Indians win battle of DAC unbeatens on Bulldog turf, 19-15
A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

Friday, Sept. 20, 2002   74 degrees, damp in Crown Point

Scoring Summary:

2nd Q: CROWN POINT (7-0) Sean O'Drobinak, 10-yard pass (3rd TD catch) from Matt Cowan (8th TD pass) Chris Kutanovski kick.
PORTAGE (7-6)  Mark Fleming (3rd TD catch), 13-yard pass from Adam Hasiak (10th TD pass) kick wide.
3rd Q: CROWN POINT (13-6) Bobby Rutherford,  2-yard pass (9th TD, 6th TD catch) from Matt Cowan (9th TD pass) Kick wide.
PORTAGE (13-13)  Dan Paulsen, 12-yard pass (3rd TD catch), from Adam Hasiak (11th TD pass). Mark Yaksic kick.  1:36 left.
4th Q: PORTAGE (13-19)  Chuckie Severs (1st TD), 4-yard run. Kick wide.  2:48 left
CROWN POINT (15-19) Portage punter Joey Montoleone took an intentional safety.  :07 left.



CROWN POINT: I kept hearing how well Crown Point had played so far this season but I hadn't really seen it. The Bulldogs dominated a winless East Chicago (0-5) team for three quarters and struggled with a very young Lowell squad in the second half.  The Dogs were lucky to beat Merrillville in overtime and Hobart in the final minute.

It's funny. When you win a very close game, people say you were lucky. When you lose a close one, the same folks say you couldn't make the 'big play.'  The truth is, Crown Point's 19-15 loss to undefeated Portage in front of a sellout crowd was their best game of the season by far. The visitors were lucky to win this time.

The Bulldogs out-gained the 11th-ranked team in the state 303-253, led them for most of three quarters and had the ball inside the Portage 20, needing just one more play for a winning TD try as time ran out.

While they would never say it publicly, this is exactly the outcome Crown Point (4-1, 2-1) needed. A young, developing team like CP doesn't need to be an undefeated target of opponents and a highly publicized local media darling.  The Bulldogs also don't really need a last-second, home field, regular season victory over a powerful team they will probably see again in the eight-team, Class 5A Sectional one playoffs.

While two very slick offensive schemes make them both look good, Crown Point's junior Matt Cowan (22 of 32, 229 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs) was just as good as Portage's left-handed star Adam Hasiak (15 of 25, 166 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs) on this night. Cowan hit tight end Sean O'Drobinak nine times for 95 yards while tossing seven balls to leading scorer Bobby Rutherford for 88 yards.

While the Dogs did catch Portage's 21st century attack on a wet field and without injured high speed split end Milton Rivera (20 catches, 186 yards), they defensively were the first team to stop the Indians through the air. Portage must be given a lot of credit for adjusting, mounting  a running game and rallying most of the night.

O'Drobinak made a leaping fingertip catch at the Portage 33 to lead to CP's first touchdown, a  play-action bootleg rollout toss from Cowan to O'Drobinak in the back of the south end zone.

Portage rallied to within 7-6 with 2:06 left in the half when Mark Fleming grabbed a harmless looking rollout pass from Adam Hasiak and broke the tackle of CP's Craig Lozanovski to score the Indians' first TD.

Crown Point charged out of the locker room in the third quarter to up their lead. Cowan flipped a wide receiver screen to Rutherford who ran through two tackle attempts gaining 30 yards to the CP 12-yard line. Four plays later, Cowan tossed 'Happy Days' era jump pass to Kutanovski in the back of the end zone, scoring from two yards out to make it 13-6 midway through the third quarter.

But Portage tailback Paul Reed (13 carries, 61 yards) ran the kickoff back to midfield and the Indians moved down the field to tie the score. Hasiak hit a near perfect 12-yard lob into the southeast corner of the end zone to Dan Paulsen with 1:36 left in the third quarter to tie the game at 13. 

Portage went to 190-pound fullback Mark Fleming (7 carries, 39 yards) in the second half, adjusting to the conditions and the defense. Portage took over with 6:32 to play and drove 60 yards for the winning TD.  Portage's Dan Paulsen grabbed a 24-yard toss on 3rd-and-12 from the CP 45 that put the Indians in scoring position. Finally, Chuckie Severs scored untouched on a 4-yard sweep to give Portage their first lead with 2:48 to go. Paulsen's catch in this drive and his third quarter TD catch could not be defended, they were that good.

Crown Point defended Portage's four wide receiver set better than the Indians stopped CP's multi-formation attack but the Indians got the better of special teams exchanges and were able to run the ball late in the second half.  The Indians now take on Chesterton (4-1, 2-1), a 17-10 loser to two-time defending DAC champion Valparaiso (4-1, 2-1) last week.

Crown Point travels to Valparaiso in search of another major upset.
But this was a positive step. CP arguably played a state top-10 team dead even in a big game unbeaten vs. unbeaten match-up. When the Bulldogs are winning the DAC title in a year or two, remember that this is where it began.


DOG NOTES:  The Bulldogs, who played without fullback Troy Bush (concussion) used Chris Kutanovski and 190-pound junior Dave Metsch at fullback, slid Rutherford to wide receiver and set up 220-pound junior tailback Dave Swenson.  Portage had big trouble stopping everything. In a game with no turnovers on either side (a miracle in the mushy conditions), it was the Portage ability to make a couple of plays at the end that put them on top.   O'Drobinak's nine catches equaled his total of the first four games combined. Matt Cowan has still thrown only one interception in five games (81 attempts).

On the final play of the game, Cowan completed a pass to Chris Sprehe from the Portage 45 to the Indian 27-yard line. Sprehe lateralled to Rutherford who was pushed out of bounds at the 11 after time had run out.  CP appeared to be called for illegal motion on the play but Portage declined it and the game was over.

GRID GRADES

DEFENSE ( B)

This is the fifth consecutive year that Portage has beaten Crown Point but that streak isn't going to last much longer.  Crown Point attacked the quarterback in the shotgun, 'west coast' attack and rushed Hasiak into a mediocre night.   Sean O'Drobinak and Chris Kutanovski were able to get into the Portage backfield consistently. The Bulldogs appeared to lose the battle along the defensive line as time went on and their tackling was not great. But the Indians averaged 31 points and 348 yards per game coming in and  Portage went home with 19 points and 253 yards. This is the type of effort the Bulldogs need every week.

OFFENSE ( B)

This was the best offensive game of the season and it isn't even close. None of the TV announcers or radio talkers seemed to know it but the two Matt Cowan TD passes were the first two TD tosses against Portage all season.  The Indians had allowed 294 yards passing all year long and CP rolled up 229. You also saw the CP offense they will use as the season continues with Dave Swenson attacking defenses that have been shown film after film of Cowan passing. The Bulldogs need to establish 6-foot-4 Sean O'Drobinak as a threat every week because it clearly opens up the sides of the field for Bobby Rutherford.

I like the coolness of Bulldogs O'Drobinak and Kutanovski who go about their business without excess emotion. That's the way Chip Pettit was when he played. Winning ballplayers don't go into crazy celebration spasms every time they gain six yards. That's wasted energy in a tough game. I thought CP got a little tired offensively, too. But I'm reaching to find fault here.  No turnovers. Only six penalties.

If these two teams meet in November in 40-50 degree weather, I like Crown Point to win.