The RENEGADE Poll:
2011 NW Indiana High School Football Week-10, Top-10


A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

10-18-2011

 

 

MERRILLVILLE (10-21-2011) The most difficult thing to do when the state tournament begins is to accept the format. What has happened to you in the first nine weeks of the season is totally irrelevant. Everyone starts fresh in a six-week singe-elimination playoff. Players and coaches say they know that but they don't. The ones who won all nine games celebrate that achievement and try to get their players to believe that a loss in week 10 totally dissolves what they accomplished in the first nine weeks.

 

Teams that are 0-9 or 1-8 feel the weight of those losses even though the number on the right is erased on opening night of the tournament. The toughest task is for teams that had success in the middle of the season but lost big late in the year. The best example of that is the 4A Sectional 10 semifinal between Lowell (5-4) and Mishawaka (5-4).
Both teams were 5-2 two weeks ago. Lowell has been shut down 27-8 by Munster and 35-7 by Andrean, losses that were worse than they should have been, but not as bad as they could have been.

 

The Devils host a Mishawaka squad that has been jolted, losing 35-30 to cross-town rival Marian on Oct. 7 and getting bombed last Friday 37-13 by South Bend Washington. So what two teams take the field Saturday night in Lowell? Lowell has three state finals visits in seven years. Mishawaka was 12-1 in Class 5A last year and 11-2 the year before. Losing 37-13 at home had to be embarrassing. Do these two teams really believe that those last two losses have been erased and they've been given a second chance? Do they really believe in the format of the Indiana state foosball tournament?

 

We're about to find out.

 

 

1.)  3A Andrean (9-0)
2010 (9-4), 2009 (9-4), 2008 (6-7), 2007 (9-4), 2006 (8-3)

 

MERRILLVILLE: Andrean completed their greatest regular season ever with a 35-7 win at Lowell. Mason Zurek ran for 110 yards on 12 carries. The 59ers defeated rivals Lowell, Griffith and Munster as well as defeating cross-town rival Merrillville, the eventual Duneland Athletic Conference champion. There are two questions about Andrean. Would they have gone 7-0 in the DAC? Will they go 6-0 now in the state tournament? Andrean (9-0) is a 16-point computer favorite over Wheeler (9-0) in the Sectional 25 Class 2A quarterfinals this week.

 

2.)  5A Merrillville (6-3)

2010 (8-3), 2009 (12-2), 2008 (8-5), 2007 (12-2), 2006 (7-5)

 

MERRILLVILLE: Merrillville completed a great run that no one has noticed. We all remember that the Pirates were defeated on opening night 64-13 by 5A No. 1 Warren Central, the worst defeat in school history. Fast forward nine weeks. Warren Central is 9-0 and Merrillville won the Duneland conference. The Pirates gained 576 yards on Chesterton last Friday in a 35-21 win. They also got Bowman Academy-transfer Dylon Collins (15 carries, 120 yards) on the field for the first time after he'd been relegated to the JV all year by a transfer dispute. Does it surprise you that Merrillville is a 7-point underdog to Lake Central in the 5A Sectional quarterfinals this week? Me too. The Pirates are the new England Patriots. You can't keep them down for long.

 

3.) 5A Lake Central (8-1)
2010 (2-8), 2009 (2-9) 2008 (3-7), 2007 (7-5), 2006 (4-6)

 

ST. JOHN: LC rallied from a 10-0 deficit to win a half share of the DAC title (with Merrillville) with a 27-17 victory over Valparaiso. QB David Yancey ran 20 times for 146 yards. Yancey has 128 carries for 1,142 yards and 13 TDs. Yancey still can't throw well and all credit goes to coach Brett St. Germain, who has always run a passing pro-style offense (at CP and Andrean) that he has adjusted to a new-age college Dennard Robinson-style QB. Eight defensive TDs didn't hurt and the question is still: Do they have enough offense to beat winning teams when the defense doesn't score? Question 2: Does anyone believe LC is an seven-point favorite on the road at Merrillville this week? Lake Central is the New York Jets. They'll go as far as the 'D' carry them.


4.)  5A CROWN POINT (6-3)
2010 (8-4), 2009 (3-7), 2008 (3-7), 2007 (8-3), 2006 (12-1)

 

CROWN POINT: The Bulldogs won their last three games to reach the post-season, but they have a lot of "What Ifs" too. CP led Merrillville 20-14 in the final minute and lost 21-20, their biggest regret of the season. The Bulldogs will have to get to the 5A Sectional final to see Merrillville again. The Bulldogs have overwhelming statistics. They've given up 3 second half TDs on defense all season. Crown Pont has committed only seven turnovers in nine games. But all CP's wins are by double digits over teams that were 5-4 or less. CP didn't beat either of the DAC co-champs and didn't win any close games. They're going into a dangerous 5A Sectional 1 quarterfinal at Munster (5-4) Friday.

 

5.) 5A Valparaiso (4-5)
2010 (13-1), 2009 (5-5), 2008 (9-2), 2007 (6-5)

 

VALPARAISO: Valpo has lost to Carmel (8-1), Penn (9-0) and Lake Central (8-1) this season so the 4-5 record is very misleading. The Vikings led Chesterton 21-0 and lost 31-21. They led LC 10-0 and lost 27-17. They led Merrillville 28-24 in the final minute before losing 31-28. The Vikings have key injuries on offense, but they still got a good draw and we haven't heard the last of them. They'll beat Portage this week and they'll be playing in the semifinals. Valparaiso is the Dallas Cowboys. Nobody ever overlooks them, because everybody knows they have players.

 

6.) 4A Morton (8-1)
2010 (12-1), 2009 (11-2) 2008 (7-5), 2007 (6-4), 2006 (5-5)

 

HAMMOND: Morton coasts into the playoffs and hopefully they are healthy going into the 4A Sectional 9 quarterfinals. There isn't any way they can lose to Gary West Side this week or EC and Highland on Oct. 28. That's a virtual pass to the sectional finals and they should play rival Griffith in Hammond. Morton's task will be not to take things lightly the next two weeks while they get ready. Stay quiet and stay on course.

 

7.)  5A Chesterton (4-5)
2010 (6-4) 2009 (7-4), 2008 (9-3), 2007 (6-4), 2006 (5-6)

 

CHESTERTON: The Trojans lost the season finale to Merrillville, their fourth consecutive defeat after a 4-1 start. But the good news is two-fold. The Trojans got starting QB Chris Katsafaros back in the lineup last week after missing three games. Then Chesterton drew Michigan City (1-8) as a Sectional 1 quarterfinal foe and if Merrillville defeats Lake Central again this Friday, Chesterton would then host Merrillville in the semifinals. The Trojans found out what the Indianapolis Colts are finding out. When you lose your star QB, you are supposed to lose. That's just the way it is. 'But they are back in the game.


8.)  4A Lowell (5-4)
2010 (6-4), 2009 (13-2), 2008 (13-1), 2007 (13-2), 2006 (7-6)

 

LOWELL: The Devils were crushed 35-7 by Andrean. Lowell has now lost to Andrean (9-0), Morton (8-1), Crown Point (6-3) and Munster (5-4). They have no injuries, but the confidence level is down. The turnovers keep coming... 21 now in nine games. Some look at the defense, but they shouldn't. Lowell's offense has average just 19 points a game, the lowest since 1998. But there's good news here, too. Lowell hosts Mishawaka, a team that got beat 37-13 last week. They just need to hold onto the ball. Lowell is the Philadelphia Eagles. Everybody knows they are better than they have shown.

 

9.) 4A Griffith (6-3)
2010 (6-4), 2009 (6-5) 2008 (8-5), 2007 (9-4), 2006 (12-2)

 

GRIFFITH: The Panthers bombed East Chicago to end the regular season and they enter the playoffs with a three-game win streak. And here comes "Griffith weather," cold and wet. Where the Panthers can bust up the opposition, which tries to throw the ball against "Mother Nature." I don't think they have the depth to play six more weeks, but they'd be happy with three more wins. Let it snow.


10.) 5A Munster (5-4)
2010 (7-4), 2009 (7-3), 2008 (7-4), 2007 (3-7)


MUNSTER: Munster coasted past KV 21-0 to end the regular season, but the Mustangs must have done something wrong in another life because they drew Crown Point, a bigger, better version of Munster. Munster is the only team here in the Top-10 that absolutely positively knows they are not going deep in the state tournament. They are one of the smallest schools in 5A and barely over .500. So this one home game with Crown Point is their 'Super Bowl' and anybody can win one game.



 


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Revised: October 18, 2011 .