MERRILLVILLE | When Kyle Menefee was a freshman, he played in a home sectional game at Father Eckert Field for his Andrean 59ers. He scored a touchdown against Wirt in that game.
"That was a lot of fun," said Menefee, a senior linebacker and fullback. "That was one of my biggest highlights of my career."
On Friday Andrean (8-3) will host Culver Academy (9-2) in the Class 3A Sectional 17 championship game. If the 59ers win, it will be their last home game. No matter what happens for the rest of the postseason, Andrean would have to play the regional and semistate games on the road.
"This will mean a lot to all of the seniors," Menefee said. "That's been our home for the last four years. There is no way we want to lose our last game at our field. We can't allow that to happen."
Andrean is 2-0 all-time against Culver and has not played the Eagles since 1999.
If the 59ers find a way to win, one thing is for certain. Menefee, who is second on the team in tackles with 84, will play a big part in the victory.
"Kyle is our one true workhorse," Andrean coach Phil Mason said. "He never comes off the field. He's a strong, tough kid. He's your typical fullback/linebacker high school player. He's just a tough, hard-nosed middle-class kid. As our fullback his blocks are devastating. He's exceptional at that position.
"And at linebacker he'll hit you as hard in the fourth quarter as he does in the first quarter. He never gets tired."
If you take away the 25 points that Lowell scored against Andrean in Week 9, the 59ers have not allowed more than nine points in a game since Sept. 18. In two sectional games Andrean has allowed only eight first downs and 13 points.
Menefee, a Portage resident, is only 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs 205 pounds, which is small for the positions that he plays. But the same thing takes place every Friday night, with the same conversation.
Mason asks Menefee if he needs a break, and Menefee responds, "Nope, I'm fine."
Menefee loves to snowboard and plays "Call of Duty" on Xbox with 10 other 59ers. The World War II game gives the 59ers something to do when they're not kicking up mud at Father Eckert Field.
"It's our last game at home, so it's big just because of that," Menefee said. "It doesn't matter if it's the sectional championship game or not. We're undefeated at home and we want to keep it that way. I love playing football at Andrean, I've had a lot of good moments out here.
"This will be a very sentimental game for all the seniors."
Menefee is being recruited by former Andrean coach Ted Karras Jr. of Marian University. He hopes to be a history teacher and, of course, a high school football coach.
"I love football so much I don't think I can go the rest of my life not being around it," he said. "That's why I don't want this season to end."
PREP FOOTBALL
Class 3A
Friday's championships
Sectional 17
Culver Academy (9-2) at Andrean (8-3), 7 p.m.
Sectional 18
Jimtown (10-1) at NorthWood (7-4), 6 p.m.
