Tipton and Cass, unquestionably two of the best football programs in the region, last crossed paths in a 1997 sectional semifinal game that the Blue Devils won 41-12. The squads will renew acquaintances tonight at Owens Memorial Field as the Blue Devils (8-2) visit the No. 9-ranked Kings (7-3) in the semifinal round of Class 2A Sectional 28.

“I think they’ve had a fantastic football program for the last 25 years probably,” Cass coach Scott Mannering said of the Blue Devils. “Moving into [the Hoosier Conference] changed the dynamics of their won-lost records, but they’ve still been very solid.

“They look very talented this year and I’m surprised how young they are — they have a lot of underclassmen who are very good players on the line of scrimmage and at the skill positions. If they were in our conference, they’d be one of the best teams.”

Tipton coach Aaron Tolle was equally complimentary toward Cass, which has become a tournament force in recent seasons. Mannering led the Kings to the state finals last season.

“I have all the respect in the world for coach Mannering. I know he runs as solid a program as there is in central Indiana if not the entire state,” Tolle said.

“We knew as soon as the new sectionals came out that if you wanted to win this one, it was going to go through Cass whether it was Week 1, Week 2 or Week 3. It happens to fall in Week 2 this year.”

Cass is riding a six-game winning streak. The Kings score 29 ppg and hold opponents to 13 ppg. Quarterback/safety Damon Foreman is their leader.

“Their whole offense is built around a good, physical offensive line,” Tolle noted. “They have good backs. It looks like an extremely balanced offense in that they don’t have that one guy you can zero in on, they get it to four or five different backs.

“I’m really impressed with the quarterback. It’s even obvious on film that he’s the leader of the entire ballclub. When things are going bad or it’s a time for a play to be made, coach Mannering is going to put it in his hands.”

The Blue Devils score 30 ppg and allow 13 ppg — nearly identical to the Kings’ averages.

The Blue Devils have good offensive balance. They average 185 rushing yards and 130 passing yards per game. Quarterback Ross Schulenburg, wide receivers Seth Jacobs and Jake Dye and running back Tanner Langley are the key playmakers.

“They’re an I-formation [offense], which you don’t see much anymore, with a very good tailback in Langley and they throw the ball well. Their receivers are outstanding,” Mannering said. “I’m really impressed with them across the board. Defensively, I think they are solid. They are 8-2 for a reason — they’re a quality team.”

Tolle and Mannering both pointed to field position and turnovers as possible determining factors in the game. Tolle pointed to physical play as another key.

“We’re going to have to match them execution-wise and try to win the physical battle,” he said.

Class A

Caston (7-3)

at South Newton (8-2)

It’s been a rebound season for Caston, which is hoping for an improved performance tonight from the first time it traveled to South Newton this year.

Caston visits South Newton for a 7:30 p.m. Class A Sectional 34 semifinal game.

“It’s gonna be a battle,” Caston senior fullback/linebacker Austin Ault said. “We’re going to have to fight. I hope it’s not our last game being seniors.”

The Comets were defeated at South Newton 26-8 four weeks ago in a game that decided third place in the Midwest Conference. Caston coach Chris Ulerick wasn’t pleased with his squad’s performance in that one.

“We have to get off the bus. We have to be ready to play. We weren’t that the first time,” he said. “The kids understand that and the kids understood that after the game. And I think they’ve gotten a lot better since then, so hopefully we’re ready to play.”

“I think we’re a lot more prepared this week,” Ault said. “We’ve had some people sick, but I think by [tonight] they’ll be healthy again. The first time we played South Newton we played them close, had a lot of penalties, and we also lost [quarterback/defensive back] Wil [Holloway], and he’s healthy again so that’ll be big to have him back.”

Fullback Jace Snodgrass leads South Newton in rushing with 700 yards and six touchdowns.

“No. 30 is a big, physical, aggressive runner, and we let him in the open field and he made us pay dearly for it,” Ulerick said. “They’re going to try to hit us with the fullback again, I’m sure. Hopefully we’ve taken some steps to correct that.”

Quarterback Tyler Lowe runs the Rebels’ spread offense. He has 439 yards and six touchdowns on the ground and 1,932 yards and 24 touchdowns through the air.

Ulerick said the windy forecast for tonight’s game could be to the Comets’ advantage.

“Hopefully the wind is gonna play a little bit of havoc with them, and that’s kind of our game plan right now,” he said. “As long as we don’t let nothing long happen ... that’s the ultimate game plan is just to keep it in front of us and make them nickel and dime us down the field.”

Trent Alenduff leads the Rebels in receiving with 55 catches for 692 yards and 11 TDs. Luke Welsh has 25 catches for 293 yards and a TD, and Jordan Purdy has 24 catches for 485 yards and eight TDs.

Caston’s seven wins this season are its most since its nine-win season in 2003. That was also the last time the Comets won a tournament game before last week’s 35-20 win over North White. This is also the Comets’ first winning season since ’04. From the four seasons from ’05 to ’08, the Comets won a combined five games.

“It certainly is [a rebound season] and the kids have earned it,” Ulerick said. “They need to go out and have fun and enjoy playing football into November. That’s the goal right now is surviving the week and getting to see next week.”

The Comets have eight seniors on the team this year.

“We just have a lot of experience,” Ault said. “We’ve gained experience in the four years here. A lot of us have started for three years and have just started coming together, just working hard and our senior class is real close together, united.”

The Comets have done most of their damage this season on the ground with their balanced rushing attack. Trevor Hoover leads the way with 581 yards and six TDs. Eric Goller has 553 yards and 3 TDs, Ault has 517 yards and seven TDs and Holloway has 382 yards and two TDs.

Holloway has 485 yards passing and nine TDs. Blain Hizer has added 202 yards passing and three TDs. Goller has 19 catches for 189 yards and three TDs. Hoover has 18 catches for 279 yards and four TDs.