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USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
10-26-2011
MERRILLVILLE (10-28-2011)
Lots of things changed in the opening week of the state tournament. It's like
the National Football League. Jacksonville isn't supposed to beat Baltimore. But
Wheeler's 12-7 win over Andrean was one of the biggest upsets of all time in
this region. Forget that Wheeler was undefeated. Andrean had compiled the best
regular season in school history with wins over Merrillville (7-3), Griffith
(7-3) and everybody else they played.
But the Niners folded. I was not there and I don't know why. But five fumbles and three interceptions gave the victory to a Bearcat team that gained less than 15 total yards. The last upset of that magnitude was probably Lowell's 10-7 win over undefeated Bishop Dwenger in the 2007 semistate title game. Tyler Eifert and John Goodman, both now at Notre Dame, were on that team and Lowell had a lot of normal Lowell sized players. Dwenger was probably 20 points better than Lowell but the Devils won anyway.
The biggest upset of all time in this region
probably goes back to September 23, 1988. On that night, defending 4A state
champ Hobart (4-0), undefeated and top-ranked, led Chesterton 17-0 before the
Trojans made an amazing second-half rally to win 21-17. Chesterton went on to
finish at 4-5 and they were 0-9 the next year in 1989. Hobart, which was 14-0 in
1987, finished 1988 at 9-4, winning the sectional championship. 1989 Hobart won
the state title again with a lot of the same players. Hobart might have been a
35-point favorite that night.
That victory broke an 11-year home field DAC win streak for the Brickies.
Losses don't necessarily change rankings, but losses and injuries do. So there's
a big shake-up this week. Coaches that tell you that defense wins championships
usually are coaches on teams that have not lost their starting quarterbacks.
1.) 5A Merrillville (7-3)
2010 (8-3), 2009 (12-2), 2008 (8-5), 2007 (12-2), 2006 (7-5)
MERRILLVILLE:
Merrillville takes over the top spot with a second win over 7th-ranked Lake
Central. The Pirates won on an 82-yard run by junior Byron Collins. Merrillville
dominated this game with 15 first downs and 449 total yards. Matt Warren booted
three field goals as the Pirates won for the eighth time in nine games.
Remember, this team lost the season opener 64-13 to Warren Central (10-0).
2.) 3A Andrean (9-1)
2010 (9-4), 2009 (9-4), 2008 (6-7), 2007 (9-4), 2006 (8-3)
MERRILLVILLE:
If you are looking for an answer as to why the 59ers lost 12-7 to a clearly
inferior Wheeler team, you won't find it here. Andrean held Wheeler to 12 total
yards and lost when they committed eight turnovers. The Niners did have some
fumble problems at Lowell in a 35-7 victory the week before, but soph QB Bryan
DeSomer did not seem to be on the verge of a nightmarish performance. Andrean is
going to have a long winter trying to figure out why this game happened. In
truth, the Niners were maybe 4 TDs better than Wheeler and both sides knew it.
3.) 5A Lake Central (8-2)
2010 (2-8), 2009 (2-9) 2008 (3-7), 2007 (7-5), 2006
(4-6)
ST.
JOHN: LC was eliminated 30-24 by Merrillville as junior QB David Yancey
scored three TDs. The Indians had no answer for Merrillville's spread attack,
giving up over 400 yards. LC committed four personal fouls to grease their
demise. In truth, LC was a little overrated all year. They had nine defensive
TDs and you can't consistently win that way. They were very good at home. Not so
good on the road. Next year with Yancey returning should be their year. You
don't go from worst to first. They had a very good season.
4.) 5A CROWN POINT
(7-3)
2010 (8-4), 2009 (3-7), 2008 (3-7), 2007 (8-3), 2006 (12-1)
CROWN
POINT: The Bulldogs won 21-10 at Munster to begin the post-season, but they
lost QB Joe Hopman for the season with a shoulder injury. Hopman had started the
last 32 CP games, so sophomore Jake Jatis makes his varsity starting debut this
Friday against Valparaiso. That's why CP isn't ranked any higher than 4th even
though they've held seven teams to 10 points or less. HB Tristan Peterson has
gained 100 yards in 4 games in a row. But when you lose your starting QB in the
post-season, you are supposed to lose.
5.) 5A Valparaiso (5-5)
2010 (13-1), 2009 (5-5), 2008 (9-2), 2007 (6-5)
VALPARAISO:
Valpo is out of every other poll, but every other poll is wrong. The Vikings
have lost to Carmel (9-1), Penn (10-0) and Lake Central (8-2) this season so the
.500 record is very misleading. Valpo topped Portage 28-17 to start the
sectional playoffs and they now face a CP team without its No. 1 QB. Valparaiso
has defeated CP six times in a row and despite more than one key injury, they
still have that high-powered offense.
6.) 5A Chesterton
(5-5)
2010 (6-4) 2009 (7-4), 2008 (9-3), 2007 (6-4), 2006 (5-6)
CHESTERTON:
The Trojans got starting QB Chris Katsafaros back in the lineup and he scored
two TDs as Chesterton stopped Michigan City 28-7. The junior QB gained 130 yards
on 13 carries. Fullback Zac Jenks gained 101 yards on 17 carries. In games that
Katsafaros has started, the Trojans are 5-2. Chesterton gets a second chance to
top Merrillville (7-3) this week in the sectional semifinals. It's been a rocky
season, but the Trojans are where they hoped to be three months ago. Playing at
home in the sectional semifinals.
7.) 4A Morton (9-1)
2010 (12-1), 2009 (11-2) 2008 (7-5), 2007 (6-4), 2006
(5-5)
HAMMOND:
Morton just needs to stay quiet. The 40-20 win over Gary West Side wasn't as
impressive as it could have been, but nobody cares. The Governors move on and
now face East Chicago (7-3), another team they seem well-suited to handle. One
note of caution. West Side passed for 281 yards last week and EC star Everett
Coleman has 2,000 yards passing. But EC can't stop the run and the Governors'
pass defense will be aided by temperatures that could drop into the 30s by the
end of this week's game.
8.) 4A Griffith (7-3)
2010 (6-4), 2009 (6-5) 2008 (8-5), 2007 (9-4), 2006 (12-2)
GRIFFITH:
The Panthers' time is now. They beat up on the Indianapolis Colts (I mean,
Clark) 63-7 last week to get to the Sectional 9 semifinals against Hammond
(8-2). We now check one of the truisms of NW Indiana football. Some teams are
built for cold weather. Griffith is one of them. I don't know how healthy the
Panthers are now but if they're OK, every season goal lies in front of them the
next two weeks. Does anybody else notice that Griffith's three losses (Lowell,
Andrean and Morton) have all been by seven points or less? I know Lowell beat
Griffith in September, but that game would go the other way if they met now.
9.) 4A Lowell (5-5)
2010 (6-4), 2009 (13-2), 2008 (13-1), 2007 (13-2), 2006 (7-6)
LOWELL:
The Devils got run over 35-14 by Mishawaka to end the season. When the year
began, Lowell folks worried about Mishawaka, a former 5A power, dropping into 4A
Sectional 10. Turns out they were right. The Cavemen are a difficult option team
to prepare for. Lowell lost to Andrean (9-1), Morton (9-1), Crown Point (7-3),
Mishawaka (6-4) and Munster (5-5). None of those losses are shocking. Lowell
returns QB Bryan Thomas and some good freshmen and sophomores, but this was a
disappointing season.
10.)
4A Hammond (8-2)
2010 (3-8), 2009 (6-5), 2008 (7-4), 2007 (9-2)
HAMMOND:
This 10th spot was a tough one, but ask the questions: Would Hammond beat
Munster? Munster's starting QB is out. Yes they would. Would Hammond beat
Wheeler? Wheeler's starting QB is out. Yes, they would. Would Hammond beat
LaPorte (4-6)? On a neutral field, yes they would. Who does that leave? The
purple boys lost to Lowell and Morton, but they have won their last three and
they get a match up with Griffith this week that they've probably looked forward
to. Of course, Notre Dame was looking forward to playing Southern California
last week, too.
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Revised: October 26, 2011
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