The Warsaw football team got some good news Sunday.

The Tigers will host a first-round sectional game to begin postseason play.

That means no long bus ride to another time zone for Warsaw, which is in a different Class 6-A sectional this year as opposed to the past.

For some other local teams the news was not quite so good.

The one certainty is that every team in the state now knows who they will play and where to begin the state tournament series later this month.

The IHSAA conducted pairings for the 45th annual tourney Sunday afternoon. Sectional games in Class 6-A are set for Oct. 27 with semifinal matchups and Nov. 3 for sectional title games.  Sectional openers in Class 1-A through 5-A are slated for Oct. 20 with semifinals Oct. 27 and sectional championship contests Nov. 3.

The regional round is on Nov. 10 with semistates scheduled for Nov. 17. The State Finals will be played Nov. 24-25 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis with the Class 1A, 3A and 5A finales on Friday and the Class 2A, 4A and 6A on Saturday.

Warsaw, sitting at 4-3 after winning its last two games, will host Chesterton in a Class 6-A sectional semifinal game on Oct. 27. The Tigers are searching for the program’s first-ever sectional crown. Chesterton is 3-4 on the season after beating Lake Central 42-24 Friday night. The Trojans, who play in the tough Duneland Athletic Conference, have lost four of their last five games.

The winner of the Warsaw-Chesterton game will meet either No. 8 Penn or No. 7 Valparaiso in the sectional final. Penn, which lost at  Valparaiso in the season opener 12-7 plays at Valparaiso in the sectional. Both teams are 6-1 and the Kingsmen have won four straight sectional titles.

NorthWood, ranked No. 7 in Class 4-A, will open sectional play by hosting DeKalb at Andrews Field on Oct. 20. The Panthers sit at 5-2 after routing Elkhart Memorial 65-14 Friday night. NorthWood went 14-1 a year ago and lost 34-22 to Roncalli in the Class 4-A state title game. Roncalli has moved up to the Class 5-A portion of the tournament this season due to the IHSAA Success Factor.

The Class 4-A Sectional 19, which NorthWood is in, features six of its eight teams with winning records. DeKalb is just 2-5 on the season.  The winner of the NorthWood-DeKalb game faces the winner of the Wawasee-Angola contest. The injury-riddled Warriors, who are 1-6 with six losses in a row, play at Angola. The Hornets, who are ranked No. 6, are 7-0.

The loaded field in Sectional 19 also has Northern Lakes Conference members Northridge and Plymouth in it. The No. 5 Raiders, who are off to the best start in program history at 7-0, face Culver Academy in a sectional opener. The Pilgrims, who lost at home to Concord Friday night, are 5-2 and host East Noble to star the tourney.

Tippecanoe Valley received a favorable first-round matchup in Class 3-A. The Vikings, who are 2-5 after a loss at rival Rochester Friday night, travel to Peru (3-4). The winner of that game will meet either Jimtown (3-4) or Maconaquah (2-5) in a semifinal contest.

Whitko, 0-7 on the season, will travel to Albion to face Central Noble (7-0) in a Class 2-A first-round matchup. The winner there meets either Bremen (4-3) or Bluffton (4-3).

Triton received a favorable draw too as the Trojans will host Caston in a Class 1-A contest. Triton sits at 5-2 after beating North Judson 36-8 Friday night. Caston, which lost 50-13 at Triton back on Sept. 1, is 1-6. The Triton-Caston winner faces the winner of the South Central (4-3) versus Winamac (3-4) game.

Following are sectional pairings.

Times TBD

Class 6-A Sectional 2
Friday, Oct. 27
Chesterton (3-4) at Warsaw (4-3)
Penn (6-1) at Valparaiso (6-1)

Class 4-A Sectional 19
Friday, Oct. 20
Wawasee (1-6) at Angola (7-0)
DeKalb (2-5) at NorthWood (5-2)
Northridge (7-0) at Culver Academy (6-1)
East Noble (5-2) at Plymouth (5-2)

Class 3-A Sectional 27
Friday, Oct. 20
Mishawaka Marian (4-3) at Glenn (3-4)
Knox (6-1) at Fairfield (1-6)
Tippecanoe Valley (2-5) at Peru (3-4)
Jimtown (3-4) at Maconaquah (2-5)

Class 3-A Sectional 34
Friday, Oct. 20
Whitko (0-7) at Central Noble (6-1)
Bremen (4-3) at Bluffton (4-3)
Manchester (2-5) at Wabash (0-7)
Woodlan (6-0) at Prairie Heights (0-7)

Class 1-A Sectional 41
Friday, Oct. 20
South Central (4-3) at Winamac (3-4)
Caston (1-6) at Triton (5-2)
West Central (0-7) at Culver (5-2)
North Judson (2-5) at LaVille (3-4)