Mills rushes for 116 yds and 3 TDs to lead Bulldogs to 21-3 win over Lake Central

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

9-14-2017

 

'Flag Night' was the student section theme Friday night at Crown Point high school for the game against Lake Central. (All photos by Mark Smith)
Blake Klingberg (77) and Seamus McShane (57) find the path to LC quarterback Zach Bundalo (14) blocked Friday night.
Lake Central senior Cole Rainwater (86) booted a 46-yard field goal to open the scoring against Crown Point.
Crown Point junior Silas Reeves (9) breaks through the line and heads toward QB Zach Bundalo (14) in the CP-LC game last Friday.
Hand holding was key at the annual junior cheerleader night at CPHS last Friday.
CP sophomore quarterback Will Pettit (7) looks to strike deep down the field Friday against Lake Central.
LC junior Keysean Wigley (5) tries to get loose on a punt return in the second quarter.
Railaun Cosey (6) and Alec Baranczyk (29) celebrate Cosey's 68-yard punt return Friday night against Lake Central.
LC quarterback Zach Bundalo (14) looking for receivers Friday night against Crown Point.
CP's Railaun Cosey (6) is focused on LC senior Quincy Tribble (22) Friday night at CPHS.
Scott Mills (22) ran for three touchdowns as Crown Point pulled away in the second half to beat Lake Central.
That's senior Blake Klingberg (77) in the middle of the CP celebration after the Bulldogs 21-3 win over neighbor and rival Lake Central. (All photos by Mark Smith)
 

Copyright © 2018 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp.  All rights reserved.
Revised: September 12, 2018 .

Team 1 2 3 4 F
Lake Central (2-2, 0-2) 0 3 0 0 3
CROWN POINT (2-2, 1-1) 0 7 7 7 21

Friday, September 7, 2018 -  65 degrees (at kickoff), Duneland Athletic Conference at CROWN POINT, Ind.

1st QtrNo scoring.
2nd Qtr: LAKE CENTRAL (3-0) Cole Rainwater, 46-yard field goal. 48-yard drive, 10 plays. 3:22 min. time of possession (TOP) 11:05 left.
CROWN POINT (7-3) Scott Mills, 28-yard run. 30 yards, 2 plays after 68-yard kickoff return by Railaun Cosey. 0:46 min. TOP. Jack Mumaugh kick. 10:05 left.
3rd Qtr: CROWN POINT (14-3) CROWN POINT (3-14) Scott Mills, 8-yard run. 37 yards, 3 plays after
A fumble recovery by Sam Krutz. 1:11 min. TOP. Jack Mumaugh kick. 7:21 left.

4th Qtr: CROWN POINT (21-3) Scott Mills, 1-yard run. 15 yards, 4 plays after 25-yard punt return by Sam Krutz. 1:38 min. TOP. Jack Mumaugh kick. 11:08 left.

RUSHING:
LC (25 carries, 50 yards, 0 TD): Zach Bundalo (QB) 2 carries, minus-6 yards (2 sacks minus-6) Felix Garcia (HB) 22 carries, 61 yards, TD; Quincy Tribble (WR) 2 (minus-5 ) yards.

CROWN POINT (31 carries, 122 yards, 3 TDs, 0 fumbles): Scott Mills (HB) 28 carries, 119 yards, 3 TDs; Matt Walters (HB) 3-3 yards.

PASSING:
LC: Zach Bundalo (QB) 7 of 20, 55 yards 0 TDs, one INT;
CROWN POINT: Will Pettit (QB) 5 of 20, 57 yards, one INT, 0 TDs..

RECEIVING:
LC: Keysean Wigley (WR) 3-29 yards, fumble; Quincy Tribble (WR) 3-22 yards; Collin Sanfrantello (WR) 2-25 yards; Feliz Garcia (HB) 1-2 yards.
CROWN POINT: Tysen Cazy (WR) 3-34 yards; David O’Toole (WR) 1-6 yards; Ben Uran (TE) 1-16 yards.

INTERCEPTIONS:
LC (1) Zach Rangel; CROWN POINT (1) Trevor Bieszczat

FUMBLE RECOVERIES:
CP (1) Sam Krutz

TOTAL YARDS:
LC: 105 yards, 5 first downs, 2 turnovers;
CROWN POINT: 179 yards, 6 first downs, 1 turnover.

Click Here for free MP3 Podcast.


CROWN POINT (9-07-2018) Every game should be hard. Every game should be a struggle. I don't know if that’s true actually. That’s what you tell yourself when all your teams’ games could go either way.

When Lake Central got to Crown Point last Friday, the Bulldogs didn’t look so good at the start, but LC didn’t look so good at the end. Crown Point gained big edges on defense and special teams and senior halfback Scott Mills ran for 117 yards in a 21-3 victory.

For Mills, it was the night you hope every varsity player can have just one. Especially one who has waited his turn.

“Tyler deserved what he got,” said Mills of now-graduated CP halfback Tyler Gomez, who carried 283 times for 1,630 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2017. “He worked hard for it. But yeah, it was a little frustrating. I thought I could do that. But he played more and he made the most of it."

Mills carried 58 times for 381 yards as a junior and through three games this fall, Mills had just 91 yards on 53 carries and CP had a 1-2 record.

“I thought we’d beat Lowell,” Scott said. “I really did. It just didn’t happen. We got rolling at Merrillville and we just didn't finish.”

“There’s always a ton of things we can get better at. But our young quarterback’s getting better. Our line’s getting better. I think we’re on our way.”

CP’s defense has allowed just 683 total yards in four games and this might have been their finest night so far.

Lake Central’s best offensive series came the first time they had the ball. The Indians (2-2) moved 44 yards in 10 plays before Cole Rainwater’s 36-yard field goal attempt went wide to the left.

LC got an 18-yard pass from senior QB Zach Bundalo to Quincy Tribble to spark a drive to the Crown Point 29-yard-line where Rainwater connected on a 46-yard field goal to open the scoring.

But Railaun Cosey grabbed the ensuing kickoff and ran it back 68 yards to Lake Central 30-yard-line. One play later, Scott Mills swept around right guard, appeared to be stopped at about the LC 15. but then he broke loose to score the game's first TD on a 28-yard run 10:05 before halftime.

The biggest moment of the game may have come after Bundalo completed a 10-yard pass to Keysean Wigley midway through the third quarter. Wigley lost the ball as he fumbled near the home sideline with CP’s Sam Krutz recovering at the Lake Central 37-yard line.

CP sophomore QB Will Pettit then hit a 26-yard pass to 6-foot-3 junior Tysen Cazy at the LC 11. One play later, Mills swept around left end to score for a 14-3 lead with 6:15 left in the third quarter.

The final Bulldog TD came after a short Lake Central punt, which Krutz returned 25 yards to the LC 15-yard-line.
After two Lake Central pass interference calls, Mills scored his third TD from the 1-yard line with 11:08 left in the game.

Lake Central did not gain a first down in the entire second half.

"Most of our experience lies in that unit,” said Enright. “We rely on them. Those guys have been there before. We rely on them to dictate the tone of the game and yes, they have played well.”

2018 CP is a hard team to figure. They could have beaten Merrillville (3-1) and Lowell (3-1) and they could have had more trouble with Lake Central.

Coach Enright didn’t want get into predicting what’s going to happen next.

“We don’t have anybody on offense who played a regular role last year, he said. “We just want to get some of the mistakes we made early (tonight) corrected. That’s been our deal. And get better every day."

“I know that’s a cliché’ but that’s really where we are.”

BULLDOG NOTES: If you watch Crown Point’s offense you see a rather large boy in motion slowly behind the line before many plays begin.

The big ‘man in motion’ is 6-foot-2, 225-pound sophomore tight end Felix Meeks, who often ends up as a lead blocker for halfback Scott Mills.

“Felix is someone who has accepted his role,” said coach Kevin Enright. “It gives us a different look offensively. He has limited experience, but I think he’s playing above his level of experience. It’s a credit to him.”

Scott Mills has carried the ball 82 times in four games.

That’s a lot, but again, Tyler Gomez carried 283 times in 2017 and 203 times as a junior in 2016.

“He comes to work every day,” said Enright of Mills. ”He does what he’s told. He gets better every day and with that said, we’re going to ride him.”

“He’s done everything possible in the weight room to put himself in position to be successful.”

After the game, LC’s Felix Garcia came over to speak with Enright. The LC junior used to attend CP.

“He came in with our present junior class,” explained Enright. “After his freshman year, his parents moved to St. John. All our guys know him. He came up through our youth program.”


CLASS SECTIONAL JOHN HARRELL'S INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL RECENT SEASONS
6A 1 E-MAIL CORRECTIONS MAP TO SCHOOL 2-2
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
CROWN POINT
BULLDOGS
Coach: Kevin Enright, 38-32 in 7th year at school
DATE OPPONENT CENTRAL TIME OA 15.8, DA 14.0
Aug. 17   Lowell 4A L 7 17    
Aug. 24 at Highland 4A W 14 10    
Sep. 1 at Merrillville 6A © L 21 26    
Sep. 7   Lake Central 6A © W 21 3    
Sep. 14   Portage 6A © 7:00 pm    
Sep. 21 at Valparaiso 6A © 7:00 pm    
Sep. 28 at LaPorte 5A © 7:00 pm    
Oct. 5   Chesterton 6A © 7:00 pm    
Oct. 12 at Michigan City 5A © 7:00 pm    
©DUNELAND CONFERENCE GAME

CLASS SECTIONAL JOHN HARRELL'S INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL RECENT SEASONS
6A 1 E-MAIL CORRECTIONS MAP TO SCHOOL 2-2
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
LAKE CENTRAL
INDIANS
Coach: Tony Bartolomeo, 3-8 in 2nd year at school
DATE OPPONENT CENTRAL TIME OA 14.0, DA 13.8
Aug. 17   Munster 5A W 10 3    
Aug. 24 at Hammond Morton 4A W 33 13    
Aug. 31 at Portage 6A © L 10 18    
Sep. 7 at Crown Point 6A © L 3 21    
Sep. 14   LaPorte 5A © 7:00 pm    
Sep. 21 at Michigan City 5A © 7:00 pm    
Sep. 28   Chesterton 6A © 7:00 pm    
Oct. 5 at Merrillville 6A © 7:00 pm    
Oct. 12   Valparaiso 6A © 7:00 pm    
©DUNELAND CONFERENCE GAME

Crown Point's next opponent:

CLASS SECTIONAL JOHN HARRELL'S INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL RECENT SEASONS
6A 1 E-MAIL CORRECTIONS MAP TO SCHOOL 2-2
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
PORTAGE
INDIANS
Coach: Darren Rodriguez, 13-12 in 3rd year at school, 50-60 in 11th year overall
DATE OPPONENT CENTRAL TIME OA 9.8, DA 21.8
Aug. 17   Mishawaka 4A L 14 35    
Aug. 24 at Lowell 4A W 7 3    
Aug. 31   Lake Central 6A © W 18 10    
Sep. 7   Merrillville 6A © L 0 39    
Sep. 14 at Crown Point 6A © 7:00 pm    
Sep. 21 at Chesterton 6A © 7:00 pm    
Sep. 28   Michigan City 5A © 7:00 pm    
Oct. 5 at Valparaiso 6A © 7:00 pm    
Oct. 12   LaPorte 5A © 7:00 pm    
©DUNELAND CONFERENCE GAME

DUNELAND
ALL TIMES CENTRAL
  CONFERENCE ALL GAMES
  W-L Pts OP W-L Pts OP Streak
Merrillville 2-0 65 21 3-  1 101 63 Won 3
Valparaiso 2-0 52 15 2-  2 75 65 Won 2
Crown Point 1-1 42 29 2-  2 63 56 Won 2
Michigan City 1-1 35 24 2-  2 118 57 Won 1
Portage 1-1 18 49 2-  2 39 87 Won 1
LaPorte 1-1 37 52 1-  3 71 115 Won 1
Lake Central 0-2 13 39 2-  2 56 55 Won 1
Chesterton 0-2 24 57 1-  3 64 67 Won 1
Friday, Sep. 7
Crown Point 21, Lake Central 3 ©
LaPorte 29, Chesterton 14 ©
Merrillville 39, Portage 0 ©
Valparaiso 14, Michigan City 7 ©
Friday, Sep. 14
Chesterton at Valparaiso ©, 7 pm
LaPorte at Lake Central ©, 7 pm
Michigan City at Merrillville ©, 7 pm
Portage at Crown Point ©, 7 pm
Friday, Sep. 21
Crown Point at Valparaiso ©, 7 pm
Lake Central at Michigan City ©, 7 pm
Merrillville at LaPorte ©, 7 pm
Portage at Chesterton ©, 7 pm
©conference game