A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
9-04-2006
CROWN
POINT (9-04-2006) Week
three of the 2006 season was odd, as the broken down IHSAA overtime format gave
LaPorte a 57-56 win over Valparaiso. I also cannot explain Wirt's 68-59 win over
River Forest. These are basketball scores. Games where both sides
leave (and should leave) embarrassed are not good for the game. And
entertainment value aside, tell me again how both sides are not better served by
letting a game end in a tie?
Pre-season predictions have held up through 1/3 of the season and Griffith and Crown Point, generally considered NW Indiana's top two teams, jumped to a 3-0 start. The four 1-0 teams in the Lake Athletic Conference (LAC) Black Division are Griffith, Andrean, Hobart and Munster as expected. But the 1-0 squads in the Duneland Athletic Conference (DC) are Crown Point, Lake Central, Chesterton and LaPorte... and that is not the norm.
When you look at the history of the DAC, of the eight schools now in the conference, Valparaiso, Merrillville and Portage are the dominant teams and they stand at 0-1. Either there is a changing of the guard or there are going to be some reversals in the weeks to come. The latter is much more likely than the former.
Outside NW Indiana 3A defending state champ Northwood is 0-3. Eight-time champ Roncalli is 1-2 and long-suffering teams from Tri-County (0-10 in 2000 and 2001; 1-9 in 2002 and 2004) and Culver (3-37 over the last four years) are 3-0.
Looking ahead: Jimtown (3-0) and Concord (3-0) meet Sept. 22. Plymouth (3-0) and Concord (3-0) meet Sept. 29. In NW Indiana, the match of Andrean (3-0) and Griffith (3-0) is Oct. 6. But there is no really dominant team. After Griffith (3-0) meets Munster (3-0) and Crown Point (3-0) meets LC (3-0) this week (9-8-2006), the Andrean-Griffith game (or the less likely Andrean-Munster) is the only possible meeting of undefeated teams left in the final five weeks of the year.
The NUMBERS GAME: Scoring certainly seems to be up after three weeks. LaPorte averages 44 points per game. Griffith is at 43.7 ppg. Those scores are inflated by cheap overtime points, but teams like South Newton (41 ppg.), Goshen (36.7 ppg.) and Morton (33.3 ppg.) are also wearing out the scoreboard. The top defensive teams? A lot depends on who you've played so far, but by the numbers, it's Merrillville (6.7) and North Judson (4.3).
This is the 5th consecutive season that Andrean has started 3-0. Don't bet against them this week. Andrean has begun the last four seasons with a 4-0 record. Looking back through 100 years of Crown Point football, this is the first time they have ever won 14 out of 15 games. CP won 13 of 14 in the 1987-88 seasons and also in the 1983-84 seasons.
Griffith has scored 30 or more points in the Panthers' last nine regular season games. Griffith has also won 10 consecutive regular season road games. Let the record show: LaPorte has won more Duneland Athletic Conference games in the last six years (2001-2006) than any other team. LaPorte (27) is ahead of Valparaiso (25), Merrillville (22) and Crown Point (21). It's a bit of a trick stat because Lake Central and Hobart were not in the DAC all of the last six years. LaPorte has never won an undisputed DAC title, nor have they ever won a sectional title.
1.)
5A CROWN POINT (3-0)
2005
(11-1), 2004 (4-7), 2003 (5-5)
CROWN
POINT -
Crown Point is like Notre Dame. When they win,
it's never by enough points. The Bulldogs won a must game for them,
shutting down the offense of injury-riddled Merrillville 17-2 in a game they
should have won by more. The victory is just a start in the DAC season,
but it was reaffirming after the Bulldogs allowed 20 points at Hobart. QB
Blake Mascarello threw his fifth TD pass, this one a 10-yard screen pass to Jon
Sertich out of the backfield. CP held the Pirates to 14 net rushing yards
and only five first downs. Crown
Point has beaten Merrillville for the fifth consecutive season, but they won't
get too excited about it because they have also been eliminated by those same
Pirates in each of the past two post-seasons.
CP
also knows they must produce more points. So far they've scored enough to
win, but championship high school teams average a lot more than 23 points a
game. A lot more. But this is the most talented team overall on
offense and defense. They just aren't playing like it as of yet.
2.) 3A Griffith
(3-0)
2005
(12-1), 2004 (9-3), 2003
(7-5)
GRIFFITH
- The Panthers were strong in a
35-0 victory over Lowell, a game that was not closer than the score indicated.
WR David Alexander has 10 TDs in three games and the Panthers don't even have
him playing his natural position of WR. The Panthers are vulnerable to the
pass, but pass blocking them will be a problem. Few teams are going to
line up and run the ball on them, although Hobart might argue that point.
Griffith has to play with a fever in every game. They are very
intimidating, but they aren't overly skilled or fast defensively. If the
Panthers don't play with a lot of fire, they can get knocked out. That's
something they are very much aware of after last year's still inexplicable
semistate loss to an inferior Northwood (9-9 in their last 18 games) team.
If Griffith gets overconfident, the Panthers have to keep two words in the back
of their mind, North and wood.
3.)
5A Merrillville (2-1)
2005
(11-3), 2003 (5-6), 2004 (6-5)
MERRILLVILLE
- Merrillville was inept
offensively against Crown Point and they should have been. Starting a
backup QB, a back-up RB and a couple of other subs due to a reported suspension,
the Pirates tried to win with just a defense last week, losing 17-2 at home to
Crown Point. The Pirate 'D' has allowed just 20 points in three games, so
they're all right. But this team has to get back to full strength before
they can win anything important. Coach Zac Wells is starting to look
like Dusty Baker with all the rookies he has on the field. But the
strength of the team in pre-season, the offensive line, has not been as
effective as had been hoped. The Pirates may lose a couple more before the
playoffs because you just can't replace D-1 offensive players and have as good a
team. Check back here in another month. The defense has to carry the
Pirates until October.
4.)
3A ANDREAN (3-0)
2005
(8-2), 2004 (13-2), 2003 (12-1)
MERRILLVILLE
- The 59ers got very serious on
the road and rejected Morton 21-6 in a solid offensive performance. Morton
gained 300 yards on the 59er defense, but the Niners shut the door on them at
the goal line after a first quarter TD. Jesse Repay fired three TD passes
as the 59ers reversed their playoff loss of 2005. Repay has 5 TD passes in
his last two games. A close look at the Niner defense shows they have
allowed four TDs, two on passes, one on a kickoff return and one on an
interception. No one has run for a TD against Andrean so far. But
the Niners need to convert and score more points. Winning teams can do
what they want, but championship teams average more than 25 points a game. Andrean
needs to gain a lot of yards and score a lot of points this week against Hammond
high. Just to prove to themselves that they can.
5.)
5A Valparaiso (1-2)
2005
(5-5), 2004 (6-5), 2003
(5-6)
VALPARAISO
- A loss to Penn and what basically was a tie game 57-56 at LaPorte.
I can't drop this team at this point because no one below them could beat Penn
or take LaPorte to overtime. Valpo led LaPorte by 14 points three
different times. The Vikings were in effect, playing the season opener all
over again after two weeks off due to the Gary teachers' strike. Hollis
Ballard carried 17 times for 191 yards and is over 300 yards in two games.
But the Vikings did give up 300 yards passing. Losing to 5th-ranked Penn
and losing in double-overtime 57-56 is not a condition you can read
accurately. Valpo's record is actually 0-1-1 and they have had an odd
schedule. No matter what you hear elsewhere, everybody knows that
Valparaiso is better than Lake Central or Munster or Morton. This week
brings a must-win game against Michigan City (1-2).
6.)
4A Hobart (2-1)
2005
(6-6), 2004 (9-2), 2003 (5-7)
HOBART
- Hobart's record is exactly what
everyone thought it would be at this point after crushing Gary West Side and
Hammond, but losing 34-20 to undefeated Crown Point (3-0). Junior tailback
Andrew Jackson has totaled eight TDs in three games and he is fulfilling the
promise he showed last year. The Brickie offensive line has been strong
and they might have the best overall team in the LAC. But Griffith has
faced tougher foes, so you can be more certain about the Panthers. Hobart's
schedule is back loaded with Lowell and Griffith in the final two weeks.
Hobart hosts Highland (1-2) and plays at Munster (3-0) so we'll know more in two
weeks, but those teams aren't great either. The Brickies look like Ohio
State, sometimes good, but they need to beat somebody better than Idaho State
before we can talk about the sectional title.
7.)
5A Chesterton (1-2)
2005
(3-8), 2004 (5-5), 2003 (7-4)
CHESTERTON
- If you really think that
Lake Central and Munster are better than Chesterton because they're 3-0, you
probably think we're winning the war in Iraq, too. Obviously, the Trojans
are better than their record, which, for purposes of evaluation, is 1-1-1,
considering the OT loss at Griffith. Chesterton socked it to Michigan City
49-14 Friday, leading 21-0 at the half. QB Alex Beierwalter (37-of-79, 481
yards, 6 TDs, 4 INTs) tossed 3 TDs against the out manned Wolves. The
Trojans rushed for 167 yards and that's always the key stat with them. Six
turnovers is three games is too many. Warm up the scoreboard, and momma,
don't expect the kids back before midnight. Chesterton (33 ppg.) at
LaPorte (44 ppg.) this Friday with the winner sharing first place in the DAC
with the CP-Lake Central winner.
8.)
5A LaPorte (2-1)
2005
(9-2), 2004 (7-4), 2003 (6-4)
LaPORTE
- The Slicers' offense bailed
them out with multiple rallies in an insane 57-56 two overtime win over
Valparaiso. This game might not be that big a positive when you look at a
so-called contender giving up 400 yards. But new senior QB Adam Creed hit
16 of 21 passes for 305 yards and the game winning two-point toss to TE Matt
Mizia. Give LaPorte coach Bob Schellinger credit for ending this game and
not simply playing for continued ties. Halfback Airrence Shark ran for 4
more TDs and he leads all of NW Indiana with nine TDs. It's hard to get
too excited about a team that has given up 118 points in three games, but 14 of
those points are bogus overtime points and one TD is on a turnover. But
LaPorte, with a young team, could be 0-3 and they aren't. They have no
answer for Chesterton this week, but the Trojans can't stop Shark either.
This team sure is fun to watch, but these Arena Football League games they're
playing are probably hard on the coaching staff.
9.)
5A Lake Central (3-0)
2005
(2-8), 2004 (1-9), 2003 (1-9)
ST.
JOHN - Its' not real yet, but the Lake Central 10-3 win over
Portage kept them undefeated. The vanquished foes, Goshen (2-1), East
Chicago (1-2) and Portage (1-2) all have issues, but LC has moved the ball to
the tune of 1,000 yards gained so far. QB PJ Gbur has thrown for four TDS
(only one interception) and kicker Scott Spicer has booted three field goals
(19, 27, 32) so far. Spirits have to be very high, but LC has not played a
good offensive team as of yet and they might not see one this week at Crown
Point, either. Lake Central has scored only three touchdowns in the first
half all season, and if they start slowly this week, they can go home at
halftime, because it'll be over. The defense is as uncertain as the White
Sox playoff prospects. But unlike some of the other suspects in this poll,
none of the Lake Central wins are those Mickey Mouse, flip-a-coin, sissified
overtime wins. They are a REAL 3-0. Four quarters. On the
field.
10.)
4A Lowell (1-2)
2005
(11-4), 2004 (9-4), 2003 (11-2)
LOWELL
-
Let's tell the truth. Lowell beating Crown Point (3-0) or
Griffith (3-0) on the road would have been major, major upsets. They were
shut out 17-0 and 35-0 and they showed little on offense. But what folks
don't want to say yet... No one else in NW Indiana is likely to beat Griffith or
Crown Point before November. Lowell KNEW they would be 1-2 after three
weeks.
The
concern here is the offensive line, but that's the unit that takes the most time
to put together and the Devils have seen the best two defenses they are going to
see. The Devils lost LB Kaleb Layman to injury, but I still like starting
QB Josh Kuiper, and the boys will be challenged not to quit this week heading
into a tough game against high-scoring Morton. The defense, which has
allowed just 19 points a game against tough opponents, is in the spotlight this
week. The defensive line and linebackers have had positive moments and the
secondary has been good. The Devils will end the season with one of the
top defenses in NW Indiana.
In the back of their minds, Lowell knows they were 1-4 last year and came back
to win post-season gold. But the 2006 Devils cannot go 1-4 and come back.
Lowell must win against Morton (2-1) this Friday or Andrean (3-0) on Sept 15.
On the outside looking in...
11.)
4A Munster (3-0)
2005 (3-7), 2004 (4-6), 2003 (8-3)
MUNSTER
- Munster whipped Highland 42-13
with Joe Gill completing three TD passes and Tommy Mambourg running for his 6th
TD of the year. Munster's 38-9 opening night win over Kankakee
Valley is looking better as KV has improved to 2-1. But truthfully, KV
isn't overly strong yet and Munster beating Highland isn't a big deal beyond
Ridge Road. When does Lake Central play Goshen and Morton play KV when LC
and Munster are border communities? Munster's start is a
confidence-builder, but it might be as false as Chicago Bear preseason
predictions. Want some scary numbers? Munster is 15-0 in August in
this decade and 12-12 in October. They are 10-15 in September. The
challenge is to get this team ready to play Griffith (3-0) Friday.
12.)
3A Morton (2-1)
2005 (8-4), 2004 (4-7), 2003 (5-6)
HAMMOND
- Morton
was shut out in the final three quarters of a 21-6 home loss to Andrean.
The pass defense gave up three TD tosses. It was too early for Morton,
with their preseason schedule, to play Andrean. They'll get another
chance. David Wallace was 14 of 29 for 159 yards, but he had two
interceptions and you can't throw 30 passes and win against good teams.
Morton also drew 12 penalties. Forget about it. The Governors have
Griffith (3-0) and Munster (3-0) after this week's visit to Lowell so this is a
fork in the road. Morton needs to win a game outside of Hammond before you
can take them seriously.
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2006 USA-365.com and Meyer
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Revised: September 04, 2006
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