EC Set to Defend 4A Title, L'Burg/SD on Opposite Sides & Milan Gets Good Draw

The Road to Indianapolis is set with sectional pairings unveiled on Sunday.

INDIANAPOLIS – The road to Indianapolis starts a week from Friday.

Three-hundred eleven teams learned their sectional opponents for the 51st annual IHSAA Football State Tournament on Sunday night.

Sectional play begins on Friday, October 20 and runs through Friday, November 3.

Regionals will be contested on November 10 followed by semi-states on November 17.

Six state championship games will be play on Thanksgiving weekend (November 24-25) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

About the Draw

To conduct the random drawing for the football state tournament, the IHSAA places ping-pong balls representing each school in each sectional into a lottery-style air mix machine. A fan in the bottom of the machine blows the balls around the inside of the transparent container and air then forces each ball up through a tube in random order. For example, the first ball retrieved from the machine will be the visiting team in game one with the second ball representing the home team in game one. The third ball to come out is the visitor in game two and the fourth ball the home team in game two. That same method is followed through all 48 sectionals. In seven-team sectionals, the seventh team drawn receives the bye and an automatic road game in the semifinal round.

In Class 4A, East Central’s title defense will start at home against Shelbyville (3-5). The top-ranked Trojans have dominated in 2023, outscoring their opponents 396-42 on their way to an 8-0 record. They are currently enjoying a streak of five consecutive shoutouts.

To date, East Central has the 4th best scoring defense in the state, allowing only 5.25 points per game. They also boast one of the top offenses in the state, ranking 5th in points per game (49.5). Put that together and the Trojans’ average margin of victory is 44.2 points, which is good for 3rd in the state.

When looking at the Sagarin Ratings, East Central is a heavy favorite to win Sectional 23. They rank as the 8th best team (91.7 rating) in the state, according to the Sagarin. The next closest team in Sectional 23 is Martinsville at 50th overall (72.68 rating).

RECORD WATCH

• East Central is led by Mr. Football candidate and Miami (Oh.) commit Josh Ringer. The senior running back has carried the ball 130 times for 1,549 yards and 31 touchdowns. He needs 399 yards to become EC’s all-time leading rusher. That distinction is currently held by Andrew Wolf (5,708 yards, 1991-94).
• Senior quarterback Cole Burton is also nearing an all-time record. He is just five passing touchdowns shy of surpassing TJ Brown for most career TD passes (56).
• Ryan Brotherton needs two more TD receptions to pass Dan Hartman's career record of 27. 

The top two teams in Sectional 23 could be on a collision course in the semifinal round.

Sectional 23
First Round
G1: Edgewood at Jennings County
G2: Greenwood Community at Connersville
G3: Shelbyville at #1 East Central
G4: #16 Martinsville at Silver Creek
Semifinals
G5: G1 winner vs. G2 winner
G6: G3 winner vs. G4 winner
Championship
G5 winner vs. G6 winner

Tournament Success Factor: East Central scored 4 points with last year's State Championship win. Should they win the Regional this year, they will have earned the minimum 6 points to move up to Class 5A based on tournament success factor. 

Sectional 31 could be looked at as one of the more intriguing brackets in Class 3A. Batesville (#13 Media, #11 Coaches and Lawrenceburg (#14 Media, #9 Coaches) headline the sectional as ranked teams. They played a barnburner on September 22 that Batesville won by a score of 26-23.

South Dearborn follows as the next best team in the sectional, according to the Sagarin. The Knights played Batesville tough, ultimately losing 20-14 all the way back on September 1. South Dearborn and Lawrenceburg will meet this Friday in a final measuring stick game for both teams before the start of the playoffs.

Lawrenceburg has dominated at the sectional level in recent memory, winning four in a row. Batesville's last sectional title came in 2015, while South Dearborn is seeking their first sectional championship in program history. Indian Creek and Centerville, newcomers to the sectional with South Dearborn a year ago, look to play spoiler. 

Sectional 31
First Round
G1: #9 Lawrenceburg at Centerville
G2: #11 Batesville at Rushville Consolidated
G3: Franklin County at South Dearborn
G4: Greensburg at Indian Creek
Semifinals
G5: G1 winner vs. G2 winner
G6: G3 winner vs. G4 winner
Championship
G5 winner vs. G6 winner

Tournament Success Factor: Lawrenceburg would have to return to the State Championship in order to be moved up to Class 4A. 

In Class 2A, Switzerland County will play Brown County in the first round. The Pacers will enter the tournament off their first winning regular season since the program began in 2015. Now, they turn their focus to winning their first sectional game in school history.

The Pacers will be favored in their opening round contest. Switzerland County currently ranks as the 5th best team in Sectional 39 (283rd in the state), according to the Sagarin. Brown County ranks last in the sectional at 302nd overall.

A potential semifinal matchup between Triton Central and Brownstown Central would be one of the top matchups in the state as both teams are ranked in the Top 3 in the class.

Sectional 39
First Round
G1: #2 Triton Central at Clarksville
G2: #10 Indianapolis Scecina at #3 Brownstown Central
G3: Brown County at Switzerland County
G4: Eastern (Pekin) at Christel House
Semifinals
G5: G1 winner vs. G2 winner
G6: G3 winner vs. G4 winner
Championship
G5 winner vs. G6 winner

Is this the year Milan finally gets back to tasting championship success? The Indians haven’t won a sectional championship since 2016, but they have been close. They have been knocked out of the postseason by North Decatur each of the last four years, including two sectional championship losses by a combined seven points in 2019 and 2020.

Milan ranks 136th in the state in the Sagarin, the best among Sectional 46 teams. They drew Cambridge City Lincoln (312th) in round one. Should the Indians advance, the most likely semifinal opponent is Tri. They defeated Knightstown 48-14 earlier in the season. However, Tri is having somewhat of a down year at 5-3 after being highly ranked in 1A each of the last three years.

And then, there is the potential for a fifth straight postseason meeting between Milan and North Decatur in the championship game. Milan is 3-0 and North Decatur is 1-2 versus common opponents. North Decatur has a win against South Decatur, but suffered losses to Eastern Hancock and Rushville.

Sectional 46 
First Round
G1: South Decatur at North Decatur
G2: Knightstown at Tri
G3: Milan at Cambridge City Lincoln.
Semifinals
G4: Edinburgh at G1 winner
G5: G2 winner vs. G3 winner
Championship
G6: G4 winner vs. G5 winner