The RENEGADE

2007 - Week 3: NW Indiana High School Top-10 Football Poll

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

8-29-2007

CROWN POINT (8-29-2007) - Mother Nature cracked down on week two of the high school football season, pushing most games state wide to Saturday. It afforded somebody with nothing better to do the chance to see two football games in one day if they were quick enough. Crown Point High School may have benefited from that as they appeared to have a capacity crowd of over 4,500 for their home game with Hobart.

Some were unhappy over the Friday postponements, but the judgments were sound. Violent electrical storms had whipped up on Northwest Indiana Tuesday and Thursday and a couple of fields were flooded. With a forecast of 'clear and dry' for Saturday, why risk putting 3,000 folks in an open field? Saturday football is a good thing. People can sit in the sun and the schools save $500 going in by not turning on the lights for three hours.

Look for some schools which don't draw well to try Saturday football to boost the gate. Last Saturday was not a good test case because EVERYBODY played on Saturday and that's no better than everybody playing on Friday.

Downstate, Warren Central lost 38-36 to (Cleveland, Ohio) Glenville in the Warren Central Gridiron Classic in the RCA Dome. WC running back Jewel Hampton carried 34 times for 317 yards. Hampton missed the 17-10 loss to Merrillville because he was on suspension. Glenville reportedly has 13 Division I players on the roster.

But in the state's biggest upset of the season, Indianapolis Arlington, trailing 8-time state champ Bishop Chatard 15-0 when lightning suspended the game Friday night, rallied to beat 3A No. 1 Chatard 28-22 in two overtimes Saturday afternoon. Arlington, a 5A school, was held to 63 yards rushing but QB Dorian Jenkins completed 10 or 20 for 256 yards. Arlington had not beaten Chatard in at least 15 years.

Locally, Duneland Conference 5A schools went 4-1 against Northwest Crossroads Conference teams in nonconference play. That's no surprsie except for the fact that there are many supporters of the smaller 4A (and 3A Andrean) schools who insist their teams are annually just as good as 5As. Its just illogical that teams with 50 and 60 players can have the depth of quality of teams with 100 players.

Seven years ago, Crown Point had about 60 players on the roster and they were 0-10. The last two years they've had nearly 100 and they are 24-3.
Its not a coincidence and its not an accident.

Incidentally: Hammond (2-0). Clark (2-0). Gavit (1-1). Morton (0-2, but close to two top-10 teams.) The demise of the Lake Athletic Conference has meant a new day for Hammond city schools. That's also not a coincidence.

1.) 5A Merrillville (2-0)
2006 (7-5), 2005 (11-3), 2003 (5-6), 2004 (6-5)

MERRILLVILLE - The Pirates defense, which has shut down two strong option teams in Warren Central and Griffith, has earned them a shaky No. 1 slot. The Pirates' 14-6 win over Griffith gives them two wins over Top-10 teams in the first month. You have wonder when the Merrillville offense (15.5 ppg) is going to break loose and this week at arch-rival Crown Point would be a good time. But come one. Nobody shuts down Warren Central and Griffith. Six points is the least Griffith has scored since Lowell beat them 33-0 in the 2003 season.

Warren Central scored 36 points I week two against a team with 13 Division I players and MERRILLVILLE shut them down? Truthfully, I thought Griffith's option would be easier for Merrillville to defense after they saw Warren Central option the week before. Now, a big test because Crown Point has a much more diversified attack than either WC or Griffith. The Pirates are 2-0 on Saturday night, but CP says: Game time is Friday at 7:00 p.m.

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

CROWN POINT - I thought CP was lucky to beat Hobart and there's no way to keep them ahead of Merrillville unless they beat the Pirates. The Bulldogs gave up three TD drives to Hobart and running back Andrew Jackson, but Russell Chick has gone unnoticed so far despite two 100-yard games. QB Blake Mascarello led his team down the field for key scores at the end of the second and fourth quarters.

Junior kicker Michael Lipton was good from 39 yards out to win the game 22-20 with eight seconds left. I'm concerned that the offense (17.5 ppg.) has not scored big-time points as of yet, but other than team speed and experience at QB, there's not a lot of difference between CP and Merrillville.

3.) 5A Chesterton (2-0)
2006 (5-6), 2005 (3-8), 2004 (5-5), 2003 (7-4)

CHESTERTON - Nobody likes Chesterton yet, but again... look at the schedule. Aren't they going to go 5-0? Didn't QB Alex Beierwalter complete 15 for 23 for 329 yards last week against West Ottawa, Michigan in a 42-28 win? Isn't that almost 600 yards passing in two weeks? Isn't Michigan City the next victim this Friday?

I know the Trojans have not faced a DAC team yet or a state power, but is everybody sure that Merrillville or Portage can shut them down or that CP can outscore them? Defensive problems have shown up, but 69 points in two games against big schools is a big deal. As long as the weather stays warm, these guys might be better than No. 3.

4.) 4A Lowell (2-0)
2006 (7-6), 2005 (11-4), 2004 (9-4), 2003 (11-2)

LOWELL - Do I have to say that 3-0 is an unimpressive win? That's like saying the White Sox are having pitching problems. Penalties cost the Devils at least 50 yards and a touchdown at Morton and the Governors were simply more motivated last week as Lowell got out of town before sunset with a measly 3-0 win. The curse of a major upset in your season opener is that you become a favorite all year. High school teams do not like to be favored. You have to be so much better than the other side.

Junior QB Kurt Monix (3 of 10) did not do as well against Morton as he did against Crown Point, but Morton has a faster secondary than CP does. David Lang's field goal won the game. Lang's last quarter field goals have beaten Fort Wayne South in 2005, Hobart in 2006 and now Morton in 2007. The Red Devils have to beware again. They'll be big favorites going to neighbor and rival Kankakee Valley this Friday. Few teams have the confidence and the maturity to be the favorite and still meet the emotional level of the opposition. Let's see if Lowell does.

5.) 5A Portage (2-0)
2006 (6-5), 2005 (2-8), 2004 (8-4), 2003 (11-2)

PORTAGE - Portage rolled over outmanned Highland 28-0. Coach Mark Peterson was shrewd to rest star halfback Albert Evans in the second half with a 21-0 lead. They don't need him to gain yards on Highland. Albert already has his scholarship to Purdue. Evans must be 100% going in against Crown Point, Merrillville and Chesterton.

Portage is still resting injured two-way WR-DB star Billy Doll. I'm not sure when he'll be 100%.

The season really begins for Portage as they head to LC (2-0) and Merrillville (2-0) in the next two weeks. They need a passing attack and I'm sure they know it.

6.) 4A Hobart (1-1)
2006 (10-2), 2005 (6-6), 2004 (9-2), 2003 (5-7)

HOBART - Hobart should have beaten Crown Point, but they gave up 13 points in the final minute of the second and fourth quarters and lost 22-20 Saturday night. They don't drop in the poll because of that. Matt Barras, the new Brickie QB was 10-of-14 passing and he showed good leadership. Hobart turned the ball over only once against CP and they never punted.

Trouble was, CP never punted either and the Brickies could not hold a 10-point lead. The Brickies are not an especially fast team, but, and I've said this for two years now, they have the best two offensive players in NW Indiana in tailback Andrew Jackson and WR Bobby James.

That won't impress Griffith, this week's opponent, which has all-stater David Alexander (6-2, 175). Griffith is now a sectional foe of Hobart's, which adds a little spice to this game. No matter what happens Friday, these two almost certainly will meet again.

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

GRIFFITH - The Panthers took on mighty Merrillville and went home with an eight-point loss. But I'm just glad they weren't blown out, because this is a series I'd like to see continue. The Panthers have completed just eight passes in two weeks and they've had four picked off. The defense has allowed just 31 points, but they've got to stop turning the ball over.

Griffith had few answers for Hobart last year in a 28-17 loss, but the only way to stop the Brickies Bobby James and Andrew Jackson is to keep them off the field and the Panthers can do that. I'm not sure why 1,000 yard fullback (in 2006) Doug Ashenbaugh is playing defense exclusively now, but I've got a feeling that may change this week. When you've played Morton and Merrillville, how slow is Hobart going to look to you?

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

MERRILLVILLE - My main man David Brandt (6-1, 215) ran for two TDs and two conversions and QB Austin Sutter passed for two scores in a 46-22 romp over Bishop Noll. Andrean had 20 first downs and 382 total yards, but didn't you notice? The Niners went for a two point conversion after every TD.

I don't know if the kicker was home sick, or if the field at Noll was that muddy, but I like it when teams go for two points early in the season. It gives you some confidence if you need two points in a playoff or late season game. The Niners may not need an overload of confidence this Friday against an East Chicago team that has allowed 63 points in two weeks.

9.) 5A Lake Central (2-0)
2006 (4-6), 2005 (2-8), 2004 (1-9), 2003 (1-9)

ST. JOHN - Lake Central slapped around East Chicago 31-6 last week in a game they figured to win. It was 31-0 late in the game. Tony Morang ran for two TDs, while QB Bo Dempsey ran for one and passed for another. No contest here.

But LC knows the big teams are lined up to face them now with Portage (2-0) rolling in Friday, followed by Crown Point (1-1). LC has laid down some solid defense on Munster and EC and they certainly have a chance against Portage, which is, so far, a very one-dimensional team.

Is this the week that, after four years in last place (a 2-26 league record), that Lake Central finally competitively joins the Duneland Conference?

10.) 5A Valparaiso (1-1)
2006 (3-6), 2005 (5-5), 2004 (6-5), 2003 (5-6)

VALPARAISO - A 'bye week' for Valpo, as they gave the defense the day off in a 56-40 win over Gary Roosevelt. It's not as bad as it looks. Valpo played everyone. QB Alex Sarkisian passed for five TDS and the score was 56-18 midway through the third quarter. Scott Rastovic scored five TDs and he's scored seven in two weeks.

The key statistic number from last week's game is 95. That's the number of players Valpo coach Mark Hoffman said he used in this game. Valpo is 1-1 as they have been the last 10 years they've opened the season with Penn and Roosevelt. Now the truth comes out as the Vikings travel to LaPorte. Remember that one from last year? The Vikings probably do. LaPorte won 57-56 last year. This team has scored 80 points and given up 78 in two weeks. If you're headed to LaPorte Friday, take a sleeping bag.