Bulldog defense shuts out Trojans in 1st half en route to 41-21 Homecoming victory

A USA-365.com Special Report by Dave Woodworth

10-08-2006

Friday, October 6, 2006,  51 degrees in Crown Point, Duneland Athletic Conference

1st Qtr:  CROWN POINT (7-0)  Zach Cecich, 21-yard pass from Blake Mascarello.  73 yard drive, 6 plays.  Michael Lipton kick.  8:48 left.
CROWN POINT (14-0)  Blake Mascarello, 15-yard run.  70 yard drive, 7 plays.  Lipton kick.  4:56 left.
CROWN POINT (21-0)  Jon Sertich 51-yard interception return. Lipton kick.  3:11 left.
2nd Qtr:  CROWN POINT (28-0)  Matt Ernest, 31-yard pass from Mascarello.  77 yard drive, 7 plays.  Lipton kick.  10:47 left.
CROWN POINT (34-0)  Ernest, 19-yard pass from Mascarello.  75 yard drive, 8 plays.  Kick failed (wide).  2:04 left. 
3rd Qtr:  CHESTERTON (7-34)  Alex Beierwalter, 2-yard run.  77 yard drive, 12 plays.  Zack Novak kick.  6:00 left.
4th Qtr:  CHESTERTON (14-34) Mike Miller, 7-yard run.  75-yard drive, 9 plays.  Novak kick.  8:37 left.
CHESTERTON  (21-34)  Beierwalter, 2-yard run. 4-yard drive, 1 play, following blocked punt and Ernest kicked ball out of bounds at CP 4-yard line.  Novak kick.  6:07 left
CROWN POINT (41-21) Mascarello, 2-yard run. 50-yard drive, 6 plays after CP recovered on-side kick at mid-field stripe.  Lipton kick. 2:39 left.

GAME TOTALS

TOTAL YARDS:   CROWN POINT - 368, CHESTERTON  - 292
FIRST DOWNS:  CROWN POINT - 20, CHESTERTON  - 15
TURNOVERS:  CROWN POINT - 0, CHESTERTON - 2

RUSHING:
CROWN POINT (31-110 yards, 2 TDs)  Jon Sertich (HB) 15-83 yards; Tommy Parks (FB) 10-47 yards, TD;  Ryan Forney (WR) 2-11 yards;
Blake Mascarello (QB) 4-2 yards, 2 sacks (-15); 
  CHESTERTON (13-29 yards, 3 TDs) Mike Miller (HB) 7-37, TD;  Alex Beierwalter (QB) 4-0, 2 sacks (-14), 2 TDs; Travis Anderson (WR) 2-4 yards.

PASSING:
CROWN POINT (14-22, 258 yards, 3 TDS)  Blake Mascarello (QB) 13-21, 145 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT;
Matt Ernest (WR) 1-1, 47 yards.
CHESTERTON (23-35, 263 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs)  Alex Beierwalter (QB) 23-35, 263 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs.

RECEIVING:
CROWN POINT:  Matt Ernest (WR) 8-139, 2 TDs; 
Zach Cecich (TE) 2-37 yards, TD; Tommy Parks (FB) 2-53 yards; Ryan Forney (WR) 2-9 yards.
CHESTERTON:  Travis Anderson (WR) 4-38 yards; Mike Miller (HB) 3-65 yards, Andrew Huddleston (WR) 1-7 yards; Adam Hutnick 3-17 yards; 
Erik Ledbetter (WR) 3-39 yards; John Kennedy 1-5 yards; Ryan Myers 2-31 yards; Kyle Lawrence 1-9 yards; Frank Sajdera 2-20 yards.

CROWN POINT, IN (10-06-2006) -  Crown Point's defense had been challenged to come back from giving up a season-high 41 points the previous week to LaPorte and was facing Chesterton, which had beaten Lake Central 63-36 with a 500-yard passing attack.  The Bulldogs' defense answered the call on Homecoming night before a packed stadium of nearly 5,000 onlookers, shutting down the vaunted Trojan attach completely for a first half 34-0 lead.

Chesterton managed two scoring drives and capitalized on a blocked punt to score 21 points in the second half before Crown Point recovered a late 4th quarter on-side kick at the 50-yard line and scored a clinching touchdown to make the final score 41-21.

The Bulldogs (8-0, 6-0 DAC) clinched at least a tie for the Duneland Athletic Conference championship, while LaPorte (6-2, 5-1) stayed within a game with a 39-13 win at Michigan City.

Crown Point, the defending DAC champ, got off to a fast start by taking the opening kick-off and driving 73-yards in 6 plays that included a razzle-dazzle halfback to wide receiver reverse, with an option pass from Matt Ernest to a wide-open Tommy Parks near the home sideline for a 47-yard gain on the very first play of the game.  Five plays later Blake Mascarello hit tight end Zach Cecich over the middle of the field for a 21-yard touchdown pass and the 'Dogs' were off to a 7-0 lead with 8:48 left in the first quarter.

Perhaps taking a cue from the previous week at LaPorte, both teams dribbled kicks down the field, possibly hoping for fumbles, or perhaps to keep the ball away from each team's main scoring threats.  The ensuing kick-off to Chesterton resulted in the Trojans starting at their own 30-yard line and went three plays and out, and punted on a 4th and 7 from their own 33 yard line.  Crown Point began their next drive from their own 30-yard line, and Mascarello engineered an efficient 7-play, 70-yard drive capped by Mascarello's 15-yard run up the middle on a quarterback draw play with 4:56 left in the first quarter.

Chesterton started their next drive from their 32-yard line and began moving the ball, advancing to the CP 47-yard line at one point.  Then a loose ball recovered by Chesterton and holding penalty pushed the Trojans back and on a 2nd and 13 play from the Chesterton 40, Beierwalter's pass to the left flat was intercepted by a streaking Jon Sertich, who raced 51-yards for a touchdown and 21-0 Bulldogs lead.  The Trojans again went three and out on their next series, setting up CP at their own 23-yard line.  The Bulldogs again produced a nice drive 7-play, 77-yard drive capped off by Mascarello's 31-yard TD pas to Matt Ernest in the left corner of the end zone.  That gave CP a 28-0 lad with 10:47 left in the second quarter.

Chesterton and Crown Point exchanged punts and the Trojans went three and out again before the Bulldogs put together an 8-play, 75yard drive that that accented by a "jump ball" TD pass from Mascarello to the 6-foot-2 Ernest in the left corner of the end zone for a 34-0 lead with 2:04 left in the first half.  (In a rare twist, the usually reliable Mike Lipton missed the extra point when his kick sailed wide left.)  Amazingly, Chesterton had two more possessions before halftime, but Crown Point's Joe Patrick intercepted a Beierwalter pass to end one threat. The next series by CP included a fake punt by Matt Ernest on a 4th-and-3 from the Chesterton 36-yard line, but he was tackled with 33-seconds left.  Chesterton picked up a couple of first downs, advancing to the CP 31-yard line in a final push for a score before the half, but Beierwalter was sacked for a loss as time ran out on the first half clock. 

Chesterton took the second half kick-off and marched from their own 23-yard line to the CP 2-yard line, where Beierwalter scored the first of his two touchdowns on the ground.  The 12-play, 77-yard drive included a quarterback fumble on a run by Beierwalter that actually rolled forward several yards where it was recovered by a Trojan receiver, and wound up being a 19-yard gain.  

On the next series, Crown Point put together a lengthy drive that eventually stalled at the Chesterton 25-yard line, where the Trojans took over on downs and then put together a 9-play, 75-yard drive of their own.  Mike Miller scored on a 7-yard run to bring the Trojans within 20 with 8:47 left in the 4th quarter.

The next series did not go well for Crown Point, having started the drive on their own 35 yard line after the Trojans kick-off had gone out of bounds.  Two short runs and then a quarterback sack for a loss set up a 4th-and-14 situation from the Bulldog 32-yard line.  Matt Ernest lined up to punt from his 20-yard line.  The punt was blocked and the ball deflected backwards towards the CP goal line.  In a desperate attempt to save the ball from being recovered for a touchdown by a pursuing Trojan defender, Ernest kicked the ball out of bounds at the 4-yard line.  Chesterton lined up and a penalty on CP moved the ball half the distance to the goal, where on the next play Beierwalter ran the ball in for a touchdown to make it interesting with a 34-21 score with 6:07 left in the game.

Chesterton lined up for an on-side kick, but the ball went directly into the hands of a waiting Bulldog lineman at the 50-yard line and Crown Point was able to move the ball downfield in 6 plays, with Mascarello running a quarterback sneak from the two yard line with 2:39 left in the game.  This time Lipton connected on the point-after attempt and CP clinched the win, 41-21.

DOG TALES:  There was a good sized crowd out for the Homecoming game and the pregame and halftime festivities included introduction of the Homecoming royalty and the Royal Regiment playing music for the halftime entertainment.  Up in the press box, WWLO-89.1 FM, USA-365.com and Indiana-Sports.com play-by-play man Dave Woodworth had a chance to interview Crown Point Athletic Director Jerry Caravana, who earlier in the week had announced his retirement to be effective at the end of this school year, after having served in the Crown Point school system for 40-years.  Caravana says there are a number of athletic highlights he recalls from those years.

"Well, you know I was very excited when our girls (basketball team) went to the state championships four times for the final four," said Caravana.  "Also, I remember in the middle-1980s when our football team went to the semi-state and played at Marion.  And this run of the last two years with the football team has really been something else.  It's been really invigorating!"

Caravana also agrees that with the new school and the success of the football team the past two years, that interest in other sports at Crown Point is also building.

"I definitely feel that way. And the kids here support each other, and you can see it here by the large contingent in the student body.  And a lot of them will be out here for our soccer sectional finals that are tomorrow here against Lake Central in Crown Point.  And we'll have a good crowd here for that.  But it happens to be the same time that our homecoming dance will be going on.  So, maybe we'll have some fans out there in tuxedos or something!" 

Caravana has been in the Athletics administration for 14-years and athletic director for the past 9-years.  He has also taught business classes at CPHS over his 40-year career.  That's a time period that has seen many changes, not only at the school, but in the area.

"You know, I've been telling people what wasn't here," said Caravana.  "The mall was not here when I started.  I-65 did not exist.  You know it just goes on and on."

With the new high school and improved environment for learning and athletics and other educational programs, Caravana feels he is leaving at a time when the future looks bright for Crown Point.

"I think one of the things that was very important in building this school, it wasn't for the athletics facility.  I was concerned that we would not be able to attract the best teachers.  And I have to say, we have a very young teaching staff here now that I am so proud of.  I just have so much confidence in them.  I feel I can really relax now.  I was always worried about that."

With the announcement of Caravana's impending retirement, the athletic director and business class teacher says he's been getting a lot of e-mails from former students, many of them expressing appreciation for the advent of Internet Radio coverage of the Bulldogs.

"I've been getting numerous comments from students all over the United States that they've been listening to the games.  One kid from I-U (Indiana University) was up today, and he was talking about how they listen to the games in Bloomington.  So that's really good."

Caravana has also taken note of the new FM radio coverage of Crown Point football on WWLO, 89.1 FM, and it's wide coverage area.

"The people are very happy to have a radio station they can actually hear.  When I was at Valparaiso (Crown Point's 35-21 win over the Vikings), I was sitting in the car listening to your show when we had the lightning and rain delay.  And actually, even in LaPorte last week, on the way home I was picking you up. "

Finally, we asked Jerry Caravana if he had any goals or plans for his retirement at the end of the school year...

"The deal is, Dave, I want you to continue working, because I need that Social Security check," chuckled Caravana. 

On The Radio & Internet:  Crown Point wraps up the regular season at Michigan City's Ames Field on Friday, October 13, and then opens the IHSAA Class 5A Football Sectional tournament on the road at Lake Central on Friday, October 20.  WWLO, 89.1 FM and Internet Radio (www.Indiana-Sports.com and 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 6:30 p.m., CDT and the kick-off is at 7:00 p.m., CDT.

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Revised: October 09, 2006 .