The
RENEGADE
2006
Week-13: NW Indiana High School
Top-10 Football Poll
A
USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
11-7-2006
CROWN
POINT (11-7-2006)
Three NW Indiana sectional champs repeated as champs last weekend with
Rensselaer, Lowell, and Griffith grabbing up more the big awards. While
Lowell's win was an upset, the Devils have won four straight titles. The
landmark wins were by LaPorte (their first ever sectional title) and Crown Point
(their 3rd title ever and the first in 15 years). Outside of NW Indiana, 5A
Warren Central (12-0), 3A Bishop Chatard (11-1) and 1A Sheridan (12-0) all
rolled on to sectional titles. There are only two potential match ups of
undefeated teams remaining: South Newton and Sheridan on Nov. 17 and Crown
Point vs. Warren Central on the final day of the season in the RCA Dome.
Week 13 is unpredictable because many schools begin the season with the
sectional championship as their goal. Everyone still playing has achieved
that goal and, while teams like Griffith and Carmel and Warren Central don't
point to the sectional, teams like Crown Point and LaPorte, which have waited
many years for that sectional trophy have to gear back up for the fact that
there's three more weeks of playoffs.
Many times in week 13 you see a team get blown out because they have achieved
their goal already and the fire wasn't there to go on. Coaches preach all year
to players that 'You haven't won anything yet." Well, now they have and you
find out who really enjoys playing against quality competition.
The most intriguing game in the entire state is the rematch of 5A Godfather Ben
Davis and three-time defending state champion 5A Warren Central. WC beat
Ben Davis 76-7 in September, the worst defeat in the history of Ben Davis high
school, the same Ben Davis that has won seven state championships. On the
computer, WC is a 20-point favorite, but I can almost guarantee you it will be a
closer game than that. There are some defeats that you just cannot take lying
down.
The 2A game between Jimtown and Rensselaer is the rematch of last year's
regional title game where Rensselaer, trailing 21-20, went for a two-point
conversion in overtime and failed. Jimtown went on to win the 2A state title.
And it's fun to get out a map and look at the South Newton-Adams Central game.
Adams Central is in Monroe, Indiana, which is in Adams County, five miles from
the Ohio state line. South Newton is in Kentland, which is in Newton
County, about four miles from the Illinois state line. AC is traveling about
three hours straight east.
Usually, you run into extreme weather in weeks 13 and 14, especially in northern
Indiana but this year appears to be an exception. The long-range forecast for
Nov. 10 is for much warmer weather than NW Indiana had on Oct 27 and Nov. 3.
The NUMBERS GAME: Crown Point will be playing an 11th game against a
Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) opponent when they travel to LaPorte Friday.
Warren Central halfback Darren Evans (6-1, 210), and I'm having a little trouble
believing this, is listed with 2,243 yards rushing and 49 touchdowns. Lowell,
the 4A Sectional nine champions has, as a team, scored 40 touchdowns in 12
games.
New Prairie has rushed for 4,200 yards in 12 games. Pioneer has rushed for
4,500 yards. Norwell was 13-2 in 1999 and lost the state title game 24-14
to Roncalli. Warren Central is 83-12 in this decade. LaPorte's Airrence Shark
has carried 324 times for 1,892 yards. Only three Duneland Athletic Conference
(DAC) RBs (Merrillville's James Aldridge, Michigan City's Ryan Fics and
Portage's Antoine Brown) have ever reached the 2,000-yard mark. The combined
record of the 12 teams Lowell has played is 81-50. As the Chicago Bears
found out Sunday, strength of schedule does matter.
1.)
5A CROWN POINT (12-0)
2005
(11-1), 2004 (4-7), 2003 (5-5)
CROWN
POINT -
Crown Point achieved a season goal by winning the sectional title with a 28-7
win over arch-rival Merrillville. The CP defense held the Pirates to 156
total yards and recovered four turnovers. Blake Mascarello has 23 TD
passes and seven interceptions. The only regional championship in CPHS
history came in 1988, but they'll be a slight favorite on the road at LaPorte
this week. CP has won 23 of 24 games. CP won at LaPorte 42-41 on September
29th, but that was just the second CP victory at LaPorte in history. No one is
saying this, but I have a suspicion that CP would have rather played Penn in
Crown Point than to travel to LaPorte again. Some still look at the narrow wins
over Portage and suggest that CP is more overrated than the Chicago Bears.
But that's not true. And probably not even possible after what happened on
Sunday. The only two undefeated 5A teams in the state of Indiana are
Warren Central and Crown Point. We need for them to meet in the final game
of the 2006 season.
2.)
3A Griffith (11-1)
2005
(12-1), 2004 (9-3), 2003
(7-5)
GRIFFITH
-
Griffith is coasting. Give Hammond credit, if you want, for coming within
36 points of the 3A No. 2 Panthers in a 56-20 loss. But Griffith could
have won by 60 points if they'd have wanted to. The Panthers got a break
when Hamilton Heights was upset 16-15 by Frankfort. I don't see how Frankfort,
a stone cold running team, can move the ball consistently on Griffith. The bad
side of the Frankfort upset is that it would put Griffith on the road for a
semistate game at Norwell, which has embarrassed everyone they have faced and
won't be intimidated by Griffith. One thing. The Panthers will get a good
'read' on Norwell when they scout the New Prairie-Norwell game this Friday.
Don't get me wrong. If you're talking about winning a state title out of
Northwest Indiana, I'd rather be Griffith right now than anybody else. But if
you were tied 14-14 at the half against Hammond high (2-10) last week, you
probably shouldn't be talking about winning a state title at all.
3.)
5A LaPorte (9-3)
2005
(9-2), 2004 (7-4), 2003 (6-4)
LaPORTE
-
LaPorte met the challenge, beating down Penn at Penn to win the school's first
ever sectional title.
Airrence
Shark carried 33 times for 192 yards and 3 TDs on the road as the Slicers proved
they could defense a good team for the first time this year. This is the
first time all season I've really been impressed by LaPorte. Some (read:
all) of their other wins were not of championship caliber. This one was.
The Slicers stopped a string of 11 consecutive Penn sectional titles and they
dominated, leading 21-7 at the half. I don't know if that's all they wanted,
but the high-scoring Slicers have certainly a fighting chance to win a rematch
with Crown Point this Friday. What better situation can you have for a
regional final but to be at home against a team that beat you by one point in
the regular season? With relatively warm weather, LaPorte weather, if the
Slicers get beat, they have no excuses.
4.)
4A Hobart (10-2)
2005
(6-6), 2004 (9-2), 2003 (5-7)
HOBART
-
It's hard to figure out how, but Hobart was eliminated from the sectional for
the fourth consecutive year by Lowell. Four turnovers gave the Devils a 31-28
win in Hobart, even though the Brickie offense rolled up 500 yards. Andrew
Jackson gained 200 yards rushing and scored three TDs, but QB Josh Miracle was
intercepted three times. Hobart's Bobby James (41 catches, 738 yards, 10
TDs) was double-teamed all night and was shut out for a second time this season
by Lowell. It's hard to be sad with a 10-2 season, but it will take some
time before the Brickies get over how this season ended. A field goal on their
home field with one second remaining in the game.
5.)
5A Merrillville (7-5)
2005
(11-3), 2003 (5-6), 2004 (6-5)
MERRILLVILLE
-
The Pirates were respectable in a 28-7 loss at 5A No. 3 Crown Point, but too
many Pirates were playing hurt and the running game just never materialized.
It's funny how things work. Lowell was great last year and are 7-5 this
year and they're celebrating. That's the difference between 4A and 5A.
Merrillville lost to LaPorte (9-3) and twice to CP (12-0) so you can't call this
a bad season. Defensively, the Pirates improved as the season progressed
and a lot of players did get experience. The Pirates' defense was fine,
but 32 turnovers indicates there's lots of offensive work to do. And they
open the 2007 season with Warren Central (12-0), Griffith (11-1) and Crown Point
(12-0). Maybe the toughest opening three games in the history of NW Indiana
high school football.
6.)
3A Portage (6-5)
2005
(2-8) , 2004 (8-4), 2003 (11-2)
PORTAGE
-
Portage's
win over LaPorte (9-3) and two close games with Crown Point (12-0) are looking
better every day. The Indians will need (and will probably get) significant
improvement from soph QB Jason Melcic and they don't need much improvement from
Albert Evans (254 carries, 1,602 yards, 15 TDs). But the core of the DAC's top
defense graduates, including tackles Tony Bohling (6-0, 240), and
linebackers Nate Milligan and Kevin Alvarado. Those boys' positions can be
filled, but they probably can't be replaced. Would Portage have beaten
Andrean? Probably. New Prairie, because of the style of play...
Certainly. How about Merrillville? Maybe a scoreless tie.
7.)
3A ANDREAN (8-3)
2005
(8-2), 2004 (13-2), 2003 (12-1)
MERRILLVILLE
-
Andrean probably was on the way out of the state tournament when they lost
leading tackler Matt Meschede (97 tackles) for the season last month. The
59-ers' 26-7 loss Oct. 27 at Griffith was just the official notice. The Niners
had to throw to win and QB Jesse Repay was just 13 of 33 in the rain. With
some personnel shake-ups, the 2006 Niners lost only three times. Twice to
Griffith (11-1) and once to Hobart (10-2). Both are Top-10 teams.
This was a very good year for them, but I understand if they don't see that
because the standards here are very high. This team has a some big holes
to fill for 2007, including QB Jesse Repay (118-217, 1,888 yards, 20 TDs, 11
INTs), but Sectional 17 gets easier as Morton goes to 4A and Roosevelt drops to
3A. The Niners will be changing their schedule, joining the Northwest
Crossroads Conference (NWCC). This was the sixth consecutive season that
the 59ers won at least eight games, so the tradition of success was upheld.
8.)
3A New Prairie (11-1)
2005
(6-4), 2004 (12-2), 2003 (8-3)
NEW
CARLISLE - A
fine battle with Culver Academy (9-3) produced a 26-20 win in their first home
sectional championship game.
Undefeated
Norwell (12-0) looms large for 'Griffith West" and that game will be played in
Allen County, not at the little house on the 'Prairie'. The Cougars have won 29
of 36 and the run game continues to be difficult to defend.
The Cougars' defense gets the ultimate challenge here. Norwell crushes
everyone and runs up the scores. It's clearly judgment day for New Prairie.
To reach the finals, NP must beat two of the most fearsome offenses (Norwell and
Griffith) in the entire state. I want to see Griffith at New Prairie on
Nov. 17. What a mirror-image match up that would be.
9.)
4A Lowell (7-5)
2005
(11-4), 2004 (9-4), 2003 (11-2)
LOWELL
-
Lowell's 2006 season became a success when David Lang's 35-yard field goal went
through the uprights at Hobart with one second left, giving Lowell a 31-28
victory in the 4A Sectional nine championship game. Playing most of the game
without injured defensive star Jeff Barker (13 sacks), Lowell overcame a 21-20
fourth quarter deficit. Junior DB TJ Lukasik grabbed three interceptions.
Lowell made a spectacular effort to reverse an earlier 7-0 loss to Hobart in
Lowell. The Devils gave up 208 yards rushing to Hobart junior Andrew
Jackson, but somehow they overcame great odds. One key was that Lowell
committed no turnovers, while Hobart made four. You have to wonder how many
football games that young first year starters can play. But you have to
wonder about Lowell to begin with. The game marks the fourth time in two
seasons that Lowell has rallied in the fourth quarter to win a playoff game.
You just don't do that. Lowell has won four consecutive sectional titles
for the first time in school history and, if Barker is okay, the Devils are
flying about as high as any team could be right now. The reward?
They are probably 20-point underdogs to 4A No. 2 Concord (12-0).
10.)
5A Chesterton
(5-6)
2005 (3-8), 2004
(5-5), 2003 (7-4)
CHESTERTON
- I've got to put Chesterton back into the poll. Why? The Trojans lost to
Crown Point (12-0), who is still playing. They lost to Griffith (11-1),
who is still playing. They lost twice to Merrillville (7-5), who lost
twice to CP (12-0). The Trojans took Griffith and Portage to overtime.
The record here is really 5-4-2. If you look at it that way, they are the 10th
best team. Alex Beierwalter (179-314, 2,569 yards, 17 TDs, 20 INTs) returns
next season, but Adam Hutnick (36-574 yards, 8 INTs) does not. Neither does
Travis Anderson (8 TDs) or Jeff Eminger (6 INTs) and Nick Kokikanos (8 sacks).
The Trojans got more hype than Michael Vick and they are almost as inconsistent.
Chesterton has a lot to do before next year, but when you start with a two-year
returning starting QB, get ready for more great expectations next season.
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2006 USA-365.com and Meyer
Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp. All rights
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Revised: November 07, 2006
.