BY FRANK KIELKIPOWSKI
With the regular season now past the halfway point, we are closing in on tournament time, which will be here at the end of October. In the meantime, there were some good games and a couple surprises as well in the Region last Friday. As always, before we look back at those games, let’s check out my top 10.
- Crown Point (6-0)
- Merrillville (5-1)
- Valparaiso (4-2)
- Hanover Central (5-1)
- North Judson (6-0)
- Chesterton (4-2)
- Hobart (5-2)
- Griffith (6-0)
- Andrean (3-3)
- Lake Central (3-3)
WEEK SIX RECAP
DUNELAND ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Chesterton 10, Portage 6: The Trojans’ defense literally carried them to victory as Owen Edlen’s 52-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown broke a scoreless tie midway through the fourth quarter and send Portage to its fourth straight loss.
Crown Point 41, Valparaiso 7: Larry Ellison rushed for 260 yards and scored twice, one rushing and receiving as the Bulldogs took control of the DAC race.
Merrillville 35, LaPorte 0: The Pirates scored 21 second quarter points, while their defense pitched their third shutout of the season.
Michigan City 20, Lake Central 14: Trinaston Hart threw a pair of touchdown passes as the Wolves raced out to a 20-0 lead, and then withstood a comeback attempt. Cameron Reddick threw two touchdown passes for Lake Central.
NORTHWEST CROSSROADS CONFERENCE
Andrean 38, Highland 7: The Niners used a pair of punt returns for scores as part of a 21-point first quarter to even their record.
Culver Academy 35, Kankakee Valley 28: Although Marco Castro rushed for 149 yards with a score and eclipsed the 1,000 rushing yards mark for the season, it wasn’t enough as the Kougars (2-4) suffered their fourth straight loss.
Hanover Central 42, Munster 6: Caiden Verrett rushed for 222 yards and three touchdowns as the Wildcats remained perfect, along with Hobart, in league play.
Hobart 42, Lowell 7: Willy Shearer ran for 151 yards and a pair of scores as the Brickies made it four wins in a row by piling up just under 400 yards of offense.
GREATER SOUTH SHORE CONFERENCE
Boone Grove 32, River Forest 31 (OT): After the Wolves tied the game at 24-24 with just over four minutes left, quarterback Mark Rowland ran in the game-winning two-point conversion in overtime. Rowland threw for 195 yards and two scores, while Samir Del Rio hauled in seven more receptions for 121 yards and a score, giving him 608 receiving yards for the season.
Calumet 38, Whiting 36 (OT): Eric Allen scored twice and picked up an interception on defense for the Warriors. The Calumet defense stopped the Oilers on a possible game-winning conversion in regulation, and then stopped another one in overtime.
Griffith 49, East Chicago Central 0: The Panthers had no problems with EC Central to remain unbeaten.
Hammond Bishop Noll 47, Lake Station 6: Antonio Benson ran for 179 yards and two touchdowns, and teammate Jeremiah Patton rushed for four additional scores as the Warriors won their second in a row and improved to 3-3 overall.
Wheeler 41, Gary West Side 0: The Bearcats totaled 401 yards of offense, including 182 yards through the air from Caleb Klimczak, and 165 on the ground from tailback Jayden Ortiz, to earn their fourth win in a row.
GREAT LAKES CONFERENCE
Andrew (IL) 44, Hammond Central 6: The Wolves fell behind early and often in their game over in Tinley Park and suffered their fourth loss in the last five games.
HOOSIER NORTH CONFERENCE
North Judson 40, Triton 0: The top-ranked (Class 1A) Bluejays continued to roll by pitching their fourth consecutive shutout.
Pioneer 57, South Central 6: The Panthers (5-1) made it four straight wins by dominating South Central (1-5).
WEEK SEVEN PREVIEW
DUNELAND CONFERENCE
Chesterton at Lake Central: The Trojans have dominated this series, but Lake Central snapped a six-year losing streak with a 20-14 victory at Chesterton last year.
Crown Point at LaPorte: The Bulldogs seek their state-best 25th straight regular season victory, as well as their 19th straight DAC win at Kiwanis Field.
Michigan City at Portage: The Wolves are in search of back-to-back wins for the first time this season as they travel to Portage, which is hoping to snap a 12-game DAC losing streak.
Valparaiso at Merrillville: These rivals have met four times in the past two seasons, each winning twice on their home field. Merrillville hopes to extend their winning streak to four games, while the Vikings look to avoid consecutive losses for just the second time in the past six years.
NORTHWEST CROSSROADS CONFERENCE
Hanover Central at Hobart: The winner of this contest will be in the driver’s seat for the conference title. The Wildcats have won all nine of their games since joining the NCC last year, but this is their first trip to the Brickyard, where Hobart has been playing well as of late with four straight victories.
Kankakee Valley at Lowell: The Red Devils are 29-6 all-time against KV, but one of the Kougars’ six wins was a decisive 38-14 decision last year in Wheatfield.
Munster at Highland: “The Battle of the Bridge” has been one of the oldest and most continuous rivalries in the Region, dating back to 1966 which was the first year of Munster football. The Trojans won in OT last year and have defeated their rivals six years in row.
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard at Andrean: The Niners host the program with the most state titles in all of Indiana as the two-time defending Class 3A champions make their first visit to the Region since 1987. Bishop Chatard has beaten Andrean in all four of its previous meetings, including three times for the state championship.
GREATER SOUTH SHORE CONFERENCE
Griffith at Gary West Side: The Panthers will put their unbeaten record on the line in a game that could go a long way in determining the conference champion. West Side is looking to bounce back from last week’s shutout against Wheeler.
River Forest at Hammond Bishop Noll: The Ingots look to get back into the win column against a suddenly resurgent Noll squad which reached the .500 mark for the first time this late in the season since 2013.
Wheeler at Calumet: The Bearcats look to extend their winning streak to five games as they battle Calumet in a matchup of 4-2 squads.
Whiting at Boone Grove: After alternating wins and losses through the first six games, the Wolves hope to earn consecutive victories for the first time this season.
Lake Station at East Chicago Central: Both clubs come in at 1-5 with hopes of a victory. The Cardinals defeated Lake Station, 62-7, in their only previous meeting in 2018.
GREAT LAKES CONFERENCE
Hammond Morton at Hammond Central: These two Hammond rivals square off at the home of the Wolves. Morton won twice last year, including a decisive 52-6 victory in the Class 5A sectional opener.
HOOSIER NORTH CONFERENCE
South Central at North Miami: The Satellites look to snap a five-game losing streak in their first meeting with North Miami.
Winamac at North Judson: The Warriors hope to slow down top-ranked (Class 1A) North Judson.
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