Week 3 Picks:  2006 NW Indiana High School Football

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

August 31, 2006

WEEK (2) TWO RECAP:  Obviously River Forest has major problems, losing the first two games 101-14.  For RF and North Newton to not be able to respond in week two after a blowout in week one tells you what you need to know.  Fortunately North Newton will play River Forest on Sept. 22 so one of them can get a win.  Portage trailed St. Joe 7-6 in the fourth quarter, but they really didn't move the ball, a surprise if St. Joe is no better than advertised.  New Prairie let the game slip away at Washington.  They should have won.  LaPorte rebounded better than expected.  The games involving Merrillville, Griffith, Kankakee Valley, Michigan City and Crown Point went very much as expected.  Remember that Rensselaer graduated a kid (Jacob Kiger) who might have been the best player in NW Indiana in 10 years.  They cannot replace him and they can't possibly do the things they've done the last four years.  Again, there was not a  major upset in week two.

BIGGEST WINNER - WEEK TWO:  LaPorte.  The Slicers dominated a game they could have lost, winning 42-13 at Elkhart Central.  HB Airrence Shark controlled the ball and the Slicers controlled the contest against a team they perennially have problems with.  QB Adam Creed was effective.  This was a must-win with seven DAC teams to follow and LaPorte rose to the occasion.

RUNNER UP - Chesterton:  Chesterton tied Griffith 28-28 at Griffith and lost in overtime.  That's a big confidence builder.  I thought the fact that Chesterton ran for 150 yards is the biggest stat of the week.  The balance of running and their potent passing game may not salvage a winning season, but could make the Trojans a major threat in the post-season.  No one in NW Indiana is going to finish the regular season having played a tougher schedule than Chesterton.

WEEK 2 (2006) PIX recap

WEEK 1:  9 of 13 = 69.1%
WEEK 2:  10 of 15 = 66.7%
2006 Season to date:  19 of 28 = 67.9% 
2005 (final) OVERALL:  170 of 233 = 72.9%

Northwest Indiana
WEEK 3 (THREE) PICKS, 9-01-2006

(9-01-2006)  League play begins and we'll see if anyone was holding things back.  I believe coaches sometimes try to get players in the game in the first two contests to decide what the substitution patterns will be once league play starts.  Good teams don't care as much about the first two games as they pretend to.  If you're playing teams in your league, in theory, there will be less 50-point blowouts.  All DAC games match 5A schools against each other and LAC Black contests line up 3A and 4As.  That makes for better action on Friday night.  Even though the Gary teacher's strike has not been settled, all four Gary teams will be able to play, according to the IHSAA.  In the Michiana area, a pivotal game, defending state champ Northwood carries a surprising 0-2 record to Concord (2-0), where QB Bobby Cira was 16 of 22 for 303 yards against 5A Elkhart Memorial last week.  If Northwood cannot break through here, they stand a good chance of going 0-5 before they get a win.  In Indianapolis, the big dogs will be walking as 3A No. 1 Bishop Chatard (2-0) travels to cross town Catholic rival and eight-time state champ Roncalli (1-1).  Also in Indianapolis, three-time defending state basketball champ Lawrence North takes on three-time defending champ Warren Central.  Unfortunately for Lawrence North, which was eliminated from the state tourney 55-3 by Warren Central last November, this is scheduled to be a football game.  And the temperatures will be much more friendly for football (mid 60s) with no rain.  We should see better play and we'll all be happier.

We'll take a pass on the Hobart-Hammond and River Forest-Wirt games for obvious reasons.  Let the winners win, the losers enjoy the Labor Day Holiday and we'll see all four of you on Sept. 8th.

South Central 30,  North Newton 8

UNION MILLS -  South Central is 0-2 but they're home and with a very good running attack.  I don't know if the Satellites are short some of their regulars or what, but this is an absolute must game for them.  The entire SC season goes down the drain if they can't beat North Newton, a team that apparently got caught in a year when they simply do not have many players.

Bishop Noll 28, Gavit 14

HAMMOND -  Noll won a game they should have won against Wirt and lost one they should have lost against Andrean.  They might not admit that.  But it's true.  Gavit  gave up 300 yards passing against Morton last week, but they'll be much closer here as the Warriors are a running team.  Victor Ayala (15 carries, 70 yards last week vs. Morton) might break loose on this night for Gavit.

Whiting 35, Calumet 21

WHITING -  Don't be fooled by Riley's 30-12 win over Whiting. Riley is 5A and Whiting is 1A.  Riley should beat them every year.  Calumet has been outscored 91-6 in two games and they've got to find a way to spring halfback Darnell Ballentine, who gained 1,000 yards last year but has been shut down so far. Whiting was 13- of 31 passing last week. They should score big at home.

Kankakee Valley 52, Lake Station 14

DeMOTTE -  KV track star Dustin Wilson almost ran for 200 yards last week against Rensselaer.  The Kougars appear ready to roll in the LAC Blue Division.  Lake Station rushed for 500 yards last week against River Forest, but I can almost guarantee you that from the moment anyone from Lake Station gets off the bus Friday, no one will in any way mistake Jasper County for River Forest.

North Judson 16, Rensselaer 13

RENSSELAER -  Judson squeaked by Rensselaer last week but they are hurting with two-way star Cameron Stalbaum (6-4, 245) out  with a blood clot problem in his leg.  But Rensselaer was held to 58 yards rushing last week by KV and Bomber QB Bobby Hanna was sacked four times.  Not much offense here.

Wheeler 42, Clark 27

UNION TOWNSHIP -  Wheeler rolled over North Newton last week but everybody will. Clark smoked out Hammond but, again everybody will.  I think Wheeler is far too physical for Clark and they will be able to run the ball consistently. The Pioneers can cause Wheeler trouble through the air. There will be less defense here than in a Cubs-Pirates game.

Munster 28, Highland 21

MUNSTER -  I like Munster and new QB 'Little Joe" Gill (6-4, 190), who can throw just enough to keep the ball away from 'Touchdown' Tommy Mambourg, who scored three times last week against Wirt in a 49-6 win.  Munster's win over KV may have said ore about Munster than it did KV.  Highland didn't get annihilated by Merrillville although they have to stop the run here.  It'll be entertaining.

Portage 31, Lake Central 7

PORTAGE -  This is a pivotal game for a lot of reasons, but you have to decide whether LC's wins over Goshen and East Chicago are better than Portage's split with South Bend schools Washington and St. Joseph's. This is a much bigger game for LC than it is for Portage but Portage was stung by the margin of defeat (22 points) at St. Joe. Both teams could win this game by a large margin but you cant pick both teams.

Chesterton 42,   Michigan City 10

CHESTERTON -  Michigan City is in the wrong place at the wrong time here.  They are traditionally soft on pass defense and Chesterton likes to throw.  Chesterton won this game 49-35 last year and they are a better team now.  The Trojans have to be buoyed by the OT game at Griffith last week.

Valparaiso 28,   LaPorte 27

VALPARAISO -  The toughest game on the board by far.   Valparaiso hasn't played in two weeks because of the Gary teachers' strike.  LaPorte trailed New Prairie 39-6 at halftime of the season opener but have outscored the opposition 69-13 in the last six quarters.  LaPorte's Airrence Shark is over 250 yards rushing after two games but Valpo's strength should be run defense. I think Valpo's Hollis Ballard out rushes Shark in this game but both will get over 100 yards..

Andrean 41,   Morton 21

MERRILLVILLE -  Here's where Morton gets hurt by their schedule. Morton has whipped up on Gavit and Clark by blowout while Andrean had to get dirty to turn back Bishop Noll and Chesterton.  Morton throws the ball well but not as well as Chesterton and the 59ers slowed up Chesterton.  The Niners defense has been very effective early.  The Governors will do much better against Andrean in the post-season and a perfect weather night will allow them 21 points  but Morton isn't  ready to play Andrean now.

Griffith 31,   Lowell 17

GRIFFITH -  A full house will watch last year's No. 1 3A team against last year's 4A state champ.  Griffith is susceptible to the pass, but Lowell hasn't shown they can throw.  The Devils' defense has been better than it might appear.  All three touchdowns against them so far are the product of Lowell fumbles in their own territory.  If Lowell does not lose a fumble they will win, but Lowell has lost seven fumbles in two games.  Watch for the Panthers' David Alexander.  He could score a breakaway TD at a key moment here.

Crown Point 20,  Merrillville 16

MERRILLVILLE -  The game of the week.  Probably a more evenly matched game than Andrean-Morton or Lowell-Griffith.  The Pirates' defense has dominated East Chicago and Highland.  The next TD scored against them this year will be the first one.  Crown Point running backs Jon Sertich and Tommy Parks have totaled 400 yards in two weeks and the CP defense has grabbed up nine takeaways.  CP has beaten Merrillville three years in a row in September, but Merrillville has beaten CP two years in a row in the post-season.  This is very close and CP's skill players and perimeter in the secondary are more experienced than Merrillville.

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Revised: September 06, 2006 .