USA-365's Week-14 NW Indiana High School Football Poll

LOWELL (11-22-2005) Seven days after three NW Indiana teams posted triumphant regional wins, two of them went down against teams that were, at best, equals. Merrillville may have met an equal in Hamilton Southeastern which had defeated Carmel and Snider in the two previous weeks.

Again NW Indiana comes up as a weak area statewide. The champion (Griffith) of NW Indiana's second best league (the LAC Black) lost to a second division team in another strong mid-range league (the Northern Lakes Conference) from another area. The champion of the LAC Blue got blown out by a strong team from another area. Lowell's success is heartwarming, but it is a little worrisome that they have not faced a ranked team in the post-season going in against the three-time defending state champion, Roncalli.

Downstate, it's Warren Central, Roncalli and Chatard, just like its been throughout the past decade. The big dogs walk late. Every year, NW Indiana is 'supposed' to have five teams gong to the state finals (even though we've never had more than two) and every year, somebody blows up late.

Griffith beat people by 50, 60 and 70 points and clearly they were overrated. Even in this poll, which had them no higher than third in the region at any time this year. In retrospect, maybe even that was too high. One thing to remember for next year. Beating up on all the teams in your region means one of two things: 1.) You could be really great... or 2.) Your region could be really lame.

The Pirates won their sectional trophy 11-4-2005, but failed to advance to the RCA despite a home field advantage at Demaree Stadium in their disappointing 17-7 loss to Hamilton Southeastern, 11/18/2005. (Photo by Mark Smith)

MERRILLVILLE - Merrillville came up lame with four turnovers and could not get on the board consistently against a physical Hamilton Southeastern team.

D-1 halfback James Aldridge (220 carries, 1,430 yards) ran for over 100 yards but he had two costly fumbles.

The Pirates' powerful defense held Southeastern to 17 points, all in the first half. But the Merrillville offense, truthfully, could get nothing going in either of the last two weeks.

I thought the win over Penn and the upset loss by Snider greased the path for Merrillville to the state finals.

But then I thought the Carolina Panthers were a quality NFL team, too. Sometimes you're just wrong.

The Bulldogs' Matt Ernest #15 goes up into the air to pull down a Matt Jansen pass as Ryan Forney #12 runs a counter pass pattern against Valparaiso in CP's 45-20 win 10-21-2005.

CROWN POINT - The Bulldogs probably aren't happy deep down about Merrillville losing to Southeastern (11-3). While they certainly thought they were the better team, a Pirate state finals berth would have further validated CP's season. It doesn't need it. Eleven wins is an all-time high. Donny Keiser's 16 field goals and 1,000-yards rushing are landmarks. CP, which will probably finish the 2005 season with the No. 1 Class 5A scoring defense (9.3 allowed) state wide, returns most of their offense in 2006 when the Bulldogs could easily again be playing on the first week of November.

Keiser (157, 1,046 yards) had a dream year as did linebacker Jordan Rhye (10 sacks, three interceptions, 70 tackles, 2 defensive TDs). You can't ask for everything. When you have a season like CP did with the injuries they had, you really overachieved. CP returns seven starters on offense, not counting QBs Blake Mascarello (27-56, 458 yards in 6 games) and Marcus Shrewsbury, who will vie for the signal caller role. Game breakers Jon Sertich (135-805 yards), Matt Ernest (17-313 yards-6 games) and Ryan Forney (26 catches, 472 yards) all return. And they did beat Lowell.

GRIFFITH - I have questioned Griffith's quality all season because of the schedule they played, but I picked them to win by eight touchdowns at Northwood (8-6) last week before they lost 17-10. There's just no good explanation for what happened. Griffith led 10-0 in this game and somehow let it get away. This the second consecutive year that Griffith has had a double-digit lead in a playoff game and lost it. That should not happen to a team that can dominate on the ground like Griffith, which had two 1,000-yard rushers in 13 games.

I think some of the late season injures to Griffith players like Drew Rogowski (131, 1,291 yards) may have been more serious than they let on. I'll give Northwood credit if they beat Chatard this Saturday, but I don't think that's going to happen. Northwood's going to take their whipping just like everybody else up here does when they face those Indianapolis Catholic schools. I wonder if some of the arrogance and 'bad to the Bone' attitude that Griffith brags about might have led to some overconfidence against an inferior squad. Trash-talking is fun but you can't cash any checks with your mouth.

LaPORTE - Nine wins is an all-time high for LaPorte football, but they dropped out after a mediocre 24-14 loss to Elkhart Memorial, which later got smoked 35-21 by Penn. The Slicers' season-long problem, an inability to stop the run, cost them here as Memorial rushed for 210 yards and controlled the game in the second half. LaPorte did not score in the second half despite a 2,000-yard passer (Lance Juergensen, 124-215, 2,081 yards, 26 TDs, 13 INTs), a 1,000-yard rusher (Airrence Shark, 224 carries, 1,258 yards) and a 1,000-yard pass receiver (Kris Staats, 49 catches, 1,036 yards).

I don't know why the usually tough LaPorte defense was so soft (allowed 191 yards per game) this year, but if you can't stop the run in August and September, you can't stop it in October and you're probably not playing in November. Shark returns next season and so do some linemen, so the Slicers will be back.

The wildest game of the year would have been Griffith and LaPorte. One could pass like crazy and couldn't stop the run. The other could run like the wind but couldn't stop the pass.

Valparaiso's Hollis Ballard #23, who had over 1,100 yards rushing this season, returns for the Vikings as a senior running back in 2006.

VALPARAISO - Valparaiso's 5-5 season is validated as No. 10 Merrillville, No. 7 Penn and No. 2 Crown Point, teams that handed Valpo four of their five losses (the other was to No. 9 LaPorte) advanced to sectional championships.

The Vikings did get 1,100 yards rushing from junior Hollis Ballard (186-1,031 yards, 8 TDs) who will return in 2006. The Vikings averaged 302 yards a game and they found an excellent place-kicker in Colin Krupchak. VHS loses fullback Aaron Biggs (107-788 yards) and star lineman Paul Kasperan (6-5, 280) plus QB Carl Hoefler (54-115, 733 yards, 3 TDs). But Valpo returns a full compliment of receivers, a young QB prospect in Alex Sarkasian (6-1, 163) and about half of their linemen. This will be looked back on as a good year even though the Vikings don't think that way now. Two of the Vikes losses were to sectional champions and one (or two) will be to a regional champ.

Would Valparaiso beat Andrean (8-2), Lowell (9-4) or Morton (8-4)? Lowell might argue, but the answer is probably 'yes.'

Dustin Warren #88, Daniel Remboski #42, Scott Gray #6, Steffan Peck #31, Eric McGee #78 and the rest of the Lowell Red Devils enter the 'Inferno' for their Class 4A Sectional 9 semifinal game at home versus Kankakee Valley. The Devils won big-time 41-6, 10-28-2005.

LOWELL - Lowell got a 32-yard field goal from sophomore David Lang to nip Fort Wayne South 16-14 and win the school's first semistate title. Big plays by halfback Scott Gray (a 74-yard run), QB Jimmy Ritter (an 18-yard TD pass), all-purpose star Jeff Clemens (two interceptions, one setting up the game-winning field goal) and Chris Lampa (13 tackles and a fourth down pass deflection that prevented a completion and first down on the last South possession) turned around a 14-0 deficit.

Linebacker Ryan King made an insane 20 tackles and star wrestler Ethan Winel had three quarterback sacks. But now comes the ultimate game on that grand stage known as the RCA Dome. Lowell, which has never won anything, is up against Roncalli, which is going for a state record fourth consecutive state championship.

Michigan City's QB Kevin Collyard #18 takes snap from shotgun formation against CP, where he was 11 of 17 for 175 yards passing. But bad snaps and sacks resulted in 6 carries for minus 45 yards in their 47-7 loss to CP on 10-14-2005.

MICHIGAN CITY - Michigan City was within 14-6 in the third quarter but they got rolled over by Merrillville 49-12 and their season ended. MC needs to look at it like Valparaiso should. MC lost to No. 2 Crown Point, No. 9 LaPorte and No. 10 Merrillville twice. Ryan Fics gained 223 yards on 28 carries and he finishes the season with an unofficial 2,040 yards on 237 carries, making him the third runner (Antoine Brown-2003, James Aldridge-2004) ever to gain 2,000 yards playing a Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) schedule.

The immediate future might be a little rough in 2006. MC loses Fics and some good linemen plus QB Kevin Collyard to graduation. But if they can keep producing big, strong linemen, the Wolves' day in the DAC sun is on the horizon. I've done a top-10 poll for 15 years and this is the first time I've even had a Michigan City team in the final Top 10.

And they make it easily. They'd beat Chesterton. They're better than Portage and they'd run Morton (8-4) off the field. I think the size difference would be too much for Lowell (8-4) and they'd give Griffith and Andrean a battle, again due to the matchups. MC's two losses to Merrillville don't look so bad now, do they? This was a good year for Michigan City football.

Andrean's QB Jesse Repay #12 throws pass in direction of John Kennedy #11 in 7-0 win over Lowell, 9-16-2005.

MERRILLVILLE - The 59ers lost a 10-8 lead in the fourth quarter and lost in sectional play at Morton 24-10. It's the first time in five years that the 59ers have not won the sectional title.

Defensive back Chris Skinner could not play due to an injury suffered in the Griffith game on Oct. 7, but that may not have been the difference. Andrean had some major off-the-field issues (un-related to any present player) that had to upset the squad. The 59ers were not sharp in the final two games and actually should have lost to Munster on Oct. 14.

It's difficult to rank Andrean because they almost certainly had a better team than Morton, but the Governors were ready to play in week 10, and the 59ers, for whatever reason, were not. Morton's 8-4 record validates Andrean somewhat, as does Lowell's 8-4 record.

Some will consider this an off season. But actually, the 2004 state championship team also lost twice and the defeats were worse than the 2005 losses. With QB Jesse Repay (97-162, 1,248 yards, 12 TDs, 6 INTs) and receiver Ron Burton (30-377 yards) coming back in 2006, the 59er offense, which was lacking in 2005, will be much-improved.

The 59ers, who need more of a running game to control the clock, might be a better team next year, but the record might not be as good. With Highland (4-6) and Munster (3-7) and Morton (8-4) going 3-0 against Hammond schools, this was a down year in the LAC Black Division. It's odd. Andrean spoke of how big a win it was when they beat Lowell 7-0 in September.

HAMMOND - Morton stayed close in losing to Griffith 24-21, a moral victory, but no sectional title. The Governors were not as close to beating Griffith as the score might indicate as they gave up another 300 rushing yards. But for them to be anywhere near Griffith somewhat validates the wins over Andrean (8-2) and Lowell (8-4) and excuses the loss to Highland (4-6).

I'm sure 6-foot-3 senior Andre London thinks of himself as a basketball player, but he should think again. London (47 catches, 762 yards) is a Division I wide receiver. Morton can't give up 300 yards rushing in a playoff game. It should be noted that Morton was 10-2 in 2002 and they followed it up with 5-6 and 4-7 records the next two seasons. Morton graduates most of their skill players, but a lot of the linesmen return. The Governors' program has made great strides since the 0-10 season in 1997, but that was eight years ago. The challenge now is to put together consecutive good seasons, create a good program and not just good years, and start talking like a good program, not someone who's always playing the 'underdog' card.

QB Josh Miracle #18 passes over Lowell's Jeff Barker #34 in Hobart's 14-7 loss to Lowell, 10-7-2005.

HOBART - The Brickies were 0-2 against Lowell (8-4) in 2005 (they are 1-5 in the last 3 years) and that's no shame. But the .500 mark has to be a little disappointing. Still, this is a very young team. They say goodbye to top LB Richard Mitchell (120 tackles), but the Brickies should become an offensive powerhouse with Junior QB Josh Miracle (139-282, 1,697 yards, 12 TDs, 17 INTs) and top receivers Bobby James (43 catches, 571 yards) and Michael Brown (43 catches, 547 yards).

Coach Wally McCormack had top passing teams at Andrean and that's where Hobart is headed.

I like what little I saw of Andrew Jackson (6-2, 220) at tailback and I believe half of the offensive line returns. With Lowell and Morton headed for big graduation losses, Hobart will contend for the league title in 2006... before they head down to Lowell again.

PORTAGE - There were lots of personnel problems that hid the efforts of Rhein (129 of 236, 1,918 yards, 17 TDs, 15 INTs) and WR Shane Dixon (50 catches, 896 yards), both of whom are seniors. This team averaged 21 points and gave up 25 a game. Portage averaged 360 yards gained per game and gave up about 260 per game. Those numbers alone indicate that Portage should have done better. They did lose to 5A No. 2 Crown Point, 5A No. 9 LaPorte and 5A No. 10 Merrillville as well as a St. Joseph's team that is still playing in November. But 2-8 is 2-8. You get tired of explaining why you lost.

Portage's seven-game losing streak is their longest since the Indians went 0-9 in 1955. The Indians return junior runner Nate Milligan (134-605 yards) and WR-DB Billy Doll (38 catches, 628 yards, 7 TDs plus 4 interceptions on defense). The Indians always have a QB ready, as they did in 2005. I don't think Rhein played one game before this season. Anybody who thinks Rensselaer or Whiting could beat Portage does not understand the game. The Indians are also better than Chesterton. I don't care if the Trojans beat them twice. Portage is better.

RENSSELAER - The Bombers lost with honor, missing a two-point conversion in a 21-20 loss at Jimtown, a team that's lost 18 games in 11 years. The result was as good as they could have hoped for against a team that had six consecutive shutouts. It was close but the better team won.

All-stater Jacob Kiger (181 carries for 1,186 yards rushing; 101-167, 1,864 yards, 21 TDs, 6 INTs passing) will be hard to replace as the Bombers start over next year at QB after a 30-8 run through three seasons. Corner back Addrian Frederick (13 interceptions), punt return star Eli Albrecht (14 TDs) and 900-yard rusher Ryan Kauffman are all seniors. The Bombers have had an outstanding run but it appears over.

WHITING - Whiting's schedule caught up with them again as they were bombed in the second half at West Central 45-21. You can sugar coat it, but the Oilers didn't play well the last third of the season and this loss is not a surprise. Whiting gave up 250 yards rushing so it's no secret why they lost. Local media that had them playing for the state title was slightly off, as they fall in the third round of a six-week playoff. It's not the Oilers' fault they lost to a high top-10 team after a season of playing low-riders.

Why Whiting does not play Rensselaer or North Judson (or West Central) to prepare themselves for the state tournament is beyond me. Undefeated league seasons are nice but Whiting has to understand that they play in a soft league and they need to overmatch themselves in nonconference play.

QB Matt Kobli graduates after a 2,000-yard passing season, so the Oilers face massive rebuilding. Class 1A schools can't be good every year so an opportunity here was missed. But the schedule needs to be upgraded before the next strong Whiting class gets to 12th grade.

USA-365's

Week 14: NW Indiana High School Top-10 Football Poll