The RENEGADE 2010 NW Indiana High School Top-10, Week-4 Football Poll

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

9-06-2010

MERRILLVILLE (9-10-2010) A lot came into focus in the third week of the season as Merrillville, Valparaiso and Chesterton took the first steps towards the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) title; Lowell, Munster and Griffith took the early lead in the Northwest Crossroads Conference and Wheeler suggested they are still ahead of everyone else in the Greater South Shore Conference (GSSC).

The injuries to FB-LB Jordan Juarez and DE-OG Tyler Wright of Lowell are an example of how injuries should change a team's place in a poll. On a DAC team, Juarez and Wright might also be playing two positions but they would have a couple of backups at each one. Juarez played some safety as well as linebacker, some halfback and fullback. Wright starts both ways in the line. On a 45-man roster, those losses put sophomores and JV players in prominent roles.

KV lost 1,000-yard rusher Dylan Patrick in week two and that's a small roster team that can't patch those holes. It makes for great newspaper stories when one player plays three or four roles, but when CP lost WR-KR-DB Austin Atherton to a third quarter injury, it crippled them as Merrillville rallied to win, the game winning pass being thrown (not by accident) over Atherton's backup.

Some have talked about how the boys in the Griffith uniforms aren't what they were five years ago. Let the record show there aren't as many boys in Griffith uniforms as there were in 2005. Folks who tell you numbers don't matter in how good a team is are simply wrong. Understand that a 45-teen team isn't going to beat a team with 90 boys very often and certainly couldn't play in a league of 90-kid teams. Coaches like to say that you can only play 11 at a time, but football is civil war and when your troops go down and you don't have many reinforcements, your fort gets trashed and burned.

Time for a hard look at where teams are. And a reminder. Lots of teams talk about how tough they are, but if you don't play a tough schedule, I can only rank you so high. This poll is not about who you beat but who you play and how good you actually are. It's also about where you are right now. Not where you would be if all your players were healthily or eligible. The winds of change are blowing.

1.) 5A Merrillville (2-1)

2009 (12-2), 2008 (8-5), 2007 (12-2), 2006 (7-5), 2005 (11-3)

MERRILLVILLE: Merrillville barely held this spot after a last minute 24-21 victory over Crown Point. The Pirates were very lucky to get a chance to rally in this one as CP had numerous chances to put this game away. The truth is, Merrillville's defensive front had major problems with CP's offensive line. They countered with speed and special teams to pull out the win. The Pirates' three-year offensive stars QB Zach Raspopovich and HB Denzel Pierce showed that Merrillville's never out of a game against anybody unless it's Warren Central. All three teams Merrillville has played are 2-1 and in the Top-15 state wide. Even those who rank other teams higher know Merrillville is the top team right now.

2.) 5A Chesterton (3-0)
2009 (7-4), 2008 (9-3), 2007 (6-4), 2006 (5-6)

CHESTERTON: Everybody's sleeping when it comes to ranking Chesterton, which has outscored three overmatched foes 123-7 after a 55-0 spanking of Michigan City. I know they have not defeated a winning team, but all three games has been total mismatches. QB Jon Watson carried 17 times for 138 yards. The Trojans hit the road now for tough games at LaPorte and Valparaiso, but Chesterton knows they can score. Chesterton has never won a sectional title and they tend to be overlooked. Let's tell the truth. If Portage or Valparaiso had outscored three teams 123-7 and rushed for 1,100 yards, they'd be in the state Top-10 and on top of everyone's local poll.

3.) 5A CROWN POINT (2-1)
2009 (3-7), 2008 (3-7), 2007 (8-3), 2006 (12-1), 2005 (11-1)

CROWN POINT: CP should be 3-0. The Bulldogs led 7-0, 14-10, and 21-17 before losing in the final minute at arch-rival Merrillville. A very tough loss, but they'll get over it unless they lose WR Austin Atherton for any length of time. CP still has not fumbled or thrown an interception in three games, but they have some special teams problems that I know are being addressed. The Bulldogs go home now to take on LC and Portage. This is still a very strong team and the offensive line continues to improve. But none of these boys have been on the field for many varsity victories and that showed in the fourth quarter that they can't be ranked above Merrillville yet.

4.) 5A Valparaiso (3-0)
2009 (5-5), 2008 (9-2), 2007 (6-5), 2006 (3-6), 2005 (5-5)

VALPARAISO: Valparaiso broke away from a 14-14 halftime tie and rolled over LaPorte 35-14. The Vikings had 50 carries for 354 yards and that was all they needed. VHS has two 300-yard rushing games in a row against 'name' teams. I'm still concerned they can't throw the ball effectively against a good team. And I don't know how good the teams they've beaten (Penn, LaPorte and Griffith) really are. It's like Notre Dame beating Michigan this week. That's not the 'headline news' that it used to be. Sometimes the teams you are beating are just names from the past. We'll see.

5.) 5A Portage (2-1)
2009 (6-6), 2008 (6-4), 2007 (5-5), 2006 (6-5)

PORTAGE: Portage has been less impressive than Notre Dame was last Saturday beating Purdue and that's saying something. The Indians beat Lake Central 21-14 in overtime, and even though LC is improved, the Indians can't give up 310 yards in that game, which is effectively a tie. Nobody should hold Portage to 14 points in four quarters. Jake Dixon and Zach Huston both ran for 100 yards last week for the Indians, but they've only scored 47 points all season and six of those fake overtime points. Placing Portage fifth in the poll is like betting on the Colts to win the season opener after they went 0-4 in the pre-season. I know what Portage can do even if they haven't shown it.

6.) 3A Andrean (2-1)
2009 (9-4), 2008 (6-7), 2007 (9-4), 2006 (8-3), 2005 (8-2)

MERRILLVILLE: Andrean ran for 300 yards on East Chicago in a 49-12 win. The Niners only threw six passes because they lead 28-6 at the half. Mason Zurek rolled up 112 yards on 21 carries and he's approaching 10 yards carry this season. The Niners have rolled up 130 points in three games, but the good times may end this week when they host Munster (3-0). After Munster, the 59ers face Hobart (1-2), Highland (1-2) and KV (0-3) so 3-1 becomes 6-1 very quickly if they win. This is a pivotal game for Andrean, which has quietly defeated two 5A schools. They need to keep their mouths shut and lay low because there's a lot of teams they can beat in the next 10 weeks.

7.) 5A LaPorte (2-1)
2009 (6-4), 2008 (3-9), 2007 (3-7), 2006 (10-4)

LaPORTE: LaPorte was tied 14-14 at Valparaiso at halftime, but the Vikings ran over them in the second half to win 35-14. LaPorte's been a shootout team for the last couple of years and that figures to continue with HB Nick Latchford, who now has nine TDs. The Slicers may not be as big or physical as some of their DAC friends this year and they might have been worn down at Valpo. For whatever reasons, LaPorte does not play well on the road. In the last 4 1/2 years, LaPorte is 17-7 at home and 8-17 on the road. Different players. Same trend. For the record, LaPorte has three of the next four at home including unbeaten Chesterton (3-0) this Friday.

8.) 5A Munster (3-0)
2009 (7-3), 2008 (7-4), 2007 (3-7), 2006 (5-5), 2005 (3-7)

MUNSTER: I can't be impressed with defeating Bishop Noll and Highland and I'm sure they aren't either. The 49-6 win over Highland is big only if you gave up Highland and 42 points in the betting pool. Munster needs better opponents than this if they truly aspire to be a 'player' in 5A Sectional One. They could go 9-0 and be eliminated in the sectional quarterfinals. This isn't college football where you can be Boise State, play no one and claim you're a champion. Munster NEEDS a battle from Andrean this week.

9.) 4A Lowell (2-1)
2009 (13-2), 2008 (13-1), 2007 (13-2), 2006 (7-6), 2005 (11-4)

LOWELL: The Devils rolled over Kankakee Valley 43-0 as Cole Midgett scored four more TDs (he has 8 in two games), but they fall a long way here and it has nothing to do with the outcome of three games. The Devils apparently have lost linebacker-fullback Jordan Juarez with an arm injury and two-way lineman Tyler Wright to a knee injury. That's four starting positions and that simply has to drop them in any real poll. It was good to see the Devils roll up 300 yards rushing, but you don't get to live off the past in this poll. Lowell needs some big time bench performances for the next month until they get back to full strength. The middle of Lowell's schedule is a little soft but the Devils aren't there yet. The last team to beat Lowell in Lowell was Griffith. The last team to shut out Lowell was Griffith. The last NW Indiana tam to truly dominate Lowell was Griffith. And the team the Devils face this week is Griffith.

10.) 4A Morton (2-1)
2009 (11-2) 2008 (7-5), 2007 (6-4), 2006 (5-5), 2005 (8-4)

HAMMOND: Morton romped over Clark 47-6 as halfback Kalyn Aaron gained 200 yards on 17 carries. But let's tell the truth. It's not that hard to run for big yards on Clark. The Governors are one of the few teams with a true multiple offense. Again last week, 200 yards rushing, 200 yards passing. Most teams call 10 passes and 50 runs a balanced attack. Morton may not win all of their remaining games, but there does not appear to be anyone left on their schedule who will hold them under 28 points. Here's another team that simply needs to keep quiet and let the schedule play out because there appear to be a lot of favorable match ups for them in October and November.