WEEK 1, 2007 Football Picks in Review: Wrong - 5; Right - 8 = 61.5%
The Pick	The Result
New Prairie 28, LaPorte 20	LaPorte 35-7
Chesterton 35, Clay  16	Chesterton 27-20
Griffith 48, Morton 35	Griffith 35-21
Wheeler 31, Highland 20	Wheeler 35-21
LC 21, Munster 14	LC 14-10
North White 35, Lake Station 13	North White  35-13
South Newton 42, North Newton 14	South Newton   57-13
Rensselaer 31, Kankakee Valley 20	Kankakee Valley 25-21
Bishop Noll 31, Gavit 21	Gavit 25-6
Portage  27, Andrean 21	Portage 16-14
CROWN POINT 20, LOWELL 10	LOWELL 23-14
Penn 40, Valparaiso 21	Penn 38-24
Warren Central  42, MERRILLVILLE 24	MERRILLVILLE   17-10

WEEK 1 (ONE) RECAP:  I didn't have enough nerve to pick Merrillville over Warren Central even though I thought they'd play with them.  You've got to be braver than that.  I'll take a whipping on that one.  The Lowell upset of CP could have gone either way.  CP was up 14-0.  Give Lowell credit.  I'm not sure how KV won at Rensselaer with a 4th quarter rally.  They ran the ball well, but they survived 12 penalties.  I don't think Bishop Noll is as bad as they played, but if you've read this site for a long time, you know I've gone bankrupt betting on Gavit in recent years.  They deserve a 'Glad hand' for an encouraging 19-point win.   And I guess LaPorte has gotten weary of losing to New Prairie.  That game could NOT have gone either way.  The best picks of the week were clearly the Wheeler win over Highland and the LC win over Munster.

2007 (1 week)  8 of 13   =   61.5%
2006 (final) OVERALL :  166 of 217 = 76.4% 
2005 (final) OVERALL:  170 of 233 = 72.9%

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Northwest Indiana
WEEK 2 (TWO) PICKS, 08-24-2007

MERRILLVILLE (08-24-2007) -  In week one, five teams (Hammond, Portage, Chesterton, Lowell and LC) were down by 10-or-more and still won.  Bet your little brother.  That won't happen in week two.  The big disappointment was the weather Saturday.  Rain, which began Saturday night about 45 minutes before the game, wiped out the crowd for Merrillville-Warren Central.  The Pirate athletic office says the PAID crowd was less than 2,000.  Merrillville needs good weather Friday for what should be a big gate against Griffith.  I'm also going to be checking the crowd in Hammond where Morton hosts Lowell.  Will the Lowell folks travel?  They usually do.  Will Morton's home fans come out despite the loss?  I have my doubts.

Week 2 isn't a good one.  Chesterton, Lew Wallace and River Forest play out of state teams from parts unknown.  Michigan City and River Forest host teams from a long way over the hill.  There are not that many local matchups.  Week 3 is pretty good, so unless you're going to Morton, Wheeler, Clark, Merrillville or CP this Friday, this might be one last chance to hit the beach or stay home and watch the Cubs.

Let's show respect and not select Wirt vs. Munster, Andrean at Bishop Noll, Highland at Portage, Gary Roosevelt vs. Valparaiso, East Chicago and Lake Central, Gary West Side vs. Hammond high or Rensselaer at North Newton.  I believe it is obvious how those games will end up.  Again, I make an effort not to shoot fish in a barrel here.  It's not a real prediction if we all know how the game is going to end.  Anybody who's picking the games involving the Gary schools is stealing the money.

Calumet at Clark

HAMMOND - On of my themes this year is rejuvenated spirit in Hammond. If you don't count Bishop Noll as a Hammond school (and the other four don't), it isn't impossible for Hammond to go 4-0 Friday.  I like Clark here, obviously.  Craig Fruth tossed four TDs and ran for a 5th in a blowout of Wirt.  Mario Ramirez is a big time receiver and Calumet cant hold him down. But this is Clark's first real game.  The Warriors will score but not nearly enough.

Clark 49, Calumet 33

Culver Community at South Central

CULVER - Culver's Jon Davis (14 carries, 99 yards) scored in overtime to give Culver a surprise 20-14 win over West Central.  Culver threw just four passes al night.  South Central rallied to beat LaVille by the same 20-14 score.  Cody Williams' 36-yard run with 25 second to play broke a 14-14 tie.  I'm going to take the Satellites and I'm going to stick with the mutual score.

South Central 20, Culver 14

LaPorte at Mishawaka

MISHAWAKA - This is a tough first road start for soph QB Dustin DeMuth (7 -of 10, 102 yards) as Mishawaka won big on the road 37-19 last week.  Mishawaka halfback Nate Wojtysiak scored on runs of 37 and 25 yards to break open a close game last week.  Both teams can run the ball but you've got to lean towards the home team here in the Cavemen home opener.

Mishawaka 31, LaPorte 21

Whiting at Gavit

HAMMOND - Gavit rolled up 250 yards on the ground last week and shut down Bishop Noll's running game.  But Whiting QB Anthony Dumezich completed 11-of-18 for 239 yards.  Early in the season, passing trumps running, even on the road.

Whiting 42, Gavit 28

Kankakee Valley at Wheeler

UNION TOWNSHIP - Wheeler QB Mike DeSimone completed 14 of 21 for 322 yards last week against Highland and I think Highland has a secondary people than KV does.  Who is Corbin Lee and how did he caught eight passes for 279 yards?  KV was lucky to beat Rensselaer, and even if KV running back Alex Byers gains 132 yards on 26 carries again, it won't be nearly enough.

Wheeler 31, Kankakee Valley 14

South Bend Clay at New Prairie

NEW CARLISLE -  Another tough one.  New Prairie gave up a TD on the first play of the game and lost 35-7 at LaPorte.  Clay led 14-0 after one quarter and lost 27-20 to Chesterton.
Clay could not turn the ball and turned it over five times.  New Prairie gained 241 yards rushing on 38 carries so I'm going to say they aren't as bad as that 28-point loss indicates.  I like the Cougars to win the home opener.

New Prairie 35, (SB) Clay 27

Knox at North Judson

NORTH JUDSON - A sometimes bitter rivalry as the only two football-playing high schools in Starke County go head-to-head.  Knox blasted Winamac 34-0 with a balanced offense led by QB Cody Binkley (12-of-20, 115 yards).  Judson gave up 240 yards rushing, a bad sign, but held on to beat Glenn 14-13.  This might be the closest game of the week.

North Judson 21, Knox 20

Lowell at Hammond Morton

HAMMOND - Morton played tough against Griffith, but they gave up 250 yards rushing and had their QBs sacked eight times in a 35-21 loss.  That plays right into the hands of Lowell, which rushed for 220 yards and got four QB sacks in a 23-14 win over Crown Point.  On paper, this is a bad matchup for Morton and it will only be close for a half.

Lowell 48, Morton 20

Hobart at Crown Point

CROWN POINT -  Hobart didn't get competition in a 63-0 win over Gary West Side last week.  Crown Point jumped to a 14-0 lead and then got ambushed by Lowell 23-14.  That second result is not what Hobart had been hoping for.  The Brickies are going to have to make some positive offensive plays very early in this game or they will have trouble keeping up.  CP is bigger and probably faster.

Crown Point 35, Hobart 17

Griffith at Merrillville

MERRILLVILLE - Merrillville is coming off a short week, which is not what you want going against the Griffith option.  But Griffith has to throw the ball against the Pirates, who are very fast.  I give the Panthers a lot of credit for scheduling Merrillville when few other teams would.  But this is a young Griffith team and this game will not go well for them.

Merrillville 51, Griffith 20


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Revised: August 24, 2007 .