Wheeler, 11-1 with its first sectional title since 2011, plays at unbeaten Eastside in 2A regional Friday

PORTER COUNTY, Ind. Wheeler's football team carries an 11-1 record and its first sectional championship since 2011 to unbeaten Eastside on Friday, Nov. 13, for a Class 2A regional title that kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Central time.

The IHSAA's Class 2A bracket lists the kickoff as 7:30 p.m., which is Eastern time, the local time at Eastside Junior-Senior High School in Butler, in DeKalb County. The Blazers come in 11-0, the bracket shows, and the winner plays for a semi-state title on Friday, Nov. 20.

Wheeler won Sectional 33 by outscoring three opponents 134-22, and the Union Township school urged fans to turn out before each of its last two games. Before the sectional final, Wheeler High School posted that "our boys are looking to bring home the program's first sectional title since 2011," and it asked fans to buy tickets in advance.

How Wheeler got here

The Bearcats went 8-1 in the regular season, the record the IHSAA listed for them when the sectional opened, and they have not lost since.

Wheeler opened the tournament at home on Oct. 23 against county neighbor Boone Grove and trailed 7-0 after the first quarter. The Bearcats scored 14 points in the second quarter and 21 in the third on the way to a 42-14 win, according to the IHSAA's line score.

A week later, on Oct. 30, Wheeler went to Rensselaer Central, which had come into the game 8-2, and won 35-0, scoring in every quarter. The school posted the final that night and announced that the sectional championship would be played at Wheeler.

In the Nov. 6 final at home, Wheeler led Knox 35-8 at halftime and won 57-8, the IHSAA line score shows. Wheeler High School has since posted "Wheeler Bearcats 2026 IHSAA Sectional 33 Champions!" and this week asked fans to vote for Levi Murray in an Indiana Preps football player of the week poll for the sectional championship round.

Murray, a junior, ran for 372 yards and seven touchdowns on 23 carries against Knox, giving him 47 touchdowns this season, Indiana Preps reported, and Riley Luedtke added a late 14-yard touchdown catch from Ty Schafer. "Levi is the best running back in the state and our dudes up front do a great job of giving him lanes to run," first-year Wheeler coach Josh Wissing told the outlet.

The opponent

Eastside went 9-0 in the regular season and drew a first-round bye in Sectional 34, according to the IHSAA bracket. The Blazers then won 41-13 at Bremen on Oct. 30 and 42-0 at Rochester Community on Nov. 6, outscoring their two tournament opponents 83-13.

The game is at Eastside because of the IHSAA's rule for picking a regional host, which sends the game to the team that played its sectional final on the road. Eastside won its final at Rochester, while Wheeler hosted Knox.

Tickets and streaming

Regional tickets are digital only and sold through Eventlink, according to the IHSAA's tournament page. Admission is $10 per person, children 5 and younger are free, and additional fees may apply. Fans show the purchase on a phone at the gate. The IHSAA tells fans to search a school's name at IHSAAtv.org to see whether its game will be streamed.

What comes next

The IHSAA's 2A bracket pairs the winner with the winner of Lapel (11-1) at Oak Hill (7-5) in the Nov. 20 semi-state, with the site still to be set. Semi-state tickets are $12 per person through Eventlink, the IHSAA said, and the state championship is at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.