Major tests in Week 8

Week 7 went in two directions on Friday for North Daviess and Washington. ND won their seventh straight, 52-6 over Mitchell, while WHS was shut out by Gibson Southern, 56-0.

This week WHS and ND both face big tests, as WHS plays Mount Vernon and ND travels to North Knox.

MTV at WHS

This week WHS faces a team that they haven’t had much success with over the last decade, but after their win over Boonville two weeks ago, they should bring a lot of confidence to this game.

WHS comes in at 3-4 and have lost their last seven against the Wildcats. However last year was just a 28-17 loss. This year the Wildcats are 4-3, with wins over Forest Park, Boonville and Princeton and losses to Gibson Southern, Heritage Hills and Southridge, just like WHS. According to the John Harrell website, MTV is a narrow 35-28 winner, but WHS does have a slightly better Sagrin Rating.

“Obviously, we struggled with the top two teams in the conference, however if we get the win on Friday, we should end up with third in the conference. If we can win, that would give us the most wins in our conference since 2010,” said WHS coach Joe Morris. “This is a big game for us and there is no denying that. Just like every week, we have to limit big plays and do more on third downs. They are without some key pieces and we have to take advantage of that.”

The game will be Senior Night for WHS.

North Daviess at North Knox

ND had a relatively easy time with Mitchell last weekend, 52-6 as they cotinine their historic undefeated season. However, Friday will be the first of two tough tests to end the regular season.

Coming in at 3-4, North Knox looks to be a heavy underdog by record, but the John Harrell site is only predicting a single TD Cougar win for 7-0 ND.

The Warriors have played a tough schedule facing Boonville, Princeton, Linton and Sullivan, along having with a close win (25-24) over 6-1 North Posey.

They rely on sophomore QB Cooper Lemberg, who has thrown for 12 TDs and just under 1,000 yards this season. Including seven to Tyler Clark who is their leading receiver. Camden McCorey is getting roughly 70 yards per game on the ground and Will Arnold getting just north of 35 YPG. Brayden Bilskie leads the defense with 12.3 tackles with Arnold adding about 2.0 sacks per game.

Keaton Graber remains ND’s primary offensive threat, running for 84 yards per game and throwing for 150, while rushing for 12 TDs and throwing for 10. Anderson Aiman is primary target with 71 YPG and eight touchdowns. He is also a disruptor on defense with nine sacks and two recovered fumbles for touchdowns.

"We got a lot of kids in last week and did the things we needed to do. We know these next two weeks are going to be really tough. North Knox always gives us their best. We know they have a lot of skill on that team and some athletes that play with a motor. This is a great game to get ready for sectional. This sectional should very good with Valley, Providence, Forest Park, North Knox and us," said ND coach Trent Fine.

ND returns home the following Friday to play previously unbeaten Springs Valley.