Here are the SISN IHSAA Football Week 2 Big Games of the Week for Southern Indiana. A few teams are playing out of the state, so we’ll look into those teams and provide what we find. The first week of 2023 provided some interesting outcomes, and week 2 won’t be any different. These are the key games we’ll be paying the most attention once the scores role out.
Decatur St. Teresa (Ill.) at Linton-Stockton (1-0)
| Decatur St. Teresa (Ill.) at Linton-Stockton (1-0) |
| GAME TIME: 7 pm ET, Williams Field. |
| COACHES: Brian Oliver, 105-23 in 11th year at Linton. |
| LAST SEASON’S SAGARIN RATINGS: Linton, 62.89, 100th overall, 10th in 2A. |
| LAST OUTING: Linton defeated Parke Heritage, 39-0. |
| OPPONENTS’ RECORDS: Linton 0-1. |
| SERIES LAST 35 YEARS: No meetings. |
Linton currently has a 21-game regular season winning streak, and they’re putting that on the line as they go up against Illinois 2A State Champion Decatur St. Teresa. The game will be played at Linton. Teresa destroyed some teams last year, so this will be a tough test for the Miners. I have no idea who’s going to come out on top of this one.
Evansville Mater Dei (1-0) at Castle (0-1)
| Evansville Mater Dei (1-0) at Castle (0-1) |
| GAME TIME: 8 pm CT, Lidy Field. |
| COACHES: Mike Goebel, 261-82 in 27th year at Mater Dei. Doug Hurt, 127-71 in 18th year at Castle. |
| LAST SEASON’S SAGARIN RATINGS: Mater Dei, 70.44, 68th overall, 3rd in 2A. Castle, 69.32, 73rd overall, 15th in 5A. |
| LAST OUTING: Mater Dei defeated Evansville Central, 35-12. Castle lost to Evansville North, 21-14. |
| OPPONENTS’ RECORDS: Mater Dei 0-1. Castle 1-0. |
| SERIES LAST 35 YEARS: Mater Dei, 19-15 |
| LAST MEETING: Mater Dei, 17-14, Aug. 26, 2022. |
| jh PREDICTION: Castle, 24-21. |
John Harrel is picking Castle to win by 3 as they face off with Mater Dei. That’s a pretty good prediction with Mater Dei possibly being down this year after losing some key players. I wouldn’t count them out though, and I’ll say Mater Dei wins this one, 20-10.
Evansville North (1-0) at Evansville Memorial (1-0)
| Evansville North (1-0) at Evansville Memorial (1-0) |
| GAME TIME: 8 pm CT, Enlow Field. |
| COACHES: Joey Paridaen, 23-29 in 6th year at North, 59-62 in 12th year overall. John Hurley, 129-66 in 16th year at Memorial. |
| LAST SEASON’S SAGARIN RATINGS: Memorial, 76.08, 33rd overall, 8th in 4A. North, 73.61, 49th overall, 9th in 5A. |
| LAST OUTING: North defeated Castle, 21-14. Memorial defeated Jasper, 30-13. |
| OPPONENTS’ RECORDS: North 0-1. Memorial 0-1. |
| SERIES LAST 35 YEARS: Memorial, 21-13 |
| LAST MEETING: North, 14-0, Aug. 26, 2022. |
| jh PREDICTION: Memorial, 24-17. |
Evansville Memorial is coming off a good win over Jasper, and were also the sectional champs in 2022. I’m still learning the ins and outs of Evansville football, but I’ll put Memorial at the top of the pack down there and say they’ll win this game, 21-7.
Gibson Southern (0-1) at Mount Carmel (Ill.)
| Gibson Southern (0-1) at Mount Carmel (Ill.) |
| GAME TIME: 8 pm ET, Mount Carmel (Ill.). |
| COACHES: Nick Hart, 115-22 in 12th year at Gibson Southern. . |
| LAST SEASON’S SAGARIN RATINGS: Gibson Southern, 75.99, 36th overall, 2nd in 3A. |
| LAST OUTING: Gibson Southern lost to Boyle County (Ky.), 36-6. |
| OPPONENTS’ RECORDS: Gibson Southern 0-0. |
| SERIES LAST 35 YEARS: No meetings. |
This will be the second week in a row that Gibson Southern faces off with an opponent from outside the state. In week one, they were nearly blanked by Boyle County, KY. This week they may fare better against their opponent, Mount Carmel, who went 9-2 in Illinois 3A. They lost in the second round of their sectional. The Golden Aces put a lot of points on the board last season, and I think they’ll continue that trend. Mount Carmel wins.
Harrison (Ohio) at East Central (1-0)
| Harrison (Ohio) at East Central (1-0) |
| GAME TIME: 8 pm ET, Trojan Field. |
| COACHES: Jake Meiners, 43-9 in 5th year at East Central. |
| LAST SEASON’S SAGARIN RATINGS: East Central, 91.41, 7th overall, 1st in 4A. |
| LAST OUTING: East Central defeated Lawrenceburg, 42-7. |
| OPPONENTS’ RECORDS: East Central 0-1. |
| SERIES LAST 35 YEARS: East Central, 16-12. |
| LAST MEETING: East Central, 41-7, Aug. 26, 2022. |
East Central is our number 1 team in Southern Indiana, and they’re going to continue their winning traditions in week 2 over Ohio team, Harrison. Last year East Central beat this team 41-7. Harrison record last season was 1-9. Big win for East Central here.
Martinsville (1-0) at Bloomington South (1-0)
| Martinsville (1-0) at Bloomington South (1-0) |
| GAME TIME: 8 pm ET, Huff Field. |
| COACHES: Brian Dugger, 21-16 in 4th year at Martinsville. Gabe Johnson, 22-9 in 4th year at Bloomington South, 36-19 in 6th year overall. |
| LAST SEASON’S SAGARIN RATINGS: Bloomington South, 79.85, 26th overall, 5th in 5A. Martinsville, 69.55, 72nd overall, 18th in 4A. |
| LAST OUTING: Martinsville defeated Bedford North Lawrence, 23-19. Bloomington South defeated Columbus East, 45-10. |
| OPPONENTS’ RECORDS: Martinsville 0-1. Bloomington South 0-1. |
| SERIES LAST 35 YEARS: Bloomington South, 33-16 |
| LAST MEETING: Martinsville, 27-14, Aug. 26, 2022. |
| jh PREDICTION: Bloomington South, 38-17. |
Two of the closest team to our home area, Bloomington South and Martinsville have some talent. We’ll be in attendance for this game and think it will be quiet the show. I think Bloomington South walks away with the win, but it’ll be closer than what John Harrel is predicting.
North Harrison (1-0) at Scottsburg (1-0)
| North Harrison (1-0) at Scottsburg (1-0) |
| GAME TIME: 8 pm ET, Warrior Field. |
| COACHES: Mark Williamson, 68-49 in 12th year at North Harrison, 84-67 in 15th year overall. Kyle Mullins, 26-49 in 9th year at Scottsburg. |
| LAST SEASON’S SAGARIN RATINGS: North Harrison, 59.07, 123rd overall, 26th in 3A. Scottsburg, 45.91, 205th overall, 46th in 3A. |
| LAST OUTING: North Harrison defeated Salem, 35-7. Scottsburg defeated Clarksville, 53-0. |
| OPPONENTS’ RECORDS: North Harrison 0-1. Scottsburg 0-1. |
| SERIES LAST 35 YEARS: North Harrison, 5-1 |
| LAST MEETING: North Harrison, 42-6, Aug. 26, 2022. |
| jh PREDICTION: North Harrison, 35-21. |
All I know about these two teams are what I remember from last season. North Harrison went a respectable 7-3, while Scottsburg went 3-7. But it’s a new season and Scottsburg just blanked an opponent they lost to last season. I think it’ll be a good game with North Harrison having the slight edge.
Vincennes Lincoln (1-0) at Evansville Reitz (1-0)
| Vincennes Lincoln (1-0) at Evansville Reitz (1-0) |
| GAME TIME: 7:30 pm CT, Reitz Bowl. |
| COACHES: Levi Salters, 37-32 in 7th year at Vincennes. Cory Brunson, 19-15 in 4th year at Reitz, 53-55 in 11th year overall. |
| LAST SEASON’S SAGARIN RATINGS: Reitz, 81.96, 20th overall, 3rd in 4A. Vincennes, 66.46, 81st overall, 12th in 3A. |
| LAST OUTING: Vincennes defeated Evansville Bosse, 49-30. Reitz defeated Evansville Harrison, 45-0. |
| OPPONENTS’ RECORDS: Vincennes 0-1. Reitz 0-1. |
| SERIES LAST 35 YEARS: Reitz, 5-1 |
| LAST MEETING: Reitz, 31-28, Aug. 26, 2022. |
| jh PREDICTION: Reitz, 52-17. |
Evansville Reitz had a perfect season going into the Sectional where the lost to Boonville. I see them winning this game easily over Vincennes Lincoln.
Leave a comment with your favorite game for week 2, or the scores and players of the game afterwards!
Wrong again in Gibson Southern…when are you going to figure it out?