Homestead, Wayne, Snider Advance to Saturday Sectional Finals in Fort Wayne

Mack Welker poured in 23 points to lift Homestead to a 47-41 semifinal victory over Fort Wayne South, ending the SAC champion Archers' season and sending the Spartans to a 7 p.m. sectional final against Fort Wayne Wayne. The Homestead game took place March 6, 2026, and represented Homestead's second win over South Side this season, a detail FOX 55 highlighted in its Locker Room recap.

After a regular-season win over South Side, 21Alive/WPTA noted, "After a win over South Side in the regular season, Homestead took care of business in the semifinal round of sectionals and eliminated the Archers 47-41." 21Alive/WPTA also wrote, "Junior forward Mack Welker led the way for the Spartans with 23 points on the night." FOX 55 included an image caption reading, "Homestead Mack Welker celebrates with teammates during a March 6, 2026 game."

Fort Wayne Snider answered a regular-season loss to Carroll with a 58-48 semifinal win, a result 21Alive/WPTA framed this way: "Snider got its revenge on Carroll for a loss in the regular season with a 58-48 win over the Chargers to punch its ticket to the sectional title game." Snider will face Fort Wayne North, which edged Fort Wayne Northrop 65-63, in a 7 p.m. Saturday title game. Some outlets listed Fort Wayne North as "North Side" in results; both names refer to the same program in the region's reporting.

Fort Wayne Wayne outscored Huntington North 71-66 in the other Huntington North-hosted semifinal, setting up the Homestead-Wayne meeting at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Fort Wayne area produced four headline semifinal winners Friday: Homestead (47-41), Fort Wayne Wayne (71-66), Fort Wayne Snider (58-48) and Fort Wayne North (65-63), all scheduled for Saturday evening championship games.

Beyond Fort Wayne, the region's semifinal slate produced Warsaw's 37-35 win over Elkhart and Northridge's 53-29 win over Goshen, which sets Warsaw vs. Northridge at 7 p.m. Saturday. Other Saturday matchups include Harrison (West Lafayette) vs. Kokomo at 7:30 p.m., Tri-County vs. Caston at 7:30 p.m., Bremen vs. Jimtown at 7 p.m., Westview vs. Lakeland at 7:30 p.m., Bluffton vs. Fort Wayne Bishop Luers at 7 p.m., Western Boone vs. Benton Central at 7 p.m., Rochester vs. Oak Hill at 7:30 p.m., Triton vs. South Central (Union Mills) at 7:30 p.m., Fort Wayne Canterbury vs. Lakewood Park Christian at 7 p.m., and Lafayette Central Catholic vs. North Vermillion at 7 p.m., with Rossville and Carroll (Flora) recorded as semifinal winners in Clinton Central's bracket.

WFFT summarized the broader scene: "Northeast Indiana hosted semifinal matchups in 11 IHSAA Boys Basketball Sectional tournaments on the first Friday in March," and added that "roughly half of Friday's matchups featured rematches of regular season contests, though each game now holds win-or-go-home stakes." FOX 55's Locker Room recap, compiled by Sports Director Drew Frey, gathered the region's results and key takeaways for coaches and fans entering Saturday's sectional finals.

Saturday's sectional championship slate tips off in the evening with the Fort Wayne-area finals scheduled for 7 p.m., where Snider, Fort Wayne North, Homestead and Wayne will all vie for sectional crowns and the chance to cap the week's win-or-go-home stretch. Scores and matchups were compiled from FOX 55, WPTA/21Alive, WFFT, Sports Yahoo and IndyStar.