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Michigan City (5-3) at Crown Point (3-5) |
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Week 9 - Football Game of the Week Preview
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Michigan City (5-3) at Crown Point (3-5) |
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10-14-2009
When: 7:00 p.m.
CDT,
Friday, October 16, 2009
Where:
1500 S. Main, Crown Point, IN
TV/Radio/Internet: No live over-the-air radio. Radio updates on WLPR (89.1) FM.
Live Internet coverage on www.USA-365.com. Highlights on Lakeshore Public Television (Comcast Cable Ch. 17) at 10:30 p.m.
JV game: Saturday, Oct. 17 at CROWN POINT - 10:00 a.m.
Freshmen: Thursday, Oct. 22 at Michigan City - 6:00 p.m.
Numbers: Crown Point: Class 5A, enrollment 2,446; Michigan City - 5A enrollment - 2,011
Tickets: $5. Let's be honest; the Bulldogs need you to show up here. The team needs the support and it hasn't been a good year at the box office for local high schools. The rain has killed attendance and your old hometown school needs you to bundle up and put plastic on your head and come buy a ticket. There will be lots and lots of them available.
Weather: It will be rough. It's scheduled to rain most of the day Thursday and Friday (again) and the temperatures will never get out of the 40s. The artificial turf will save the quality of the game. It won't be a mud bowl like it was last week at Chesterton. But it will be cold. The coldest night of the year so far. If you went to the CP-LC soccer playoff game Thursday, this night will be very much like that. There's a chance the rain will let up before game time like it did last week, but I wouldn't bet on that. We're scheduled for a warm up next week, but that is then and this is now. Bring every coat you have and don't forget the umbrella.
Parking: This is the one good side to a tough weather night. You should be able to get a parking spot near the field. I just have a feeling that a lot of Michigan City people will look at the skies and say they've got something else to do Friday. So Crown Point fans will have plenty of room. It's 'Spirit Night' at CP so kids are encouraged to dress up any way they want (including some coats) and come out. Parking won't be a problem in any way.
Last year: A very tough night for CP, losing 7-3 at Michigan City. The Bulldogs gained 281 total yards, but never got into the end zone. This was a game CP should have won, but one of many low-scoring games they lost in 2008. The Bulldogs won 35-21 at CP in 2007. Crown Point leads the series 8-6.
FAST FOOTBALL FACT: Michigan City has had only three winning seasons (1995, 2000 and 2005) since the consolidation of Elston and Rogers in 1995 and they have never won more than seven games.
MICHIGAN CITY - This is the second Michigan City high school. The original MCHS split into Elston high and Rogers high in 1971 and those two schools consolidated in 1995. Isaac Elston bought 160 acres of land (for $200) and founded Michigan City in 1830. Michigan City, a town of 32,000, was named for an 1800s pathway around Lake Michigan towards Chicago. High school football was a struggle for them throughout the 20th Century. Michigan City's Rogers Raiders never won more than six football games in any one season in the entire 24-year (1971-1994) existence of the school.
Elston was 10-2 in 1984 but the 1984 season was Elston's final winning season ever. In the nine years from 1971 to 1979, Elston was 8-79 in football. They were 0-9 in 1990 and 0-9 in 1991 inside a 21-game losing streak. Elston, the original Michigan City high school (although it was not called that) was 304-400-46 from 1902 to 1984. Mercy. What I'm trying to say is that a winning season is a big deal for Michigan City football. MC does not care or think about Crown Point very much and the two schools are not in the same sectional. There is no rivalry involved in this game. But with a record of 5-3, a win at Crown Point tonight guarantees a winning season for the Wolves and it would be only the fourth winning season since the consolidation. That means something to them.
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| Mitch Kositzky (62) hopes to open up holes like this Friday night when the Bulldogs end the regular season with a game against Michigan City. CP also drew a home playoff game against Chesterton. (Photo by Mark Smith) |
5A Michigan City (5-3)
Coach: Craig Buzea (12-16) 3rd season
Enrollment: 2,010
2008 record: 4-6
Sectional titles: (0)
Regional titles: (0)
Lost 5A sectional 1 quarterfinal 28-19 at Chesterton in 2008
Michigan City Wolves (6-2)
8-21 (W) 63-0 at Gary Roosevelt (1-6)
8-28 (W) 13-10 at (SB) Washington (6-2)
9-4 (W) 31-21 CHESTERTON (6-2)
9-11 (W) 21-17 at VALPARAISO (4-4)
9-18 (L) 13-25 MERRILLVILLE (7-1)
9-25 (W) 21-23 at LAKE CENTRAL (1-7)
10-2 (W) 19-21 PORTAGE (4-4)
10-9 (L) 7-21 at LaPORTE (5-3)
10-16 (F) at CROWN POINT (3-5)
Class 5A, Sectional (2) Two
Oct. 23 (F) Elkhart Memorial (5-3)
Oct. 30 (F) at LaPorte (5-3) or at Mishawaka (8-0)
CROWN POINT (3-5)
Coach: Chip Pettit - 52-37, 8 seasons
Enrollment: 2,426
2008 record: 3-7
Sectional titles (3) 1998, 1991, 2006
Regional titles: (1) 1991
Lost sectional quarterfinal game 42-6 at Merrillville in 2008
Crown Point Bulldogs (3-5)
Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) games in CAPS - all games begin at 7:00 p.m.
8-21 (L) 0-19 at Lowell (7-1)
8-28 (W) 14-7 Hobart (1-7)
9-4 (L) 14-38 MERRILLVILLE (7-1)
9-11 (W) 23-21 at LAKE CENTRAL (1-7)
9-18 (L) 22-43 at PORTAGE (4-4)
9-25 (L) 21-52 VALPO (4-4)
10-2 (W) 27-17 LaPORTE (5-3)
10-9 (F) 3-14 at CHESTERTON (6-2)
10-16 (F) MICHIGAN CITY (5-3)
Class 5A, Sectional (1) One
Oct. 23 (F) Chesterton (6-2)
Oct. 30 (F) Portage (4-4)
State Tournament Pairings - games of Oct. 23, 2009
Sectional (1) One
East Chicago [3-5] at Portage [4-4]
Chesterton [6-2] at CROWN POINT [3-5]
Valparaiso [4-4] at MERRILLVILLE [7-1]
Munster [6-2] at Lake Central [1-7]
Sectional (2) Two
Elkhart Memorial [5-3] at Michigan City [5-3]
LaPorte [5-3] at Mishawaka [8-0]
Elkhart Central [1-7] at South Bend Adams [1-7]
Goshen [1-7] at Penn [7-1]
FAVORITE: MERRILLVILLE (7-1)
Challengers: Mishawaka (8-0), Penn (7-1) and Valparaiso (4-4)
MERRILLVILLE - The Pirates have won seven in a row and the loss is to state power Warren Central (6-2). They have an experienced QB in Zach Raspopovich (remember, he played last season) and a quartet of good receivers, plus a 1,000-yard back in Denzel Pierce. The defense is strong up front although teams have passed on the Pirates. The Pirates' spread offense could have trouble in bad weather, especially against a run-oriented team like Mishawaka. But that offense is built to attack the teams with the stronger defensive fronts. Penn has faced Ben Davis, Mishawaka and Valparaiso so they have faced a tough schedule. They'd have to win a low-scoring game, though. Penn averages only 22 points a game, their lowest total in memory. Valparaiso has a lot of speed at running back and a wild card: Injured QB Zack Livovich. The tall senior has not played since week one, but I do not know he is out for the season. If he returns, Valpo could defeat Merrillville, win a Sectional One title and win a rematch with Penn.
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME:
1. We can all agree. Last Friday was not a moment to remember.
Crown Point: They didn't gain a first down in a 14-3 loss at Chesterton.
Michigan City: They lost in the mud at arch-rival LaPorte 21-7.
Coaches and players can't say this, but I'd throw last Friday out from a results standpoint. It was a 'perfect storm' of bad conditions and good defense, especially at Chesterton. Nobody's happy about last Friday night. Let's just all be grateful that CP has artificial turf and move on.
2. Adam Harmon
Northwest Indiana's leading rusher has 1,252 yards on 180 carries and he's coming to Crown Point looking for more. At 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds, Michigan City's Adam Harmon can be difficult to tackle and, with junior QB Rodney Washington injured (he's missed the last three games), Harmon will get the ball early and often. CP did a good job against the run last week. Unless Washington comes back and MC becomes a more balanced attack, they'll have to do a much better job this week.
3. Let's bring back the forward pass
The last two weeks have not been pass-friendly for CP quarterback Joe Hopman. He's 3-of-12 the last two weeks and a lot of that's weather and field conditions. But those are excuses. The rookie QB knows that no first downs in a game reflects on him and he'll want to make amends. Hopman was a good passer earlier in the season and, on a good field and in dry conditions (maybe), he should be again this Friday.
The Bottom Line...
CROWN POINT: I think CP's Joe Hopman can find open receivers against Michigan City. Hopman should complete 10-15 passes for 150-200 yards. Harmon is good for a couple of TDs. He catches the ball well out of the backfield. But the Wolves cannot come from behind if Washington isn't playing at QB. I think a team's mental state in the final regular season week is greatly affected by the playoff game matchup they see in the future. Crown Point should be encouraged by the draw. A home game and a chance to take on a Chesterton team that embarrassed them last week. The Bulldogs also have to like their side of the draw which would present a semifinal shot at a Portage team that also embarrassed CP earlier in the year, 43-22.
I'm assuming that Rodney Washington cannot play for MC. If he is out for the year, he can't play. And if he has hopes of playing in the sectional, coach Craig Buzea certainly wouldn't risk him in a meaningless road game on a bad weather night. Crown Point has more of a reason to win this game and they are at home where they won over LaPorte two weeks ago. Hopmasn throws for 200 yards and CP jumps to a three TD lead as the Bulldogs hold off a Michigan City rally to win the final home game.
CROWN POINT 30, Michigan City 20