News

TRIP TO LUCAS OIL STADIUM IS ONE WIN AWAY
Ten tickets will be punched to the 37th Annual IHSAA Football State Finals presented by the Indianapolis Colts when semi-state championship games are played this weekend across the five classifications.

Eight games will be played on Friday night while two others have been moved to Saturday evening.

Seven undefeated teams remain including two that will face off in the Class 2A south semi-state. Second-ranked Paoli (13-0) will travel to face No. 3 Monrovia (13-0) at Plainfield High School on Friday. Both teams will be playing for their first semi-state championship. The other 2A game features No. 5 Rensselaer Central (11-2) meeting Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (8-5) in Fort Wayne. Rensselaer Central won its first regional last weekend while Bishop Luers hopes to set a record with its 12th appearance in the state championship games.

In 4A, undefeated Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (13-0) travels to Lowell (12-1) in a Saturday matchup. The two teams will face each other for the third consecutive year with a state finals berth on the line. Lowell won on its home field in 2007 while Dwenger won at home last year. Last weekend, Dwenger won its fourth consecutive regional crown and set a state record with its 16th overall following its 49-12 victory over Delta.

The other 4A semi-state pits the last two state champions against each other as undefeated Evansville Reitz (13-0) hosts defending state champion and top-ranked Indianapolis Cathedral (12-1). It’s also a matchup of the two winningest teams in state history. Cathedral enters the game with 648 victories in school history and Reitz with 619.

No. 2 West Lafayette (13-0) will host No. 4 Jimtown (12-1) in Class 3A on Friday, with No. 8 Evansville Memorial traveling to No. 1 Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (12-1) on Saturday. That game will be played at Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis.

In Class A, quarterback Chris Mills was a perfect 8-for-8 passing for 168 yards in the Knights’ 56-0 shutout of Culver Community last Friday night and will lead the second-ranked Knights (13-0) into this weekend’s meeting at No. 8 Southern Wells (11-2). With his performance, Mills surpassed Indian Creek’s Casey Gillin for fifth on the state’s career passing chart with 8,957 yards. Mike Vlahageorge of Lafayette Jefferson is fourth on the list with 10,757 yards.

Clinton Central (9-4) will host No. 3 Fountain Central (13-0) in the other 1A semi-state game. Clinton Central shutout Indianapolis Lutheran for its first regional title last Friday and Fountain Central hopes to end a 26-year drought since its last semi-state crown when the Mustangs went on to win it all.

The 5A bracket includes both of last year’s state championship game participants. Defending champ Center Grove (10-3) travels to conference rival and third-ranked Warren Central (11-2) on Friday. Warren claimed a 28-14 home victory in the schools regular season meeting on Oct. 16. Top-ranked Carmel (12-1), last year’s state runner-up, will be playing for a fourth consecutive trip to the state finals but will have to go to No. 6 Merrillville (12-1) to do so. A win would be the Pirates’ first semi-state championship.

Visit www.ihsaa.org this weekend as scores from each game become available as well as information for next weekend’s five state championship games at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Semi-States
Dates: Nov. 20-21.
Admission: $7.00.
Determining Home Team
Classes 2A & 4A
*Regional non-host, if applicable, or higher sectional # (i.e., Sect. 2 is higher than Sect. 1)
Classes A, 3A & 5A
*Regional non-host, if applicable, or lower sectional # (i.e., Sect. 1 is lower than Sect. 2)
*If regional winner has not hosted either sectional final or regional, that school will be the designated host.

Class 5A
Carmel (12-1) at Merrillville (12-1). Fri, 7 pm CT
Center Grove (10-3) at Warren Central (11-2). Fri, 7 pm ET
Class 4A
Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (13-0) at Lowell (12-1). Sat, 6 pm CT
Indianapolis Cathedral (12-1) at Evansville Reitz (13-0). Fri, 7 pm CT
Class 3A
Jimtown (12-1) at West Lafayette (13-0). Fri, 7:30 pm ET
Evansville Memorial (10-3) at Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (12-1). Sat, 6 pm ET, at Arsenal Technical HS
Class 2A
Rensselaer Central (11-2) at Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (8-5). Fri, 8 pm ET
Paoli (13-0) at Monrovia (13-0). Fri, 7:30 pm ET, at Plainfield HS
Class A
Lafayette Central Catholic (13-0) at Southern Wells (11-2). Fri, 7:30 pm ET
Fountain Central (13-0) at Clinton Central (9-4). Fri, 7 pm ET

State Finals
Lucas Oil Stadium, 500 S. Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis. | Indiana Convention Center & Lucas Oil Stadium website
Dates: Friday, Nov. 27; Saturday, Nov. 28.
Admission: $15 per day; $25 both days (all seats general admission).
Determining Home Team: Home team shall be determined by a coin toss at the pre-tournament meeting on Monday, Nov. 23.

Friday, Nov. 27
Class A, 3:30 pm ET.
Class 2A, 7 pm ET.

Saturday, Nov. 28
Class 3A, 12 pm ET.
Class 4A, 3:30 pm ET.
Class 5A, 7:05 pm ET.

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Notables

Active Consecutive Tournament Victory Streaks
10: Center Grove, Indianapolis Cathedral, 2008-current.

Defending Semi-State Champions Still Alive (5 of 10)
5A: Carmel, Center Grove.
4A: Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Indianapolis Cathedral.
3A: Evansville Memorial.
2A: None.
A: None.

Active Semi-State Championship Streaks
3: Carmel.

Most Consecutive Semi-State Championships
4 by Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, 1999-2002; 4 by Roncalli, 2002-05; 4 by Warren Central, 2003-06; 4 by Sheridan, 2005-08.

Seeking First Semi-State Championship
5A: Merrillville.
4A: None.
3A: None.
2A: Monrovia, Paoli, Rensselaer Central.
A: Clinton Central.

Drought-Breakers? (Five or more years since last semi-state championship)
26: Fountain Central (1983).
16: West Lafayette (1993).
10: Lafayette Central Catholic (1999).
8: Southern Wells (2001).

Top 10 All-Time Semi-State Championships
11: Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Roncalli.
10: Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, Sheridan.
9: Ben Davis, Hobart, Penn.
8: Indianapolis Cathedral.
7: Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter.
6: Carmel, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Franklin Central, Jimtown, Warren Central.

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FRIDAY ON IHSAASPORTS.ORG: PAOLI VS. MONROVIA
The Class 2A semi-state game at Plainfield High School featuring No. 2 Paoli (13-0) and No. 3 Monrovia (13-0) will be webcast live at IHSAASports.org beginning at 7:30 pm ET on Friday.

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FOOTBALL COACHES INTERVIEW SESSION AT LUCAS OIL STADIUM MONDAY
Members of the news media are invited to interview the 10 state finalist football coaches during a gathering at Lucas Oil Stadium next Monday, Nov. 23. A school personnel meeting will begin at 10 am ET / 9 am CT and will be closed to the news media. Coaches will be available for interviews beginning at approximately 10:30 am ET until 12 pm ET.

Upon your arrival at Lucas Oil Stadium, please park in the South Lot through Gate 6 which is off Capitol Avenue. Once parked, please enter the Northeast Administrative Entrance.  Signage will be placed to lead you to the meeting room which is on field level. Lucas Oil Stadium map | Downtown Indianapolis map

A special state finals information packet containing updated statistics, rosters and other team information as submitted by the schools will be distributed at the interview session. For outlets that cannot attend, the information packet will be e-mailed later that day to all that receive regular IHSAA media updates and posted at ihsaa.org. If you would like to pick up your state finals credentials at the coaches interview session, please indicate that in your request. Instructions are listed below.

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FOOTBALL MEDIA CREDENTIAL REQUESTS NOW BEING ACCEPTED
For media outlets intending to cover the football state finals on Nov. 27-28, please apply for credentials (with name of individual applying) through IHSAA Sports Information Director Jason Wille to jwille@ihsaa.org. Requests MUST originate from a recognized business account; e-mails from personal accounts (ie: yahoo.com, aol.com, gmail.com, etc.) will not be accepted. The deadline for requests is 4 pm ET / 3 pm CT on Wednesday, Nov. 25. Credentials will not be granted after that time. Please note that the football state finals requires a specific credential. Any passes issued previously will not allow admission to this event. Advance requests will be available for pickup at the state finals coaches meeting at Lucas Oil Stadium on Monday, Nov. 23 (please indicate your intentions to do so). All other approved requests will be available at media will-call located inside the northwest entrance to Lucas Oil Stadium nearest the corner of Missouri and South streets on game day. Credentials will not be mailed.

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LAFAYETTE’S TODD CLARK TO BE PRESENTED OFFICIALS AWARD
Todd Clark of Lafayette is the recipient of the 2009 Interscholastic Athletic Official Association Award for excellence in the sport of football.  Clark will be honored in a special ceremony at next weekend’s state finals tournament.

Each year, the Indiana High School Athletic Association, in cooperation with the National Federation of Interscholastic Officials Association, recognizes and honors an outstanding official in each of 11 sports during the school year

Clark has been a football official for 34 years.  During his career, he has worked every level of the state tournament, including 28 sectionals, 16 regionals, eight semi-states and five state finals.  He last officiated the state finals in 2004 as an umpire for the Class A game.

Clark was selected for this honor by a committee representing the officials associations.  In Indiana there are 26 associations made up of men and women who give up much of their personal time to assist in providing wholesome, worthwhile, and healthy activities for the student-athletes in our state.  Statewide, there are more than 8,000 officials licensed by the IHSAA in 11 sports. 

A member of the Western Indiana Officials Association, Clark has served as a chairman and co-chairman for approximately 15 years.  During his tenure, he has established informative programs for the benefit of officials and has worked to promote active growth within the Indiana Football Officials Association.

Clark has served as a mentor to many officials and is a strong believer that the game belongs to the players.  Clark attended Purdue University, where he received his doctorate in Veterinary Medicine.  He has owned his veterinary clinic in Lafayette for 36 years.  He and his wife Nancy have been married for 39 years and have two sons, Tim and John.