Renegade 2006 Week-3 NW Indiana High School Football Poll

CROWN POINT (8-28-2006) Week 2 was strong for the South Bend area as Riley, Clay and St. Joseph's and Washington all defeated NW Indiana teams. Now Adams (0-2) got smoked like a Christmas ham 53-23, but they can't have everything. Early returns on NW Indiana indicate that 2006 isn't going to be very strong this season. When Portage is losing by three TDs to St. Joseph's and North Judson beats Knox 7-6 on top of week one's Penn rout of Valpo, this isn't exactly an unstoppable force.

I thought there was a rule that said that schools could not play athletic events when school has been canceled. I was all the way wrong. Don't you distinctly remember events being canceled when school is postponed due to snow or a power failure? I don't think the Gary schools should be playing during the on-going public school strike unless the head coach and his staff walks through the picket line. The idea of volunteer coaches leading the team is poor and everybody knows it. Who's responsible if boys get injured with volunteers on the sidelines? What happens if a fight breaks out? Who's in charge? The IHSAA commissioner Bob Rees was quoted last week as saying, "I wish somebody up there would call me." Rees shouldn't hold his breath. He should pick up the phone himself. But the IHSAA is inconsistent. They banned Kenny Harris (quite rightfully) for an athletic transfer a few years back, but looked the other way when Evan Schmidt did it this summer. Still, the Gary school board needs to step in and cancel all athletic events until real coaches and teachers get back on the sidelines for purposes of liability.

The IHSAA's Mickey Mouse overtime scenario bit Chesterton last week as the Trojans lost 35-34 to Griffith on a blocked extra point by Panther all-stater Ben Geffert. It's not fair for a game to be decided on four plays from the 10-yard-line. That's not football. Obviously, Griffith had a huge advantage because of star kicker Nate Vaughn, while Chesterton did not have a true place-kicker. No one has ever explained to me why teams can't simply play a fifth quarter as they do in basketball? All games are Friday night and nobody has anyplace to go. The 10-yard line scenario distorts the game. It plays towards the slower teams because there isn't as much ground to cover. It takes punters and kick returners and great wide receivers out of the game. It may be fair but it is no longer football. It's indoor soccer.

The question still stands. Had last week's Griffith-Chesterton game ended in a 28-28 tie, who would have lost?

Whiting's boys knew they were in for trouble Friday for their game at Riley when three different team vehicles ended up in three different places trying to find South Bend's Jackson Field. One bus went to Mishawaka, another ended up at Riley high school and the equipment bus ended up in nearby Niles, Michigan. Whiting got rejected 30-12.

Oh yeah... this score from Indianapolis: Three time 5A state champion Warren Central 61, Class 8A three-time state runner up (Wilmette, Illinois) Maine South 12. If you are in Class 5A in Indiana, don't do too much public bragging about anything.

One note for LAC fans: One fairly good team in the LAC is almost certainly going to take four league losses in the next seven weeks. Either Lowell, Griffith, Morton, Andrean or Hobart mathematically has to lose four games unless Hammond goes 0-7 and Munster and Highland go 1-6 and 2-5 in league play. Hammond will go 0-7 but it's unlikely that improved Munster and Highland will go 1-6 and 2-5.

One note about that note: The 'fairly good' LAC team that took four losses in 2005 was Hobart (3-4) and one of the 3-loss teams was Lowell, which won its final 10 games and won the 4A state title. A 2-loss LAC team, third place Andrean (5-2) won the 3A state title in 2004.

RB Jon Sertich #27 ran for 100+ yards against Lowell, but the Crown Point passing attack behind QB Blake Mascarello #6 only went 8-of-15 for 83 yards and 2 TDs.

The Crown Point running game led by QB Blake Mascarello #6 produced 262 yards and two TDs at Hobart behind the offensive line of Matt Polus #62, Kurt Wermers #70 and Andy Krumwied #65. (Photo by Mark Smith)

CROWN POINT - The Bulldogs got 161 yards rushing from fullback Tommy Parks and a second 100-yard rushing game from halfback Jon Sertich in a 34-20 win over Hobart.

The Bulldogs still were shaky, but the second half was much better than the first. CP is nowhere near their potential. All-state wide receiver Matt Ernest has caught one pass in two games. Bulldog QB Blake Mascarello has thrown for 4 TDs, but the CP defense had no sacks last week against semi-mobile Hobart QB Josh Miracle.

The CP offensive line, led by junior guard Kurt Wermers (6-5, 270) and senior tackle Andy Krumwied (6-5, 245) on the right side, was dominant in the second half and they'll need more of that in the top-10 showdown with No. 7 Merrillville Friday night.

Let's be honest. The two games CP has won so far are games they should have won. Here come seven consecutive 5A schools led off by a defense that has held East Chicago and Highland to minus rushing yardage so far.

The 'Dog Show' has played to two sellout crowds so far and a third may be headed for Merrillville Friday.

GRIFFITH - Griffith was lucky to beat Chesterton 35-34 in overtime last week and they probably know it. The Panthers have not been good in holding onto the ball in the first two weeks, but that's often a problem when they bring in a new QB. The Panthers won't see many teams with the passing attack of Chesterton, so their lack of pass defense is a concern, not a fatal flaw.

The move of wide receiver David Alexander from WR to HB paid off last week as Alexander raced for four touchdowns and it's an indication that Griffith is not going to attempt to have a multiple offense. Good for them. When Griffith throws the ball, they're doing the opposition a favor and every opponent knows that.

Place-kicker Nate Vaughn is going to be the deciding factor in a lot of games. This is an unusually star-studded Griffith team with Vaughn, Alexander and Geffert all having all-area, if not all-state potential. They may eventually be better than last year. But if the Panthers have three turnovers against Lowell this Friday like they did against Chesterton last Friday, they'll be a 'star-studded' 2-1 team.

MERRILLVILLE - Everyone is still looking at what Merrillville lost from last season, while the Pirates have outscored East Chicago and Highland 65-3. Merrillville is not close to full strength and they may have lost QB Josh Raspopovich to a 4th quarter injury against Highland. Ready for the bad news. More than one Merrillville insider says that the backups Jaquail Washington (6-3, 200) and Dilapo McCarthy (6-5, 185) are very talented and the Pirates offense would be just as good with them.

The Pirates have five turnovers in two games though, and that's far too many for a team that relies on the defense. It's time to turn the big lights on as next door neighbor Crown Point takes the short ride to purple town for NW Indiana's top rivalry, a series that has been split over the past two years and is almost even over 60 games. Early reports suggest that, despite a 32.5 per game average, the offense is somewhat limp-wristed as of yet, but that the defense is as fast or faster than 2005. Too much talk. Too little action. The rubber meets the road Friday night.

VALPARAISO - Don't jump back and forth like Joe Leiberman. Stay on the right side. Actually Leiberman is a little too far to the right, but that's another story for another site. Many thought that Valparaiso was an outstanding team before they got freeze-dried 61-14 at Penn. Guess what? You don't change in one game. The Vikings are still an outstanding team and it was probably better for them to have the week off than sop up a sub-par Roosevelt squad. It would have been nice for Valpo to have played, so young guys could have success after getting blown out. But Valpo doesn't have that many young guys.

Valparaiso now plays LaPorte (1-1) which has a very good running game. But the Vikings thought they had a good run defense and they probably still do. No matter how much you may want to, you are prohibited from passing judgment on this team until the home opener against LaPorte this Friday. They are better than the majority of 2-0 teams in Northwest Indiana.

MERRILLVILLE - The 59ers smoked out Bishop Noll 34-6 Friday as senior QB Jesse Repay was 12 of 22 for 218 yards and three TDs. Repay is an erratic, but underrated player who can lead Andrean to great things. But it's the 59er defense that has been solid against two teams so far. Neither Noll or Chesterton was able to run for 100 yards against the Niners.

The new defensive coordinator for Andrean, former Wheeler coach Phil Mason, is off to a good start. But he won't be bragging this week with high-powered Morton (47 ppg against two Hammond schools) coming in. Here is where the 59ers will draw a line in the sand and we find out whether they're going to have a good year. Morton eliminated Andrean 10 months ago and the rematch is Friday. A lot of Morton's players are new, but a lot of Andrean's players are not. The 59ers have to look at this as a must-win game for a lot of reasons.

HOBART - The Brickies looked a lot better in the 34-20 loss to Crown Point than they probably did beating Gary West Side the week before. Hobart's offensive line was strong, but the Brickies had to abandon the run when CP scored two third quarter TDs in two minutes. Bobby James unofficially caught 10 passes and Josh Miracle was good other than a span where he threw back-to-back interceptions. This team looks better than the Hobart team that was 9-2 in 2004.

The Brickie offensive line averages 240 pounds per man and when they line up in a double tight end set and run Andrew Jackson (6-2, 225) behind them, every LAC defense will have a major problem with Hobart. Hobart might not be that physical along the defensive front, but nobody's going to shut them out. Especially not 0-2 Hammond this Friday (9-1-2006).

CHESTERTON - The Trojans lost two games they could have won to, frankly, two teams they should have lost to. The 35-34 loss to Griffith is really a tie game, but losing to Griffith and Andrean is not something a 5A school should be doing when they play in a league of seven 5A schools. You can argue that Andrean and Griffith are ranked teams, but so are 5A Crown Point and Merrillville, the final two teams on the Chesterton schedule in October.

Chesterton QB Alex Beierwalter is under 35% passing for the season, but the Trojans did rush for 153 yards at Griffith, a big plus over week one. Chesterton needs a good defensive game against Michigan City (1-1) this Friday, because their offense figures to get better. Watch again for the ability to run the football. Teams are working day and night to shut down the passing attack and the Trojans must control the game on the ground.

PORTAGE - Portage's 28-6 loss at undefeated South Bend St. Joe was as bad as it looked. Portage trailed 7-6 with 12 minutes left, but St. Joe rushed for 236 yards against the Portage defense and there's no getting around that. The Indians had an unofficial 15 first downs, but only six points due to three turnovers. And the TD was not a drive. It was set up by a 71-yard kickoff return by Albert Evans. Portage had allowed only seven points in seven quarters until two long TDs broke the game open last Friday. But the Indians need a lot more offense. Last week's game shouldn't have been 7-6 going to the final quarter. Portage obviously has quality, but there's no good read on them right now.

Lowell RB Steffan Peck #13 runs behind the block of Mark Myers #42 against the CP defense, 8-18-2006. But the Lowell offense boosted output to 500 yards in their 61-14 win over visiting Calumet. (Photo by Mark Smith)

LOWELL - Lowell rolled up 500 yards rushing to blow out Calumet 63-6. This wasn't a surprise. Lowell beat Calumet 61-14 last year. The Devils lost two more fumbles and that's six bobbles in two games.

The Devils' defense, which gave up 17 against Crown Point, allowed six against Calumet as junior safety Lukas Palmer intercepted three passes.

Junior halfback Steffan Peck ran for five TDS, senior Max Znika ran for 100 yards and QB Josh Kuiper was 3-of-3 for 76 yards, including a 31-yard TD to TE Jeff Barker.

But Lowell knows that beating 3A Calumet is meaningless when you travel to 3A No. 2 Griffith (2-0) this week. There are serious concerns in Lowell as they wade into the heavy portion of their schedule.

The next three weeks bring Griffith (2-0), Morton (2-0) and Andrean (2-0), all games the Devils could win, but all games that Lowell cold lose by 30 if they fumble three times a game.

LaPORTE - Senior halfback Airrence Shark carried 31 times for 184 yards and three touchdowns as LaPorte dominated Elkhart Central 42-13. Shark, who has five TDs after two games, scored two third quarter TDs to help the Slicers build a 25-6 lead. QB Adam Creed was 8-of-16 for 112 yards and the Slicers blitzing defense held Elkhart Central to just 45 yards rushing. Central usually gives LaPorte trouble. The Slicers have given up a disturbing 52 points in two games and they face a formidable Valparaiso team that has had two weeks off because of the Gary teachers' strike which kept Roosevelt from facing Valpo. Here is a major test of the LaPorte defense.

MUNSTER - Munster coasted past out-manned Wirt 49-6, as "Touchdown" Tommy Mambourg scored three first quarter TDs. Truthfully. Munster does not do themselves or Wirt a favor by continuing to play them. I understand that this is probably coach Leroy Marsh doing the Gary school a favor financially and schedule-wise, but it will always be difficult for the Ponies to saddle up the level of intensity needed to take on rival Highland the next week.

It does say something that the Kankakee Valley team Munster roasted on Aug. 18 beat Rensselaer last week for the first time in nine years. But that two week reality show might say more about Rensselaer than it does about Munster. The Ponies aren't a top-10 team yet. Can they get jacked up for rival Highland, which didn't get destroyed last week at Merrillville? We'll see.

HAMMOND - Morton poured the points on Clark 54-7 and they have outscored Clark and Gavit 94-7. I probably do not understand the pressures that Morton is under to continue to play Gavit and Clark, smaller schools that cannot compete with them anymore. One thing that may force Morton to stay out of the new football conference in 2007 that includes Andrean, Hobart, Griffith, Lowell, Munster, Highland and KV is that joining that seven team group would mean that Morton would necessarily have to drop one of its Hammond sister schools from the schedule. That is a reality that Morton probably finds very distasteful. They would be traitors to the Hammond cause.

But as long as Morton begins the year with Clark and Gavit, they will go 2-0 and be a question mark going into week three. There's just no way to know what new QB David Wallace (12-of-13, 244 yards passing) can do against Andrean (2-0) Friday. Even the coaches don't know.

The RENEGADE

2006 Week-3: NW Indiana High School Top-10 Football Poll