FOOTBALL FRIDAY: Postseason brings homecomings as Tiger Cubs meet Chargers for first time, King returns to Putnam County, brings Mustangs to face Eagles while Cougars reunite with Stars in postseason again

The 2024 football postseason has finally arrived and with it is a homecoming of sorts for the three games being played Friday night.

Greencastle and head coach Dave Stephens travel to his former head coaching spot in Pike Central while former North Putnam head coach Herb King leads Fountain Central to South Putnam.

The Cougars, meanwhile, get a chance to greet soon-to-be MAC foe Western Boone, the first time the schools have met since the Stars eliminated the Putnam County school in three consecutive postseasons.

Class 2A Sectional No. 34

Western Boone (7-2) at North Putnam (7-2), 7 p.m.

Last 35 Years: Western Boone 3, North Putnam 0

John Harrell Prediction: Western Boone 35-28

The Cougars and Stars haven’t seen one another since 2020 and will soon be regular acquaintances as part of the Monon Athletic Conference but the memories of the three meetings between the schools will be vastly different as Western Boone defeated North Putnam on the way to state titles in three consecutive seasons between 2018 and 2020.

Both teams do come in after bruising closes to the season as the Cougars were hit hard by Greencastle while the Stars fell in back-to-back weeks to Danville and Lebanon, being held to single digits in both games.

Christian Kramer remains second in the state in terms of total yards, sitting at 3,265 total yards with 1,692 passing and 1,573 rushing yards and 35 total touchdowns.

Griffen Starr (448 yards, five touchdowns) and Kaden Helderman (420 yards, three touchdowns) remain top targets while Paxton O’Brien (268 yards, five touchdowns) has become an effective target in recent weeks, bringing in all five scores in the past three weeks.

Caiden Hankins continues to lead the team in tackles with 83 while Owen Thurman (78), Wes Murphy (73) and Khalid Hassar (70, nine TFL) add tackling ability to all three levels of the defense.

The Stars run out of a pistol set with Mason Amich (158 carries, 1,043 yards, 11 TD) the primary back for the team.

Quarterback Brandon Potter (68-114-879, 11 TD, four INT) adds enough throwing and running threat to complement Amich with Marcus Fortner (33 receptions, 440 yards, eight TD) the primary receiving threat when Western Boone goes to the air.

Using a 3-3-5 defense that can be played with four on the line and two linebackers as well, the Stars are led in tackling by Luke Adkins (75) with three others above 60 tackles in Blake Wasson (66), Levi Adkins (65, eight TFL, five sacks) and Zander Venis (64, 13 TFL).

Class 2A Sectional No. 39

Greencastle (3-6) at Pike Central (3-6), 8 p.m.

No prior meetings between the two schools

John Harrell Prediction: Greencastle 31-28

The Tiger Cubs make the long trek down to Pike County to make a stop at coach Stephens’ first high school head coaching job to take on the Chargers in the first meeting between the two schools.

The Greencastle team many hoped to see in 2024 finally came out in force against North Putnam, racking up 589 total yards of offense against the Cougars.

Cole Stephens wasn’t as efficient as he would have liked but still threw for 317 yards and four scores with Anthony Adams bringing in four passes for 141 yards and Trevin Long adding 97 yards on three catches. Parker Welker ran for 150 yards on 23 carries as the running game pounded out 272 yards.

With his 75-yard touchdown reception, Ian Williamson (539) and Adams (572) both crossed the 500-yard mark in receiving with Stephens up to 1,880 yards passing on 134 completions, throwing for 19 scores against six interceptions.

Welker was more known for his defensive efforts (117 tackles, eight TFL), nearly doubling the next leading tackler in Jake Simmerman (67 tackles, 11 TFL, five sacks).

Pike Central won its first two games of the season but has only won once since, defeating Tell City 22-0 on Oct. 4 and losing to Forest Park and North Posey in the final two weeks.

The Chargers have a balanced offense with Grant Boyd (128 carries, 996 yards, 12 touchdowns) leading the running game while quarterback Matthew Meadows adds additional running threat from the spread with 523 yards on 98 carries while in the passing game, the senior is 75-of-165 for 874 and six scores against seven interceptions.

Five receivers have more than 100 yards from Meadows in leading receiver Carson Wiscaver (254), Ethan Mann (198), Jiles Mason (165), Boyd (149) and Conner Loveless (103).

Boyd (66) and Briar Thomas (66) lead the defense, which operates in a 3-4 scheme.

Class A Sectional No. 45

Fountain Central (4-5) at South Putnam (7-2), 7 p.m.

Last 35 Years: South Putnam 3, Fountain Central 0

John Harrell Prediction: South Putnam 38-14

Herb King began took his first head coaching position at North Putnam back in 1989, meeting South Putnam in the postseason and falling that year before knocking the Eagles off in 1990, winning the school’s first sectional and regional title that season.

Picking off South Putnam this year will take a special game from the Mustangs, coming in off a win over Parke Heritage last week.

Fountain Central works out of the spread with quarterback Eli Foxworthy throwing for 976 yards on 84-of-147 passing for 12 scores against six interceptions.

Foxworthy also leads the Mustangs in rushing (148 carries, 528 yards) with Noah Dodson rushing for 299 yards to complement Foxworthy.

Dodson has also been the primary receiving threat with 383 yards on 36 catches while Asher Davis has 326 yard on 21 receptions to as a complement to Dodson.

Dodson also leads the Mustangs’ 4-3 defense with 85 tackles, seven for loss.

The Eagles made straightforward work of Cloverdale in a 38-0 win with both teams using reserves for the majority of the second half to rest up for postseason play.

Wyatt Mullin eclipsed 1,000 yards passing in the win, sitting at 1,085 for the season with 16 scores against one interception.

Bransyn Ensor leads the receiving corps with 564 yards though Wyatt Switzer has become a popular target for Mullin in his four games since returning, picking up 178 yards on 11 receptions while Blake Witt caught three passes for 68 yards against the Clovers, doubling both season totals in one game.

Ty Benton sits at 829 yards on the ground and 14 touchdowns with Mullin adding 340 yards.

Linebackers Keenan Mowey-Shields (131) and Hunter Weddle (90) lead the defense in tackles with Zach Dorsett (45, 16.5 TFL, 7.5 sacks) has been disruptive along the defensive line.