Week
15 Picks: NW Indiana High School Football
Week
15 Picks: NW Indiana High School Football
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by Mark Smith
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WEEK 14 in Review: Wrong - 2; Right - 8 |
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| The Pick | The Result |
| Perry Central 33, South Putnam 14 | South Putnam 40-21 |
| Scecina 28, Southridge 20 | Southridge 28-17 |
| Southwood 28, Pioneer 21 | Southwood 34-17 |
| Bishop Dwenger 20, Clay 6 | Bishop Dwenger 17-14 (OT) |
| Roncalli 35, Jasper 28 | Roncalli 10-6 |
| Ben Davis 27, Center Grove 24 | Ben Davis 21-3 |
| Bishop Chatard 27, Heritage Hills 21 | Bishop Chatard 35-28 |
| ANDREAN 49, Concordia 33 | ANDREAN 28-17 |
| Bishop Luers 42, North Judson 7 | Bishop Luers 29-3 |
| Snider 27, Valparaiso 20 | Snider 27-17 |
WEEK Fourteen (14) ANALYSIS:
Can't tell you how Perry Central, on a 13-game winning
streak, gave up 40 points. Scecina led 17-7 just like Valparaiso and Southridge
just turned the tide.
None of the other games were really a surprise. Valparaiso fell behind Portage
and Penn in the previous two weeks and has to rally to win. Dwenger only went to
overtime because their top running back was injured and left the game. As usual,
Fort Wayne and Indianapolis dominate.
Regular
season (9 weeks) 85 of 109, 77.9%
WEEK 14: 8 of 10 = 80%
Playoffs: 73 of 101, 72.2%
Total (14 weeks) 158 of 210, 75.2%
1A - Southwood (12-1) 35, South Putnam (12-2) 17
Southwood is a little bigger and their schedule a tad tougher. This is the second state title game for both. South Putnam is the 1986 state champion.
2A - Bishop Luers (11-3) 51, Southridge (12-2) 14
Southridge has had a nice run but it ends here. Luers is significantly bigger, they have played a vastly tougher schedule and they are the 5-time state champs. This is almost a sure thing.
3A - Bishop Chatard (14-0) 24, ANDREAN (14-0) 16
The best match-up of the final weekend. The top team in the north against the undefeated, defending state champ. Chatard has played a significantly tougher schedule. They have beaten top-10 teams in each of the last four weeks. Andrean's skill position players will be enhanced by the perfect 70-degree temps indoors but so will Chatard's speed. Chatard has never lost a state final and they are also a 5-time state champion.
4A - Roncalli (9-4) 20, Bishop Dwenger (13-1) 17
The big dogs walk late in the first of two Fort Wayne-Indianapolis match-ups. Dwenger, a 3-time state champion, faces unranked Roncalli, which upset Jasper last week. This is a very difficult game to pick because Roncalli was 0-4 before the death of a player canceled a game. They have since won nine in a row. This game could go either way.
5A - Ben Davis (11-3) 30, Snider (13-0) 16
I think Snider won the game they had to win last week. Ben Davis lost all three games early and they dominated Center Grove by 18 last week. I can't see Snider running on Ben Davis the way they did on Valparaiso and the Giants are 6-time state champions.
WYIN-TV Channel 56 used to carry the 5A state title game live but in recent years, they've only aired the game if a northwest Indiana team is involved. Don't count on seeing Ben Davis and Snider.
But WYIN will probably air a live broadcast of Andrean and Chatard at 11 a.m.. as they did last year. There is also a chance that Cable Channel 3 will tape delay the game and air on Monday and Wednesday nights at 7 p.m.
WJOB (1230) AM, WGVE (99.7) FM and WEFM (95.9) FM will almost certainly air the Andrean game live. With no South Bend or Lafayette teams in the finals, you have no chance of seeing any of the other games unless you go to Indianapolis.