Here are the 2024 IHSAA high school football sectional pairings for the Evansville area

Posted by Admin October 13, 2024 Football

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EVANSVILLE — The path to Indianapolis is now set.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association released its football sectional pairings via its annual blind draw on Sunday. The first round of the state tournament is scheduled for Oct. 25 with Class 5A and 6A beginning the following week.

There are currently seven teams from the Evansville area ranked in the USA Today Network Indiana media poll. The following are the defending sectional champions locally: North (5A), Memorial (now in 3A), Gibson Southern (3A), Heritage Hills (3A) and North Posey (2A).

More: What we learned from Week 8 of Southwestern Indiana high school football

Here are the sectional pairings in the Courier & Press coverage area and a breakdown of each draw:

Class 5A

Sectional 16

New Albany (3-5) at North (3-5)

No. 8 Castle (7-1) at Floyd Central (5-2)

Analysis: A possible championship game to start with Castle-Floyd Central, but it’s more likely in a four-team sectional. North is probably happy with this result and has the defense to stay in most games. A potential Castle-North rematch would be at John Lidy Field.

Class 4A

Sectional 24

Washington (5-3) at Boonville (4-4)

Jasper (4-4) at Harrison (1-7)

Central (1-7) at No. 8 Reitz (6-2)

Bosse (0-8) at Washington/Boonville winner

Analysis: Could it be time for Reitz? Or maybe Jasper? Their potential semifinal matchup is possibly the most anticipated. One probably shouldn’t overlook Harrison after it put up 33 points in a loss to Jasper in Week 2. The Washington-Boonville winner is the favorite from the other side of the bracket.

Class 3A

Sectional 32

No. 1 Memorial (8-0) at No. 7 Mater Dei (7-1)

Mount Vernon (4-4) at No. 17 Southridge (6-2)

Vincennes Lincoln (3-5) at Princeton (1-7)

No. 2 Heritage Hills (7-1) at No. 6 Gibson Southern (6-2)

Analysis: Here’s the deal. This sectional is too good top to bottom for there to not be a high-profile matchup in round one. But overall this field is…fine? The potential Memorial-Mater Dei versus Southridge semifinal is an underrated game. A Heritage Hills-Gibson Southern rematch felt inevitable. The one thing done correct with this bracket – again, there’s at least five good to great teams – was putting Memorial and Heritage Hills on opposite sides.

Class 2A

Sectional 39

Greencastle (2-6) at Pike Central (3-5)

Mitchell (1-7) at Brown County (4-4)

No. 5 North Posey (6-2) at No. 12 South Vermillion (8-0)

Sullivan (3-5) at No. 9 Linton-Stockton (6-2)

Analysis: A trio of top-12 teams on the same side the bracket? Because of course that’s the draw. A tough opening game for North Posey against a South Vermillion team averaging 42.9 points. The “reward” is likely a game with Linton-Stockton. If anyone is a winner with this bracket, it could be Pike Central or Brown County. One more win gives the Chargers their most in a season since 2016.

Sectional 40

No. 2 Brownstown Central (8-0) at Switzerland County (6-2)

Eastern (Pekin) (1-7) at No. 10 Paoli (8-0)

Tell City (4-4) at Crawford County (0-8)

Clarksville (0-8) at Salem (3-5)

Analysis: A good draw for a Tell City team dealing with injuries. The Marksmen still might be the favorite on the bottom half of the bracket. They last time they won multiple postseason games: 2000. Of course, the prime matchup here would be Brownstown vs. Paoli in the semifinals.

Class 1A

Sectional 48

North Knox (2-6) at North Daviess (6-2)

Perry Central (4-4) at Tecumseh (0-8)

No. 2 Providence (7-0) at No. 6 Springs Valley (7-1)

South Spencer (4-4) at Forest Park (5-3)

Analysis: These teams aren’t in the C&P coverage area, but a rough look having two top-10 teams meet in the first round. The Providence-Springs Valley winner will be the favorite. The PAC is guaranteed one team in the semifinal with a South Spencer-Forest Park rematch up first (the Rebels won 14-6 when the remnants of Hurricane Helene rolled through). The team to watch on the other side is Southwest Conference champion North Daviess.