Week 4 - Football Game of the Week Preview

5A Lake Central (2-1, 0-1) at  5A Crown Point (1-2, 1-0)

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

9-11-2008

When:  Friday, September 12, 2008;  Kick-off:  7:00 p.m.

Where:  Crown Point high school - 1500 S. Main, Crown Point, IN.

Tickets:  $5

TV/Radio/Internet:  WWLO (89.1) FM, www.USA-365.com.  

Weather:   Mid-60s with a chance of rain. The forecast is for the middle 70s Thursday and Friday, but darkness falls a little earlier now and it'll cool off quickly.  There is a very good chance of rain sometime Friday and if it comes during the game, that would be a big test of CP's new artificial turf.  These are the really good weather days for watching football.  It's still a little warn for players.  I've always thought that 55 degrees was perfect for football players because they all put out so much effort.  Linemen, especially two-way linemen, can stay fresh in mid-50s temperatures.

Note for fans: The news CPHS stadium is somewhat of a wind tunnel.  It's a little cooler at night out behind Crown Point high school than it is almost anyplace else in CP.

JV game:  Saturday, Sept. 12 at Lake Central - 10:00 a.m.

Freshmen:  Thursday, Sept. 18 at Crown Point - 6:00 p.m.

Numbers:  Crown Point - Class 5A, enrollment 2,510;  Lake Central - Class 5A, enrollment - 2,964

PARKING:  Lake Central people who have not been to Crown Point in two years might want to know that the new access road south of the school has not yet been finished so there is only one entrance and exit, at the northwest corner of the school campus.  Translated:  Get there early.  You can park in St. Matthias church (that's the building directly west of the south end of the CPHS parking lot.  They charge $1 and some of you might see the value of giving a dollar to the Lord as opposed to walking 200 yards in the rain.  The elementary school north of CPHS is under construction and you cannot park there.  This is CP's first home football game in three weeks and a large home crowd is expected, although it would be surprising if the total eclipses the estimated 5,500-6000 that showed up for the Lowell game in August.

THE SERIES:  CP leads the series with Lake Central 28-22-1 and CP has won the last eight meetings.  Lake Central and Crown Point used to be arch-rivals when both were in the old Lake Suburban Conference (1970-1992).  CP jumped to the Duneland Athletic Conference in 1993 but LC was not accepted into the league until 2003 and much of the LC-CP football rivalry was lost.  Lake Central began playing football in 1966.  Before that, Dyer Central played games as early as 1949.  It's amazing how large LC is now (it was the 6th largest school in Indiana in 2007), because before 1950, there apparently wasn't much of anybody in the area south of Route 30 on US 41.  Times have changed.  Schererville (28,381) is now larger than Crown Point (23,493).  CP (23,493), Schererville (29,381), Dyer (15,481) and St. John (11,710) combined are now larger than Hammond (78,292).  LC is big and it is still growing.  Lake Central was a football powerhouse in the 1990s with a 74-36 record and the 1993 team lost 34-28 to Bloomington South in the 5A state championship game.  LC also lost 10-7 at Marion in the 1990 Northern Semistate championship game.

Years like 2003 (1-9), 2004 (1-9) and 2006 (2-8) can be rough, but I do know that it is very hard to get up off the floor in the DAC.  But Lake Central was 7-5 last year and they're on a slow rise under coach Bill Melby.  That rise won't open any eyes, however, until they beat Crown Point again and with Crown Point at 1-2, they have to figure this is the year.  None of the LC seniors on the field tomorrow night have ever beaten the Bulldogs in football.

Lake Central envies Crown Point and it has nothing to do with the teams.  Some at LC feel that their school would dominate in almost all sports if they had the facilities that the rest of the DAC have acquired.  That's a theory I'd like to see tested and it's going to have to be because LC is overcrowded and its middle schools are at capacity.  I'm of the opinion that LC is gong to have to split into two schools (maybe LC and Dyer Central) like Hamilton Southeastern split into Southeastern and Fishers a few years ago.  Nobody really wants a school with more than 3,000 kids and that's where LC is.  They need a new state-of-the art campus and truthfully, one school shouldn't serve three towns (Dyer, Schererville and St. John).  I believe that a split LC is a significant possibility but split or not, there is talk that land has been purchased at the south end of St. John for a new high school.  LC also needs wide open spaces because the present campus has been surrounded and choked by the neighborhood in the last 40 years.

In football, CP and LC will always be rivals, even though CP has won seven games in a row and Lake Central has not defeated the Bulldogs in 10 years.  But one LC win could turn this into a rivalry again.  However, Crown Point badly needs a win and, if they are to successfully defend their streak of DAC titles (they have won or tied for the last three crowns), Lake Central is a team they must defeat.  That makes this certain to be a spirited match up.  Desperation works that way.

Crown Point Bulldogs  (2-1)
Chip Pettit, 50-31 (8th year)
DAC games in CAPs -  (2008 record in parenthesis)
8-22 (L) 0-7 Lowell (3-0)       
8-29 (L) 7-13 at Hobart (3-0)  
9-5 (W) 10-7 at MERRILLVILLLE (2-1)         
9-12 (F) LAKE CENTRAL  (2-1)
9-19 (F) PORTAGE (3-0)
9-26 (F) at VALPARAISO (3-0) 
10-3 (F) at LaPORTE (1-2)
10-10 (F) CHESTERTON (2-1)
10-17 (F) at MICHIGAN CITY (1-2)
10-24 (F) 5A Sectional 1 quarterfinals vs. LC, Valpo, Portage, Munster, Chesterton, Michigan City or MERRILLVILLE
10-31 (F) 5A Sectional semifinals
11-7 (F) 5A Sectional 1 final
11-14 (F) 5A Regional final
11-21 (F) Northern 5A Semistate championship
11-29 (S) Class 5A state final  (7:00 p.m. EST)  Lucas Oil Arena, downtown Indianapolis



Lake Central Indians (2-1)
Coach  Bill Melby (19-8) 3rd year
DAC games in CAPs -  (2008 record in parenthesis)
8-22 (W) 20-19 at Munster (2-1)
8-29 (W) 42-0 at East Chicago (1-2)
9-5  (L) 7-26 at PORTAGE (3-0)  
9-12 (F) at CROWN POINT (1-2) 
9-19 (F) LaPORTE (1-2)
9-26 (F) at MICHIGAN CITY (2-1)      
10-3 (F) CHESTERTON (2-1)         
10-10 (F) at MERRILLVILLE (1-2)
10-17 (F) VALPARAISO (3-0)
10-24 (F) 5A Sectional 1 quarterfinals vs. LC, Valparaiso, Portage, Munster, Chesterton, Michigan City or CROWN POINT
10-31 (F) 5A Sectional semifinals
11-7 (F) 5A Sectional 1 final
11-14 (F) 5A Regional final
11-21 (F) Northern 5A Semistate championship
11-29 (S) Class 5A state final  (7:00 p.m. EST)  Lucas Oil Arena, downtown Indianapolis

Senior wide receiver Danny Osojnicki (7) has scored the only TD for the Bulldogs this year.  (All photos by Mark Smith)

Senior rookie Marcus Shrewsbury won his first game at quarterback last week against Merrillville, 10-7. (All photos by Mark Smith)

CP only has 4 home games this year so the fans have only 3 more chances to show up and cheer for the home team.

Keys to the game

1. How does it look from your point of view?
It's all about perspective this week.  Lake Central hasn't defeated Crown Point in 10 years and they probably see this game as a hill they haven't successfully climbed in a while.  LC wants badly to beat the Bulldogs.  But I don't think you know what you have as a team until you win a game, so CP could be new and improved this Friday.  CP's confidence will soar with an early score.  The best games often occur when neither side knows who the better team is and that's the case this Friday.

2. Throw the deep ball
I know it's easier said than done, but Lake Central has given up three TD passes in three games and they've allowed 350 yards passing so far.  Crown Point QB Marcus Shrewsbury has been looking for that big confidence builder and he may have gotten it last week when he found Danny Osojnicki for the game-winning TD at Merrillville.  Like many rookie QBs, Shrewsbury throws the ball long better than he does short right now.  I think that, with their multiple formations, CP can get a boy or two running free in the LC secondary.  They simply have to make the plays.  LC is a grind it out team.  They do not appear to have the equipment to block CP's rush and connect well down the field.  But I wouldn't be surprised by a trick halfback pass on the hard-charging CP defenders.

3. Keep showing up
This doesn't refer to both teams as much as it does the fans.  At Merrillville last week, the CP side of Demaree Stadium had less than 1,000 people, while Merrillville filled their home grandstand.  I know the offense has one TD in three games, but don't give up just yet.  I've seen much worse looking offensive teams than 2008 CP rebound and win sectional championships.