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BY PAUL CONDRY AND MATT KOPSEA
*AVON AT HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN *
GAME TIME: 7 pm ET, Royal Stadium.
COACHES: Mark Bless, 26-11 in 4th year at Avon, 175-78 in 24th year overall. Scott May, 58-13 in 7th year at Hamilton Southeastern, 61-32 in 9th year overall.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Hamilton Southeastern, 8-5.
LAST MEETING: Avon, 17-14, Aug. 17, 2012.
COACHES COMMENTS:
"Avon is again a very BIG team up front. For us to win, we have to control their size up front, get first downs on offense, and not let their 6'5, 210-pound quarterback (Richie Steinmetz) beat us deep. Last year, special teams hurt us at the end of the game. Week one is always a concern, so we have spent extra time in that area this year." – Hamilton Southeastern coach Scott May.
BREBEUF JESUIT AT INDIANAPOLIS BISHOP CHATARD
GAME TIME: 7:30 pm ET, Lawrence Central HS.
COACHES: Mic Roessler, 0-0 in 1st year at Brebeuf Jesuit. Vince Lorenzano, 123-23 in 11th year at Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, 183-92 in 23rd year overall.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, 10-0.
LAST MEETING: Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, 28-0, sectional, Oct. 26, 2012.
COACHES COMMENTS: "We need to limit our mistakes and play aggressively for all four quarters." – Brebeuf Jesuit coach Mic Roessler.
"On offense, we need to have ball security, control the line of scrimmage, run the clock and keep the ball away from their playmakers, and force them to play a lot of plays on both sides of the ball. Defensively, we can't give up big plays. We must create great field position for our offense, force turnovers, and tackle. On special teams, we must establish field position, allow no big plays, take care of the football, and win the hitting battle. These are the things that we must accomplish in order to reach our potential as a team." – Bishop Chatard coach Vince Lorenzano.
*CASTLE VS.TERRE HAUTE NORTH *
GAME TIME: 8:30 pm ET, Lucas Oil Stadium.
COACHES: Doug Hurt, 58-26 in 8th year at Castle. Chris Barrett, 44-75 in 12th year at Terre Haute North, 72-107 in 19th year overall.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Castle, 3-2.
LAST MEETING: Castle, 35-24, Aug. 17, 2012.
COACHES COMMENTS: "To beat the Patriots, we are going to have to play exceptionally well. They are talented and very well-coached. Chris Barrett and his program are class acts. They are fundamentally sound and always well prepared. Turnovers will most likely determine the game. If we get into a shootout with them, we most likely won't be able to keep up. Their running backs, Ricky Brookings and Kai Stratton, are as good as we will see all year. Chris Barrett II is an excellent quarterback. Their defense is big and physical. They have the potential to be the best team we will see on our regular season schedule. We will need to move the football, keep our defense off of the field, and avoid turnovers to have a shot at winning the game." – Castle coach Doug Hurt.
"Castle is always one of the most fundamentally sound teams we play. When you play a team like that you have to eliminate mistakes. Offensively, we have to eliminate turnovers and penalties and defensively, we have to be able to stop their jailbreak screen and their zone running game." – TH North coach Chris Barrett.
*CENTER GROVE AT WARREN CENTRAL *
GAME TIME: 7 pm ET, Warren Central Field.
COACHES: Eric Moore, 128-49 in 15th year at Center Grove, 176-54 in 19th year overall. Jayson West, 0-0 in 1st year at Warren Central, 52-12 in 6th year overall.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Warren Central, 12-5.
LAST MEETING: Center Grove, 8-5, Oct. 12, 2012.
COACHES COMMENTS: "This is a huge game to start our season. We are a very inexperienced team to have to start with an opponent of this level. They are big, fast, athletic, and very physical as usual. In order for the Trojans to compete, we will have to get first downs and keep that powerful (Warren Central quarterback) Jeff George offense off the field. We have to eliminate big plays for Warren Central by making them drive the ball and not score on long runs or passes. We have to make a big plays early in the game! This has to happen as a result and interception, fumble recovery, trick play conversion, etc." – Center Grove coach Eric Moore.
"We have to do our best to beat them at their own game. Control the ball, make the big plays more times than Center Grove, and play very stingy defense to help control field position." – Warren Central coach Jayson West.
*FORT WAYNE SNIDER AT FORT WAYNE BISHOP LUERS *
GAME TIME: 7 pm ET, Luers Field.
COACHES: Kurt Tippmann, 42-12 in 5th year at Fort Wayne Snider. Kyle Lindsay, 0-1 in 1st year at Fort Wayne Bishop Luers.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Fort Wayne Snider, 11-4.
LAST MEETING: Fort Wayne Snider, 10-7, Aug. 17, 2012.
COACHES COMMENTS: "Kicking off the season against Luers is always a tough deal. It will be a great test of what kind of team we currently have. We know we will not be able to make a bunch of mistakes. Right now, that is my main concern. We will be playing many guys that have not been in "the fire" yet. For the past two years, many of them have been watching on Friday nights, counting on other guys to 'get the job done' for a win. It is now their turn. Their preparation to play well is something that many of them must do for the first time and accept the responsibility to be 'the guy' at their respective position. It may be a learning process. We will see for sure on Friday. As always, Luers will be very well coached and play extremely hard. We must match their intensity and play just as tough to have a chance." – F.W. Snider coach Kurt Tippmann.
"To win against the Snider Panthers, we must offensively take care of the ball and force them to defend the entire field. They get to the ball as a defense quicker than anyone around. Defensively, we must get to the ball and gang-tackle. We must be on top of our option responsibilities and keep the ball in front of us at all times. Our special teams has to make an impact in all phases: covering, returning, and kicking. If we can do all of these things, we will have a chance to win Friday night." – Bishop Luers coach Kyle Lindsay.
*HAMILTON HEIGHTS AT TIPTON *
GAME TIME: 7 pm ET, Tipton field.
COACHES: Mitch Street, 22-5 in 3rd year at Hamilton Heights. Aaron Tolle, 62-31 in 9th year at Tipton.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Tipton, 7-6.
LAST MEETING: Tipton, 19-14, Aug. 18, 2012.
COACHES COMMENTS: "We need to be sound in all phases of the game. We must limit the mental mistakes that often come early in the season, and we also must protect the football. They will be a physical and well-coached team, so we must execute the game plan and must be able to execute any adjustments that need to be made throughout." – Hamilton Heights coach Mitch Street.
"The Tipton-Heights game is always a great game and in my opinion, one of the best rivalries in the state. In order to win "THE HAMMER", we must dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Hamilton Heights has some excellent skill players, thus we must contain them and prevent big plays or easy scores. If we can do these two things, we should have a great opportunity to win the game." – Tipton coach Aaron Tolle.
*INDIANAPOLIS CATHEDRAL VS. BEN DAVIS *
GAME TIME: 6 pm ET, Lucas Oil Stadium.
COACHES: Rick Streiff, 178-42 in 19th year at Indianapolis Cathedral, 201-85 in 25th year overall. Mike Kirschner, 46-22 in 7th year at Ben Davis, 60-48 in 11th year overall.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Ben Davis, 6-0.
LAST MEETING: Ben Davis, 24-21, Aug. 17, 2012.
COACHES COMMENTS: "We must control the line of scrimmage. We lack size and it will be important to use speed to counteract Ben Davis' size. We are young (sophomore starters), so we are going to learn by fire!" – Cathedral coach Rick Streiff.
"We have a very tough task this week vs. Cathedral. They have four (NCAA) D-1 players on offense and a defense that is very athletic. We will have to overcome first game jitters and keep turnovers down in order to beat the defending 4A three-time state champion." Ben Davis coach Mike Kirschner.
*INDIANAPOLIS CARDINAL RITTER AT HERITAGE CHRISTIAN *
GAME TIME: 7 pm ET, Heritage Christian Field.
COACHES: Ty Hunt, 80-14 in 8th year at Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter. Ron Qualls, 73-51 in 12th year at Heritage Christian.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter, 10-1.
LAST MEETING: Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter, 42-41, Aug. 17, 2012.
COACHES COMMENTS: "We will have to prevent the big play and concentrate on the fundamentals that will help us get better. As always we must tackle, block, catch, and run harder than our opponent." Cardinal Ritter coach Ty Hunt.
"We believe it is a high profile game! For us to win (on the scoreboard) vs. Ritter, we will need to make sure we slow down their scoring machine. We cannot make this a shootout like last year's instant classic season opener in Lucas Oil (42-41).With their talented quarterback (Jake Purichia) (who I believe one of the best in the state), along with a receiver (Jake Hagen) who had multiple touchdowns receptions in the Class 2A state championship game (40-28 loss to F.W. Bishop Luers), they have the best passing attack coming back in the state. In addition to the air attack, they are also blessed with a very talented and hard- nosed running back in (Logan) Beaman. All of that being said, we believe we also have some talented players returning in 6'5 300 pound Ethan McKenzie, and receivers Tyler Gerig, John Bryant, Andy Hunt, and Andrew Bichey. If everyone hits on all cylinders Friday night, we believe we will be able to rev up the fun gun attack and make this another memorable night for Indiana HS football." Heritage Christian coach Ron Qualls.
*LEWIS CASS AT PIONEER *
GAME TIME: 7 pm ET, The Pit.
COACHES: Scott Mannering, 200-98 in 28th year at Lewis Cass. Mike Johnson, 179-72 in 23rd year at Pioneer.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Lewis Cass, 4-2.
LAST MEETING: Lewis Cass, 33-12, Aug. 17, 2012.
COACHES COMMENTS:" Pioneer is very young, but they are talented and disciplined as usual. They play fast and physical. For us to have a chance, we must be able to match their intensity for four quarters. We will not be able to turn the ball over and expect to beat this team." – Lewis Cass coach Scott Mannering.
*PLYMOUTH AT BREMEN *
GAME TIME: 7:30 pm ET, Don Bunge Field.
COACHES: John Barron, 69-30 in 10th year at Plymouth. Bob Holmes, 28-9 in 4th year at Bremen, 94-80 in 18th year overall.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Plymouth, 13-2.
LAST MEETING: Bremen, 42-26, Aug. 17, 2012.
COACHES COMMENTS: "We have to score more points! Seriously, they are a very experienced team and we are not in some critical positions. They are very well coached and they play with a lot of confidence, so it will be difficult to beat them at Don Bunge Field."- Plymouth coach John Barron.
"To have a shot at the Rockies this week, we must take care of the football much better than we did last week in the scrimmage and play disciplined defense against Plymouth's versatile option offense." - Bremen coach Bob Holmes.
MATT'S PICK:
*TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT CULVER MILITARY ACADEMY *
GAME TIME: 7:30 pm ET, Oliver Field.
COACHES: Jeff Shriver, 42-29 in 8th year at Tippecanoe Valley. Andy Dorrel, 86-76 in 16th year at Culver Military Academy.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Culver Military Academy, 7-3.
LAST MEETING: Culver Military Academy, 27-22, Aug. 17, 2012.
COACHES COMMENTS:
"The Culver Eagles are anxiously looking forward to kicking off the 2013 football season as they host long-time rival, the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings. Tippecanoe features a potent offensive attack in All-State receiver Tanner Andrews, an experienced quarterback in Ben Shriver, and a speedy halfback, Nolan Sponseller. Traditionally Tippy Valley is a big physical team that works to wear down opponents with their size and strength. Defensively, their 4-4 scheme makes it challenging for opposing teams to run the football and it appears that the Vikings are as strong as ever on the defensive side of the football. In order for the CMA Eagles to have success this Friday, we will need to take care of the football and execute some big plays. We anticipate a physical battle upfront so CMA's big play potential of Pierre Byrne, David Dilts, Max Arguindegui, Hayes Barnes, and Jesse Brownfield will need to have success in order for the Eagles to make the most of their home opener. Additionally, the Eagles will feature over a dozen new starters this Friday who will need to quickly make the adjustment to game speed and the mental challenges Friday night football offers. Regardless of the challenges ahead the Culver Eagles are looking forward to the opportunity to showcase their hard work and efforts." – CMA coach Andy Dorrel.
*WEST LAFAYETTE AT TRI-WEST *
GAME TIME: 7 pm ET, Tri-West Field.
COACHES: Shane Fry, 0-0 in 1st year at West Lafayette. Chris Coll, 39-33 in 8th year at Tri-West.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: West Lafayette, 1-0.
LAST MEETING: West Lafayette, 9-7, Aug. 17, 2012.
COACHES COMMENTS: "In order for us to beat Tri-West Friday night, we must take care of the football on offense. We also need to contain their quarterback (#8 Jake Hendershot). He is a tremendous football player. He can run and pass, and has improved a great deal since week one last season." – West Lafayette coach Shane Fry.
"In our week one matchup with West Lafayette, we will need to do two things. We have to put together drives on offense. It is important that we keep our offense on the field and limit the opportunities the West Lafayette offense gets. They look to have explosive potential with their running back, Maurice Woodard (potentially one of the state's best), as well a quarterback (Parker Ronchetto) that looks to be pretty dynamic too. He looks athletic and potentially explosive. On defense, we must play great team defense. We have to play our responsibilities and then have great team pursuit and team tackling. This is critical with the athleticism their playmakers have. Again, we have to hang on to the ball and keep our offense on the field. And then play great team defense when they have the ball. Those are the two biggest keys for our success." – Tri-West coach Chris Coll.
