Putnam County's football teams are split across two classes and sectionals as the postseason kicks off tonight. 

And the top-ranked team in each class is in each sectional.

Johnny McCrory previews sectional quarterfinal night including tonight's GIANT fm Sports broadcast between #9 South Putnam at defending 1A state champ and #1 Indianapolis Lutheran.

South Putnam finished the regular season in the top 10 of the Indiana Football Coaches Association State Coaches Poll. 

Following a 35-10 loss to Class 2A, No. 1 Linton-Stockton, South Putnam (7-2) dropped in the final state coaches poll from No. 6 to No. 9.

The Eagles will open the postseason Friday at Class A, No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran (9-0), who has won 24 straight games and are the defending Class A state champions.

Adams Central (9-0) and North Decatur (9-0) are unbeaten as well and sit at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the Class A poll.

North Judson (8-1) is No. 4 followed by Sheridan (8-1), Carroll (Flora) (8-1), Tri (8-1), Tecumseh (8-0), South Putnam, South Adams (7-2) and Triton (6-3). Also receiving votes are Southwood (7-2), Covenant Christian (6-3) and Park Tudor (6-3).

Linton-Stockton (9-0) remains No. 1 in the final Class 2A poll ahead of LaVille (9-0), Andrean (6-3), Indianapolis Scecina (8-1), Evansville Mater Dei (6-3), Triton Central (7-2), Eastside (7-2), Fort Wayne Luers (5-4), Lafayette Central Catholic (6-3) and Rochester (8-1).

Four more teams received votes: Eastbrook (6-3), Heritage Christian (5-3), Perry Central (8-1) and Lewis Cass (6-3).

Unbeatens West Lafayette (9-0) and Gibson Southern (9-0) are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the Class 3A poll. Chatard (5-4) is No. 3 ahead of Hanover Central (9-0), Lawrenceburg (8-1), Owen Valley (9-0), Norwell (8-1), Tri-West (7-2), Guerin Catholic (5-4) and Southridge (8-1). Also receiving votes are Oak Hill (9-0), South Dearborn (7-2) and Batesville (4-5).

East Central’s 21-19 loss to Roncalli Friday cost the Trojans one spot in the final Class 4A poll.

New Palestine (9-0) finished the regular season undefeated to hold on to the No. 1 spot in Class 4A. Roncalli (8-1) is No. 2 followed by East Central (7-2), Evansville Reitz (9-0), Kokomo (8-1), New Prairie (8-1), Mooresville (7-2), Columbia City (8-1) and Brebeuf Jesuit (5-3). Also receiving votes are Greenfield-Central (6-3), Mt. Vernon (6-3), Martinsville (6-3), Evansville Memorial (6-3), Hobart (6-3) and Leo (6-3).

Whiteland (8-1) moved back up to No. 2 in the Class 5A poll behind Fort Wayne Snider (8-1). Mishawaka (8-1) is No. 3 ahead of Bloomington South (7-1), Merrillville (7-2), Harrison (West Lafayette) (8-1), Fort Wayne North (7-2), Franklin (7-2), Valparaiso (6-3) and Fort Wayne Dwenger (6-3). The only other team to receive votes in the poll was Terre Haute South (6-3).

The 6A poll received a major shakeup when previous No. 1 Brownsburg and No. 2 Center Grove lost Friday to top-five ranked opponents.

Hamilton Southeastern (9-0) defeated Brownsburg, 31-28, to rise from No. 4 to No. 1 in the final 6A poll of the year.

Cathedral (7-1) toppled Center Grove, 40-29, to move from No. 3 to No. 2.

Center Grove (7-2) is No. 3 with Brownsburg (8-1), Carroll (Allen) (9-0), Carmel (6-3), Ben Davis (6-3), Crown Point (9-0), Penn (7-2) and Westfield (6-3) rounding out the top 10.

Also receiving votes are Fishers (6-3), Warren Central (4-5) and Elkhart (7-2).

The 50^th Annual IHSAA State Football Tournament starts on Friday with opening-round sectional games.

Greencastle and South Putnam advanced to Saturday's 2A sectional semifinal at Greencastle with Thursday quarterfinal wins.

Greencastle eliminated North Putnam in three games, 25-20, 25-19, 25-15. 

North Putnam ended its season with a record of 15-12.

The Tiger Cubs (14-15) will play in the 1 pm 2A Sectional 44 semifinal against conference and county rival South Putnam.  The Eagles (12-15) advanced with a three game win over Parke Heritage, 25-23, 25-23, 25-18.

In two meetings separated by ten days Greencastle defeated South Putnam twice.

On September 10, Greencastle defeated the Eagles 2-1.  Then, on September 20, Greencastle won again, 3-1.

The 11 am semifinal at Greencastle on Saturday has Southmont (13-14) playing Riverton Parke (20-8).

Freshman Micah Foss scored his 33rd goal of the season but it was the only one that Greencastle could muster in a 2A regional semifinal loss to Providence, 4-1.

The Tiger Cubs trailed 3-1 at halftime and couldn't rally against 13th-ranked Providence (13-4-3).

Providence will travel to Washington Saturday to play 2nd-ranked Evansville Memorial (14-3-2) in the 2A regional championship.

Greencastle ended the boys soccer season with a record of 16-3-1 and was ranked #15 in the final regular season 2A poll.

Southmont swept Cloverdale to open postseason play at 2A Sectional 44 at Greencastle Tuesday.

Southmont won the opening quarterfinal, 25-9, 25-13, 25-10.  It was the Mounties second win over Cloverdale this season.  They won in a three-game sweep on September 12.

Cloverdale's season comes to a close with a 3-20 record.

Southmont (13-14) will play Riverton Parke (20-8) in the 11am semifinal on Saturday.

The other semifinal matchup will be determined Thursday.  In the 6pm quarterfinal, North Putnam (15-11) will play Greencastle (13-15). The Tiger Cubs downed North Putnam September 10 in the county tournament, 26-24, 25-16.  North Putnam avenged that loss with a come-from-behind victory over Greencastle on September 29, 20-25, 18-25, 25-16, 26-24, 15-11.

The late quarterfinal Thursday has South Putnam (11-15) in a rematch with Parke Heritage (3-27).  Just last week, South Putnam needed all five games to beat the Wolves, 17-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 15-10.

If South Putnam is to win Sectional 47 it seemed inevitable that the Eagles would have to defeat the defending 1A state champs.  But the sectional draw held Sunday determined that it would be sooner rather than later.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association slotted 313 teams Sunday for the 50th Annual IHSAA Football State Tournament.

Sectional games begin on Oct. 21 in Classes 4A, 3A, 2A, and A. Classes 6A and 5A have that week off. Sectional semifinal games will be Oct. 28 with sectional championship matches to follow on Nov. 4.

Regional championships are on Nov. 11. Semistate championships are one week later on Nov. 18 with state championship games on Nov. 25-26 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

1A Sectional 47 will feature a game between ranked teams in the opening round.  #6 South Putnam (7-1) will travel to Indianapolis to meet the top-ranked team in the state, defending state champion Lutheran (8-0).

The winner of the Eagles - Saints matchup will move to the semifinal round and meet Cloverdale (1-7).  The Clovers get a first round bye in the seven team field.

In the bottom half of the bracket, 14th-ranked Covenant Christian (5-3) plays at Parke Heritage (1-7) to advance and play the winner of the Riverton Parke (6-2) at North Central (Farmersburg) (1-6) matchup.

In 2A, Greencastle and North Putnam could meet again if they can post first round victories in Sectional 37.  Greencastle (4-4) will make the short road trip to Cascade (4-4). 

Meanwhile, North Putnam (3-5) will host fellow WIC member Sullivan (4-4).  The teams did not meet during the regular season.

In the other half of the Sectional 37 bracket, top-ranked Linton-Stockton (8-0) will travel to South Vermilion (6-2).  The winner would meet the winner of the North Knox (3-5) at Southmont (6-2) quarterfinal.

The Greencastle boys soccer team is prepping for this week’s regional appearance while the Greencastle girls came up short in their bid for a sectional title.

The Tiger Cubs captured the 2A Sectional 29 title Saturday with a win over Northview, 7-2.  It was Greencastle’s second win of the season over the Knights.

The 15^th-ranked Tiger Cubs (16-2-1) will play #13 Providence (12-4-3) in a regional semifinal on Wednesday. The winner will meet the winner of the #14 Washington (15-4) – #2 Evansville Memorial (13-3-2) semifinal in Saturday’s regional championship at Washington.

The Greencastle ladies were not as fortunate.  Greencastle ended its season with an 11-3-3 record in a 1A sectional championship loss to Cascade, 1-0.

Greencastle girls soccer will play for the 1A Sectional 41 championship Saturday at Cascade.

Greencastle advanced with a shutout victory over Bethesda Christian Thursday, 3-0.  It was the fourth consecutive shutout win for the Tiger Cubs and eighth shutout of the season.

Greencastle (11-2-3) will meet Cascade in Saturday's 2pm championship.  Cascade defeated Southmont in the other semifinal, 3-1.  That followed a 9-0 win over North Putnam in the opening round quarterfinal.

The teams met in the regular season on September 10 and played to a 1-1 tie in Clayton.

Senior Seth Kallem and freshman Micah Foss each scored four goals as Greencastle advanced in the 2A boys soccer sectional, beating Brown County, 9-0.

Kallem and Foss also added three assists apiece.  Logan Peters recorded two assists and Anthony Peters scored Greencastle’s other goal in the Wednesday semifinal at Harbison Stadium.

The Tiger Cubs (15-2-1) led comfortably at halftime, 5-0.

It was the Tigers Cubs second nine goal win over Brown County this season. Greencastle won in Nashville on August 27, 10-1.

In the other semifinal, Northview (7-9) shut out Edgewood, 2-0.

The Tigers Cubs and Northview will play at 7pm Saturday for the Sectional 29 championship. In their regular season WIC matchup, Greencastle defeated Northview in a home match on September 1, 6-1.  Kallem led Greencastle with four goals and Foss scored twice. 

Five different Tiger Cubs had an assist.

The North Putnam girls soccer season closed with a quarterfinal loss to Cascade on Tuesday.

Cascade had beaten North Putnam 5-0 in their regular season meeting August 17.  The gap widened in the second meeting as Cascade, playing on its home field, downed North Putnam to advance to a Thursday semifinal appearance, 9-0.

North Putnam finished 3-13-1.

Cascade (7-6-1) will play Southmont (10-6-1) in the 5 pm Sectional 41 semifinal Thursday at Cascade.

Cascade shut out Southmont on September 19, 1-0.

The following semifinal Thursday will feature Greencastle (10-3-3) against Bethesda Christian (5-9-1).  The two schools did not play during the regular season.

The championship is set for 2pm Saturday.

Greencastle boys soccer matched its second highest offensive output of the season in a 9-1 sectional quarterfinal win over Owen Valley.

Freshman Micah Foss scored four goals to go with two assists.  Senior Seth Kallem added three goals and two assists as the Tiger Cubs jumped out to a 6-0 halftime lead.

Greencastle (14-2-1) also scored nine goals in a regular season win over Southmont.

Greencastle did score as many as ten goals once this season.  It came against their semifinal opponent - Brown County.  On August 27, Greencastle dominated Brown County in Nashville, 10-1.

The Eagles (3-10) got by West Vigo in Monday's other quarterfinal, 1-0.

The other semifinal at the 2A Greencastle site will be determined Tuesday.  In the 5pm quarterfinal, Indian Creek (3-9) plays Northview (5-9).  In the other quarterfinal, South Vermilion (4-8-1) will play Edgewood (1-12).

The Greencastle ladies will open sectional play at the 1A site at Cascade on Thursday.  Greencastle (11-2-3) received a bye and will play Bethesda Christian (5-9-1) in one of the semifinals.

North Putnam is among four teams trying to make the other girls semifinal at Cascade. At 5pm Tuesday, North Putnam (3-12) will play Cascade (6-6-1) followed South Vermilion (0-12-1) and Southmont (9-6-1) in the late game.

One quarterfinal was played in the five-team Bethesda Christian boys soccer sectional on Tuesday as Covenant Christian downed Riverside, 6-2.

On Thursday, Bethesda's semifinals will have North Putnam (11-4) playing the host, Bethesda Christian (8-6-1) at 5pm.  That will be followed by Covenant Christian (6-9-3) and Providence Cristo Rey (8-1).

The IHSAA released sectional pairings for the beginning of the state tournament next week.

Sectional 44 will be hosted at Greencastle and will feature all of the Putnam County schools in the 2A field.  The opening match will have Cloverdale playing Southmontin a quarterfinal.  The winner will meet Riverton Parke in one of the semifinals.

The other side of the bracket has North Putnam playing Greencastle and South Putnam vs Parke Heritage.  The two winners will meet in the other sectional semifinal.

Sectional play begins on Tuesday, October 11, at 64 sites.