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Class
5A Sectional 1 Quarterfinal
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Week
10 - Football Game of the Week Preview |
Class
5A Sectional 1 Quarterfinal
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10-21-2005
When:
Friday, October 21, 2005.
Where: Valparaiso High School, 2727 Campbell AVE, Valparaiso, IN.
Tickets: $5
TV/Radio/Internet: www.USA-365.com, WEFM (95.9) FM.
Weather: Cold. Low 50s, upper 40s, rain likely.
PARKING: Considerable west and north of the school.
But not enough for a game like this. They expect standing room only although
rain will kill the CP crowd because some Bulldog fans think this is an easy
win. Arrive early.
THE RIVALRY: Crown
Point has never defeated Valparaiso twice in the same season. Valparaiso
has dominated this series all-time 35-16-2 although the Bulldogs have won the
last two games. The Vikings are a traditional power and one of the standards by
which all schools are judged in NW Indiana football.
This is a major rivalry. Valparaiso has eliminated CP four years in a row in girls basketball and the schools are arch rivals in girls soccer. Valpo and Merrillville stand between CP and boys basketball glory as well. Before the new CPHS opened in 2003, many students in Crown Point's school district paid to go to Valparaiso because of the better facilities.
There was considerable animosity in some of the defections and CP still would rather beat Valparaiso than any other school. With the possible exception of one or two of the Porter County Conference (PCC) schools, whose exact origins are difficult to uncover, these are probably the two oldest schools in Northwest Indiana. Crown Point high school is 125 years old and Valpo, which had graduating classes in the 1880s, may be older than that. With Valparaiso University, Valpo anchors all of Porter County while the Crown Point Courthouse and County Fairgrounds rival the north Lake County oil and steel complexes as the most recognizable sights in all of Lake County.
Few schools have larger fan followings. Crown Point's crowds stayed fairly large through the winless season in 2000 and Valparaiso football crowds have been lured by years of winning. Valparaiso was 65-44 in the 90s, 68-43 in the 80s and 74-29 in the 1970s. Valpo is the 1975 state champion and they lost state title games in 1985 and 2001.
Valparaiso always feels they should beat Crown Point and the Bulldogs know their role. Other than girls basketball, CP has traditionally lost to Valparaiso more than they have won in almost all sports.
The boys in green are 12-3 in varsity football against the Bulldogs since CP joined the DAC in 1993 and Valpo is 44-19 in state playoff games while CP has only won 20 playoff games in the 33-year history of the state tournament. But the mood is changing. Valparaiso used to be a larger high school with better facilities. Now, CP is the bigger school with the better building and campus.
Is there a new sheriff in town or is this another case where a new gunslinger fought the law and the law won? It's a back-handed compliment that a Valparaiso win Friday night would be an upset at all and a major upset. While Crown Point winning has become so common this year it wouldn't be big news.
5A No. 2 Crown Point (9-0, 7-0 DAC)
Coach: Chip
Pettit (27-24, 5th year at CP;
32-31 in 7th year overall)
Enrollment:
2,190
Sectional
titles (2) 1981, 88
Regional
titles (1) 1988
2004
record: 4-7
Lost
Sectional 1 semifinal at home 34-19 to eventual
sectional
champion Merrillville.
Crown
Point (9-0, 7-0)
8-19 (W) 16-6 at Lowell (5-4)
8-26 (W) 26-0 Hobart (4-5)
9-2 (W) 13-0 No. 10 Merrillville (7-2)
9-9 (W) 23-0 at Lake Central (2-7)
9-16 (W) 31-21 at Portage (2-7)
9-23 (5A) 13-10 Valparaiso (5-4)
9-30 (5A) No. 9 LaPorte (8-1)
10-7 at (5A) Chesterton (2-7)
10-14 - (5A) Michigan City (5-4)
5A Sectional 1 playoffs
10-21 (F) at Valparaiso (5-4)
10-28 (F) vs. Portage (2-7) or Chesterton (2-7)
11-4 (S) at Merrillville (7-2)
Class
5A Valparaiso Vikings
Coach:
Mark Hoffmann (29th year - 196-131 at Valpo; 198-139 in 30th year overall)
Enrollment: 2,085
Sectional titles (7) last 2002
Regional titles (5) last 2002
SemiState titles (3) last 2001
State titles (1) 1975
2004 record: 6-5
Lost the 5A Sectional one semifinal 24-18 at Portage in 2004
Valparaiso
(5-4, 4-3)
8-19
(L) 0-10 at No. 7 Penn (7-2)
8-26 (W) 48-6 Roosevelt (3-5)
9-2 (L) 14-21 at No. 9 LaPorte (8-1)
9-9 (W) 28-7 Michigan City (5-4)
9-16 (W) 35-21 at Chesterton (2-7)
9-23 (L) 10-13 at No. 2 CROWN POINT (9-0)
9-30 (L) 0-30 No. 10 Merrillville (7-2)
10-7 (W) 21-7 at Portage (2-7)
10-14 (W) 24-0 LC (2-7)
5A
Sectional 1 playoffs
10-21 (Fri) No. 2 Crown Point (9-0)
10-28 (Fri) vs. Portage (2-7) or Chesterton (2-7)
11-4 (Fri) vs. Merrillville (7-2)
CROWN POINT = Offense (26.4) Defense (8.3)
VALPARAISO = (20.0) Defense (12.8)
Sagarin ratings: CP by 13
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| Junior RB Jon Sertich #27 rushed 6 times for 33 yards and one TD and returned a punt 32 yards against Michigan City, 10-14-2005. |
VALPARAISO (10-21-2005) This is a very difficult matchup for Crown Point, taking on a long-time rival on the road on what is predicted to be a bad weather night. The first thing you have to do is forget Valparaiso's mediocre record.
The Vikings are the only team in the northern half of the state to play four Class 5A Top-10 teams this season and, while they have lost to all four, only Merrillville, a 30-0 winner, beat Valpo badly.
The Bulldogs were lucky to beat Valparaiso 13-10 in September on a 65-yard drive in the final two minutes, but Crown Point offensive stars Matt Jansen and Matt Ernest did not play in that game and they are back in uniform now.
Valparaiso has been inconsistent on offense with Carl Hoefler (50-99, 634 yards, 2 TDs, 4 INTs) passing and runners Hollis Ballard (178-1,038 yards) and Aaron Biggs (90-618 yards), but only Merrillville and Penn have stopped the Valpo running attack. Hoefler has to get the ball to 6-foot-5 Travis Allen and 6-foot-0 Gilbert Allen against the shorter CP defenders. The Vikes also may want to split Ballard out as a wide receiver and try to get him one-on-one with a CP linebacker. Hoefler was intercepted five times by Merrillville on Sept. 30 in a 30-0 loss and the Vikings have been conservative (13 passes in two games) since then. That's a tipoff that they're going to run the ball 90% of the time on CP. I think Hoefler may run the ball as many times as he throws it Friday.
Junior center Tyler Doane (5-11, 220) and senior tackle Paul Kasperan (6-5, 280) lead a lot of running plays and CP can't hold them under 100 yards rushing. Watch where Kasperan lines up and if Valpo runs Biggs (5-8, 183) behind him. If the Vikings use that as their base play, they could win the time of possession battle and keep the ball away from QB Matt Jansen and the now prolific Bulldog offense.
The
Vikings have found a kicker in junior Colin Krupchak (6-0, 173), who is 24-of-25
on extra points with the only failure being a block, not a miss. Krupchak has
made 20 conversions in a row. Tony Hite kicks field goals and he booted a
26-yarder last week in the 24-0 win over Lake Central.
Crown Point has been potent on offense in the last three games rolling up 116
total points in three games since senior QB Matt Jansen (32-50, 498 yards, 3
TDs, one INT) returned off the injured list. Alternating Bulldog running
backs Donny Keiser (122-751 yards, 10 TDs) and Jon Sertich (117-657 yards, 5
TDs) have been very effective behind a rebuilt offensive line and blocking backs
Tommy Parks (17-132 yards) and Danny Byrd.
The return of wide receiver Matt Ernest (6-2, 165) gives the Bulldogs a TD threat from anywhere on the field. Ernest caught five passes for 106 yards last week in a 47-7 rout of Michigan City. Fellow junior Ryan Forney (18 -369 yards) has the speed for pass-run scores and Parks (13-162 yards) and Sertich (10-122 yards) are good for first down-producing catches out of the back field.
Bulldog extra point man Brad Mallers is 25 of 27 and place-kicker Donny Keiser is 13 of 20 on field goals. Keiser's next field goal will set a single season Indiana state record.
A hidden stat that makes this all add up to wins is turnovers. CP has just nine turnovers in nine games while they have received 21 takeaways. They have lost only five fumbles all year, a very low total for a team that has run the ball over 300 times. Crown Point doesn't take any 50-50 chances at midfield. In other words, they don't go for 4th-and-1 situations at midfield. That's not their strength, the CP defense is. The Bulldogs are much better off punting a team deep into their own territory and letting the '35' defense work on them.
CP's
focus has been the three linemen, five linebacker '35' defense, led by senior
co-captain linebacker Vince Lewis (6-1, 220), versatile pass coverage, pass rush
linebacker Jordan Rhye (6-0, 185) and leading tackler (and No. 35) Nick Ciochina.
The trick is, which of the '35' is rushing and which is covering on which play.
There have been plays where nose guard Nick Conway (5-10, 265) has dropped back
into pass coverage. The 3-5-3 formation encourages teams to throw a lot
and that's actually playing right into CP's hands. Even though the 3-5 is
basically a run defense, the way to beat it might be to run off tackle against
the smaller defensive ends and outside linebackers.
Here's a game where the Bulldogs throw the ball early and then take advantage of
Valpo's pass rushing fever to run inside the tackles with Keiser and Parks.
Valpo can't rush four men and get to Jansen so CP wants to throw early,
especially if it's raining and cold. Any play where Ernest is single
covered is a good Bulldog choice although Valpo has some tall coverage people.
Crown Point was held to 86 yards rushing by Valpo on Sept. 23, and they have to do better than that this time. But the Vikings will take the early lead on a short run by Aaron Biggs before CP gets started with Donny Keiser's state record 14th field goal.
There should be long scoreless droughts in this game and Keiser, who averages 35 yards a punt, may be called on a half dozen times. Rain is the great equalizer. It's almost like an extra defensive back. Receivers can't make spectacular one handed or leaping catches because the weather won't permit it. Nobody knows what the weather will be. Predictions of rain most of the week could mean sprinkles that won't bother the cheerleaders, a steady downpour that drives fans into their cars or no rain at all and just a wet field.
But
anything slows down Crown Point, which is a finesse team that has thrived in
good weather, but is a little small defensively for 'caveman' style cold weather
games. Also, the pressure builds on CP as the game goes on because they are the
undefeated, ranked team. Valpo is just a squad with nothing to lose, playing at
home.
A Jansen to Ryan Forney pass and run of over 50 yards puts the Bulldogs ahead
10-7 but Hollis Ballard scores on a short pass to make it 14-10 Valpo. The
Bulldogs will struggle moving the ball, but a run by Jansen will set up a Keiser
field goal to cut the lead to 14-13 in the final period. A short Valpo
punt and a 60-70 yard drive will rally CP in the late going and a TD run by
Keiser will push the Bulldogs to the lead in the late going.
The CP defense will stop two or three Valpo possessions in the final quarter and Crown Point will go 10-0 for the first time in 18 years.
CROWN POINT 20, Valparaiso 14
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Revised: October 20, 2005
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