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Class 5A, Sectional 1 Quarterfinals:
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Week
10 - Football Game of the Week Preview|
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Class 5A, Sectional 1 Quarterfinals:
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10-24-2008
When:
Friday, October 24, 2008
Where: Merrillville High School, 276 E. 68th Place, Merrillville, IN 46410 (2 blocks east of Broadway on 68th Place).
Tickets:
$5
Weather: Real cold. Daytime temperatures will rise into the mid-50s Friday afternoon but it'll be in
the 40s in the first half Friday night.
Numbers: CP - Class 5A,
enrollment 2,442; MERRILLVILLE -
Class 5A, enrollment - 2299
The WINNER:
......If Merrillville wins: They
play on the road at either Munster
(6-3) or Lake Central 3-6)
......If CP wins: They play on the
road at Lake Central (3-6) or they
host Munster (6-3)
PARKING: There is more
parking at Merrillville than any
other high school. This game will
not be a sellout or anything close
to it. There's plenty of room for
you and the lot is close enough
where you can walk from the stands
to your car at halftime if you get
cold.
The SERIES: By CP's
school's records, this will be the
65 th meeting of Merrillville and
Crown Point and the Bulldogs lead
the series 32-31-1. Merrillville
has won 3-of-the-last-4 playoff
meetings but CP has defeated the
Pirates during the regular season
six years in a row. These two teams
tied for the Duneland Athletic
Conference (DAC) title last year and
CP certainly considers this a
"down" year.
The Pirates are a victim of their own success. Local polls rank them poorly because they lost to teams like Warren Central. Somehow they aren't very good because they got beat by 10 at Valparaiso (8-1). I actually this rivalry with CP contributes Merrillville being undervalued. Outsiders feel that if CP can beat Merrillville, they can't be THAT good. It's actually a slap at the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are the only losing team to defeat Merrillville this fall.
One of the reasons that some undervalue this a major rivalry is that there's no heat to it. There's no fistfights after the games or coaches throwing hard words at each other in the newspapers. Nobody talks about how they grew up hating Merrillville.
Without looking it up, there is only one local rivalry (Portage and Chesterton) where large border schools are, and in the same class, same sectional and the same league in every IHSAA sport.
Merrillville and CP are in the same sectional in every team sport except for boys soccer (I can't explain it either). There are boys who grow up in Crown Point who attend Merrillville after playing with CP kids as children.
The football rivalry has stepped to the front as there two teams have met nine times in the last five years. CP has defeated Merrillville during the regular season seven years in a row and that's amazing because Merrillville has eliminated CP in three of the last four sectional playoffs.
The story that hasn't been written is how a virtually all-white school (CP) and a predominantly black school (Merrillville) compete on an even basis without the bitterness that exists between some region schools are much more similar.
The drama comes from the fact that these boys play against each other from the time they begin to play football and for many, this will be their final organized football game.
A do or die sectional game played in front of thousands.
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| Dionte Day (40), Merrillville's linebacker, who will be used as a running back as well Friday against CP. (All photos by Mark Smith) |
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| Senior Danny Osojnicki (7) is Crown Point's leading receiver. |
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| CP fans will show up but it'll be about 30 degrees cooler than it was in September. |
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| Merrillville's first playoff game, like their first home game on the new artificial turf, is against CP. |
MERRILLVILLE (5-4)
Coach Zac Wells (25-10) 3rd year
8-22 (L) 0-42 at Warren Central (6-3)
8-29 (W) 24-15 at Griffith (5-4)
9-5 (L) 7-10 CP (3-6)
9-12 (L) 20-22 at Portage (6-3)
9-19 (W) 17-14 Michigan City (4-5)
9-26 (W) 35-21 at LaPorte (2-7)
10-3 (L) 14-24 Valparaiso (8-1)
10-10 (W) 34-3 LC (3-6)
10-17 (W) 28-14 at Chesterton (7-2)
Class 5A Sectional one (1)
quarterfinals
Oct. 24 (F) Crown Point (4-5)
Oct 31 (F) Sectional one semifinals
vs. Munster (6-3) or at LC (3-6)
Nov. 7 (F) Sectional one finals
Nov. 14 (F) 5A Regional
Nov. 21 (F) Northern 5A Semistate championship
Nov. 29 (S) 2008 Class 5A title game - Lucas Oil Arena (7:00 p.m. EST) in Indianapolis
Crown Point Bulldogs (3-6)
Chip Pettit (52-35) 8th year - DAC games in CAPs
8-22 (L) 0-7 Lowell (9-0)
8-29 (L) 7-13 at Hobart (8-1)
9- 5 (W) 10-7 at MERRILLVILLE
(5-4)
9-12 (L) 5-10 LC (3-6)
9-19 (W) 21-6 PORTAGE (6-3)
9-26 (L) 17-38 at VALPO (8-1)
10-3 (W) 35-28 at LaPORTE (2-7)
10-10 (L) 7-21 Chesterton (7-2)
10-17 (F) 3-7 at MICHIGAN CITY (4-5)
5A Sectional (1) One
Quarterfinals
Oct 24 (F) at MERRILLVILLE (4-4)
Oct 31 (F) Sectional 1 semifinals
vs. LC (3-5) or Munster (5-3)
Nov. 7 (F) Sectional one finals
Nov. 14 (F) 5A Regional final
Nov. 21 (F) 5A Semistate
Nov. 29 (S) Class 5A state final -
Lucas Oil Arena (7 p.m. EST) downtown Indianapolis
MERRILLVILLE (5-4)
Coach: Zac Wells (25-10) 3rd year
Enrollment: 2,299
2007 record: 2-8
Sectional titles: (6) last in 2007
Regional titles: (4)1976, 1992, 2005, 2007
Semistate titles: (0)
State titles: (1) 1976
MERRILLVILLE (10-24-2008) Merrillville started the season getting whipped senseless by Indianapolis superpower Warren Central 42-0. They then lost QB Dolapo Macarthy (6-6, 208) for three weeks with an injury and Merrillville was 1-3. Macarthy (62-of-153, 843 yards, 5 TDs, 5 interceptions) has not had the year he'd hoped to have, but the year isn't over yet.
The Pirates have had problems finding wide receivers who can make big plays and that's hurt the cause. Merrillville has had a lack of skill position players this season. Halfback Sophomore Denzell Pierce (5-10, 165) has run for 700 yards, but the Pirates have double-shifted linebacker Dionte Day (5-6, 202) to fullback at times. Speedy defensive back Keith Dockery, who has five interceptions, also sees time at wide receiver. Pierce has breakaway speed and he's scored eight TDs. In the first meeting between these two teams in September, Pierce carried 18 times for 88 yards, largely on option pitchouts from backup quarterback Zach Raspopovich. Expect to see that with Macarthy, but he's more likely to run himself.
The truth is, you can challenge the Pirates to go deep because, due to drops and line protection, they have not shown the ability to complete the long pass. Merrillville averages 19 points a game and you can't win any championships with that few points.
Defensively, the Pirates have had somewhat of a rebirth in the last two weeks, holding Lake Central and Chesterton to a combined 323 yards. Linebacker Robbie Jordan (5-10, 175) intercepted two passes in last week's 28-14 win at Chesterton. The Pirates' defense scored two touchdowns in the previous week's 34-3 win over Lake Central.
Aaron Kaczmarski (6-6, 250) and James Travis (6-0, 250) anchor the line in front of Day, Chris Stokes (6-0, 208) and Dockery (6-0, 166), a three-year starter. Merrillville has very good team speed and slow-developing plays end up as losses.
Kicker Ryan Stokes has five field goals this season, but his biggest value is that he can put kickoffs into the end zone and force teams to start from the 20-yard-line.
There is an impression that Merrillville has not played well on defense, but since the Warren Central game, they've allowed 15 points per game against a good schedule. The Pirates have to play low-scoring games right now because their offense can't keep up. But they can break the game open on defense, which is a weapon few high school teams have.
Crown Point (3-6)
Enrollment: 2,442
2007 record: 8-3
Sectional titles: (3) 1981, 1988, 2006
Regional titles: (1) 1988
Semistate titles: (0)
State titles: (0)
CROWN POINT - Crown Point may have set some kind of record by gaining 312 yards and not scoring a touchdown in a last week's 7-3 loss at Michigan City. Think about that. They punted once and had two turnovers. No TDs. You just don't see that everyday.
QB Marcus Shrewsbury was 15-of-27 for 147 yards, but of course, no TDs. Evan Nikrin carried 13 times for 61 yards, but again, no TDs. It's funny for me to say that Merrillville has few playmakers when CP has scored 13 TDs all year. It is stunning how they have failed to put the ball over the goal line. What's also a shock is that CP is four TDs away from being 7-2.
And disguised in all their scoreboard ineptitude is the fact that the Bulldogs did move the ball last week. CP had 1700 yards in eight games before 'rolling' up 300 in LaPorte County. Can they suddenly come to life and light up the scoreboard for six games in a row? Highly unlikely. But could they do it one night only against an arch rival? That's what the Pirates are worried about.
Added to the mix these last two weeks is place-kicker Michael Lipton (6-2, 180) as a full-time wide receiver. Lipton played soccer and football all season but now the soccer season is over. CP can force Merrillville to decide whether tall cornerback Keith Dockery (6-1, 165) covers Danny Osojnicki (37 catches, 471 yards) or Lipton. The Bulldogs move Nate Haverstock (13 caries, 94 yards and 14 catches, 147 yards) around and he might be a decoy on this night, hoping Merrillville abandons Lipton or someone like Mike Kozlowski, a reliable pass catching fullback.
CP has lost four games by seven points or less and they know that two or three plays run perfectly can mean victory Friday. The Bulldogs have taken some injuries on defense, but linebackers Lance LaMere, Greg Schillo and Brad Pusateri anchor a defense that has kept CP close in every game but the 38-17 loss to league champion Valparaiso.
CP is quick enough to shadow Merrillville's Macarthy and they have the defensive backs to use single coverage. The Bulldogs are well-suited to stay with the Pirates, but they're going to have to make some plays on offense that they haven't made all year to win.
CROWN POINT (3-6) at MERRILLVILLE (5-4)
Sagarin ratings: Merrillville by 6
MERRILLVILLE
(10-24-2008) - Three
of the last six games between Crown Point and Merrillville have been decided by
three points including the game this year. When the Bulldogs force a
fumble by Macarthy and get a short field goal from Michael Lipton, they'll take
an early 3-0 lead. Pirate linebacker Dionte Day does double-duty at
running back and he'll score on a 20-yard run after an exchange of punts.
The Pirates will run the option successfully like they did in the game in
September. The Bulldogs' Mike Kozlowski will make a big catch and run to
set up another Lipton field goal.
A long run by Macarthy early in the third quarter will set up a Ryan Stokes field goal and a 10-6 Pirate lead and an interception by Keith Dockery will set up another Stokes boot and a 13-6 edge. Crown Point's Danny Osojnicki will catch a long pass from Marcus Shrewsbury and a Lipton field goal will cut the lead to 13-9. A Macarthy fumble will set up Lipton's fourth field goal, making it 13-12.
On paper, Merrillville should win this game by 10 or more, but history says they won't. It was a three-point game seven weeks ago. Macarthy's addition (he did not play in September) is worth more than one point, but CP always makes this game close.
The pressure is on Merrillville because they had very high expectations at the start of the year. If Merrillville cannot pull away in the first 15-20 minutes, this game will have a dramatic finish. Macarthy will scramble for key first downs late in the fourth quarter, but the CP defense will hold and a third Stokes field goal makes it 16-12.
In the final moments, Shrewsbury will find Nate Haverstock for a long gain into Pirate territory but the game will end on an incomplete pass. History says that CP wins the regular season game and Merrillville wins the rematch. That's what happens again Friday.
MERRILLVILLE 16, CROWN POINT 12