Bulldogs come from behind to beat Portage 14-13 in Overtime, face Pirates for Sectional Championship

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

10-28-2006

Friday, October 28, 2006,  43 degrees, light rain in Crown Point, 5A, Sectional 1 Semifinal

1st Qtr:  No scoring.
2nd Qtr:  PORTAGE (7-0)  Albert Evans, 2-yard touchdown run.  80-yard drive, 11 plays.  Raphael Martinez kick.  8:36 left.
3rd Qtr:  No scoring.
4th Qtr:  CROWN POINT (7-7)  Jon Sertich, 44-yard run.  42-yard drive, 2 plays.  Michael Lipton kick.  10:15 left.
OVERTIME:  PORTAGE (13-7)  Albert Evans, 5-yard run.  Martinez kick hit upright.
CROWN POINT (14-13)  Ryan Forney, 5-yard run. Michael Lipton kick.

TOTAL YARDS:
Portage - 176 yards,  CP - 107 yards

FIRST DOWNS:
Portage - 8,  CP - 3

TURNOVERS:

Portage - 0,  CP - 2

RUSHING:
Portage (47-166 yards, 2 TDs, 0 fumbles)  Albert Evans (HB) 36-115 yards, 2 TDs; Matt Milligan (FB) 9-58 yards;
Jason Melcic (QB) 2 (-7);  
Crown Point (24-79 yards, TD) Jon Sertich (HB) 17-84 yards; Ryan Forney (WR) 2-6 yards; Blake Mascarello (QB) 5 (-11).

PASSING:
Jason Melcic (P) 2-4, 10 yards; 
Blake Mascarello (CP) 3-11, 28 yards, 2 INTs

CROWN POINT, IN (10-27-2006) In Friday's Class 5A Sectional semifinal, the Crown Point Bulldogs were lucky to come away with a win 14-13 over Portage.  But the important portion of that sentence is not "the Bulldogs were lucky"   but the last part, "to come away with a win." "It's just about finding a way to win," said Crown Point coach Chip Pettit.

I don't know if the Bulldogs want to dwell on how close they came to having their season end Friday.  Portage, with the aid of misting rain and temperatures that dropped into the upper 30s during the second half, shut down the Crown Point offense most of the night.  Portage (6-5), a 17-10 loser in Crown Point in September, never trailed Friday until Michael Lipton's overtime extra point broke a 13-13 tie and started a wild celebration featuring CP players and students on the muddy Crown Point playing field.

In the overtime period, Portage star halfback Albert Evans ran five yards to put the underdog Indians ahead.  But soccer style kicker Raphael Martinez, who had missed only two extra points during the regular season, hit the upright with his conversion kick.

He didn't just nick it.  The ball hit it square.  It's hard to believe if you weren't there, but Martinez' high, line drive extra point hit the tall goal post near the top and bounced directly back onto the playing field.

"Sometimes," said Portage coach Craig Buzea. "it's just not meant to be."

Clearly this was one of those times.  After a five-yard pass interference penalty on Portage defender Billy Doll against CP's Matt Ernest, CP's Ryan Forney lined up in the backfield to score on a five-yard sweep, allowing Lipton to kick the final game-winning point.  But it was Martinez' extra point striking the tall goal post perhaps 30 feet in the air, with the entire crowd of 3,500 looking on, is the play that will always be remembered from this wet, cold night.

"I didn't see it," said Crown Point halfback Jon Sertich. "Me and Forney just laid out (dived) trying to block it.  And then here's the ball coming back.  We didn't know what happened.  I just saw the crowd cheering.  It hit the top of the upright.  He hit it way up there."

The playoffs are a cold, cruel series of eliminations and, while teams are told they're exceptionally talented and especially hard-working, they also know that the other side is also very talented and also works hard.  Coaches and players need to believe in the fantasy of destiny.  Portage's 14th point bouncing back onto the field in overtime was a stunning, almost shocking moment.  A virtual football impossibility.  No one in the press box or on the field said they'd ever seen a ball hit the upright at the new CPHS and bounce straight back.  Not even in practice.  You couldn't kick a football off a goal post and have it bounce straight back onto the field if someone paid you to do it.  Not in 1000 tries.  If CP is in the state finals in November, an oblong ball hitting a six inch wide goal post in the rain and bouncing straight back will be the sign they knew it could happen.

Martinez' extra point hitting the cross bar didn't decide the game immediately.  In the scrimmage-style overtime format, Portage's six-point TD left  CP trailing 13-7 before getting the ball at the 10-yard line with four plays to score.  On the first play, Blake Mascarello (3-12, 28 yards) fired a lob into the southwest corner of the end zone where Portage's Billy Doll held up Matt Ernest on pass coverage.  Then Forney's wide receiver sweep evened the score 13-13 and Lipton's second extra point of the night gave CP their first and final lead.

"It was 1st-and-5," said Pettit, who had relied on Sertich running most of the night. "It's a lot more doable running the ball.  That was actually coach (Mark) Croell's call.  I wasn't figuring much.  I wasn't calling a lot all right all night."

"We're just going to get ready for next week."

They are grateful to be through with Portage.  The Indians, who began the game with a five-game winning streak,  controlled the middle of the field defensively with tackle Tony Bohling (6-1, 240), linebackers Nate Milligan and Kevin Alvarado (6-3, 245) and safety Austin Konchar (6-4, 180).  The group held CP to 107 total yards.

"I thought all of our kids did a great job hanging in there and they found a way," said Pettit.  "I'm not sure we ever found an adjustment that worked."

This game was an example of why passing teams do not survive state playoff competition in the northern part of Indiana.  The Bulldogs, who came in averaging 32 points, and 160 yards passing per game, quickly realized no one  passes safely into the wind on this night.  Both defenses realized it too, and six and seven-man fronts became nine man fronts.  If part of the Portage defense of CP was the rain and wind, part of the Bulldog defense shutting down CP was Portage's limited game-plan.  They were very conservative.

"Not passing is how we got here," said Buzea.  "We came in not throwing the ball.  We had confidence.  That's how we got here.  We're sorta one-dimensional, but we want to take time off the clock and keep their offense off the field."

The Bulldogs knew, in advance, they needed to adjust to Portage's running game.  The week before the game, they shifted a couple of offensive players into the defensive line, possibly just for this game.  "I thought everybody played real well," said Pettit.  "We rotated (Matt) Polus (6-1, 240) and (Kurt) Wermers (6-5, 270).  We just wanted a little more size up front against their two backs. They busted one long run and we busted one long run.  Other than that, I didn't see much going on out there.  How many punts were there?"

There were 17 punts in the game, seven by CP.  Portage was playing a run, punt and play defense game plan.  CP was not.  It was not a good game for the Bulldog offensive line and the first time since the season opener that Mascarello, who was 104 of 169 for 1,633 yards with 20 TDs and five interceptions in 10 games, had a bad game.  It's easy to say that the CP junior lefty was 'off', but he was probably 'off' because he got hit frequently in the first half by large Portage boys with angry intentions.

Crown Point could have made this a much different game if they'd scored on their first possession.  A 20-yard pass from Mascarello to Matt Ernest moved the ball to the Portage 17.  But on a 4th-and-12 and the Indians' 20-yard line, Pettit chose to go for it and not attempt a 37-yard field goal.

"That's about his (Lipton's) limit," Pettit said later.  "It was borderline on his distance.  What I really considered was going for it on 4th-and-2 at their 45 late in the third quarter, (2:30 left).  Into the wind, we'd have gone for it.  But with the wind, we punted them in deep and  we got the ball back at midfield.  Sertich popped his run.  That one worked out.  Normally, we go for it on 4th-and-2.  But tonight?  I don't think we had a play for 4th-and-2.

Sertich's fourth quarter run brought the CP crowd to its feet.  He broke loose over right guard, escaped Alvarado at the line of scrimmage and squirted out of the hands of another tackler, racing down the visitors' sidelines.  Sertich (5-8, 170) slipped a tackle from cornerback Billy Doll at the 20-yard line and rolled into the end zone to tie the game.

"I thought he broke four tackles on that run," said Pettit.

"That was a great run," said Buzea.  "That's the only time they really broke loose all night.  Give him credit on that one.  But we did what we wanted to do.  The last time we were here (a 17-10 loss on Sept. 15) was the last time we lost.  We said then that we've got to hang our hats on something.  We have two strong running backs and got some seniors playing up front.  Our line really played and gave it everything they got."

"We tackled Sertich all night long, but we didn't get him on that last (fourth quarter) run.  You've got to give Crown Point credit.  We didn't get any breaks, but you've got to make some breaks.  They made a play when they had to."

Portage led at halftime and when Doll intercepted Mascarello at the Portage 35 with 7:32 left in the third quarter, the home grandstand was noticeably quiet.

"I was a little worried," said junior defensive end Nick Hladek, who had a double digit tackle night.  This was the first time in a long time we'd even been behind.  It took a lot to come back."

Hladek said that Evans (6-1, 195), who finished his junior season with over 1,550 yards rushing, was a major problem.  The tall halfback carried eight times on an 80-yard second quarter drive that gave Portage the lead with 8:36 to go in the half.

"I was just trying to do my job and take care of my assignments," Hladek said.  "You've got to hit him low.  If you hit him high, he'll slip right off you.  I know he's only a junior so we'll see him again."

Sertich said, "We started out slow up front.  They were pushing us around in the first half.  We had to step it up and we did.  Their defense was flying around all night.  Milligan's a great player.  He was all over the field.  I want to give them credit."

Kurt Wermers wanted to give Sertich credit for tying the game. 

"Words cannot describe it," he said.  "Make one guy miss and make two guys miss.  Carry another guy five yards and then just hit it. When he broke loose, I knew he was gone.  When he's in the open field, nobody can catch him.  I didn't have doubts.  It's what's inside.  You've got to have heart and believe."

After Sertich's run tied the game with 10:32 left, the CP defense stopped Portage three consecutive times without a first down to force overtime.  The Bulldogs used Wermers, a guard, on defense at tackle to slow the hard-running visitors.

"It was fun," he said later.  "They are very physical up front.  A hard-nosed team.  You give them all the credit in the world.  They (the coasches) came up to me Monday and said, 'You're going to run with the defense this week a little bit.'  I'd been going both ways all week.  We  come into a game excited about winning.  We don't think about losing."

Even with a soccer player kicking and the game tied 13-13 in overtime?

"I had confidence in Lipton," Hladek said.  "When we came out for the second half and he was practicing, I went up to him and I told him that, 'You're going to win this game.'  He just said 'Yeah.'  His eyes were kinda wide."

When you're trying to reach heights that have never been reached before, you need rare things to happen.  Like a kick hitting the crossbar and coming straight back.

Hladek said, "I have never seen that."

Even though word came down to the field that CP's arch-rival Merrillville had defeated Chesterton and would advance to play at CP in the sectional championship game on Nov. 3, Pettit did not want to talk about the Pirates Friday night.  His team had just survived the closest game of its undefeated season.  Sometimes it's harder to be an undefeated coach than it is to be the leader of a .500 team.

As the sixth year coach pointed out repeatedly in the post-game talk fest on the field, there's no blueprint for where Crown Pont is now.

"We just want to win and move on," he said.  "We don't need to win a blowout and we don't need to win close ones.  We just need to win."

SECTIONAL NOTES:  Portage held Crown Point to season lows in rushing (79 yards) totals yards (107), points (14)  and first downs (3).  Crown Point had 12 possessions in regulation time with seven ending in punts and two in interceptions.  Coach Craig Buzea thought Portage should have had a touchdown in  the third quarter when the Indians sacked CP quarterback Blake Mascarello and junior defensive end Sam Martinez picked up the ball and ran into the end zone.  The referees ruled that Mascarello was attempting to pass and that the ball, which fell at his feet when he was hit, was an incomplete toss.

"We should have had that second touchdown," insisted Buzea, "when we forced the fumble and ran in into the end zone.  There was no way that was a pass.  To me, that was the biggest play of the game."

Crown Point was very lucky in the final moments when Jon Sertich tried to field a bouncing punt in the final 30 seconds of the game at his own 15 yard line with the score tied 7-7.  Sertich bobbled the ball, but CP recovered in a pile of players.  Had Portage been able to fall on the ball, kicker Raphael Martinez, who had seven field goals this season, could have won the game on the next play.

"We had about six seniors or seven seniors who played this year," said Buzea after the game.  "They are a great group of seniors.  They could have folded.  They stuck with it when we were 1-4 and I'll never forget them for that.  They did a great job to get Portage football back on its feet."

"We'll have 17 or 18 starters back next year, but it's kinda hard to think about that now."

Two teams Crown Point defeated in August roared into a showdown for the 4A sectional 9 title.  Hobart (10-1) got 180 first half yards rushing from Andrew Jackson and blasted Highland 49-0 in a sectional semifinal game.  The Brickies will host Lowell (6-5), which smoked Gary Roosevelt 58-6 in another sectional semifinal Friday.  When Hobart plays Lowell next Friday it will be the eighth meeting of these two schools in the last four years.

Kurt Wermers says that defensive tackle isn't the only new position he's thinking about right now.  He's looking to join Clint Swan's first CPHS basketball team this winter.

"I'm going out for the team," said Wermers, who's been dong some indoor practicing after football practice.  I'm excited about it."

Jon Sertich said that he still doesn't like to talk about last year's Merrillville game, when the Pirates beat CP 16-13 to end the undefeated 2005 Bulldog season.

"Let's not go there," he said.  "Our game with them (this year) was close the first time.  We'll just have to see what happens.  It'll be a huge game.  A bigger crowd than tonight.  We just have to work hard and get ready."

The rain clearly held down the crowd, especially on the Portage side where less than 500 fans showed up. The day long rain discouraged visitors from making the trip.  Crown Point will host Merrillville on Nov. 3, and if Penn (9-2) defeats LaPorte (8-3) in the sectional two championship game at Penn on Nov. 3, Crown Point will host Penn on Nov. 10.  If the Bulldogs defeat Merrillville and LaPorte upsets Penn, CP will travel to LaPorte on Sept. 10.

WWLO, 89.1 FM and Internet Radio (www.Indiana-Sports.com and www.USA-365.com) will continue to cover the Bulldogs throughout the playoffs as long as Crown Point remains in the running. The pregame show starts Friday night at 6:30 p.m., CDT and the kick-off is at 7:00 p.m., CDT.

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Revised: November 01, 2006 .