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Crown
Point
(2-4, 2-2 DAC)
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Week
7 - Football Game of the Week Preview|
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Crown
Point
(2-4, 2-2 DAC)
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10-02-2008
When:
Friday, October 2, 2008
Where: Kiwanis Field (capacity: 4,800), a few blocks south of LaPorte high school - 602 F St., LaPorte IN 46350.
Tickets: $5
Kick-off: 7:00 p.m. (CDT)
TV/Radio/Internet: WWLO
(89.1) FM, www.USA-365.com, WTMK (85.5) FM,
WCOE (96.7) FM* (* - WCOE can only be heard in LaPorte and eastern Porter
County)
JV GAME:
Saturday, Oct. 4 at CROWN POINT - 10:00
a.m.
Freshmen: Thurs. Oct. 9 at Crown
Point - 6:00 p.m.
Numbers: CP - Class 5A,
enrollment 2,442; LaPorte- Class
5A, enrollment - 1,975
PARKING: There isn't much at LaPorte's 4,800-seat Kiwanis Field,
which is two blocks south of the
high school. You will not be able
to park next to the field because
its in a neighborhood similar to
that of the old Crown
Point High School. There just
aren't parking spaces surrounding
the field like there are at
Valparaiso. Your best bet is to park at the
school and walk the two blocks to
the field.
LaPorte has a lot of
parking at the school. Plenty for a
regular season game like this. But
you almost certainly will have to
walk a couple of blocks.
Truly, walking towards the lights
and the sound of the band with
people in their neighborhood isn't
unpleasant at all.
THE SERIES: This is just the 20th meeting of LaPorte and Crown Point and the Slicers lead 13-6 even though CP has won the last two years. The Slicers have played football since the early 1900s but they never experienced a lot of football success until recently. LaPorte is far better known as a baseball power. They are the home of the eight-time Indiana state baseball champions and the football program has always operated under that big shadow. This is one of Northwest Indiana's original high schools. LaPorte high school goes back to the late 1800s and LaPorte, Indiana goes back to 1836.
LaPorte is French for 'The Door'. In the days when this was dense forested Pottawatomie Indian land in the mid-1800, LaPorte was the way around the tip of Lake Michigan heading west towards, what was then, parts unknown. LaPorte and Starke counties were both originally part of Pottawatomie Indian nation. The Indians were thrown off the land in the mid-1800s by the US government and basically forced to walk to Kansas. It was not a proud moment in US history. Because of its location as somewhat of a gateway west to Illinois, LaPorte later became somewhat of a service industry town and a railroad stop. One of the products produced was the Berkel Meat Slicer, invented by Wilhelm Van Berkel in Holland in the late 1800s. The slicer was a compact floor-based cutting instrument with a circular blade and a crank that could cut meat as well and much faster than butchers operating with conventional knives.
The Berkel Slicer was very popular in Europe and Van Berkel brought it to the United States in 1909 operating out of Chicago. When Berkel's US Slicing Machine Company outgrew its original home in Chicago, Berkel moved it to new and larger facilities in LaPorte, Indiana, the east-west gateway around Lake Michigan. In 1915, the LaPorte-based US Slicing machine company donated LaPorte high school its first set of basketball uniforms and in those days, it was not illegal to link a local company or industry to the high school team. Modern motorized Berkel slicers still exist today and LaPorte athletes, who were understandably referred to as the Slicers in the World War I era, still are almost 100 years later.
But while you say Hobart Brickies, everybody thinks football (because of four state titles), when you say 'LaPorte Slicer' the immediate image is baseball as LaPorte has won eight baseball state titles in the last 40 years. The 2006 regional win over Crown Point was the first Slicer regional football title in school history, as they have won just 16 playoff games since the tournament began in 1973.
Crown Point Bulldogs (2-4)
Coach
Chip Pettit, 50-31 (8th year)
DAC games in CAPs
8-22 (L) 0-7 Lowell (6-0)
8-29 (L) 7-13 at Hobart (5-1)
9-5 (W) 10-7 at MERRILLVILLE (3-3)
9-12 (L) 5-10 LAKE CENTRAL (3-3)
9-19 (W) 21-6 PORTAGE (4-2)
9-26 (L) 17-38 at VALPARAISO (5-1)
10-3 (F) at LaPORTE (2-4)
10-10 (F) CHESTERTON (5-1)
10-17 (F) at MICHiGAN CITY (2-4)
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.
LaPorte Slicers (2-4)
Coach Bob Schellinger, 84-71 (15
years)
DAC games in CAPs
8-22 (W) 35-14 at New Prairie (3-3)
8-29 (L) 20-23 at Mishawaka (5-1)
9-5 (L) 0-48 at VALPARAISO (5-1)
9-12 (L) 13-25 CHESTERTON (5-1)
9-19 (W) 21-0 at LAKE CENTRAL (3-3)
9-26 (L) 21-35 MERRILLVILLE (3-3)
10-3 (Fri) CROWN POINT (2-4)
10-10 (Fri) at MICHIGAN CITY (2-4)
10-17 (Fri) at PORTAGE (4-2)
10-24 (F) 5A Sectional 2 quarterfinals vs. Goshen, Adams,
Riley, Mishawaka, Elkhart Central,
Penn and Elkhart Memorial
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
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| Nick Bruno (34) running back kickoff at Valparaiso, 09-26-2008. (All photos by Mark Smith) |
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| Lance LaMere (26) and Kyle Land (57) chasing Valpo running back Eric Jackson (22) in the Vikings' 38-17 win over the Bulldogs. (All photos by Mark Smith) |
LaPorte (2-4)
2007 record: 3-7
Enrollment: 1,975
Sectional titles: (1) last in
2006
Regional titles: (1) last in
2006
Semistate titles: (0) none
State titles: (0) none
LaPORTE (10-3-2008) LaPorte has had an up-and-down season. First, their win over New Prairie was taken away due to the use of an ineligible player. Secondly a serious car accident the week of the Valparaiso game contributed to an atmosphere that created the 48-0 loss to Valparaiso. The Slicers will tell you they should have won games with Chesterton and Merrillville and they did gain 400 yards against Merrillville in the 35-21 loss. LaPorte averages just 18 points a game, but they're a little better than that.
Junior QB Dustin DeMuth, a star baseball player, is just 36 of 87 for 549 yards and six TDs and he's better than that as well. Running backs Bryce Holland (52 carries, 301 yards) and Carlton Austin (119 carries, 808 yards, 8 TDs) are top-flight. Austin gained 182 yards and scored 3 TDs against Merrillville. Look at those carries. 171 in six games. DeMuth is a good passer, but LaPorte clearly emphasize the run this year and that's probably designed to keep the defense, with nine new starters this year, on the sidelines.
There have been problems defensively, although the 21-0 win over Lake Central was a highlight. Mishawaka got 283 yards rushing on LaPorte, Valparaiso had 331 yards on the ground and Chesterton had 332. The Slicers have no defensive TDs and LC is the only DAC team they really stopped.
LaPorte has also not kicked a field goal all season, although Keegan Parker, who was 3-for-3 in extra points last week, is capable of a 30-yarder at least. The Slicers have scored 20 points or more four times this season and I think they're just getting warmed up.
Crown Point (2-4)
Enrollment: 2,442
2007 record: 8-3
Sectional titles: (3) 1981, 1988,
2006
Regional titles: (1) 1988
Semistate titles: (0)
State titles: (0)
CROWN POINT - The good news is that Crown Point quarterback Marcus Shrewsbury has thrown five TD passes in his last two games. The bad news is, Crown Point still has no rushing TDs after six games. There's no positive spin to put on that, but truly, backs Mason Popovich (64 carries, 235 yards), Nick Bruno (45 rushes, 165 yards) and Mike Kozlowski (12 catches, 143 yards, 3 TDs) aren't that bad. There's got to be more blocking.
In defense of the line, CP has faced Lowell (6-0), Hobart (5-1), Valparaiso (5-1), Portage (4-2), Merrillville (3-3) and Lake Central (3-3). I do not believe there is another Northwest Indiana team that has not faced a losing team yet. Is there a chance that the Bulldogs will thrive now that they are not facing highly regarded competition? I don't know. I don't know that anyone in the DAC is weak and seven of the teams in Class 5A Sectional One are DAC teams. CP won't get a soft foe to stoke up on.
Kicker Michael Lipton is 7-of-7 on extra points with three field goals. Mike Kozlowski is getting a net-32 yards a punt. Kicking has not been a problem.
Shrewsbury (51 of 101, 536 yards, 6 TDs, 3 interceptions) has found Nate Haverstock (10 catches 85 yards) and Danny Osojnicki (24 catches, 289 yards, 3 TDs). They do not have a pass play of longer than 33 yards this year.
Defensively, the 38 points allowed last week at Valparaiso was a little misleading. Two CP turnovers set up 14 easy points. The Bulldogs have allowed just 3.5 yards a rush and they've given up just 53 completed passes for 575 yards. Linebacker Lance LaMere has 85 tackles while senor Greg Schillo has 46. Defensive end Ben Cottrell has four QB sacks and cornerback Nate Haverstock (28 tackles) has recovered three fumbles.
There is a concern about CP as their defense looked beaten for the first time all year last week. They need a bounce back this Friday night.
LaPORTE
(10-03-2008) This is a matchup of
weakness against weakness.
Crown Point's rushing attack, which
has no TDs in six games, goes
against LaPorte's run defense, which
has allowed 1,800 rushing yards in
six games. The Bulldogs have scored 60
points this year, none of them in
the first quarter. I think that
comes to an end this week as a
Shrewsbury pass to Mike Kozlowski
gives CP an early 7-0 lead.
LaPorte ties the game on a long second quarter run by Carlton Austin as the Bulldogs again have trouble running the ball. In the third quarter, Dustin DeMuth give LaPorte the lead on a screen pass to Bryce Holland for a score and a CP fumble creates a short field for Austin to score a third TD for a 21-7 lead.
Michael Lipton's fourth field
goal of the year cuts the lead to
21-10 before the third quarter ends
and Shrewsbury will score the first
rushing TD on a QB sneak to bring
the Bulldogs within 21-17 early in
the fourth quarter.
But the CP defense has been on the
field too much in recent weeks.
They won't be able to stop LaPorte
running the ball in the fourth
period. Austin's third TD will
create the final score. Could CP win here? Sure, but
they rarely do. Plus, games here
usually are high-scoring and CP
hasn't scored more than 21 all
season. It won't be a blowout loss,
but it will be a loss, nonetheless.
LaPorte 28, CROWN POINT 17