Step No. 3 in Bluffton’s quest for another football sectional championship continues Friday night at home.
It took the Tigers 34 years to bring home another trophy, but now Brent Kunkel’s unit has the chance to do it twice in a row. It’s crazy how that works, isn’t it?
And it hasn’t been easy to get there. If you crafted the toughest three-game route in sectional 36 for Bluffton, you would need to play Alexandria, Eastbrook, and Eastern. Well, the Tigers got just that.
They didn’t draw Elwood, Blackford, or Tipton, who had a combined record of 3-28. Instead, the three schools they got to line up against are Alexandria 8-2, Eastbrook 7-4, and now Eastern 9-2.
You have to beat the best to be the best, though, right?
In the final stage of the gauntlet, Bluffton will gladly host Eastern (Greentown), who will be traveling about an hour and a half to Wells County for the game.
The Comets beat two of the bottom schools in the sectional, Elwood and Tipton, by scores of 55-0 and 42-0. The sample doesn’t exactly tell how good they are, and they haven’t played any common opponents in the regular season with the Tigers.
The two Eastern losses came from Carroll (Flora) and Oak Hill. The Comets finished second in the Hoosier Heartland Conference.
One thing is for certain: Bluffton’s defense will be tested yet again. The Comets have scored over 30 points eight times and average 38 points per game this season.
Two standout seniors lead the offense. The first is quarterback Eli Edwards, who has thrown for well over 2,000 yards and 26 touchdowns to just four interceptions. He’s been the starter for three years now and is looking to bring home the first sectional title in school history.
“I know they have never won a sectional,” Kunkel said after the sectional semi-final game, speaking about Eastern. “So they’re going to come in with nothing to lose kind of a situation, somewhat what we were in last year where it had been a long time. It’s been better for them, and they might play loose and free. I’m sure they’ll be the ‘underdog’ in the game, so yeah, it’ll be an exciting atmosphere for sure.”
The other senior is running back Jayden Eagle. He’s rushed for nearly 2,000 yards this season and has impressively averaged 11.8 yards per carry with 22 touchdowns.
Like Edwards, Eagle is a three-year varsity player and has eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark every year.
Conversely, the Comets have allowed just 15 points per contest. However, against tougher opponents, they’ve given up over 30 points in three games.
With Bluffton’s Khamel Moore finally back to what seems to be close to or at 100 percent from an upper-body injury, the offense is clicking to its potential.
Moore rushed for 238 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s sectional semi-final victory over Eastbrook. But he wasn’t the only one with a solid night in the backfield. Tucker Jenkins and Cooper Craig tallied 126 yards between them.
And if needed, quarterback Braxton Betancourt can also sling the ball around to multiple targets. He’s been hitting up Andrew Hunt and AJ Streveler most recently.
On the defensive side, Bluffton has had a nice year as well. Against Eastbrook, it allowed 21 points while frustrating a typically well-ran offense at times.
This sectional championship should be a good one, and I’m looking forward to the explosive offenses in this one.
For fans attending the game without rooting for either side, I think it will be more of a shootout. For fans that have a rooting interest, good luck holding the emotions in.
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