 |
6A Crown Point (1-1)
at
|
 |
A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
09-03-2020
Week
3 - Football Game of the Week Preview|
|
6A Crown Point (1-1)
at
|
|
09-03-2020
 |
| This will be the 13th meeting of CP and Merrillville in the last seven seasons with the Pirates leading the series 46-37-1. (Photo by Mark Smith) |
When:
7 p.m., Friday, September 4, 2020
Where: Merrillville High School, 2 blocks east of 68th and Broadway in Merrillville, IN.
Tickets:
$6
Enrollment: CROWN POINT - 2,861; Merrillville – 2,097.
I don't totally understand the enrollment shift between these two neighboring
schools. According to the IHSAA directory, in 2002, Merrillville had 2,034
students and Crown Point had 1,894 kids. In 1986, Merrillville had 1,482
teenagers and Crown Point had 1,774 students. The growth I get, but the
flip-flop of which school is larger I cannot explain.
WEATHER: Better. Game time temperature will be in the low 70s with low humidity and a gentle northwest wind. The first two weeks have felt like they were played inside a clothes drier. Low 80s and high humidity. Hopefully, that’s over for the year. Good times are coming weather-wise. The forecast for September 11 (week 4) is a Friday high in the low 70s and low in the mid-50s.
PARKING: You should buy tickets in advance until further notice at CP and Merrillville, but there’s going to be plenty of room at Merrillville’s Demaree Stadium, which seats about 7,100. Merrillville also has the largest parking lot in the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) so your car can socially distance as well.
THE SITUATION: I think CP got 250
tickets at Highland last week, but Bulldog fans won't fill up the large
visitors’ stands at Merrillville. If you are a little shaky on being in a crowd
in the Covid-19 season, this night at Merrillville, with a giant stadium and a
nice breeze, is the game you should attend.
After two weeks, I feel more confident that football will be played all season
with one piece of doubt. This weekend. In ‘virus world’, folks tend to get
together over a holiday and whole rooms full of them get sick 10 days later.
Hopefully that won't happen. The larger schools have a big advantage in this new
world order because teams like CP and Merrillville can easily miss two or three
players a week and those of us watching wouldn't even notice.
But Goshen did cancel two games this week because
the entire team had to be quarantined.
One note: We are just in ’phase one’ of the Covid-19 year. The
next step is basketball (and wrestling) and the indoor aspect of winter sports
suggests a major problem. Those of you who follow football and basketball are
familiar with the John Harrell web site, which carries all teams schedules in
our state. The Crown Point girls basketball schedule is not complete but, as
other teams fill in their dates, you and I can get an idea of what it is from
the John Harrell site. Let’s just say it would be a shame if this CP girls
season was disrupted.
The defending 4A state champion Lawrence North will be at home against Crown
Point on November 28 in Indianapolis. The defending 4A regional champion Penn
will play at Crown Point on December 5. The defending 2A state champion
Linton-Stockton will play Crown Point in the giant New Castle gym on January 9,
2021.
And the schedule is not yet complete.
The 'Distant Replay'...
Merrillville
defeats Bulldogs 24-21 in OT,
after amazing back-and-forth contest
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | F |
| MERRILLVILLE (3-0, 1-0 DAC) | 0 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 24 |
| CROWN POINT (1-2, 0-1 DAC) | 0 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 21 |
Friday, September 6, 2019 - 65 degrees and North winds at 10-15 mph at kickoff - Duneland Athletic Conference opener at CROWN POINT, Ind.
1st
Qtr: No
Scoring.
2nd Qtr: MERRILLVILLE (7-0) Damian Dixon, 3-yard run.
41-yard drive, 3 plays. 1:59 min. Time of Possession (TOP). Austin Pupek kick.
11:29 left.
CROWN POINT (3-7) Sammy Brewer, 42-yard field goal. 37-yard drive, 7 plays. 4:17
min TOP. 9:27 left.
MERRILLVILLE (14-3) MERRILLVILLE (14-3) Anthony Mitchell, 55-yard
interception return. Pupek kick. 3:09 left.
3rd
Qtr: MERRILLVILLE
(21-3)
Armani Glass, 27-yard pass from Aahric Whitehead. 47-yard drive, 4 plays.
1:24 min. TOP. Pupek kick. 7:05 left.
CROWN POINT (11-21)
Tysen Cazy, 19-yard pass from Will Pettit. 44-yard drive, 7 plays. 1:10 min.
TOP. David O’Toole, 2-point conversion pass from Pettit. 4:46 left.
CROWN POINT (14-21) Sammy Brewer, 43-yard field goal. 15-yard drive, 5
plays. 2:17 TOP. 2:17 left.
4th Qtr: CROWN POINT (21-21) Tysen Cazy, 6-yard pass from Will Pettit. 73-yard drive, 11 plays. 4:06 min. TOP. Sammy Brewer kick. 7:03 left.
1st Overtime: CROWN POINT (24-21)
Sammy Brewer 21-yard field goal.
MERRILLVILLE (27-24) Jeremiah Howard, 16-yard (3rd down) pass from Aahric
Whitehead.
STATISTICS
RUSHING:
MERRILLVILLE (40 carries, 139 yards, one TD): Damian Dixon (HB) 20
carries, 92 yards one TD; Aahric Whitehead (QB) 10 carries (minus 15 yards) 4
sacks (minus-41); Edward Akins (HB) 1 (minus-2 yards); Peter Rodriguez (QB) 9
carries, 64 yards.
CROWN POINT (21 carries, 38 yards): Matthew Walters (HB) 12 carries, 21
yards; Davian Lira (HB) 7-12 yards; Will Pettit (QB) 2-5 yards.
PASSING:
MERRILLVILLE: Aahric Whitehead (QB) 12 of 18, 143
yards, 2 TDs; Peter Rodriguez (QB) 2 of 4, 43 yards.
CROWN POINT: Will Pettit (QB) 14 of 31, 128 yards 2 TDs, 2 INTs.
RECEIVING:
MERRILLVILLE: Jeremiah (WR) 6-55 yards, one TD; Armani Glass (WR) 4-95 yards, Xzavier Shell (WR) 2-11 yards; Eddie Drake (RB) 1-12 yards; Raleigh Roberson (WR) 1-11 yards.
CROWN POINT: Tysen Cazy (WR) 6 catches, 45 yards,
2 TDs; Felix Meeks (TE) 2-19 yards; Matthew Walters (HB) 1-9 yards; Ben Uran
(TE) 2-44 yards; Davian Lira (RB) 1 (minus-3) yards.
TOTAL OFFENSE:
MERRILLVILLE: 295 yards, 15 first downs, 2 turnovers (2 interceptions).
CROWN POINT: 166 yards, seven first downs, 2 turnovers (2 interceptions).
Click Here for free MP3 Podcast.
Merrillville
overcomes penalties and tough Bulldogs defense
for 10-9 Sectional
Championship victory
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| MERRILLVILLE (10-1) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| CROWN POINT (6-5) | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
Friday, November 8, 2019 - 27 degrees and cloudy - IHSAA Class 6A, Sectional 1 Championship at CROWN POINT, Ind.
1st
Qtr: MERRILLVILLE (7-0)
Darius Schultz, 4-yard run. Austin Pupek Kick. 4:28 left.
2nd Qtr: CP (7-7) Tysen Cazy, 57-yard pass from Will Pettit. Sammy
Brewer kick. 11:01 left.
MERRILLVILLE (10-7) Austin Pupek, 30 yard field goal. 7:44 left.
3rd
Qtr: CROWN POINT (9-10)
SAFETY. Ball batted out of the end zone after a sack by CP’s Collin Flavin.
11:00 left.
4th Qtr: No Scoring.
STATISTICS
RUSHING:
MERRILLVILLE (33 carries, 109 yards, one TD): Damian Dixon (HB) 8
carries, 27 yards one TD; Aahric Whitehead (QB) 7 carries, 7 yards; Darius
Schultz (HB) 3 carries 11 yards TD; Peter Rodriguez (QB) 18 carries, 64 yards.
CROWN POINT (21 carries, 38 yards): Matthew Walters (HB) 17 carries, 47
yards); Davian Lira (HB) 7-20 yards; Will Pettit (QB) 6-9 yards; David O’Toole (WR)
3 carries, 1 yard.
PASSING:
MERRILLVILLE: Aahric Whitehead (QB) 3 of 12, 21 yards; Peter Rodriguez (QB) 4 of
6, 64 yards.
CROWN POINT: Will Pettit (QB) 8 of 19, 121 yards one TD, 3 INTs.
RECEIVING:
MERRILLVILLE: Jeremiah (WR) 2-37 yards; Armani Glass (WR) 3-38 yards, James
Mitchell (WR) 1-16 yards.
CROWN POINT: Tysen Cazy (WR) 3 catches, 73 yards, TD; Ben Uran (TE) 4 catches,
43 yards; David O’Toole (WR) 1 catch, 6 yards.
TOTAL OFFENSE:
MERRILLVILLE: 202 yards, 10 first downs, 0 turnovers.
CP: 198 yards, 10 downs, 5 turnovers (2 fumbles).
Click Here for free MP3 Podcast.
CROWN POINT – No matter what happens this Friday night,
the annual Labor Day Crown Point-Merrillville matchup will not match the drama
of the two meetings between these two Lake County border schools in 2019.
In the regular season meeting, Crown Point rallied from 18 points behind to send
the game into overtime and take a three-point lead on a field goal by Sammy
Brewer. But when it looked like CP would win, Merrillville completed a
miraculous play to top receiver Jeremiah Howard to steal the 27-24 win. In the
rematch nine weeks later, both teams' offenses were grounded and a third quarter
safety created a 10-9 Merrillville lead.
What I remember vividly about that night was that, being in the Central time
zone, the CP-Merrillville battle began an hour later than all the other
sectional championship games. All the other games had ended and the Bulldogs and
Pirates were still playing a one-point game up in Northwest Indiana.
Sammy Brewer’s 42-yard field goal fell just three or four feet short with 4:04
left in the quarter and a pass interception allowed Merrillville to hold on and
win by one point.
2020 (6A) Merrillville (2-0)
11-2 (2019), 7-4 (2018), 1-9 (2017) 5-6 (2016)
Coach Brad Seiss (6th year, 33-26) all games Friday at 7 p.m.
8-21 (W) 40-14 (2A) Andrean (1-1)
8-28 (W) 23-7 (4A) Hobart (1-1)
9-4 (6A) CROWN POINT (1-1)
9-11 at (6A) PORTAGE (1-1)
9-18 (5A) MICHIGAN CITY (2-0)
9-25 at (5A) LaPORTE (0-2)
10-2 (6A) VALPARAISO (1-0)
10-9 (6A) LAKE CENTRAL (1-1)
10-16 at (6A) CHESTERTON (2-0)
Class 4A Sectional 17
vs. Jefferson (2-0), Lake Central (1-1) or CROWN POINT (1-1)
SCHEDULE CHANGES: Jeff junior
quarterback Brady Preston is 23 of 42 for 287 yards after two games. Jeff senior
Thomas Hogan (5-10, 175) has run 54 times for 503 yards (9.2 per carry) and five
TDs.
MERRILLVILLE Update:
MERRILLVILLE – Merrillville may have a once-in a lifetime team because this
is a once-in-a-lifetime year. Merrillville has five seniors who started for
Morton in 2019. Two players for Morton, end Dierre Kelly and wide
receiver-running back-cornerback JoJo Johnson, transferred from Morton to
Merrillville last summer and when Morton chose not to play football in July,
three other players, senior quarterback Paris Hewlett, wide receiver Marcus
Hardy and lineman Phil Gunn (6-3, 305), followed Johnson and Kelly to
Merrillville. All five are future college players at some level.
Add wide receiver Armani Glass, a three-year starter, big lineman Kenneth Grant
(6-4, 340), a returning starter in the line and running back Lavarion Logan, who
has had two 100-yard rushing games so far, and the Pirates have all the players
they need.
Kelly had two sacks last week in the 23-7 win at 4A No. 1 Hobart and linebacker
Devin Sanders had 11 tackles against the Brickies. Kicker Austin Pupek is also a
returning veteran.
Junior quarterback Angel Nelson was 5-of-10 for 85 yards last week but the
Pirates don't need to throw a lot. Watch out when Merrillville lines up Jo Jo
Johnson and Lavarion Logan in the same backfield. That formation produced two
touchdowns last week.
The only problem Merrillville has is that all these new players haven’t had a
lot of time to work together.
Crown Point is probably playing the Pirates at the right time because, if we can
complete the season, Merrillville will certainly be better by November.
2020 (6A) Crown Point (1-1)
6-5 (2019), 5-7 (2018) 7-5 (2017) 6-6 (2016)
Coach Kevin Enright (9th year) 48-43 ... all games Friday at 7 p.m.
8-21 (4A) Lowell (1-1)
8-28 at (4A) Highland (0-1)
9-4 at (6A) MERRILLVILLE (2-0)
9-11 (6A) LAKE CENTRAL (1-1)
9-18 (6A) PORTAGE (1-1)
9-25 at (5A) VALPARAISO (1-0)
10-2 at (5A) LaPORTE (0-2)
10-9 (6A) CHESTERTON (0-2)
10-16 at (5A) MICH. CITY (2-0)
6A Sectional 1
vs. (Lafayette) Jefferson (2-0), Merrillville (2-0) or Lake Central (1-1)
CROWN POINT Update:
CROWN POINT -
Crown Point’s defense was solid for the second
week in a row last week in a 31-0 win over Highland. The Bulldogs got everybody
into the game and still held the Trojans off the scoreboard. Linebacker Jacob
Lopez (5-10, 190) made four tackles for lost yardage and Shane Schmidt (5-9,
180) made three stops behind the line of scrimmage.
On offense it was good to see Treston Logan (6-2, 180) catch a couple of passes
for 36 yards and Sammy Brewer booted a 37-yard field goal.
Obviously, halfback Matthew Walters (5-10, 160) got a big push from the
offensive line, collecting a career-high 332 yards on 29 carries. CP ran the
ball 41 times and QB Will Pettit only put up 10 passes. The game had to be a
confidence-builder for the Bulldogs after the opening 6-0 loss to Lowell, a game
Crown Point should have won.
CP traditionally points to this game from the start of pre-season. Not that they
don’t care about beating Highland, but the matchups with Merrillville usually
dictate their season.
6A CROWN POINT (1-1) at 6A MERRILLVILLE (2-0)
at Merrillville's Demaree Stadium - Capacity: 7,100
SAGARIN RATINGS:
Merrillville by 34.
Okay, you knew it was going to be a big number. The Pirates have defeated two Top-10 teams and CP lost 6-0 at home to Lowell. Merrillville is the 4th-ranked team in Class 6A and you don’t even want to think about playing the top three. The Pirates won on the road at 4A No. 1 Hobart last week and don’t hold your breath for the next Hobart loss. Might not be until November. For the record, CP was a nine-point favorite over Highland last week and the Bulldogs won 31-0. Obviously, they aren’t playing Highland this week.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN:
MERRILLVILLE
(09-04-2020) Crown Point always seems to put up a good battle against the
Pirates, but they seem a little overmatched. CP will load up defensively against
the run and the Pirates will find Armani Glass for an early touchdown. The
“Wildcat’ formation with Jo Jo Johnson getting the ball will find his way into
the end zone and Merrillville will lead 14-3 at the half.
CP strikes back on a pass from Will Pettit to Treston Logan for CP’s first TD,
but the Pirates’ new running back Lavarion Logan will find the end zone as
Merrillville pulls away. Jo Jo Johnson will score on a pass interception to cap
the scoring.
The Bulldogs will have major problems moving the
ball on this Pirate defense. The first of two meetings between these two rivals
will go to the home team.
MERRILLVILLE 28, CROWN POINT 10