The RENEGADE 2009 NW Indiana High School Top-10, Week-5 Football Poll

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

9-14-2009

MERRILLVILLE (9-18-2009) Traditionally, the second week of league play brings a lot of things into focus and that is the case in 2009. Wins by Merrillville and Lowell (not to mention Wheeler and Gary West Side) solidified the favored teams in the Duneland, Northwest Crossroads, Greater South Shore and Northwestern Conference.

Hammond 'city league' leader Morton (3-1) also established themselves as a true player (I don't know why they aren't the 8th team in the Northwest Crossroads Conference) with a second victory over a Northwest Crossroads.

There was a great temptation to rank Wheeler and Rensselaer in that 10th spot because they were dominating 2A and low-level 4A schools. Reality hit home when 2A Tipton won 21-7 at Rensselaer. Wheeler (4-0) has scored 189 points (47.2 ppg.) in four games, but their lack of a competitive schedule is a never-ending story. You can play whoever you wish to play. It's hard to schedule non-conference games if you are 5As like Portage, but a Class 2A team can get on a lot of schedules if they're bold enough.

As I've said before, Wheeler, a 2A team, is an odd case. The Bearcats, who have won 20 consecutive regular season games, DO open the season with two larger Class 4A schools in Kankakee Valley (1-3) and Highland (1-3). To say they are intentionally lining up soft foes in inaccurate. They assumed that Highland and KV would be quality opposition. KV did defeat Wheeler 25-0 in 2007. But the Greater South Shore Conference is so weak. Three schools are 0-4 and only Wheeler (4-0) and 3A Calumet (3-1) are over .500. Wheeler people are always defending themselves against playing a candy cane schedule and it is soft. You can't become giants by beating little shorties.

But until big neighbors Valparaiso or Chesterton or Hobart are willing to play Wheeler (I think Wheeler would play those games), Wheeler is always going to be the undefeated team that really 'isn't that good'. There's no way to rank them ahead of DAC or even Northwest Crossroads Conference schools they don't play. As a note: Obviously, Wheeler's schedule will change when they start playing arch-rival Boone Grove in 2011.

In an oddity, Cathedral (3-1) has set what may be an Indiana record. The Fighting Irish (they might want to change their name after last Saturday) have defeated three schools ranked No. 1 at the time they met them. In week one, Cathedral won at 5A No. 1 Carmel 7-3. In the second week, Warren Central took over the top spot and Cathedral defeated them 35-32. Last Saturday in the giant Lucas Oil Arena in downtown Indianapolis, Cathedral defeated 3A No. 1 Bishop Chatard 31-7.

One of my complaints about local teams is that they often say they don't control their schedules. That's not true. That's an excuse. Cathedral plays who ever they want to play including St. Xavier of Cincinnati Ohio (rated 21st in the nation) Nequa Valley (a 7A school in) Illinois and Michigan Superpower Birmingham Brother Rice. Cathedral's only loss was 19-10 to St. Xavier.

Schools like Wheeler obviously can't take on 7A Illinois monsters, but schools like Roncalli and Chatard are independent. You can play them if you want to. Portage took on St. Rita. Merrillville faces Warren Central. You can play Bowman Academy next year or Boone Grove the year after that simply by calling them. You can play whoever you want to if you REALLY want to.

The big win this week was Kankakee Valley's 12-7 win over Hobart, probably the first time KV has ever defeated Hobart. As always, it's much harder to rank the 10th best team than the first. But there's no rewarding teams simply for being undefeated or punishing them for being .500 with no analysis of who they play.

Again, I'm still looking for a 10th best team. The third candidate in five weeks steps up this time.

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

MERRILLVILLE: There is less talk this week of how Merrillville 'isn't really that good'. The Pirates rolled up 400 yards for the second week in a row in DAC play. Here's an oddity. Merrillville has increased their point output each week so far this year: 16-28-38-49. The only loss is to 5A No. 3 Warren Central (3-1). You have to be uneasy about a team that's allowing 26 points a game and Merrillville has played three home games already. The Pirates play at Michigan City (4-0) in a match for first place in league play, but even if they win, there will still be doubts until they take out LaPorte (3-1) and Chesterton (3-1). Again, Merrillville has to beat everyone. The other teams just have to beat Merrillville. It's actually a compliment.

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

PORTAGE: Portage was overwhelmed in a 49-27 loss at Merrillville, but that, plus the 35-20 loss to (Chicago) St. Rita can't be considered a serous drag on their ranking. Here is another poster child for a tough schedule. The Indians have played St. Rita, (3-0), Marian (2-2), Merrillville (3-1) and Lake Central (1-3). The Indians also have 5As Chesterton (3-1), LaPorte (3-1) and Michigan City (4-0) remaining. This is the schedule a 2,700-kid school should play. That's why big school won-loss records shouldn't be compared to those in other brackets equally. Central Michigan can beat Michigan State on a fluke. But Central Michigan can't play in Michigan State's league and no one should pretend they can. No one has stopped Portage from scoring yet this year. They've posted 20 or more in every game. And that's against real teams. Not banana peel teams. The Indians have to be aware of a capable Crown Point (2-2) team this week.

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

LOWELL: The Devils held off arch-rival Griffith 35-19 as halfback Brandon Grubbe ran for 259 yards. Grubbe will pass the 4,000-yard mark in career rushing this week. Only two Northwest Indiana players (Mike Barsich and Paul Strabavy of Whiting) have ever reached 5,000 career yards. Lowell, like Merrillville, is allowing too many points. Since a 19-0 shutout win over Crown Point on opening night, the Devils have allowed 58 points against a schedule that has no one over .500. Lowell has won 19 regular season games in a row, but they have allowed five TD passes, an uncomfortable total for a team with a lot of good quarterbacks ahead on the schedule. The Devils need experience and they have some time now with Highland (1-3), Hobart and Hammond (3-1) as their next three foes. But the week eight game at Munster (4-0) is getting bigger and Logansport (4-0), Plymouth (4-0) and Concord (4-0) all loom at the sectional.

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

MERRILLVILLE: Andrean led Munster 14-0 going into the fourth quarter of a 19-14 loss at Munster. A point of order here. This poll isn't about who came from behind to beat what team on a given night. You can make up rankings to fit final scores or you can go by who you believe the better team is. Andrean dominated Munster, out gaining them 321-258. The Niners are clearly the better team and they obviously have played a tougher schedule. Andrean plays Hobart (1-3), Highland (1-3), KV (1-) and Griffith (1-3) in the next four weeks. Griffith is rebounding, but there's a chance here to be 6-2 going to Lowell in October. But again, I say look at 3A. Who's going to beat Andrean if they keep playing the way they are?

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

LaPORTE: It was no surprise that Chesterton bombed LaPorte 38-14 last week at Chesterton. It's all about match-ups. LaPorte's run defense is weak and all Chesterton does is run. The result? Chesterton gained 433 yards rushing. If LaPorte got through that spanking healthy, they will bounce back strong this week against Lake Central. But usually, when you can't stop the run, and LaPorte has allowed 1,000 yards rushing already... that eventually brings you down.

What happens next? LaPorte goes back home and they beat Lake Central. The Slicers may have the top home field advantage in Northwest Indiana.

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

MICHIGAN CITY: Okay, why isn't Michigan City higher in the poll? Because, while they have improved, they have not been the better team all of the time. A last-second field goal to beat South Bend Washington 13-10. A rally from 14 points behind against Chesterton. A rally from 17-7 behind in the fourth quarter to defeat Valparaiso 21-17 last week. Miraculous wins like that make you very happy, but they don't make you the better team. The Wolves have to get out of this: "Its so wonderful that we won a game" mode. That is understandable, but it definitely holds you back. The sooner you EXPECT to win every week and treat it as the norm, the better off you are. It's not that they aren't improved over 2008 and 2007. They are. But nothing is accomplished in the first half of the regular season. With that said, Michigan City has never been 5-0 since the consolidation of Washington and Elston in 1995. They go to 5-0 if they defeat DAC favorite Merrillville Friday in Michigan City.

7.) 5A Chesterton (3-1)
2008 (9-3), 2007 (6-4), 2006 (5-6), 2005 (3-8), 2004 (5-5)

CHESTERTON: Chesterton bombed LaPorte 38-14 with 433 rushing yards last week as the Trojans bounced back from a 31-21 loss to Michigan City (4-0). But again, don't overreact. That was a match up win and Chesterton got the job done. Consider that the Trojans have fumbled eight times and they have 170 yards passing. That dog won't hunt. There's a tendency to react in knee-jerk fashion to wins and losses, but it comes down to how you are playing. The fact that they're in this poll at all (after playing weak teams like Lew Wallace and New Prairie) indicates they have quality, but I don't know how much. Chesterton is one of many teams that does not have a truly significant victory yet and they have a desperate Valparaiso (1-3) team lined up this week.

8.) 5A Valparaiso (1-3)

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

VALPARAISO: Valpo again could not hold a fourth quarter lead and lost to Michigan City 21-17. The Vikings' Michael Perkins gained 110 yards rushing, much of it out of the 'Wildcat' formation, which may be a nod to the fact that VHS is playing with an inexperienced QB. Teams with top QBs don't use the 'Wildcat'. Plus, the Vikings committed 10 penalties last week, which cost them dearly. But before you write this team off, they led Michigan City (4-0) and LaPorte (3-1) in the fourth quarter and they shut out top-ranked Penn (4-0) in the second half. You have to see the effect not having stating QB Zach Livovich is having here and to call this a losing team is a statement of fact. But to call them a bad team is not accurate.

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

MUNSTER: I'm still not impressed. There's a lot of Michigan City here. Obviously, Munster's 19-14 victory over rival Andrean was superior to losing as they were for three quarters. But nobody who saw the game thought Munster was the better team. The Mustangs have played Highland (1-3), Lake Central (1-3) and Bishop Noll (2-2). Andrean out-gained them 321-258 and led 14-0 after three quarters. Isn't Purdue (1-1) better for having lost a close one at Oregon than Indiana University (2-0) is for surviving against two YMCA squads at home? Like Michigan City, is it okay to wait until Munster dominates a quality team? Let's try Morton (3-1) this week. Can the Mustangs shut down this 30-points-per-game offense? To have hope in the post-season, they need to.

10.) 5A Crown Point (2-2)
2008 (3-7) 2007 (8-3), 2006 (12-1), 2005 (11-1)

CROWN POINT: I'm reluctant to put the Bulldogs in this spot but who else is there? CP's 23-21 win over Lake Central was hardly a mandate for change, but Morton (3-1)? Let's wait until week five. They haven't defeated a winning team yet. Wheeler (4-0)? They may never see a winning team until the post-season. But the Bulldogs' losses have been to Merrillville (3-1) and Lowell (4-0). They have found a quarterback in sophomore Joe Hopman (40 of 76, 436 yards, 4 TDs, 4 interceptions) and a decent new kicker in Brett Bayer. Crown Point's defense, weakened by a couple of injuries, has been respectable. They got five turnovers from LC and they held down Hobart and Lowell somewhat. They get no breaks in the schedule with Portage (2-2), Chesterton (3-1), LaPorte (3-1) and Michigan City (4-0) still to play but 4-5 would be a good regular season considering who they're playing.