The RENEGADE 2009 NW Indiana High School Top-10, Week-11 Football Poll

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

10-29-2009

MERRILLVILLE (10-30-2009) Reality hit home for several teams far too early in the post-season layoffs as 1A No. 2 Pioneer (9-1), 5A No. 4 Kokomo (9-1) and 4A No. 4 Plymouth (9-1) all ended the season with their first loss of the season.  All lost to other Top-10 teams.  I know some of us still think this is a good format, but some of us still think the coal-fired stove is the wave of the future.  With the sectional teams splitting the gate, obviously money is being thrown away by allowing winning teams with large fans bases to go head-to-head in week one of a three week tournament instead of seeding them in opposite brackets.

But Indiana is still a state that has sock hops and malt shops.  We'll change the format in about 20 years.

One big issue this week has to do with Morton linebacker Eddie Malitinka (6-2, 220), a key starter on the Governors' defense.  Malatinka got into a very brief (by all accounts) altercation with a Highland player in last week's 4A Sectional Nine quarterfinal game, which was won by Morton 14-0.  He was ejected from the game, which according to IHSAA rules, mean's a one-game suspension.  That one game is the sectional semifinal with rival Griffith (6-4).  I don't know what Malitinka could have done to be ejected alone (the Highland player stayed in the game), but you can't ignore what his absence means heading into this game.

Unlike the distasteful situation last year with Bowman Academy, where the school and the coach blamed  everybody but Mitch Daniels for 'cheating' the poor 'innocent' boy, Morton largely has accepted it and moved on.  I'm sure coach Roy Richards wants to cry about how unfair this is, but in his dual role as football coach and Morton's athletic director, he has accepted the ruling and made due without his defensive star.

The ejection of Malatinka may have been as suspect as the ejection of the Bowman basketball player in the regional last year, but that's not the point.  When a ruling is made, once the game is over, you have to accept it and move on.  The game is more important than any one player or one school.  Part of growing up is learning to accept unfair decisions.  That's the real world.

I don't think I'll hear from anyone who believes that the largely 4A Northwest Crossroads Conference (NWCC) is as competitive as the 5A Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC), a frequent line of local debate.  Last week, the undisputed  last place team in the DAC, Lake Central (1-8) defeated the co-champion of the NWCC, Munster in a first round playoff game.

Why it is so hard to accept the logic that larger teams from larger schools with larger enrollments who face bigger schools each week, end up being better than smaller teams from smaller schools who face smaller competition each week, is stunning to me.  It's like the old folks at the town hall meeting who curse government health care while they cash their social security checks and buy low-priced drugs through Medicare.  You can't reason with people who can't reason.

For purposes of the post-season, this poll is promising.  The top three teams are in three different enrollment classes.  All three conceivably could win sectional titles and still be playing in the middle of next month.
 

MERRILLVILLE:  The Pirates weren't great in the final two weeks of the regular season, but they answered the bell when the playoffs began, smoking Valparaiso 35-0 for their ninth win in a row.  Out front, Merrillville sees this shutout as the first step in a three-week campaign.  Privately, they had to see this game as the big hurdle in 5A Sectional One.  Valpo had more offensive weapons than anyone the Pirates will see before the semi state level.  And, yes they did notice that 5A Snider (8-2) lit up undefeated Kokomo 42-6 last week.  Merrillville travels to Lake Central (2-8) this Friday and they then will host the sectional title game.  The Pirates need to just shut up and play.  Things are going their way.

 

CHESTERTON:  The Trojans won on a field goal by Kyle Schmidt with five seconds to play, 16-13 over Crown Point.  They led 13-0 after one quarter but the offense stalled.  Schmidt hit field goals of 19, 44 and 46 yards.  He gives Chesterton a big advantage because he can win close games at the end.  Chesterton is having problems with turnovers (5 in the last two games), but defensively they've improved as the season has gone on.  The Trojans edged Portage 31-28 at mid-season and the rematch comes this Friday in the mud at Chesterton.

PORTAGE:  Jake Dixon scored five TDs in a 42-0 win over East Chicago in Portage's playoff opener.  Dixon (6-1, 180) has 22 TDs this season and if I had to pick an offensive MVP of the Duneland Conference, it would be the Portage junior.  Portage gained 383 yards against Chesterton the first time in a 31-28 loss. The problem this week may be the field.  Portage, which relies on speed, plays on artificial turf and the Trojans play in the mud.  Again, Portage has not played their best ball yet.

7.)  5A Michigan City (6-4)
2008 (4-6), 2007 (2-8), 2006 (1-9), 2005 (6-5), 2004 (4-6)
 

MICHIGAN CITY:  Michigan City played without 1,000 yard-rusher Adam Harmon and lost 23-0 at Elkhart Memorial.  For purposes of the final rankings, though, we include Harmon, who gained 1,250 yards.  Forget the last game, MC defeated South Bend Washington (8-2), Chesterton (7-3) and Valparaiso (5-5) and they were very competitive all season until the final game.  You cannot seriously argue that because MC is 6-4 and Munster (8-2) and Morton (9-1) had superior records, that they should ranked above MC. That's like saying that Boise State (8-0) is better than Ohio State (6-2).

HAMMOND:  Morton edged Highland 14-0 and lost linebacker Eddie Malitinka (6-3, 220) for a game after an ejection.  The Governors posted their third shutout of the season and it was the fifth game where they held the opposition to less than seven points.  But they won't be holding Griffith to seven points this Friday without Malatinka, their top tackler.  Morton's passing attack has struggled in the wet conditions the last three weeks and they need a revival for Friday's big home town show down with the Panthers (6-4).

VALPARAISO:  Not a bad year for Valparaiso when you consider they played the entire year without their starting QB and a handful of other offensive players missed considerable time.  To be honest, this is a hard team to judge.  They lost twice to Merrillville (9-1) and once to Penn (9-1), but they rolled over Griffith (6-4), Portage (5-5) and Chesterton (7-3).  I don't know if they're 5th or 10th, to tell the truth.  But anyone who believes that Munster would defeat them probably also thinks Conan O'Brien is a big hit on the 'Tonight Show'.

10.)  5A Munster (7-3)
2008 (7-4) , 2007 (3-7), 2006 (5-5), 2005 (3-7)

MUNSTER:  Munster lost 7-3 at Lake Central to end the year.  Field conditions were a major factor here as the Mustangs were held to just 112 total yards, completed just two passes and punted seven times.  The Mustangs return QB Mark Strbjak in 2010 so they have a chance to duplicate the 2009 season, which was hard to judge.  Munster played six games decided by six points or less and they split them so they could have been 10-0 or 4-6.

UNION TOWNSHIP:  Wheeler was 10-0 and 30-3 in the last three years after a 42-7 win at North Newton (4-6) last week.  The Bearcats still average 50 points a game and have given up just 30 points all year against one of the weakest schedules in the state.  Every team Wheeler faced this season except for Whiting (6-4) and South Central (3-7) was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.  But there's still those numbers: 50 points a game.  30 points allowed all year.  Now they face North Judson (5-5), which has won its last three games on the road.  Wheeler's a team that's played 10 times and has not been tested yet.  Kinda like the Indianapolis Colts only without all those good players.