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Crown Point (8-3)
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Week 12 - Football Game of the Week Preview
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Crown Point (8-3)
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11
-04-2010
When:
7:00 p.m. Friday, November 5, 2010
Where:
Valparaiso High School - 2727 Campbell ST, Valparaiso, IN. Here's a
travel tip. Valpo high is on the west side of Valparaiso. Heading
east on Route 30, look for Horseprairie Road and turn left (north). Do a Z
turn and head into downtown Valpo. Turn left at the second light and go to
Campbell. Turn right on Campbell (north) and you'll find the school 1/4
mile down.
Tickets:
Sectional playoff tickets are $6 (the IHSAA says
so) but there may not be tickets available at the gate. We may have reached the
point where you'll need to buy tickets at the schools. Valpo's Viking field
holds about 5,000 but with 75% of other teams eliminated, players and coaches
from other schools will think about coming to watch this game. The weather may
knock the crowd down, but I wouldn't count on that. Tickets area available at
Valpo and CPHS Thursday.
TV/Radio/Internet: WWCA (1270)
AM, WEFM (95.9) FM, rrsn.com. There will be highlights on the 10:30 p.m.
"Scoreboard Show" show on Lakeshore Public Broadcasting (Comcast Cable Ch. 17)
Friday night.
Enrollment: CP - 2,442, Valparaiso - 2,083
All-time series: Valparaiso leads 39-18-2. Valparaiso won 10-7
seven weeks ago.
HISTORY: This was a landmark season for Valparaiso football, which
posted its first undefeated season since the 1970s. Valparaiso has done well
all-time against Crown Point which is probably why they don't consider CP a big
rival. The Vikings have not always been a football power. Valparaiso opened the
football season against Crown Point from 1940 to 1962 and they lost most of
those games at a time when CP was not a ball of fire. In the span from
1954-1959, Valparaiso won nine games in six years. The arrival of coach Tom
Stokes in 1962 changed Valpo football fortunes. Stokes was 1-7-1 in his first
season but by the mid-60s Valpo was king. From 1965 to the 1970 season,
Valparaiso high school football was 45-4-1.
From 1973-1976, Stokes' final season, Valpo was 40-3. Present day coach Mark Hoffman came in 1977. and after what must have been a couple of painful losing seasons, Valpo was again on top from 1984-1987 (31-13) and from 2000-2002 (34-8). That history is why Valpo high people feel they should win all the time over young whipper snappers like Crown Point's Bulldogs, who truthfully have little history of football success.
Valpo is a charter member of the Duneland Athletic Conference and while Hobart has won more league title, Valparaiso and Merrillville have certainly become the marquee teams of the DAC state wide. In this return-to-glory season, Valpo, which was 5-5 last year, needs this sectional title to show they are back on the block state wide. To lose on their home field to a team they have already defeated this season would make it difficult to call this a great season. And this is not a team that is comparable to the Valparaiso teams of eight and nine years ago. So the Vikings may play with a sense of urgency, almost desperation against CP. Friday is the first night they can actually win something. There is a feeling of the goal being within reach for a school with a proud tradition.
No. 4 Valparaiso (11-0)
Coach: Mark Hoffman (34th year)
2009 record: 5-5
Sectionals (9) last in 2001
Regionals: (5) last in 2001
State titles (1) 1975
2005-2009: 28-23
8-20 (W) 10-7 at Penn (7-4)
8-27 (W) 34-21 at Griffith (6-4)
9-3 (W) 35-14 LaPorte (5-5)
9-10 (W) 49-0 Michigan City (1-9)
9-17 (W) 21-14 Chesterton (6-4)
9-24 (W) 10-7 Crown Point (8-3)
10-1 (L) 34-21 at Merrillville (8-3)
10-8 (W) 27-7 Portage (5-5)
10-15 (W) 21-14 at Lake Central (2-8)
5A Sectional (1) One
10-22 (W) 61-22- East Chicago (5-5)
10-29(W) 20-14 at Merrillville (8-3)
11-5 (Fri.) Crown Point (8-3)
CROWN POINT (8-3)
Coach Chip Pettit (60-46, 10 years)
2009 record: 3-7
Sectional titles (3) 1988, 91, 2006
Regional titles (1) 1988
Last 5 seasons: 37-19
8-20 (W) 37-6 Lowell (6-4)
8-27 (W) 48-14 at Hobart (5-5)
9-3 (L) 21-24 at MERRILLVILLE (8-3)
9-10 (W) 42-21 LAKE CENTRAL (2-8)
9-17 (W) 24-7 PORTAGE (5-5)
9-24 (L) 7-10 at VALPARAISO (11-0)
10-1 (W) 40-13 at LaPORTE (4-6)
10-8 (L) 21-45 CHESTERTON (6-4)
10-15 (W) 52-15 at MICHIGAN CITY (1-9)
5A Sectional (1) One
10-22 (W) 23-21 Portage (5-5)
10-29 (W) 28-10 at Munster (7-4)
11-5 (Fri.) at Valparaiso (11-0)
Valparaiso Update:
Valparaiso has won all the close games. They have won five times by seven points
or less. The key there may be that Valpo has allowed just 20 points in the
fourth quarter. This is not a team that expects to just walk on the field and
win because they haven't done that. Since star halfback Byron Duncan (138
carries, 935 yards, 8 TDs) left the team (disciplinary reasons) last month, the
running burden has fallen on Andrew Kittridge (5-11, 185) who has 835 yards on
148 carries. Kittridge, a regional qualifier as a hurdler, must be a major
factor in this game. Duncan carried 20 times for 82 yards on Sept. 24 and that
production will be missed Friday.
Valpo Paul Andrie (72 of 150, 1,095, 19 TDs) was 5 of 11 for 69 yards in the
earlier game against Crown Point but he has not been a prolific passer this
season. Andrie was 2-of-13 for 76 yards last week against Merrillville and
4-of-15 in the season finale against Lake Central. It is unlikely that
Valparaiso will try to find their passing game against a CP defense that has
only allowed 1,031 yards (94 yards per game) all year. But with tall receivers
like Ryan Nix (6-2, 183) and Danny Hummel (6-4, 173), Valpo will not abandon the
pass entirely. One of the two completions last week was a 52-yard TD toss to
all-purpose back Dominic Coatsolonia.
With 19 touchdowns on 72 completions, Valpo lures the defense to the lie of scrimmage and then strikes deep. Andrie can accept no TDs passes this Friday if it also comes with no interceptions. Valpo's defense has not allowed more than 110 yards to any running back all year. The Vikings are more quick than big. Linebacker Chad Barton (6-0, 188) and defensive end Adam Peterka (6-3, 212) both have over 100 tackles. Peterka has to be blocked on pass plays. He has 10 quarterback sacks.
One of the Vikings big strength is kicking. Junior Sam Ficken has booted nine field goals, the longest being 52 yards. He's a major weapon. Most of his kickoffs go into the end zone for touchbacks. The Vikings held Crown Point to only 182 yards and just 77 yards on 28 carries. I do not have Valpo official statistics, but by box score count, Ficken is a perfect 37 of 37 in extra points. In an era of top kickers in NW Indiana, Ficken (6-2, 164), who will get a lot bigger and stronger, is the best.
If Valparaiso can keep the game
scoreless or tied into the second half, they will be much more confident than CP
that they can win late because they've done it all year.
Crown Point Update:
CROWN POINT (11-5-2010) The Bulldogs ended the game strong last week but
they did commit three more turnovers. That's eight turnovers in two games, a
very bad sign going into Friday's championship. Junior QB Joe Hopman (101 of
177, 1,859 yards, 20 TDs, 11 interceptions) has thrown six interceptions in his
last two games. Hopman (5-11, 185) is also CP's second leading rusher with 344
yards on 67 carries. They don't call many planned QB runs.
Senior halfback Cody Bacon (5-8,
175) has run 234 times for 1,859 yards, while senior receiver Austin Atherton
(5-11, 160) has gained 1,078 yards on 56 catches. CP has gained 4,100 total
yards, almost 375 per game.
CP's offensive line, led by seniors Alex Zagrocki (6-0, 270), Mitch Kositzky
(6-2, 255) and Andrew Wrecsics (6-4, 265) features tight end/fullback hybrids
Pete Parks (6-0, 240), Tyler Kral (6-2, 220) and Jordan Jurasevich (6-3, 210)
shifting before the snap, giving the Bulldogs a lot of power at the line of
scrimmage.
Defensively, linebacker Scott Hannon (6-1, 170) has 101 tackles and end Billy
Van Cleef (6-2, 200) has seven sacks. With the exception of nose guard Cameron
Tanner (6-1, 270), CP, like Valpo, is more light and quick than big and strong.
CP's three-man secondary looks more vulnerable than it is with Atherton at
safety and senior corner Joel Johnson (6-0, 170).
Kicker Brett Bayer has seven field goals with a longest kick of 37 yards. He is
42 of 46 on extra points and has 35 touchbacks on 58 kickoffs.
CP should be 10-1. They should have beaten Valparaiso and Merrillville. The late
loss to Chesterton is troubling and I'm not sure the Bulldogs are as confident
as they were early on.
CROWN POINT 1,000-yard rushers (since
1980)
Russell Chick (2007) 294 carries, 1,810 yards
Brian Parker (1997) 258 carries, 1,702 yards
Jon Sertich (2006) 235 carries, 1,492 yards
John Young (1987) 215 carries, 1,480 yards
Cody Bacon (2010) 234 carries, 1,444 yards*
Geremy Milner (1995) 226 caries, 1,059 yards
Donny Keiser (2005) 198 carries, 1,046 yards
Mark Minch (1989) 194 carries, 1,013 yards
CROWN POINT 1,000-yard receivers (since 1980)
David Warne (1995) 45 catches, 1,123 yards
Austin Atherton (2010) 56 catches, 1,078 yards*
Matt Ernest (2004) 47 catches, 1,031 yards
Matt Ernest (2006) 6 catches, 960 yards
Aaron Miller (2003) 60 catches, 937 yards
Jim Greene (1984) 38 catches, 890 yards
* still active
VALPARAISO (11-05-2010) This one is obvious. Valpo is 8-0 against DAC teams and they've beaten Merrillville (8-3) twice. The Vikings won at Pen (6-4), which is playing for a sectional title Friday. CP has lost to Valpo and Merrillville and they do not have a win over a Top-10 team or a team that's still alive in the state tournament. For CP, the season comes down to Friday at Valparaiso.
What will
HAPPEN:
VALPARAISO
(11-5-10)
This just isn't going to be high-scoring game. Both defenses are
better than the offense they are facing and the weather will put another set of
handcuffs on the offensive boys. I can see a scoreless tie or a 3-0 game at the
half due to the fact that both defenses have played well in virtually every game
this season, while both the Bulldog and Viking offenses have seen hard times.
Star kicker Sam Ficken gives Valparaiso a 3-0 halftime lead, but an Austin Atherton kickoff return deep into Valpo territory sets up CP's first score, a TD pass from Joe Hopman to Pete Parks. Valparaiso closes the gap on an extended drive into CP territory, but they have to settle for another field goal by Ficken, cutting the lead to 7-6. After an exchange of punts, Hopman finds Jordan Jurasevich slipping down the center of the field for a long touchdown. Valpo drives into CP territory in the fourth quarter, but settles for a third Ficken field goal.
Valpo has one of the weakest offenses for an undefeated Class 5A team that I have ever seen. The Viking defense, dealing with CP's big offensive line, is counting on two or three CP turnovers to win this game single-handedly and, for once, the Bulldogs won't let that happen.
CROWN POINT 14, Valparaiso 9