Bulldogs' Chick leads way with 111 yards rushing in 24-13 win over Lake Central

A USA-365.com Special Report by Dave Woodworth

9-10-2007

Friday, September 7, 2007,  81 degrees, humid at ST. JOHN, IN

1st Qtr:  CROWN POINT (7-0)  Russell Chick, 2-yard run.  30-yard, 4-play drive.  Michael Lipton kick.  3:04 left.
2nd Qtr: CROWN POINT (10-0) Lipton, 38-yard field goal.  0-yard, 4-play drive, following Zach Brum fumble recovery at LC 21 yard line. 4:08 left.
LAKE CENTRAL (7-10)  Josh Hauter, 16-yard pass from Corey McNulty.  72-yard, 6-play drive.  Scott Spicer kick.  1:33 left.
3rd Qtr:  CROWN POINT (17-7)  Zach Cecich, 5-yard pass from Blake Mascarello.  32-yard, 7-play drive.  Lipton kick.  3:05 left.
LAKE CENTRAL (13-17) Austen Macek, 99-yard kick-off return.  Kick wide right, failed.  2:49 left.
4th Qtr:  Zach Cecich, 3-yard pass from Blake Mascarello.  30-yard, 8-play drive.  Lipton kick.  2:34 left.

RUSHING:
LAKE CENTRAL (25 carries, 73 yards, 0 TDs, 3 fumbles)
Dillon Jamroz (HB) 18-51 yards; Corey McNulty (QB) 2-8; John Hurley (HB) 1-7; Kyle Koebcke (HB) 1-2;

CROWN POINT (44 carries, 152 yards, 1 TD, 0 fumble)
Russell Chick (TB) 34-111 yards, Blake Mascarello (QB) 6-26 (0 sacks);  Mike Kozlowski (FB) 2-2; Nate Haverstock (HB) 1-7; Marcus Shrewsbury (QB) 1-6 yards.

PASSING:
LAKE CENTRAL -  Corey McNulty (QB) 8-18, 121 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT;
CROWN POINT - Blake Mascarello (QB) 8-15, 48 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs.

RECEIVING:
LAKE CENTRAL - Joe Lauerman (WR) 3-29, Josh Hauter (WR) 2-56, 1 TD; John Hurley (HB) 1-0; Troy Gulden (WR) 1 /18; Andy Arellano (WR) 1-18;
CROWN POINT - Zach Cecich (TE) 4-29 yards, 2 TDs; Ron Burton (WR) 1-8 yards; Danny Osojnicki (WR) 1-12, Russell Chick (HB) 2-(-1).

TOTAL YARDS:
LAKE CENTRAL (175 yards, 7 first downs and 5 turnovers)
CROWN POINT (195 yards, 15 first downs and 2 turnovers)

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

ST. JOHN (9-07-2007) -  Crown Point went into the Lake Central football game as the favorite, even though the Indians were undefeated and playing at home.  So the Bulldogs were looking to take control of the game early, and succeeded in large part through the tough, straihght-ahead running of senior tailback Russell Chiuck, who recorded his fourth straight 100+ yard rushing game of the 2007 season.  Chick's first quarter 2-yard TD run and two TD passes from Blake Mascarello to Zach Cecich, along with a 38-yard Mike Lipton field goal were enough to give the Bulldogs (3-1) a 24-13 victory over Lake Central (3-1).

The Bulldogs got on the board in the first quarter four plays after the bulldogs recovered the first of three LC fumbles that would bounce their way.  Russell Chick scored on a 2-yard TD run with 3:04 left in the first quarter.  The Bulldogs' Mike Lipton had two field goal attempts i the second quarter, both set up by LC fumbles.  The first attempt from 26 yards missed wide left  with 6:42 left, but his next attempt following a fumble recovery by Zach Brum led to a successful 38-yard field goal with 4:08 left in the second quarter.

On the Indians' next possession, LC came back with a 6-play, 72-yard drive capped off by a 16-yard TD pass from Corey McNulty to Josh Hauter with 1:33 left in the first half.  Scott Spicer connectd on the point after touchdown kick, and the score was 10-7 in favor of the Bulldogs.

A short punt set up CP on the LC 32 yard line to start a 3rd quarter drive that culminated with a short 5-yard TD pass from Blake Mascarello to Zach Cecich with 3:05 left.  Lipton's PAT made it 17-7 for the Bulldogs.

But in one of the most electrifying plays of the season to date, the Indians' Austen Macek caught the ensuing CP kick-off at the one-yard line, and clearly stepped back a step into the end zone, but no touchback was called.  Instead, the speedy wide receiver and defensive back weaved his way quickly through the CP kick of coverage and finally beat the kicker at midfield before racing into the endzone for a (you pick it) a 99 or 101 yard kick-off return for a touchdown. Curiously, an offside penalty that moved the PAT attempt back 5-yards to the 15 yard line resulted in a Scott Spicer kick sailing wide right, so the score remained CP 17, LC 13 with 2:49 remaining in the third quarter, and Lake Central fans were ecstatic.

In the fourth quarter, CP's Nick Bruono intercepted McNulty's pass to set up a Bulldog drive at the LC 30-yard line with 6:25 left in the game.  Eight plays later, Mascarello connected with Cecich for their second TD combination, this time from 3-yards out and the PAT by Lipton gave the Bulldogs their 24-13 final score.

DOG NOTES:  This is the Bulldogs' 16th consecutive DAC victory, and 7th consecutive win for Crown Point over Lake Central.  CP now leads the all-time LC series 28-22-1.

Lake Central junior QB Corey McNulty (5-11, 188) was 8-of-18 for 121 yards, one TD and one interception, and came on relief of fellow junior QB Bo Dempsey (6-0, 190) who had started the game and threw one pass incomplete, and later appeared in the game as a pass receiver.

Next Friday (Sept. 14), the Bulldogs (3-1) go on the road to Portage (2-2), who lost an exciting 21-14 game at Merrillville (3-1), where the Pirates' Roosevelt Williams carried 22 times for 182 yards and two touchdowns against the Indians of Portage.  Portage had led the game 14-0 at the half, before giving up 21 unanswered second half points to Merrillville.  Portage QB Vance Johnston connected on a 43-yard TD pass to Clark Mussman and Albert Evans scored on a 3-yard sweep in the second quarter.  A last second Johnston pass attempt to Billy Doll was intercepted by Demarrio Richardson as the clock ran out.