New Palestine (5-0, 3-0) at Greenfield-Central (1-4, 1-2)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
Coaches: Kyle Ralph, 79-4 in 7th year at New Palestine. Travis Nolting, 1-4 in 1st year at Greenfield, 61-32 in 9th year overall.
Recent history: New Palestine leads the all-time series with the Cougars, 21-5. The Dragons have won eight straight against their county rivals, including last year’s 76-7 win.
Sagarin ratings: New Palestine, 102.14, 7th overall, 2nd in 5A. Greenfield, 35.53, 186th overall, 43rd in 4A.
Players to watch: New Palestine — QB Lincoln Roth, RB Charlie Spegal, DL Kyle King, LB Aven Jones, LB Richard Clevenger, DB Maxen Hook, DB Brody Luker; Greenfield-Central — QB/DB Lance McKee, QB Brodie Mayberry, FB/LB Bradon Nelson, TE/LB Tyler Antic, DB Chris O’Connor, RB/LB Brayden Herrell
What to look for: The Dragons have won 59 straight regular season games and 44 straight in the Hoosier Heritage Conference. After a slow first half in a 47-6 win over Pendleton Heights last week, the Dragons held the Arabians without a second-half first down and outscored them 33-0 the rest of the way. The Dragons are coming off their best half of football since a Week 2 win over Class 6A Center Grove. With a win over Shelbyville last week, Greenfield-Central won its first game since the 2017 season. Though Friday’s game is expected to be a convincing win for the Dragons, the Cougars should continue to show their program’s improvements under the leadership of Nolting. His team is extremely young and learning a new football culture with the first-year head coach.
Pendleton Heights (3-2, 2-1) at Mt. Vernon (3-2, 1-2)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
Coaches: Jed Richman, 20-17 in 4th year at Pendleton Heights, 55-47 in 10th year overall. Mike Kirschner, 10-6 in 2nd year at Mt. Vernon, 119-68 in 17th year overall.
Recent history: The series has been close, with Mt. Vernon holding a 21-19 edge over the last 40 head-to-head meetings. Mt. Vernon won last year’s game, 28-14.
Sagarin ratings: Pendleton Heights, 69.45, 57th overall, 11th in 4A. Mt. Vernon, 59.93, 90th overall, 23rd in 4A.
Players to watch: Mt. Vernon — QB Gehrig Slunaker, RB/FS Rylan Cole, OL/LB Charlie Moore, WR Ashden Gentry, WR Dawan Langston, TE/LB Luke Rappe; Pendleton Heights — QB Kirby Hess, RB Kamden Earley, WR Tristan Ross, LB Caden McClain, WR/DB Clay Britt
What to look for: It will likely be Friday’s most competitive game involving Hancock County schools. Pendleton Heights had its three-game winning streak ended by unbeaten New Palestine last week. The Arabians played a strong first half before the powerful Dragons took over. PH showed some versatility on offense. RB Earley is one of the conference’s top rushers, but when called on to convert third downs against the Dragons, QB Hess was able to complete a number of key passes to extend drives. Mt. Vernon is looking to get back on track. The Marauders have dropped two in a row, but both are to co-conference leaders New Palestine and Delta. The Marauders have shown all season they are a talented team, but they have to cut down on mistakes, most notably penalties. Kirschner has lamented the team’s sloppy play in recent weeks. If the Marauders can cut out the self-inflicted errors and play to their capabilities, they will be in the hunt when the game is in the final minutes. If the penalties and poor decision making continue, the Arabians will come out on top.
South Decatur (2-3) at Eastern Hancock (4-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Rick Zimmerman, 2-3 in 1st year at South Decatur. Doug Armstrong, 7-8 in 2nd year at Eastern Hancock, 104-87 in 18th year overall.
Recent history: Eastern Hancock leads the series 11-5 and won last year’s matchup 41-7.
Sagarin ratings: Eastern Hancock, 41.88, 161st overall, 21st in 2A. South Decatur, 0.18, 300th overall, 52nd in 1A.
Players to watch: Eastern Hancock — QB Houston Swan, RB/DB Victor Olivo, WR/FS Cole Rainbolt, RB/LB Garrett Friesen, DL Tyler Vandervliet, WR/DB Zach Arnold, WR/DB Cayden Sotelo, WR J.P. Fuchs
What to look for: After losing to Heritage Christian in Week 4, the high-powered Eastern Hancock offense got back on track in a 46-27 victory over rival Knightstown. The Royals have scored 40-plus points in all of their wins, and that could very well be the case in this Friday’s matchup against the Class 1A Cougars. South Decatur is giving up 42.3 points per game in its three losses and 31.4 points in all games, while the offense averages 17 points per contest. This could be a good chance for the Royals to continue to show improvement on the defensive side. They finished strong last week. After giving up over 200 yards rushing in the first half against Knightstown, the Royals shut down the Panthers in the final two quarters. Coach Armstrong likes the fight of his young defense, and he’ll want to see that again this week. The Royals should come away with their fifth win of the season, hoping to gain momentum heading to the toughest part of the schedule.
