Cut off about 30 minutes from last week's trip to Seeger and tonight's road trip to Oxford to play Benton Central seems like just a hop, skip and jump away.

Well, not quite.  If Rochester wins tonight's 2A sectional semifinal the Zebras will certainly have earned a championship game at home next week.

Johnny McCrory previews the semifinal round of IHSAA sectional football.

104 miles.

Two hours. 

No matter how it's presented, it's a long road trip for a first round sectional football game.  Rochester is hoping it's the beginning of the road to a sectional title.

Johnny McCrory previews area opening round games of the 50th Annual IHSAA State Football Tournament.

Rochester’s four-game win streak to close out the regular season earned the Zebras a top-10 ranking in the final Indiana Football Coaches Association State Coaches Poll.

Now 8-1, Rochester went from unranked two weeks ago to receiving votes in the penultimate state poll after week eight of the regular season and now a spot in the top 10 for a 38-14 win at Maconaquah.

Linton-Stockton (9-0) is No. 1 in the Class 2A poll followed by 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).

Rochester opens the postseason state tournament Friday at Seeger (7-2).

Indianapolis Lutheran (9-0) finished off its second-straight undefeated regular season to remain No. 1 in the Class A poll. Adams Central (9-0) and North Decatur (9-0) are unbeaten as well at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

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

Rochester recorded a win and a loss in Saturday volleyball competition.  But that one loss ended the Zebras season.

Rochester (14-19) won its semifinal appearance in 2A Sectional 36 by defeating Winamac on Saturday at Rochester HS, 25-23, 25-5, 25-16.

Rochester's season closed, however, with a loss Saturday night in the championship to Wabash, 25-15, 25-20, 25-21.

Wabash (26-6) defeated Pioneer in four games to advance from the other semifinal.

At 1A Sectional 53 at Southwood, the home team got by Caston (25-8)  in three games to make the championship match.  Southwood downed Caston, 25-18, 25-6, 25-7.

Southwood (29-3) went on to capture the sectional title with a 3-0 sweep of Northfield.

Rochester kept its volleyball season alive and advanced to a Saturday 2A Sectional 36 semifinal play with a quarterfinal win Thursday.

Rochester downed North Miami, 25-9, 25-17, 25-12. It was the second win of the season for the Zebras over North Miami.

Rochester (13-18) will now play Winamac (6-23) in the 11 am semifinal on Saturday. The Zebras swept their regular season meeting with Winamac on September 29, 25-4, 25-14, 25-19.

The winner of the Rochester - Winamac semifinal will play the winner of the Wabash (24-6)  - Pioneer (26-7) semifinal in the 6pm championship Saturday at Rochester.

It was a much different game the second time around.  But in the end, the final result was the same as Argos boys soccer season ended in the 1A regional semifinal.

4th-ranked Faith Christian defeated Argos, 2-1.  All of the goals came in the second half after the score remained in a scoreless tie through the first half.

Faith Christian dominated Argos when they played on August 26, 9-0.

Argos season ends with a record of 4-15.

Culver Academies will host this Saturday's cross country regionals with both its boys and girls teams in the fields along with Rochester.

At the Manchester Sectional, Warsaw won the team event in the boys competition with a score of 34 followed by Culver Academies with 57.

Rochester finished third with 78 points.  Manchester and Plymouth rounded out the top five teams to advance on to the regional.

The Zebras top runner was senior Samuel Rohr.  He finished seventh in 17:13.  Teammate Wesley Steininger was 13th overall in 17:28.1 with Grant Bailey 14th in 17:28.7.

Caston was led by Austin Dague who finished 16th overall in 17:35.  Teammate Edison Byrum was two spots back in 18th.  Dague and Byrum advanced to the regional among the top ten runners not on an advancing team.  Caston's Marshall Finke, Connor Sommers and AJ Reyburn also advanced.

Caston finished sixth as a team.

Other individuals advancing include:

North Miami:  Andrew Lane, Avery Piel, Karter Floor

Culver Community: Destin Green

Tpeecanoe Valley:  Isaac Whetstone

Warsaw also captured the team title in the Manchester girls sectional with a low score of 31.  Rounding out the top five advancing teams:  Manchester, Culver Academies, Plymouth and Triton.

Rochester's Zoe Seward was third overall in 19:05 and will advance to the regional along with teammate Allyson Calloway, 18th overall.

Other individuals moving on to the regional:

Tippecanoe Valley:  Chesnee Miller, Bailey Bussard, McKenna Lowe

Argos:  Savannah Lyon, Lexi Gibson, Ava Stackhouse

Caston: Mackenzi Roudebush, Alexa Lowe

Argos boys and girls soccer are prepping for regional appearances this week.

The Dragons defeated #17 North White Saturday to win the 1A boys sectional title, 2-1.

Argos (4-14) will play #4 Faith Christian (14-2-1) in the regional semifinal.  The winner will advance to the Saturday championship at Taylor and play the winner of Muncie Burris (13-5-1) vs #2 Park Tudor (16-2-1).

Saturday’s championship will be at 4:00 pm.

In the girls tournament, Argos blanked LaVille to win the Sectional 35 1A title, 2-0.

17^th-ranked Argos (8-6-3) will now play Bethany Christian (8-9-1) the regional semifinal.  The winner moves on to the Westview site for Saturday’s championship against the winner of the #7 Andrean (12-2-4) – Kouts (8-9) semifinal.

Saturday’s championship at Westview will be at 2:00 pm.

For the first time since 2014, Rochester will be on the road for a football sectional opening round.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association slotted 313 teams Sunday for the 50^th 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.

2A Sectional 34 will feature Rochester (7-1) on the road at Seeger (6-2).  The winner will advance to the semifinal to play the winner of the Benton Central (3-5) at Delphi (4-4) quarterfinal.

The other half of the bracket has the top-ranked team of the field from Sagarin, 6^th-ranked Lafayette Central Catholic (6-2) playing Winamac (2-6).  Lewis Cass (5-3) received the bye in the seven-team sectional and will play the LCC – Winamac winner.

In 1A, it’s a rematch game for Caston in the quarterfinal of Sectional 34.  The Comets (0-8) will host West Central (7-1).  West Central defeated Caston in the season opener, 26-8.

The West Central – Caston winner will play the winner of Frontier (4-4) at Taylor (1-7).

In the bottom half of the bracket:

Tri-County (1-7) at Tri-Central (2-6)

#5 Carroll (Flora) (8-0) at North White (5-2)

Tippecanoe Valley will be on the road against a TRC foe in the opening round of 3A Sectional 28.  The Vikings (8-0) will go to Peru (2-6).  Tippecanoe Valley won the regular season conference matchup with the Tigers on September 22, 41-22.

The winner of that game will play the winner of #8 Guerin Catholic at #12 Oak Hill (8-0).

In the top half of the Sectional 28 bracket, 3^rd-ranked Indianapolis Chatard (5-3) will travel to Northwestern (1-7) and Maconaquah (6-2) will host Hamilton Heights (6-2).

Conference championships remain on the line tonight in Week 8 of the high school football season.

Rochester, Southwood and Maconaquah all have one loss in Three Rivers Conference play with Tippecanoe Valley still undefeated.

In the Hoosier North, ranked and undefeated teams North Judson and LaVille play for the outright conference lead.

Johnny McCrory previews the area schedule.

It was another big performance for Caston's Rowan Jellison.  Unfortunately, for the Comets it wasn't enough to stay alive in the soccer postseason.

At Argos, Jellison scored three times but North White swept in front of the goal with a tie-breaking game winner with less than a minute to go in the second overtime period to defeat Caston, 4-3.

North White will play Argos in Saturday's 1A sectional championship.  Argos blanked Winamac, 7-0.

The championship will be at 7 pm on Saturday.

At the 2A sectional at Wabash, Manchester knocked Tippecanoe Valley out of the tournament with a 6-0 semifinal victory.  

Manchester will play #6 Culver Academies in Saturday's championship.  Culver Academies advanced with a 6-2 win over Concordia Lutheran.

2A Boys Soccer Sectional

At Wabash

Culver Academies 11, Rochester 0

Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran 3, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger 0

Semifinals Wednesday

5pm: Tippecanoe Valley vs Manchester

7pm: FW Concordia Lutheran vs Culver Academies

1A Girls Soccer Sectional

At Argos

Argos 3, Trinity Greenlawn 0

Bremen 2, Culver Community 2

Bremen wins on PK's

Semifinals Thursday

5pm: Argos vs Bremen

7pm: Rochester vs LaVille

Tippecanoe Valley's Annikan Pettit and Cody Smith will play Warsaw's Charles Norton and Drew Ryser in a doubles sectional match at Culver Academy at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Boys tennis

Rochester's doubles team of Robert Bozzo / Brayden Zink will next play at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Culver Academy. 

Volleyball

Tippecanoe Valley def Rochester, 12-25, 25-20, 27-25, 25-23

Caston def. Triton, 18-25, 18-25, 25-15, 25-15, 16-14

Westville def. Culver, 25-20, 20-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-7

Rowan Jellison scored three times to lead Caston to a boys soccer victory in opening round play at Argos.  Meanwhile, Tippecanoe Valley got by TRC rival Wabash to advance to a semifinal appearance.

At Argos, Caston defeated Culver Community, 4-0.  Up next, #17 North White who edged North Miami in the other quarterfinal, 2-1.  That semifinal is set for 5pm on Wednesday.

The other semifinal at the 1A Argos site has the home team hosting Winamac at 7pm.

At 2A Wabash, Tippecanoe Valley will play Manchester in a 5pm Wednesday semifinal. 

The other semifinal will be determined Tuesday.  In one quarterfinal, Fort Wayne schools Bishop Dwenger and Concordia Lutheran will square off.  Rochester is scheduled to go in the late quarterfinal Tuesday at 7pm.  Rochester will play #6 Culver Academies.

Girls first round play the 1A Argos site begins Tuesday with two quarterfinals - #13 Trinity vs #17 Argos followed by Bremen vs Culver Community.  The winners will meet in a semifinal on Thursday.

The other semifinal at Argos is already set with Rochester to play LaVille.

At the 2A Culver Academies girls sectional, the home team will play Bishop Dwenger tonight followed by #6 Garrett vs #7 Leo.  The winners play in Thursday's 5pm semifinal.

Tippecanoe Valley received a bye and will play Concordia Lutheran in the 7pm semifinal on Thursday.

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

Rochester will host 2A Sectional 36 and play North Miami in the opening match.  Winamac received the bye in the six-team field and will play the North Miami - Rochester winner in a semifinal.

The other half of the bracket has Pioneer playing Lewis Cass with the winner to meet Wabash in the other semifinal.

Tippecanoe Valley will host a 3A sectional and open the postseason with a match against Glenn.  The winner advances to play Knox in one semifinal.  

The other semifinal in the five-team sectional has Culver Acadamies playing Bremen.

In the 1A tournament, Caston is part of the five-team field at the Southwood sectional.  The Comets will play Southwood in the second match at the site.  The winner will play for the sectional title..

In the Southwood site opening match, Southern Wells will play Lakeland Christian.  The winner will play Northfield in a semifinal.

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