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Andrean (12-2) vs.Heritage Hills (14-0) at RCA Dome
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Week
15 - Football Game of the Week Preview |
Andrean (12-2) vs.Heritage Hills (14-0) at RCA Dome
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11-26-2004
When:
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Where: RCA Dome, Indianapolis, IN.
Kickoff:
11:00 a.m.
Radio-TV: WEFM
(95.9) FM, WWCA (1270) AM, WJOB (1230) AM, WIMS (1480) AM and WHLP (89.9) FM. WYIN
Channel 56) TV – live -- 11 a.m.
Enrollment: 3A Andrean (766), 3A Heritage Hills (734)
Last year: Andrean was eliminated 22-21 at the regional level by Hamilton Heights. Heritage Hills was eliminated 24-3 by Bishop Chatard at the semistate level in 2003.
The series: These two schools, separated by over 250 miles, have never met. Heritage Hills 68 of the last 71 games they have played with all three losses coming to Bishop Chatard. The Patriots were 15-0 and state champions in 2000 and are 51-18 overall. Andrean has won 38 of their last 42 games. Andrean is 0-3 in state title games but 48-19 in playoff games overall.
WEATHER: A factor, believe it or not. The RCA Dome is climate-controlled with the temperature at 70 degrees. That's fine, unless its a relatively warm day outdoors. Then, it can get uncomfortable for players indoors. It has happened. Both teams are used to playing in 40 degree weather and they must be prepared to substitute in the defensive line and secondary if the pressure of playing and warmer conditions get to the players.
PARKING: There is a lot of pay-per-park spaces available around the RCA Dome but, on Saturday morning, there parking plenty of free parking spots in downtown Indianapolis from which you should walk to the Dome. Actually, it's part of the experience to park and walk through Indianapolis to the game. There's no problem safety-wise with leaving your car almost anywhere in the downtown area on a Saturday afternoon.
ON THE LINE: The second state championship for Heritage Hills and the first for Andrean. This is the sixth state title game for an Andrean boys team in a major team sport. The 59ers lost three state title football games 27-24 in 1997, 3-0 in 2001 and 31-12 in 2002 to Bishop Chatard. Andrean's boys basketball team lost the 2000 3A state title basketball game to Brebuef Jesuit and the 59ers lost the 2004 3A state baseball title game 3-2 to New Palestine.
HISTORY: These are powerful programs. Andrean advanced to the state championship game in 1997, 2001 and 2002, losing each time to Bishop Chatard. Heritage Hills, under 27th year coach Bob Clayton Hills, is one of the all-time winningest programs in Indiana with 250 wins and just 57 losses in those 27 years. they have won five consecutive sectional and regional championships . After years of being eliminated by Hobart in sectional and regional play, Andrean then dropped to Class 3A in the mid-90s and started a span where they won six sectional titles in eight years.
Though they are very close in enrollment (both were listed with exactly 766 students last year), Lincoln City, where Heritage Hills is located, is a very small town in the north end of Spencer County, about 40 miles east of Evansville, 70 miles west of Louisville, Kentucky and almost 250 miles south of Merrillville. You almost can't get there from here. It's over five hours from Lake County to Spencer County.
The name Lincoln City refers to the small southern Indiana farm where President Abraham Lincoln lived for 14 years early in his life. Lincoln's mother, Nancy Lincoln, is buried there and Lincoln State Park is a national monument. The Abe Lincoln tie-in is not a distant abstract reference that the bored kids are told of by town elders. Lincoln State Park is directly next to the high school. The North Spencer County area is an older, residential community with 60% of the people 25 or over. It is a rural area of single-family homes, mostly factory workers and farmers. This is not the Rainbow Coalition. There are only 32 non-white students (of near 1000) in the entire school district, according to last year's numbers. There are no private schools in Spencer County or anywhere near there. There is only one other high school (South Spencer) in a county the size of Porter County.
The largest towns in the North Spencer school corporation are Dale, Indiana, has 1,500 residents and the wonderfully cheery Santa Claus, Indiana, which has 1,200 residents. Dale high school is one of the schools that consolidated into Heritage Hills in the 1960s. Santa Claus, In., which hosts the nation's first theme park, was named at a town meeting on Christmas Eve and the town receives hundreds of thousands of letters every December from small children and the post office stamps them with the post mark 'Santa Claus, In.'
This isn't the south but you can see it from here. Folks here like James Carville and Ashley Judd and they come by it naturally. Spencer County, on the map, is actually closer to Tennessee and Mississippi than it is to Merrillville. A visit to places like this makes you realize that NW Indiana is much more suburban Chicago more than it is Indiana.
Andrean is an entirely different world. One of two IHSAA-sanctioned private schools (Bishop Noll is the other) in the crowded 25-high school Lake County area, Andrean is an elite private school with the best NW Indiana sports tradition this side of Valparaiso. Andrean insists on being good in every sport. If your kid is an athlete, you don't send him to Andrean to play on losing teams. Every major team sport (baseball, football, softball, boys basketball) at Andrean has advanced to the state finals in the last 10 years except girls basketball. This day is a celebration of what Andrean strives for on the athletic field. The 59ers, more than any other NW Indiana school, know that prep sports' seasons break down into two categories. Years in which you reach the state finals and disappointing seasons. For Andrean, there is no in-between. So, this is a very good year. The 59ers have been to the state finals in major team sports (softball, baseball, basketball, football) more than any other school in the six country (Jasper, Newton, Lake, Porter, LaPorte and Starke) area.
This is a great year for both schools just to be here but, it should be noted that both have been here before recently so there are many who are not overjoyed just to be here.
HERITAGE
HILLS UPDATE: I'm not sure what's
happened to Heritage Hills in recent weeks. Truthfully, they've been lucky to
beat a mediocre Batesville team 3-0 and to upset an injury depleted Bishop
Chatard 13-10 on two last-second field goals. This from a team that scored an
outrageous 502 points (45.6 per game) in the Patriot's first 11 games. The lack
of offense lately is ominous for a team that did not play what is ranked as even
one of the top-100 schedules in the state. What jumps out at you from the
Heritage Hills schedule is the fact that they did not play any 5A schools and
only two 4A schools.
Junior Jacob Nichols (152 caries, 810 yards, 24 TDs) does not have 1,000 yards which indicates that he may not have become a main option until the middle of the year or that the Patriots are a very balanced team. Nichols (5-11, 170) was injured against Batesville on Nov. 12 and played sparingly against Chatard. This could be a cause of the Patriots offensive problems. Senior QB Bryce Pund was 7 of 12 for 98 yards in the 13-10 win over Chatard but the rushing attack was limited to 97 yards on 27 carries. The backup fullback is Kyle James (5-6, 175) and James may see a lot of action against Andrean.
The Patriots have allowed less than 1,000 passing yards all year but its hard to determine if that's a product of the schedule they've played. Heritage Hills plays smaller schools but to spread the field and throw is a southern Indiana style of football. They have seen passing attacks before and they have stopped them.
Heritage Hills has lived on turnovers, getting 27 in 14 games. To be fair, the Patriots did not get one turnover from Chatard but still beat them. The injury to two-time 1,000-yard rusher Dray Mason with Chatard leading 10-0 was the key to that game, however. Heritage Hills took the opportunity when it was presented to them.
Defensively, the Patriots are tough against the run and are rarely beaten at the line of scrimmage. The lack of state finals berths hides the fact that they are 22-3 in playoff games in the last five years. None of the present-day players was in school when Heritage Hills won the title. For Patriot seniors, the have watched the varsity fall short for three years in a row. This is the climactic game of their careers. They have no 1,000-yard rushers and QB Pund (78-126, 1,245 yards, 13 TDs, 8 Ints) is obviously not a prolific passer, while his percentage is very high. But Heritage Hills has failed to score in just 11 quarters (56 quarters) all year long. Long Tom Carter (6-2,170) has been a big play man with 39 catches for 755 yards) Brandon Simon (6-3, 190) has 362 yards on 72 carries and back-up fullback Seth Johansenn (6-2, 190) has 296 yards on 42 carries so Nichols may be more of a halfback.
Heritage Hills is a conservative offensive team that wishes to (and does) control the ball. What you do see is an offensive line anchored by Mark Spellmeyer (6-2, 310) and Dan Knepper (6-2, 255).
Place-kicker Jace Morrison (6 FGs) has 40-yard range outdoors and has won the last two games with fourth quarter field goals, including a 38-yarder last week. Indoors, in perfect conditions with no wind, he probably has 50-yard range. This is a major advantage for the Patriots. Heritage Hills will win if they can stay within three points and get possession late because Morrison will probably make a last second field goal. The Patriots are reportedly a good special teams group that allows little on kickoff returns. Morrison averages 37 yards a punt and he'll better that indoors as well.
Heritage Hills apparently shortens the game. The Patriots have lost only four fumbles all season so they hold the ball for five or six minutes every time they get it. They may only allow Andrean six or seven poses ions all day. The Heritage Hills numbers are nowhere near as impressive as Andrean's but understand the last five years: 15-0, 13-1, 13-1, 13-1 and 14-0. There is a reason they've won that much.
ANDREAN
UPDATE: The 59ers roar into
the state finals with QB Tommy Finn (214-348, 3,210
yards, 34 TDs, 6 interceptions) directing an
all-senior skill position attack that includes TE Ty Harangody (77 catches,
1,246 yards, 10 TDs), WR Jake Kocal (70 catches, 1,140 yards, 19 TDs) and
halfback Joaquin Rodriguez (178 carries, 1051 yards, 18 TDs).
The 59ers have scored 244 points (48.8) in five playoff games as their offense, has dominated five mediocre to slightly above average defenses. Teams like Griffith and New Prairie have good defensive numbers because their offense holds the ball, not because they have top level cover guys or run-stoppers.
Andrean uses the three wide receivers and a tight end on most plays with Finn in the shotgun and Rodriguez standing next to him. No one in the state tournament was able to effectively keep Finn in the pocket and no one has stopped him.
Teams have been afraid to blitz Finn, even in the rain last week at New Prairie. But Heritage Hills will have to and, on the dry carpet, may be able to. The 59ers eat up conventional defenses and they will welcome the chance to play indoors. The offensive line has had problems but Finn can escape the rush and take the blockers off the hook. Andrean has switched punters and Danny Grugel (31.5 average) has done well over the lats 10 boots. But it's usually not the biggest factor. Andrean has only punted 29 times all year.
The 59ers are a poor kick coverage team. They have given up three kick returns for TDs including a 90-yard kickoff return to New Prairie's Tim Hein last week. Andrean should consider kicking the ball out of bounds to avoid long returns. It's that bad. Jake Kocal is 49-of-57 in booting extra points and he has one field goal. But this also may not matter. Andrean usually doesn't bother with field goals. They'll go for it on fourth down when they are in scoring position.
The 59ers defense is poor for this point in the state tournament. They have allowed 16.2 points per game and 26.3 in the last three games. Andrean is undersized up front, especially against teams like Heritage Hills. Even when Finn is the safety. The 59ers are not quick on defense and that may be accentuated on the artificial turf.
In their defense, the 59er offense scores so quickly that the defenders often spend more than half the game on the field. The opposition has rushed for 2,128 yards and 25 TDs in 14 games, very high totals for a state finals team.
Only 212 passes have been attempted against Andrean, even though most opposing teams trail. The 59ers have 15 pass interceptions including four by Chris Skinner. Andrean's defense is short DE Steve Egan (65 tackle 3 sacks), who has not played in the last two games. His availability for the title game is not known.
LB Ty Harangody (6-2, 235) has 78 tackles, four QB sacks and two interceptions. Cornerback Adam Shingle has 73 tackles and three interceptions and he's the back-up QB if anything happens to Finn. That subject must be addressed in the wake on injuries to key player like Merrillville's James Aldridge, Lowell's Jeff Clemens and Chatard's Dray Mason which directly led to their teams' immediate exit from the playoffs.
Heritage Hills has played their backup QB extensively. Andrean must have a backup plan if Finn, who is now going both ways, gets hurt on the hard artificial turf. LB Dominic Tornicasa (102 tackles) is a solid run-stopper.. Sophomore Kellen Mackin (6-2, 220) has six QB sacks and could be used as a short yardage runner, which is probably his future. This is a team that is used to high scoring games. They are not shaken when they allow points. As long as they allow them quickly and get the ball back. The more possessions everyone has, the better it is for Andrean. They can wear out the oppositions secondary and Heritage Hills has a short roster.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN: This game is hard game to call. On the computer, these two teams are rated virtually even. Less than one half point separates them. Andrean has not played the toughest schedule but it's like the NFL compared to what Heritage Hills has played.
Still, Heritage Hills beat Chatard and Andrean ever has. The 59ers are weak against the run and Heritage Hills runs hard. The Patriots have not faced good passing teams and Andrean has a 3,000-yard passer and two 1,000-yard receivers.
I'm looking for the 59ers to immediately take the lead by attacking Heritage Hills' cornerbacks, who have not see this caliber passer and receivers. Unless they get an early interception (they have 18), it may take the Patriot defense a quarter to adjust to the 59ers' 25-pass-per-game attack and by that time, the 59ers could lead 10-0 or 14-0.
The Patriots will run the ball on Andrean because everyone has and Jacob Nichols will almost certainly get into the end zone in the first half.
Heritage Hills will tie the game on a kickoff return and may take the lead on a field goal from Jace Morrison. But a long time-consuming drive will come up empty for the Patriots in the third period. The 59ers need to be perfect defensively to stop Heritage Hills from moving the ball and they usually aren't.
Andrean has 84 penalties this season while Heritage Hills has 48.
But Finn should break away for a long run and he'll throw a TD pass to Joaquin Rodriguez as Andrean regains the second half lead. Give Morrison two more field goals but the Patriots inexperience against elite passing will do them in.
The key will be for Andrean to take the early lead and take the Patriots out of their running game. If Andrean falls behind by more than a TD in the second half, they cannot recover. But that wont happen. The 59ers will lead early and play the front-runner role than worked for them against No. 4 Hamilton Heights and No. 10 New Prairie.
Andrean defies the 'Defense wins championships' cliché and rides a prolific offense to the state championship.
ANDREAN 28, Heritage Hills 23
VARSITY SCHEDULES, RECORDS
ANDREAN (12-2)
Coach Brett St. Germain (2nd year) 24-3 overall
8-20-4 (W) 18-13 at (5A) Chesterton (5-5)
8-27-4 (W) 41-7 (2A) Bishop Noll (5-5)
9-3-4 (W) 21-6 at (3A) Morton (4-7)
9-10-4 (W) 34-12 (3A) Hammond (2-8)
9-17-4 (W) 35-28 (4A) Lowell (9-4)
9-24-4 (L) 7-21 at (4A) Hobart (9-2)
10-1-4 (W) 38-0 (4A) Highland (6-6)
10-8-4 (L) 14-48 at (3A) Griffith (9-3)
10-15-4 (W) 34-17 (4A) Munster (5-6)
3A Sectional 17
10-22-4 (W) 56-6 Hammond (2-8)
10-29-4 (W) 70-9 at Gavit (5-6)
11-5-4 (W) 36-35 Griffith (9-3)
3A Regional
11-12-4 (W) 48-23 vs. Hamilton Heights (11-2)
3A Northern Semistate
11-19-4 (W) 34-21 at New Prairie (12-1)
3A State Finals
11-27-4 (Sat.) vs Heritage Hills (14-0) 11:00 a.m., CST, 12:00noon, EST
at RCA Dome - Indianapolis
Heritage Hills (14-0)
Bob Clayton (250-57) 27 years
8-20-4 (W) 17-6 at (4A) Vincennes (6-4)
8-27-4 (W) 43-7 (2A) Tell City (2-8)
9-3-4 (W) 55-6 (3A)at Pike Central (2-8)
9-10-4 (W) 34-31 (4A) at Jasper (9-3) OT
9-17-4 (W) 21-6 (2A) North Posey (7-5)
9-24-4 (W) 48-7 at (3A) Gibson Southern (3-8)
10-1-4 (W) 48-28 at (2A) Southridge (8-5)
10-8-4 (W) 62-0 (1A) Tecumseh (2-8)
10-15-4 (W) 42-14 (2A) South Spencer (9-2)
Class 3A Sectional 24
10-22-4 (W) 50-7 at Sullivan (7-3)
10-29-4 (W) 58-0 at Princeton (3-8)
11-5-4 (W) 24-14 (Evansville) Mater Dei (9-3)
3A Regional
11-12-4 (W) 3-0 at Batesville (7-6)
3A Northern
11-19-4 (W) 13-10 at Bishop Chatard (12-2)
2004 Class 3A State title game
11-28-4 (Sat) vs. Andrean (12-2) at 11 a.m. (CST)
at RCA Dome - Indianapolis