The Renegade 'Magnificent-7' NW Indiana High School Football Week-10 Poll

The Portage boys get to come out of the helmet one more time this Friday. By this time, I would think everyone playing high school football in this part of the state knows that a winless Portage team (0-9) defeated the state's sixth largest school (Lake Central) by three touchdowns in the first week of the 2015 state tournament. Portage hosts Merrillville in the Class 6A Sectional 1 championship game Friday night.
(Photo by Mark Smith)

LOWELL (10-27-2015) In the first week of the state tournament, the state polls were pretty solid. The rankings took a minor hit last week as No. 4 Hamilton Southeastern lost 38-22 to Fishers while 6A No. 9 Valparaiso lost 23-7 to 6A No. 10 Chesterton. In 4A, only No. 8 East Noble lost.

The biggest loss was in 3A where perennial power Heritage Hills lost 39-37 to unranked Charlestown. All of the Top-10 Class 2A teams won and in 1A, ranked teams lost only to other ranked teams. 1A No. 7 North White lost to 1A No. 2 Pioneer (10-0) and 1A No. 9 Shenandoah lost 24-22 to 1A No. 4 Tri-Central (10-0).

For the biggest upset in the state, we don’t have to look very far.

Portage (1-9), which had lost eight games by two touchdowns or more, whipped up on LC 36-14 in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the state tournament in NW Indiana.

Not being there I have no idea how they did it. LC was 5-4 during the regular season, but they led all nine games in the second half before losing four times. Portage had lost 12 games in a row and hadn't beaten Lake Central in five years. And if that’s not enough, it should also be noted that South Bend Riley (1-9), which was also 0-9 on the season, upset Kankakee Valley 12-8 in the 4A Section 18 quarterfinals. Riley, which has not had a winning season since 1997, had lost 18 games in a row and had scored only 83 points during the regular season.

The value of 0-9 teams being in the postseason is small, to me. But two teams were able to take full advantage of it and that’s to their credit.

1. (4A) LOWELL (10-0)
2014 (8-5), 2013 (6-4), 2012 (5-5), 2011 (5-5), 2010 (6-5), 2009 (13-2)

LOWELL - Lowell improved to 10-0 with a strong 31-0 win at Munster, a vast improvement over the Devils’ 20-17 win at Munster two weeks ago. Its always good to begin the state tournament with a road win because that usually sends you home the next week. The Devils have not faced anyone with a record better that Andrean (7-3) but there is no one with more than seven wins in their region. The Lowell defense allowed 94 points in 10 games and only 32 points in five home games. Next up is Morton (6-4), a team Lowell topped 31-0 in week seven when Morton’s top player, Mark Snorton was injured and unavailable. The Devils topped Morton to win the 2014 4A Sectional 17 title.

CHESTERTON – Chesterton rolled over Valparaiso 23-7 in the 6A Sectional 2 semifinals for their fifth victory in a row. The Trojans' defense allowed 109 points in 10 games (10.9 per game) after allowing 138 points in 11 games (12.5 per game) last year, the top defensive record of any team in the past two seasons. Chesterton’s losses are to Valpo (7-3) earlier and just 7-6 to 5A No. 4 Kokomo (9-0). They are a clear No. 2. The Trojans led 17-0 at the half and held Valpo to 126 total yards. That’s the good news. The bad news? The Trojans now host Northern Indiana Conference North Division champion Penn (9-1), a team that’s scored 40 or more five games in a row. You want to be home for the sectional championship game but let the record show: This is the third season for Class 6A Sectional 2. In the last two seasons Penn has eliminated Chesterton 30-0 and 41-6.

VALPARAISO – The Vikings final rank has yet to be decided after a 23-7 loss to Chesterton (8-2). The other Valpo losses are to LaPorte (6-4) and Penn (9-1). The Vikings won six in a row in September and October and they allowed just 17 points a game. But Valpo did give up 106 points in the three losses. Matt Mayes was 104 of 188 for 1,213 yards with 11 TDs and three interceptions. Bryce Crook carried 116 times for 1,116 yards. Chris Orlich caught 35 passes for 540 yards. All are seniors. Obviously, one of the teams that defeated Valpo (Chesterton or Penn) will advance to regional play. Might want to wait and see how far that survivor goes before deciding on Valpo’s final pole position.

4. (6A) MERRILLVILLE (6-4)
2014 (6-6), 2013 (9-2), 2012 (11-3), 2011 (8-4), 2010 (8-3)

MERRILLVILLE – Merrillville didn’t play well, but they got past rival Crown Point 22-12 in the 6A Sectional 1 semifinals last week. QB DJ Wilkins threw three interceptions, but also threw three touchdowns, giving him 23 for the season. The bad news: Merrillville committed 12 penalties in the Crown Point game. The good news: Portage (1-9) upset Lake Central (5-5) and Merrillville travels to Portage (1-9) for the sectional championship game. Merrillville topped Portage 42-22 on Sept. 11. The losses are to Andrean (7-3), Valpo (7-3), Chesterton (8-2) and Penn (9-1), but it is a concern that the Pirates haven't beaten anyone with a record of better than 6-4.

MERRILLVILLE – Andrean rallied from 19-0 to top new Prairie 40-32 in the 59ers' Class 4A debut after over 20 years (Andrean was 4A in the late 1980s and early 1990s) as a 3A school. The 59ers gave up 430 yards rushing, but Andrean fullback David Graham scored four times and QB Bryan Schmidt added two fourth quarter TDs and 151 yards rushing. The 59er losses are to Munster (5-5), Highland (4-6) and Lowell (10-0) and the Niners' run defense is a concern. Andrean gave up 180 yards rushing to Lowell, 200 more to Highland and over 300 to New Prairie twice. The 59ers may get junior QB Patrick Reardon back when they travel to South Bend Washington for the 4A Sectional 18 semifinals.

LaPORTE – LaPorte rushed for 280 yards, but they lost 49-21 at Penn to end the season. The Slicers rushed for almost 3,500 yards in 10 games with junior Brennan Long gaining 1,000 yards and senior Gino Francesconi (162 carries, 981 yards) almost getting to 1,000. LaPorte lost to Chesterton, Lake Central (5-5), Merrillville (6-4), Chesterton (8-2) and Penn (9-1), the final one being the problem going forward. The reality for LaPorte (and Valpo and Chesterton) is that in a four-team sectional with Class 6A Penn (3,373 students), a school like LaPorte (2,009) is going to be outmanned sometimes. You can talk eight days a week about how much the size of your opponent's school doesn’t matter, but eventually you have to play them.

HAMMOND – Morton turned back Highland 40-25 to advance to the 4A Sectional 17 semifinals as QB Tevin Armstrong ran for three TDs. 1,000-yard rusher ‘Morton Mark’ Snorton (5-11, 190), who has missed three games with injury, didn’t miss this one, rushing 15 times for 114 yards. Morton also reportedly added junior receiver LaQuan Hall (5-9, 165), who had been ineligible all season. The losses are to Kankakee Valley (4-6), Hobart (5-5), East Noble (8-2) and Lowell (10-0) and that’s the focus this week. Snorton and Hall were not available when Lowell topped Morton 35-0 three weeks ago, but they’ll be on the bus as Morton travels to Lowell Friday in the Section 17 semifinals. It will be the fourth meeting of Lowell and Morton in two seasons.

The RENEGADE Magnificent-7: 2015 NW Indiana High School Football Week-11 Poll

The RENEGADE Magnificent-7:
2015 NW Indiana High School Football Week-11 Poll