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Valparaiso (2-3) at5A No. 6 Crown Point (5-0) |
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Week
6 - Football Game of the Week Preview |
Valparaiso (2-3) at5A No. 6 Crown Point (5-0) |
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9-22-2005
When:
Friday, September 23, 2005.
Where: Crown Point High School, 1500 South Main ST, Crown Point, IN.
Tickets: $5
TV/Radio/Internet: www.USA-365.com. No over-the-air coverage for this game.
Weather: Mid-80s heat of Wednesday is expected to slide down to the upper 50s by the game time Friday. Thursday rains should clear by mid-day Friday but the field will be wet, an edge for the larger team physically, which is Valpo.
Parking: Big school rivals will draw a big crowd. Valpo has won their last two games and will bring as significant crowd to CP. The Bulldogs have not had a home game for three weeks and they also expect a large turnout. There is plenty of parking but just one entrance to the lot. Please arrive early... and after the game be patient as you depart.
The series: Valpo has always done well against Crown Point. The Vikings lead the all-time series 35-15-2 including a 35-14 win last year in Valparaiso. CP did take the last meeting in Crown Point, rallying to win 41-35 in overtime. Valpo, which used to be a significantly larger school than Crown Point, is 12-2 against CP since the Bulldogs joined the DAC in 1993 and when Crown Point had the school's best teams in the late 80s and early 90s, the Bulldogs were in the Lake Suburban Conference and never played Valpo. These two schools did not meet from 1982 to 1992.
Valpo, which may be the only NW Indiana high school that predates 125-year-old Crown Point, was in their pigskin heyday in the 1970s and 1980s. The Vikings lost the 1985 state championship game 42-7 to Warren Central and future Purdue and NFL quarterback Jeff George. Since 1965, Valpo has had a losing record only six times....in 1982 (4-6), 1988 (3-6), 1990 (5-6), 1992 (4-6) and 1999 (3-8) and 2003 (5-6). Valpo was 68-43 in the 1980s and even better (74-29) in the 1970s. Valpo had four undefeated seasons, 1938 (9-0), 1969 (10-0), 1970 (10-0) and 1975 (12-0), which is four more than CP has had.
This hasn't always been the friendliest of rivalries. When CP was still in the raggedy old CHS building just west of the downtown square, several good athletes transferred out of the CP school district and paid to go to Valpo. Part of the reason is that Valparaiso has top teams in virtually every sport. Valpo is the defending cross country champion and has dominant DAC franchises in girls and boys basketball, the quintessential Indiana sports. The new 68 million dollar CPHS campus ended all that and CP has actually grown larger than Valparaiso. No one actually says this but Crown Point could eventually grow into the 2,500-3000 student range in the next decade because the city is growing rapidly. That would only heighten the rivalry with Valpo, which is indisputably the standard for over all 20-sport high school athletics in all of NW Indiana.
JUNIOR VARSITY GAME: CP at Valparaiso - Sat, Sept. 24 - 10:00 a.m.
FRESHMAN GAMES (2): CP at Valparaiso -Thurs, Sept. 24, 9:00 a.m.
Crown Point at Valparaiso - Thurs, Sept. 29, 6:00 p.m.
5A No. 6 Crown Point (5-0, 3-0 DAC)
Coach: Chip
Pettit (24-25, 5th year)
Enrollment:
2,190
Sectional
titles (2) 1981, 88
Regional
titles (1) 1988
2004
record: 4-7
Lost
Sectional 1 semifinal at home 34-19 to eventual
sectional
champion Merrillville.
Crown Point Bulldogs (5-0, 3-0 DAC)
8-19 (W) 16-6 at Lowell (1-4)
8-26 (W) 26-0 Hobart (4-1)
9-2 (W) 13-0 5A No. 7 Merrillville (4-1)
9-9 (W) 23-0 at Lake Central (2-3)
9-16 (W) 31-21 at Portage (2-3)
9-23 (5A) Valparaiso (3-2)
9-30 (5A) No. 10 LaPorte (5-0)
10-7 at(5A) Chesterton (0-5)
10-14 (5A) Michigan City (3-2)
5A Sectional 1 playoffs
10-21 (F) quarterfinals
10-28 (F) semifinals
11-4
(F) championship
Class 5A Valparaiso (3-2, 2-1 DAC)
Coach: Mark Hoffman (30th year - 195-129)
Enrollment: 2,085
State titles: (1) 1975,
Semi-State titles: (3) 1975, 1985, 2001
Regional titles: (5) 1975, 1985, 1988, 2001, 2002
Sectional titles (7) 1985, 88, 89, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002
2004 record: 6-5
Lost the 5A Sectional one semifinal 24-18 to Portage.
Valparaiso Vikings (3-2)
8-19 (L) 0-10 5A No. 5 Penn (4-1)
8-26 (W) 48-6 Gary Roosevelt (0-5)
9-2 (L) 14-21 at 5A No. 10 LaPorte (5-0)
9-9 (W) 28-7 Michigan City (3-2)
9-16 (W) 35-21 Chesterton (0-5)
9-23 at 5A No. 4 Crown Point (5-0)
9-30 5A No. 7 Merrillville (4-1)
10-7 at Portage (2-3)
10-14 Lake Central (2-3)
5A Sectional 1 playoffs
10-21 (F) quarterfinals
10-28 (F) semifinals
11-4 (F) championship
CROWN POINT (9-23-2005) Two teams that are on the rise go head-to-head in another match that may be revisited come playoff time. Valparaiso is very good at running the football and they will test CP's '35'defense, which has carried the team all year. In theory, you beat the 3-5 running behind the tackles, forcing the linebackers to commit to the run and leaving the secondary out manned. Valpo will test that theory with junior halfback Hollis Ballard (5-10, 160) and fullback Aaron Biggs (5-8, 183), two quick little backs who both gained 100 yards last week against Chesterton.
The Vikings are almost never small. The 2005 team is led in the lines by Paul Kasperan (6-5, 280), Sheldon Alt (6-1, 221) and Tyler Doane (5-11, 220) who can knock a lot of people down if you slap on tight end Drew Zromkoski (6-2, 233). Senior linebackers Tim Handlon (6-2, 200) and Corey Crew (5-9, 175) back a good front seven but the secondary is still a tad unproven even though they kept Chesterton QB Alex Beierwater to 10-of-24 and just 172 yards. Senior Valpo QB Carl Hoefler (6-2, 213) was 6-of-9 for 91 yards last week and may be coming off his best game. But the Vikings don't want him throwing 25 times against CP's defense that has 16 quarterback sacks and nine interceptions in five games.
The key to this game will be whether CP halfbacks Jon Sertich (5-9, 170) and Donny Keiser (5-11, 205) can continue to average five yards a carry. The CP offensive line of center Andrew Krumweid (6-5, 215), guards Brian Gertsch (6-3, 240) and Marcus Robinson (6-3, 280), tackles Zach Brumm (5-10, 220) and Steve Williams (6-2, 255) plus tight end Zach Cecich (6-2, 210) has not been great, but they will be the unsung heroes of this top-10 team when the season is over. The big up front boys have protected rookie QB Blake Mascarello in a situation where several hard hits on the soph QB could have ended CP's DAC hopes before school started.
Nobody says it out loud but freshman Marcus Shrewsbury is the backup QB and Matt Ernest (also injured and possibly out for the regular season) was the 'disaster' QB. If the line had allowed some very large boys from Lowell or Hobart to grind Mascarello into the turf like he was so much mulch back in August, CP would be 0-5 now because the Bulldogs had absolutely no other options they wanted to consider. The blessing of this year is that CP has Mascarello and Shrewsbury, (a solid prospect who has had his QB training accelerated because of the situation) back for two more seasons with 3/5 of the line, Sertich, Ernest, junior WR Ryan Forney and 'H' back Tommy Parks. Nine of the 11 CP defenders graduate but this will be a big time offensive team next year.
That won't help them, this week, though. Valpo dominated Michigan City's strong running game on Sept. 9 but soph Mascarello (21-42, 373 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) has been good at taking limited shots in non-passing situations. Physically, the days when Valpo over matched CP are gone, but the Bulldogs will face a fatigue factor sometime this month because they've been playing 'big' games all year. Everybody knows that LaPorte (5-0) comes to CP next week, but the Bulldogs shouldn't give that a thought because LaPorte is going to lose at Merrillville Friday. So CP's job is simply to be consistently good in the final four games.
Valparaiso can ALWAYS beat Crown Point and the Vikings can tie for first place with a win Friday. This is the Vikings' biggest game of the year and CP has to meet the emotional level of the visitors. Here's where the home crowd becomes a factor the next two weeks in games CP absolutely must win to finish first in the DAC for the first time in school history. Valpo will play very conservatively and waste the clock. The longer this game stays close, the more excited the green-clad Vikings will get. Valparaiso should be the first team to rush for more than 100 yards on CP this year because they will emphasize the run.
I think Carl Hoefler will score on a short run for a 7-0 Valpo edge. Forney will catch one TD toss and Jon Sertich may swing out of the backfield for a big gainer and an early 14-7 CP lead. The Bulldogs will hold a narrow lead throughout the second half but Hollis Ballard will run for a score to make it 20-14 in the final quarter. There's not that much difference between these two teams with the possible exception of field goal kicker Donny Keiser and his points again will be crucial. I like the Vikings to gain more yards from scrimmage but CP's defense will score again, two Keiser field goals and six CP QB sacks will tip the scales to the home team.
CROWN POINT 26, Valparaiso 20
CROWN POINT (5-0, 3-0 DAC)
Crown Point - Opponents
1st downs: 59 41
Rushing: 181-884 (4.8) 146-271 (1.8)
Passing: 22-43, 445 49-96, 578
Totals yards: 1,329 578
Fumbles: 3 6
Turnovers: 5 15
Penalties: 26-220 24-155
Punts: 18 (35.0) 23 (31.7)
Kickoffs: 29 (53.5) 9 (44.6)
TACKLES:
Nick Ciochina - 32 (2 sacks)
Vince Lewis - 32 (5 tackles for loss)
Chris Damjanovic - 23 (2 sacks)
Chris Wilson - 23 (2 sacks)
Jordan Rhye - 22 (4 sacks, 2 interceptions)
Nick Conway - 22 (4 tackles for loss)
Chris Schillo - 21 (one sack)
Chris Rutherford - 18 (3 sacks)
Jon Sertich - 18 (one interception)
Ryan Forney - 16 (2 interceptions)
Jeremy Plummer - 14 (3 interceptions)
RUSHING:
Jon Sertich - 76-409 (5.4)
Donny Keiser - 68-395 (5.8)
Ryan Forney - 6-75 (12.5)
Tommy Parks - 9-36 (4.0)
QUARTERBACK:
Blake Mascarello - 21-42 (50%) 373, 1 TD, 2 INTs
RECEIVERS:
Tommy Parks - 8-106 (13.3)
Ryan Forney - 6-132 (22.0)
Chris Schillo - 2-17 (8.5)
Tommy Isailovich 2-87 (43.5)
Zach Cecich - 1-43 (43.0)
Matt Ernest - 1-31 (31.0)
Jon Sertich - 1-18 (18.0)
Ryan Walsh - 1-11 (11.0)
KICKOFF RETURNS
Jeremy Plummer - 6-146 (24.3)
PUNT RETURNS:
Jon Sertich - 3-39 (13.0)
Ryan Forney - 2-16 (8.0)
EXTRA POINTS:
Brad Mallers - 10-of-12 83.3%
FIELD GOALS:
Donny Keiser - 9-of-14. Long: 41 (2)
(The Indiana state record for field goals in one season is 13 by Tim Pliske of Andrean in 1984
and Bryan Robertson of Seymour in 1999)