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| Merrillville can win half or all of the the Duneland Conference championship when they ride the bus to Chesterton Friday night. (Photo by Mark Smith) |
A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
10-13-2020
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| Merrillville can win half or all of the the Duneland Conference championship when they ride the bus to Chesterton Friday night. (Photo by Mark Smith) |
MERRILLVILLE
(10-16-2020) We are a week away from one of the biggest blunders the Indiana
High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) state tournament makes. Giving a first
round bye to the biggest schools.
For those who
don’t know, there are 64 teams in the state tournament in Classes 1A, 2A, 3A and
4A. In Class 5A and 6A, there are 32 teams. And those biggest schools do not
play the first week.
I have never heard a reason why.
If you simply list just 32 teams in Classes 1A and 2A and 64 in Classes 3A, 4A,
5A and 6A, you solve this problem. Why do it?
Larger schools have bigger numbers. More boys on the team means big schools can
play week after week after week and not wear down the troops. The teams that are
stressed in the state tournament are those who play the full nine game schedule
and then a three week sectional with no byes or breaks of any kind. One of the
great fantasies of high school football thinking is that teenage boys can play
football 14 or 15 weeks in a row (National Football League or NCAA college teams
NEVER play 13 or 14 weeks in a row) and that it doesn’t wear them down and out.
Look at small school Class 1A and 2A teams, which have fewer than 50 players.
Does anybody think those teams, which have boys playing both offense and
defense, don’t wear themselves down seriously by November? Every team that got
an unscheduled bye week got a break in the Covid-19 2020 season, no matter what
they tell you.
The other reason to have the larger schools play every week is cash money. Even
if Class 1A schools sellout their games that’s 1,000, 1,500 fans at best. When
Crown Point plays at home (and there isn’t world wide pandemic) they draw 2,000
on a bad night. I am aware that the IHSAA makes the ticket money off the state
tournament, but that only suggests to me that they should make the change I
suggest.
There are other options. Let's say there are 348 football playing schools. The
number changes from year to year. Give the top six teams in EVERY 58-team (58
times six is 348) class a bye and have 52 other teams in each class go head to
head in sectional quarterfinals. Add the 26 first round winners to the six bye
teams and every class has 32 sectional semifinalists as they do now.
If there are only 322 schools in any year, have 2A thru 6A do the 58-team
playoff (290 teams) and have Class 1A include just enough teams (32) to fill out
the bracket. Class 1A teams deserve the byes that Class 5A and 6A teams are
getting. Someone will change this eventually.
Okay, now we find out if we should have pushed the football season to the spring
because of the virus. Any positive Covid-19 tests involving a football team
after this weekend eliminates that school from the 48th Indiana High State
Athletic Association (IHSAA) state tournament.
1. (6A) Merrillville (6-1)
2019 (11-2), 2018 (7-4), 2017 (1-9), 2016 (5-6), 2015
(7-5)
MERRILLVILLE: The Pirates rejected Lake Central 35-7 last week, the fourth
time that Merrillville has held a team to a total of seven points this fall. If
Merrillville is 100% healthy, there’s no reason for high confidence as they head
east to play Chesterton (4-3) Friday night for a half share of the Duneland
Athletic Conference (DAC) championship.
DID THEY GET A GOOD DRAW?
Yes, I would guess that Merrillville wanted to play at Lake Central (1-7) as
opposed to Crown Point (3-3) in the Class 6A Sectional 1 semifinals. But the
good news is, they did not draw 6A No. 3 (Lafayette) Jefferson, which has lost
just four times in the last four seasons. A Pirate win over CP, I believe, puts
them at home in Merrillville against Jefferson (10-0) the night of November 6
for one of the state tournament’s most highly anticipated sectional championship
games.
2. (5A) Valparaiso (4-0)
2019 (13-1), 2018 (10-2), 2017 (8-2), 2016 (5-5), 2015
(7-3)
VALPARAISO: The news from Valpo last week is that all-state quarterback Max
Grimes is out for the season with his knee injury in August. That means that
junior Logan Lockhart, who has played in all five of Valpo’s games anyway, will
be the starter in the state playoffs. Valpo rolled over Portage 41-7 last week
as halfback Tommy Burbee ran for TDs of eight, 25 and 80 yards. The Vikings ran
the ball 37 times for 343 yards. If the Vikings were somehow harmed by two
Covid-19 weeks off, it wasn’t obvious as they led 27-0 at the half. Valparaiso
drew Michigan City (5-1) in the Class 5A Sectional 9 semifinals on October 30.
DID THEY GET A GOOD DRAW?
Yes. I’d guess that Valpo wants to play Michigan City (4-2) right away and not
risk anyone getting hurt earlier in the sectional. That is what will happen on
October 30. The Vikings would also be a big time favorite over anyone in 5A
Sectional 10 in the regional on Nov. 13. Close your eyes and you can almost see
Class 5A No. 3 Valparaiso (4-0) vs. Class 5A No. 2 Bishop Dwenger (7-1) in the
5A Northern semistate, can't you?
3.) (2A) Andrean (7-1)
2019 (10-4), 2018 (10-2), 2017 (8-4), 2016 (5-6), 2015
(7-4)
MERRILLVILLE: This seems to be Andrean’s hour of power. The 59ers rolled
over a good Kankakee Valley team 35-7 last week. Andrean has wins over Hobart
(5-2), New Prairie (4-4) and KV (5-3) and the 59ers have won seven in a row
since an opening night loss to Merrillville (6-1). This is the third consecutive
season that Andrean has had a seven-game winning streak and the 59ers play
Lowell for the Northwest Crossroads Conference (NC) championship this Friday.
DID THEY GET A GOOD DRAW?
Yes. But almost any draw was good for them. The 59ers play at Boone Grove (2-5)
in the Class 2A Sectional 33 quarterfinals and then would take on either Whiting
(0-1) or Bishop Noll (1-5) in the semifinals. Odds are, Andrean rides the big,
yellow bus to Rensselaer for the Sectional 33 title game on November 6. There
seems no way for Andrean to avoid 2A No. 3 Pioneer (7-1) and 2A No. 2 Eastbrook
(7-1) in November, but there’s no way for Pioneer and Eastbrook to avoid them,
either.
4.) (4A) Hobart (5-2)
2019 (11-3), 2018 (7-3), 2017 (6-4), 2016 (10-3), 2015
(5-5)
HOBART: I keep thinking there’s something pivotal that I don’t know about
Hobart’s season so far. They have rolled past five teams including Chesterton
(4-3) and Griffith (4-2). But the 35-24 loss to Andrean still makes me wonder.
The Brickies shouldn’t give up 35 points to anybody. Hobart rolled over KV 41-17
and Highland 44-6 the last two weeks and they close out the regular season with
a game at Munster (1-7) this Friday.
DID THEY GET A GOOD DRAW?
I guess so. The Brickies are the favorites and defending champions in Class
4A Sectional 17 and I think they’d have liked to play Lowell immediately on
October 23 in the quarterfinals. Instead they get Gavit (2-1) and then East
Chicago (0-5) or Gary West Side (2-5) in the semifinals. Hobart vs. Lowell
appears likely on November 6 and the game, more likely than not, would be in
Lowell.
5.) Chesterton (4-3)
2019 (6-4), 2018 (3-7), 2017 (4-6), 2016 (2-8), 2015
(8-3)
CHESTERTON: The Trojans' game with Crown Point last week was canceled by the
Covid-19 virus and they host mighty Merrillville (6-1) in the regular season
finale this Friday. One problem for Chesterton is that they are a passing team
(180 passes in 7 weeks) and the weather is changing. Cold weather (upper 40s is
the week nine forecast) is like an extra defensive back in high school football
and chilly fingers will be back on the menu this Friday. Merrillville will be
the fourth Top-10 team Chesterton has faced this fall.
DID THEY GET A GOOD DRAW?
No. Chesterton got a home game, but they drew Penn (4-4), a very strong
defensive team. Then, the Trojans would likely see Elkhart (6-0), the new
Elkhart County consolidation that hasn’t come close to losing. The Trojans have
never won a sectional and, with the draw they just got, the 2020 road will be
difficult.
6.) (4A) LOWELL (7-0)
2019 (7-5), 2018 (10-3), 2017 (14-1), 2016 (9-5)
LOWELL: Why isn't Lowell higher in the poll since they haven’t lost any
games on the field? The Red Devils coasted past an out-manned Munster squad 41-7
last Friday, rushing for 322 yards on 45 carries. Part of it is the schedule.
Lowell has not faced any ranked teams. The Devils have also had a few boys in
and out of the lineup and their strength has been hard to judge. But that
changes Friday when the Devils ride the big, yellow bus to 2A No. 1 Andrean
(7-1) for a conference title showdown.
DID THEY GET A GOOD DRAW?
Yes. The Devils open Class 4A sectional 17 with Morton (3-0), but they get that
game in Lowell. The Devils would then meet either Highland (3-4) or Griffith
(4-2) in the semifinals and Lowell would then face defending sectional champ
Hobart. This is just me talking, but I think Lowell does not want to play Hobart
the week after they play at Andrean. The ‘November men’ Lowell and Hobart should
then meet again on November 6 in south Lake County.
7.) (5A) Michigan City (4-2)
2019 (4-6), 2018 (10-3), 2017 (9-4), 2016 (7-4)
MICHIGAN CITY: I didn’t see MC’s 14-13 overtime loss at LaPorte coming. The
Wolves were averaging 37 points a game. This was a rivalry game and LaPorte
(3-5) is on the rise. But it is not a good late-season sign to get a setback
against a sub-.500 squad and it was the offense that surprised me. Michigan
City’s game with Crown Point this week was canceled by the Covid-19 virus and,
if I was MC, I would not try too hard to find a week nine game.
DID THEY GET A GOOD DRAW?
No. The Wolves drew Valparaiso (4-0) at Valpo and that’s a hard ride down a
dusty road. The Wolves get a bye on October 23 so Michigan City will get two
full weeks to work on Valparaiso. I think that is an advantage.
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Revised: October 13, 2020
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