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Lots going on in Week 2 -- or Week 1

Andy Amey, The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.
·4 min read

Aug. 27—Week 2 of Indiana high school football may not be as dramatic as its first week was, but that would be a tall order.

Week one of Illinois high school football is going to be celebrated regardless of its outcomes.

The I8FA makes its debut Friday night.

And the worrisome note: At least one Wabash Valley game has already been canceled. North Daviess won't play at North Central because more than half of the Thunderbirds were in quarantine earlier this week.

Some game times have been changed because of the heat wave, by the way, and more may be. These times — all in EDT — are the latest information the Tribune-Star has been able to find.

—Indianapolis Tech (1-0) at Terre Haute North (0-1), 7 p.m. — The Patriots won 28-13 at Tech last season, but this one might not be so easy.

Coach Craig Chambers of the Titans has had a year to get a system in place, and they opened with a big win last week. North struggled against Northview a week ago, but will get one important person back. That's head coach Billy Blundell, who missed the Patriots' opener.

—Crawfordsville (0-1) at West Vigo (0-0), 7 p.m. — This is a series the Vikings have dominated, winning all six times since the annual series resumed. The Athenians are also bringing a 12-game losing streak with them. It won't be as easy as it looks, but the Vikings should be eager to play after having their opener canceled.

—Greencastle (1-0) at Northview (1-0), 7 p.m. — The Tigers Cubs were the team that beat Crawfordsville last week, while the Knights had a nice win at Terre Haute North. The teams are Western Indiana Conference rivals, but the Knights are in the Gold Division and the Cubs are in the Green Division.

—Sullivan (1-0) at Linton (1-0), 7 p.m. — This figures to be the game of the weekend, if not the game of the year. Both teams are knocking at the door of the top 10 in their class — and both should probably already be there — and, for 48 minutes at least, aren't particularly fond of each other.

—North Vermillion (1-0, 0-0) at South Vermillion (0-1, 0-1), 7 p.m. — This Wabash River Valley and county championship game's outlook will depend on how many Wildcats are available this week. If last week is an indication, it won't be a defensive struggle, but it should be fun.

—Terre Haute South (0-1) at Noblesville (1-0), 7:30 p.m. — The Braves showed some defensive stubbornness and occasional offensive explosiveness last week, but they'll need to keep improving. Noblesville won by 21 last week against a team that had beaten the Millers by 25 in 2020, and handled the Braves easily a year ago.

—Riverton Parke (1-0, 1-0) at Fountain Central (0-1, 0-0), 7:30 p.m. — A 30-minute time change has already been announced for this WRC game. The Panthers will be shooting for their first 2-0 start in 15 years.

—Parke Heritage (1-0, 1-0) at Covington (1-0, 1-0), 8 p.m. — These two teams combined for 110 points in winning WRC openers last week. The game was moved back an hour because of the heat — or maybe because fireworks look better in the dark.

And in Illinois:

—Lawrenceville at Marshall, 8 p.m. — The Lions didn't win a game in the shortened spring season, and are probably tired of hearing that. The Indians are coming off a 1-4 season.

—Newton at Paris, 8 p.m. — The Tigers were 3-1, the Eagles 4-1 in the spring. Could be the game of the week in the Little Illini Conference.

—Casey at Olney, 8 p.m. — The Warriors were 4-2 a few months ago, the Tigers 2-4.

—Robinson at Charleston, 8 p.m. — The Maroons, who haven't lost since 2019 (they went 4-0 in the spring) open with a tough nonconference game. The Trojans had a 4-2 spring.

—Pawnee at Martinsville, 8:30 p.m. — Here's the debut game. I8FA is the Illinois 8-man Football Association that begins its first season. The Bluestreaks have been one of the Valley's grittiest teams recently (1-5 in the spring, three wins in 2019 despite never having more than 12 players, about half of them in the 130-pound range, available for any game) and don't plan to be too welcoming to their opponent from south of Springfield.