Week 5 Picks:  2003 NW Indiana High School Football

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

WEEK FOUR (4) ANALYSIS:
Bishop Noll is clearly on the rise while Morton is on the slide.  Highland has lost two by a combined seven points and it will be tough to continue to pick their games. Michigan City appears headed for 2-8. Lake Station should have had more against Whiting.
As it turned out, Lowell over Morton wasn't a risky pick at all.

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 (Week four) 12 of 12, 100%
2003 Season:  35 of 48, 72.8%

WEEK FIVE (5): Sept. 19, 2003

Matchups of undefeated teams dominate with River Forest at Pioneer, Rensselaer at Twin Lakes and Andrean at Lowell. The DAC has the first time ever match of Lake Central and LaPorte... and the Hobart-Munster game that hasn't been played in many years.  Merrillville-Michigan City is a bad match.  Highland-Hammond is worse and Bishop Noll-Lake Station could get ugly.



Griffith (1-3) 42, Morton (2-2) 20

A rematch of last year's 4A section 9 title game which was a total rout. This could be the same with Jack Kosinski coming off a game where he ran 24 times for 235 yards.  Morton has been outscored 77-7 in 2 weeks and here's another team they can't stop. But Griffith is very bad against the pass...and Morton should get on the board.

Chesterton (3-1) 33, Valparaiso (2-2) 20

Chesterton should be 4-0 and Valpo is very young. I'm not sure the Trojans can get juiced up about playing an all-new Valpo team. The VHS boys won't be overwhelmed by Chesterton's size on the ground and Valpo QB Jon Moon (31-70, 492) appears to be improving.  But Chesterton has lost to Valpo too many times and they haven't forgotten.

LaPorte (1-3) 31, Lake Central (1-3) 17

LC has lost HB Ryan Goodman (39 carries, 216 yards) for the season with a knee injury and they don't have enough weapons to win in the DAC. LaPorte had a fourth quarter lead last week and they should be in high gear at home.

Munster (4-0) 26, Hobart (2-2) 20

Hobart has had problems running the ball recently and Munster gave up 300 yards to Griffith last week.  Wally Cirafesi hit 17 of 29 for 325 yards including 8 of 15 for 248 in the fourth quarter against Griffith.  I don't think Hobart has the attack yet to take out Munster but it will be close.


Twin Lakes (4-0) 28, Rensselaer (4-0) 14

Twin Lakes almost took out Andrean at the regional level last year and they have a lot of people back including QB Abe Winkle who hit 13 of 16 for 214 yards and 5 TDs against Peru on Aug. 22. Winkle has 15 TD tosses in four games and the Indians have outscored four foes 175-14. Rensselaer just got by Tipton 21-17 last week and the Bombers are at home  but they haven't seen a passer like this.

Pioneer (4-0) 40, River Forest (4-0) 27

Pioneer is the top-ranked Class 1A team averaging 32.7 points per game after going 13-1 and averaging 41 points a game last year. QB Bret Winegardner is a running QB and he'll try to control the ball and keep RF's Rafael Price (68 carries, 698 yards) away from the ball. RF has not played tough competition and Pioneer has.

North Judson (1-3) 35, North Newton (1-3) 14

It's been a hard year for North Judson and last week's roasting 27-6 at Culver Academy made it a hard week for the Judds.   North Newton didn't exactly have a parade after Carroll lit them up 54-19 last Friday.  Judson runs the ball and North Newton can't really stop that.

Portage (4-0) 42, CROWN POINT (3-1) 21

Portage has Antoine Brown (12 TDs), the area's most explosive runner, and CP is not strong against the run. QB Matt Cowan has thrown for 8 TDs and he doesn't turn it over, but CP has two senior linemen out and the Indians are overpowering.

Wheeler (4-0) 35, Whiting (2-2) 21

Whiting scored 46 on Lake Station, but they won't have the ball that much against Wheeler's top rushing (1,156 yards rushing in 4 games) attack. Whiting has quick strike capability, but that's exactly the offense that won't work against a dominant ground team. Wheeler has outscored four foes by a combined score of 152-41.

Calumet (1-3) 26, Clark (1-3) 18

Calumet gets the running attack going again and coach Ivan Zimmer gets that 100th career victory. Clark's only win is over winless Hammond high.

Kankakee Valley (2-2) 16, Gavit (2-2) 12

Gavit has scored 126 points (31.5 ppg.) in four games but KV is a bigger school. The Kougars must win or give up any hope of winning the LAC Blue division.  Gavit has 1,400 yards of total offense but the schedule has been suspect.

LOWELL (4-0) 27, ANDREAN (4-0) 24

The schedule has been soft for Andrean and that could be the difference here. Andrean rolled 42-0 over Hammond last week, but Lowell has not trailed all year. The Red Devils have the perimeter speed to cover Andrean's receivers but the 59ers have posted 2 shutouts in a row and have been strong against the run, Lowell's strength.

The top game of the week by far.

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Revised: June 08, 2004 .