Week 7 football preview: Zebras had ‘heart to heart’ talk after Peru loss, will try to feel at ‘Holmes’ vs. Norse

After thriller over Jimtown, Valley to host Woodlan; Caston seeks historic start vs. Triton; Culver to visit undefeated Pioneer; Winamac’s Galbreath to make first start vs. undefeated N. Judson; NM looks to break skid vs. winless S. Central

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Rochester (3-3, 2-2 Three Rivers Conference) at Northfield (4-2, 2-2), 7 p.m.

Rochester led Peru 12-0 at halftime last week before Peru scored touchdowns on their first three drives of the second half to win 21-12.

Rochester coach Isaac Shaffer said the second half letdown did not have to do with not being physical enough. Rather, it was about some misreads on defense.

Peru quarterback had runs of 65 yards and 57 yards for touchdowns on consecutive snaps.

“I would say that Peru did play with a greater sense of urgency,” Shaffer said. “I wouldn’t say that our physicality was necessarily the problem. I thought that our kids played very physical throughout the whole game, and we asked that of them. I think the thing that really got Peru rolling was they forced us to question our reads defensively. And so when you can do that and you have that slight hesitation in your defense … with the offense they run, if you hesitate at any point, with as fast as (quarterback) Aiden Sheets is, that’s all he needs, and we saw that with the big runs that he had. 

“I think that was a big thing. They threw a wrinkle or two into their offense that forced us to question our reads a little bit, and then because of that, they were able to take advantage of that slight hesitation.”

As for Northfield, they have won three straight since a 1-2 start, including a 40-32 win over Indianapolis Scecina last week. That game that got put together barely a week in advance after Wabash had to back out of a scheduled meeting due to lack of numbers.

Northfield’s four wins are against teams that are a combined 4-20. Northfield is averaging 29.3 points per game, which is their most since 2020. Sophomore quarterback Logan Holmes leads the Norsemen with his 545 yards passing and 419 yards rushing. He has accounted for 14 touchdowns – eight passing, six rushing.

But he has also thrown five interceptions, and Rochester has had at least one takeaway in every game.

Shaffer said the team did not have its usual day-after-game film session Saturday. Rather, the team had what Shaffer called “a really big heart-to-heart” talk. Rochester committed a crucial 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when a player made an obscene gesture in the direction of the Peru sideline with 5:17 left. The penalty gave Peru a first down – otherwise, Peru would have faced a fourth-and-5 and likely would have punted with a nine-point lead – and the Zebras never got the ball back.

The loss to Peru marked the first time in six years that Rochester has lost back-to-back games.

“We just kind of sat down in a circle and just let everybody pour out their frustrations throughout this entire year,” Shaffer said. “A lot of guys are frustrated. Just because, I think, they expected more of themselves, and we’re sitting at 3-3. So yeah, we addressed it. … I don't even know how many people actually know who the player was. So we talked about people aren’t going to say, ‘This person did this.’ They’re going to say, ‘the Rochester football team, the Rochester football program, Rochester athletics.’ They have to understand that they represent something bigger than themselves. And while it was a frustrating night and while they had things that were being yelled to them from maybe the stands or other players, I don’t know, you have to contain that and not necessarily bottle that up but control it and use it in between the whistles.

“That’s the great thing about football is you get to use violence in between the whistle. There can be legal violence that’s good. We want violent people in between the whistle. So while that person was caught, we’ve had other problems with it throughout the season, so we told the guys everybody gets a clean slate, but from here on, this is the standard, and if you don’t meet that, you won’t play the rest of the season because I’m not going to let you embarrass our community and our football team, our school, all of those things because of selfish things.”

Rochester, who beat Northfield 51-14 last year, has not lost to Northfield since 2021.

Two-way lineman Camden Susaraba will return for Rochester after missing the last two games with an ankle injury.

Woodlan (3-3) at Tippecanoe Valley (5-1), 7 p.m.

Valley edged Jimtown 17-15 win last week, marking their first ever win over Jimtown in Baugo Township. 

Hunter Randall’s 2-yard quarterback sneak and a bad Jimtown snap on a field goal attempt with 1:14 left secured the victory.

“I thought we did a good job of keeping our composure,” Valley coach Stephen Moriarty said. “We’re asking the defense to do a lot, especially after they got the stop to run out the clock and then we had to do it again. I couldn’t be prouder of the defense for not hanging their heads but sticking their nose in there and stopping them again to give us the opportunity to win the game.”

Valley had 53 offensive snaps last week – 47 rushes, six passes. They had 180 yards rushing with Hunter Paxton leading the way with 90 yards rushing and Owen Omondi adding 77.

“I think we were effective on certain plays,” Moriarty said. “You know, I would say we were slow and steady. We had a couple big runs, but for the most part, they were more hunks that we had. Again, we had a few holding penalties and turnovers again.”

Now Valley will try to move the ball against a Woodlan defense that allowed 656 yards and 9.2 yards per play in a 52-28 loss to Jay County last week.

As for the Woodlan offense, they will rely on junior quarterback Griffin Clear and senior halfback Ashtin Jacquay. Clear threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns last week and has two receiving weapons in Noah Ames and Liam Hertig.

“He’s very, very fast,” Moriarty said of Clear. “That’s the thing about Woodlan in general is they have playmakers where maybe they have a lull on offense and then all of a sudden, they’ll bust a big run. They have a lot of big playmakers, one of them being their quarterback. He has a very good arm, and they run specific plays for him – quarterback counter and keep to where they can get him the ball.”

Jacquay has “big play potential,” according to Moriarty. He ran for 164 yards last week, including an 81-yard touchdown.

Triton (1-5, 1-3 Hoosier North) at Caston (5-1, 3-1), 7 p.m.

• Caston is coming off a 42-7 win over Culver in which the entire second half was played with a running clock. Triton is coming off a 42-7 loss to North Judson.

• Four of Caston’s five wins have ended with a running clock. Three of Triton's five losses have ended with a running clock.

• Triton is allowing 35.3 points per game. That is their highest defensive average since 2015. Meanwhile, Caston is averaging 37.3 points per game on offense. Caston is averaging 254 rushing yards per game, and four different backs – Ashton Bowyer, Landen Rigney, Logan Mollenkopf and London Herd – have more than 200 yards rushing for the season. Seven different Caston backs have at least one touchdown on the ground.

• If Caston wins, they will be 6-1 after seven games for the first time in school history. But Caston has lost the last 11 meetings with Triton and has not beaten the Trojans since August 2016. They lost 28-16 in Bourbon last year.

Culver (1-5, 1-3 Hoosier North) at Pioneer (6-0, 4-0), 7 p.m.

• Culver has lost three straight games, including a 42-7 Homecoming loss to Caston last week. Pioneer rolled over South Central 56-6 last week for their 13th consecutive regular season win dating back to last year.

• Culver averages 11.5 points per game, and Pioneer allows only 10.2. Pioneer ranks in the top 25 in the state in defensive average.

• Pioneer’s Shiloh Rine has accounted for 996 yards of offense – 536 rushing and 460 receiving. He averages 13.1 yards per carry and 28.8 yards per catch.

• Pioneer is 10-1 against Culver since they became conference rivals in 2015, but Culver’s one win came in the Panther Pit in 2022.

Winamac (5-1, 3-1 Hoosier North) at North Judson (6-0, 4-0), 7:30 p.m.

• Winamac eked out a 20-18 over North Miami on Tearson Wolford’s touchdown run in the fourth quarter last week. Meanwhile, North Judson routed Triton 42-7. Ranked No. 3 in Class 1A, all six North Judson wins have ended with a running clock.

• Bryant Galbreath is expected to make his first career start at quarterback for Winamac, and he will do so against a North Judson defense that is third in the state in defensive average allowing just 5.3 points per game. Galbreath is starting in place of Xavier Adriano, who broke his leg against North Miami last week.

• Louis Rugg III is the breakout star for Winamac on offense. He has accounted for 970 yards from scrimmage – 725 rushing and 245 receiving. He is averaging 11.2 per carry and 14.4 per reception. But Galbreath did not attempt a pass after Adriano suffered his injury last week.

• North Judson ended Winamac’s undefeated season in the sectional in 2021, and that started a five-game winning streak against Winamac that they will look to extend. Winamac won last year’s meeting 56-14.

South Central (Union Mills) (0-6, 0-4 Hoosier North) at North Miami (1-5, 0-4), 7:30 p.m.

• North Miami suffered a 20-18 setback against Winamac last week at home while South Central fell behind 56-0 at halftime to Pioneer before eventually falling 56-6.

• North Miami runs the ball 84% of the time out if its option offense. Oliver Wildermuth leads North Miami with 482 yards rushing on 5.9 yards per carry. He will take handoffs from older brother Alan, who has thrown for 132 yards.

• South Central is 2-27 in their last 29 games.

• The sectional would appear to lighten up for North Miami. North Miami’s first six opponents have a combined record of 26-10. Their last three opponents, including South Central, are a combined 2-16.