No Winless Team Survives: Indiana’s Losing-Record Teams Go 30-81 in Sectional Openers

October 24, 2026

Indiana’s all-in football tournament gave every team a postseason shot. For the ones that limped in with losing records, Friday night’s sectional openers mostly went the way the regular season suggested they would — but not always.

Across Classes 1A through 4A, the only classes that played Friday, 111 losing-record teams took the field. They went a combined 30-81.

(One 1A game — Cambridge City Lincoln vs. Indianapolis Tindley — had no reported final at last check, so two more losing-record teams aren’t in that tally yet. Classes 5A and 6A haven’t started; their sectionals begin later.)

How it broke down by class:

_• 4A: 4-20

_• 3A: 7-20

_• 2A: 12-22

_• 1A: 7-19

By entering record:

_• 4-5 teams: 12-11 — the only group that finished above water

_• 3-6 teams: 11-21

_• 2-7 teams: 4-14

_• 1-8 teams: 3-16

_• 0-9 teams: 0-13 — no winless team survived the night

The night’s biggest stunner: Shenandoah, in at 1-8, thumped 5-4 Winchester 48-14 in Class 2A. It was one of just six wins by losing-record teams over winning-record opponents.

• Shenandoah wins OT thriller over Winchester in first round of IHSAA football sectionals

The other upsets: Oak Hill (4-5) beat 7-2 Seeger 49-21; Cardinal Ritter (4-5) edged 7-2 Covenant Christian 22-21 in double overtime; Greencastle (4-5) beat 5-4 South Vermillion 35-28; West Lafayette (2-7) blew out 5-4 Northwestern 49-14; and Evansville Harrison (3-6) beat 6-3 Boonville 20-14, leading at halftime and holding on through a scoreless second half.

The other 24 losing-record wins came against fellow losing-record teams, including Central Noble (1-8) beating Manchester 40-21, Linton-Stockton (1-8) blanking Pike Central 62-0, and Southwood (2-7) outlasting Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian 34-28 in double overtime.

And it was a long night for plenty of others. Salem beat Brown County 80-0, Knightstown beat Union City 84-0, Northview beat Frankfort 77-6, and North Posey blanked Perry Central 76-0.

Still alive: Eight more losing-record teams drew first-round byes and play in the Oct. 30 sectional semifinals, including Jennings County (2-7) in 4A, Benton Central (1-8) and Western (3-6) in 3A, LaVille (3-6) in 2A, and Tri-County (0-8), Edinburgh (3-6), Union County (1-8) and North Knox (2-7) in 1A. The 30 Friday winners advance to the semifinals too.

Update: Lafayette Central Catholic beat Frontier 47-7 in 1A Sectional 42; LCC advances to face Tri-County (0-8) in the Oct. 30 semifinal.