After having a two-game streak of losing by just one point, the Berries’ regular season record finished with six wins and three losses, only losing by a total of ten points. Logansport football will be back in action tomorrow night, Friday, Oct. 24, in the first round of the sectional. The Berries (6-3) will host the reigning sectional champions, the Huntington North Vikings (4-5), on Logansport’s home field, Parkview Stadium.
Also playing in the first round of Sectional 20 is Lebanon (7-2) vs. Culver Academies (3-6) and Muncie Central (5-4) vs. Marion (2-7). The winner of the Lebanon and Culver Academies game will advance to play Frankfort (0-9), who received the bye in the draw. On the other side of the bracket, the winner of the Muncie Central and Marion game will take on the victor of Logansport and Huntington North.
“I think we got a pretty good draw,” outside linebacker and relief quarterback Kolten Hudson said. “Huntington North is a good football team and will be tough to beat. Lebanon is on the other side of the bracket, and they are the ones who eliminated us last year. I would love to see them again in the championship.”
Despite Hudson’s positive outlook on the draw, sectional 20 is a competitive one to win, with four teams with strong records. Despite being Class 3A in other sports, Logansport is a Class 4A football team. This results in playing larger schools, most notably Huntington North, ranked at 18th in Jeff Sagarin’s 4A rankings, Lebanon at 24th, Logansport at 27th and Muncie Central at 31st.
“Our sectional this year is still pretty tough with teams like Marion and Muncie Central becoming stronger opponents as well as Lebanon and our first opponent, Huntington North, being no one to screw around with,” offensive and defensive lineman Robert “RJ” Clem said. “Still, I feel that Logansport as a team is the toughest team in sectional 20.”
Just last year, Huntington North took home the sectional trophy after winning in overtime against the Berries’ victor, the Lebanon Tigers. Last year at this time, the Berries ended with a regular season record of (8-1) and ranked 91st in the state after sectionals in the MaxPreps standings. This year, Logansport has fallen in a few close games and currently lies at 113th in the Indiana MaxPreps rankings. Despite having a losing record, the Vikings have played a slightly tougher schedule and are 98th in the rankings.
“For our preparation, we are all going to make sure we know what we are doing at all times,” Hudson said. “The last couple of games we haven’t been very good in the first half, and always end up coming back in the second half. As long as our guys know their jobs and come out playing from the start, I believe we will win.”
The Berries are undefeated this season on their home turf, where they have shown they perform their best. If Logansport can secure the victory against the Vikings, they will continue to play at home until the Sectional Championship. The kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on 94.9 FM and 1230 AM WSAL. Students and fans are heavily encouraged to attend, and the student section theme is “Glow Out.”
“Winning Friday means another week with my football family and the chance to win again,” defensive end and offensive guard Larry Umholtz said. “Now, more than ever, victory isn’t just the goal, but the only option for us. Being able to see the crowd and have our friends and family watching gives us another reason to win.”
