BY FRANK KIELKIPOWSKI
The regular season concludes on Friday night, and the post-season begins next week. Here’s what happened in the Region last week as well as a look at the matchups for week nine of the regular season. As usual, we start with my top 10 poll.
- Crown Point (8-0)
- Merrillville (7-1)
- Valparaiso (5-3)
- North Judson (8-0)
- Hanover Central (6-2)
- Chesterton (5-3)
- Griffith (8-0)
- Andrean (4-4)
- Wheeler (6-2)
- Portage (3-5)
WEEK EIGHT RECAP
DUNELAND ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Crown Point 41, Chesterton 7: Larry Ellison rushed for 117 yards with four touchdowns as the Bulldogs outgained the Trojans, 320-19, in the first half to claim their 26th straight regular season win and clinch a share of the DAC title.
Merrillville 43, Lake Central 10: The Pirates cruised to their fifth straight win by pulling away in the second quarter to grab a 36-3 halftime cushion.
Michigan City 39, LaPorte 0: Trinaston Hart threw for 183 yards and four touchdowns, two of them to Kyron Hart, as the Wolves achieved a season-high in points against LaPorte.
Valparaiso 42, Portage 32: Kellen Hosek threw for 136 yards with two scores and ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns as the Vikings held off Portage in a high-scoring affair.
NORTHWEST CROSSROADS CONFERENCE
Andrean 3, Hanover Central 0: PJ Cusick’s 30-yard field goal in the second quarter was all the Niners needed to hand Hanover Central its first conference loss in two years. It also prevented the Wildcats from winning the conference title outright. Sophomore Ethan Reyna ran for 85 yards on 22 carries for Andrean.
Hammond Morton 61, Hobart 58 (2OT): Dashawn Woods’ touchdown in the second overtime gave the Governors their first win over Hobart in 10 years. Willy Shearer had four touchdowns for the Brickies.
Kankakee Valley 57, Highland 0: Marco Castro rushed for 213 yards with three touchdowns, and quarterback Diego Arroyo threw a touchdown and ran for two more scores as the Kougars blanked Highland.
Lowell 36, Munster 19: Colston Scott ran for 85 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Brody Kalwinski ran for two more scores as the Red Devils got back to the .500 mark.
GREATER SOUTH SHORE CONFERENCE
Boone Grove 42, Lake Station 8: Mark Rowland threw for 161 yards with five touchdowns, two to standout receiver Samir Del Rio, as the Wolves won their third straight game.
Gary West Side 34, Hammond Bishop Noll 20: The Cougars bounced back to improve to 5-3.
Griffith 56, Calumet 6: The Panthers had no trouble dispatching Calumet to stay unbeaten.
Rensselaer Central 42, River Forest 21: The Ingots tried to rally from a 21-0 first half deficit, but could get no closer than seven points as they lost for the third time in their last four games.
Wheeler 49, Whiting 6: Jayden Ortiz ran for 163 yards and three touchdowns, while Caleb Klimczak threw for 267 yards and three more scores as the Bearcats won their sixth in a row to set up a winner-take-all matchup with Griffith for the South Division title.
GREAT LAKES CONFERENCE
Hammond Central 61, East Chicago Central 16: Davion Terry rushed for 205 yards with three touchdowns as the Wolves snapped a three-game losing streak.
HOOSIER NORTH
North Judson 69, Caston 3: Brock Benson ran for 222 yards and three scores, while teammate Kole Wilcox added 139 yards and four touchdowns to help the Bluejays remain unbeaten.
Winamac 50, South Central 12: The Warriors snapped a three-game losing streak and sent South Central to its seventh straight setback.
WEEK NINE PREVIEW
DUNELAND CONFERENCE
Crown Point at Michigan City: The Bulldogs can claim their third consecutive undefeated DAC championship as well as their third straight unbeaten regular season with a victory at Ames Field.
LaPorte at Portage: The Indians seek their fourth win, which would be their most victories since 2018, while LaPorte looks to win for the first time since last year’s 12-0 victory over Portage.
Merrillville at Chesterton: The red-hot Pirates look to extend their winning streak to six games, while Chesterton tries to make amends for last year’s 35-7 loss to Merrillville.
Valparaiso at Lake Central: The Vikings look to build a little momentum 0000000000heading into the playoffs against Lake Central, which hasn’t defeated Valpo since 2016.
NORTHWEST CROSSROADS CONFERENCE
Hanover Central at Hammond Central: The Wildcats look to bounce back against Hammond Central, which they beat 35-0 a year ago in their only previous meeting.
Hobart at Highland: The Brickies look to get back into the win column as they travel to a Highland club they have defeated in all 26 previous meetings.
Kankakee Valley at Munster: The Kougars look to finish the regular season with back-to-back wins and avenge last year’s 28-24 loss to Munster in Wheatfield as well.
Lowell at Andrean: The Niners look to build some momentum and clinch a share of the NCC championship with Hanover Central.
GREATER SOUTH SHORE CONFERENCE
Boone Grove at Hammond Bishop Noll: The Wolves look to finish the regular season with three straight wins and claim their second straight GSSC North Division championship.
Gary West Side at Calumet: The Cougars can guarantee themselves a fourth straight winning season with a win over Calumet, which is also looking to finish the regular season with a winning record.
River Forest at Lake Station: The Ingots look to bounce back against rival Lake Station in their annual matchup that goes back to 1957.
Wheeler at Griffith: A great game to finish the regular season with the GSSC’s South Division title on the line as well.
LaVille at Whiting: The Lancers blanked Whiting, 50-0, a year ago on their way to a Class 2A sectional crown. However, the Oilers own a 6-4 edge all-time against LaVille.
GREAT LAKES CONFERENCE
East Chicago Central at Hammond Morton: The Govs have won 12 of the 14 meetings with EC Central, including a 46-2 decision a season ago.
HOOSIER NORTH CONFERENCE
Culver at South Central: The first of back-to-back meetings between these two clubs, who will face each other again in Culver next week in the Class 1A sectional opener.
North Judson at Pioneer: The Bluejays look to complete their first undefeated regular season since 2002 as they take on Pioneer (6-2), which is looking for a share of the HNC championship.
