"The Renegade"

Week 9: High School Top-10 Football Poll

A USA-365.com Special Report

10-11-2004

CROWN POINT (10-11-2004) - Merrillville is clearly the top team in northwest Indiana and, right now, it isn't close as some of the other teams have dropped off. One key injury has hurt Munster and Valparaiso defensively but many teams have key injuries that aren't so publicized. Field conditions played into games last week and will even more in week nine (Oct. 15) as the weather is scheduled to change dramatically.

With the state pairings now revealed, overall, the chance to go deep in the state playoffs appears in 1A but 3 top-10 teams (Seeger, Sheridan or Pioneer) could face the NW Indiana champion in the 1A Northern Semistate. Seeger's 40-3 win over 3A West Lafayette indicates where they are. The 2A champ (Rensselaer or North Judson) has a chance to win the state crown. There does not appear to be a 5A NW Indiana team, capable of beating Penn (7-1) and Snider (8-0), which has scored 469 points (58.4 avg.) in back to back weeks, which is what will be required. It's hard to see a region 4A team beating East Noble (8-0), a very big physical team and Bishop Dwenger (7-1), a traditional power in successive weeks in 4A. It does appear that a 3A team (Griffith or Andrean) can reach the state finals but no one up here has the speed to deal with Bishop Chatard on the artificial turf of the RCA Dome.

As always, 'The Renegade', with no allegiance to any school or any sponsors (not yet, anyway) can tell it like it is about local prep football. All schools in the six county Northwest Indiana region count and records are irrelevant. These are the BEST teams.

1.) MERRILLVILLE (7-1)

Head Coach: Jeff Yelton (53-30, 9 years)

MERRILLVILLE - Here's the top team and they rolled over outmanned Lake Central 42-7 with QB Even Parker hitting 10 of 10 passes for 239 yards. Parker (45-86, 837 yards, 15 TDs, 4 INTs) and its outrageous for a passer with just 45 completions to have 15 TDs. The Pirates defense has allowed just 79 points all season and no one has scored more than 17. No one has scored in the first quarter on Merrillville in the last seven weeks. The Pirates, who got the best possible draw in super tough Sectional 1, grabbed a share of the DAC championship and they can take it all Friday at Chesterton (5-3).

STATUS: STILL THE ONE... making it look like fun.

2.) Valparaiso (4-4)

Head Coach: Mark Hoffman (189-125, 27 years at Valpo)

VALPARAISO - I thought Valpo played well against a rival and made no turnovers in a key game. Valpo has lost to Penn (7-1), Merrillville (7-1), LaPorte (5-3) and Portage (6-2). Two of the losses were in overtime and the loss to Portage was 14-13. They are much stronger than their record indicates. A sectional quarterfinal draw of Michigan City (3-5) is encouraging. Take a look at the Crown Point team that's beaten Merrillville (7-1) and Chesterton (5-3). Valpo overwhelmed them without injured LB Bo Gilliland. The rankings cannot just be about who won the most games.

STATUS: DEC station's forget about them.

3.) Portage (6-2)

Head Coach: Craig Buzea (97-30, 10 years)

PORTAGE - The 14-13 win over rival Valparaiso didn't quite prove who the better team was. HB Antoine Brown (188- 1,241, 17 TDs) and the offensive line carried the offense with 218 yards rushing as QB Jake Huston (79 of 154, 1,013 yards, 7 TDs, 11 INTs) was 5-of-23 for 43 yards. Portage committed three turnovers and still won. Huston has been intercepted 10 times in four games. Obviously they have great offensive capability, but the Indians are not a big team physically.

STATUS: STILL TOUGH... But lets see how they hold up.

4.) Chesterton (5-3)

CHESTERTON - Chesterton got beat 17-14 at Crown Point, but it wasn't because they didn't play well. A 96-yard pass eventually beat them but QB Casey Martin led a 300-yard offense. Injured WR Zach Werner is back in the lineup. This team beat Griffith (7-1) and Portage (6-2) and they are big enough physically. The problem here is that Chesterton faces the prospect of entering the playoffs with two consecutive losses after Friday's home game (Oct. 15) with Merrillville (7-1) and they also will see a team in Portage they rallied to beat two weeks ago.

STATUS: THE GOING GETS TOUGH... they need to get going.

5.) LOWELL (5-3)

Head Coach: Kirk Kennedy (100-54, 13 years)

LOWELL - They are 12 points away from being undefeated. The Devils outplayed Griffith at Griffith, losing 21-20 and they've beaten DAC trouble-maker Crown Point. A 9-6 loss at home to Hobart is hard to figure as Lowell outgained the Brickies 249-151 and committed no turnovers. The Devils do have a problem with penalties, giving up 439 naughty yards on 54 offenses. But there is nothing in any of the three losses that indicates that Lowell can't beat the 4A teams they have to beat in NW Indiana. They will get a rematch with Hobart on Oct. 29. As long as Toby Goetz (185 carries, 1,436 yards, 22 TDs) and the offensive line stays healthy (and as long as the bracket came out the way it did), the road to the 4A regional title goes through Lowell.

STATUS: UPSET ABOUT BEING UPSET... Somebody's gotta pay.

6.) Griffith (7-1)

GRIFFITH - Griffith's high-powered offense (333 points – 41.6 per game) smoked out Andrean 48-14 in very impressive fashion. They match up very well with the team they must beat for the sectional title. The Panthers led 36-0 in the third quarter last Friday. Fullback Matt Nelleman carried 13 times for 123 yards and QB Rich Lehmann added 100 yards rushing and 100 yards passing. What Griffith must remember is this is a down year in the LAC. Munster and Highland are .500. despite soft non-conference slates. Andrean is down from the pedestal they were on. Griffith must dominate Hobart this week if they truly have state finals hopes. There is a chance they can get that done.. But the Panthers need to ignore the local hype and concentrate on the rematch with Andrean on Nov. 5.

STATUS: FULL OF FIRE... But they need to go higher.

7.) Hobart (7-1)

STATUS: RESULTS MAKE THE CASE... But the jury is still out.

9.) CROWN POINT (3-5)

CROWN POINT – The region's chameleon. The Bulldogs are 0-2 against 4A teams, but 3-3 against 5A schools.

They have lost to Hobart (7-1) and Lowell (5-3), but the Bulldogs beat Merrillville, a team that's 14 points better than Hobart or Lowell. Chesterton and Merrillville play for the DAC title Friday (Oct. 15). CP has beaten them both.

I don't know how good they are. QB Matt Jansen (94 of 182, 1,349 yards, 10 TDs, 7 INTs) is a fine deep passer and can scramble. Tailback Jon Sertich (103 carries, 646 yards) and WR Matt Ernest (33 catches, 750 yards) are sophomore impact players and versatile HB-PK Donny Keiser is back off injury. The Bulldogs also use a speed-based 3-4 defense that causes superior teams problems. If CP wins at Michigan City Friday they will finish over .500 in the DAC for the third year in a row. The Bulldogs have never done that before in 11 years in the league.

STATUS: WHO KNOWS... but some talent shows.

10.) LaPorte (5-3)

LaPORTE – It's good to beat a rival and the Slicers soundly rejected Michigan City 42-14 with RB Josh Salary scoring four TDs. The Slicers ran for 6 TDs against a Michigan City defense that had given Portage some trouble.

The Slicers may have gotten the worst draw in this part of the state, opening with Elkhart Central and then certainly playing Penn (7-1). They close the season with Portage. This is fast company.

STATUS: GOOD AND TOUGH... But are they good enough?

11.) East Chicago (6-2)
Head Coach: Mark Hidalgo (32-29, 4 years)

EAST CHICAGO - Did East Chicago really beat Wirt 75-0 last Friday (10-8-4)? QB David Rodriguez threw for five TDs and Sammy Daniels (148 carries, 1,532 yards) ran for three more. But games against teams this weak (Wirt is 0-8) do not help late in the year. For example, the Cardinals did not have top punt against Wirt,. They need that work going into a game against a state-rated team. . It's hard to play Wirt in week 8 and Merrillville (7-1) in week 10. The Cardinals play St. Laurence of Chicago this week and they need a close game.

STATUS: ON A HOT STREAK... But they need a challenge this week.

Out of town schedule...

Whiting (8-0, 5-0) at Kankakee Valley (5-3, 4-1)

Friday, Oct. 15 in DeMotte

DeMOTTE: This is an ambush in the making. Whiting roasted winless Clark 43-15 in a neighborhood game last week as HB Sixto Arredondo (159 carries, 916 yards, 27 TDs) scored six TDs. QB Matt Kobli (95-146, 1,521 yards, 14 TDs, 6 INTs) leads a Whiting attack that has scored 320 points (40 ppg.) and has a win over 4A Highland (4-4).

What bothers you about the Oilers is that EVERYONE they have faced has allowed over 200 points in eight games (25 ppg.) and only one team on their record, Bishop Noll (5-3), has a winning record. Kankakee Valley has won four in a row and is averaging 27 points a game (39.6 over the last four weeks) after a slow start. KV also got an encouraging state tournament draw where they'll see Highland (4-4) and possibly Gary West Side (5-3). The run-oriented Kougars are certainly as positive now as they've been all year.

You must give 1A Whiting credit for playing two 4A teams. That will help them in the upcoming state tournament where they certainly have a 50-50 chance to get to the semistate.

But can a 1A squad which hasn't really played anybody take out a rebounding 4A school on the road in a winner-take-all game for a league title?