9-13-2009

Friday, September 11, 2009,  71 degrees & clear, Duneland Athletic Conference at ST. JOHN, IN.

1st Qtr:  LAKE CENTRAL (7-0)  Tanner Redlarczyk, 13-yard run on first play following Justin Nesbitt's fumble recovery.  Erik Bisson kick.  11:39 left.
2nd Qtr: CROWN POINT (7-7) Pete Parks, 3-yard pass from Joe Hopman.  73-yard, 9-play drive.  Brett Bayer kick.  2:05 left.
CROWN POINT  (10-7)  Brett Bayer, 23-yard field goal. 59-yard, 7-play drive.  0:00 left.
3rd Qtr:  CROWN POINT (17-7)  Mason Popovich, 3-yard run. 15-yard, 2-play drive following kick-off fumble recovery by CP's Brian Holloway.  Bayer kick.  11:33 left.
LAKE CENTRAL (14-17) Tony Albomonte, 1-yard run. 52-yard, 7-play drive. Bisson kick.  2:45 left.
4th Qtr:  LAKE CENTRAL (21-17) Jonathon Ganiyu, 30-yard pass from Ryan Hennessey. 60-yard, 5-play drive.  Bisson kick.  11:08 left.
CROWN POINT (23-21) Chris Klein, 41-yard run.  62-yard, 4-play drive.  Bayer kick blocked by Nesbitt.  10:02 left.

UNOFFICIAL STATISTICS

 RUSHING:
LAKE CENTRAL (21 carries, 125 yards, 2 TDs, 3 fumbles) Tanner Redlarczyk (RB) 11-77, TD; Tony Albomonte (RB) 6-11; Ryan Hennessey (QB) 4-24.

CROWN POINT (31 carries, 190 yards, 2 TDs, 1 fumble) Mason Popovich (RB) 7-26, Travis Woosley 2-6, Joe Hopman 14-93, Cody Bacon 5-13, Chris Klein 3-52.

PASSING:
LAKE CENTRAL -  Ryan Hennessey (QB) 8-18, 139 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT;
Steve Krause (QB/WR) 1-4, 16 yards, 1 INT;
CROWN POINT - Joe Hopman (QB) 10-16, 133 yards, 1 TDs, 1 INTs.

RECEIVING:
LAKE CENTRAL - Steve Krause (QB/WR) 9-100, Jonathon Ganiyu (RB) 2-36, TD; Andy Arellano (TE) 1-15.
CROWN POINT - Austin Atherton 7-98; Travis Woosley 1-19; Pete Parks 2-13, TD.

TOTAL YARDS:
LAKE CENTRAL (276 yards, 12 first downs and 5 turnovers)
CROWN POINT (323 yards, 15 first downs and 2 turnovers)

TURNOVERS:
LAKE CENTRAL (5) 3 fumbles; CROWN POINT (2) 1 fumble.

ST. JOHN (9-11-2009) -  Crown Point and Lake Central both looked at this game as winnable and both teams played as though they really wanted the win.  Fans did not come away disappointed as both teams exchanged leads two times and both teams had success moving the ball against the other.  In the end, it was defensive pressure by the Bulldogs that resulted in several second half quarterback sacks and hurries, along with several take-aways that gave Crown Point a come-from behind 23-21 win over the Indians.

It looked like it might be a long night for the Bulldogs when LC linebacker Michael Pupillo forced Joe Hopman to fumble on just the second play of the game.  The Indians' Justin Nesbitt recovered the ball on the CP 13-yard line, and on LC's first play from scrimmage Tanner Redlarczyk ran it in for an easy touchdown.  Erik Bisson's point after touchdown kick made it 7-0 just 41-seconds into the ballgame.

But Austin Atherton, the Bulldogs wide receiver who sat out last week after suffering a concussion early in week-2 against Hobart, returned the ensuing kick-off nearly 50-yards to set up CP with a 1st-and-10 at the LC 44-yard line.  While the Bulldogs did not score on the possession, they picked up two first downs and moved to the LC 26 before turning the ball over on downs.  The two teams then battled back-and forth on the natural grass of the Indians' "Burial Grounds" for nearly 20-minutes before another score would be recorded.  In that time frame CP's defensive back Scott Hannon recovered an LC fumble with 4:04 left in the first quarter, and defensive back Joel Johnson picked of a Ryan Hennessey pass with 11:54 left in the 2nd quarter.

CP finally out together a good drive after taking over on a failed 4th down conversion attempt by LC with 5:45 left in the second quarter.  Starting from their own 27-yard line, the Bulldogs marched downfield, collecting three first down en route to Joe Hopman's 3-yard swing pass to Pete Parks for a touchdown with 2:05 left in the first half.  Bayer's conversion kick tied the game at 7-7.

The Indians returned Bayer's ensuing kick-off to their own 30 yard line and with 1:57 left, they managed the clock well in moving down field for three first downs and a potential field goal or TD  before the end of the first half.  But on 3rd-and-7 from the CP 38-yard line, LC's Steve Krause was intercepted by CP's Travis Woosley, setting up the Bulldogs with a 1st-and-10 from their own 36 yard line with 35-seconds left in the half.  Bulldogs quarterback Joe Hopman ran the two minute drill in textbook manner, collecting four first downs and finally spiking the ball with no time-outs remaining in order to stop the clock with 5 seconds left.  Sophomore placekicker Brett Bayer came in to boot a 23-yard field goal as time expired to close the first half with the Bulldogs leading 10-7.

Bayer's second half opening kick-off slipped through the grips of LC's Steve Krause, who played a little quarterback (alternating with Hennessey), wide receiver and kick-returner.  Speedy Bulldogs wide receiver Brian Holloway quickly jumped on the ball at the LC 15 yard line.  Two plays later Mason Popovich ran it in for a TD and Bayers PAT make it 17-7 with 11:33 left in the third quarter, and it looks like the Bulldogs were fully in control.  For a while, anyway.

In fact, the Bulldogs put incredible pressure on the LC quarterbacks on the next series, as both Steven Polacek (DB) and Jordan Jurasevich (LB) recorded quarterback sacks of LC's Ryan Hennessey.  Faced with a 4th-and-long, LC was forced to punt.  But Erik Bison responded with a 65-yard punt, pinning CP back at their own 10-yard line.  A penalty  eventually led to a 4-and-out, with Spencer Rapchak's punt setting up LC at their own 48-yard line, and new life.

The Indians then proceeded to mach 52-yards in 7 plays, which was capped by Tony Albomonte's 1-yard plunge with 2:45 left in the third quarter.  Bisson's PAT made it CP 17, LC 14.

The Indians' senior defensive back Derrick Bremer intercepted Joe Hopman's 2nd-and-25 pass attempt with 48-seconds left in the third -- that -- following back-to-back penalties (holding & illegal procedure). On the fifth play of the next drive, LC's Hennessey threw a sideline screen pass to Jon Ganiyu, who followed his two wide receiver teammates blocking ahead of him and quickly ran down the home team sideline 30-yards for the go-ahead touchdown.  Bisson converted on the PAT to make it LC 21, CP 17 with 11:08 left in the 4th quarter.

Another booming kickoff by Bison carried to the CP -yard line, where Holloway returned it to the CP 38-yard line.  The Bulldogs quickly picked up a couple fist downs, when on a 2nd-and-6 play Chris Klein took the pitch on a sweep to the right side of the field and outran the LC pursuers for a 41-yard touchdown.  This time Bayer's kick was blocked by Nesbitt, the senior (WR/DB) who had recovered a fumble earlier in the game.  That gave CP a slim 23-21 lead with 10:02 left in the game -- seemingly plenty of time for Lake Central to come back for a touchdown or at least a three point field goal, which could still win the game by a single point.

But this time Crown point's defense was up to the challenge, with senor defensive lineman Zack Breuckman recording another QB sack and forcing LC to a 4-and-out with 7:27 left in the game.  The bulldogs used a combination of short passes and running plays to run time off the clock, collecting four more first downs and driving o the LC 30 before turning the ball over on downs. 

The Indians had burned their timeouts though, and to compound matters, a final fumble recovered by CP with 2:12w left in the game allowed the Bulldogs's sophomore QB Hopman to take the knee on three successive plays to run out the clock and secure the win with a 23-21 final score.

DOG NOTES:  The Bulldogs win moves CP into a three-way tie for second place in the Duneland Athletic Conference with LaPorte and Chesterton, all with 1-1 conference records.  Merrillville defeated Portage Friday night 49-27, while Michigan City beat Valparaiso 21-17, so both are 2-0 and atop the DAC standings. 

CP now leads the all-time LC series 29-23-1.

Next Friday (Sept. 18), the Bulldogs (2-2,1-1 DAC) go on the road to Portage (2-2, 1-1 DAC), who lost a high-scoring 49-27 game at Merrillville (3-1, 2-0 DAC), where the Pirates rolled up 350-yards rushing against the Indians of Portage.  Portage had some impressive offensive numbers as well, gaining 435 yards, including 333 yards rushing.  Junior QB Zach Huston threw for 102 yards and ran for 191 yards, including a 75-yard TD run  in the game's final quarter.  The Portage defense recovered two Merrillville Fumbles and intercepted two Prate passes in the game.

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Revised: September 13, 2009 .