The RENEGADE

2007 - Week 11: NW Indiana High School Top-10 Football Poll

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

10-22-2007

MERRILLVILLE (10-22-2007) - The state tournament truthfully begins in the sectional semifinals. Whether you agree with the concept of the all-inclusive state tourney or not, much of the first week is spent eliminating teams with losing records who simply were not capable of playing solid football.

I don't have to tell you some of the scores last Friday. You saw them. 52-0, 62-10, 63-0, 51-0, 62-15, 70-21. The names of the schools involved aren't the point. These are the final scores of games where teams with losing records got jacked up like a '77 Mustang on the opening night of the state tournament. I understand the argument for allowing EVERYONE in the state tourney, but imagine being on the field, down six TDs in the second quarter the week AFTER your season has ended taking a beating for someone else's concept of fairness. I still believe it's better for a losing team to have the chance to finish the season with a victory than it is to require that the vast majority of all teams take one final pounding on a cold October night.

The second week is the true start of the post-season. Not only do you have all matchups of teams coming off a win. You also see increased attendance because half the teams in the state are no longer playing and football players tend to be football fans. When you attend a sectional semifinal game, look up in the stands for letter jackets from schools that are no longer playing. That's part of the argument for playing half the sectional, regional and semistate title games on Saturdays. You allow fans to see two games. You allow players from eliminated schools to pay to see two games. And the 3A, 4A and 5A state finals are set for Saturday anyway. That's such an obvious concept that, even in a state that is about as forward thinking as the rotary engine Mazda, I still believe that the idea of Saturday championship games in Classes 3A, 4A and 5A will be adopted in our lifetime.

Clarks' 54-14 win over Gary Roosevelt was Clarks' first state tournament win since a 21-19 win at Lowell on Oct. 23, 1998. Highland broke a 10-game losing streak with a come-from-behind 30-18 win over Lew Wallace. Rensselaer's 44-19 win over Bishop Noll last week was the 500th victory in school history. That is impressive, but it's understandable. There is a record of Rensselaer varsity football games being played in 1898, long before most Lake County schools even existed.

One game really speaks to how northern Indiana late October high school football works. Undefeated Rochester was held to 25 yards rushing on 21 carries in a 28-14 loss to Lewis Cass. Rochester (9-1), a pass-oriented team, got 15-of-32 for 296 yards from QB Brody Schoen. Cass rushed 48 times for 269 yards. The moral: Running teams win in NW Indiana high school football in the post-season. Passing teams lose. All of them. Eventually. It's only a matter of time. Why? Click on your keyboard here and look up the weather forecast for Friday, Oct. 27. Upper 40s and rain, right? That's why.

And in the most dramatic game of the week, winless South Bend Washington led Kankakee Valley 18-14 with four seconds to play. KV QB Alex Byers was sacked near midfield. But the referees ruled that on the sack, a Washington player grabbed Byers facemask, drawing a 15-yard penalty from the line of scrimmage. On what everyone knew would be the final play of the game, the right-handed Byers rolled to his left and fired the ball high into the end zone where 6-foot-4 receiver Ryan Bozeman grabbed it to give KV a 20-18 victory.

The true test of a poll is if it holds up once the playoffs begin. So far, this one has.

1.) 5A Merrillville (9-1)
2006 (7-5), 2005 (11-3), 2003 (5-6), 2004 (6-5)

MERRILLVILLE - Merrillville's strength of schedule rose again when the Pirates beat Chesterton for the second week in a row, this time 21-0 in the first round of the very difficult 5A Sectional one. Cornerback Demarreo Richardson intercepted his ninth pass of the season in the fourth quarter to stop the Trojans' final threat. Junior kicker Ryan Stokes is 37-of-37 on extra points with seven field goals in 10 games and therein lies the problem. 37 TDs total and seven field goals in 10 games? It would seem championship teams need to do more than that, although that may be perception. If you don't score 49 points a week like the New England Patriots, folks tend not to think you're going to the Super Bowl. The Pirates have held eight teams to 14 points or less, but they must get more productive on offense and they've got to do it this week against arch-rival Crown Point (8-2), the defending sectional champion.

2.) 5A CROWN POINT (8-2)
2006 (12-1), 2005 (11-1), 2004 (4-7), 2003 (5-5)

CROWN POINT - Crown Point shut down Munster 35-9 as expected with 22 first downs and 325 total yards. Halfback Russell Chick (277 carries, 1,739 yards, 21 TDs) gained 100 or more yards for the 10th consecutive week. After scoring 124 points through six weeks (20.6), the Bulldogs have scored 30 or more in each of the last four weeks and have rolled up 147 points (36.7) in that time. To be honest, the schedule was lighter in the last four weeks, but the bottom line is, CP has led by 10 or more in every game this season except one: The 20-17 overtime win over arch-rival Merrillville. The rematch is this Friday night at Merrillville (9-1). After a season of play and discussion, there is little doubt who the top two teams are. It's been another good year for CP and it can become a great one Friday night. But the Bulldogs have to find a way to use Merrillville's speed against them.

3.) 4A Lowell (9-1)
2006 (7-6), 2005 (11-4), 2004 (9-4), 2003 (11-2)

LOWELL - The Devils dropped a bomb on Logansport 54-13 last week as the Berries (7-3) were horribly overmatched. Halfback Brandon Grubbe ran 22 times for an unofficial 251 yards to pass the 1,000-yard mark. The Devils gave up 253 yards rushing, but they shut out Logansport through the air, the second time this year (KV was the other), they have held the opposition with a pass completion. Lowell has held the opposition to 85 points in 10 games and seven of the 10 foes were winners last week and are still alive in the state tournament. In the last two weeks, Lowell outscored Andrean (7-3) and Logansport (7-3) by a combined score of 85-16. In fact, Lowell has defeated five teams (Andrean, Logansport, Hobart, Hammond and CP) with a record of 7-3 or better. The only loss? 29-28 to Griffith (7-3). You can't do much better than that. I believe Lowell is better than Griffith and Hobart, although it's close, and its getting closer with Hobart as the weather deteriorates. It's all about matchups. The Devils now disappear into the east. They will ride the big, yellow bus 60 miles east to Plymouth (5-5) this Friday night in a road test. Plymouth is very much like Griffith in tradition and style of play. Lowell should know that going in.

4.) 4A Griffith (7-3)
2006 (12-2), 2005 (12-1), 2004 (9-3), 2003 (7-5)

GRIFFITH - The Panthers rallied in the final minutes to break a 34-34 tie on a 35-yard field goal by soccer player Jeff Melton and beat Morton 37-34 last week. In the last four years, Griffith and Morton have met eight times and Griffith is now 8-0. The Panthers' offense appears to be at a peak as fullback Kyle Najar and halfback David Alexander both scored two TDs. The Panthers have scored at least four TDs in each of Griffith's last seven games. There are defensive problems here. Morton had early 300 yards passing against the Panthers and Griffith QB Derek Hitt had three passes intercepted. The Panthers also drew nine penalties. Alexander seemed healthy, although it may just be time to play, whether you're healthy or not. The good news is that at Griffith gets to host Highland (1-9) in the sectional semifinals this week. When you look back at championship teams, almost all of them got a home playoff game against a soft foe to rally the troops. If Griffith needs to rest people with the prospect of a sectional nine title game with Hobart (7-3) coming up, now is the time.

5.) 4A Hobart (7-3)
2006 (10-2), 2005 (6-6), 2004 (9-2), 2003 (5-7)

HOBART - There are indications that Hobart is healthy in their 35-6 rout of East Chicago last week. Senior Andrew Jackson (6-2, 240) ran the ball 15 times for 127 yards. Jackson has been hurt all year, but he changes everything is he can run the ball in bad weather. Guard Roy Hall (6-0, 245) also has been battling injuries and he was back against East Chicago. Remember how dominant Hobart was in August? If healthy, there is a chance they can do that again.

Let's go back to the start of the season. Hobart has the two best offensive players in Northwest Indiana in Jackson and wide receiver Bobby James (6-3, 215). QB Matt Barras was ill last week, but back-up Nathan Pope got to play and that's not the worst thing, either. The Brickies, who are not a fast team, have to gear up for the speed of Hammond high (9-1) this week. But Hobart is looking at two home games if they can keep winning.

6.) 5A Chesterton (6-4)
2006 (5-6), 2005 (3-8), 2004 (5-5), 2003 (7-4)

CHESTERTON - Chesterton followed up a 38-10 loss to Merrillville with a 21-0 loss to Merrillville. Here's the problem with polls. Chesterton, at 6-4, lost to Valparaiso (6-4), Crown Point (8-2) and twice to Merrillville (9-1). There are NW Indiana polls which do not include them at all. But there's no NW Indiana team outside the DAC that could beat them. QB Alex Beierwalter finished with over 5,500 yards passing in three years and to be totally honest, the Trojans can't do a lot better than this until the format changes. Locked into the DAC and 5A Sectional one, Chesterton will always be playing much larger schools. When Class 6A comes in in 2008 (more likely than not), Chesterton will be a major beneficiary, because they will stay in the 5A bracket and have a chance to go deep in the tournament. But don't kid yourself that Hammond (9-1) or Clark (8-2) could have beaten Chesterton. On paper? Maybe. On the field? No.

7.) 3A ANDREAN (7-3)
2006 (8-3), 2005 (8-2), 2004 (13-2), 2003 (12-1)

MERRILLVILLE - The 59ers survived at New Prairie (7-3) by a 14-7 count after a scoreless first half. There was a little hangover from the 31-3 loss at Lowell the week before. The Niners held New Prairie's 300-yards-rushing per game attack to just 200 yards and that was enough to win. The big positive this week for the 59ers was halfback Kyle Kovach carrying 24 times for 135 yards. Andrean desperately needs a running game as the winter weather starts to roll in.

The Niners get a home game with Knox (5-5) this week and the 59ers should like the rest of 3A Sectional 17 play, because the Redskins and probably sectional final foe Clark are pass-oriented teams that have played small school schedules. Andrean must get the offense going though. They have scored just 17 points in the last two weeks and there has to be a breakthrough here. The winner of the New Prairie-Andrean game is going to the semi-state and we now know who that is.

8.) 5A Valparaiso (6-4)
2006 (3-6), 2005 (5-5), 2004 (6-5), 2003 (5-6)

VALPARAISO - Valparaiso, which lost 28-25 to Portage two weeks ago, defeated Portage 28-25 last Friday to start the state tournament. The exact same final score. Star QB Alex Sarkisian completed a 50-yard TD pass to junior WR Tony Piet with only 15 seconds left to give Valpo the come-from-behind win, the fifth Valpo win this year by 10 points or less. Valpo continues to amaze me. They give up 200 yards rushing every game and that seems to be an absolute roadblock to winning. But Valpo has such a prolific passing attack that they are never out of the game. Valpo should have won this game with Portage, though. They led 21-6 midway through the third quarter. Unofficial numbers for Sarkisian: 148-of-266, 2,045 yards, 17 TDs, 8 INTs. Receivers Scott Rastovic (53 catches, 925 yards) and Tony Piet (40 catches, 610 yards) are also all over the scoresheet. Valpo played the entire DAC and Penn (10-0), so nothing surprises them now. But if winter moves in this weekend as predicted, can the Vikings offensive stars beat ground-oriented Lake Central (6-4) and Mother Nature?

9.) 5A Lake Central (6-4)
2006 (4-6), 2005 (2-8), 2004 (1-9), 2003 (1-9)

ST. JOHN - LC survived an upset bid with a 10-7 win over Michigan City. That's good, but the Indians have scored a combined total of 27 points in the last three weeks and the season ends Friday against high-scoring Valparaiso (25.6 ppg.) unless LC can figure out what's wrong with the offense. All LC has to do is show some semblance of a passing attack this week because Valpo does not consistently stop the run. But the Indians need to pray for rain to stop 2000-yard QB Alex Sarkisian and his top two receivers.

Kicker Scott Spicer, whose fifth field goal of the season has proven he can win close games for them if the defense, anchored by new Ball State University sign-up Danny Mannick (6-4, 235) can keep it close.

10.) 3A New Prairie (7-3)
2006 (10-4), 2005 (9-2), 2004 (7-4), 2003 (6-4)

NEW CARLISLE - The Cougars bowed out with a 14-7 home loss to Andrean and it might have been just as well after QB Cody Williamson (1,000 yards rushing),was injured late in the game. He's the key to the offense and they could not have continued without him. Cougar back Brock Roberts carried 14 times for 175 yards against the Niners 'D' but he never got into the end zone. As long as New Prairie and Andrean are in the same sectional, they are going to be the two top programs and one of them is going to get an early start on the basketball season. You can't put Hammond and Clark in this class yet, but I may change my mind if Hammond beats Hobart. When the draw came out, it looked like the winner of New Prairie-Andrean would reach the semistate. It still does.

On the outside looking in...

11.) 4A Hammond (9-1)
2006 (2-10), 2005 (1-10), 2004 (2-8), 2003 (1-9)

HAMMOND - Hammond got the annual 'Gary playoff bye' when they romped over the homeless Gary West Side Cougars 41-0. The purple boys, who gained 300 yards rushing, have scored 172 points in the last three weeks. Since the 1990s ended, anyone who draws a Gary team in the state tournament gets the equivalent of a bye. Hammond averages 41 points a game and they have exceeded even their own expectations. But they need to find a way to make it an east-west (sideline-to-sideline) game this week at Hobart (7-3). I'd run a reverse or the fake of a reverse on every series. They cannot get into a slugfest in the mud with Hobart or they'll be shut out. This is a warm-weather, dry field team and they will not have that anymore this year. They are not physical and the Cats need 35 points to stay alive.