Week Two Picks:  NW Indiana High School Football

- by Mark Smith

Week one's picks (7 of 10, 70%) were average, the best one probably Morton's 33-28 win over Hammond, which was picked here as 42-36.

The loser's were Whiting,  (I said: 30-20 but Lafayette Catholic beat them 21-7), Lake Central (I said LC: 13-10 but Merrillville won 20-10 and I went out on a limb picking New Prairie 27-20 over LaPorte.   The small school turned the ball over four times and the big school, LaPorte won 20-0.

Other winners.  Munster (24-0) winning 54-12;   Portage (49-21) winning 38-0;   Chesterton 28-26 winning 34-3;  Penn (28-20) winning 31-7, Crown Point (20-13) winning 23-0 and Andrean (28-14) winning 30-20.

In week two, lets look at three games:

WEST LAFAYETTE - Merrillville goes to McCutcheon to face all-america passer Clayton Richard. The Pirates (1-0) were proud of their 20-0 win over McCutcheon in the rain last year but it won't be raining in Lafayette Friday night.

Richard, a 6-foot-5 left-hander, completed 128 of 232 for 2,420 yards last season. Last week in a highly publicized showdown with Jefferson and their Division I quarterback, Mike Vlanhogeorge,  Richard hit 16-of-24 for 181 as McCutcheon rallied form a 14-0 defect for a 55-27 victory. Junior halfback Curtis Asay (5-9, 160) carried 18 times for 142 yards and five TDs and caught five passes for 77 more.

McCutcheon was an offensive machine with 22 first downs and 438 yards. There is a  theory that Merrillville is the big school-team from the big school league and that's true. But McCutcheon's offensive tackles, Matt Winger (6-8, 260) and Chris Holle (6-6, 270) are big and bad.   Class 5A Jefferson got smoked like a Christmas ham and, on a dry field, I don't see how Merrillville handles them.

The Pirates held Lake Central's Ron Jankovich to 12 of 20 and 144 yards last week in a 20-10 Pirate win. But to compare Jankovich to Richard is to compare George W. with the real president Bush. (You know, the old guy)  LC lost four fumbles or they'd have beaten the Pirates. Merrillville must control the ball on the ground with hard-running Brandon Mosely  (5-10, 180) and Jerry Williams (5-9, 180) and they will score.

Jeff's QB Vlahogeorge completed 30 of 63 for 382 yards last week against McCutcheopn but Merrillville QB Adam Tegtman was 4-of-9 last week. He'll have to avoid getting into a passing contest with the Richard, who may bypass college football for pro baseball.

Merrillville will take an early lead but McCutcheon will storm back and the Pirates won't be able to stop the assault.  There's no way to simulate McCutcheon and their style of play is something Merrillville won't see again.

McCutcheon 33,   MERRILLVILLE     20


PORTAGE -    Lake Central should be in top form this week after losing a game they should've won against Merrillville. Portage, led by new QB Jeff Hasiak (21 of 26, 232), routed East Chicago 38-20 with four second half touchdowns last week but despite 423 total yards, they can't be fooled. LC is much stronger in the lines than EC.  LC led 10-7 in the fourth quarter before losing on turnovers last week and they can throw the ball with Ron Jankovich and Geoff Walker (7 catches last week).
Lake Central had beaten Portage five times in a row until Portage won 14-7 last season. These are the two biggest schools in northwest Indiana and both will play well in front of a region TV audience.

I like Portage to rally in the late going and Steve Vaught's extra point will decide it.

Portage     21,  LAKE CENTRAL  20   

MUNSTER  -   I really like Morton but they get busted up here. Munster has a crushing ground game led by hardrunning back Steve Smith (5-11, 200), a 1,000-yard rusher last year. QB Wally Cifaresi (6-2, 189) was just 7-of-12 for 97 yards last week in the 53-14 win over Gavit because the Mustangs ran for 300 yards against a Gavit team that isn't that bad.  

Morton's ace WR Darian Reed will get on the scoreboard but he won't score five TDs because Munster will have the ball most of the time. Munster has a multiple attack with the ball going overland to Mike Helfen (20 catches for 507 yards in 2001) and basketball center Jim Phelan (6-7, 217), a tight end.
The defense is led by outside linebacker Adam DelRio (6-2, 190) and they won't have to be great because the offense will be tough to stop.  Morton was not as strong as they'd hoped to be in their 33-28 win over Hammond, a game they led 21-0. If injured QB Adam Keilman can't play for Morton, this one won't be close.

Munster   31,   Morton  14


Other WEEK TWO picks:

Calumet (1-0) 28, North Newton (0-1) 27
Whiting (0-1) 34, River Forest (0-1) 27
LaPorte (1-0) 21, Kankakee Valley  (1-0) 0
Highland (0-1) 20, Gavit (0-1) 14
Mishawaka   (0-1) 22, Chesterton   (1-0) 14
Michigan City (1-0) 32, SB Riley (0-1)  0
Culver (1-0)  28, South Central (0-1)  0
Wheeler (1-0)  20, Culver Military (0-1)  16
CROWN POINT (1-0)  35, East Chicago (0-1)  17
Lake Station (0-1)  0, LOWELL (0-1) 35