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Crown Point (2-1, 0-1)at Lake Central (3-0, 1-0) |
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Week 4 - Football Game of the Week Preview
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Crown Point (2-1, 0-1)at Lake Central (3-0, 1-0) |
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9-08-2011
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| "The Burial Grounds," football home
of the Lake Central High School Indians. (Photo by Mark Smith) |
When:
Friday, September 9, 2011 - 7:00 p.m. Kickoff
Where: Lake Central High School, 8400 Wicker Ave, St John, IN 46373 (about 1.65 miles south of US Route 30 on US Route 41)
TV/Radio/Internet:
No live radio or TV coverage,
live updates of all local scores all night on WLPR (89.1) FM.
Live Internet audio stream on www.USA-365.com.
www.USA-365.com.
TICKETS: $6 (new ticket price this season for all of the DAC)
ENROLLMENT: CP - 2,532; LAKE CENTRAL - 3,100
WEATHER: Much better than last week. Daytime temperatures in the
mid-70s will drop quickly into the 60s after the kickoff. Cool breezes will make
the night good for players. It's just in time. There were several players who
left games last week with heat-related issues. It's still not cold enough for
good football. I think 55-60 is best for the boys in pads. But mercifully we
have seen the last of 92-degree game time temperatures. There is a chance of
rain and the LC field is traditionally very bad. For years, this field has had a
bad crown (a drainage rise) in the center and it will get slippery.
PARKING: There just isn't much at Lake Central and this is always
a game that's well-attended. To get into the school lot, you are going to have
to arrive very early. Maybe 6 p.m. There will be some space at the south end of
LC behind the school but that's a long walk. You can also park east across 41 in
the mall area, but you have to walk across the highway. If you show up late,
there is no chance you will park close to the field. None. Sorry, but this
campus simply, truthfully, was not built for a school with 3,000 kids and there
is not enough parking for a game of this magnitude. It's tough to get in and
it'll be slow getting out.
Standings: Duneland Athletic
Conference
1. LAKE CENTRAL 1-0, 3-0
2. Chesterton 1-0, 2-1
3. Valparaiso 1-0, 1-2
4. MERRILLVILLE 1-0, 1-4
5. LaPorte 0-1, 2-1
6. CROWN POINT 0-1, 2-1
7. Michigan City 0-1, 1-2
8. Portage 0-1, 0-3
WHAT'S AT STAKE:
Crown Point wants to get back in the DAC action so they have to take out LC
right here. The Indians want to prove they are good after three losing seasons.
The first three LC wins will be devalued if they lose at home to Crown Point and
the Bulldogs will be out of the DAC race if they lose at Lake Central. I would
not call this a big rivalry anymore, but it is a neighborhood game and a lot of
these boys face each other in all sports all their young lives.
THE SERIES: Crown Point leads the series 30-23-1. CP won 45-21
last season and 23-21 at LC in 2009.
ST. JOHN: Lake Central includes kids from St. John, Schererville
and Dyer. Dyer is an interesting story.
The earliest known records documenting what is now known as Dyer, Indiana date back to 1838. In that year, the original State Line House was built facing Sauk Trail, which was named after the Sauk Indians. The State Line House was used to house travelers going to Chicago, and became the overnight stopping place for Union soldiers during the Civil War. Aaron Norton Hart, a Philadelphia publisher, helped shape the early history of the town. In 1857, he and his wife, Martha, whose maiden name was "Dyer", moved to the area and invested their money and their futures in the region. Hart purchased fifteen thousand acres of what was then described as "despised swamp lands" from the government for $0.75 to $1.25 per acre.
Many German Catholic immigrants followed
the Harts and helped settle the land, including the Bernens, Hilbrichs, Hoffmans,
Millers, Nondorfs, Peschels, Scheidts, and Schultes. If you have always lived in
Lake County and you have that name, you may be a descendent of the original
settlers of Dyer.
National attention was focused on Dyer in
the early 1920's when an experimental model highway was constructed stretching
three miles from Dyer to Schererville. It was called the "Ideal Section of the
Lincoln Highway." This experiment, financed by the federal, state and county
governments and United States Rubber Company, set the standards for highway
construction throughout the United States.
A monument to the '"Ideal Section," the
model for US road construction in the 20th Century, is about 1-1/2 miles west of
the intersection of US 30 and 41.
Lake Central is not one of the original Northwest Indiana schools.
In fact, Lake Central is only a little
older than Hanover Central. The present day LC was called Dyer Central from
1949-1965 and it is my understand that Dyer Central sat where Dyer Middle School
is now on US 30. Dyer and CP played there in 1949 (Dyer's first game in history
was a 21-6 win over Lowell) and they used to battle it out in the Lake Suburban
Conference from 1970 to 1991, but neither school was a power in football in the
70s and 80s.
Lake Central now has almost 3,100
teenagers and it was LC's growth that probably sparked the break up of the LSC.
While Crown Point went to the Duneland Athletic Conference in 1992, LC didn't
follow until a decade later and their athletic programs suffered from being an
independent.
LC has also fallen far behind in school
facilities as Chesterton, CP and Hobart have built brand new schools and
Merrillville and LaPorte have undergone serious upgrades in recent years, while
LC is still dealing with a disco-era sports complex.
Lake Central High School is not going to
be renovated or replaced anytime soon and that's something that holds the school
back as a whole and not just in the athletic department. That's the challenge
for Brett St. Germain, a former state championship coach at Andrean, who took
over at LC prior to the 2010 season. At Lake Central, St. Germain has player
depth and the history, but he also has seven very big schools that hope he
succeeds eventually, just not against them. Many underestimate how tough it is
to win consistently in team sports in the DAC. But don't underestimate the
emotion CP will face this week.
All other team sports at LC are at least .500. Baseball, softball and soccer are state class there. Boys soccer won the state title last fall. It's way past time for LC football to make the school proud again and the Indians would like it to happen this Friday.
CROWN POINT Bulldogs
(2-1)
Coach Chip Pettit (65-47, 10 years)
2010: 8-4 2009: 3-7, 2008: 3-7
Sectional titles: 1998, 1991, 2006
Regional title: 1991
Lost 2010 5A sectional 1 championship 16-6 at Valparaiso
Aug. 19 (W) 27-6 at Lowell
(2-1)
Aug. 26 (W) 45-6 Hobart (1-2)
Sept. 2 (L) 20-21 Merrillville (1-2)
Sept. 9 at Lake Central (3-0)
Sept 16 at Portage (0-3)
Sept. 23 Valparaiso (1-2)
Sept. 30 LaPorte (2-1)
Oct. 7 at Chesterton (2-1)
Oct. 14 Michigan City (1-2)
LAKE CENTRAL
Indians (3-0)
Coach Brett St. Germain (3-8, year 2)
2010: 2-8 2009: 2-9, 2008: 3-7
Sectional titles: 1990, 1993, 1994 and 1999
Regional title: 1990 and 1993
Semistate title: 1993
Lost 2010 5A sectional 1 quarterfinal 21-14 to Munster
Aug. 19 (W) 28-21 at Munster (1-2)
Aug. 26 (W) 64-8 E. Chicago (0-3)
Sep. 2 (W) 62-10 Portage (0-3)
Sep. 9 - Crown Point (2-1)
Sep. 16 at LaPorte (2-1)
Sep. 23 Michigan City (1-2)
Sep. 30 at Chesterton (2-1)
Oct. 7 Merrillville (0-3)
Oct. 14 at Valparaiso (1-2)
Lake Central Update:
ST. JOHN (9-9-2011)
It's been a good year so far for LC, which was 7-24 in three previous seasons.
Lake Central intercepted four passes last week and ran three of them back for
touchdowns in a 62-7 win over Portage. The Indians have seven interceptions in
the first three weeks and they've caused a lot of problems for their first three
foes.
Linebackers Gelon Robinson (6-10, 210), Tyler Szczecina (5-10, 180) and Ike Speraman (5-11, 205) have been taking care of the run behind a line that's said to be stronger than last season.
But the difference is on offense where
new QB David Yancey (5-10, 200) and halfback Chase Fieldhouse (5-11, 175) have
added speed and scoring. Fieldhouse, the LC baseball star (.453, 10 homers, 39
RBIs in 2011) has four TDs including runs of 43, 57 and 74 yards. Yancey, an
option QB, has thrown for three TDs, but that's just an illusion. LC has
completed eight passes all year. Yancey has TD runs of 5, 13, 30 and 51 yards.
The sign of a team that's overpowering the opposition is what you do in the
second quarter. You can be fooling people in the first quarter and adjusting in
the third period. Numbers there are a sign of coaching. The final quarter is
skewed because of subs. The second quarter is pure. So far in three games, Lake
Central has outscored the opposition 66-0 in the second quarter. It's something
to watch Friday night.
LC's place kicker Brad Uzubell had missed a couple of extra points and had a
third blocked. That almost certainly will come into play Friday.
But Lake Central has almost 1,200 yards
rushing in three games and a grand total of 167 yards passing. CP's 3-5-3 basic
defense is actually a run defense because it's difficult to block the
linebackers. There's your game right there.
This is a very big game for Lake Central
on the Indians' home field. The Bulldogs must match the intensity level of the
boys in blue or this will be a long night.
CROWN POINT Update:
CROWN POINT (9-9-2011)
The Bulldogs could not stop Merrillville's spread passing attack in a 21-20 loss
last week, but the focus will be different this week. LC isn't going to throw
the ball 36 times like the Pirates did.
CP has allowed just 332 yards in three weeks against Lowell, Hobart and
Merrillville.
CP's leading tackler is the nose guard
Cameron Tanner (6-1, 260), who has four sacks and a pass interception. He has
been good as has safety Logan McRae (6-2, 195), who has two interceptions, 24
tackles and five kickoff returns for 226 yards (45.2 per return). Defensive end
Billy Van Cleef (6-2, 200) has 23 tackles, three quarterback sacks and two
forced fumbles.
CP has allowed just 33 points in three
games and has outscored the opposition in the third quarter 20-0.
On offense, the Bulldogs have not been as good as a 30-points per-game average
might indicate. QB Joe Hopman is 23 of 40 for 398 yards, five TDs and two
interceptions and he's carried 15 times for 102 yards. End Tyler Wells (5-9,
160) has caught 10 passes for 211 yards and two long TDs. Halfback Jake Lindeman
(5-10, 190) has 52 carries for 224 yards (4.3 per carry) and he's reliable.
CP has a good offensive line led by
senior co-captain Stephen Hutchison (6-1, 285) and boosted by fullback Pete
Parks (6-2, 250).
Kicker Brett Bayer was 11 of 11 on extra points until he missed the final point
last week in the 21-20 loss to Merrillville. Bayer has three field goals this
year and has 16 career field goals.
The Bulldogs' offense is based on balance and not making mistakes. CP has four
turnovers in three games after a season where they had just 17 turnovers in 12
games.
Oddly, from watching CP's first three
games, you get the impression the offense can be better than it is. That seems
strange because 300 yards and 30 points a game is pretty much the gold standard
at a big school.
What you should watch Friday is how fast CP seems. This is the Bulldogs' first
(and last) game on natural grass this season. At LC, that may mean mud. Lake
Central may handle that better than the Bulldogs do, but we won't know that
until the game begins.
CROWN POINT (2-1) at LAKE CENTRAL (3-0)
SAGARIN RATINGS: CP by 9
ST. JOHN: Lake Central has
defeated three losing teams and an 0-3 team in Portage. But I'm surprised this
spread is not closer. Crown Point has defeated Hobart (1-2) and Lowell (1-2),
but they have played Merrillville, which is better than anyone on LC's schedule
so far. The difference here may be East Chicago, which is lowly rated. But nine
points is a little inflated.
WHAT
WILL HAPPEN: On the natural grass at Lake Central, the Indians will try
to break a big play early in Friday's game, but that will backfire. CP's Logan
McRae will intercept an early pass, leading to a quick TD from halfback Jake
Lindeman.
LC quarterback David Yancey will even the
score on a short run, but CP's Joe Hopman leads a drive that results in a Brett
Bayer field goal and a 10-7 halftime lead. Lake Central is going to have a
difficult time running the ball on Crown Point, which has faced some pretty good
running back so far.
The Indians will contain CP's passing
game most of the night, but a long TD to Tyler Wells will up the lead to 17-14
in the third quarter. Most of the second half will see an exchange of punts as
LC tries to break through. A pass to tight end Pete Parks sets up another Bayer
field goal and a long kickoff return by Chase Fieldhouse puts LC's Brad Uzubell
in position for his second field goal of the year.
The Bulldogs will not be able to run out the clock and Yancey will be firing deep into the CP secondary as the game ends. LC is a high scoring team, but the defense has scored five of the touchdowns and CP does not turn the ball over that much. They don't throw the ball well and that will decide a close game.
CROWN POINT 20, LAKE CENTRAL 17