Vikings unstoppable in 56-21 win over Crown Point Bulldogs

A USA-365.com Special Report by Dave Woodworth

9-26-2009

 

Team 1 2 3 4 F
Valparaiso (3-3, 2-2) 28 14 14 0 56
CROWN POINT (2-4, 1-3) 7 0 0 14 21

Friday, September 25, 2009,  63 degrees & light occasional rain, Duneland Athletic Conference at CROWN POINT, IN.

1st Qtr VALPARAISO (7-0)  Nick Thompson, 8-yard run on first play following Matt Hittinger's interception of a Joe Hopman pass. 0:07 Time of Possesion (TOP).  Sam Ficken kick.  11:27 left.
CROWN POINT (7-7) Austin Atherton, 41-yard pass from Joe Hopman.  71-yard, 6-play drive.  3:22 TOP.  Brett Bayer kick.  7:58 left.
VALPARAISO (14-7) Michael Perkins, 61-yard run on first play from scrimmage on next series.  0:16 TOP.  Ficken kick.  7:36 left.
VALPARAISO (21-7) 
Nick Thompson, 13-yard run.  40-yard, 4-play drive.  1:28 TOP.  Ficken kick.  5:02 left.
VALPARAISO (28-7) Nick Thompson, 5-yard run.  58-yard, 5-play drive. 1:44 TOP.
 Ficken kick.  0:31 left. 
2nd Qtr:  VALPARAISO (35-7) Michael Perkins, 2-yard run.  44-yard, 4-play drive.  2:17 TOP.  Ficken kick.  9:43 left.
VALPARAISO (42-7)
Michael Perkins, 6-yard pass from Paul Andrie.  82-yards, 7-plays.  3:30 TOP.  Ficken kick.  1:15 left.
3rd Qtr:  VALPARAISO (49-7) Nick Thompson, 65-yard run on first play from scrimmage.  0:14 TOP.  Ficken kick.  11:40 left.
VALPARAISO (56-7)
Michael Perkins, 13-yard run.  60-yard, 4-play drive.  1:36 TOP.  Ficken kick.  8:27 left.
4th Qtr:  CROWN POINT (14-56) Mason Popovich, 5-yard run.  57-yard, 8-play drive.  3:29 TOP.  Bayer kick.  5:54 left.
CROWN POINT (14-56) Pete Parks, 57-yard run.  62-yard, 2-play drive. 0:16 TOP.  Bayer kick.  4:44 left.

UNOFFICIAL STATISTICS

 RUSHING:
VALPARAISO (26 carries, 369 yards, 7 TDs, 1 fumble) Michael Perkins (RB) 10-166 yards, 3 TDs; Nick Thompson (RB) 11-168 yards, 4 TDs;
Paul Andrie (QB) 2-7 yards, Bryon Duncan 3-37, Chris McGuirl 1-(-2).

CROWN POINT
(28 carries, 268 yards, 3 TDs, 1 fumble) Mason Popovich (RB) 13-123, 2 TDs; Brian Holloway 4-18, Joe Hopman 5-28, Cody Bacon 5-22, Pete Parks 4-77, TD.

PASSING
:
VALPARAISO -  Paul Andrie (QB) 3-5, 24 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT;
Michael Perkins (RB) 1-1, 47 yards;
Nick Thompson (RB) 0-1, 0 yards;
CROWN POINT - Joe Hopman (QB) 9-25, 104 yards, 1 TDs, 2 INTs.

RECEIVING:
VALPARAISO - John Nuppnau 1-47, Adam Thomas 1-4, John Saltanovich 1-14, Michael Perkins 1-6, TD. 
CROWN POINT - Austin Atherton 4-56, TD; Travis Woosley 1-16; Michael Bishop 1-18, Mike Kessler 1-30, Scott Rogers 1-16.

TOTAL YARDS:
VALPARAISO (434 yards, 16 first downs and 1 turnover)
CROWN POINT (372 yards, 17 first downs and 3 turnovers)

TURNOVERS:

VALPARAISO (1) 1 fumble; CROWN POINT (3) 1 fumble.


CROWN POINT (9-25-2009) -  Grey, dark skies sprinkled a light rain over Crown Point's artificial "Field Turf" Friday afternoon and off and on into the evening.  That made for a wet surface, but it did not slow down the offensive running game and single wing option that Valparaiso brought to game, as the Vikings dominated in a 56-21 Duneland Conference game.  

Valparaiso's Matt Hittinger intercepted Joe Hopman's first pass of the night deep in Bulldog territory to set up an 8-yard touchdown run by Nick Thompson, just 33-seconds into the game.  Thompson would add three more touchdowns for the Vikings with runs of 13, 5 and 65 yards.  Thompson finished with 11 runs for 168 yards on the night.

The Vikings dual running threat of Thompson and Michael Perkins produced quick scores against the Bulldog defense, with each breaking numerous long runs.  Perkins carried the ball 10 times for 166 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.  Perkins also caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Vikings back-up quarterback Paul Andrie in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs did respond to the opening Vikings score with a 6-play, 71-yard scoring drive capped by sophomore quarterback Joe Hopman's 41-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Austin Atherton.  Brett Bayer's PAT kick tied the score at 7-7 with 7:58 left in the first quarter.

On the ensuing CP kick-off to Valparaiso, Bryon Duncan returned the ball 19-yards to the Viking 39-yard line.  On the first play from scrimmage, Michael Perkins ran 61-yards for a touchdown and the onslaught was on.  Valparaiso would go on to score two more times in the first quarter for a 28-7 lead.  Two more scores in the second quarter made it 42-7 at Halftime and it was 56-7 after three quarters before Crown Point was able to score 14 consolation points in the fourth quarter for the final 56-21 score.

The Vikings' domination of the Bulldogs at Crown Point came despite their playing without starting senior quarterback Zack Livovich (6-5, 215), who was injured in the first game of the season against Penn.  Since then, the Vikings have used sophomore quarterback Paul Andrie and have also used a multi-set offense, including the so-called "Wildcat" single-wing set where the center snaps the ball directly to one of two running backs in a split backfield formation.  The single wing offense was more popular in the 1950s, and in fact Valparaiso coach Mark Hoffman, now in his 32nd year at the helm in Valparaiso, learned the single wing while an assistant coach under previous long-time coach Tom Stokes.

DOG NOTES:  "The County Seat Trophy," a traveling trophy developed with the aid of former CP Athletic Director Jerry Caravana, remains in possession of Valparaiso for the third year in a row.  So-named, because Crown Point and Valparaiso are the county seats of Lake and Porter counties, the Bulldogs will possibly have one more chance to win the trophy back if the two teams meet in the Class 5A, Sectional One post-season tournament.

With the win, Valparaiso evens their season record at 3-3 and 2-2 in the Duneland Conference.  Crown Point drops to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the DAC.  In other conference games, Merrillville shutout LaPorte, 31-0 as Denzel Pierce had 202 yards rushing and three touchdowns for the Pirates.  Chesterton held off Portage 31-28 in a see-saw battle at Portage, and Michigan City defeated Lake Central Friday night 21-13.  Merrillville remains on top of the DAC with a 4-0 record, followed by Michigan City at 3-1.

Next Friday (Oct. 2), the Bulldogs (2-4,1-3 DAC) host LaPorte (4-2, 2-2 DAC) in their annual Homecoming game.  LaPorte seems to always play strong at home, but traditionally seems to have some weaknesses on the road.  LaPorte was held to just 96-yards total offense in their 31-0 loss to the Pirates, so they will have some extra motivation to come back against the shell-shocked Bulldogs.


CLASS SECTIONAL ORDER YOUR INDIANA FOOTBALL DIGEST RECENT SEASONS
5A 1 E-MAIL CORRECTIONS MAP TO SCHOOL 2-4
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
CROWN POINT
BULLDOGS
Coach: Chip Pettit, 54-40 in 9th year at school, 59-45 in 10th year overall
DATE OPPONENT CENTRAL TIME OA 15.7, DA 30.7
Aug. 21 at Lowell {4A}   L   0-19  
Aug. 28 Hobart {4A}  W 14-  7  
Sep. 4 Merrillville {5A}‡   L 14-38  
Sep. 11 at Lake Central {5A}‡  W 23-21  
Sep. 18 at Portage {5A}‡ L 22- 43  
Sep. 25 Valparaiso {5A}‡ L 21- 56  
Oct. 2 LaPorte {5A}‡ 7:00 pm  
Oct. 9 at Chesterton {5A}‡ 7:00 pm  
Oct. 16 Michigan City {5A}‡ 7:00 pm  
‡DUNELAND ATHLETIC CONFERENCE GAME
DUNELAND ATHLETIC
ALL TIMES CENTRAL
  CONF. PTS OPP ALL PTS OPP
Merrillville   4-  0 143   54     5-  1 187   117  
Michigan City   3-  1 86   76     5-  1 162   86  
Chesterton   2-  2 113   108     4-  2 185   108  
LaPorte   2-  2 91   103     4-  2 179   144  
Portage   2-  2 125   102     3-  3 171   137  
Valparaiso   2-  2 129   93     3-  3 180   120  
Crown Point   1-  3 80   158     2-  4 94   184  
Lake Central   0-  4 47   120     1-  5 71   148  
Friday, Sep. 18
LaPorte 49, Lake Central 13‡
Merrillville 25, Michigan City 13‡
Portage 43, Crown Point 22‡
Valparaiso 35, Chesterton 23‡
Friday, Sep. 25
Chesterton 31, Portage 28‡
Merrillville 31, LaPorte 0‡
Michigan City 21, Lake Central 13‡
Valparaiso 56, Crown Point 21‡
Friday, Oct. 2
Lake Central at Chesterton‡, 7 pm
LaPorte at Crown Point‡, 7 pm
Merrillville at Valparaiso‡, 7 pm
Portage at Michigan City‡, 7 pm
‡Conference game

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Revised: September 26, 2009 .