Northview draws Roncalli in opening round of football sectional

As those around Clay County awaited the IHSAA football sectional draw on Sunday evening, there was a high probability – a 42.8 percent chance to be exact – Northview would be matched up with a team ranked in top 20 of the most recent Class 4A polls.

And that’s exactly what happened.

The Knights will make the trip to Roncalli, ranked as high as No. 10 in certain polls and as low as No. 17 in others, on Sept. 25 with the winner advancing onto the Sectional 22 semifinal against the victor of Danville and Brebeuf.

Roncalli enters the final week of the regular season with a 3-4 record. The Royals, under the leadership of first-year head coach Sam Otley, have beaten Southport, Guerin Catholic and Class 4A No. 7 Brebeuf and have fallen to Class 4A No. 3 Chatard, Class 6A No. 8 Columbus North, LaSalle and Class 6A No. 5 Cathedral with one game left to go against Class 5A No. 6 East Central.

Roncalli has been strong on both sides of the football, scoring 38 points against Guerin Catholic and 37 points apiece against Southport and Brebeuf, while holding all but two teams – Southport and Cathedral – well below their average offensive scoring output. The Royals run the ball 67 percent of the time with junior Zach Dozier (618 yards and two touchdowns) earning the lion’s share of work in the backfield. They’ve also used two quarterbacks – both of whom bring different skill sets to the table – in Jayden Buchanan (398 yards and four touchdowns), the team’s standard drop back quarterback, and Collin Ash (558 yards and two touchdowns through the air and 214 yards and six touchdowns on the ground), the team’s dual threat option at the position, with four different receivers – Dozier (12 catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns), Drew Nelson (16 catches for 281 yards and three touchdowns), Conner Kesler (16 catches for 207 yards) and Rudy Schoettle (13 catches for 214 yards and one touchdown) – being targeted most often.

Defensively, Roncalli has gotten to the opposing quarterback often, recording 12 sacks – led by defensive end Sam Neu – and 14 hurries. The Royals, who are holding teams to 20 points against them, have also forced four fumbles – led by safety AJ Richardson – and six interceptions – led by cornerback Eli Lauck – which sets up an entertaining matchup against Northview’s lethal offensive attack.

Northview enters its regular season finale on Friday against Indian Creek, which will decide the winner of the Western Indiana Conference’s Gold Division championship, with a 7-1 record.