Wolves keep Bulldogs out of endzone, hold on for 7-3 win in regular season finale

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

10-18-2008

Friday, October 17, 2008,  54 degrees, Duneland Athletic Conference in MICHIGAN CITY, IN

1st Qtr:  No scoring.
2nd Qtr:  CROWN POINT (3-0) Michael Lipton, 39-yard field goal.  33-yard drive, 10 plays. 9:52 left.
MICHIGAN CITY (7-3) Adam Harmon, 5-yard pass from Nate Scully.  80-yard drive, 14 plays.  Chris Henderson kick.  0:16 left.
3rd Qtr:  No scoring.
4th Qtr:  No scoring.
 

GAME TOTALS
 

RUSHING:
CROWN POINT (33 carries, 145 yards) Marcus Shrewsbury (QB) 8 caries, 33 yards; Evan Nikrin (HB) 17-62 yards, fumble;
Nate Haverstock (WR) 3-31; Mike Kozlowski (FB) 4-17;  Lance LaMere (LB) 1-2 yards.

MICHIGAN CITY (28 caries, 90 yards) Nate Scully (QB) 13 carries, 24 yards (3 sacks, minus-25 yards); Adam Harmon (HB) 13-64 yards; Jeremy Harris (FB) 2-2 yards.

PASSING:
CROWN POINT - Marcus Shrewsbury (QB) 14-of-25, 136 yards, one interception; 
MICHIGAN CITY - Nate Scully (QB) 8-of-17, 82 yards.

RECEIVING:
CROWN POINT - Evan Nikrin (HB) 2-12 yards; Danny Osojnicki (WR) 3-15 yards, Nate Haverstock (WR) 4-62 yards;
Michael Lipton (WR 1-12 yards; Chris Klein (WR) 3-20 yards; Mike Kozlowski (FB) 1-13 yards.
MICHIGAN CITY - DaQuvay Sherrod (WR) 1-16 yards, Ryan Sosinski (WR) 2-18 yards, Rodney Washington (WR) 1-14 yards; Adam Harmon (HB) 4-36 yards, TD.

TOTALS YARDS:
CROWN POINT - 279 yards, 12 first downs, 2 turnovers;
MICHIGAN CITY - 172 yards, 8 first downs, 0 turnovers.

MICHIGAN CITY, IN (10-17-2008) - I realize that I may be the only open still saying this, but the 2008 Crown Point Bulldogs are not as bad as their record.  If Crown Point got blown out every week it would be easy to say they're a bad team.  But on Friday night in LaPorte County, the Bulldogs just finished a regular season where they held six opponents to 13 points or less.

That record?  It's 3-6.  CP's worst regular season record in seven years.

Crown Point gave up a five yard pass from Nate Scully to Adam Harmon in the final minute of the first half and they could nit overcome it, losing 7-3 in the regular season finale at Ames Field off Route 421 in Michigan City.

It was a painful game to watch.  CP, which scored just 105 points (11.6 per game) during the regular season, rolled up an unofficial 273 yards and never got in the end zone.  It was stunning how many chances they failed on.  If you talk to someone who was there and they tell you how bad CP's offense was near the goal line.  Trust me.  It was worse.

"We were on the one yard line twice and we didn't score," said Bulldogs veteran coach Chip Pettit.  "From the one yard line.  We had almost 300 yards worth of offense and we didn't score a touchdown."

For Michigan City, this was a big victory.  Not only had the MC seniors not previously defeated Crown Point during their time in school, but the win was the Wolves' third in their last four games, all conference triumphs.  The Wolves did not play well on offense either, but this was a team that had a 20-game Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) losing streak.

Linebacker Tyree Wright forced a fumble from CP running back Evan Nikrin at the goal line that MC's MaQuavay Sherrod recovered in the end zone with 3:34 left in the third quarter.  After leaving the field due to an injury, all-purpose player Adam Harmon intercepted a Marcus Shrewsbury pass to end CP's last serious threat with 5:06 to play.  Scraping out a 7-3 win was worthy of a midfield celebration.

"I've got to hand it to them," said coach Craig Buzea, in his second year at Michigan City.  "They didn't give up.  We've played with everybody this season.  I'm just happy for these kids to have the success they've had."

Crown Point probably has as much of a chance to beat Merrillville (5-4) in next week's Class 5A Sectional quarterfinal as Michigan City does of beating Chesterton (7-2) in their first playoff game.  But Michigan City, which gained only 178 yards on the CP defense, feels they can win while Crown Point probably feels they can come close like they have most of the season, losing four games by seven points or less.

The Bulldogs opened the game Friday with a 16-play drive including Nate Haverstock's 21-yard run to the Michigan City 5-yard-line.  An incomplete pass and two runs gained three yards and a fourth down naked bootleg by QB Marcus Shrewsbury fooled everybody but defensive back DaQuvay Sherrord, who tackled Shrewsbury for a two yard loss.

In the second quarter a 22-yard Shrewsbury pass to place-kicker-turned wide receiver Michael Lipton gave CP a 1st-and-10 on the Michigan City 20-yard line.  Two runs and an incomplete pass lost a yard before Lipton booted a 39-yard field goal with 9:52 left before halftime.

CP's defense held Michigan City and a 30-yard punt return by Haverstock brought the ball to the Michigan City 41.  Shrewsbury ran for 14 yards on the first play and CP was set up to score.  Three 5-yard penalties, an incomplete pass and two running plays lost a yard and Lipton's 45 yard field goal attempt was wide with 5:09 left in the half.

Michigan City then mounted their only sustained drive of the game, going 80 yards in 16 plays.  On 3rd-and-goal from the 5-yard-line, Michigan City QB Nate Scully found junior halfback Adam Harmon near the flag and the TD pass gave MC a 7-3 halftime edge.

The ultimate frustration hit in the third quarter after CP drove 74 yards in eight plays with a Shrewsbury screen pass to Mike Kozlowski for 13 yards to the Michigan City 1-yard-line. When Halfback Evan Nikrin barreled over left guard he appeared to extend the ball into the end zone and it came loose.  Post game theories were that junior Linebacker Tyree Wright (5-11, 225) knocked it loose.  Either way, Sherrod fell on the ball in the end zone with 3:34 left in the third quarter, about the time the CP crowd of about 200 in the visitors' stands began to accept the possibility that the Bulldogs would not score a TD on this night.

CP had four more possessions after that.  The Bulldogs punted twice, lost the ball on an interception by Harmon, an all-purpose player who also starts in the defensive secondary, and gave the ball up on downs after three consecutive incomplete passes with 1:21 left in the game.

"It's a lot of 'woulda coulda, shoulda," said Pettit, who struggled to accept the fact that his team never got over the goal line.  "When you're playing competitive football it always swings on four or five or six plays.  But boy we had chances to make those plays tonight and we just couldn't make them."

The whole night was epitomized by a trick ploy CP ran in the final minute of the second quarter.  Shrewsbury fired a quick pass to Haverstock who curled downfield five yards and faced the quarterback.  As Haverstock caught the ball on the wide side of the field, halfback Nick Bruno raced out of the backfield and turned up field between Haverstock and the sideline.  Haverstock was to pitch the ball to Bruno who surely would have scored as the Michigan City defense closed in on the CP receiver.  The pitch was high and glanced off Bruno's hands out of bounds as the clock ran out to end the first half.  That's just the way things have gone this year.

DOG NOTES:  A week after Chesterton beat CP 21-7, Merrillville intercepted three passes and won at Chesterton 28-14.  Valparaiso and Chesterton share the 2008 Duneland Athletic Conference title that CP and Merrillville split in 2007.

After missing most of the season with an arm injury, linebacker Kyle Qualizza was in uniform and playing special teams for CP.  Michael Lipton was playing wide receiver for CP.  The veteran Bulldog place kicker split time between football and soccer all fall until the CP soccer team lost 6-1 to LC in last week's sectional championship game.

Now a full time football player, Lipton (6-1 190), a basketball player, is being utilized as a target for passer Marcus Shrewsbury.

"Mike's a good athlete," commented Petit.  "There's a couple of things we can do with him."

Pettit agreed that this present season, where his team is 3-6 despite having a defense that allowed just 15 points a game, is more aggravating than a season where they were getting beaten badly every week.

"I think the competitiveness in anybody makes it tough," said Pettit.  "I don't know if it has anything to do with prior success.  It's just that we've been close a number of times.  Tonight hasn't been unlike other nights when we've had some plays out there to make."

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Revised: October 22, 2008 .