BY FRANK KIELKIPOWSKI
Non-conference play continued last week across the Region, so let’s take a look at what happened before previewing this week’s games that feature conference openers. Here’s this week’s top 10.
- Crown Point (2-0)
- Merrillville (2-0)
- Valparaiso (1-1)
- Chesterton (2-0)
- Hanover Central (1-1)
- North Judson (2-0)
- Kankakee Valley (2-0)
- Lake Central (1-1)
- Griffith (2-0)
- Portage (2-0)
WEEK TWO RESULTS
Boone Grove 30, South Central 6: Mark Rowland completed 25-of-31 passes for 225 yards and a couple of scores as the Wolves pulled away in the second half for their first victory.
Chesterton 36, Hammond Morton 23: Quarterback Brady McCormack ran for one score and passed for another as the Trojans built a 21-9 lead at the half and earned their second win. Lebron Hill caught four balls for 80 yards for the Governors.
Crown Point 42, Arizona College Prep 7: Noah Ehrlich continued to be impressive, throwing for 184 yards and two touchdowns, while running for a third score. Larry Ellison rushed for 142 yards on just 12 carries and scored twice, while the Bulldogs’ defense allowed a mere nine yards rushing yards.
Gary West Side 44, East Chicago Central 18: Giuseppe Mooran ran eight times for 146 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Cougars’ rushing attack that amassed 323 total yards and six touchdowns to improve to 2-0.
Grand Rapids Catholic (Michigan) 17, Lake Central 10: The Indians outgained Grand Rapids, 193-126, but three turnovers did them in as they fell to 1-1. Linebacker Tyler Becich played well defensively for Lake Central with 9.5 tackles.
Griffith 49, Munster 0: Ryan Buillon continued his strong quarterback play, throwing for 290 yards and a pair of scores as the Panthers improved to 2-0 for just the second time in the last 20 years. Jason Quillen added two long touchdown receptions for Griffith.
Highland 22, Whiting 21: Jordan Tillman ran for 142 yards on 14 carries and scored the go-ahead conversion run in the third quarter as the Trojans held on to even their record at 1-1. Jake Slaven added 104 rushing yards for Highland, while Michael Anderson had eight catches for 134 yards and a score for the Oilers.
Illinois Home School 22, Lake Station 0: The Eagles handed Lake Station (0-2) its fifth shutout loss in the last 12 games dating back to last season.
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard 28, Hanover Central 7: Caiden Verrett’s 99-yard kickoff return was the lone bright spot for the Wildcats, who saw their 25-game regular season win streak come to an end at the hands of the two-time defending Class 3A state champions. The game was called at halftime due to lightning in the Indianapolis area.
Kankakee Valley 35, Wheeler 21: Marco Castro should continue to lead the state in rushing as he racked up 324 more yards and three touchdowns for the Kougars (2-0). Castro now has 660 yards on the ground in the first two games.
Lafayette Jeff 17, Michigan City 13: Jamin Harvell scored a rushing touchdown for the Wolves (0-2).
Lowell 28, LaPorte 6: Caden Thompson ran 30 times for 134 yards and two touchdowns as the Red Devils outscored LaPorte, 21-0, in the second half to earn their first win.
Merrillville 36, Hobart 0: Cameron Jordan ran for 135 yards on 13 carries and scored twice as the Pirates recorded their second straight shutout. Merrillville’s defense has only allowed 50 total rushing yards through the first two games.
North Judson 32, LaVille 8: Kole Wilcox had three rushing touchdowns as the Bluejays had no trouble against LaVille. Quarterback Mesiah McDaniel threw for 116 yards and added a rushing touchdown of his own for North Judson.
Portage 19, NorthWood 16: The Indians rallied from a 16-0 halftime deficit to stun NorthWood in Nappanee. Junior quarterback Jamari Duff scored late to complete the comeback for Portage/
River Forest 35, Calumet 0: Quarterback Ayden Silver ran for 149 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Ingots recorded their second straight 35-0 win of the season.
Thornton Fractional South (Illinois) 26, Hammond Central 7: TF South ran for 372 yards and scored four touchdowns to send the Wolves to 1-1 on the season.
Valparaiso 28, Andrean 21: The Niners led 21-0, but Valpo came all the way back to even their record at 1-1. Thomas Burda scored twice, Julian Stokes scored on a 97-yard kickoff return, and defensive back Tyse Morris ran back an interception 30 yards for the go-ahead score for the Vikings.
Hammond Bishop Noll 28, Osceola Grace 15: Elijah Boone ran for 135 yards and a score. while teammate Antonio Benson added 109 yards and a touchdown as the Warriors even their record at 1-1 on Saturday.
Calumet Christian 43, Bowman Academy 6: The Patriots piled up 469 total yards as they sent Bowman to 0-2 on the season.
WEEK THREE MATCHUPS
Andrean at Kankakee Valley: The Kougars look to remain unbeaten and hope to earn a rare win against Andrean, who have won 20 of the 21 meetings in this series.
Boone Grove at Gary West Side: The Wolves won 52-12 last year in the only previous meeting with West Side, who will try and stay perfect.
Calumet at East Chicago Central: Calumet has won all three meetings with the Cardinals, including a 52-8 victory last year.
Crown Point at Merrillville: A big early Duneland Conference contest between the Region’s top two teams. The Bulldogs have won the last two meetings and scored 87 combined points. However, this will be difficult to duplicate against a stingy Merrillville defense that has been unscored on.
Hammond Central at Griffith: The Wolves blanked Griffith, 41-0, a season ago, so the Panthers have motivation in their quest to get to 3-0 for the first time since 2006.
Hammond Morton at Tippecanoe Valley: This is the first meeting between these two schools, but it won’t be easy for the Governors against a Valley team that has won 28 of its last 29 regular season games.
Highland at Hanover Central: The Wildcats look to bounce back as they host Highland in Cedar Lake, a team they defeated 60-13 last season in their only previous meeting.
Hobart at Munster: One of these schools is going to earn their first win of the season. The Brickies have won 18 of the last 25 meetings with Munster, including last year’s 49-21 win at the Brickyard.
Lake Central at Portage: The Battle of the Indians should be a good one as both schools are off to good starts. The Blue Indians beat Portage twice last year, including a 23-0 victory in the Class 6A sectional opener.
Lake Station at North Newton: The Eagles defeated the North Newton, 20-6, last year to earn their first win. They will look to duplicate that in this battle of 0-2 teams.
LaPorte at Valparaiso: The Vikings have dominated LaPorte the past several years as Vikings’ boss Bill Marshall is a perfect 9-0 in his career against the Slicers.
Lowell at West Lafayette: Both squads are 1-1 in the first meeting between these schools.
Michigan City at Chesterton: Chesterton is 27-10 all-time against the Wolves, but City won 28-6 at Ames Field in last year’s matchup.
North Judson at South Central: The Bluejays have won all three previous games against South Central.
Wheeler at River Forest: The Bearcats’ 0-2 start is misleading as they have played two good teams in the Region. It’s a good matchup of quarterbacks between Wheeler’s Caleb Klimczak and River’s Ayden Silver in this Greater South Shore Conference opener.
Whiting at Hammond Bishop Noll: The Oilers have won 18 of the last 22 matchups between these rivals separated by just five miles. Whiting escaped with a narrow 15-14 decision a year ago. Both schools have played well at times, but only one will improve to 2-1.
Bowman Academy at Phalen Academy (Saturday): The Eagles have won two of the three games in this series, including a 19-6 victory last year in what turned out to be their lone win.
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