BY FRANK KIELKIPOWSKI
Welcome to the post-season, where it’s win or start getting ready for basketball, wrestling, swimming, or other winter sports. Before we check out the playoff matchups, we’ll start with this week’s poll and a look back at last week’s regular season finales. Class 6A and Class 5A enjoy this week off.
- Crown Point (9-0)
- Merrillville (8-1)
- Valparaiso (6-3)
- North Judson (9-0)
- Hanover Central (7-2)
- Wheeler (7-2)
- Andrean (5-4)
- Chesterton (5-4)
- Portage (4-5)
- Griffith (8-1)
WEEK NINE RECAP
DUNELAND ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Crown Point 35, Michigan City 8: The Bulldogs finished undefeated for the third consecutive regular season as they broke it open in the second half to earn their 27th straight regular season win as well as their third straight DAC championship.
Merrillville 29, Chesterton 23: The Trojans trailed 16-6 at the half, but could not get over the top as Merrillville hung on for its sixth straight victory and sent Chesterton to its second straight setback.
Portage 35, LaPorte 14: Kodie Young threw for 169 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the vastly improved Indians finished the regular season at 4-5 after being winless last season.
Valparaiso 21, Lake Central 14: The Indians led 14-6 going into the fourth quarter, but Valparaiso rallied with two touchdowns, the second being a 98-yard scamper by Thomas Burda to lift the Vikings to their sixth win of the season.
NORTHWEST CROSSROADS CONFERENCE
Andrean 27, Lowell 14: The Niners finished the regular season with a 5-4 mark and earned a share of the NCC title along with Hobart and Hanover Central.
Hanover Central 48, Hammond Central 26: Caiden Verrett helped the Wildcats get back on the winning track by rushing for 133 yards and reached the end zone five times.
Hobart 49, Highland 6: The Brickies bounced back from a tough loss last week and head into the post-season with a 5-4 record.
Kankakee Valley 29, Munster 13: The Kougars finished the season as it began, with two straight wins, as they avenged last year’s loss to Munster to gain some momentum heading into the playoffs.
GREATER SOUTH SHORE CONFERENCE
Boone Grove 48, Hammond Bishop Noll 6: Mark Rowland threw for 167 yards with two touchdowns, and ran for two more scores as the Wolves ended the regular season with three wins in a row and won the GSSC North Division title for the second straight year.
Calumet 38, Gary West Side 36: The Warriors withstood a fourth quarter comeback attempt by West Side to finish the regular season at 5-4. Giuseppe Moore ran for 191 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars.
LaVille 56, Whiting 20: Cole Stafford rushed for 255 yards with five touchdowns as the Lancers broke open a 14-14 game in the second quarter.
River Forest 55, Lake Station 16: Ayden Silver threw for 217 yards with four touchdowns and ran for 89 yards with another score as the Ingots finished the regular season with a winning record for the sixth straight season.
Wheeler 35, Griffith 13: Jayden Ortiz ran for 238 yards and a pair of scores, while wide out Bryce Compton hauled in two touchdown passes from Caleb Klimczak as the Bearcats won the GSSC South Division title and handed Griffith its first loss.
GREAT LAKES CONFERENCE
Hammond Morton 56, East Chicago Central 0: After an 0-4 start, the Governors take a four-game winning streak and plenty of momentum into the post-season.
HOOSIER NORTH
North Judson 60, Pioneer 18: The Bluejays rushed for over 400 yards and got four touchdowns each from Kole Wilcox and Jesiah McDaniel to finish the regular campaign unbeaten.
South Central 30, Culver 22: The Satellites snapped a seven-game losing streak. These two clubs face each other again in the Class 1A playoffs.
SECTIONAL QUARTERFINAL PREVIEW
CLASS 4A SECTIONAL 17
Hanover Central at East Chicago Central: The Wildcats have won all three previous meetings with Central, but this is their first post-season matchup.
Highland at Kankakee Valley: These NCC foes meet for the second time this season with the Kougars posting a 57-0 victory just two weeks ago.
Gary West Side at New Prairie: Both “Cougars” enter this first meeting with winning records and New Prairie looking for its fourth straight sectional crown.
Hobart at Lowell: In another matchup of NCC rivals, the Brickies look to make it four wins in a row against Lowell, which has won 7 of the 10 previous playoff games against Hobart.
CLASS 3A SECTIONAL 25
Glenn at Jimtown: The Jimmies have dominated Glenn by winning 36 of the previous 40 matchups, including a 4-0 mark in the playoffs.
Calumet at Mishawaka Marian: The Warriors look to halt a seven-game losing streak against Marin with three of the matchups taking place in the post-season.
Knox at River Forest: The defending sectional champion Redskins come to New Chicago to take on a River Forest squad they have not lost to since 1994.
Hammond Bishop Noll at Griffith: The Panthers started their nearly perfect regular season with a 57-13 win over Bishop Noll.
CLASS 2A SECTIONAL 33
Bremen at Lake Station: The Lions have won three of their last four games and are 3-0 in playoff games against Lake Station.
Whiting at Andrean: The 59ers have won both meetings with Whiting, the last being a 49-0 triumph for the 2021 Class 2A sectional championship.
Wheeler at Boone Grove: In this matchup of the two Greater South Shore Conference division champions, the Bearcats defeated Boone Grove, 38-20, in week five.
CLASS 1A-SECTIONAL 41
South Newton at North Judson: The Rebels return to where their 2023 season ended with a 42-0 setback to North Judson in the sectional semifinals.
South Central at Culver: The Satellites hope to repeat last week’s performance as the venue switches to Culver.
Bowman Academy at North Newton – The Spartans picked up one of their two victories three weeks ago with a 53-18 decision against Bowman in Morocco.
West Central at LaVille: In the first post-season matchup between these two schools since 2007, LaVille has never lost in their five previous meeting with West Central.
