BY FRANK KIELKIPOWSKI
High school football returned this past Friday night across the Region and there were quite a few amazing performances by both teams and individuals. Interestingly enough, eight of the 21 games played resulted in shutouts. Before we get into the details, here is my top 10 for week two.
- Crown Point (1-0)
- Merrillville (1-0)
- Valparaiso (0-1)
- Hanover Central (1-0)
- Chesterton (1-0)
- Kankakee Valley (1-0)
- North Judson (1-0)
- Lake Central (1-0)
- Griffith (1-0)
- Gary West Side (1-0)
WEEK ONE RESULTS
Calumet 36, Osceola Grace 13: Eric Allen rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown while Jordan Plair threw for 119 yards and a pair of scores to lead the Warriors.
Chesterton 27, Hobart 9: The Trojans rushed for 384 yards, led by Brady McCormack’s 230 yards on 23 attempts and three touchdowns. Andrew Goveia chipped in 121 yards with a score and five receptions for 36 yards.
Crown Point 44, Lowell 7: The Bulldogs picked up where they left off last year with a dominant performance. Noah Ehrlich threw for 201 yards and four touchdowns. Larry Ellison ran for 174 yards and three combined touchdowns to pick up their fourth straight win against Lowell.
Gary West Side 38, Indianapolis Washington 0: Giuseppe Moore ran for 162 yards on 15 carries and scored three times and added a passing touchdown as the Cougars won their first season opener under third-year boss Alger Boswell.
Griffith 56, Highland 0: An impressive start to the season for the Panthers as their defense held Highland to just 49 total yards. Ryan Buillon threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns, while Jaxon Lawson and Ventris Tetter each exceeded 100 yards on the ground.
Hammond Central 28, South Bend Washington 24: The Wolves earned their third straight season opening win.
Hanover Central 41, Wheeler 21: Caiden Verrett rushed for 194 yards on 23 carries and scored three times as the Wildcats won their 25th consecutive regular season game.
John Glenn 27, Boone Grove 17: The Falcons earned their fifth straight season opening win over Boone Grove. Mark Rowland threw for 255 yards with a touchdown and ran for another score as the Wolves had their fourth quarter comeback effort fall short.
Kankakee Valley 23, Rensselaer Central 0: The Kougars earned their first victory for the “Cracker Barrel” since 2020. It was the Marco Castro Show as the senior back carried the ball 43 times for an astounding 350 yards with three touchdowns.
Lake Central 38, Munster 0: Quarterback Cameron Reddick ran for one score and tossed a touchdown pass to Trevor Kubacki as the Indians gave new boss and alum Pete Koulianos a victory in his debut.
Merrillville 27, Andrean 0: JacQuarious Johnson scored twice and Cam Jordan added a rushing touchdown as the host Pirates downed rival Andrean for the eighth straight time.
New Prairie 33, LaPorte 14: The Cougars rushed for 307 yards, led by the duo of Zak Henrich and Reed Robinson.
North Judson 42, Knox 21: Senior Kole Wilcox exploded for 275 rushing yards and four touchdowns to guide the Bluejays. Brock Benson added a pair of scores as North Judson snapped the Redskins’ 13-game regular season winning streak.
Penn 49, Valparaiso 42: Despite registering 566 total yards, the Vikings came up just short in Pete Riordan’s debut at Penn. Thomas Burda rambled for 165 yards and a touchdown, while Kellan Hosek added 299 yards and four touchdowns through the air and Julian Stokes tallied 153 receiving yards and three scores.
Portage 41, Hammond Morton 17: Daequon Fields rushed for 205 yards on 30 carries and scored three times as the Indians snapped an 11-game losing streak dating back to 2022. Lebron Hill caught four passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns for Hammond Morton.
River Forest 35, East Chicago Central 0: Quarterback Ayden Silver enjoyed a big night for the Ingots, who earned their second straight opening night shutout victory over East Chicago Central.
South Bend Riley 35, Hammond Bishop Noll 0: The Wildcats made it three straight opening night wins by blanking Bishop Noll.
South Central 48, Bowman Academy 14: The Satellites captured their first opening night victory since 2017.
South Newton 20, Lake Station 14: The Rebels picked up their fourth straight victory over Lake Station.
Warsaw 20, Michigan City 7: Bart Curtis earned his 250th career victory as the Tigers picked up their third opening night win in a row.
Whiting 63, North Newton 0: John Jolley’s debut was an impressive one as the Oilers posted their largest margin of victory since the 2007 season opener.
WEEK TWO MATCHUPS
Andrean at Valparaiso: The Vikings picked up a 55-18 win over Andrean last year in the only previous meeting between these two schools.
Arizona College Prep at Crown Point: This marks the first time a school from Arizona has played football in Indiana. It also reunites Crown Point’s Craig Buzea with Arizona boss Steve Vaught, who played for Buzea at Portage.
Calumet at River Forest: The Warriors lead this series, 15-9, but River Forest got the better half of Calumet with a 35-0 triumph.
Chesterton at Hammond Morton: In this first meeting between the two programs, the Trojans look to start the season 2-0 for the second time in the last four years.
East Chicago Central at Gary West Side: The Cougars have won the last four meetings in this series.
Griffith at Munster: The Mustangs knocked off Griffith, 41-33, last year at the Boneyard. However, the Panthers have revenge on their mind as they look to go 2-0 for just the second time in 18 seasons.
Hammond Central at TF South (Illinois): The Wildcats won 33-6 over host Hammond Central last year in their only previous meeting.
Hanover Central at Indianapolis Bishop Chatard: The Wildcats put their 25-game regular season winning streak to a severe test as they travel to take on the two-time defending Class 3A state champions.
Illinois Home School at Lake Station: The Fighting Eagles look to bounce back from their close loss to South Newton as they welcome the visitors from Rockford,
Kankakee Valley at Wheeler: The Kougars will look to build upon their triumph over Rensselaer Central against host Wheeler, who hopes to break a five-year losing streak to Kankakee Valley.
Lafayette Jeff at Michigan City: These programs have split their two previous high-scoring meetings with the Wolves emerging victorious, 36-30, in last year’s battle in Lafayette.
Lake Central at Grand Rapids Catholic (Michigan): The Indians seek to continue their solid play as they travel to meet last year’s MHSAA Division 5 state championship.
Lowell at LaPorte: The Red Devils have won the previous two meetings against the LaPorte, including last year’s 26-7 win at the Inferno.
Merrillville at Hobart: Pirates’ boss Brad Seiss is 5-0 lifetime against Hobart, including a 31-12 home win a year ago.
North Judson at LaVille: The Bluejays hope the third time is the charm as they look to snap a two-game losing skid to LaVille, which posted a 23-20 decision last fall.
Portage at NorthWood: The Indians hope to make amends for a 49-7 setback to NorthWood a season ago.
South Central at Boone Grove: The Wolves have won six of the past nine meetings against South Central, including last year’s 35-14 victory in week four.
Whiting at Highland: The Trojans have won four of the five meetings against Whiting, including last season’s 46-7 victory. The Oilers’ lone win over Highland was a 34-14 victory in 2004.
Bowman Academy at Calumet Christian (Saturday): Although these squads did not meet last year, the Eagles won 14-8 in 2022 and Calumet Christan claimed a 63-14 wn 2021.
Hammond Bishop Noll at Osceola Grace (Saturday): The Warriors look to halt a two-game skid to Osceola Grace, including last year’s 20-8 setback.
