Trojans spoil Bulldogs' Homecoming with 45-20 decisive win over CP

A USA-365.com Special Report by Dave Woodworth

10-10-2010

Friday, October 8, 2010 - 71 degrees, Duneland Athletic Conference at CROWN POINT, IN

1st Qtr:  CHESTERTON (7-0) Nate Majcher, 23-yard run. 80-yard drive, 5 plays. 1:56 min. TOP. Kyle Schmidt kick. 10:04 left.

CHESTERTON (14-0) Jon Watson, 6-yard run. 46-yard drive, 7 plays (following recovered fumble by CP). 3:11 min. TOP. Schmidt kick. 5:33 left.
2nd Qtr: CHESTERTON (21-0) Jon Watson, 7-yard run. 74-yard drive, 10 plays. 4:04 min. TOP. Schmidt kick. 5:33 left.

CHESTERTON (24-0) Kyle Schmidt, 33-yard field goal. 21-yard drive, 6 plays (following a short 17-yard CP punt). 2:21 TOP. 3:28 left.

CHESTERTON (31-0) Jon Watson, 2-yard run. 20-yard drive, 4 plays (following Dana Konchar's recovery of a botched snap from center). 2:18 min TOP. Schmidt kick. 1:26 left.
3rd Qtr: CHESTERTON (38-0) Nate Majcher, 2-yard run. 45-yard drive, 7 plays. 3:17 min. TOP. Schmidt kick. 6:27 left.

CROWN POINT (7-38) Austin Atherton, 18-yard pass from Joe Hopman. 80-yard drive, 11 plays. 5:39 min. TOP. Brett Bayer kick. 0:47 left.
4th Qtr:  CROWN POINT (14-38) Joe Hopman, 63-yard run. 74-yard drive, 2 plays. 0:33 min. TOP. Brett Bayer kick. 8:18 left.
CHESTERTON (45-14) Julian Raudry, defensive fumble recovery of bad snap into end zone. Kyle Schmidt kick. 4:30 left.

CROWN POINT (20-45) Braxton Rice, 25-yard pass from Joe Hopman. 80-yard drive, 8 plays. 3:15 min. TOP. Kick blocked. 1:15 left.

GAME STATISTICS

RUSHING:
CHESTERTON (49-267 yards, 5 TDs) Nate Majcher (RB) 11-77, 2 TDs; Sam Lindquist (RB) 19-123, Jon Watson (QB) 10-44, 3 TDs;
Justin Jenks (RB) 1-6, Jake Webb (QB) 3-14, Romeo Marcinkowski (RB) 1-0, Joe Troop (RB) 1-3, Adam O'Hara 1-2, David Walker 1-2.
CROWN POINT (32-160 yards, 1 TD) Cody Bacon (RB) 16-84, Joe Hopman 13-71, TD; Jake Lindeman 3-5.

PASSING:
Jon Watson (Chesterton) 1 of 3, 12 yards, 1 INT.
Joe Hopman (CP) 8 of 15, 136 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT

RECEIVING:
CHESTERTON: Sam Lindquist (RB) 1-12 yards.
CROWN POINT: Pete Parks (H-back) 3-40 yards, Austin Atherton 3-31 yards, TD, Travis Woosley 1-40 yards, Braxton Rice 1-25 yards, TD

PENALTIES:
CHESTERTON: 3-25 yards
CROWN POINT: 8-64 yards

TOTAL YARDS:
CHESTERTON: 279 yards, 17 first downs, 1 turnover
CROWN POINT: 296 yards, 14 first downs, 4 turnovers (including 3 fumbles)

CROWN POINT, IN (10-08-2010)  Crown Point had not fumbled the football once through the first 7 games of the 2010 season, but a stubborn Chesterton defense kept the Bulldogs on their heels most of the night and forced four turnovers -- three of them fumbles, and capitalized on them to take a 38-0 lead midway into the third quarter before CP lit of their side of the scoreboard.  Before it was all over the Trojans handed Crown Point a stunning 45-20 loss on their Homecoming night before a packed about 4,000 somber Bulldog fans.

Trojans quarterback Jon Watson directed an efficient single wing option offense, with 49 running plays and just three passing attempts.  Watson capped off three scoring drives with short scoring runs.  Chesterton's Sam Lindquist was the top running back on the night, carrying the ball 19 times for 123 yards. Senior running back Nate Majcher (5-10, 172) added 11 carries for 77 yards and two more TDs.

Crown Point was thoroughly frustrated by the Trojan running attack, despite stacking the line with their 3-5-3 defense with linebackers up close to the line.  The Trojan offensive line gets much of the credit as they opened up sizeable holes, especially for Lindquist (6-3, 180), a senior who has an uncanny sense of balance on the field and surprising strength. After Chesterton had built a quick 14-0 first quarter lead, the Bulldogs mounted their first drive into Trojan territory, advancing as far as the Chesterton 34 before stalling out and having to punt.  The next Trojan drive netted a first down when on 2nd and 11 from their 29, One of only three Jon Watson passes was intercepted by CP seniuor linebacker Scott Hannon at the 40 yard line, returning the ball to the Chesterton  31.  That scoring opportunity faded after Joe Hopman was in turn intercepted on a 2nd and 15 play from the Chesterton 37 yard line.

Watson then engineered a 10-play, 74 yard drive capped his 7-yard TD run with 7:20 left in the second quarter and the rout was on.  The Trojans held CP to a three downs and a piunt and then took over on a short field from the CP 36-yard line.  The Bulldog defense stiffened to force a 4th-and-2 from the CP 15-yard line, where Kyle Schmidt set up for a 33-yard field goal to put Chesterton up 24-0 with 3:28 left.  Schmidt was equally effective on kick-offs as he pinned the Bulldogs back on 8 touchbacks on the night, and once to a return to the 5-yard line.

The Trojans would score one more time before halftime on a Watson 2-yard run with 1:26 left.  That came after Dana Konchar recovered a bad Bulldog snap from center at the CP-20-yard line.  It was just one of those nights where seemingly nothing went right for CP, and nearly everything was working right for Chesterton.

The third quarter opening drive by CP was limited to another 3-and-out punt from deep in their own territory, which resulted in another short field opportunity for Chesterton at the CP 45.  The seven play drive was capped by Nate Majcher's 2-yard run with 6:27 left in the 3rd quarter and resulted in a 38-0 lead.

The Bulldogs finally put together a scoring drive on their next possession, surviving a 5-yard QB sack by Chase Cota and converting two 3rd-and long situations for first downs en route to an 11-play, 80-yard drive that resulted in an 18-yard touchdown pass from Joe Hopman to Austin Atherton with 47-seconds left in the third quarter.  That made the score 38-7.

The Bulldogs held Chesterton's next drive to just 7 plays and a punt to the CP-26, where Hopman connected to a first down pass for 11-yards to Pete Parks, and then Hopman broke a long 63-yard run down the home sidelines for a TD with 8:18 left to close the gap to 38-14.  The Bulldogs held Chesterton to to 3-and-out on the next possession, but the punt pinned CP deep at their own 6-yard line. By now, the Hopman was lining up the CP offense in a no huddle shotgun, spread formation most downs in an effort to move the ball quickly downfield. But on 2nd-and-13 from the CP 15-yard line, an errant long snap from the shotgun formation got past Hopman and rolled into the end zone, where an alert linebacker Julian Raudry recovered the loose ball for an easy defensive touchdown and a 45-14 Trojan lead with 4:30 left in the game.

The Bulldogs then mounted a solid 8-play, 80-yrd drive that was culminated by a nice play-action pass play from quarterback Joe Hopman to sophomore wide receiver Braxton Rice in the northeast corner of the end zone for the game's final score with 1:15 left in the game.  As if to prove the Chesterton defense had not totally retired to the victor's locker room, the point after touchdown kick by usually reliable Brett Bayer was blocked.

In other Duneland Athletic Conference action Friday night Valparaiso defeat Portage 27-7 in a game that saw the Indians' star running back Jake Dixon leave the game with an injury. Valpo remains undefeated on the season with an 8-0 record. Merrillville defeated Lake Central 62-23 and LaPorte beat Michigan City 28-16. The Class 5A Sectional One draw held Sunday night matches up Munster (5-3) at Lake Central (2-6) on play-of opening night Oct. 22. East Chicago Central (5-3) will be at Valparaiso (8-0) and Merrillville (6-2) will be at Chesterton (6-2).

On The Internet:  Crown Point wraps up the regular season at Michigan City's Ames Field on Friday, October 15, and then opens the IHSAA Class 5A Football Sectional tournament on Friday, October 22 when the Bulldogs (5-3) host Portage (4-4). Internet Radio www.USA-365.com will continue to cover the Bulldogs throughout the playoffs as long as Crown Point remains in the running. The pregame shows start Friday nights at 6:15 p.m., CDT and the kick-off is at 7:00 p.m., CDT.

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Revised: October 10, 2010 .