Week 9, NW Indiana High School Football: Michigan City 26, Crown Point 17

Team	1	2	3	4	F
CROWN POINT (3-6, 3-4 DAC)	7	3	7	0	17
Michigan City (4-5, 2-5 DAC)	7	0	6	13	26

1st Q: CROWN POINT (7-0) Chris Rutherford, 5-yard pass (3rd TD catch) from Matt Jansen (11^th TD pass). 31-yard drive, 6 plays. Brad Mallers kick. 7:24 left.

MICHIGAN CITY (7-7) Harold Johnson, 2-yard run (9^th TD, 8^th TD run). 80-yard drive, 13 plays. Brad Tucker kick. 1:09 left.

3rd Q: MICHIGAN CITY (10-13) Jimmie Townsend, 70-yard interception return. Kick wide. 4:25 left.

CROWN POINT (17-13) Mike Smith (3^rd TD, 2^nd TD catch), 23-yard pass from Matt Jansen (12^th TD pass). 68-yard drive, 8 plays. Brad Mallers kick. 1:19 left.

4th Q: MICHIGAN CITY (17-19) Adrian Johnson (6^th TD run), 3-yard run. 85-yard drive, 5 plays. Kick wide.

MICHIGAN CITY (17-26) Adrian Johnson (7^th TD run), 16-yard run. 58-yard drive, 9 plays. Brad Tucker kick.

MICHIGAN CITY, IN (10-15-2004) - The roller coaster ride keeps going for Crown Point. All that talk about CP playing one of the top-25 toughest schedules in the state. That's all true. But when you lead in the fourth quarter, you should win. It's really that simple. Especially against a team that hasn't come from behind to win all year.

But CP, which led 7-0, 10-7 and 17-13, made the big mistakes while Michigan City made the big plays Friday night, and it was the Wolves who went home happy with a 26-17 Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) win.

The game didn't have much meaning in the overall standings, but it did wonders for the Wolves, who gained 357 yards rushing on 44 carries and survived CP's prolific passing attack with two second half interceptions to give Michigan City a fourth victory for the first time in four seasons.

That may not sound like much but since they went 7-4 in 2000, the Wolves had gone 7-23 in a three-year span including a dismal 1-20 in DAC play.

“All leagues are tough,' said MC's third year coach Bob Holmes. “But it's hard to rise in this league. I'm just glad for these boys that they could do this at home on Parents Night. These seniors -- they've been with me for three years. They've worked so hard to try to help build this program. It was good to see them get a reward.”'

For Crown Point (3-6, 3-4 DAC), this loss isn't devastating because it's happened before. The Bulldogs have led Lowell (6-3), Hobart (8-1), LaPorte (6-3) and Michigan City in the fourth quarter this season but have lost all of those games. Obviously, that's the difference between 3-6 and 7-2.

“We turned the ball over again at crucial times,” said CP coach Chip Pettit, “and that's been a problem for us. We had a key fumble in the first half and two key interceptions in the second half. That's not winning football.”

Crown Point opened the door for Michigan City and the Wolves big offensive line and hard running backs roared through for the victory. CP led 10-7 and was about to make it 17-7 after sophomore linebacker Tommy Parks blocked a punt at the Michigan City 42-yard line.

CP's Matt Jansen fired a pass down the middle of the field that sent top wide receiver Matt Ernest running free inside the Michigan City 30 yard line. But the City secondary closed on Ernest and knocked the ball out of his hands with Kevin Collyard recovering at the MC 20-yard line.

In the third quarter, the Bulldogs were inside the Michigan City 35-yard-line when Jansen tried a third down pass to Ernest that was anticipated by junior cornerback Jimmie Townsend. Townsend stepped in front of Ernest and grabbed the ball, running away for a 70-yard defensive TD that kept Michigan City in the game.

CP immediately drove 68 yards in eight plays for the go-ahead TD. Jansen, who hit 15 of 29 passes for 211 yards fired a 23-yard TD pass to Mike Smith to give the Bulldogs a 17-13 lead with 1:19 left in the third quarter.

Michigan City retaliated as both defenses seemed to tire on a cold, damp night. On a 3rd-and-5, Harold Johnson took a pitchout and turned the corner in front of the home team bench, racing 70 yards until Ernest tackled him at the CP 5-yard-line. Two plays later, Adrian Johnson, MC's 215-pound junior fullback, took a pitchout and broke a tackle to score the go-ahead TD with 10:57 left in the game.

Crown Point again stormed down the field with Jansen, operating from a 5-wide receiver set, completing four passes including a 30-yarder to Smith at the Michigan City 14 yard line. But after two incompletion's, Jansen, under a heavy rush from big William Walker (6-6, 220) threw an ill-advised pass that was easily picked off by Harold Johnson at the Michigan City 6-yard line with 7:28 left.

The Wolves then iced the game with a 94-yard scoring drive. The MC offensive line, including big senior tackle Greg Mooneyhan (6-3, 300) overpowered the CP front with Adrian Johnson scoring the clinching TD from 15 yards out with 1:47 to play.

Pettit gave credit to MC for the game-breaking fourth quarter plays but he was more upset that his Bulldogs didn't bury Michigan City in the first half when they had a chance.

CP played without defensive end Justin Sprehe (6-3, 210) and defensive back Ben Kasch (5-10, 170), both out with injuries. But Michigan City lost leading tackler Lemon Kelley (5-10, 215) in the first period to a leg injury. They won without him.

“We're at the point of the season where we're beaten up,” said Pettit. “But who isn't? Whether we're banged up or not, I just didn't care for our mental approach and our intensity level. That's what we're going to have to address.”

For Michigan City, this was a boost. This was the first game all season where the Wolves were not supposed to win, trailed most of the game, and won anyway.

“Harold Johnson was outstanding tonight,” said Holmes. “That's what he's capable of doing. He didn't dance. He made his own holes. He moved north and south. He hasn't done it a lot and I know he'll understand now when he watches the film what he can do.”

“Adrian Johnson 's been one of our best offensive weapons all year. We mixed it up between Harold, (Ryan Fics and Adrian. Our offensive and defensive lines set the tones inside the box and that's what wins football games.”

CP had to go with sophomore defensive end Nick Damjanovic (5-10, 180) along side junior Nick Conway (5-10, 270), Nick Parkinson (5-11, 195) and Dan Weisel (6-3, 185) 0). MC countered with Mooneyhan, Brandon Eckwod (5-9, 230), Jason Bendix (5-10, 230), Robert Engel (6-3, 295) and Nick Maitland (5-10, 170). To overcome that size differential, the Bulldogs would need an inspired effort and they simply didn't get that.

“We got pushed around up front,” admitted Pettit. “But I'm more concerned that we just didn't seem ready to play tonight from the start.”

Michigan City had trailed 14-0 in the first quarter against four different teams this year. And the Wolves probably were concerned when CP scored on a 5-yard pass from Jansen to Chris Rutherford in the first five minutes. It was the eighth time this year in nine weeks that CP had scored the game's first touchdown. But the Wolves mounted an 80-yard scoring drive in 13 running plays where the offensive line knocked the Bulldogs off the ball.

Crown Point should have completed more passes for more yards. Jansen had four passes dropped and he missed open receivers. The game numbers look acceptable but Michigan City looked confused at times against Crown Point's four and five wide receiver sets. Bulldog receivers were often running free deep in the secondary. But Michigan City defensive end William Walker (6-6, 220) consistently defeated single and double blocking and rushed Jansen into premature throws.

“We challenged him to step up tonight,” said Holmes. “He showed what was inside of him. He had a great evening. It's all about bending, but not breaking. Our goal was to not give up the big play. CP, in my opinion, has one of the best QBs in the league in Jansen and they're all so young. Keiser and Sertich and Jansen and Ernest and they're all coming back next year. That's a team that will be reckoned with. Chip Pettit's doing an outstanding job and they've been in the game all year.”

“This win is extremely important. Each year we've made a little step. You've got to see the hard work pay off.”

There is a kinship between Michigan City and Crown Point, as well as LaPorte, Chesterton and Lake Central. They're all DAC teams that have been battling to stay out of the second division year after year after year against league powerhouses Valparaiso, Portage and Merrillville. Of the five championship wanna-bes, only Chesterton (once) and LaPorte (last year) have ever won the DAC.

“I heard coach (Bob) Schellinger talk at the state coaches meeting last year”, said Holmes, whose MC team has not won the DAC since consolidating from traditional Michigan City school Elston and Rogers in 1995. “He said that everybody talks coming in about winning the league in five years. It took him 12 years to win the DAC. This conference is unbelievable. To understand the level of talent that we see week-in and week-out. I'm still just 2 ½ years here. I was hired in May (of 2001) and we had to put a team on the field in August. So, I'm just about 2 ½ years.”

“We hope everybody understands the progress that we've made and that everybody doesn't always get caught up in wins and losses. “

CP has made progress this year as well. The Bulldogs 3-6 record looks bad, even against last season's 5-5 and this is the first season since 2001 that CP will not finish with a winning record in the DAC. There was a feeling all along that CP would beat Michigan City for a fourth consecutive time Friday. Perhaps that feeling contributed to the loss. The Bulldogs seemed to relax after scoring that early TD. and by the second half, they were in a fight with a team on their home field trying to prove themselves.

But the Bulldogs are indeed in the same boat with Michigan City. Perhaps a step ahead. The fact that the Bulldogs played league champions in Merrillville (8-1) and LAC Black champ Hobart (8-1) along with five other winning teams, plus the fourth quarter letdowns, obscures that the youthful basis for a division-winning team is in place.

As the rain started to fall on Michigan City's pretty Ames Field late Friday, though, that potential future seemed a long way off for CP.

“They are big and physical,” said Pettit, who said the Sprehe is not certain to be back next week against Lake Central (1-8) in the Sectional 1 quarterfinals. “Give credit to their team. It doesn't make or break the season. Are we disappointed? Sure.”

DOG NOTES: Kevin Collyear replaced Michigan City middle linebacker Lemon Kelley and held his own for the last three quarters.

“He did an outstanding job,” said Holmes. “Lemon's our leading tackler. It's very hard to lose you middle linebacker but Kevin did a great job.”

The Michigan City line coach is CP grad Tom Cicero (1999). He was very happy with the 357 yards rushing.

“It was good to see,” Cicero said. “They really did the job tonight. It was a victory for the lines.”

Matt Ernest and Jon Sertich both left Friday's game with minor injuries but they both returned to action. Center Brad Jones was also temporarily sidelined. CP used Brad Mallers to kick points and field goals while Nick Soltis punted and Donny Keiser was used on kickoffs. Except for one kick that went out of bounds, all three were solid. Keiser had two touchbacks, meaning MC got no return at all.

Crown Point hosts Lake Central (1-8) in the sectional quarterfinals next week (Oct. 22). LC was crushed 36-0 by Valparaiso Friday and has lost eight in a row, including a 27-6 loss at Crown Point in September. CP's semifinal playoff foe would probably be league champion Merrillville (8-1), a 20-17 winner over Chesterton Friday to clinch their first DAC title since 1992.

Hobart, a team CP led 17-6 in August before losing 21-17, won the LAC Black title with a 21-7 upset at Griffith. Senior Marc Drobac scored three times as Hobart, a former DAC powerhouse, went 7-0 in their second year in the LAC.

The crowd at Michigan City Friday was in the 1,200 to 1,500 range, pretty good for a cold night and two losing teams who are not rivals. Ames Field had some standing water in the middle, highly unusual since they had a special drainage system installed when the old minor league baseball park was remodeled in the mid 90s. There had been rain most of Thursday and early Friday in Michigan City but that was the first time that water had not simply run away as was designed.

Crown Point was continually warned by game officials to not step over the sidelines. There is very little room between the stands and the playing field at Ames field and players and coaches often stepped over the sidelines when play was not close. With cheerleaders and 60-70 players, the visitors sideline was very crowded. Officials seemed under orders to push players and coaches back well behind the sidelines, but there truthfully isn't enough room at Ames for a DAC size team to stand on the visitors side.

Ryan Fics' 130 yards on 18 carries gave him 934 yards on 122 carries for the year.

Matt Ernest's 111 yards on six catches gave him 845 yards on 38 grabs. CP has not had a 1,000-yard pass receiver since Dave Warne in 1995.

Matt Jansen finished the regular season with an unofficial 99 of 195 for 1,345 yards, 10 TDs and nine interceptions. The Bulldogs, for all their offensive weapons, ended the season averaging only 17 points a game. In a rare statistical oddity, Crown Point scored exactly 17 points in four different games against Hobart, Portage, Chesterton and Michigan City. They were 1-3 in those games.

Aug. 20	Lowell	L 15-25
Aug. 27	at Hobart	L 17-21
Sep. 3	at Merrillville‡	W 7- 3
Sep. 10	Lake Central‡	W 27- 6
Sep. 17	Portage‡	L 17-24
Sep. 24	at Valparaiso‡	L 14-35
Oct. 1	at LaPorte‡	L 23-37
Oct. 8	Chesterton‡	W 17-14
Oct. 15	at Michigan City‡	L 17-26
5A Sectional 1
Oct. 22	Lake Central (1-8)	7:00 pm
Oct. 29	Merrillville (8-1)	7:00 pm

Aug. 20	Gary Roosevelt	W 46-20
Aug. 27	at South Bend Riley	W 55- 7
Sep. 3	at Chesterton‡	L 0-48
Sep. 10	Valparaiso‡	L 9-38
Sep. 17	at Merrillville‡	L 17-48
Sep. 24	Lake Central‡	W 34- 0
Oct. 1	at Portage‡	L 16-27
Oct. 8	LaPorte‡	L 14-42
Oct. 15	Crown Point‡	W 26-17
5A Sectional 1
Oct. 22	at Valparaiso	7:00 pm
Oct.29	Portage (6-3) or Chesterton (5-4)	7:00 pm

John Novak (MC) 1-9 yards; Justin Milcarek (MC) 1-4 yards
Mike Smith (CP) 3-55 yards, TD; Chris Wilson 1-6 yards; Jon Sertich (CP) 4-21 yards;

MICHIGAN CITY (44-357 yards, 3 TDs) Ryan Fics (MC) 18-130 yards; Harold Johnson (MC) 11 carries, 140 yards, TD;

CROWN POINT (22-54 yards) Jon Sertich (CP) 8-29 yards; Donny keiser (CP) 6-33 yards;

Wolves come from behind to beat Crown Point 26-17 in regular season finale