MERRILLVILLE | Sanchez Tate never knew James Aldridge, yet the two football players have followed a similar path.

Both grew up in St. Louis. Both of their fathers worked for Ford and were transferred to the Region. And both chose to live in the Merrillville school district.

Aldridge starred for the Pirates at running back, graduating in 2006, before heading on to Notre Dame. Tate arrived at Merrillville at the end of the 2007 football season, although he did not play until the following year.

"I never talked to James until I got here," Tate said. "It was kind of cool. In St. Louis we grew up in the same neighborhood."

Tate, a 5-foot-10, 182-pound linebacker, will lead his Pirates (10-1) into tonight's Class 5A Sectional 1 championship game at home against Portage (6-5). If the Pirates are to win their third straight sectional title, Tate will have to do what he's done all year: lead.

Tate is tied for the team high in tackles with 82, and he also has three tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and three hurries. Not bad for a guy who played wide receiver last year and was the Pirates' leading returning receiver coming into this season.

"I played linebacker in St. Louis, so making the switch wasn't that big of a deal," Tate said. "When I came here and they put me at receiver last year, I was like, 'Are you serious?' But I had to learn and do what I was asked to do."

"Sanchez understands what we're trying to do," Merrillville coach Zac Wells said. "He's extremely competitive. He's a winner. More importantly he is a quality individual, just a great young man."

When Tate was playing primarily offense last year, a Duneland Athletic Conference coach cornered Wells before a game and told him Tate was the glue that held the Pirates' offense together. He's taken that same kind of leadership to the other side of the ball this fall.

Unlike Aldridge, Tate has yet to received a college offer, although his desire to play at the next level is equally as strong.

Along with his teammates, the solid student, who plans on studying engineering, will try to engineer a plan to stop Portage's offense. In Merrillville's 49-27 regular-season win over the Indians, Portage gained 435 total yards, with 333 coming on the ground.

"This is a statement game for us," Tate said. "We want to be the best. We're trying to redeem ourselves."

PREP FOOTBALL

CLASS 5A

Sectional 1

Championship

Portage (6-5) at Merrillville (10-1), 7 p.m. today.

Radio/Internet: WEFM-FM (95.9), rrsn.com, WGVE-FM (88.7), regionsports.com.

More inside, online

Steve Hanlon notes that winning a football sectional title is indeed difficult. PAGE C2

Morton standout linebacker Eddie Malatinka loves working on cars. PAGE C3

Read scouting reports from tonight's six local sectional championship games. PAGE C4

Is Merrillville the best prep football team in the Region? Vote at nwi.com/sports.