The RENEGADE

2009 NW Indiana High School Top-10, Week-3 Football Poll

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

8-31-2009

VALPARAISO (9-04-2009) I think everybody knew that the superpowers Valpo and Merrillville who got beat in week one would rebound in week two and they did. I try not to pretend that a loss to Lake Central is the same as a loss to Warren Central. You are not going to hear any complaints about 65-degree Fridays in August from me. We have been blessed this year because we are almost through the danger zone when you could be playing in dangerous heat.

Football was NEVER meant to be played in the month of August and every single member of the IHSAA board should be taken out back and whipped for scheduling 1/3rd of the football season before Labor Day. What other state does that?

Looking around the state, it's a tough year to be 4A where top-ranked Cathedral has already defeated 5A superpower Carmel and Warren Central. If you look at Cathedral's schedule, they also have two regular season games (including 3A state champ Bishop Chatard on Sept. 12) to be played in the Lucas Oil Arena, the home of the state finals. If Cathedral does not reach the 4A state title game, it won't be because they haven't played a tough enough schedule. There is a surprise in 1A where Sheridan, which has been to the state title game four years in a row, is 0-2 and has scored just 2 TDs.

And for Lowell followers, the Devils old post-season pals Plymouth (2-0) and Concord (2-0) are at it again. Concord faces Plymouth on Oct. 2. Locally, the Lowell-Munster game is starting to get bigger as is the LaPorte County showdown of Michigan City (2-0) and LaPorte (2-0).

1.) 5A Merrillville (1-1)
2008 (8-5), 2007 (12-2), 2006 (7-5), 2005 (11-3), 2004 (6-5)

MERRILLVILLE: The Pirates rejected the challenge of a solid Andrean team 28-14. QB Zack Raspopovich threw his third TD pass of the season and the Pirates held the 59ers to just 47 yards rushing. Kicker Mike Enghofer was 4-of-4 on extra points after his 50-yard field goal in the season opener. Merrillville's defensive line played much better in the second week. They have to get pressure on the QB in this week's game at arch-rival Crown Point, a place where the Pirates consistently find a way to lose. What scares you about Merrillville is the yards their defense is giving up. Yes, they have played excellent teams. But 800 yards is 800 yards.

2.) 5A Valparaiso (1-1)

2008 (9-2), 2007 (6-5), 2006 (3-6), 2005 (5-5), 2004 (6-5)

VALPARAISO: Valpo brought down the curtain on Griffith 51-6 in a game that may illustrate the gap between the Duneland Conference (all 5A schools) and the Northwest Conference (3As and 4As). There are SOME years when Griffith could stay with Valpo, but not most years. Valpo falls in the poll because I don't know the condition of Valpo senior QB Zack Livovich, who did not play against Griffith. Schools hide injuries, but I think Livovich is out this week against LaPorte. That means sophomore Paul Andrie will start again. Since Griffith fumbled four times last week, this will be Andrie's first real test. I think Valpo's the number one team at full strength, but the Vikings are unlikely to win the DAC with a soph rookie QB.

3.) 5A Portage (1-1)
2008 (6-4), 2007 (5-5), 2006 (6-5), 2005 (2-8), 2004 (8-4)

PORTAGE: Portage got smoked 35-20 on their home field by St. Rita Saturday night but I'll remind you, AGAIN, not to overreact to one game against a top team. The Indians gained almost 300 yards on a good defense and, if they didn't suffer any injuries, they're much better for having played the game. You are defined here not just by the wins and losses but by the schedule you play. It's no coincidence that the top three teams here have all lost to superpowers. A fairly close loss to St. Rita is MUCH better than a six touchdown win over the Piggyback School For Purple Puppies. I don't believe it's that hard to come back and play Friday after a Saturday game. It's hard on the coaches, but not really that hard on players. Watch how Portage does at LC this week.

4.) 4A Lowell (2-0)
2008 (13-1), 2007 (13-2), 2006 (7-6), 2005 (11-4), 2004 (9-4)

LOWELL: The Devil boys had to come from behind last week in a 34-25 win at Morton. It was a little scary how quickly Lowell fell behind, but I think Morton will prove to be a quality team most of the year. Lowell rolled up 300 yards rushing at Morton without all-state halfback Brandon Grubbe, who sat out with a concussion. I don't like Lowell giving up three TD passes here because they will see better passing teams than Morton (Andrean, Munster) is. The Devils got better on special teams in week two, but they did draw 10 penalties. Jordan Juarez did a fine job filling in for Brandon Grubbe and Cody Midgett is a big threat on the perimeter. But anybody who ranks Lowell number one hasn't seen them. Lowell has to be serious about play at Kankakee Valley this week as the rival Kougars are 0-2 and desperate.

5.) 5A LaPorte (2-0)
2008 (4-8), 2007 (8-3), 2006 (12-1), 2005 (11-1), 2004 (4-7)

LaPORTE: LaPorte was a highlight reel waiting to happen again with 440 yards and 24 first downs in a 47-25 win at Elkhart Central. That's 40 points or more two weeks in a row behind QB Dustin DeMuth. It's scary how many yards they allowed passing (225), but LaPorte isn't trying to win games 11-10. Who is LaPorte's Nick Latchford (5-11, 170) and how does he have seven TDs in two weeks? The Slicers face a shorthanded, but explosive offense from Valpo this week in the DAC opener. Warm up the scoreboard here. We may think Arena football is making a comeback by halftime of this one. It must be fun to be a fan of LaPorte. Defensive coordinator? Not so much.

6.) 3A Andrean (1-1)
2008 (6-7), 2007 (9-4), 2006 (8-3), 2005 (8-2), 2004 (13-2)

MERRILLVILLE: The Niners were tied with Merrillville at the half before losing 28-14 in the road. That's a very positive game for the Niners, even though they were held to less than 50 yards rushing. QB Richard Schmidt was 18-of-35 last week for 186 yards against a speedy Pirate secondary. Andrean's defense actually allowed just 21 of the 28 points. The Niners have the benefit of a three-game non-conference season, so they have plenty of time to gear up for the league opener with Munster (2-0) with a visit from East Chicago (0-2) this Friday in the home opener. The cool weather should be helping the Niners, a talented team with very little manpower on the bench.

7.) 5A Chesterton (2-0)
2008 (9-3), 2007 (6-4), 2006 (5-6), 2005 (3-8), 2004 (5-5)

CHESTERTON: Yeah, I saw that new Chesterton QB Jon Watson (6-3, 180) carried 23 times for 150 yards in the Trojans 28-0 win over New Prairie last week. Chesterton stacked up 280 rushing yards and the defense, led by big linebacker Frank Raudry (5-11, 235) posted a second consecutive shutout. I am less that thrilled with wins over Lew Wallace (0-2) and New Prairie (0-2), though. The Trojans get this week's Jay Cutler award. They've looked good in games that don't matter, but they haven't really done anything yet. I know in high school football you're supposed to jump up and down when a team wins two in a row. And the Trojans have a team that can eat up the clock running the ball. But there's three 2-0 teams in the DAC and there's doubt about all three of them.

8.) 5A Michigan City (2-0)
2008 (4-6), 2007 (2-8), 2006 (1-9), 2005 (6-5), 2004 (4-6)

MICHIGAN CITY: Michigan City survived against South Bend Washington on a last second field goal by Dustin Rivich. MC was held to 99 yards rushing in 34 caries and that's a bad sign going into DAC play. But they are 2-0 and Adam Harmon has scored four TDs. I'd like to see them do well, but did you know that Michigan City has NEVER been 4-0 since the two old Michigan City high school schools consolidated in 1995? MC has five home games this year, but after they meet Chesterton (2-0) this Friday, they will have played three of them. They definitely reach a turning point this week.

9.) 5A Munster (2-0)
7-4 (2008), 3-7 (2007), 5-5 (2006) 3-7 (2005)

MUNSTER: Munster has turned back Lake Central and Bishop Noll. I thought the win over LC was a quality win, but last week's results don't exactly scream that. Still, new QB Mark Strbjak has thrown eight TD passes in two games, five to senior Justin Gill. The Mustangs have punted only twice all year and have just one turnover. Now Noll and LC have combined for 400 yards rushing, so I don't think Munster's going to the Super Bowl. But Munster has not been 4-0 since the 2004 season and they'll be 3-0 after they get through with Highland this week.

10.) 5A Lake Central (1-1)
2008 (5-7), 2007 (7-5), 2006 (4-6), 2005 (2-8), 2004 (1-9)

ST. JOHN: LC barely got by East Chicago 14-0 last week in a dismal game where neither team gained as many as 200 yards. Look, I'll be honest. There isn't a 10th team. Do you think Rensselaer (2-0) could beat LC?? Me neither. How about Morton (1-1)? Not if they gave up 300 rushing yards to Lowell. How about Crown Point (1-1)? The Crown Point team that hasn't scored a point after the first quarter all year? That team? It's not a strong season. LC, which reportedly (it must have been a misprint) was held to 46 yards rushing by East Chicago, plays CP in week three and maybe we'll have new No. 10. Although, then again, maybe not. Watching those offenses might be worse torture than Dick Cheney ever thought of.