The road through the IHSAA Class 6A football tournament will begin with a crosstown rivalry for Fishers’ two high schools.

Fishers will face Hamilton Southeastern in the opening round of Sectional 3, according to pairings announced by the IHSAA Sunday. The game will be played Friday, Oct. 30, at Hamilton Southeastern’s home field.

With only four teams in the sectional, a meeting between the two Fishers schools was always a strong possibility. Now it is official, and one of the city’s two programs will see its season end after the first round.

The other half of Sectional 3 is equally familiar. Carmel and Westfield will meet in the other opening-round game, played at Westfield.

The winners will meet in the sectional championship. That game will be played at Carmel or Westfield, depending on which team wins that matchup. That means the Fishers–HSE winner will play the sectional final on the road.

Opening-round games in all but one of the state’s 6A sectionals are scheduled for Oct. 30.

The pairing guarantees that the Hamilton County flavor of Sectional 3 will hold all the way through. All four teams come from the county, and each is a regular contender in the state’s largest classification.

For Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern, the matchup adds a postseason chapter to one of the most closely watched rivalries in the community. The two schools share a city, a school district and plenty of family connections, so the game carries extra weight for students, parents and alumni on both sides.