The RENEGADE

2009 NW Indiana High School Top-10, Week-4 Football Poll

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

9-07-2009

MERRILLVILLE (9-11-2009) The Duneland Athletic Conference showed some new faces in new places last week as Merrillville and Portage won but were joined by Michigan City (3-0) and LaPorte (3-0) as week one winners. Teams like Valparaiso obviously could bounce back, but only Lake Central and Crown Point were non-noncompetitive in the first week and that will change this week when LC hosts CP.

One thing the early games have dictated is that there will likely be no matchups of unbeaten teams for the rest of the regular season. Michigan City and LaPorte do not meet until the eighth week and let's just say it's unlikely that both will still be undefeated at that time. Lowell (3-0) and Munster (3-0) also meet in week eight and there's a better chance that both of them will be 7-0, but not a 50-50 chance. Munster has three road games between now and week eight.

There just isn't anybody else. The only other potential match of undefeated schools would be in Class 2A where conceivably Rensselaer (3-0) and Wheeler (3-0) could match up in Class 2A Sectional 25, but that could be the 10th, 11th or 12th week and that's too far off to compute.

The drama of unbeatens has great local value. The big game in Indianapolis this week was to pit 4A No. 1 Cathedral and 3A No. 1 Bishop Chatard (3-0) and that match will still occur (2:45 p.m.) at the Lucas Oil Arena. But Cathedral ,which had defeated Warren Central (2-1) and Carmel (2-1) in the first two weeks, lost to 6A Cincinnati power St. Xavier 19-10 last Saturday.

In the South Bend area, powerhouses Concord (3-0) has a long and winding schedule that COULD see them face undefeated Jimtown (3-0) in week six and then unbeaten Plymouth (3-0) in week seven. Plymouth has road games with Wawasee (2-1) and Elkhart Memorial (2-1) before they play Concord on Oct. 2.

It's still a year of change. Four time defending state 1A finalist Sheridan is 0-3. They should win this week at Clinton Central (1-2). 5A Lafayette Jefferson (0-3) had a 10-win season as recently as 2006, but had fallen to around .500 the last two years, and this year I don't know when they'll win.

Put your money on Lafayette Catholic going undefeated. Catholic, which has not been scored on in the first three weeks, faces three teams (Guerin, Tri-Central and Tri-County) in the final six weeks who are all now 0-3. They are almost certain to end the season 9-0.

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

MERRILLVILLE: The Pirates totaled 400 yards in a 38-14 rout of Crown Point and there's no question who the top team is. Merrillville's spread offense is going to be very difficult to stop if HB Denzel Pierce, who scored two TDs at CP, stays healthy, as Zach Raspopovich has become very adept at running it. The Pirates are having special teams problems that could lose them games. But the defense led by safety Sanchez Tate, linebacker Marcus Howard and defensive end James Travis, is improving. But let's see the Pirates' spread offense this week against the Portage 'D', which has two shutouts so far. Merrillville is a little like Notre Dame. Even if they beat Wyoming 35-0, they "didn't win by enough."

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

PORTAGE: Portage was somewhat impressive as they came off the 35-20 Saturday night loss to St. Rita and shut out Lake Central 27-0 on the road, taking advantage of four LC turnovers. I say 'somewhat' because LC did gain 250 yards rushing. Jake Dixon scored all four TDs for Portage and the junior has scored seven of 11 TDs for the Indians this year. While that's wonderful for Jake's mom and dad, Portage needs to find some other play makers in case Dixon gets stopped. They might want to find them this week when they ride the bus to Merrillville. This will be Portage's first match against a quality passing team.

3.) 4A Lowell (3-0)
2008 (13-1), 2007 (13-2), 2006 (7-6), 2005 (11-4), 2004 (9-4)

LOWELL: The Devils rolled over winless Kankakee Valley 40-13 on the road at Kankakee Valley this week as the rival Kougars are 0-2 and desperate. The Devils gained 350 yards and never punted. Brandon Grubbe was back in action (he missed a week with a concussion) and scored three TDs. Ray Skamay has scored in all three games so far and junior back Jordan Juarez is over 200 yards rushing. You still worry about the special teams here. Extra points, punts and field goals could cost them. And the schedule, which includes Munster (3-0) and Andrean (2-1) in weeks eight and nine, will test them. Buckle up. Here comes arch-rival Griffith (1-2) Friday for a key league confrontation this Friday. But did anybody notice that Lowell has just two road games the rest of the way?

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

LaPORTE: It seems like whenever LaPorte defeats someone of stature, it's an upset. How come? LaPorte scored 14 fourth quarter points to reject short-handed Valparaiso 28-21 last Friday and the Slicers deserved to win. They gained 450 yards. QB Dustin DeMuth ran for three TDs and threw for another. This was not an upset because LaPorte is a very difficult place to play. It was difficult for visiting teams even when the Slicers weren't any good. And the Slicers were a bit lucky. Tell the truth. BYU doesn't beat Oklahoma unless the Oklahoma QB gets hurt last week. We can be honest about injuries and their effect on the games. Some rankings don't recognize LaPorte as a legitimate power, but some parents don't think Obama is a legitimate president either. LaPorte folks get a little testy when you suggest they are not exactly a defensive dynamo. But, look for another point-fest when the Slicers, who average 38 points a game, visit Chesterton this Friday.

5.) 5A Valparaiso (1-2)

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

VALPARAISO: Valpo could not hold a 21-14 lead and lost 28-21 at LaPorte. The Vikings, playing without starting QB Zach Livovich, could not gain more than 250 yards. It has not been announced exactly what is wrong with Livovich, but the impression left is that he will not be back soon. Valpo still has high-powered skill players like halfback Michael Perkins and receiver Nick Thompson, both of whom scored on long TDs last week. Never assume that a big school doesn't have a capable backup at any position. Or that a non-capable backup can't be effective in six games. But this isn't that good a team without the 6-foot-6 Livovich. At least, not right now.

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

MERRILLVILLE: Here's the sleeper. Andrean routed East Chicago 54-13 as QB Richard Schmidt threw four more TD passes. He has seven on the season. Andrean's 28-14 loss to Merrillville is going to look awfully good by the end of the year. Andrean has scored 294 points (42.0) in their last seven games and that includes Northwood and Merrillville. The Niners start the six game Northwest Crossroads Conference season this week but they have to focus on the big picture. If they can stay healthy and improve six times, they will be a heavy favorite in their sectional and regional. Don't tell anybody... but this is Andrean's best team since the state title team in 2004.

7.) 5A Michigan City (3-0)
2008 (4-6), 2007 (2-8), 2006 (1-9), 2005 (6-5), 2004 (4-6)

MICHIGAN CITY: Michigan City gained 500 yards in a 31-21 victory over Chesterton. I guess I'm the only person who didn't think this was an upset. MC is a victim of LaPorte County syndrome. They, like the Slicers, are seen as secondary by Lake County media and football fans. Adam Harmon gained 240 yards on 23 carries Friday night. He's been on the varsity four years and nobody in Lake County knows who he is. But, with that said, wins over Roosevelt, South Bend Washington and Chesterton can only get you so many chips at the casino. To break the bank in the DAC, you have to beat Valparaiso and Merrillville, the next two foes on the Wolves schedule. But, yeah. Michigan City is better than Chesterton.

8.) 5A Chesterton (2-1)
2008 (9-3), 2007 (6-4), 2006 (5-6), 2005 (3-8), 2004 (5-5)

CHESTERTON: Chesterton was scored on for the first time all year and they gave up 31 points in a 31-21 loss at Michigan City. The thing about the DAC is that there's no week off. In the NCC, Highland and KV give you what you need. In the Greater South Shore Conference, if you're not playing Wheeler and you're not winning, you're not very good.

But in the DAC, you can get creamed more often than a cup of Maxwell House coffee. The good side to that is that redemption is just seven days away and the Trojans have the option running attack that should give undefeated LaPorte (3-0) a lot of problems this week.

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

MUNSTER: Munster blanked Highland 28-0 in a game they just needed to win and move on. The score here didn't matter. The Mustangs picked up 277 yards rushing and they held Highland to 121. I'm not at all sold on Munster. The teams they have defeated: Noll (1-2), LC (1-2) and Highland (1-2) have not been world class in any of their other games. I know about Mark Strbjak and his nine TD passes, but those were all against losing teams. Munster has to consider a schedule upgrade now that they are a 5A school. This team would be a MUCH better team right now if they were 2-1 with a loss to someone like St. Rita or Warren Central. But that's for the future. It's time to saddle up and ride: Andrean this week and then road games at Morton (2-1), Griffith (1-2) and Hobart (1-2). Munster has to decide whether they are Peyton Manning or Jay Cutler. One who's proven he has enough versus one who folded when the going got tough.

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

ST. JOHN: I know LC has not been very good, losing to Munster (3-0) and Portage (2-1). But who else is there? Rensselaer (3-0) has not played a solid big school. Neither has Wheeler (3-0). And it's obvious Wheeler could not beat Lake Central. They just don't have that kind of manpower. I don't give out charity rankings here. Are they the 10th best team in Northwest Indiana? Gary West Side (2-1)? No way. Griffith (1-2)? Not yet. Crown Point (1-2)? We're going to see this week. CP at LC and the winner gets new life in the DAC. Lake Central should be better than they are. But then, so should cable and network TV.