Rochester and Knox have played three times in the last four seasons.  Rochester has won two of those three and each game has been decided by a touchdown or less.

Something similar may be brewing tonight as a couple of 1-0 football teams collide in Knox on GIANT fm Sports.

Rochester (1-0) appeared to be the stronger team as Week One went later stages at Southwood.  The Zebras turned a seven point  halftime deficit into a 35-21 win by outscoring Southwood 28-7 in the second half.

Head coach Ron Shaffer says depth and conditioning were huge.

Shaffer was also excited about his defensive line play in the win at Southwood.

Knox finished 5-7 last season.  That ended a streak of six straight seasons above .500 for the Redskins program.  However, including Rochester’s 12-7 win last season, Knox lost three games by seven points or less.

Knox (1-0) dominated Winamac last week, 54-19. 

Russ Radtke is in his third season as the Redskins head coach and 46^th overall after many successful seasons at New Prairie and Griffith, including the 1997 state title at Griffith.  Radtke’s 380 wins ranks him second only to Sheridan’s Larry Wright who has 436 over 57 seasons.

Pregame at 7:10 pm, kickoff at 7:30 pm on GIANT fm Sports on 92.1, giant.fm and the GIANT fm app.

Caston was only able to generate 16 rushing yards in a season opening loss to West Central, 26-8.

It doesn’t get easier for the Comets in Week 2 as #5 (1A) North Judson comes to Fulton.

Comets head coach Chris Ulerick says he’s looking for more effort from his team.

North Judson, with a 9-4 record last season, appeared in the semistate and lost to Adams Central. 

The Bluejays beat Culver last week, 45-12.

The Comet Pride Club is hosting a Kickoff Carnival at the home opener.  Cotton candy, sno-cones, games, dunk tank are available with proceeds going directly to Caston athletic programs.

Culver will host South Central (Union Mills) as both look for that first win.

The two teams didn’t play last year as Culver missed scheduled games in Week 2 and 3.  They did, however, meet in the sectional semifinal.  Culver upended the Satellites 18-0 to advance to the sectional championship game.

Head coach Mike Zehner says both teams look different this season.

Also tonight

#13 (3A) Tippecanoe Valley (1-0, 0-0 TRC) at Northfield (1-0, 0-0 TRC)

Taylor (0-1) at North Miami (1-0)

Warriors snapped 18 game losing streak with win last week

Peru (0-1, 0-0) TRC at Whitko (0-1, 0-0)

Oak Hill (1-0) at Southwood (0-1)

Bluffton (0-1) at Manchester (0-1)

Maconaquah (1-0) at Cass (1-0)

Wabash (0-1) at Alexandria (0-1)

Winamac (0-1, 0-1 HN) at Pioneer (0-1, 0-0 HN)

#12 (2A) LaVille (1-0, 0-0 HN) at #12 (1A) Triton (1-0, 0-0 HN)

Joe Grant of North Miami High School has been named the Colts / NFL Coach of the Week, presented by CenterPoint Energy, the Indianapolis Colts announced.

Grant was nominated and selected for the award after his Warriors ended an 18-game losing streak with a 14-12 road win at Class 2A Manchester.

North Miami's last win was in Week 2 of 2019 over Taylor, 40-30.  North Miami lost the final eight games of 2019 before going 0-10 last season.

The following coaches were recognized as honorable mentions for Week 1:

Region 1: Mark Peterson, Chesterton

Region 2: Cory Yeoman, Penn

Region 3: Andy Thomas, Angola

Region 4: Andy Standifer, Benton Central

Region 6: Mark Raetz, Northview

Region 7: Rob Doyle, Bishop Chatard

Region 8: Kyle Ralph, New Palestine

Volleyball

South Central def Culver Community 25-12, 25-18, 25-15

Setter Brynn Berndt led Culver with five kills and 17 assists

Caston def Peru, 25-17, 25-15, 25-21

Caston:  Annie Harsh - 8 assists; Isabel Scales - 8 kills; Alexa Finke 7 kills 

Triton def. Rochester, 25-20, 10-25, 17-25, 25-20, 15-11

Girls golf

Rochester 179, Southwood, 235, North Miami 243, Manchester INC

Rochester led by Olivia Bailey with a 39.  Ava Thomas posted a 41.

Girls soccer

Bremen 3, Culver 1

2021 was a huge step forward for Rochester football under first year head coach Ron Shaffer. 

From an 0-8 season in 2020, the Zebras improved to 5-3 last season (4-2 TRC) and rushed for over 300 yards per game led by all-TRC Alex Deming's 1773 yards.

The home opener is tonight for the Zebras who immediately begin conference play with visiting Southwood (5-6 last season).  Coach Shaffer knows his defense led by another all-TRC selection, Eli Swango (57 tackles), has to be up to the challenge.

Shaffer says Southwood features explosiveness on offense led by a dynamic quarterback.

The all-conference performer Lloyd passed for over 1300 yards last season and led the Knights in rushing with 793.

Pregame tonight at 6:40 pm with kickoff at 7:00 pm on GIANT fm Sports.

Volleyball

Caston def Culver Community 25-21, 25-22. 25-13

For Caston:  Addison Zimpleman - 14 service points with 3 aces; Isabel Scales - 9 kills; Macee Hinderlider - 7 kills;  Delany Lowry - 10 assists 

Boys soccer

Caston 4, Rochester 2

Halftime score was tied 1-1.

Girls soccer

Rochester road win at Maconaquah

Wabash 2, Tippecanoe Valley 1

Girls golf

Tippecanoe Valley 170, Warsaw 184, Wabash 217

Tennis

Rochester 5, Triton 0

Boys soccer

Tippecanoe Valley 6, Caston 0

TV up 2-0 at half, four second half goals to put it away

North White 5, Rochester 2

North White up 1-0 at halftime

For Rochester, RJ Keranko and Mitchell Shafer scored goals in the second half.  Parker Wallace had 10 saves and 1 assist.

Girls golf

Southwood 242, Caston 276

Shaylee Strasser and Jullina Sherick each with a 67 for the Comets

Rochester 176, Western 196

Western's Elizabeth Mercer was the medalist with a 39

Rochester: Payton Moore 40, Olivia Bailey and Ava Thomas 41

Volleyball

Pioneer def Rochester, 25-17, 25-18, 25-14

Wawasee def Tippecanoe Valley 25-15, 26-24, 25-19

Culver Community def Oregon Davis in 3 games

Caston def Carroll (Flora) 25-12, 25-22, 25-23

Boys tennis

Wawasee 3, Tippecanoe Valley 2

Girls golf

Rochester topped Winamac and Knox in girls golf on Monday.

Olivia Bailey was medalist wth a 40 to lea Rochester to a team low 177. Winamac finished with 201 and Knox had 214.

Tippecanoe Valley remained unbeaten in match play Monday.  Madelyn Weaver secured medalist with a 39 to pace the Vikings to a team score of 182.

Plymouth was second with 188, followed by Bremen (250) and LaVille (254).

Boys soccer

Maconaquah 8, Caston 0

WROI will be having our 2022 Football Coaches Preview Show on Sunday from 2:00 – 4:00 pm.  The show will air live from Moose Lodge #1107 in Rochester.

Six area coaches are scheduled to visit with Randy Wynn on Sunday's preview.

Rochester, Ron Shaffer (2nd season)

Shaffer led the Zebras to a 5-3 season (4-2 TRC) after a winless 0-8 record the season before.  Rochester rushed for over 300 yards per game.

Tippecanoe Valley, Steve Moriarity (6th season)

The Tippy alum Moriarity coached the Vikings 10-1 record (7-0, TRC champs) last season.  It was the program's best since a 10-3 mark in 1983.

Caston, Chris Ulerick (14th season)

The Caston alum Ulerick returns to the Comets head coaching role with the departure of Will Porter.  Ulerick was at the helm for Caston's last winning season in 2012 (8-3).  Caston has five wins over the last two seasons after two straight winless seasons and a 29-game losing streak.

Culver Community, Mike Zehner (7th season)

Culver picked up half of its four wins (4-6) last season in the sectional before losing to eventual semistate participant North Judson in the sectional final.  The Cavaliers rushed for 255 yards per game.

North Miami, Joe Grant (6th season)

The Warriors (0-10 last season) return 18 starters who will try to snap a current 18-game losing streak

Winamac, Josh Burgess (1st season)

The 1997 Winamac grad takes over for the recently retired IFCA Hall of Fame coach John Hendryx.  The Warriors must replace 18 starters while making the move up to 2A.

On the back nine Wednesday at Pond View, North Judson's team score of 245 was enough for victory as both Caston and Oregon-Davis were incomplete.

Caston was led by a 62 from Anselma Ramirez.

Rochester's top three girls golf players were within two strokes of each other to lead the Zebras to a win over Pioneer, 187-240.

At Round Barn Golf Club, Payton Moore earned medalist honors with a 44 followed by teammates Olivia Bailey, 45, and Ava Thomas with a 46.  Delaney Barkman recorded a 52 and Savannah Eccles, 62.

Tippecanoe Valley continued a strong start to the girls golf season by defeating Northwestern and Peru.  The Vikings team score of 192 was 29 strokes better that second place Northwestern, 221.  Peru was third with a 272.

Kaydence Mellott topped the Tippecanoe Valley effort with a 46. Madelyn Weaver carded a 48.  Teammates Molly Moriarty and Lily Ault tied with a 49.

Tippecanoe Valley posted a pair of girls golf wins in match play with Caston and Pioneer.

At the Round Barn Golf Course, Tippecanoe Valley posted a team score of 183.  Molly Moriarty topped the Vikings effort with a 44 followed closely by teammates Madelyn Weaver and Kaydence Mellott with a 45 and 46, respectively.

Pioneer was a distant second with 243.  Caston had an incomplete team score.

The Rochester girls golf team was led by a strong performance from a freshman in invitational play over the weekend.

Olivia Bailey fired an 86 to lead the Lady Zebras.  That score left her just outside the top five individuals at the Twin Lakes Invitational at Tippecanoe Country Club in Monticello on Saturday. 

Audrey Patterson of Lebanon topped the individual leaderboard with an 81.  Warsaw's Olivia Robertson - Gay and Abbey Petersen each carded an 84.  Logansport's Myleigh Moon took the tie-breaker from Plymouth's Elaina McDonald to finish fourth.  They both shot 85.

As a team, Rochester finished third with a 363.  Logansport was 12 strokes better with a 351 to win the event.  Plymouth was second with a 357.

Warsaw, fourth, and Rensselaer rounded out the top five.

Tippecanoe Valley placed first in a girls golf match with host Columbia City and Wawasee at Eagle Glen at Columbia City.

The Vikings posted a team score of 189.  Columbia City was six strokes back with a 195.  Wawasee finished with a 210.

Madelyn Weaver led the way with a 40.

The win follows up a second place finish in the 13-team Plymouth Invitational field.