Week 4 Picks:  2003 NW Indiana High School Football

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

WEEK THREE (3) ANALYSIS:
Highland's upset bid fell short against Munster as did Rensselaer's against North Judson. LaPorte finally showed how good they can be after two bad losses. The Slicers should now contend for the DAC title like some of us expected. North Newton found someone they could beat and Calumet clearly didn't. And I've got to be honest, if CP played Merrillville tomorrow, I'd still take Merrillville. The Bulldogs just beat a better team. It was a very good week of high school football. The pick of the week was Bishop Noll over Gavit.

2002 Regular season (9 weeks) 85 of 109,  77.9%
2002 Playoffs:   78 of 106,  73.5%
Final 2002 (15 weeks) 163 of 215, 75.9%

2003 (Week one) 8 of 12, 66.7%
2003 (Week two) 9 of 12, 75%
2003 (Week three)  6 of 12,  50%
2003 Season:  23 of 36, 63.8%

WEEK FOUR (4): Sept. 12, 2003

There are some bad mismatches this week. Andrean over Hammond, Wheeler over Calumet, North Judson over Culver and Rensselaer over Tipton are not competitive games. The best games are in the ADC where Merrillville travels to unbeaten Portage and rejuvenated LaPorte goes to powerful Chesterton.


Hobart (1-2) 21, Highland (2-1) 20
A survival game for both teams. The Brickies, with a powerful offensive line, can run on Highland. Highland probably feels they should have been able to score more points against Munster last week and they may be playing the Brickies at the wrong time.  This is the upset of the week although Hobart doesn't think so.

Chesterton (2-1) 20, LaPorte (1-2) 17
The Slicers rose up and leveled Valparaiso last week 43-14 but Valpo is inexperienced and Chesterton is not. The blitzing defenses of LaPorte will bother Chesterton, especially if junior Casey Martin is still the QB. But Portage and Chesterton are the best region teams so far. Chesterton LB Garret Baker had 20 tackles last week.  LaPorte will fall just short in a top game.

Gavit (1-2) 35, Clark (1-2) 21
Both teams came crashing to earth last week, giving up lots of points in games they could have won. But one of the unseen stories of the region season is that Gavit has 1,000 yards of total offense in three games. It's a Hammond city game but Clark can't hang.

Whiting (1-2) 44, Lake Station 20
Lake Station was within 25-22 of KV in the fourth quarter last week but the Eagles can't defense Whiting for four quarters.  Lake Station will win a game this year but it won't be this week.

Portage (3-0) 28, MERRILLVILLE (1-1) 16
Portage (128 points in 3 games) is unbelievable on offense with halfback Antoine Brown (11 TDs), but the Pirates should be 3-0. They should have won at Crown Point but couldn't get one defensive stop in the final minutes. This will obviously be an emotional game with Brown being a transfer from Merrillville.

River Forest (3-0) 28, New Buffalo, Michigan (2-0) 27
This is where you have to go if you're an independent.  New Buffalo is not a traditional Michigan power. They only won three games last year. But the 2-0 record might mean a happy team is coming down I-94 (it's only about 40 miles) to Hobart Township. The Ingots are having a 'Return to Glory' season with almost 1,200 yards gained in three wins. It's unlikely that at the level they play, the Bison (That's New Buffalo's name) have seen many like RF's Ricky Price (10 carries, 153 yards last week).

CROWN POINT (2-1) 31, LAKE CENTRAL (1-2) 24
This is the first meeting of these teams in five years. Crown Point pulled out a close game with a dramatic rally over Merrillville in week three, wining 23-22. On the road, the Bulldogs need to be in control of the game late, but they should do that against an LC team that has given up 1,100 yards in three games.  QB Matt Cowan (17-25, 176  yards vs. Merrillville) was hurt last week but he finished the game.

Carroll (3-0) 28, North Newton (1-2) 21
The Spartans led 32-0 last week before winning 39-20 but North Newton's revival will last just one week. Carroll is highly-regarded but the Spartans will make this game closer than expected. The combined record of the three teams Carroll has defeated is 4-5 and the Spartans schedule is tougher.

Munster (3-0) 16, Griffith (1-2) 14
Griffith CAN win this game at home, but Munster WILL because the Panthers lack a little confidence after losses to powers Chesterton and Lowell. The Mustangs' offense turned the ball over three times against Highland and they are still a little shaky.

Bishop Noll (1-2) 33, Kankakee Valley (1-2) 27
This would be an upset but Noll, with a potentially powerful running game, is on the rise and KV gave up 200 yards rushing to Lake Station.

Valparaiso (1-2) 40, Michigan City (2-1) 14
Both teams got smoked last week, but the Wolves are traveling to Valpo at the wrong time. Michigan City has the better, record but they'll have defensive line problems against the bigger Vikings. This won't be close.

LOWELL (3-0) 38, Morton (2-1) 28
I wasn't shocked that Morton was routed by Andrean (Morton's nonconference schedule is weaker than George Bush's foreign policy) but I was shocked that they were shut out.  I've got to believe they bounce back at home, but there's no way they beat Lowell. The Devils, who lost to Morton in the 4A sectional semifinals last year, have been waiting for a rematch for 11 months.  Lowell's defense takes a hit here, but they run the ball very well.

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Revised: June 08, 2004 .