BY FRANK KIELIPOWSKI
The first Friday night of the high school football season is in the books. In case you missed it, here is a quick recap of games involving Region teams:
Crown Point 42, Lowell 7: The Bulldogs picked up their third straight win in the series and have outscored Lowell, 84-7, over the last two years.
Hammond Central 34, South Bend Washington 12 : The Wolves earned their second consecutive win over Washington.
Hammond Morton 32 Portage 23: The Governors spoiled the debut of former Morton boss Roy Richards and earned their first win over Portage since 1960.
Hammond Bishop Noll 30, South Bend Clay 18: Scores by Noll’s Elijah Boone and Jaydin Rivers helped the Warriors snap a 16-game losing streak and extend Clay’s losing streak to 29 contests.
Hanover Central 40, Wheeler 17: Caiden Verrett scored four touchdowns to lead Wildcats past their former Greater South Shore Conference foe.
Highland 27, Griffith 23: Jason Lawrence had 115 all-purpose yards and a score as the Trojans recorded their first regular season win over Griffith since 2014.
Hobart 16, Chesterton 13: Jonny Sorensen’s debut as the Brickies’ quarterback was a success as he threw for 138 yards and ran for 33 yards. Willy Shearer added 124 yards on the ground for Hobart, while Brady McCormack rushed for 126 yards for the Trojans.
Glenn 43, Boone Grove 26: The Falcons won their fourth consecutive opener over Boone Grove with a strong second half effort.
Lake Central 46, Munster 14: Xavier Williams rushed for 132 yards and three scores, while James Graham III added a pair of touchdown receptions for the Indians.
LaPorte 20, New Prairie 18: This was the game of the night in Northwest Indiana as the Cougars rallied to take an 18-17 lead with under a minute to go, only to see LaPorte claim victory on Jack Doty’s 22-yard field goal as time expired.
Merrillville 40, Andrean 13: Dontae Pope threw for 215 yards and ran for 76 yards with two touchdowns for the Pirates, who have now won five straight over town rival Andrean. Scott Ballentine went 24-of-43 for 231 yards for the 59ers.
Penn 38, Valparaiso 21: The Kingsmen broke up a see-saw affair in the fourth quarter and pulled away for the victory over the defending Class 5A champions at Viking Field. Penn rushed for 289 yards, and got three touchdowns each from Nolan McCullough and Jake Balis. Travis Davis rushed for 103 yards for Valparaiso.
Plymouth 27, Calumet 8: The Rockies ended a 21-game losing streak with a solid triumph over Calumet.
Rensselaer 28, Kankakee Valley 27: The Bombers rallied from a 21-7 deficit with three second half touchdowns and then held off Kankakee Valley on a two-point conversion attempt. Marco Castro scored two touchdowns and Lane Zander added a kickoff return for a score for the Kougars.
River Forest 42, East Chicago Central 0: Ingots’ coach Mark Hidalgo earned a win over East Chicagi Central, which he guided for eight seasons.
South Bend Riley 48, Gary West Side 12: The Wildcats picked up their second straight season opening victory over Gary West.
South Newton 46, Lake Station 0: The Rebels earned their largest margin of victory since a 47-0 win over Frontier in 2012.
Triton 30, South Central 6: The Trojans picked up their sixth straight season opening win in the debut of 2014 Bethel University graduate Zach Whittaker.
Warsaw 17, Michigan City 13: The Wolves got a touchdown pass from Tyler Bush to Elijah Collins, but it wasn’t enough as Warsaw earned the victory at Ames Field.
Whiting 46, Osceola Grace 27: The Oilers started the season with a win for their third straight year.
WEEK TWO MATCHUPS
Boone Grove at South Bend Clay: This is the first and last meeting between the two clubs as Clay is set to close at the end of the school year.
Bowman Academy at IC Catholic Prep (Illinois): This is the season opener for both teams.
Chicago Taft (Illinois) at Crown Point: The Bulldogs have won 10 straight contests.
Culver at South Central: The Cavaliers downed South Central twice a year ago, including a 61-0 decsion in the post-season.
Hammond Morton at Hanover Central: The Wildcats blanked Hammond Morton, 37-0, in their previous meeting.
Highland at Whiting: The Trojans are looking to start 2-0 for the first time since 2016, while Whiting has not been 2-0 in five years.
Hobart at Merrillville: Pirates skipper Brad Seiss is 4-0 against former Duneland Athletic Conference rival Hobart since the series was renewed in 2019.
Lake Station at West Central: The Eagles haven’t beaten West Central during the regular season. The Trojans’ lone win in five attempts came in the 2015 Class 1A sectional opener.
LaPorte at Lowell: The Red Devils won 21-14 a year ago in their only previous meeting. LaPorte is hoping to get to 2-0 for the first time since 2016.
Michigan City at Lafayette Jeff: The Broncos had success against Duneland Conference schools in 2022, defeating the Wolves and Crown Point in the Class 6a sectional finale.
Munster at Griffith – The Mustangs won 34-14 a year ago, but Phil Mason will try and get Griffith in the win column for the first time after falling to rival Highland.
NorthWood at Portage: In the first meeting between the two clubs, the Panthers make their first visit to Northwest Indiana since the 2016 Class 4A semistate at Lowell.
Osceola Grace at Hammond Noll: The Warriors registered just their fourth win since 2013 and are looking for their first 2-0 start since the final season of legendary coach Jerry Vlasic in 1996.
Providence Catholic (Illinois) at Lake Central: The Indians look to avenge a 16-14 loss to Providence last year at the Burial Grounds.
River Forest at Calumet: The Warriors won 25-6 in week eight last year. Both programs have had winning records each of the past four seasons.
T.F. South (Illinois) at Hammond Central: The Wolves are looking to go 2-0 for the first time since the Hammond school consolidations took place in 2020.
Valparaiso at Andrean: In this first meeting between these two Region powers, both schools participated in the state finals a year ago.
Warsaw at Chesterton: The Trojans are looking to avoid their second straight loss to Warsaw, which is coming off a win over Michigan City.
Wheeler at Kankakee Valley: The Bearcats have lost four straight to Kankakee Valley, including a 37-0 setback in Wheatfield a year ago.
Recent Comments