Renegade 2007 Pre-Season NW Indiana High School Football Poll

CROWN POINT (8-15-2007) It's a year of great change in NW Indiana as leagues break up and teams jump up and down in class. The big game in the first week is one everyone can see as the dominant team in Indiana high school football, four-time defending 5A state champion Warren Central, which brings a 21-game winning streak to Merrillville Saturday night (08-18-2007) at 6:00 p.m., CDT.

In all 21 of those games, Warren Central, a school of 3,900, has won by 20 points or more. Merrillville should be able to give the Warriors a game. The Pirates have a lot of speed, several returning starters and they should be backed by a near capacity crowd. The biggest numbers won't all be on the scoreboard. This is a test case for the logic of high schools playing on Friday and Saturday night as they do in Illinois and other states. If Merrillville's Demaree Stadium is half full Saturday night, it's unlikely that other schools will move a high-profile game to Saturday to draw more fans. But if 7,000 fans show up (Merrillville has room for 8,000), that says something else again. It says there is a market for high school football that local schools can mine if they can get other schools to cooperate.

Some neighborhood match-ups like Lowell vs. Crown Point or New Prairie vs. LaPorte are always going to be sellouts whenever you play them. But take a non-rivalry between two interesting teams like Morton and Hobart. Move it from Friday to Saturday night and publicize it and you can draw 500-1,000 more fans, largely players, parents and coaches from other schools who are forced to go to their own game on Friday night.

The new Northwest Crossroads Conference will be the old LAC Black minus Morton, which should join in a couple of years. The NWCC (they can't call themselves the NCC, that's the North Central Conference, which is 50 years old) should be of most benefit to Andrean, which is 3A and will play 4A schools all year. After all the complaining, most schools that are not in the NWCC will quietly find out that they benefit from playing in a smaller league, or as the Hammond schools do, being able to control their own schedule.

The four team Hammond Athletic Conference (HAC) has to be a boost to Hammond football as it emphasizes rivalries. Above wins and losses, the Hammond schools need to put people back in the stands, and although they don't know it now, this four-team league should do that.

The Greater South Shore Conference (GSSC) will be the best thing that happened to Lake Station in 20 years. They will now play schools their own size and enrollment like they always should have.

Two other improvements are on for this year. For the first time since the old Northwest Hoosier Conference broke up in the late 90s, arch rivals Lake Station and River Forest and neighborhood rivals Lowell and Kankakee Valley will be in the same league.

If you're looking for someone to complain to about the new leagues, you've come to the wrong place. This is going to be a good year.

QB Blake Mascarello #6 returns for his senior season to lead what is expected to be an explosive Crown Point passing attack. Returning senior offensive linemen Kurt Wermers #70 (6-5, 270) and Matt Childress #71 (6-2, 260) are shown in this 2006 file photo from the Michigan City game, 10-13-2006.

CROWN POINT - CP is the obvious choice after being ranked No.1 all last season. The Bulldogs return 5/6 of their offense line including senior center Matt Polus (6-2, 255), senior all-state guard Kurt Wermers (6-5, 270) and senior all-area tight end Zach Cecich (6-2, 230). Moving to the defensive line, at least part time will be offensive starters Cody Blue (6-3, 230) and Matt Childress (6-2, 260). Zach Brumm (5-11, 220), who started on the offensive line in 2005 and the defensive line in 2006, will do both in 2007. Add defensive end Nick Hladek, who had 70 tackles including seven sacks in 2006 and second tight end Joe Maginot (6-3, 220), and CP has as much talent and experience as you can ask for in the lines.

Also returning is QB Blake Mascarello (133-225, 2,080 yards, 26 TDs, 8 interceptions) who has started 20 games for the Bulldogs in two years and place kicker Mike Lipton (49-52 extra points), who booted four field goals as a sophomore. The wide receiver positions will have new faces, but Joe Baker (6-4, 180) and Boone Grove-transfer Ron Burton (6-2, 180) are ready to go. Burton caught 36 passes for 434 yards at Andrean in 2005.

The defense will be more physical with three state finalist wrestlers in linebacker Andrew Szymborksi (38-5), who finished fifth at the state finals last winter at 171 pounds. New defensive line part-timer Marcus Shrewsbury (36-7) was seventh in the state at 189 pounds. Linebacker Tony Conway (35-4) reached the state finals at 145 pounds and lost in the first round. Conway, Szymborski, Nick Cottrell and Lance LaMere are all returning linebackers with more than 50 tackles in 2006. Corner Anthony Stahl (48 tackles) moves from the corner to strong side outside linebacker to add speed and versatility.

The running backs are new, but senior halfback Russell Chick (5-9, 180) has waited his turn along with junior fullbacks Mike Kozlwoski (5-11, 210) and Evan Nikrin (5-11, 190).

Great expectations could hurt this team. So could injuries. They have no proven backup QB. Crown Point has an 18-game regular season win streak. They have a 14-game Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) win streak. They have the stay-at-home schedule where they play five of the nine games at home, not counting two very close road games at LC and Lowell. What they don't have is any excuses.

CHESTERTON - If you really believe that a solid offensive line and a returning QB are predictors to a good high school football season, you've got to like Chesterton. Senior Alex Beierwalter (179-314, 2,569 yards, 17 TDs, 20 INTs) is a 3-year starter and he'll be ready to go. He completed 16 of 25 in the scrimmage. Up front, it's hard to overlook Grant Cartwright (6-4, 233), Mark Vandenburgh (6-3, 300) and Sam Jaeger (6-4, 295), all future Division I players. I'm not sure what defense in this part of the state can shut down Chesterton in short yardage plays. The Trojans' best play this year may be the QB sneak with Beirwalter (6-2, 185) diving for the sticks behind his big classmates. I'm not sure who the starting running backs or wide receivers will be. Senior Zach Carnahan (6-0, 170) has to be in the middle of everything.

Let's be honest. There's a lot of boys at Chesterton who would like to run behind 300-pound D-1 tackles or catch passes from a D-1 QB. Those are positions where you can shuttle in four or five guys and keep them fresh. The longer you watch high school football the more you agree that it's all about the offensive line. The Trojans will need to establish the running game at some point in every game to make the most of those big linemen and keep the defense off the field. But, especially early in the season, they have a coast-to-coast threat on any play and large boys up front who are experienced pass blockers. And look at the first five games. Looks like 5-0, doesn't it? Only Crown Point rivals the experience Chesterton has in that offensive line and at QB.

PORTAGE - Portage returns eight defensive starters to a team that had a top defense in 2006. The core of the that top stopping unit graduates, including tackles Tony Bohling, and linebackers Nate Milligan and Kevin Alvarado, but the 2007 stoppers may be a touch faster, led by two-way CB-WR Billy Doll (6-1, 170). Probably moving to double duty is all-state halfback Albert Evans (254 carries, 1,602 yards, 15 TDs), who figures to play safety. There are two question marks here. Quarterback is not one of Portage's strongest positions and they have to decide on either Jason Melcic or Vance Johnston. The Indians averaged only 19 points a game last year, including 51 they scored against Valparaiso. That's nowhere near good enough. The other question mark is new coach Mark Peterson. How quickly the boys can get in line with what the new coach wants is how quickly they can regain the level of play they had at the end of 2006 when they lost 14-13 to DAC champ Crown Point. Melcic (33-75, 378 yards, 4 TDs, 9 INTs) will benefit greatly from playing most of last season and he'll have to as the middle three games with Merrillville, Crown Point and Chesterton are going to be a brutal stretch. And they'll see those teams again in the sectional. To rank Portage this highly assumes the defense will be as good as last year and I think it eventually will be. To rank them higher is wishful thinking. Portage was 6-5 last year before the coach and the teams' two best players graduated. Like Chesterton, all grand visions of Portage are speculation. They are 8-13 over the last two years. If the Indians stay conservative and eat up the clock with Evans, they'll be in every game and they'll get better in October.

LOWELL - I'm going against that one basic rule of pre-season predictions. That rule is: Don't ever rate a team with a new QB high in the polls. But untested junior Kurt Monix (5-10, 165) appears to have the makeup to be able to survive the inevitable early mistakes that may occur when the Devils open with DAC defending champion Crown Point (12-1). Monix has an excellent arm, better than Lowell has had at that position in many years. He will have returning receivers in Jeff Barker (6-4, 210) and Eric Roadruck (5-10, 150), so they will be a threat through the air. But don't let me fool you, Lowell is going to run the ball nine out of 10 plays with two-year veteran Steffan Peck (5-8, 175), who ran for 995 yards last season.

Lowell has their best defense in several years with Barker, a 4.6 sprinter, who had 14 QB sacks last year at one defensive end and Joe Carlson (6-1, 205) had four sacks at the other end. Linebackers Ben Rigby (6-0, 170), David Eastling and Justin Juarez (6-4, 222) all return and may be joined by senior Danny Remboski (6-0, 190), who has batted injuries more than the opposition for two years. The secondary is very good with veteran safety Lukas Palmer (108 tackles, 4 INTs) and corner TJ Lukasik (72 tackles, 6 INTs). If senior Geno Wentworth (6-3, 240) can anchor the line, there is plenty of depth. Senior David Lang is back for a third year as kicker and punter and there are some good-sized prospects in the junior class like offensive lineman Logan Wright (5-10, 250), two-way end Trevor Kersey (6-2, 216) and two-way lineman Brian DeMario (6-4, 222). Week one is CP, weeks four and six are with Griffith and Hobart. But if the Devils get 2 out of those 3, look out because this team is accustomed to winning in October and November.

MERRILLVILLE - I've seen predictions that say that Merrillville will go 0-3 to start the year. They will not go undefeated with a schedule that begins with Warren Central (15-0), Griffith (12-2) and Crown Point (12-1). But I think that's missing the point. The question is, how good will they be after Labor Day? This team was building last year and they should reap great benefits in 2007. Word from Merrillville is very positive and there are no expectations here. The defense will be very good led by quick linebacker Dionte Day (5-6, 206) and corner DeMarrio Richardson (5-10, 176), who had five interceptions in 2006. The Pirates also have NW Indiana's top kicker in junior Ryan Stokes, who averaged almost 55 yards per kickoff last season, which means you don't run any back against him.

On offense, running backs Roosevelt Williams (5-11, 175) and Ronneal Williams (5-11, 165) have plenty of speed and there are others behind them. Their offensive line does not have much experience and may struggle in August. But barring injury, I don't know how many defenses are going to be better than this one late in the year. You can't game plan against speed. The QB is a very exciting prospect in Dilapo McCarthy (6-6, 195), who has great potential. He has perfect quarterback size and good scrambling speed. McCarthy got some time last year when now-graduated John Raspopovich was injured. The key here is that he's no longer a rookie, which has to mean a lot to second year coach Zac Wells. The Pirates' offensive line was a little unsettled in the preseason, but Steve Lohse (6-6, 320) doesn't look unsettled.

This phrase is overused: "Everybody thinks we're going to lose." But when you open the season with Warren Central, the four-time defending state champ, almost everybody does expect you to lose. The Pirates will be the test case this year for the theory of playing the toughest teams available. It's true, the offense has more to prove than Rex Grossman. If Merrillville is 1-2 (could they be 2-1?) on Labor Day, don't bet against them after that.

HOBART - Hobart has Northwest Indiana's two best offensive players in WR Bobby James (6-3, 215) and tailback Andrew Jackson (6-1, 230). 'President' Jackson can be intimidating as he was last year with 1,754 yards and 29 touchdowns on 303 carries. James was not a first-team all-area in 2006, but he should have been. The Hobart junior collected 738 yards and 10 TDs on 41 catches as a sophomore. He will be Hobart's all-time leading pass receiver sometime this season. Hobart's new quarterback is Matt Barass and he is reportedly an excellent passer. This team is going to score quite a few points, because other than Lowell, I don't know how good the defenses are this year in the new Northwest Crossroads Conference. Big linebacker Steve Zimmer (6-2, 215) leads the defense and James certainly will play in the secondary, and overall the Brickie defense looked good against Valpo in the scrimmage. Hobart opens with a sure win over Gary West Side, but five of the last eight games are on the road starting with games at Crown Point (12-1) and Griffith (12-2). If the Brickies split the first six games, they'll be fine.

GRIFFITH - The Panthers are 25-3 in the last two seasons and they'll be fun to watch again. There are a lot of new boys on offense and defense, but high speed all-purpose runner David Alexander (6-2, 175) will ride the triple option. Alexander ran 193 times for 1,558 yards and 28 TDs last year and he caught 31 passes for 467 yards. He's also a top kick returner and defensive back with seven interceptions in 2006.

The Panthers graduated three all-area players from 2006 and they are going to have to score a lot of points. Senior QB Derek Hitt is a good runner and passer so they can get that done. But the Panthers open with Morton, Merrillville, Hobart and Lowell, which means... they'd better beat Morton. This is a team that traditionally, when they are breaking in new starters, can make a lot of turnovers. This won't be a quick start. Give Griffith a lot of credit for scheduling Merrillville when most teams wouldn't do it on a bet. The Panthers are risking being embarrassed in week two, but they will benefit in November.

MERRILLVILLE - The Niners will be changing their schedule and joining the Northwest Crossroads Conference (NWCC), but they will be looking to extend their streak of 8-win seasons to seven. Senior QB Austin Sutter (6-2, 175) has waited his turn and I can see him putting up the numbers of graduated QB Jesse Repay. John Kennedy, who played his sophomore season at Andrean before going to Chesterton, should be a two-way plus on the perimeter. Jonathan Bronisz (6-1, 170) is another good pass catcher. The 59ers may not have the defensive front to stop Lowell, Hobart and Griffith, but I remember Andrean stuffing a lot of people last year for 2/3 of the year until injuries backed them up.

If I was going to pick out a new star without seeing him in the pre-season, it will be David Brant (5-9, 205), who carried 72 times for 374 yards and 10 TDs last year. Brant will double those numbers or I'm going to open a string of Michael Vick dog kennels. Bronisz caught 32 passes for 466 yards. Kicker Pat Gorny averaged almost 50 yards a kickoff last season and Sutter averaged 33 yards a punt.

The Niner defense, under the former Wheeler coach Phil Mason, will be a surprising strength. Linebacker Chris Howard (5-10, 190) returns after a season with 90 tackles. CJ Tolbert (5-11, 205) comes back after recording 80 stops. Defensive end Andy Germonprez (6-1, 230) comes back after a 65-tackle season. The roster isn't that big and the 59ers can't survive injuries like the DAC teams can. I wish their offensive line had more experience, but just between you and me, look at the schedule and then look at the sectional. They play in a league with all 4A schools and then they enter the 3A playoffs. This is a very weak 3A area and the 59ers will be schooled by power foes for 9 weeks. There is a very good chance that Andrean will still be playing in November after everyone else has been eliminated. And they probably expect to be.

ST. JOHN - Lake Central improved by two games last year and they may be able to bump it up two more this fall. The Indians had only 20 seniors last year and a lot of folks got playing time. The defense should be stronger with returning deep backs Austin Macak (5-10, 175) and Matt Wesley (5-8, 175), plus big senior defensive end Danny Manick (6-5, 235).

I'm not sure who the new QB will be, but halfback Tony Morang (5-11, 205) will be of help. There are a lot of line candidates and that's where the war is won in the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC). I'M not sure they're big and strong enough for the Crown Points and Chestertons in this league, but a 4-3 league record is a possibility. LC is on the rise, but you do not move up in the DAC just because you want to.

MUNSTER - Here's a surprise team. But I like 'Little Joe' Gill (6-4, 210), who completed 69 of 167 passes for 815 yards and 12 TDs with just three interceptions in 2006. John Jurkash (5-9, 190) should give them good production at running back. Billy Haase returns to handle the kicking. Brandon Miller (6-2, 205) should be back to lead the defense.

Munster will be the most closely watched team in NW Indiana because they must step up and it's T-minus nine weeks. Munster moves from 4A to 5A this season and 5A is the major leagues. The Ponies have to be prepared to draw Merrillville, Crown Point or any of the other DAC powers in the opening sectional game so there must be dramatic improvement during the season. I think they will rise to the occasion and surprise everyone.

On the outside looking in...

VALPARAISO - I am still not totally sure why the Vikings were 3-6 last season, but they won't be again with QB Alex Sarkisian (111-226, 1,323 yards, 14 TDs, 5 INTs) and big versatile receiver Scott Rastovic (6-2, 190) leading the offense. Rastovic scored seven TDs in 2006.

This is a new team in a lot of places, but I believe they return two offensive linemen. The Vikings can move the ball on most anyone and I can't believe the defense will be as bad as it was in 2006.

The RENEGADE

2007 Pre-season: NW Indiana High School Top-10 Football Poll