Jaden Miller and the NorthWood Panthers will host Parker Young and Wawasee in the opening round of the Class 4-A football sectional in two weeks. (File photo by Mike Deak)

INDIANAPOLIS – It was Christmas Eve for the football elves Sunday night. The IHSAA held its annual football selection show, revealing the brackets for the six class tournaments across the Hoosier state.

The road will be home for three of the five IFN area teams in its first game of the tournament.

Wawasee and NorthWood haven’t played each other in the Class 4-A tournament since 2012, but that will change on Oct. 25 when the Warriors will visit Andrews Field. The Warriors and Panthers played at Andrews Field on Sept. 20 in what was a competitive first half, only for the Panthers to pull away in the second half for a 40-10 win.

NorthWood comes into the final week 5-3 with a chance to cause some chaos in the Northern Lakes Conference as it hosts Plymouth. The Rockies are 6-0 in the NLC, and with Concord and Warsaw both at 5-1 and playing one another, the winner of that game, coupled with a potential Plymouth loss to NorthWood, could set up a tie atop the standings. NorthWood beat Plymouth a year ago in week nine to win the NLC title. Wawasee is 1-7 overall and looking to win at Goshen to pick up a NLC win to close the regular season.

Wawasee hasn’t won a sectional game since 2012, while NorthWood lost at Angola last year in the sectional championship round at Angola. The Hornets (4-4) or Leo (7-1) will get the winner in round two.

Warsaw (7-1) is looking forward to a road trip to the Region and a matchup with Chesterton (6-2). The two teams played in the 2017 state tournament where Warsaw won 26-16 in a game that had then-head coach Phil Jensen break the school record for career coaching wins (106). As was the case two years ago is the case now, a win over the Trojans would have Warsaw eyeballing a matchup with Penn. Penn (4-4) and Portage (1-7) meet in the other Sectional 2 game, both set for Nov. 1. But unlike in 2017, Warsaw would get the game at home at Fisher Field and a chance for a historic win as the Tigers still are chasing that elusive first sectional championship in the long history of Warsaw football.

A long road trip will also be the theme for Tippecanoe Valley, which will pack the Viking Ship and head to South Bend to face Washington on Oct. 25. The Vikings and Panthers are both 6-2 on the season, and in what is a very balanced eight-team Class 3-A bracket, has upwards of four teams playing in week nine for a conference championship. Valley is hosting Southwood this week for a shot at a tie with Southwood for the Three Rivers Conference crown. Mishawaka Marian and Jimtown, also in the Sectional 26 grid, are playing Northern Indiana Conference games with a shot at a South Division championship. West Noble is trying to seal up an undefeated run through the Northeast Corner Conference.

The Sectional 26 setup has the Valley-Washington winner taking on either Garrett or Jimtown in week two. On the other side reside a pair of Class 3-A top 10 programs in No. 4 Marian and No. 9 West Noble, the Knights hosting Lakeland and the Chargers visiting John Glenn. Valley is seeking its first sectional title since 1992.

Triton will find a new route in the Class 1-A state tournament. Rather than meeting up with teams from the US 31 corridor, Triton will meet up with foes from the Fort Wayne area. The Trojans (2-6) do get a home game, but will have a tough matchup with Northfield (4-4) on Oct. 25. The two teams used to be a week two staple, the last matchup in 2014, a 49-20 Norse win. Should Triton find the magic at home, week two’s matchup is going to be a whopper as either No. 3 Southwood (8-0) or No. 8 Churubusco (6-2) will be waiting. No. 4 Adams Central is the likely favorite to make the final on the other half of the grid.

Area Sectional Draws

Class 6-A No. 2 (Nov. 1)
Portage at Penn
Warsaw at Chesterton

Class 5-A No. 10
Elkhart Central at South Bend Adams (10/25)
Concord v. Central/Adams (11/1)
Elkhart Memorial at Mishawaka (11/1)

Class 5-A No. 11 (Nov. 1)
Fort Wayne Northrop at Goshen
Fort Wayne Dwenger at Fort Wayne North Side

Class 4-A No. 18 (Oct. 25)
New Prairie at South Bend Riley
South Bend Clay at Culver Academy
Logansport at South Bend St. Joe
Kankakee Valley at Plymouth

Class 4-A No. 19 (Oct. 25)
East Noble at Northridge
Columbia City at DeKalb
Wawasee at NorthWood
Angola at Leo

Class 3-A No. 26 (Oct. 25)
Tippecanoe Valley at South Bend Washington
Garrett at Jimtown
Lakeland at Mishawaka Marian
West Noble at John Glenn

Class 2-A No. 34 (Oct. 25)
Pioneer at Cass
Delphi at Rochester
Manchester at Bremen
Wabash at LaVille

Class 2-A No. 35 (Oct. 25)
Whitko at Prairie Heights
Fairfield at Bluffton
Central Noble at Fort Wayne Luers
Eastside at Woodlan

Class 1-A No. 41 (Oct. 25)
South Central at West Central
Culver at Lake Station Edison
South Newton at North Judson
Gary Roosevelt at Winamac

Class 1-A No. 44 (Oct. 25)
Southwood at Churubusco
Northfield at Triton
Fremont at North Miami
Caston at Adams Central