Week 6 - Football Game of the Week Preview
Valparaiso (2-3) at Crown Point (2-3) |
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