Week 6 - Football Game of the Week Preview

Valparaiso (2-3) at Crown Point (2-3)

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

09-23-2009

 

When:  7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 25, 2009

Where:  1500 S. Main, Crown Point, IN

TV/Radio/Internet: No live over-the-air radio.  Radio updates on WLPR (89.1) FM. Live Internet coverage on www.USA-365.com.
Highlights on Lakeshore Public Television (Com Cast Cable Ch, 17) at 10:30 p.m.

JV game:
  Saturday, Sept. 26 at CROWN POINT - 10:00 a.m.
Freshmen:
  Thursday, Oct. 1 at Valparaiso - 6:00 p.m.
Numbers:
  Crown Point:  Class 5A, enrollment 2,446;  Valparaiso - 5A enrollment - 2,100

Tickets: $5

This should be another comfortable crowd.  There will be tickets available.  But with Merrillville and Lake Central both at home in a 10-mile radius, there's going to be room for you if you want to come to CP.  This is 'Tailgate Night' at Crown Point.  I'm not totally sure what that means other than lots of free food flying around.  But, get there early and get a weenie.

Weather:
  The final game of September will again see decent weather.  A chance of rain early Friday, but temperatures in the 60s for the kickoff.  Maybe high 50s late in the game.  Bring an umbrella.  But it won't be cold.  This should be the sixth consecutive good weather week.  You need to come on out and watch the game because nobody can promise good weather for the two home games in October.

Parking:
  Valparaiso has only won two games this season and it might be a little rainy so the Vikings aren't bringing a lot of fans Friday. You should be able to park fairly close to the field and it will be a very pleasant fall night.  Parking at CP is free but you can park in St. Matthias church west of the school for one dollar if you don't mind a short walk and you want to avoid the  main exit intersection.  For Valpo people who have not been to the new CPHS yet, the main lot is directly north of the playing field but there is only one exit.  Be patient as you are leaving.

Last year:
  Last year's match up was a lot of fun for Valparaiso as the Vikings rolled 38-17 over CP in Porter County.  Valpo rushes for 245 yards led 14-0 at the quarter and never trailed.  Then-junior Valparaiso QB Zack Livovich tossed two TD passes.


FAST FOOTBALL FACT:  The computer loves Valparaiso.  Valpo is ranked 25th in the state in the Sagarin computer ratings.  Of over 300 schools, Valpo is 25th and they are the highest ranking team with a 2-3 record.  So on the computer, Valpo is the best 2-3 team in the state of Indiana.
 

History:  Valparaiso leads the series 37-18-2.  Valparaiso leads the all-time series by a huge margin and they have won the last two games.  Valpo and Crown Point met to open the high school football season from 1940 to 1962 but they were football foes long before that.  The earliest meeting I can find is a 12-0 CP win over Valpo on Nov. 5, 1904 and they may have played even earlier.  For years I thought the name 'Valparaiso' had something to do with the state of Indiana and its native American heritage.  It does not.

 

Valparaiso, or Valle Parriso, which means "Paradise Valley" in Spanish, is named after Valparaiso, Chile, a city of a quarter million.  If you type Valparaiso into the computer and do not add 'Indiana' you will get a huge amount of information about Valparaiso, Chile, called the 'Jewel of the Pacific'.  It is one of the oldest cities in the world, dating back to the late 1500s.

 

Valpo, Indiana, a town of 25,000 dates back to the early 1800s, and is one of Porter County's oldest towns.  Valpo high is one of the few NW Indiana schools that is older than CP.  There were graduating classes from Valparaiso high school in the late 1800s.  Known mostly as a basketball school (the Vikings have 50 sectional boys basketball titles), Valpo did reach the state football final in 1985 and 2001, when they lost 35-16 to Ben Davis.  Since the 2002 team went 12-2, Valpo has not been bad in football.  The Vikings have just been mediocre in 2004 (6-5), 2005 (5-5), 2006 (3-6) and 2007 (6-5).
 

Valparaiso may have a tough time returning to the level of some of its peak years because some of the small north Porter County schools (Wheeler and now Boone Grove) have adopted football programs.  While it would be hard to name names, I would bet that some boys who grew up in the districts of the small school Porter County Conference, moved into the Valpo district after eighth grade so their boys could play football at Valparaiso.  That's something parents would do but would never admit.

 

Much of Valpo's football success is based on 32-year coach Mark Hoffman, who is synonymous with Viking football to the extent that I cannot name the previous coach (it was Tom Stokes) without looking it up.  Coaching staff stability is underrated and every boy on the present Valpo teams has known only one head varsity football coach.  With the aid of former CP athletic director Jerry Caravana, this game has become a duel for the  'County Seat Trophy' as CP and Valpo are the county seats of government in Lake and Porter counties.  Valparaiso expects to win.  They have had just eight losing seasons since 1980.  I've always thought that Valpo, a charter member of the DAC (they won the first league title in 1970) considers 'newcomer' CP (they joined in 1992) a school they 'should' defeat in football.  That's become more difficult in this decade and makes this rivalry a good one.


 

5A Valparaiso (2-3)
Coach: Mark Hoffman, 215-141 (32 seasons)
Enrollment: 2,072
2008 record: 3-7
Sectional titles:  (7) 1985, 88, 89, 97, 2000-2002
Regional titles:  (5)  1975, 85, 88, 2001-2002
Semi state titles:  (3) 1975, 1985 and 2001
State titles (1) 1975


Valparaiso Vikings (2-3, 1-2 DAC)
8-22 (L)  0-21 Penn (5-0)
8-28 (W) 51-6 Griffith (2-3)
9-4 (L) 21-28 at LaPORTE (4-1)
9-11 (L) MICHIGAN CITY (4-1)
9-18 (W) 35-23 at CHESTERTON (3-2)
9-25 (Fri.) at CROWN POINT (2-3)
10-2 (Fri.) MERRILLVILLE (4-1)
10-9 (Fri) at PORTAGE (3-2)
10-16 (Fri.) LAKE CENTRAL (1-4)

Class 5A, Sectional 1
Oct. 23 (F) with CROWN POINT, Lake Central, Chesterton, Portage, Munster, East Chicago and MERRILLVILLE.


Crown Point Bulldogs (2-3)
Coach: 53-37 (9 years)
Enrollment: 2,441
2008 record: 3-7
Sectional titles  (3)  1988, 1991, 2006
Regional titles:  (1)   1998
Semi state titles (0) State titles (0)

5A Crown Point Bulldogs (2-3, 1-2)
Coach: Chip Pettit, 53-37 (9th year)
Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) games in CAPS  -    all games are Friday  at 7:00 p.m.

Aug. 21 (L) 19-0 at Lowell (5-0)       
Aug. 28 (W) 14-7 Hobart (1-4)   
Sep. 4 (L) 14-38 MERRILLVILLE (4-1) 
Sep. 11 (W) 23-21 at LAKE CENTRAL (1-4)    
Sep. 18 (L) 22-43 at PORTAGE (2-3)
Sep. 25 VALPARAISO (2-3)
Oct. 2 LaPORTE (4-1)      
Oct. 9 at CHESTERTON (4-1)
Oct. 16 MICHIGAN CITY (4-1)


Class 5A, Sectional 1
Oct. 23 (F) with Michigan City, Portage, Valparaiso, Chesterton, Lake Central, Munster, East Chicago and MERRILLVILLE


Valpo quarterback Zack Livovich (9) led the Viking offense to a 38-17 victory over Crown Point last year in Valparaiso.  No one has said so officially, but Livovich, who has missed the Vikings' last four games, is expected to return against Crown Point Friday night. (Photo by Mark Smith)

THREE KEY FACTORS

1. Zack Livovich

The biggest question surrounding Friday's game is a whether Valparaiso senior QB Zack Livovich (6-5, 215), who has been injured and unavailable since the season-opener against Penn, will return vs. CP.  Livovich threw for 1,500 yards last season and he's the heart of the Viking attack.  Without him they often went to the 'Wildcat' (the old 1950s single wing running formation without a QB) to utilize running backs Michael Perkins (5-11, 185) and Nick Thompson (5-11, 160).  Back-up sophomore QB Paul Andrie is a respectable 18 of 31, for 268 yards, but with Livovich, the Vikings have a  balanced offense, which will see them throw 20 times a game.

Perkins has carried 56 times for 547 yards, while Thompson has 328 yards on 45 carries.  I don't know if they are totally healthy, but receivers Mark Hittinger (6-2, 171) and Jerrick Suiter (6-3, 210) can be a big problem with Livovich throwing to them.  Look to see if number nine takes the field the first time Valpo has the ball.  CP will.

2. Strength of schedule

I'm not sure who has been through more as far as competition is concerned.
 Valpo lost 21-0 to 5A No. 1 Penn (5-0).  But CP lost 19-0 at 4A No. 4 Lowell (5-0).  Valpo has lost to Michigan City (4-1) and LaPorte (4-1).  But CP has lost to Merrillville (4-1), the Duneland Conference leader and the highest ranking team in all of Northwest Indiana, and Portage.

3. Take chances on offense

Crown Point will see a very good offensive team in Valparaiso this week, but they can also see a decent offensive team if they look in a mirror.
 Soph QB Joe Hopman (51 of 96, 580 yards, 4 TDs, 4 INTs) is doing a good job of getting the ball to junior rookie receivers Travis Woosley (19 catches, 181 yards) and Austin Atherton (11 catches, 205 yards).  The Bulldogs need a third receiving threat and they may have found it in sophomore tight end Tyler Kral (6-2, 205).  Hopson's relatively low completion percentage (54.8%) is understandable because every one of his receivers is playing significant minutes for the fist time.

But CP can't get timid.  They are about to face some of the top offenses in the DAC in Valparaiso, LaPorte (35.8 ppg.), Chesterton (30.8 ppg.) and Michigan City (28.2 ppg.) and no one has been shutting these teams down.  The Bulldogs probably have to put four TDs on the board to beat the next four teams and they have shown the potential to do that.

The Bottom Line...

Sagarin computer ratings: VALPARAISO by 17

CROWN POINT - Like I said, the computer just LOVES Valparaiso, probably because of a competitive game against Penn.  In losing to Merrillville and Lowell, CP may have lost to the eventual champions (both are in first place after five weeks) of the Duneland and Northwest Crossroads conferences.

Valparaiso's weakness is a said to be the offensive line, but the Vikings will come out running the ball with Nick Thompson and Michael Perkins, especially if QB Zach Livovich plays.  They don't want him to take any hits early in the game and the conditions may be a little soggy.  Some early Valpo drives may stall until they open things up.

QB Joe Hopman will find Austin Atherton for his first TD of the season, but the Vikings will respond on a long run by Perkins.  As Livovich gets into the flow of the game, he will prove to be unstoppable for the Bulldogs.  Valparaiso will have consecutive TD drives with the tall quarterback finding his tall receivers for repeated completions.  Valpo will score consecutive TDs in the middle quarter because they have big advantages in size and speed.  Perkins and Thompson will both get into the end zone and the lead builds to 28-7.

CP will make a late run as Brett Bayer kicks a field goal and Hopson finds Kral with a TD toss.  DAC games are pretty much track meets this year.  Half the teams average 30 points a game and Crown point hasn't scored 30 in a game in two years.  At the start of the year, Valpo had the best team in the DAC and now that their QB is coming back, they probably do again.

Valparaiso 28, CROWN POINT 17


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Revised: September 23, 2009 .