To be fair, the old east-west system some years also ended up with the best matchup in the semifinal game instead of the championship. So this isn't anything out of the ordinary - I'm sure the IHSAA hoped the RPI would do a better job of seeding and getting the best two to the final, but it doesn't look like it worked this season (either way you're getting a team with a loss or two in the final against an undefeated team, and possibly a championship rematch of a game that had a continuous clock earlier in the year).
Just looking at stats as I prepare to call the game - Duggan has accounted for over 67% of Lewis Central's offensive yards this season (3151 out of 4673). That's remarkable, and it shows two things: Duggan is an incredible athlete who's pretty much outclassed everyone he's played, and LC's offense runs almost completely through him. So IF (and it is indeed a big if) Xavier's defense is able to contain Duggan at all, they've got an excellent chance.
The offensive stats between the two are fairly close together. Xavier has a 1200-yard rusher; Duggan is just 9 yards shy of 1200. Schulte has completed 65.1% of his passes with 23 TDs and 3 interceptions; Duggan has completed 66.8% for 23 TDs and 2 picks. LC has run for about 270 yards more than Xavier, and passed for about 380 more, so that's a difference of fewer than 60 yards per game. Xavier is giving up only 47 yards per game rushing and 85 passing, so they're allowing over a hundred yards per game less than LC is giving up. LC hasn't allowed more than 14 points in any game, and has scored over 40 ten times. Xavier has given up only 40 points all year (just 15 by the first-team defense) and is averaging 41 points scored themselves.
This should be a really good one.
