Week 8 of the 2026 Indiana high school football season brought 152 games and 8,542 points on Friday, Oct. 9, an average of 56.2 per game. Evansville Memorial came back from 21-0 down to win 34-28 at Floyd Central, Warren Central beat Carmel 42-28, and Bluffton beat Adams Central for the first time in 18 tries. Two unbeatens fell, so 28 teams are still perfect heading into the last Friday of the regular season, when four conference titles come down to games between two undefeated teams.
Listen: Dom Miranda and Nate Spangle break down Week 8 and preview Week 9 on Get IN. Sports.
Below: the Week 8 numbers, the games that mattered, the blowouts and close finishes, how the IFCA top 10s did, the 28 unbeatens and the Week 9 games worth your Friday night. Rankings are from the IFCA coaches poll: the Week 7 poll for Week 8 games, the Week 8 poll for Week 9.
Week 8 by the numbers
| Stat | Week 8 |
|---|---|
| Games played | 152 |
| Total points | 8,542 |
| Points per game | 56.2 |
| Widest margin | South Bend St. Joseph 66, South Bend Washington 0; Winchester 66, Cambridge City Lincoln 0 |
| Most combined points | DeKalb 69, Bellmont 21 (90) |
| Shutouts | 27 |
| Games decided by 7 or fewer | 19 |
| Overtime games | 1 |
| Conference games | 122 |
| Unbeatens that lost | 2 |
| Unbeatens left | 28 |
Evansville Memorial rallies from 21-0 down at Floyd Central
Evansville Memorial, No. 1 in Class 3A, trailed Floyd Central, No. 5 in 5A, 21-0 early in the second quarter on the road. Memorial outscored the Highlanders 34-7 the rest of the way, took its first lead at 24-21 after halftime and put the game away with a pick-six for a 34-28 win. Floyd Central (7-1) lost for the first time. Memorial (8-0) has now beaten Evansville Reitz and Floyd Central in back-to-back weeks, and the hosts called it the best game in the state. The Tigers close the regular season at home against Castle (No. 10 in 5A) on Friday at 6:30 p.m., their third straight ranked opponent.
Warren Central beats Carmel, Lawrence North beats Center Grove
Warren Central, No. 2 in 6A, beat Carmel, No. 8, 42-28 at home and moved to 8-0. Dom was at the game and says the Warriors clinched the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference outright. They finish the regular season at home against Homestead. Carmel (4-4) has lost all four of its games to ranked teams.
Elsewhere in the MIC, Lawrence North, No. 7 in 6A, beat Center Grove, No. 4, 28-20 at home. Lawrence North is 6-2, with its only losses to Brownsburg and Warren Central. Center Grove fell to 6-2.
Bluffton ends a 17-game losing streak to Adams Central
Bluffton, No. 8 in 3A, won 36-28 at Adams Central, No. 9, after losing 17 straight to the Flying Jets. The previous meetings weren't close: Adams Central won the last four by scores of 47-17, 49-24, 24-0 and 56-8. Bluffton trailed 14-7 in the second quarter and answered with 22 straight points. A Bluffton alum wrote in to the show that it's the program's first win over Adams Central since 2009 and its first Allen County Athletic Conference title since 1989. The Tigers (8-0) host Fort Wayne Blackhawk on Friday with a perfect regular season on the line.
Bud Wright wins No. 466
Southwood won 28-8 at Whitko for coach Bud Wright's 466th career win. The hosts wonder if he's headed for 500.
The biggest blowouts
Two teams won by 66: South Bend St. Joseph beat South Bend Washington 66-0 and stayed unbeaten, and Winchester won 66-0 at Cambridge City Lincoln. Lafayette Jeff scored 71 at Marion.
| Winner | Score | Loser | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 66-0 | 66 | ||
| 66-0 | 66 | ||
| 71-6 | 65 | ||
| 64-0 | 64 | ||
| 64-0 | 64 | ||
| 63-0 | 63 | ||
| 62-0 | 62 |
The highest-scoring games
DeKalb beat Bellmont 69-21 for the week's most combined points, 90. Hamilton Heights put up 61 on Twin Lakes, which scored 71 against Tipton a week earlier.
| Winner | Score | Loser | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 69-21 | 90 | ||
| 61-28 | 89 | ||
| 54-32 | 86 | ||
| 62-24 | 86 | ||
| 62-20 | 82 |
Finishes worth replaying
Plainfield, No. 8 in 5A, beat Whiteland 28-27 when Whiteland scored late and went for two instead of the tie, and didn't get it. Gary West beat Hammond Noll 36-34 in the week's only overtime game. Nineteen games were decided by seven points or fewer.
| Winner | Score | Opponent | Margin | Winner at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28-27 | 1 | Home | ||
| 36-34 (OT) | 2 | Home | ||
| 35-32 | 3 | Home | ||
| 10-7 | 3 | Away | ||
| 27-24 | 3 | Home |
Upsets and unbeatens that fell
Two teams lost for the first time: Floyd Central, to Evansville Memorial, and North Posey, which fell 49-10 at Heritage Hills. Hamilton Heights beat Twin Lakes 61-28 on the road, its fifth straight win after an 0-3 start. Hammond Morton shut out Hobart 41-0.
New Palestine hosted IMG Academy, the Florida national power, and lost. The hosts noted New Pal is the only public school on IMG's schedule. Indianapolis Cathedral beat Covington Catholic from Kentucky. Neither out-of-state game is in our scores database, so they aren't counted in the numbers above.
Player of the Week: Maconaquah QB Aiden Robinson
Get IN. Sports named Maconaquah senior quarterback Aiden Robinson its Ascend Football Player of the Week. Robinson completed 46 of 61 passes for 492 yards and six touchdowns in a 55-14 win over Manchester. Maconaquah is 8-0 and hosts Rochester on Friday.
IFCA top 10 going into Week 8, and how each team did
Records are through Week 8. East Central and Indianapolis Chatard shared No. 1 in 4A.
Class 6A
| Rank | Team | Record | Week 8 result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8-0 | W 50-14 vs. Noblesville | |
| 2 | 8-0 | W 42-28 vs. Carmel | |
| 3 | 7-1 | W 42-21 at Fishers | |
| 4 | 6-2 | L 20-28 at Lawrence North | |
| 5 | 8-0 | W 47-6 vs. Chesterton | |
| 6 | 8-0 | W 59-7 at New Prairie | |
| 7 | 6-2 | W 28-20 vs. Center Grove | |
| 8 | 4-4 | L 28-42 at Warren Central | |
| 9 | 7-1 | W 57-18 vs. Fort Wayne Northrop | |
| 10 | 5-3 | L 13-33 vs. Zionsville |
Class 5A
| Rank | Team | Record | Week 8 result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5-3 | W vs. Covington Catholic (Ky.) | |
| 2 | 5-3 | L vs. IMG Academy (Fla.) | |
| 3 | 7-1 | W 52-7 vs. Brebeuf Jesuit | |
| 4 | 8-0 | W 37-29 at Concord | |
| 5 | 7-1 | L 28-34 vs. Evansville Memorial | |
| 6 | 6-2 | W 71-6 at Marion | |
| 7 | 7-1 | W 42-33 vs. Yorktown | |
| 8 | 6-2 | W 28-27 vs. Whiteland | |
| 9 | 4-4 | L 14-28 vs. Fort Wayne Dwenger | |
| 10 | 5-3 | L 7-42 vs. Danville |
Class 4A
| Rank | Team | Record | Week 8 result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7-1 | W 35-13 vs. Columbus North | |
| 1 | 7-1 | W 34-12 vs. Terre Haute South | |
| 3 | 7-1 | W 28-14 at Fort Wayne Snider | |
| 4 | 8-0 | W 62-20 at New Haven | |
| 5 | 6-2 | W 42-6 at Harrison (West Lafayette) | |
| 6 | 8-0 | W 66-0 vs. South Bend Washington | |
| 7 | 8-0 | W 42-7 at McCutcheon | |
| 8 | 7-1 | W 48-8 at Evansville Bosse | |
| 9 | 8-0 | W 45-7 vs. NorthWood | |
| 10 | 8-0 | W 43-7 at Culver Academy |
Class 3A
| Rank | Team | Record | Week 8 result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8-0 | W 34-28 at Floyd Central | |
| 2 | 7-1 | W 56-7 vs. Connersville | |
| 3 | 7-1 | W 36-6 at Hanover Central | |
| 4 | 7-1 | W 42-14 at Boonville | |
| 5 | 8-0 | W 32-7 at Beech Grove | |
| 6 | 7-1 | W 28-6 vs. Evansville Harrison | |
| 7 | 6-2 | W 45-12 vs. Triton Central | |
| 8 | 8-0 | W 36-28 at Adams Central | |
| 9 | 5-3 | L 28-36 vs. Bluffton | |
| 10 | 8-0 | W 56-6 vs. Calumet |
Class 2A
| Rank | Team | Record | Week 8 result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8-0 | W 64-0 at Owen Valley | |
| 2 | 8-0 | W 41-0 at Silver Creek | |
| 3 | 7-0 | W 35-0 at Heritage Christian | |
| 4 | 8-0 | W 58-0 vs. Shenandoah | |
| 4 | 8-0 | W 48-6 vs. Prairie Heights | |
| 6 | 7-1 | W 49-7 at Southmont | |
| 7 | 7-1 | W 41-14 at Jay County | |
| 7 | 8-0 | W 34-22 at Sheridan | |
| 9 | 7-1 | L 10-49 at Heritage Hills | |
| 10 | 8-0 | W 49-14 vs. Whiting |
Class 1A
| Rank | Team | Record | Week 8 result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7-0 | W 56-0 vs. Parke Heritage | |
| 2 | 8-0 | W 66-7 at Triton | |
| 3 | 8-0 | W 21-14 vs. Caston | |
| 4 | 7-1 | W 59-0 at South Decatur | |
| 5 | 8-0 | W 28-20 vs. North Knox | |
| 6 | 6-2 | W 40-0 vs. Woodlan | |
| 7 | 6-2 | L 22-36 vs. Mississinewa | |
| 7 | 6-2 | W 21-6 vs. Clinton Prairie | |
| 9 | 7-0 | W 52-8 at Union County | |
| 10 | 3-5 | L 21-28 at Western |
Statewide team leaders through Week 8
South Putnam still leads the state in average scoring margin and points per game. Brownstown Central has the stingiest defense at 3.4 points allowed a game. Averages are from John Harrell's Indiana high school football data.
Best average scoring margin
| Rank | Team | Record | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8-0 | 50.5 | |
| 2 | 7-1 | 49.1 | |
| 3 | 8-0 | 45.6 | |
| 4 | 8-0 | 43.6 | |
| 5 | 7-0 | 42.4 |
Most points per game
| Rank | Team | Record | Points per game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8-0 | 55.5 | |
| 2 | 7-0 | 54.3 | |
| 3 | 7-1 | 53.9 | |
| 4 | 8-0 | 53.5 | |
| 5 | 8-0 | 51.6 |
Fewest points allowed per game
| Rank | Team | Record | Allowed per game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8-0 | 3.4 | |
| 2 | 7-1 | 4.8 | |
| 3 | 8-0 | 4.8 | |
| 4 | 8-0 | 5.0 | |
| 5 | 8-0 | 5.8 |
Week 9 games to watch
Week 9 is Friday, Oct. 16, the last week of the regular season. Sectional draws are already out. Records are through Week 8 and rankings are from the IFCA Week 8 poll.
| Visitor | Home | Kickoff | At stake |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 p.m. | NIC title, both 8-0 | ||
| 7 p.m. | NLC title, both 8-0 | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | 4A No. 5 at 4A No. 1 | ||
| 7 p.m. | GSSC title, both 8-0 | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | HNAC title, both 8-0 | ||
| 7 p.m. | 5A No. 2 at 6A No. 6 | ||
| 6:30 p.m. | West side rivalry, acorn trophy | ||
| 7 p.m. | 2A No. 4, 8-0, at 1A No. 4 | ||
| 6:30 p.m. | 3A No. 1, 8-0, hosts 5A No. 10 | ||
| 7 p.m. | Logansport goes for 9-0 | ||
| 7 p.m. | 1A No. 5 North Daviess goes for 9-0 |
South Bend St. Joseph at Penn: Northern Indiana Conference title
Penn (8-0, No. 7 in 6A) hosts South Bend St. Joseph (8-0, No. 6 in 4A) at 7 p.m. Both are unbeaten and the winner takes the NIC. Penn is averaging 50.4 points and allowing 4.8 a game. St. Joe's defense isn't far behind at 6.4 points allowed. Nate dug up Oct. 23, 1976, as the last time St. Joe beat Penn, though the hosts weren't sure the record was right. If you remember a more recent one, tell them in the YouTube comments.
Warsaw at Northridge: Northern Lakes Conference title
Northridge (8-0, No. 8 in 4A) hosts Warsaw (8-0, No. 4 in 5A) at 7 p.m. Two more unbeatens, and the winner takes the NLC. The hosts split on this one: one is calling a Northridge win, the other is sticking with Bart Curtis and the Tigers. Warsaw is coming off a 37-29 win at Concord.
Roncalli at East Central
East Central (7-1, No. 1 in 4A) hosts Indianapolis Roncalli (6-2, No. 5 in 4A) at 7:30 p.m. in a nonconference game between two of the best teams in 4A. Roncalli beat New Palestine 20-6 in Week 7. Dom and Nate also get into how Roncalli is handling its quarterback position heading into the state tournament.
Wheeler at Griffith: Greater South Shore Conference title
Griffith (8-0, No. 9 in 3A) hosts Wheeler (8-0, No. 9 in 2A) at 7 p.m. Nate flagged this one as the unbeaten showdown that's been flying under the radar in northwest Indiana. The winner takes the GSSC.
North Judson at Pioneer: Hoosier North Athletic Conference title
Pioneer (8-0, No. 2 in 1A) hosts North Judson (8-0, No. 3 in 1A) at 7:30 p.m. in Royal Center. It's No. 2 against No. 3 in 1A for the HNAC title, and one of the hosts says he might take his game of the week to Royal Center for it. Pioneer gets the pick on the show.
Bloomington South at Center Grove
Center Grove (6-2, No. 6 in 6A) hosts Bloomington South (7-1, No. 2 in 5A) at 7 p.m. Center Grove is coming off a 28-20 loss at Lawrence North. Bloomington South has been knocking on the door of a state title game, and the hosts call this a good measuring stick before sectionals.
Evansville Reitz at Evansville Mater Dei
Evansville Mater Dei (7-1, No. 6 in 3A) hosts Evansville Reitz (7-1, No. 9 in 4A) at 6:30 p.m. It's the west side rivalry, played for the Westside Nut Club's acorn trophy. Both teams' only losses came against Evansville Memorial: Mater Dei lost 52-21 in Week 4, and Reitz fell 30-27 in Week 7.
Eastern Hancock at Milan
Milan (7-1, No. 4 in 1A) hosts Eastern Hancock (8-0, No. 4 in 2A) at 7 p.m. in a nonconference game. Milan's only loss was 28-27 to Batesville in Week 2, the Indians allow 4.8 points a game, and a listener wrote in to say the Indians have only played one game with all of their starters. Eastern Hancock handed Lapel its first loss, 39-27, in Week 7.
Also on the list
- Evansville Memorial (8-0, No. 1 in 3A) hosts Castle (5-3, No. 10 in 5A) at 6:30 p.m.
- Logansport (8-0, No. 10 in 4A) hosts Twin Lakes (6-2) at 7 p.m. as the Berries try to finish the regular season unbeaten.
- Springs Valley (6-2) hosts North Daviess (8-0, No. 5 in 1A) at 7 p.m.
The 28 unbeaten teams
Floyd Central and North Posey lost for the first time in Week 8. Riverton Parke, Indianapolis Lutheran and Wes-Del are 7-0.
Listen to Get IN. Sports
Dom and Nate cover Indiana high school football every week on Get IN. Sports, and they break down the sectional draw and every unbeaten team on Tuesday. Catch up on the Week 7 recap, then follow every score, ranking and team page on the Get IN. Sports high school football hub.
