Chesterton takes its first football sectional title to Concord for a Class 5A regional Friday

Chesterton's football team, a week removed from the first sectional championship in school history, plays at Concord on Friday, Nov. 13, for a Class 5A regional title, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. Central time.

Both teams bring 6-5 records into the game, according to the IHSAA's Class 5A bracket. The IHSAA lists the kickoff as 7:30 p.m., which is local Eastern time at Concord High School, and Chesterton's athletic department lists the same kickoff as 6:30 p.m. Central. The winner moves on to a semi-state game Friday, Nov. 20, one step from the state championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Trojans earned the trip by beating Munster 27-7 at home on Nov. 6 to win Sectional 9, a title the school's athletic department called "the first IHSAA Football Sectional Championship in school history" in a Nov. 9 post on its website.

How Chesterton got here

The Trojans went 4-5 in the regular season, the record the IHSAA bracket listed for them when the sectional began, and have won both tournament games since by a combined 58-20.

In the Sectional 9 semifinal at Michigan City on Oct. 30, Chesterton scored in every quarter and won 31-13. Michigan City put up all 13 of its points in the second quarter, and the Trojans answered with seven in the third and 10 in the fourth, according to the IHSAA's line score.

The sectional final at Chesterton on Nov. 6 opened with a touchdown apiece in the first quarter. Chesterton then scored 13 points in the second quarter and seven more in the fourth, while Munster did not score again after the first quarter, the IHSAA line score shows.

Mark Peterson, the head coach, is in his 14th season at Chesterton and his 20th as a head coach, the athletic department wrote. The department said this year's team "embraced the challenges of a demanding schedule and found its stride when it mattered most."

The opponent

Concord, the Sectional 10 champion, also finished the regular season 4-5, according to the IHSAA bracket. The Minutemen won 54-28 at South Bend Adams on Oct. 30 and beat LaPorte 38-14 at home on Nov. 6, scoring 92 points in two tournament games while allowing 42.

The game is at Concord under the IHSAA's rule for picking a regional host. The rule gives the game to the team that played its sectional final on the road, and when that does not settle it, to the even-numbered sectional. Chesterton and Concord both hosted their sectional finals on Nov. 6, so the game went to Sectional 10's champion.

Tickets and streaming

All regional tickets are digital and sold through Eventlink, the IHSAA said on its tournament page. Admission is $10 per person, children 5 and younger get in free, and additional fees may apply. Fans show their purchase on a phone at the gate. The IHSAA tells fans to search the school name at IHSAAtv.org to see whether a game is being streamed.

What comes next

The IHSAA's 5A bracket pairs the Chesterton and Concord winner with the winner of Warsaw Community (10-1) at Lafayette Jefferson (9-2) in a semi-state game on Nov. 20, with the site to be set. Semi-state tickets are $12 per person through Eventlink, according to the IHSAA, and Chesterton's own schedule lists the semi-state that Friday with the time to be announced.