Regional 9 Preview: Breakdown

Kyler Staley February 26, 2021 @ 07:00 AM

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 9.   Sectional 33: Whiting The Teams: Whiting, Hammond Noll, Marquette Catholic, Andrean, Bowman Academy, Illiana Christian, Lake Station Our Contenders: Marquette Catholic, Illiana Christian Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="874185" first="Logan" last="Van Essen"] (2021) Prediction: Really only two teams stand out in this one with Illiana Christian having a tougher path than Marquette Catholic. Starting at the top with Marquette, they will easily go through Hammond Noll (2-15) and Whiting (3-15) to get to the Championship game so should be any concern there. Then down below you will see two opening games that will probably see Andrean beating Bowman Academy and Illiana Christian surviving a solid Lake Station team. Then that will lead to what should be a pretty good game between [player_tooltip player_id="843584" first="Ben" last="Jones"] and Andrean vs [player_tooltip player_id="874185" first="Logan" last="Van Essen"] and Illiana. I think Illiana has the slightly better team so expecting them to meet Marquette in the finals and beat them as well.   Sectional 34: North Judson The Teams: South Central, Boone Grove, South Bend Career, North Judson, Westville, Hebron, LaVille Our Contenders: South Central, Boone Grove, LaVille Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="1049181" first="Kelson" last="Jordan"] (2023) Prediction: On paper there are 3 teams that should be labeled as "contenders" with those teams being South Central, Boone Grove, and LaVille. But looking at how the bracket is laid out, there are some possibilities of at least 1 or 2 upsets on the path to the finals. Starting up top, should see Boone Grove defeat South Bend Career which will lead to a huge game between them and South Central. I am going to go with Boone Grove in sort of a "revenge game" and beat South Central who defeated Boone Grove in the regular season, 41-39. On the bottom I am going to go with Laville over Hebron and Westville over the home team, North Judson. That will lead to what could be a closer contest than you think with Laville and Westville as these two met in the regular season which ended up in a 3 point win for LaVille at the time. Going to go with LaVille over Westville again, but have them lose to a good Boone Grove squad giving the Wolves their first Sectional Championship since 2013.   Sectional 35: Westview The Teams: Bremen, Eastside, Fairfield, Prairie Heights, Churubusco, Central Noble, Westview Our Contenders: Eastside, Churubusco, Central Noble, Westview Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="1077044" first="Sawyer" last="Yoder"] (2021) Prediction: This is easily the best Sectional in Regional 9 and 4 teams have legit chance at winning this thing. Starting up top, [player_tooltip player_id="870276" first="Gabe" last="Trevino"] and Eastside have the easiest path to the finals and should steamroll past Fairfield and Bremen. The bottom part of the bracket is insanely loaded with Churubusco, Central Noble, and Westview down there. Churubusco will beat Prairie Heights and Central Noble will beat Westview in a great game. That will lead to a huge matchup of [player_tooltip player_id="874125" first="Landen" last="Jordan"] and Churubusco vs [player_tooltip player_id="1077044" first="Sawyer" last="Yoder"] and Central Noble which should see Central Noble winning here. Eastside will give everything they have in the finals vs Central Noble but the Cougars are just too hot right not. Ranked 3rd in 2A and have won 20 straight, it is hard not to go with them.   Sectional 36: Bluffton The Teams: Whitko, Wabash, Blackhawk Christian , Bluffton, Canterbury, South Adams, Adams Central, Manchester Our Contenders: Blackhawk Christian Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="529561" first="Caleb" last="Furst"] (2021) Prediction: This is all Blackhawk here. They have been the best team in 2A all season and with a roster of [player_tooltip player_id="529561" first="Caleb" last="Furst"], [player_tooltip player_id="569345" first="Zane" last="Burke"], and [player_tooltip player_id="874187" first="Marcus" last="Davidson"], you can’t really bet against them. Probably will see them meet South Adams in the Sectional 36 Final and even though South Adams has had a good season in their own right (13-8), they just do not have the horses to run with this Blackhawk squad. Blackhawk Christian is the only pick here and they will win their 4th straight Sectional and be well on their way for a second straight 2A State Championship.