Regional 6 Preview: Breakdown

Kyler Staley February 24, 2021 @ 02:16 PM

The high school season is almost over and we are getting locked in for the State Playoffs. It is that time of year where we start looking ahead and previewing each and every Sectional. Time to take a look at the pairings that make up Regional 6.   Sectional 21: West Noble The Teams: West Noble, Lakeland, NorthWood, Tippecanoe Valley, Wawasee Our Contenders: West Noble, NorthWood Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="1077045" first="Brayden" last="Bontrager"] (2021) Prediction: This is one of the more unique Sectionals in the state as their is not really a clear cut favorite. Other than Tippecanoe Valley, every team in this Sectional has at least 9 wins and would not come as a shock if one them went on a run. Now when it comes down to it, West Noble and NorthWood are the two favorites based on the fact that they are the only two teams with double-digit win totals. Going to go with Wawasee to beat Tippecanoe Valley in the opening round and then for Wawasee to lose to NorthWood in the semis. On the other side of the bracket, West Noble is the slight favorite over Lakeland so going with them to meet NorthWood in the final game. As far as the Sectional 21 winner, NorthWood is the pick here in what should be a great game.   Sectional 22: Woodlan The Teams: Bishop Dwenger, Concordia, Woodlan, Bishop Luers, Garrett, Leo, Angola Our Contenders: Leo Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="963913" first="Zack" last="Troyer"] (2021) Prediction: This is Sectional is all about the Leo Lions and no other team comes close to being considered a contender here. I am going to predict Leo is going to beat Angola in the opening round before beating Bishop Luers, who will beat Garrett, in the semi-final round before heading to the championship game. On the top part of the bracket, I like Woodlan over Concordia in the opening round and then having them lose to Bishop Dwenger in the semi-final round. So that leaves us with Bishop Dwenger and Leo in the Sectional 22 Championship. Dwenger does have the talent to stick around for a bit with players like [player_tooltip player_id="874145" first="Brenden" last="Lytle"] and [player_tooltip player_id="870283" first="Owen" last="Shively"], but Leo is just playing at a whole different level at the moment and they are going to continue to ride that wave.   Sectional 23: Mississinewa The Teams: Heritage, Oak Hill, Mississinewa, Norwell, Belmont, Eastern (Greentown) Our Contenders: Mississinewa, Belmont Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="963899" first="Tai" last="McClung"] (2021) Prediction: This Sectional comes down to two teams leading the pack, Mississinewa and Belmont, with the potential of a couple of upsets. Heritage, Oak Hill, Norwell, Eastern are all tough teams in their own right and are more than capable of going on a run here. Mississinewa and Belmont are on opposite sides of the bracket here and should be the two favorites to meet in the finals. In the end, I am going with Mississinewa based on the fact that they have the more talented roster of the 6, especially with senior stud [player_tooltip player_id="963899" first="Tai" last="McClung"] at the helm. Expect at least one upset in this group next week.   Sectional 24: New Castle The Teams: Muncie Burris, Hamilton Heights, Yorktown, New Castle, Jay County, Delta, Our Contenders: Hamilton Heights, Yorktown, Delta Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="783145" first="Gus" last="Etchison"] (2021) Prediction: 3 teams in this one that all have a pretty even chance of winning Sectional 24. Out of the 3, Delta has the easiest path to the finals as they will probably go through both Jay County and New Castle pretty easily. On the other side is where things get interesting and provide more of a competition. 2 of the 3 favorites, Hamilton Heights and Yorktown, meet in the opening round and that game is honestly a toss-up. However, I think [player_tooltip player_id="783145" first="Gus" last="Etchison"] will be a little too much for Yorktown to contain so going with Hamilton Heights to win and go on to also beat Muncie Burris in the semis. A final game of Delta-Hamilton Heights should be really good but I think the Etchison factor comes into play here once again. Throw in his teammate [player_tooltip player_id="963916" first="Lucas" last="Letsinger"], this team has the backcourt to carry them for a deep run.