Bulldogs go 10-0, beat Valparaiso 45-20, will host Chesterton in Sectional Semifinals

A USA-365.com report by Mark Smith

10-22-2005

Friday, Oct. 21, 2005,  50 degrees, clear - Class 5A, Sectional 1 Quarterfinal at Valparaiso

1st Qtr:  No scoring.
2nd Qtr:  CROWN POINT (7-0) Matt Ernest, 40-yard pass from Matt Jansen. 56-yard drive, 4 plays. Brad Mallers kick. 10:36 left.
CROWN POINT (14-0) Andy McNiece, 25-yard interception return. Brad Mallers kick.  4:44 left.
CROWN POINT (21-0) Donny Keiser, 1-yard run. Brad Mallers kick 0:42 left.
3rd Qtr:  VALPARAISO (21-7) Hollis Ballard, 24-yard run.  70-yard drive, 6 plays.  Colin Krupchak kick.  9:46 left.
CROWN POINT (24-7) Donny Keiser, 34-yard field goal (NWI record 14th field goal)   8:42 left.
CROWN POINT (31-7) Ernest, 6-yard pass from Jansen.  27-yard drive, 3 plays.  Mallers kick. 5:42 left.
VALPARAISO (31-14) Aaron Biggs, 19-yard run. 80-yard drive, 6 plays. 2-pt pass incomplete.  1:43 left.
CROWN POINT (38-13) Jon Sertich, 12-yard run. 57-yard drive, 6 plays. Mallers kick.  0:31 left
4th Qtr:  VALPARAISO (38-20) Scott Rastovic, 35-yard pass from Carl Hoefler. 80-yard drive, 6 plays. Krupchak kick. 10:19 left.
CROWN POINT (45-20)  Jansen, 1-yard run. 65-yard drive, 6 plays. Mallers kick  7:39 left.

RUSHING:

CROWN POINT = 23 carries, 180 yards, 3 TDs
Donny Keiser (CP) 12-135 yards, TD; Jon Sertich (CP) 7-42 yards, TD
Matt Jansen (CP) 2-0, TD; Tommy Parks (CP) 2-3 yards

VALPARAISO = 32 carries, 144 yards, 2 TDs
Hollis Ballard (V) 17 carries, 96 yards, TD
Aaron Biggs (V) 10 carries, 67 yards, TD
Jon Medved (V) 1-2 yards
Carl Hoefler (V) 4 (-21 yards)

PASSING:
QB - Alex Sarkisian (V) 1-3, 3 yards
QB - Carl Hoefler (V) 3-15, 88 yards, TD, INT  
WR - Scott Rastovic (V) 1-1, 49 yards

QB - Matt Jansen (CP) 12-16, 169 yards, 2 TDs,

RECEIVING:
Brent Sever (V) 2-23 yards;  Travis Allen (V) 1-49 yards; Scott Rastovic (V) 2-68 yards

Matt Ernest (CP) 6-105 yards, 2 TDs; Ryan Forney (CP) 2-22 yards
Jon Sertich (CP) 3-30 yards;  Tommy Parks (CP) 1-12 yards

CP's QB Matt Jansen 7 hands off to Donny Keiser 37 in sectional semifinal at Valparaiso.  CP won 45-20.

CP's Jordan Rhye 24, Andy McNiece 28 and Chris Scillo 17 are all smiles after McNiece's 25-yd interception return for a TD against Valparaiso, 10-21-2005.

WR Matt Ernest 15 catches 40-yd TD pass from Matt Jansen in the end zone as the Viking defenders Brent Sever 13 and Nick Rodich 19 are too late to make a play.                   (All photos by Mark Smith.)

QB Jansen 7 throws a sideline pass to H-back Tommy Parks 49 over the outstretched hand of Vikings outside linebacker Tom Drakos 43 in CP's 45-20 sectional semifinal win, 10-21-2005.

VALPARAISO (10-21-2005) - The near perfect regular season is over for Crown Point and the post-season began Friday for the Bulldogs in Valparaiso. Nearly perfectly.

The still-improving CP offense split about 350 yards right down the middle running and passing over the Vikings at will in the last three periods of a 45-20 win in a Class 5A Sectional one quarterfinal game.

The Bulldogs (10-0) never trailed, equaling the best ever start for any Crown Point team.  CP also earned a sectional semifinal home game next Friday against Chesterton (3-7), a 49-28 winner over Portage Friday.

And the news is, CP is still getting better on offense. For the fourth time since senior QB Matt Jansen returned to the lineup after missing six games with a knee injury, the Bulldog put 30 pints on the board and rolled up over 300 yards on offense.  If someone's going to beat Crown Point this season, they'll have to get them out of this comfort zone they're living in.

"It's great," said senior tackle Nick Conway, whose stop of Valpo's 1,000-yard running back Hollis Ballard on 4th-and-2 at the Valparaiso 28-yard-line, set up the 31-7 score and put the game out of reach.  "This is unbelievable. I've never been in a situation like this before. Being 10-0."

No one at Crown Point has.  But they seem to be handling it.  Against an old time rival in Valparaiso, CP scored 21 unanswered second quarter points to take a 21-0 lead and control of the game.  While the Vikings were able to run the ball effectively at times behind a strong offensive line, CP, which scored on six consecutive possessions in the middle of the game, was never in danger of losing.

"I thought defensively we set the tone," said an always calm CP coach Chip Pettit. "We got pushed around in the first half a little on offense and I was glad to see the way our offensive line responded.  Defensively we were very good in the first.  We were very good between the tackles."

"We just had to get the O-Line going," said Nick Ciochina, "and we did. The defense was playing well and they (the offense) started playing well. The offensive line has been awesome."

The big scores were the first two for CP. After three failed first quarter possessions, CP advanced quickly on a 50-degree night in front of 3,500 fans. Jansen (12 of 16, 169 yards) tossed a swing pass to junior fullback Tommy Parks for a 12-yard gain on 3rd-and-6, moving the ball to the Valpo 40-yard-line.

On the next play, the left-handed Jansen rolled to his right and fired a high-arching pass over the top of Valpo's 6-foot-5 defensive back Gilbert Allen. CP junior Matt Ernest, in his second game after recovering from a broken collarbone, back-pedaled to make the catch at the Valpo 5-yard-line and completed the 40-yard TD.

After an exchange of possessions, Valpo QB Carl Hoefler didn't notice McNiece, a first year starter as a senior, not retreating on a short sideline pass intended for VHS junior Brent Sever. 

"I was supposed to jump any route that was under five yards," said McNiece, who has two interceptions this season, both against Valparaiso. "I was just doing my job.  Everybody was saying I was jogging (into the end zone).  I wasn't jogging."

Trot or not, McNiece's first career touchdown on a 25-yard interception return made it 14-0 with 4:44 left in the half. After Jordan Rhye sacked Hoefler for an eight-yard loss on 3rd-and-6, CP took a short punt and drove 45 yards to make it 21-0 at the half on back-to-back passes from Jansen to Ernest and a one-yard run by Donny Keiser.

"McNiece made a huge play to put some points on the board," said Pettit. "And then we were able to hit a couple of passes and go up 21-0.  Without looking at the tape, we had some breakdowns obviously in the second half defensively.  It was a tale of two halves.  In the second half we got a lot better on offense and we had some holes defensively."

"If you're going to continue to play, you have to stay mentally tough for 48 minutes.  We just weren't with that tonight."

Valparaiso drove 70 yards in six plays after the second half kickoff and scored on a 24-yard run off the right side by junior halfback Hollis Ballard. After Donny Keiser's 34-yard field goal made it 24-7, Valparaiso faced a 4th-and-3 at their own 27 with 6:58 left in the third quarter.  The Vikings gambled on a fourth down run by Ballard but defensive tackle Nick Conway made a solo tackle and Crown Point got the ball in position to score, which they did three-plays later on a soft six-yard Jansen to Ernest lob.

"They usually double block me," said Conway. "But on that play they didn't.  We knew they would run.  It's always something to look forward to, getting a stop like that.  I was slanting the other way.  I'm not sure why they didn't double block me there."

The Bulldogs scored on every possession of the third quarter and Valpo scored on two of their four possessions.

"I thought defensively we set the tone,' said an always calm CP coach Chip Pettit. "We got pushed around in the first half a little on offense and I was glad to see the way our offensive line responded.  Defensively we were very good in the first.  We were able to set the tone.  We were very good between the tackles and that means Conway, (Chris) Rutherford, Ciochina, (Vince) Lewis, (Nick) Damjanovic and (Matt) Schillo were real good in the first half."

Valpo found second half running room on the right side of the offensive line behind 223-pound guard Sheldon Alt and 280-pound senior Paul Kasperan.  But once the lead was up to 24 points, it was obvious that Valpo couldn't come all the way back.  You don't want to make too much out of one player, but that's the curse and blessing of the quarterback position.  In Jansen's four starts, CP has averaged 40.2 points per game and they did not lose a fumble or interception Friday.  It's probably not a coincidence.

"Jansen is such an experienced player and we ask him to do a lot," said Pettit, who was CP's quarterback in 1991 when CP won their last sectional championship.

"He's got Ernest, (Tommy Isailovich) and (Ryan) Forney, Sertich, Keiser and Parks. We've got some kids who can do things with the ball and Matt does a nice job of getting it out to them."

CP is trying to be low-key, but that will become increasingly difficult as more and more teams are eliminated.  The rushing yards for Valpo and eight Bulldog penalties costing 75 yards should chill any overconfidence.  But 10-0 is 10-0.

"Everybody was a little more excited tonight," said CP's leading tackler Nick Ciochina. No. 35 in CP's '35' (three linemen, five linebacker) defense.  "A little more jacked up.  But it's the same routine.  The crowd is great.  The band came tonight.  That was great."

Crown Point is at the same time very confident they'll win, but surprised by the undefeated status and No. 2 ranking.  It's all new for CP now.

"It's kinda surreal," said Conway.

BULLDOG NOTES: The attention level is starting to build behind Crown Point. Signs are starting to up on businesses around town and in the downtown square. The visitors crowd was standing room only at Valparaiso Friday night.

Senior Nick Conway added, "People are a lot more excited. The 'Mom's Club' sent us off today with cheers. We're getting a lot of support."

Donny Keiser's 34-yard field goal in the third quarter was his 14th of the season. That breaks what was, before this season, the listed state record held by Tim Pliske of Andrean (1984) and Bryan Robertson of Seymour (1999).  There was a note in the NW Indiana Times pre-game report Friday that Keiser is third in the state in field goals this year, meaning that two other players have more than 13 field goals. It isn't certain whether that's true or simply a mistake on a web site.  Certainly, 14 field goals in one season is a Crown Point and Duneland Conference record and the most ever by a NW Indiana player. And Keiser is also a player who averages 54 yards a kickoff, 36 yards a punt and almost seven yards a carry at halfback. Keiser's 135 yards on 12 carries Friday gives him an unofficial 886 for the year on 134 attempts.

"His versatility is outstanding," said Pettit. "But he is that physical back who can gain yards after contact.  That's why we talk so much about running the ball.  If we do want to continue in the tournament, our offensive line and a physical running back are going to have to get the tough yards for us."

CP was happy that Chesterton defeated Portage because that gives the Bulldogs a home game against Chesterton next up on the 28th.  CP will be more than happy when they note that, in losing, Portage gained 483 yards and 25 first downs on the Chesterton defense.  Portage QB Erik Rhein completed 22 of 34 passes for 351 yards.

In 1994 and 1991, the only other times CP was 10-0, they lost the 11th game of the year and did not win the sectional championship. The Bulldogs won 10 games in 1988, winning the sectional championship before losing 23-7 at Marion in the regional championship game. In 1991 with Chip Pettit at quarterback, CP defeated Lew Wallace, Lake Central and East Chicago to win the sectional championship before losing 14-7 at Mishawaka in the regional title game.

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Revised: October 24, 2005 .