"The Renegade"

High School Top-10 Football Poll

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

CROWN POINT (10-20-2003) The DAC powers Portage, LaPorte and Merrillville are a solid 1-2-3 but here's the time they start to disappear. With seven DAC teams in sectional one, there can only be one DAC team advance beyond the regional level. There are LAC teams in all five classes so inferior teams will advance further in the state tournament than the top-10 will.

Understand that superpower Jimtown (8-1) blocks the path of Noll (6-3), North Judson (5-4) or Wheeler (9-0) at the regional level. Undefeated Pioneer (9-0) stands in the way of any 1A hopeful in the fourth week of the tourney and unbeaten Twin Lakes (9-0) confronts the local 3A survivor at the regional. 5A is a nightmare with Penn (8-1) at the regional level and Snider (8-1) or Jefferson (9-0) almost certain to be at the semistate level. Only in Class 4A, where East Noble (9-0) seems certain to await the Sectional nine champ, does the path to the state finals not appear overwhelming.

As always, 'The Renegade', with no allegiance to any school or any sponsors (not yet, anyway) can tell it like it is about local prep football. All schools in the six county Northwest Indiana region count and records are irrelevant. These are the BEST teams.

1.) Portage (8-1)

Antoine Brown (181 carries, 1,427 yards) did not get stopped in the 22-21 upset loss at LaPorte but QB Jake Huston (79-152, 1,332, 11 TDS, 1 INT) was only 9-of-26 for 135 yards. It's hard to put the Slicers ahead of Portage based on a one-point home win, though. Portage gained 348 totals yards and 22 first downs against the highly touted LaPorte defense. But the Indians' pass defense folded under pressure and gave up a season high 254 yards. Portage fumbled three times and gave up 330 total yards but you never judge a team on one week.

2.) LaPorte (6-3)

LaPorte stepped to the front of the DAC with the 22-21 upset of Portage, winning a half share of their first league title in 17 years. In the biggest game of the year, soph QB Lance Juergensen hit 15 of 26 for 254 yards and ace receiver Jerome Vann caught nine passes for 156 yards and two TDs against a highly regarded Portage secondary. The Slicers have won five in a row.
Remember, this team was extremely highly regarded in the preseason with 17 returning starters and an undefeated freshman team. This is where they're supposed to be. LaPorte's sectional quarterfinal game Friday at Elkhart Memorial (9-0) is one of the premier first round games in the northern half of the state.

3.) Chesterton (6-3)

Chesterton falls in the rankings largely because LaPorte keeps fulfilling their potential, but the Trojans were exposed as a team that lacks overall speed. Merrillville, one of the region's fastest teams, ran down every play and held the Trojans power option attack to just 194 yards in a 7-3 upset. No one had held Chesterton under 290 yards all season.

You don't judge a team on one game but, looking back, Chesterton only led Crown Point 19-14 after three quarters seven days earlier. Coming in averaging 32.3 points per game, Chesterton was held to just a 21-yard field goal by Kyle Yelton, the son of Merrillville's coach. Chesterton is undefeated at home and all three road losses have come by 7 points or less. But the Trojans have had some problems stopping the run. Michigan City (their sectional quarterfinal foe Friday) doesn't scare them, but MC's 1,000-yard rusher Shawn Lee might.

4.) ANDREAN (9-0)

Andrean rallied to win for the third week in a row, overcoming deficits of 14-0 and 20-7 to beat Munster 28-20. The 59ers are a little shaky defensively giving up 68 points in three games. But 417 yards of total offense covered up a lot of little boo-boos last week. QB Tommy Finn hit 13-of-15 passes for 155 yards, and was backed up with a robust 262 yards rushing that defeated the Mustangs. Otis Walton gained 125 yards on 25 carries.

This is the third consecutive undisputed Lake Athletic Conference (LAC) championship for Andrean and they have won 26 regular season wins in a row. The 59ers have two soft games (Wirt and probably Morton) in the first two weeks of the state tournament. That time will be spent trying to figure out why they've allowed a frightening 990 total yards in the last three games. The ability to come from behind in the second half is a valuable asset going into the state tournament. But to trail by 7-10 points in the second half three weeks in a row indicates a potentially season-ending problem exists.

5.) LOWELL (8-1)

Lowell is not setting the world on fire. Like Andrean, they're falling behind regularly. Good teams do not fall significantly behind two weeks in a row. The Red Devils trailed Highland 13-3 before 20 unanswered points produced a 23-13 victory last week. Justin Henley (165 carries, 978 yards) scored three second half TDs and the Lowell offensive line bankrolled the comeback for a second consecutive week. The Red Devils have given up just 82 points all season, even counting 21 to Andrean (9-0) and 20 to Munster (7-2).

Lowell finished second in the LAC when league champ Andrean beat Munster but that should mean little. Lowell is another team which had 17 returning starters and an undefeated freshman squad coming in at the start of the season. But the Devils need a dominant performance against Lew Wallace (4-5) in the first round of the state tournament this week to indicate they are ready for prime time and not living on borrowed time.

6.) Griffith (5-4)

Remember, with two overtime losses to Munster and Andrean, the Panthers are truly 5-2-2. In three of their four losses. Griffith led with five minutes to play. They're almost 7-1. The Panthers have seven 300-yard rushing games this season and five in a row. Running the ball is what wins consistently, especially in the playoffs. Special teams help. Jack Kosinski (139 carries, 1378 yards) ran a kickoff back 80 yards with 1:29 left to give the Panthers a 35-29 win at improving Hobart last week. Griffith forfeited three wins due to an ineligible benchwarmer on the roster but, in reality, they enter the playoffs with a winning record.

The Panthers' power option attack truly cannot be stopped when it is executed correctly and the Panthers will roll over Clark and Gavit in the first two rounds of the state tournament. Nobody really wants to play them because nobody's sure they can stop them.

7.) CROWN POINT (5-4)

CP smoked Michigan City last week leading 31-0 before winning 31-14. QB Matt Cowan passed at will on the Wolves hitting 13 of 17 for 233 yards and receiver Aaron Miller caught six passes for 126 yards. The Bulldogs sacked MC quarterback Matt Buell five times and they'll need that kind of rush against Portage and John Huston this week.

The Bulldogs' Donny Keiser has carried 77 times for 380 yards and he is about to take over the team rushing lead from Cowan, who has carried 119 times for 383 yards. The Bulldogs need 150 rushing yards to have a chance against Portage. CP lost 56-0 to Portage on Sept. 19, but after the way LaPorte threw the ball on Portage, the Bulldogs have upset hopes they didn't have seven days ago.

8.) MERRILLVILLE (5-4)

Here's another team with upset hopes. The Pirates jolted Chesterton 7-3 last week and, if they beat Lake Central Friday (Oct.24), they get Chesterton again in the Sectional one semifinals. I could not figure out why so many teams were running well on Merrillville. Coach Jeff Yelton, a former defensive coordinator, apparently figured it out because the Pirates held Chesterton to just 97 yards rushing. Understand that the Pirates lost 30-28 to Valparaiso and 23-22 to Crown Point or they'd be 7-2. Merrillville clearly isn't through for the season yet.

9.) Valparaiso (4-5)

The five VHS losses are to LaPorte (6-3), Crown Point (5-4) and powers Chesterton (6-3), Penn (8-1) and Portage (8-1). Valparaiso held injury-riddled Lake Central to just 74 total yards in a 14-0 win last week, the Vikings' second shutout of the year. Junior Bo Gillilund scored two TDs and made 14 tackles while linebacker Steve Hrivnak (6-4, 195) intercepted three LC passes.

This is a junior dominated team that must be wary of East Chicago (5-4) in the first round of the state tournament. But anybody who thinks Wheeler (9-0) could beat Valparaiso (and there probably are some in the area that would like to see the two neighbors meet) or should be ranked ahead of them doesn't have a grip on reality.

10.) Munster (7-2)

Munster led Andrean 14-0 and lost 28-21, allowing 417 total yards. The only winning team the Mustangs have beaten is Griffith (5-4), and that was a 49-42 overtime game that Griffith dominated. The passing of Wally Cirafesi (73 of 137, 1,227 yards, 18 TDs, 5 INTs) and the catching of Bart Banach (16 TD catches) will keep them close against anybody but, as I said last week, the lack of strong run defense (351 yards allowed vs. Lowell, 303 vs. Griffith, 262 against Andrean) will not let this team go far.

Munster gets a big break facing Gary West Side in the first round of the playoffs and then hosting Lowell (8-1). With Cirafesi and Banach, Munster could reverse their 22-20 loss to Lowell on Oct. 3.

JUDGMENT Day is coming....

for East Chicago (5-4)

The Cardinals stopped St. Laurence 20-13 to finish with a 5-4 record, but EC's independent schedule is so wildly erratic that no one knows what it means. Blowout losses to Merrillville (27-0) and Portage (39-12) cast doubt on what the Cards can do against Valparaiso in the section one quarterfinals this week. EC has only beaten Riley (0-9), DeSales (3-5), Wirt (2-7), Roosevelt (1-8) and St. Laurence (4-4), five very questionable teams. The Cardinals don't have the players to win sectional one. But a win over Valpo, clinches a winning season, brings prestige back to the program and gives the team real hope for the future. A loss by a significant margin would send a hard sign that the schedule simply must be improved.