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Chesterton (5-2) at
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Week 8 - Football Game of the Week Preview
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Chesterton (5-2) at
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10-08-2010
When: 7:00
p.m. Friday, October 8, 2010
Where: at Crown Point High School, 1500 South Main, Crown Point
Tickets: $5
Radio/Internet: WWCA
(1270) AM, www.USA-365.com. Live
updates of all local scores all night on 89.1 FM. There will be video highlights
on the 10:30 p.m. 'Scoreboard Show' on Lakeshore Public Broadcasting (Comcast
Cable Ch. 17) as this is one of the key games of the night.
Enrollment: CP - 2,512; Chesterton - 1,980
WEATHER:
Too warm, but it's okay. The high
Friday is projected to be in the upper 70s but it'll be dark by 7 p.m. so we
could be in the upper 60s. That's too warm for football but the Homecoming game
isn't totally about football. You have to see kids freezing in formal wear. So
upper 60's is fine.
PARKING: Crown Pont has a good amount of parking and Chesterton
does not bring large crowds to CP. Even with both teams having god seasons, this
may not be a standing room only crowd. There should be plenty of room for you
and your car.
JV game: Saturday, Oct. 9 - Chesterton at
Crown Point - 10:00
a.m.
Freshman: Saturday, Oct.
9 at
Boone Grove (at Valparaiso
University) - 8:00 a.m.
Thursday, Oct. 14 at Chesterton, 6:00 p.m.
The All-Time Series: Crown Point leads the series 14-13. Last year
Chesterton won 14-3 at Chesterton and 16-13 at Crown Point.
The HISTORY: Chesterton is one of the smallest towns/cities in the
DAC, barely larger than St. John, one of the three towns that house Lake Central
students. It's a quiet place in northeast Porter County that isn't always
considered in 'the region' even though it is in the old Calumet River Basin. The
Dunes State Park, a 440-acre area next to Lake Michigan was named a National
Landmark in 1966. Burns Harbor, dredged in 1967 and one of the largest ports in
the Great Lakes system, is a tiny town next door to Chesterton. It's startup was
bankrolled by the now-bankrupt Bethlehem Steel Company, is served by the
Chesterton school district.
The growth of this area in the 20th Century can be tied directly to the steel industry, which spilled east out of Gary along the lake. The town and the port are all largely a result of US Steel, which opened a mill in Chesterton in 1905.
You hear very little about Chesterton because it's a quiet place where next to nothing ever happens, something that's probably a blessing to residents. Porter County has two cities (Portage and Valparaiso), nine towns and 12 townships. Chesterton is a town. The population of Porter County has tripled in the past 50 years and that's why Chesterton high school, which used to be in the small-school Porter County Conference, is now the smallest school in the big school Duneland Athletic Conference, with just under 2000 boys and girls. It's still small town Indiana. All you have to do is go there. Midway between South Bend and Chicago, this seems geographically a great place to live.
Chesterton high school has grown up in the shadow of Valparaiso, its neighbor. The rivalry goes back to the days when Chesterton was a much smaller place and Valpo was still the center of the county. Chesterton has never had the athletic success that Valpo has had, but it's only a matter of time. The new Chesterton high school, built 10 years ago, give Chesterton arguably better facilities than Valpo and if Chesterton resembles Crown Point high school, that's because the new buildings were opened three years apart and CP's athletic director, then Jerry Caravana, visited CHS to get ideas for the new CPHS.
I'd like to make some dramatic tie-in between Crown Point and Chesterton that links them. But the truth is these two places and these two schools have almost nothing in common. Even though this is the third meeting in two seasons (and they probably will play a 4th time in the sectional), I don't think either side would call the other a big rival.
Chesterton Trojans (5-2)
Coach John Snyder (59-46,
10th
year)
Enrollment: 1,850- Class 5A
2009 record: 7-4
Chesterton has never won an IHSAA post-season football championship
Last 5 seasons: 30-25
DAC games in CAPS
8-20 (W) 35-7 at (SB)
Adams (1-6)
8-27 (W) 38-0 New Prairie (2-5)
9-3 (W) 55-0 MICHIGAN CITY (1-6)
9-10 (W) 37-27 at LaPORTE (3-4)
9-17 (L) 14-21 at VALPARAISO (7-0)
9-24 (L) 20-34 PORTAGE (4-3)
10-1 (W) 27-6 at LAKE CENTRAL (2-5)
10-8 (F) at CROWN POINT (5-2)
10-15 (F) MERRILLVILLE (5-2)
Class 5A
Sectional One
Oct. 22 (F)
TBA 7 p.m.
with Lake Central, Merrillville,
East Chicago, Valpo, Munster, CP and Portage
Crown Point Bulldogs (5-2)
Chip Pettit (60-45) 10th year
2009 record: 3-7
Sectional titles (3) 1988, 91, 2006
Regional titles (1) 1988
Last 5 seasons: 37-19
DAC games in CAPs
8-20 (W) 37-6
Lowell (4-3)
8-27 (W) 38-14 at Hobart (4-3)
9-3 (L) 21-24 at MERRILLVILLE
(5-2)
9-10 (W) 45-21 LAKE CENTRAL (2-5)
9-17 (W) 24-7 PORTAGE (3-4)
9-24 (L) 7-10 at VALPARAISO (7-0)
10-1 (W) 40-13 at LaPORTE (3-4)
10-8 (F) CHESTERTON (5-2)
10-15 (F) at MICHIGAN CITY (1-6)
5A Sectional
One
Oct. 22 (F)
TBA 7 p.m.
with Lake Central, Merrillville,
East Chicago, Valpo, Munster, CP and Portage
Chesterton Update:
CHESTERTON - Chesterton gave up over 800 yards in two weeks against
Valparaiso and Portage but the Trojans bounced back last week to shut down
Lake Central, a decent running team. Chesterton began the season 4-0 for the
second time in four years and this is their fourth consecutive winning
season. The Trojans are led by big senior QB Jon Watson (6-3, 190) who three
3 TD passes last week against Lake Central.
Fullback Sam Lindquist (6-3, 185) and wide receiver
Andrew Bobrowski (6-3, 200) are big and strong while Justin Jenks (5-9, 160) and
Nate Maicher (5-10, 172) add speed. This is a power team, led by Nate Brock
(6-7, 325) in the offensive line. And they must control the ball because the
defense gave up 1200 total yards against LaPorte, Valparaiso and Portage in a
three-year span.
Chesterton junior Kyle Schmidt is an impact player as a place kicker as CP found
out when he booted three field goals (19, 44 and 46 yards) in last year's
sectional playoff game in Crown Point. Schmidt, who booted seven field goals in
2009, has four this season. The Bulldogs know better than most teams that when
you play Chesterton, if you aren't ahead by four points, you aren't really that
far ahead at all. Chesterton needs good rush defense out of guys like defensive
end Dan Dellumo (6-3, 245) because their secondary, led by Will Butz (5-11, 155)
and Peter Fouts (5-9, 155) can cover on long yardage situations.
CROWN POINT Update:
CROWN POINT - Crown Point continues to be impressive on defense. CP has not
allowed any team to score more than three touchdowns against them this season.
CP's 3-5-3 defensive set actually uses six linebackers as defensive end Evan
Wilson is a converted linebacker. When CP was dominant from 2004-2006, they got
top play at the nose guard position so the spotlight now falls on big junior
nose guard Cameron Tanner (6-1, 270), who leads the team with four QB sacks.
Tanner's ability to not be overwhelmed in the middle
against double team blocks enables players like Scott Hannon (70 tackles) and JT
Rotroff (55 tackles) to get to the ball carrier. CP's secondary of Austin
Atherton, Joel Johnson and Drew Brueckman (Austin Stanley plays as well) has
contained everybody through the air except for Merrillville late in the week
three loss.
Crown Point has allowed 1,430 yards, 67 first downs, 3.3 yards per rush and only
54 completed passes in seven games. Those numbers speak for themselves.
CP's offense is led by QB Joe Hopman, who has completed 65 of 103 passes for
1,186 yards, 13 TDs and four interceptions. Halfback Cody Bacon (5-10, 175) has
carried 150 times for 823 yards. Receiver Austin Atherton has caught 34 passes
for 651 yards and kicker Brett Bayer has five field goals and 23 touchbacks in
34 attempts. But the most significant number is zero. That's the number of
fumbles CP has lost this season. CP isn't a great offensive team, but they are
almost a turnover-free one.
CHESTERTON
(5-2) at CROWN POINT (5-2)
Sagarin
Computer rankings: Crown Point by 3
CROWN POINT
(10-8-2010) Both teams have lost to Valparaiso and the non-conference
teams CP has defeated, Lowell (4-3) and Hobart (3-4), are stronger than the
two teams Chesterton topped, New Prairie (2-5) and Adams (1-6). Chesterton
has not faced Merrillville (5-2) yet while CP has not played Michigan City
(1-6) yet. This gap should be more than it is.
WHAT
WILL HAPPEN: What got lost in last year's double loss to Chesterton was
that the Bulldogs defended them well. The Trojans average 30 points a game
but CP allows about 13 points a game. This should be a defense-flavored
match up.
Kyle Schmidt will kick a 40-yard field goal to give the Trojans the early lead, but CP will respond on a TD run by quarterback Joe Hopman. Chesterton's option attack will move the ball in position for a second Schmidt field goal and the score will be 7-6 at the half.
Crown Point will take the second half kickoff and drive the length of the field, scoring on a short run by senior Cody Bacon. A Trojan fumble will allow Crown Point kicker Brett Bayer to up the lead to 17-6. The Trojans will edge to within 17-13 on a TD run by quarterback Jon Watson but a pass interception by Scott Hannon will lead to a final field goal by Bayer in the fourth quarter.
Chesterton wants you to think they're throwing the ball, but the Trojans haves not completed more than seven passes in any game this year. They cannot run the ball consistently against CP all night, which was the case last year as well.
The Bulldogs have been turnover free most of the season. If they stay that way, they win an unimpressive victory here.
CROWN POINT 20, Chesterton 13