Bulldogs advance to Sectional Finals as Defense leads Crown Point to 12-10 win over Valparaiso

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

10-29-2011

 

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Valparaiso (5-6)	0	3	7	0	10
CROWN POINT (8-3)	0	9	3	0	12

Friday, October 28, 2011,  45 degrees, Class 5A Sectional 1 Semifinal at CROWN POINT, IN.

CP's Jake Jatis (7) completes a second quarter pass to Zach Plesac (8). (All Photos by Mark Smith)

Valpo's Andrew Kittridge (34) heads the other way after a handoff from Paul Andrie (11).

CP's Tristan Peterson (2) breaks away on his 64-yard 2nd quarter TD.

Logan McRae (87) tries to stop Valpo';s Andrew Kittridge (34) in the second quarter.

The CP cheerleaders tried to handle the 45 degree cold on sectional semifinal night.

Linebacker Anthony Geisen (27) plans strategy during a CP timeout. (All photos by Mark Smith)

1st Qtr:  No scoring.
2nd Qtr: CROWN POINT (2-0) Cameron Tanner sacked QB Paul Andrie in the end zone. 10:14 left.
VALPO (3-2) Ryan Nix, 24-yard field goal. 72-yard drive, 12 plays. 4:24 min. time of possession (TOP). 3:10 left.
CROWN POINT (9-3) Tristan Peterson, 64-yard pass from Jake Jatis. 80-yard drive, 4 plays. 1:13 min TOP. Brett Bayer kick.
3rd Qtr: VALPO (9-10) Stephen Simms, 13-yard pass from Paul Andrie. 40-yard drive, 6 plays. 2:31 min. TOP. 9:06 left.
CROWN POINT (12-10) Brett Bayer, 34-yard field goal. 50-yard drive, 11 plays. 4:34 min. TOP. 4:24 left.
4th Qtr: No scoring.

RUSHING:
VALPO (32 carries, 99 yards, one fumble) Andrew Kittridge (HB) 21 carries, 82 yards; Stephen Simms (HB) 7-22 yards, Paul Andrie (QB) 4 minus-5 yards (2 sacks minus-16 yards); CROWN POINT (30 carries, 124 yards) Tristan Peterson (HB) 1-52 yards; Tyler Smith (HB) 7-26 yards; Tyler Wells (WR) 2-10 yards; Pete Parks (FB) 6-38 yards, Jake Jatis (QB) 2 (minus-2 yards).

PASSING:
VALPO: Paul Andrie (QB) 16-25, 156 yards, one TD, no interceptions;
CROWN POINT: Jake Jatis (QB) 10-19, 127 yards, one TD.

RECEIVING:
VALPO: Ryan Nix (WR) 4-49 yards, Stephen Simms (HB) 5-68 yards, Andrew Kittridge (HB) 6-39 yards;
CROWN POINT: Tristan Peterson (HB) 5-78 yards, Zach Plesac (WR) 4-46 yards. Tyler Wells (WR) 1-3 yards.

TOTAL YARDS:
VALPO: 255 yards 12 first downs, one turnover
CROWN POINT: 251 yards, 10 first downs, no turnovers

CLASS 5A Sectional Championship Games
 
1: CROWN POINT [8-3] at MERRILLVILLE [8-3]
2: Penn [11-0] at (Fort Wayne) Carroll [8-3]
3: (Fort Wayne) Snider [7-4] at Kokomo [9-2]
4: Fishers [8-3] at Hamilton Southeastern [10-1]
5: Warren Central [11-0] at Carmel [10-1]
6: Ben Davis [9-2] at Avon [10-1]
7: Columbus North [8-3] at Center Grove [7-4]
8: Castle [11-0] at Bedford North Lawrence [8-3]

CROWN POINT (10-28-2011) To say that a team was lucky to win and played well enough to win the same game are not contradictory statements. If Crown Point was unlucky to lose starting quarterback Joe Hopman in the opening moments of the 38th Indiana state football tournament, they got a break late Friday. Leading rival Valparaiso 12-10 with six minutes to play on a 45-degree night, the Bulldogs (8-3) watched Valpo drive to the Crown Point 1-yard-line. But the Vikings messed up a handoff and fumbled the ball on fourth down, allowing the Bulldogs to hold the lead.

But it wasn't over yet.

The Vikings stopped CP, forced a punt and moved the ball to the Crown Point 31 in the final seconds. After a time out, the Vikings lined up for an improbable 48-yard field goal. Valparaiso junior Ryan Nix booted a low line drive that barely fell short of the cross bar as the frosty home crowd roared, celebrating a 12-10 victory in a defense-minded Class 5A Sectional 1 semifinal.

This narrow victory was a major step forward for Crown Point, which had lost six games in a row to the Vikings. Most teams at all levels that lose their starting QB in the postseason without warning (Hopman was injured early in the first quarter of the sectional quarterfinal game) lose quickly after that. But Crown Point has survived twice.

"We all had confidence in him," said senior receiver Tyler Wells, "and it's a team effort anyway. He did well and we expected him too."

Wells was on the home sideline when Nix, Valpo's kicker, lifted the final boot with just 53 seconds to play. On a windless night, the low line drive didn't miss by much and, from the CP side of the field, you really could not tell.

"I thought it was good," Wells said. "And then only one referee signaled that it missed. The other one didn't. This had to be the most exciting game I've ever been in."

Valpo, which topped CP 16-6 and 10-7 last year, gave up two points early when CP senior defensive tackle Cameron Tanner sacked Andrie in the end zone for a two-point safety on the third play of the second quarter. The Vikings, who defeated CP 21-14 earlier this season, drove the length of the field to set up a 23-yard field goal by Nix with 3:10 left in the half.

CP then created the biggest play of the game. After a touchback, Jatis hit Zach Plesac on a slant pass across the middle of the field for 14 yards. After Peterson, CP's sophomore halfback, ran for two yards, the Bulldogs split him out as a wide receiver and he ran a slanting pattern across the middle. Jatis' throw hit him in stride and the sophomore track sprinter ran away from the Valpo defense down the visitors' sidelines for a 64-yard TD with 1:57 left in the half.

"Jake did a fine job," said CP coach Chip Pettit. "Last week, when Joe (Hopman) went down early, we just tried to get him (Jatis) through the game. But when we worked with him this week, you could see, the moment wasn't too big for him."

"It wasn't so much that it was his first start in a playoff game. But it was 11 games into the season. Lots of times when somebody's making their first start it's the first game and half a dozen other guys are making their first start of the season."

"He's making his first start against guys who have played 10 games. But he didn't blink. He played pretty well."

From the outside, it would seem that this singular game was a mountain to climb for Jatis. His first varsity start would be the final game ever for the senior class if the Bulldogs lost.

"I don't know how much that plays into it," said Pettit. "When you're a sophomore, you're just concerned with covering your own deal. And he had that down. It wasn't too much for him."

Crown Point's defense, which gave up 21 points to Valpo the first time the two teams met, controlled most of this game beginning when defensive tackle Cameron Tanner sacked Andrie in the Valpo end zone three plays into the second quarter to open the scoring.

The burly Kittridge (6-1, 200) and speedy Simms were problems all night, but CP held the opposition to 10 points or less for the eighth time this season.

"That's a pretty good offense over there," Petit said of Valpo. "This game was a lot like the first one where we had three chances to score at the end and couldn't do it. This time, they had three chances."

"Obviously, our defense played very well."

Crown Point now starts four sophomores with linebackers Brendyn McKinnon (6-2, 200) and Connor Anders (6-1, 190) plus Jatis (6-4, 195) and Peterson (5-11, 160) on offense. The Bulldogs also start (or regularly use) a half dozen juniors including receivers Zach Plesac, Braxton Rice, linebacker Anthony Geisen (6-0, 190) and Sean Jones (6-3, 235) and Michael Young (5-9, 285) in the offensive line.

The upside of having seniors get hurt is that you get a head start on next season.

But CP Now faces a Merrillville team they led 20-14 with a minute to play in a 21-20 loss over the Labor Day weekend. The Bulldogs advance to play arch rival Merrillville (8-3), a 48-45 overtime winner over Chesterton, in the sectional championship game this coming Friday at 7 p.m.

DOG NOTES: Crown Point senior tight end/defensive end Tyler Kral said he didn't make a big deal out of sophomore Jake Jatis starting at QB because they didn't think it was all about him.

"I didn't say anything special to him," he said. "I just let him know that if there's anything you need just talk to me. We knew he would do a good job. It's not just one person. It's the focus. The preparation during the week. You try to turn that into intensity on Friday night. And now we've got one more week."

The attendance at Crown Point was far below the usual home game at CPHS, a disturbing trend in Northwest Indiana this fall. Several games (noticeably Munster and Lowell) have seen smaller playoff attendance than those schools had during the regular season a puzzling occurrence since the price of sectional ticket and regular season ticket are now the same. CPHS had maybe 1,500 fans in the stands Friday. They usually draw over 3,000 a game for a DAC foe. The fact that CP had three full teams in state finals play (both cross country teams and boys soccer) Saturday may have limited the attendance.

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Revised: October 31, 2011 .