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Miners vying for SW 7 Conference championship
The 2011 high school football regular season comes to a close this week and in the case of one area team, there's more than just gaining momentum for next week's sectional openers and for the other two there's plenty at stake as well.
Linton-Stockton (8-0, 5-0) at North Central (8-0, 5-0)
There's absolutely no question where the biggest game of the week for Southwest Seven Conference fans will take place -- and there's no question what's at stake.
Farmersburg will be the place and the conference championship will be the prize when the Class A No. 3 Linton-Stockton Miners pay a visit to the No. 5 North Central Thunderbirds.
Both teams have remained unbeaten during the regular season, albeit by different means, and both teams are among the best in both the state and in Class A both offensively and defensively.
"We're excited, we're fired up," Linton-Stockton coach Steve Weber said. "The kids are excited you could see it in their eyes they're ready for this game with North Central as I'm sure they are. Everybody's going to be ready and it's going to be a heck of a game."
The Miners come into Friday's game sporting the highest scoring offense in the state -- a number that rose following last week's 77-0 lambasting of Union at Roy Williams Field.
Currently they score points at a 59.5 points per game clip.
But the Thunderbirds are no slouches offensively either. They currently sit 11th in the state and third in class A with a 44.1 per game average.
Not only do the Miners sit atop the state ledger in offensive average, they also head the class in average margin of victory. Linton-Stockton has won their games by an average of 42.38 points. But -- and you guessed it -- the Thunderbirds don't fall behind.
North Central has defeated opponents by an average of 33.88 points. That's 11th overall and third in class.
Defensively, both teams are almost as successful from a state-wide standpoint. The Miners currently allow 12.1 points a night, that places them fifth in class A (25th overall) while the Thunderbirds defense gives up 10.3 points a game, numbers that place them second in class and 13th in the state.
Miner junior quarterback Austin Karazsia has completed 123 of 177 passes for 1,997 yards with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also has rushed for four TDs.
Cole Bradbury is tops among Miner receivers with 32 receptions and 11 scores.
Brad Thomas has seven TD catches and a 22.5 yards per reception average.
Dess Fougerousse (19) and Koye Kaiser (17) have combined for 36 catches.
Kaiser (10.5 yards per carry and nine TDs) and Kent Helton (9.6 ypc and 7 touchdowns) lead a rushing attack that has produced 185 yards per game and 33 touchdowns.
Kaiser had 15 total scores, Bradbury 13 and Helton 11. Dyllanne Deischer has booted 48 PATs and two field goals.
Bradbury has three fumble recoveries and two interceptions. The Miners have forced 26 total turnovers.
For those who like to take numbers to an even deeper level, Bloomington's Jeff Sagarin has pegged the Miners as a nine-point favorite.
But as any good fan knows, there's a whole lot more to a football game, no matter how huge the stakes, than just the numbers.
Both teams come into the contest with offenses led by solid quarterbacks -- Karazsia, who already has broken the single-season mark for TD passes for the Miners and his counterpart Zach Lyday.
And according to Weber both will have a big hand in who ultimately wins the SW7 crown.
He says if Lyday's team can chew up the clock, and thus keep Karazsia and his plethora of weapons off the field, things could go the way of the green and white, if not it could be another Miner romp.
"I think they have great talent. If they can control the ball and eat the clock and keep our offense off the field, yeah they can make a good game of it," he said. "I think if they can't chew the clock then we have a bigger chance of scoring some points, a lot of points because we seem to be moving the ball offensively.
"I think they are a team with the right combination, they get a few stops, we drop the ball, get a few penalties and they move the ball, they can win easy.
"They can throw the ball well, Lyday is an excellent talent. I look for a very good game."
Even with all of the numbers pointing to a close, competitive game, the Thunderbirds still have their critics.
There are those that claim because the T-Birds haven't been dominant up and down their entire schedule, and because they've found themselves in some dogfights that many of those same critics believe their Top 10 ranking in both the Associated Press and coach's polls is one of convenience more than merit.
But Weber certainly isn't one of them. He insists that all things being equal, North Central is deserving of their recognition and more than a worthy opponent. He also believes those that doubt the T-Birds don't know the reality of the situation.
"I think they're crazy, you can't go in there be a team ranked fourth or fifth or whatever in the state and think who they played against they didn't earn the win," Weber said. "That's what good teams do -- they find a way to win.
"I would say that our schedule is not that highly rated either, so you can't say that (is a factor). We'll find out Friday."
Just for the record, the Miners have won the last 17 meetings and hold a 33-8 edge in the series.
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Thunderbird Field.
Tecumseh (2-6) at Eastern Greene (3-5)
The Eastern Greene Thunderbirds come into the regular season finale with the momentum of a two-game winning streak while the Tecumseh Braves are at the tail end of their third straight losing season.
This game will also mark another milestone for the Thunderbirds, it's the third week in a row they've been favored to come out on top.
This week Sagarin has them as a two-point favorite thanks mostly to home field for the contest and an offense that has shown signs of life of late.
The T-Birds have improved their scoring average to 26 points per game and have tightened their defensive average to 30 points a night while the Braves come into Friday's contest scoring three points less and allowing nearly six more tallies a contest.
For Eastern Greene and head coach Luke Dean, Friday's task is simple, for his team to keep their current winning streak (the longest in school history) alive and reach one of their preseason goals, they have to be ready for anything, especially an aerial attack.
"Tecumseh is a team that really likes to throw the football," Dean said. "Our defensive backs and even our linebackers will be challenged.
"One of our goals was to get to .500 and the only way we have a chance of doing that is to get a win Friday. We have to cut down on our penalties and mistakes if we want to enter the sectional with a three-game winning streak."
Dean will look for his top of the line ball hauler Jarred Groomer to do most of the damage, something he's more than accustomed to doing on a regular basis.
In last week's 73-12 win over Southside Home School, Groomer tied his school record with five touchdowns -- all of which came on the ground -- and 217 yards in just 14 attempts.
The Thunderbirds racked up over 600 yards of total offense and Dean hopes that will continue this week.
There's not a lot of history between the two schools, just one meeting back in 2009. And that went the Braves way 46-14.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Little Cincinnati.
Wood Memorial (1-7, 0-5) at Union (2-6, 0-5)
The battle to stay out of the basement in the Southwest Seven standings pits the Union Bulldogs and Wood Memorial Trojans in the first of a two-game series.
After the two teams meet at Dugger on Friday, they will turn around and meet again at the same spot in the first round of the sectional the following week.
Both teams have found it difficult to put points on the scoreboard and both have been known to give up a lot of markers.
The two teams are nearly even when it comes to offensive numbers. The Bulldogs have scored an average of 12 points a game and the Trojans 11.6, so who has the edge?
It may come on defense where the Bulldogs have fared better -- about 10 points better.
They've allowed a disheartening 39.5 but Wood Memorial has given up almost 50 (49.4).
Then there's the home field advantage.
Between two teams that are evenly matched as these two, Union's friendly confines could prove to be the difference, especially if you take into account the Sagarin ratings that put the Bulldogs ahead by a point and a half.
But all of that isn't at the forefront of the mind of Union coach Todd Gambill. Instead he's more focused on finding out who will be healthy for Friday night.
In last week's loss to the Linton-Stockton Miners quarterback Sterling Langley was sidelined with a left arm injury. Add that to Gambill's woes in finding a consistent line on either side of the ball and this week has him hoping for medical miracles.
"Talent wise this is a whole lot better match up for us," Gambill said. "But that depends on whether we're healthy or not. Out of the few that we've got five hurt players is big number."
Gambill said the five that are out, leave him with a lot of key holes to fill in his lineup.
"They're five guys that you could depend on week in and week out," Gambill noted. "Seth (Gambill) is not in the lineup, Dakota Brown, Hunter Swan and Sterling (Langley) is our quarterback. So, it's going to be a tall order, no matter who we play."
But he said all of the negative won't be a focus. Rather what they can do to counter that negative.
"We're going to work hard in practice this week and we'll play with who's healthy and we'll play with who's there -- we've got to stay positive."
This game is slated to get underway at Dugger at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.