the ninth consecutive season.

• Winamac’s Louis Rugg III and Tearson Wolford combined for 18 carries, 251 yards and six touchdowns on the ground against South Central. Those two combined for just 13 yards rushing in a 35-0 loss to North Judson in their regular season meeting Oct. 2.

• Winamac quarterback Parker Abbott, filling in for the injured Xavier Adriano, threw his first career touchdown pass last week, a 30-yarder to Ivan Cardenas.

• Junior Aiden McGowen leads North Judson with 739 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. McGowen averages 8.0 yards per carry, but Winamac held him to 4.5 per tote in the Oct. 2 loss.

• North Judson ranks ninth in the state with their 8.8 defensive average. They rank No. 1 among Class 1A teams. Pioneer, who allows 9.1 per game, ranks No. 2.

• Winamac is 1-5 in their last six sectional games against North Judson dating back to 1998, but they did win a regional at North Judson in 2000. Their 2020 sectional final win also came at Liberty Field.

• If Winamac wins, they would play the sectional final at home against either North Newton or West Central.