A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
10-23-2006
CROWN
POINT (10-23-2006)
Nobody who was favored to win the sectional got beat in the first week of the
state tournament. Week 10 is always a disappointment because the hype for
the post-season pales compared to the parade of state wide lame match ups.
Week 13 (the regional finals) is probably the best week of the tournament
because it matches true champions, but week 11 is a slight improvement in
caliber of play because even the truly abysmal teams feel good after a win in
week 10.
The big improvement in week 11 is the attendance. The IHSAA does not understand this, but the biggest fans of high school football are high school football. When 150 teams are eliminated from the tournament in week 10, what do those boys do in week 11? They go to a football game to watch. With Lake Central out of the state tournament, look for some LC jackets in the stands next week at Crown Point. With Valpo out of the tourney look for some green Valpo gear in the stands at Chesterton. Now that KV is gone, you will almost certainly see the Kougars in the stands watching Lowell.
This is not the first time I've said this, but since the state finals in 3A, 4A and 5A are played on Saturday, why not play the entire 3A, 4A and 5A state tournaments on Saturday. Why? To give big school kids a chance to watch the small schools and small school kids a chance to see their big school friends. Saturday football would be easier to attend for most people who do not work Saturday and some of the 50 to 100-mile road trips that become common after the sectional level, would not be a problem for a Saturday night game. Coaches tell you they'd rather drive 2 1/2 hours after school and play a road game Friday night than do the same thing for a Saturday afternoon game. I doubt that any player would say that. I think the bottom line would be more fans in the stands. And no one gets a competitive advantage.
There are a lot of rematches in the sectional semifinals and one thing is consistently true. Experienced teams that won the first game do better in the rematch while young teams that won the first game do not do as well in the rematch. Let's see if that holds true this week.
The NUMBERS GAME: Hammond, which has lost 25 consecutive regular season games, has now won two consecutive playoff openers after a 22-7 win over Gavit last week. Crown Point has scored 40 or more points in four consecutive games and has won 21 of their last 22 games. The Bulldogs have posted consecutive 10-win seasons for the second time in school history.
Portage halfback Albert Evans has gained 800 yards in his last three games. Portage has won five in a row after a 1-4 start. The last team to do that in NW Indiana was Lowell, who won the 2005 Class 4A state title. Lowell's Max Znika has gained 525 yards rushing in his last three games. Lowell is 16-2 in the month of October in the last four years.
New Prairie gained 316 yards rushing on 63 carries in a 34-20 win over 3A No. 9 St. Joseph's. LaPorte has scored 30 points or more in 17 of their last 21 games. Griffith has scored 40 points or more 15 times in their last 24 games. Warren Central has scored 50 points in 15 of their last 25 games. Andrean's victory Friday gives them eight or more wins for six years in a row. River Forest has lost 27 of their last 30 games. Lake Station has lost 33 of 40. 4A No. 1 Goshen has scored 436 points in 10 games. Warren Central's 61-0 win over Richmond marked the third time this year WC has scored exactly 61 points.
1.)
5A CROWN POINT (10-0)
2005
(11-1), 2004 (4-7), 2003 (5-5)
CROWN
POINT -
Crown Point crushed Lake Central 49-0 to open the state playoffs, rolling up 350
yards of total offense. Blake Mascarello now has 20 TD passes and three
interceptions in 10 games. Senior Ryan Forney scored TDs in three
different ways (pass, run, kick return) as the CP lead was 42-0 at the half.
The Bulldogs, who haven't lost at home in two years, now host the next two
playoff games if they can keep winning. Crown Point would like two things
this week. To beat Portage (6-4) and to have Merrillville beat Chesterton to set
up another CP-Merrillville sectional final on Nov. 3.
2.)
3A Griffith (9-1)
2005
(12-1), 2004 (9-3), 2003
(7-5)
GRIFFITH
-
Griffith gave up 240 yards passing, but they got past Morton 40-21 with four
rushing TDs in the fourth quarter. David Alexander has 27 TDs now for the
Panthers, who have lost only to Hobart (9-1). Griffith fumbled twice and
committed nine penalties. This is a crossroads for Griffith, which hasn't
played well for two games now. The Panthers are just 7-of-24 passing in the
last two games. That would be okay except the Panthers have totaled just 380
yards rushing the last two weeks. Griffith averaged about 380 yards a game
rushing last year. The Panthers have given Andrean (8-2) hope for Friday's
7:00 p.m. showdown in Griffith. Here's an example of a team that hoped to
turn it on when then playoffs started. It's time to turn now.
3.)
4A Hobart (9-1)
2005
(6-6), 2004 (9-2), 2003 (5-7)
HOBART
-
Hobart eased on by Munster 28-17 in the first of three LAC Black playoff
rematches. What we found in week 10 is how tough it is to beat a team a second
time when you're the big favorite. Andrew Jackson (6-2, 220) was over 200 yards
again against Munster and the Hobart junior is up to 263 carries for 1,379
yards. The Brickie defense held Munster to 81 yards rushing. Sophomore WR
Bobby James is within range of 1,000 yards receiving but QB Josh Miracle is just
18-of-47 passing in the last three weeks. Hobart faces a rematch with a
Highland team the Brickies beat decisively earlier. But this is a young
team that will have problems with rematches.
4.)
3A ANDREAN (8-2)
2005
(8-2), 2004 (13-2), 2003 (12-1)
MERRILLVILLE
-
Andrean bombed Wirt 63-14 with 431 yards and 21 first downs. The big deal was
278 yards rushing. The 59ers have to be able to run the ball at Griffith enough
to set up the pass in this week's showdown. The value of playing the Gary
schools is that you can win big and rest injured players. If Roosevelt
drops to 3A in 2007 as expected, Griffith and Andrean will have an even easier
romp through Sectional 17. The gift routs don't help the team as a whole, but
it is a chance to rest injured players, the equivalent of the NFL's 'bye' week.
With LB Matt Meschede (97 tackles) out for the season, the Niners will have to
stand tall against the Griffith option game. Andrean is very dangerous in
a underdog role because they aren't there very often.
5.)
3A Portage (6-4)
2005
(2-8) , 2004 (8-4), 2003 (11-2)
PORTAGE
-
The Portage defense contained Valpo's potent offense in a 28-14 victory last
week. Albert Evans (218 carries for 1,465 yards) ran for over 200 yards
for the third week in a row.
Valpo
was limited to 206 total yards. The Indians are going to test a theory that you
can't just line up and run over everybody in Class 5A. Lowell last season and
Hobart in the glory days, simply rushed the ball and played defense all the way
to Indianapolis. But unless you're Warren Central, you need a passing
attack in Class 5A, the 'Division I' of Indiana high schools. Portage, with
inexperienced soph Jason Melcic (31 of 71, 367 yards, 4 TDs, 9 INTs) at QB,
really isn't going to beat good teams with the pass. Even with a top flight
'D', (they have allowed just 135 points all season) can the Indians run past
undefeated Crown Point Friday? They have reached the moment of truth in a
roller coaster season. Considering how the season began (a 1-4 start) this is
Portage's state championship game and they can turn it all loose Friday night..
6.)
5A LaPorte (7-3)
2005
(9-2), 2004 (7-4), 2003 (6-4)
LaPORTE
-
LaPorte was very strong to take out Mishawaka 51-21 to start the playoffs.
Airrence
Shark gained 155 yards and 3 TDs on 18 carries. The Slicers continue to have
defensive problems and the points keep coming against them. It was 35-0 at
the half, but LaPorte's given up 21 or more points seven times and you can not
survive like that. The Slicers average 38 points a game, but they will not
score 38 points against Penn. They must do a better job against the run
and that's harder to get done as the season progresses. Adam Creed got
back on track with 8-of-11 passing for 155 yards and no interceptions. The
Slicers now get a rematch with an Elkhart Central (6-4) team they beat by 29
points in August. The Slicers need to buckle down. They will not win by
29 on the road this time. The problem here is that playing
perimeter-oriented Elkhart Central will NOT get them ready for facing Penn.
But they can't worry about that this Friday. This is a worrisome road game
for a LaPorte team that hasn't had much playoff success.
7.)
5A Merrillville (6-4)
2005
(11-3), 2003 (5-6), 2004 (6-5)
MERRILLVILLE
-
Merrillville needed that bye week worse than the Bears' Rex Grossman did. They
didn't lose any fumbles last week, even though they dropped the ball a few
times. The Pirates shut out East Chicago 31-0 in a nice opener.
Merrillville played five playoff games last season, but these Pirates probably
watched from the sidelines. They have a lot of new starters. The Pirates'
running game was a little better and that's what they need to control the
offense of pass-happy Chesterton this week. Josh Raspopovich was 11-of-20 for
160 yards and he's getting better. But it's late. Rematches. Bad
weather. Pressure. It becomes harder to throw the ball successfully as
the state playoffs continue. But the Pirates get a second shot at Alex
Beierwalter and Chesterton this week and they should welcome that.
8.) 5A Chesterton
(5-5)
2005
(3-8), 2004 (5-5), 2003 (7-4)
CHESTERTON
-
They stay unpredictable. Chesterton should have blown out Michigan City,
but they led just 6-0 after three quarters. Alex Beierwalter (158-275, 2,298
yards) was 14 of 20 for 177 yards. The big red flag was only 77 yards
rushing on 22 carries against the last-place team in the DAC. The Trojans
beat Merrillville 22-13 and they ran for 200 yards doing it, but they won't do
it again unless they can run the ball better than 77 yards on 22 carries.
Unless you think that Michigan City has a better run defense than Merrillville
(unlikely), the Trojans still need work on creating four and five yards a carry.
Maybe they were just uncomfortable being expected to win. There can be no
lack of emotion at Merrillville this Friday night.
9.)
3A New Prairie (9-1)
2005
(6-4), 2004 (12-2), 2003 (8-3)
NEW
CARLISLE - New
Prairie showed they are a playoff threat with a 34-20 win over 3A No. 9 St.
Joseph's (7-3). Running QB Zack Blackwood carried 24 times for 110 yards in the
Cougars' Veer option attack. They limited St. Joe, which beat Portage, to just
125 yards rushing on 26 carries. New Prairie dominated the time of
possession, getting 63 carries. They have a perfect cold weather playoff
offense and Andrean, Griffith and Hamilton Heights better all get tapes. This
is a very difficult team to play. The Cougars are very much like Griffith
all the way down to the pass defense problems. But 370 yards rushing and
22 first downs will only be ignored by NW Indiana media a couple of weeks
longer. Mishawaka Marian (8-2) is a tough match for this week and the
Cougars again must win a physical battle at the line of scrimmage.
10.)
4A Lowell (5-5)
2005
(11-4), 2004 (9-4), 2003 (11-2)
LOWELL
-
Lowell held KV's 1,400-yard rusher Dustin Wilson to just 11 yards on 11
carries in an impressive 24-6 shutout. Max Znika ran for over 200 yards as the
Devils won their state playoff opener for the eighth year in a row.
Lowell's offense had some struggles again. They were stopped four times inside
the 10-yard-line. But Steffan Peck's 50-yard punt return broke the game open in
the fourth quarter. Peck and Znika are both over 800 yards for the year
and there are no records of Lowell having two 1,000-yard rushers in the same
season. Znika, who didn't become the halfback until the second half of the
season, is also fresher than he would be had he started from day one.
Lowell has held seven teams to 17 points or less. The trouble is, for Lowell, scoring those 17 points. Here's a trivial stat: As of this Friday's sectional nine semifinal with Gary Roosevelt, only one team has faced the undefeated (in league play) champions of all four prep football leagues in NW Indiana. Lowell has played KV (LAC Blue), Hobart (LAC Black), Crown Point (DAC) and Roosevelt, the Gary city champ. It's a modern day miracle to average only 20 points a game against a schedule with four top-10 teams and four league champs and not have a losing record. The Panthers like to throw it, which means they could play right into Lowell's hands Friday night in Lowell. This is still a very young Lowell team and they need this home playoff game against a sub-.500 team to work on the offense.
On the outside looking in...
11.) 2A North Judson (9-1)
2005 (6-5), 2004 (11-2), 2003 (7-5)
NORTH
JUDSON - Judson put down a tough Wheeler team with 357 yards rushing.
Notice how the teams that run a lot and throw a little are still here in the
state playoffs, while the teams that pass half the time are moving on to
basketball. Judson gave up 249 yards passing to Wheeler's Devin Schluter last
week but they did get three interceptions. Judson lost leading rusher Todd
Lawson to a torn ACL last week, but sophomore Todd Howard and defensive back
Terry Howard filled-in and gained 203 yards on 20 carries. Many times, a
run-oriented team losing their tailback isn't a death sentence because a lot of
boys have the ability to run the ball if the blocking is there. As in
Lowell, a new runner getting featured midway or late in the season means he
hasn't been beaten up by 10 different defenses either. Judson renews their
rivalry with Rensselaer (4-6) this week and they know better than to take a road
game in Jasper County lightly, no matter what Rensselaer's record is.
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Revised: October 23, 2006
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