WIC title on the line when South Putnam hosts Northview Friday night

This Friday will feature a playoff atmosphere at South Putnam as the Eagles put their perfect 6-0 overall, 4-0 Western Indiana Conference record on the line against Northview, who also enters with an identical record. 

Last season, the Knights raced out to a large halftime advantage and held off South Putnam, 48-33, in a game that South Putnam coach Chuck Sorrell said helped propel his team to a Class A state championship run. 

"It is going to be talked about because had the ball inside the 5 twice and didn't score. We had an opportunity to get it down to one score before the half and we block a kid out of bounds and they go on and kick a field goal for extra points. We talked about a lot of stuff from last year that would've flipped the game. We can't give up a score on the first play of the game like we did last year. There are things we have to do better to beat a well coached, well oiled, solid Northview team like they are always are. They are going to come over and not make mistakes, and we cannot make mistakes for them. We have to make sure we have less penalties than they do. We have to make sure we don't buy into some of the tactics they have sometimes, as they block through the whistle. I am not mad at that, and when the whistle stops, they are still blocking. We don't get that call. I've never seen Northview called for that. I can mention it, but our kids know they have to be tougher than that and get off blocks and not buy into the extracurricular stuff. We have to make the plays we have to make," said Sorrell, who said he has heard from a lot of people in Brazil they are coming to the game. 

The two teams are virtually balanced not only in terms of records, but also results this year. 

Against common opponents, The Eagles defeated Vincennes Lincoln, 49-13, Sullivan, 58-0 and West Vigo, 70-0. 

Northview, on the other hand, defeated Vincennes Lincoln, 49-14, Sullivan, 49-7, and West Vigo, 70-0. 

"Coach Raetz does a great job. Their program is always top notch and always in the top in the WIC and in the top 10 in 4A football. They don't make a lot of mistakes, they don't do anything wrong and we can't put ourselves in a position where we give them extra possessions or do dumb things where a third down turns into a first down. We need good, clean football and aggressive football. This is the first championship we get to play for. Both teams are 4-0 and whoever wins this wins the conference. You look at our scores and we are so similar. It is almost identical and scary. I coached there, our offensive coordinator coached there. Coach Raetz and I are good friends. A couple of their coaches coached here. We are so similar in how we play the game of football and what our ultimate goals are," Sorrell said of Northview.  

South Putnam will also recognize its 16 seniors prior to the game, and Sorrell said it will be an opportunity to recognize and remember what the seniors did and mean for the program. 

"These seniors mean everything. You have special senior classes, and we've had a bunch of them over the years. I've had this bunch since they were sixth graders, watching them build through the program and watching them do everything they need to do to win championships. This is their opportunity to leave their mark on our program. There has never been an undefeated season in South Putnam history. We have to win for that to continue. That is their goal, to win a WIC championship and another state championship to prove that last year we could've beaten anyone. These guys have played a lot of football the last two years. They played 15 games last year, 13 games the year before and hopefully we have a lot of weeks left this season. They need to enjoy this, but all in all, they need to leave everything on the field. We are going to ask the younger guys to give everything they have for these seniors, who have won so many games for this football team and our 16 seniors go out with a WIC championship," Sorrell said. 

 And, it is a senior class that has beaten Northview before, Sorrell admitted. 

"This group of seniors beat Northview in the eighth grade, and that is what we have talked about. Not many teams around this area beat Northview in anything, and you have an opportunity to do something you will talk about for 30 years. This is such a great group of kids. You see one of them and you'll see 10 of them. Their parents and grandparents have the same goals, and they have the same goals. A lot of the demons that we faced several years ago with extracurricular stuff, we don't have to worry about with this bunch. They make good grades, they are good kids and they play football," the veteran coach said. 

In last week's win over West Vigo, running back Ty Benton rushed for 200 yards on eight carries in the first half, while Keenan Mowery-Shields caught a touchdown pass for the Eagles. 

Northview defeated Terre Haute South, 42-28. In the win, the Knights got a big game out of quarterback Cooper Schimmel, who was 15-of-19 for 231 yards, an interception and one touchdown.Jake Raetz scored three touchdowns and finished with 12 yards. 

As a unit, Northview's offense rushed for 188 yards, while the defense gave up 236 yards on the ground to Terre Haute South. 

"They have 11 good players on offense and 11 good players on defense. They've thrown for over a thousand yards this year, and they have a good run game. I think their skills and our skills mirror each other. I would like to think our offensive line is better. It will end up being a good football game, and it will come down to mental mistakes, penalties and who can win all three phases of the game," Sorrell said. 

The game is an interesting one in that South Putnam's starters have only played a half through six weeks, and the starting defense has not allowed a point this season.

"That will probably change. Let's hope we get the ball and can take advantage early. There will be adversity in this game. We fell before early and fought back. I thought this game changed the overall season for us last year. We never lost a second half after this game. This is where it started and we won every second half on the way to Lucas Oil. These guys have faced adversity before. Northview is going to score points, we know that. If we hold Northview to no points, then this team is truly special, but I think it comes down to a handful of plays and who has the mentality to fight until the very end. I know those guys, and to beat a good Northview football team, we have to play smart and aggressive," Sorrell said.