Week 12 NW Indiana HS Football Picks

'Mr. Picker' WEEK 11, 2010 Football Picks in Review: Wrong - 3; Right - 17 = 85.0%
The Pick	The Result
Class 1A ---- Sectional 33 ----
(1A) South Central 35, Triton 14	South Central 42-10
Culver 28, Whiting 14	Culver 35-28
Class 1A ---- Sectional 34 ----
Pioneer 42, Carroll 14	Pioneer 59-0
Lafayette Catholic 56, North White 7	Lafayette Catholic 52-0
Class 2A ---- Sectional 25 ----
(2A) Wheeler 35, North Newton 14	Wheeler 46-2
Rensselaer 28, Seeger 0	Rensselaer 49-0
Class 2A ---- Sectional 26 ----
Fairfield 21, Bremen 7	WRONG ... Bremen 42-14
Garrett 29, Eastside 12	Garrett 28-13
Class 3A ---- Sectional 17 ----
(3A) John Glenn 21, New Prairie 12	John Glenn 34-0
ANDREAN 30, Culver 14	ANDREAN 41-0
Class 3A ---- Sectional 18 ----
Jimtown 20, Northwood 12	Jimtown 21-7
St. Joseph's 42, Lakeland 14	St. Joseph's 49-0
Class 4A ---- Sectional 9 ----
(4A) Morton 28, Hobart 20	Morton 58-21
Gary West Side 42, Hammond 28	Gary West Side 41-20
Class 4A ---- Sectional 10 ----
Clay 31, Logansport 16	Clay 55-10
SBW 32, Concord 27	WRONG ... Concord 35-13
Class 5A ---- Sectional 1 ----
(5A) CROWN POINT 26, Munster 14	CROWN POINT 28-10
MERRILLVILLE 24, Valparaiso 14	WRONG ... Valpo 20-14
Class 5A ---- Sectional 2 ----
Mishawaka 21, Goshen 0	Mishawaka 35-7
Penn 35, Elkhart Memorial 14	Penn 27-6

2010, Week-11: 17 of 20 = 85.0%
2010, Week-10: 22 of 28 = 78.5%
2010, Week-9: 8 of 10 = 80.0%
2010, Week-8: 4 of 10 = 40.0%
2010, Week-7: 10 of 11 = 90.9%
2010, Week-6: 5 of 9 = 55.0%
2010, Week-5: 5 of 10 = 50.0%
2010, Week-4: 8 of 10 = 80.0%
2010, Week-3: 8 of 11 = 72.7%
2010, Week-2: 8 of 10 = 80.0%
2010, Week-1: 8 of 12 = 66.7%
2010 Season: 103 of 141 = 73.2%

Mr. Picker (Through the Years)
2009 (final) OVERALL: 154 of 212 = 72.6%
2008 (final) OVERALL: 145 of 193 = 75.1%
2007 (final) OVERALL: 143 of 188 = 76.0%
2006 (final) OVERALL: 166 of 217 = 76.4%
2005 (final) OVERALL: 170 of 233 = 72.9%

WEEK ELEVEN (11) Analysis: The upset of Concord by Washington didn't come close to happening and I'm still surprised that Bremen ran for 400 yards on Fairfield. Merrillville outgained Valpo but the Vikings beat them for the second time. I can't complain. Most games stayed true to form which meant it was easy to get most of them correct. The best pick? Probably the CP win at Munster. The game went pretty much the way it should have.

WEEK TWELVE (11-05-2010): This is one of three premier weeks of the high school season. The 12th week features a lot of rematches from earlier in the season as, in theory, the top two teams in the section get together. If the games this week are not rematches from earlier this year they are playoff rematches from last year so there's a lot of history involved. Much more so than there will be from this point on. Also, this is the first week when a team can actually win something and the sectional title is probably the goal for a lot of teams. They don't have any plans beyond this week. Also, this may be the week the student body discovers that you are in the football playoffs. The kids don't want to stand out in the cold for nothing so they may wait until you win a couple of weeks to get into the mood. With a real title on the line, everbody you know will be there or will be listening on the radio. Other than week 14 (the semistate), where the winner reaches the finals and week 15 (the state championship games), this is the biggest week of the high school season.

WEEK (12) TWELVE

Class 1A

CULVER (11-5-2010) Does South Central have an answer for Culver halfback Michael Salary who carries 17 times for 202 yards last week against Whiting? Culver beat South Central 28-27 in August so you would think this game would be close. Culver is just very good running the ball.

Culver 28, South Central 21

Sectional 34
(1A) Pioneer [10-1] at Lafayette Catholic [11-0]

LAFAYETTE (11-5-2010) This is a mismatch. I know Pioneer is 10-1 and they average 41 points a game. But unless there is a blizzard, they have no defense for the multiple attack of LC led by QB Austin Munn (133-174, 2,012 yards, 24 TDs). Lafayette Catholic has allowed just 26 points all season and they average 52 points a game. Pioneer was 9-0 last season when Lafayette Catholic shut them out 20-0. Barring an act of God, this won't be close.

RENSSELAER (11-5-2010) The weather is a key here because Rensselaer does not need to throw the ball and Wheeler does. The 90-minute drive to Rensselaer won't help the visitors either. The speed and air game of Wheeler will be neutralized in the wet and cold. The Bombers have two 1,000-yard rushers in Keaton Lyons and Ben Ahlers. Wheeler can't play that way. Rensselaer wins decisively here.

Rensselaer 28, Wheeler 13

Sectional 26
Bremen [8-3] at Garrett [6-5]

GARRETT (11-5-2010) Bremen ran for 417 yards last week at Fairfield and Garrett hasn't defeated anybody with a record of better than 4-7. Garrett was in a soft side of the Sectional 26 bracket, but that all ends this week. Bremen, which is northeast of Plymouth in Marshall County, would host Wheeler or Rensselaer for the regional.

MERRILLVILLE (11-5-2010) Glenn held the New Prairie Cougars to 78 yards rushing on 40 carries in a 34-0 win last week, but Andrean is a different animal. The Niners ran for 450 yards on Culver Military in a 41-0 shutout. Glenn has lost to Bremen (8-3) and Jimtown (9-2) so they have had a quality season. But it's a two-hour drive from Walkerton to Merrillville. With no passing game, it's hard for the Falcons to upset Andrean.

ANDREAN 28, John Glenn 14

Sectional 17
Jimtown [9-2] at (South Bend ) St. Joseph's [6-5]

SOUTH BEND (11-5-2010) Jimtown held Northwood to 22 yards rushing last week. St. Joseph's bombed out-manned Lakeland 49-0. Jimtown is 'old school'. They won last week without completing a pass. St. Joe has played a very tough schedule but they must throw in the snow and against the Jimmies. That's a no go.

Jimtown 21, St. Joseph's 13

Class 4A

Sectional 12
Delta [10-1] at New Haven [8-3]

NEW HAVEN (11-5-2010) I don't really know where New Haven is. But Delta's in Muncie and they don't play much football there. New Haven has won two sectional games 73-14 and 64-31. Delta is 63-10 in the last six seasons but they always do this. They roll through the regular season and get upset in the post-season. It happens again.

New Haven 35, Delta 21

Sectional 11
Bishop Dwenger [10-0] at Columbia City [10-1]

COLUMBIA CITY (11-5-2010) Here's another mismatch. Columbia City allows 20 points a game. Dwenger has scored 40 or more nine times in 10 games and the time they didn't was a 36-14 win over 2A state champ Bishop Luers. Dwenger erased Columbia City 56-0 for the sectional 12 title last year. Columbia City is well aware of what is about to happen to them.

Bishop Dwenger 59, Columbia City 20

Sectional 10
Clay [8-3] at Concord [11-0]

ELKHART (11-5-2010) There is an issue here. Concord starting QB and free safety Anthony Yoder is out for the year with a broken bone in his foot. The Minutemen will have to change their offense somewhat, especially if weather is bad. But Clay throws the ball a ton and bad weather would blow their game, too. Either Clay or Concord would host Morton.

HAMMOND (11-5-2010) This is a mismatch. Morton likes to throw, but West Side has to. They have no other offense. Mid-30s and snow flurries doesn't help you complete passes. Morton has already beaten West Side 56-20 in good weather. West Side had about as much chance to win this week as a Democrat in Indiana.

FISHERS (11-5-2010) This is a rare matchup of schools that aren't just neighbors, they are brother and sister. Fishers is the school that was created when Hamilton Southeastern's enrollment soared up over 3000 in the last decade. Despite the records, Fishers' only loss was 40-17 to Hamilton SE in August. SE is a lot like Crown Point with a 1,000-yard rusher in Ryan Ripp (149 - 941 yards) and a 2,000-yard passer in Jake Jones (133-259, 2,111 yards, 20 TDs) has won nine times by 20 points or more. I don't know if this game is that close.

Hamilton SE 28, Fishers 14

Sectional 3
Homestead [10-1] at (FW) Snider [8-2]

FORT WAYNE (11-5-2010) Snider has lost only to 2A state title favorite Bishop Luers and to 4A state title favorite Bishop Dwenger. Against public schools, Snider is undefeated. Homestead is a public school, albeit one that has scored more than 30 points in every game this season. This game will tell you about the strength of the Summit Athletic Conference (SAC) this year.

MISHAWAKA (11-5-2010) Mishawaka is an option team like Chesterton, built for bad weather. The Cavemen completed just one pass in last week's 35-7 win over Goshen. Penn has allowed just 77 points all season. Penn beat arch-rival Mishawaka 30 times in a row until last year and now Mishawaka has won three straight. Mishawaka won the earlier meeting 21-14. But I think Penn, which has played a tougher schedule, wins the rematch.

VALPARAISO (11-5-2010) Most times in high school football when teams meet twice, the team that wins the regular season game will win the rematch. But Valparaiso has won five times by seven points or less, including a 10-7 win over Valparaiso in September. Since then, Valpo has lost top halfback Byron Duncan and they have been hurting on offense.