BY FRANK KIELKIPOWSKI
Conference play began in Northwest Indiana last Friday with a mixture of blowouts, close games, and some surprises as well. First up, here’s my top 10 for this week.
- Crown Point (3-0)
- Merrillville (2-1)
- Valparaiso (2-1)
- Hanover Central (2-1)
- North Judson (3-0)
- Lake Central (2-1)
- Chesterton (2-1)
- Kankakee Valley (2-1)
- Griffith (3-0)
- Portage (2-1)
WEEK THREE RESULTS
Crown Point 46, Merrillville 13: Junior Trevor Gibbs caught seven passes for 157 yards and a pair of scores as the Bulldogs scored early and often against top-ranked (Class 5A) Merrillville.
Lake Central 23, Portage 21: Jacob Turley scored twice, including a 55-yard scamper in the third quarter which proved to be the difference in lifting the Indians over Portage.
Valparaiso 42, LaPorte 7: Thomas Burda ran for two scores, and quarterback Kellen Hosek did as well, and added a touchdown pass for the Vikings, who downed LaPorte for the 11th consecutive time.
Michigan City 20, Chesterton 0: Jamorieon Gee rushed for 111 yards on 14 carries and a score, while the Wolves’ defense held previously unbeaten Chesterton to just 152 yards of offense.
Andrean 28, Kankakee Valley 7: Brady Elish threw a pair of touchdown passes as the Niners won for the first time, and handed Kankakee Valley its first loss of the season. Marco Castro was held to just 92 yards on the ground for the Kougars.
Hanover Central 54, Highland 0: Caiden Verrett scored twice and six of his teammates found the end zone as well for the Wildcats.
Hobart 38, Munster 0: Aleks Tatum threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns as the Brickies won for the first time. In his first game back after an injury, Willy Shearer caught a 73-yard touchdown pass for Hobart.
Gary West Side 8, Boone Grove 6: Giuseppe Moore ran for 223 yards and a touchdown as the Cougars stayed unbeaten, thanks to a third quarter safety. Chris Gonzalez ran for 128 yards for Boone Grove.
Wheeler 24, River Forest 6: Jayden Ortiz ran for 135 yards on 25 carries and scored all three touchdowns to lead the Bearcats to their first win of the season.
Whiting 36, Hammond Bishop Noll 0: Nakiya Moran rushed for 131 yards and three touchdowns, while quarterback Austin White threw for 125 yards and two scores to lead a balanced attack for the Oilers.
Calumet 36. East Chicago Central 8: Corey Ferguson and Eric Allen each ran for a pair of touchdowns, and Allen added a fumble recovery for a score as well as the Warriors were victorious at East Chicago.
Griffith 28, Hammond Central 14: Ryan Buillon threw for 184 yards and three touchdowns and ran one in for another score as the Panthers moved to 3-0 for the first time since 2006.
Tippecanoe Valley 35, Hammond Morton 23: The Vikings stayed unbeaten and kept Morton winless by rushing for over 400 yards.
North Newton 21, Lake Station 13: Anthony Slaven threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns for the Fighting Eagles, but it wasn’t enough as North Newton snapped its 22-game losing streak.
West Lafayette 34, Lowell 14: The host Red Devils racked up nearly 440 yards in offense, while Brody Kalwinski ran for a score and threw for another tally for Lowell (1-2).
North Judson 61, South Central 0: Brock Benson rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown and teammate Kole Wilcox scored three times as the Bluejays stayed unbeaten.
WEEK FOUR MATCHUPS
Byron Central (Michigan) at Hammond Morton: The Governors hope to get into the win column for the first time as they host the Bulldogs from Michigan.
East Chicago Central at Bowman Academy: One of these programs will earn their first win of the season. The Cardinals won 48-8 at home last year and have won 14 of the 15 against Bowman Academy all-time.
Hammond Central at Indianapolis Shortridge: The Wolves head south down Interstate 65 toward Indianapolis looking to even their record at 2-2 against the Blue Devils.
Hammond Bishop Noll at Wheeler: The Bearcats have won 17 straight against Bishop Noll, which hasn’t defeated the Bearcats since the 2006 regular season finale.
Hanover Central at Lowell: The Wildcats won 35-0 in the inaugural meeting last year, but this is their first trip to Lowell and the Inferno.
Highland at Calumet: These two clubs meet for the first time in 22 years. The Trojans look to get back to .500, while Calumet look to match last year’s win total of three victories.
Kankakee Valley at Hobart: The Brickies won a wild 53-48 affair in Wheatfield last year, but KV is hoping to bounce back and hand Hobart its first loss in this series since 2014.
Lake Central at Crown Point: The Indians have been playing well, but will need to bring their “A-game” against a Bulldog team that has scored 40-plus points in each of their first three games.
Merrillville at Portage: Both programs look to bounce back from last week’s losses. The Pirates won a tight 17-7 home contest a year ago and haven’t loss to Portage since 2017.
Munster at Andrean: The Niners held off Munster, 21-14, last year and now look to string back-to-back victories together against a Munster club looking to get into the win column.
North Miami at North Judson: This battle of unbeatens could be for the Hoosier North Conference championship. It will be a good test for the Class 1A No. 1 Bluejays against a North Miami squad, which won its conference debut over Caston (42-24) a week ago.
River Forest at Gary West Side: The Cougars won 38-20 in the only previous meeting last year, and will now look to remain unbeaten.
Triton at South Central: In the first meeting between the two squads, the Satellites are hoping to snap a modest two-game losing streak.
Valparaiso at Michigan City: The Vikings downed Michigan City twice at Viking Field last year, including a 26-7 victory in the Class 5A sectional final. Valpo coach Bill Marshall is 7-1 all-time against the Wolves.
Whiting at Griffith: The unbeaten Panthers are 11-1 all-time against Whiting, including last season’s 41-13 victory. Griffith can eclipse last year’s win total with a triumph over the Oilers.
