(11-9-26) East Noble went 7-0 to win the Northeast Eight Conference outright, and the Knights lead the 2026 NE8 football all-conference teams.
The league named 80 honors across its eight schools — 27 first-team, 28 second-team and 25 honorable-mention selections, covering 76 players. Four players earned two honors each.
Columbia City leads all schools with 15 selections. East Noble has 13, followed by DeKalb, Huntington North and Leo with 11 each, Norwell with 9, New Haven with 8 and Bellmont with 2.
Final NE8 standings (MaxPreps)
- East Noble — 7-0 conference, 11-1 overall
- Columbia City — 6-1, 8-3
- DeKalb — 4-3, 7-4
- Leo — 4-3, 5-5
- Huntington North — 3-4, 6-5
- New Haven — 2-5, 2-8
- Norwell — 2-5, 5-6
- Bellmont — 0-7, 0-10
East Noble finished 9-0 in the regular season, beating Columbia City 42-21 on Oct. 2 in the game that decided the title race, then clinching the championship outright with a 47-0 win at Bellmont.
The Knights beat Columbia City again in the sectional semifinal, 53-17, after trailing 17-6 at halftime and scoring 47 unanswered points.
Their season ended in the Class 4A Sectional 19 final, a 35-14 loss at home to defending state champion Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger on Nov. 6. East Noble finishes 11-1.
Columbia City finished 8-3 and second in the conference at 6-1. Two of the Eagles’ three losses came against East Noble — 42-21 in the regular season and 53-17 in the sectional semifinal.
Bellmont went winless at 0-10, and its two all-conference selections both came on the second team.
First-team leaders
East Noble and Columbia City tie for the most first-team selections with six each. Leo has five, DeKalb four, Huntington North three, Norwell two, New Haven one, and Bellmont none.
Huntington North junior quarterback Lathen Janes is the first-team quarterback. His backfield mate, senior Christian Jemison, is a first-team running back alongside Columbia City junior Lukas Duncan.
Four players earned two honors:
East Noble senior Alex Scott (first-team wide receiver and first-team special teams player), Norwell senior Trey Privett (first-team corner and second-team punter), Columbia City senior Tannor Ellis (first-team punter and second-team free safety) and DeKalb senior Drake Hall (first-team free safety and honorable-mention punter).
2026 NE8 Football All-Conference Teams
Quarterback
- 1st Team: Lathen Janes 11, Huntington North
- 2nd Team: Tre McCraney 12, New Haven
- Honorable Mention: Luke Marquardt 11, Leo
- Running Back
- 1st Team: Lukas Duncan 11, Columbia City; Christian Jemison 12, Huntington North
- 2nd Team: Xavier Vice 11, DeKalb; Aaron Perlich 10, East Noble
- Honorable Mention: Paul Woods 12, Leo
- Wide Receiver
- 1st Team: Alex Scott 12, East Noble; Donald Gage Jr. 12, New Haven; Cooper Bunn 11, Norwell
- 2nd Team: Max Schreck 10, Leo; Cole Barger 11, Bellmont; Landon Kindschy 11, Leo
- Honorable Mention: Blake Smith 11, DeKalb; Jaylan Doughty 11, New Haven; Ethan Wake 12, New Haven
- Tight End / Fullback
- 1st Team: Noah Geiger 11, Columbia City
- 2nd Team: Nate Bowman 12, Huntington North
- Honorable Mention: Jaxon Price 12, New Haven
- Tackle
- 1st Team: Zach Furthmiller 12, Columbia City; Adrian Montoya 10, East Noble
- 2nd Team: Luke Harkless 12, Norwell; Dorian Burn 12, Columbia City
- Honorable Mention: Justin Richardson 11, New Haven; Jack Graves 10, East Noble
- Guard
- 1st Team: Miles Brockhouse 12, DeKalb; Tayden Getts 12, East Noble
- 2nd Team: Logan Richmond 11, Columbia City; Grady Vachon 11, Norwell
- Honorable Mention: Dominick Ward 12, Huntington North; Jake Clemons 11, Leo; Landon Clark 10, Norwell; Bo Sterlin 10, East Noble
- Center
- 1st Team: Gus Sluckey 12, Leo
- 2nd Team: Caden Bohnstedt 12, Columbia City
- Honorable Mention: Graham Blackburn 11, Huntington North
Defensive End
- 1st Team: Jace Pettigrew 12, Columbia City; Malachi Webb 12, DeKalb
- 2nd Team: Walker Goodnight 12, Huntington North; Koen Quake 12, East Noble
- Honorable Mention: Lavell Ledbetter 12, New Haven
- Interior Defensive Tackle
- 1st Team: Tanner Rider 12, Columbia City; Gage Clanin 12, Huntington North
- 2nd Team: Lincoln Moyer 11, Norwell; Paxton Woods 12, DeKalb
- Honorable Mention: Jayon Thomas 10, New Haven; Landan Mills 11, East Noble
Inside Linebacker- 1st Team: Austin Phillips 10, East Noble; Bret Sauder 12, Leo
- 2nd Team: Eli Schwab 12, DeKalb; Andrew Furthmiller 12, Columbia City
- Honorable Mention: Sawyer Carl 11, Huntington North; Ian Ramey 12, East Noble
- Outside Linebacker / Strong Safety
- 1st Team: Alex Phillips 12, East Noble; Sam Miller 10, Leo
- 2nd Team: EJ Morgan 11, Norwell; Colton Schroeder 11, Columbia City
- Honorable Mention: Owen Schackow 11, DeKalb; Ethan Johnson 12, Huntington North
- Free Safety
- 1st Team: Drake Hall 12, DeKalb; Isaiah Detmers 11, Leo
- 2nd Team: Mason White 12, Bellmont; Tannor Ellis 12, Columbia City
- Corner
- 1st Team: Tanner Mickelson 12, Leo; Trey Privett 12, Norwell
- 2nd Team: Ian Berry 12, Columbia City; Bayden Quinn 12, DeKalb
- Honorable Mention: Jack Slater 12, East Noble; Parker Daugherty 12, Huntington North
- Punter
- 1st Team: Tannor Ellis 12, Columbia City
- 2nd Team: Trey Privett 12, Norwell; Kaden Doll 12, Leo
- Honorable Mention: Drake Hall 12, DeKalb
- Kicker
- 1st Team: Dawson Cleverly 12, DeKalb
- 2nd Team: Gavin Sink 10, Huntington North
- Honorable Mention: Jaxson Johnson 12, Columbia City
- Special Teams Player
- 1st Team: Alex Scott 12, East Noble
- 2nd Team: Carter Costello 11, Norwell
- Honorable Mention: Braxton Fuller 10, Columbia City
Source: 2026 NE8 Football All-Conference Teams list; final conference standings via MaxPreps; East Noble season details via eastnoblefootball.com; sectional results via the Indianapolis Star and Outside the Huddle.
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