Bulldogs hold Pirates to 14 yards rushing, CP wins 17-2 in dominant performance

A USA-365.com Special Report by Dave Woodworth

9-02-2006

Friday, September 1, 2006,  68 degrees, dry at Merrillville, DAC

1st Qtr:  No scoring.
2nd Qtr: CROWN POINT (3-0)  Michael Lipton 31-yard field goal.  10:24 left.
CROWN POINT (10-0)  Blake Mascarello 10-yard TD pass to Jon Sertich. 67-yards, 8-plays.  Lipton kick. 10:24 left.
3rd Qtr:  MERRILLVILLE (2-10)  Mascarello tackled in end zone for Safety.  10:36 left.
CROWN POINT (17-2)  Sertich 5-yard TD run. 1-play, 5-yard drive following 55-yard interception return by Nathan Ingram.  Lipton kick.  6:37 left.
4th Qtr:  No scoring.

GAME TOTALS (Unofficial Numbers)

TOTAL YARDAGE:
CROWN POINT 249 yards; MERRILLVILLE 136 yards

RUSHING:

MERRILLVILLE (17 carries, 14 net yards)  

Mike Gates (HB) 10-12 yards;  Kyle Morris (HB) 3-6 yards;  Ronneal Williams (HB) 1-5 yards;  Roosevelt Williams (HB) 2-2; 

Dilapo Macarthy (QB) 1 (-10) yards, one sack (-10); Josh Raspopovich (QB) 1-6 yards.

CROWN POINT (31 carries, 113 yards, 1 TD)

Tommy Parks (FB) 11-37 yards;  Jon Sertich (HB) 18 -74 yards,  Blake Mascarello (QB) 2-2 yards, one sack (-4) 

PASSING:

Dilapo Macarthy (Merrillville) 2-5, 10 yards, 0 interceptions.
Josh Raspopovich (Merrillville) 9-17, 112 yards, one interception.
Blake Mascarello (CP) 11-15, 136 yards, 1 TD, 0 interceptions.

RECEIVING:

Mike Gates (M) 2-7 yards;  Clay Cooper (M) 2-17 yards;  Dan Dwyer 2-40 yards;  Jason Talbert (M) 2-24 yards;  Darren Handley (M) 3-19 yards.

Ryan Forney (CP) 2-39 yards, Jon Sertich (CP) 4-39 yards, TD;  Tommy Parks (CP) 1-11 yards;  Matt Ernest (CP) 2-15 yards; Zach Cecich (CP) 2-32 yards.

TURNOVERS:

CP (1) one fumble;  HOBART (1)  one interception.

MERRILLVILLE (9-01-2006) - With memories still fresh from last year's 16-13 loss in the Sectional championship at Merrillville, the Bulldogs looked sharp behind the passing of junior QB Blake Mascarello, completing one TD pass to senior RB Jon Sertich en route to a 17-2 win Friday night over the Pirates.  Sertich would add a second half TD on a 5-yard run, following an exciting 55-yard interception return of a Josh Raspopovich pass by CP's Nathan Ingram.

Merrillville started senior QB Dilapo Macarthy (6-5, 190) in place of Raspopovich, who had led the Pirates to a 2-0 season start.  But Raspopovich had injured his leg in the Pirates 26-0 win over Highland in week-two and sat out the week of practice.  Macarthy missed his first three passes, but connected on his final two passes for 10 yards in the first half.  Raspopovich played the second half at quarterback for Merrillville and had moments of brilliance as he tried to rally his team in the 4th quarter with a no-huddle offense.  

Merrillville actually had the first scoring opportunity after they put together drive after recovering a CP fumble at their own 37 yard line. The Pirates drove to the CP 24 yard line before a 10-yard QB sack of Macarthy by CP's Zach Brumm (5-11, 260) pushed the ball back to the CP 34 yard line.  The drive stalled and Merrillville's Drew Dawson's 50-yard field goal attempt, which looked long enough from the press box, was ruled no good with 3:41 left in the first quarter.

Crown Point took over at their own 20-yard line and began a drive that culminated in a 31-yard field by Michael Lipton with 10:24 left in the second quarter.

After Merrillville went 3 and out, CP fumbled the ball back to the Pirates  at the CP 41-yard line  with 8:40 left in the second quarter. But on a 4th and 1 play, the CP defense held the Pirates on downs and took over at their own 33 yard line with 7:04 left in the second quarter.  That's when the Bulldogs put together an 8-play, 67-yard drive that was capped off by Mascarello's perfectly executed 10-yard screen pass to Jon Sertich for a touchdown with 3:04 left in the second quarter.  Lipton's OAT made it a 10-0 lead at halftime.

Merrillville took the second half kick-of and drove from their own 37 yard line to the CP 43, when on 4th and 10 the Pirates were forced to punt and downed the ball at the CP 3-yard line.  A Bulldog offensive penalty moved the ball back to the 1 yard line and on 1st and 12, the Pirates Drew Dawson and Christian Beezhold tackled Mascarello in the end zone for a 2-point safety.  That made the score 10-2, but the Pirates would not score again.

The ensuing free kick from the CP 20 was returned by Merrillville's Darren Handley 22 yards to the CP 48-yard line.  A short Merrillville drive advanced as far as the CP 24-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs.  The Bulldogs went three and out on the next series and a short punt gave the ball back to Merrillville on their own 43-yard line with 7:05 left in the third quarter.

On a third and 10 play, Raspopovich dropped back to pass, but CP junior defensive back Nathan Ingram (5-9, 140) stepped in front of the Pirates' receiver and intercepted the ball, and angled for the visitor's sideline 55-yard where he was finally pushed out of bounds at the Merrillville 5-yard line. On the fist play from scrimmage, CP's Sertich took the handoff and ran into the end zone virtually untouched with 6:37 remaining in the third quarter.  Lipton's PAT was good, and CP increased its lead to the eventual final score of 17-2.

For a few brief moments early in the fourth quarter, it looked like Mascarello had hooked up with Indiana University-bound WR Matt Ernest on a 35-yard touchdown pass, but the play was nullified by an offensive line holding penalty.  CP was eventually forced to punt and Ernest's punt was downed at the Merrillville 1-yard line by the Bulldog special team.

Raspopovich then directed the Pirates on a no-huddle, 60-yard drive, picking up three first downs.  But the CP defense stiffened and the Pirates finally turned the ball over on downs at the CP 39-yard line with 5:47 left in the game.

Crown Point was then able to collect three first downs and advanced the ball to the Merrillville 21 yard line where Mascarello took a knee on his final two snaps of the ball in the final 1:05 of the game to run out the clock, and take home the 17-2 victory.

DOG NOTES:   This was the 4th consecutive regular season victory by Crown Point over the previously undefeated Pirates.  That knowledge is tempered by the fact that Merrillville has eliminated the Bulldogs from the post-season tournament in each of the past two years.

Matt Ernest has nothing but bad memories of last year's 16-13 loss at Merrillville in the sectional championship game.  It stands as the only Crown Point varsity football loss in the last two seasons.

"There were so many things," he said Friday.  "The touchdown they scored just before halftime.  The punt hitting (Chris) Schillo in the back and they received it.  The touchdown they scored just before halftime.  So many things."

Lowell, the team Crown Point defeated in week one, was run over 35-0 by Griffith on Friday. 

The Bulldogs face another undefeated team this week in 3-0 Lake Central, which comes off their first ever Duneland Athletic Conference victory since joining the league in 2003.  LC defeated Portage 10-3 on September 1st to snap a 0-21 losing streak in DAC play.

USA-365.com will begin live coverage of the Lake Central-Crown Point football game Friday, September 8 at 6:30 p.m., and the game will also be broadcast for the first time over WWLO, 89.1 FM.  The new noncommercial FM Lowell radio station owned by American Family Association programs Christian talk and music on a 24x7 schedule.  AFR has agreed to carry live high school football broadcasts by Meyer Multimedia Services every Friday night through the remainder of the high school football season.

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Revised: September 04, 2006 .