It's PLAYOFF time!
The 2026 regular season schedule is in the books in the Hoosier state for high school football teams.
First-round sectional play starts this Friday night in Class 1A through Class 4A with teams dreaming of a trip to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the State Finals Nov. 27 or 28. Class 5A and Class 6A open sectional play Oct. 30.
More: Jake Scholl powers Northridge football to NLC title over Warsaw
As far as our prediction "experts", all three of us went 15-2 last week. Content coach Austin Hough, sportswriter Kyle Smedley and myself all missed on the Elkhart win over South Bend Adams and the Portage victory over LaPorte.
Hough, who won the first edition of our predictions a year ago, continues to lead the charge at 121-21. Smedley is 120-22 and myself still sit in last place at 118-24.
The marquee matchup in our area as postseason play kicks off Friday night happens in Middlebury, the center of an amazing turnaround season for the Northridge Raiders. Undefeated Northridge, which totaled six wins the prior two seasons combined, will host conference foe Mishawaka in a Class 4A Sectional 18 opener. The game is a rematch of their Northern Lakes Conference slugfest on Oct. 2 at Mishawaka. The Raiders won that shootout 38-35 when star quarterback Jake Scholl lofted a gorgeous 26-yard scoring pass to Keivontre Copeland with 53 seconds to play. Copeland made an amazing catch as he high-pointed the perfectly placed throw over a Mishawaka defender.
Scholl continues to be the story in his first full season as a starting quarterback. The signal-caller passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more in the win at Mishawaka, which was the first ever for the Raiders over the Cavemen. Scholl accounted for four touchdowns last Friday night as the host Raiders rallied to outscore Class 5A No. 1 Warsaw 37-30 to stay unbeaten and win the NLC title at 7-0, their first league crown since 2017.
Scholl, a big-time Division 1 prospect at the next level who can beat teams with his strong right arm or his running ability, has now accounted for 42 touchdowns for an offense averaging 45.2 ppg. under first-year coach Luke Amstutz. He has rushed for a team-high 781 yards and thrown for 2,084.
Mishawaka sits at 6-3 after beating NLC foes Goshen 36-9 and Wawasee 42-13 since losing at home to the Raiders. Coach Keith Kinder's Cavemen count heavily on senior quarterback Landon Snyder and fullback Kadyn O'Neal in their flexbone offense.
The winner of the Mishawaka at Northridge contest will play the South Bend Saint Joseph's-South Bend Riley winner in a sectional semifinal matchup Oct. 30. The Huskies, 8-1, host Riley (3-6) Friday night. St. Joe looks to bounce back after getting manhandled at Class 6A undbeaten Penn 38-7 last week in the Northern Indiana Conference title game. The Huskies beat NIC foe Riley 28-6 back on Oct. 2 at Riley.
Here's are picks for sectional opening week in Indiana and the final week in Michigan.
AUSTIN'S PICKS
Mishawaka over Northridge
South Bend Saint Joseph over South Bend Riley
NorthWood over Plymouth
Culver Academy over New Prairie
Jimtown over Tippecanoe Valley
West Noble over South Bend Washington
Fairfield over John Glenn
Angola over Mishawaka Marian
Bremen over Prairie Heights
Buchanan over Leslie
Edwardsburg over Niles
Brandywine over Mount Clemens
KYLE'S PICKS
Northridge over Mishawaka
South Bend Saint Joseph over South Bend Riley
NorthWood over Plymouth
Culver Academy over New Prairie
Tippecanoe Valley over Jimtown
West Noble over South Bend Washington
Fairfield over John Glenn
Angola over Mishawaka Marian
Bremen over Prairie Heights
Buchanan over Leslies
Edwardsburg over Niles
Mount Clemens over Brandywine
SCOTT'S PICKS
Northridge over Mishawaka
South Bend Saint Joseph over South Bend Riley
NorthWood over Plymouth
Culver Academy over New Prairie
Tippecanoe Valley over Jimtown
West Noble over South Bend Washington
Fairfield over John Glenn
Angola over Mishawaka Marian
Bremen over Prairie Heights
Buchanan over Leslie
Edwardsburg over Niles
Mount Clemens over Brandywine
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Prep football playoff time in Indiana. Who will win area sectional openers?