Scheduling oddities seem to be abundant in 2010 but will last only one season for some area teams.

Arguably the biggest (almost literally by school size) new face to play a regular-season game against a northeast Indiana team will be Carmel, which travels to Huntington North tonight.

The Greyhounds have been to four straight Class 5A state title games and were the 2007 champions.

Carmel will fill the void left on the slate when Columbia City dropped off. With an enrollment of 4,500, Carmel has knocked off area teams in the postseason the last few years but isn’t usually seen around these parts in the regular season.

“When Columbia City dropped us we decided to try and get a team that would be exciting for not only our players, but fans,” Huntington North athletic director Mike Gasaway said. “It took about all of 10 minutes to make this happen once we knew Carmel was available.”

The two teams could meet again, and Gasaway said the two schools will probably talk about it after the game tonight.

It will be the second straight week the Vikings (0-1) will face off against a powerhouse in blue and gold after opening with a 55-30 loss at Homestead.

“We thought we would start our season with a couple of easy games,” Huntington North football coach Rief Gilg said sarcastically.

“I think we are going to learn how you are going to come out of a two-week buzzsaw. You also learn a lot about if they are really buying into the message you are sending. Because what we have told kids since I have been here is wins are not the goal; greatness is the goal, and greatness comes in a lot of different forms.”

Adams Central, the 2000 Class A state champion, will play against its first 4A opponent in 14 years when Indianapolis Northwest comes to Monroe tonight. But it is only a one-year deal because the Jets will start playing Union County next season.

There is also an interesting anomaly where teams from well outside the area are not only playing one northeast Indiana team, but two.

Indianapolis Tech, for instance, will get North Side at home Sept. 18, then travel to Fort Wayne six days later to play South Side. Both teams needed an opponent after Elmhurst closed, creating an empty space in the nine-game schedule. The Redskins will replace Tech on the schedule with Mishawaka in Week 5 next season.

Leo and Heritage found a two-for-one taker in Jay County, which will play host to the Lions on Sept. 10 and travel to face the Patriots on Oct. 8.

Leo also needed another game when Whitko left its schedule, so the Lions will travel to Lebanon on Saturday. Next year, Leo will start playing Angola in place of Lebanon and Muncie South in the place of Jay County.

Monroe Central, in its first season of varsity football, has two area teams on the docket with a road game at Woodlan on Sept. 17 and a home game against Southern Wells on Oct. 8.

The 2010 scheduling quirks also include two out-of-state teams with Wayne’s home game Saturday against Illinois’ Rolling Meadows and Harding’s game at Hicksville, Ohio, on Sept. 3.