Week 7 Picks:  2008 NW Indiana High School Football

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

October 2, 2008

 

'Mr. Picker' WEEK 6, 2008 Football Picks in Review: Wrong - 2; Right - 9 = 81.8%
The Pick	The Result
Bishop Noll 28, Calumet 21	WRONG... Calumet 42-39  (OT)
Kankakee Valley 28, Clark 14	KV  31-6
West Lafayette 41, Rensselaer 21	West Lafayette 35-25
(SB) Washington 44,  East Chicago 28	(SB) Washington 28-0
Morton 42, Hammond 21	Morton 63-8
Michigan City 28,  Lake Central 17	Michigan City 10-7
Chesterton 22, Portage 20	Chesterton 37-14
Griffith 35,  Munster 17	WRONG... Munster 17-14
Merrillville 29, LaPorte 28	Merrillville 35-21
Valparaiso 24, CROWN POINT 13	Valparaiso 38-17
LOWELL 20, Hobart 6	LOWELL 35-32

 

WEEK-SIX (6) RECAP from Friday, September 26, 2008:  Well, it's about time.  Finally.  Correct picks.  At least most of them.  Realistically, I wouldn't have picked Munster to beat Griffith.  Griffith is the better team.  Calumet also got a big win over Bishop Noll in a game that could have gone either way.  Still, this was a good week.  The Michigan City win was predictable, but not obvious.  Only folks who didn't know Washington thought EC would stay close to them.  The Lowell-Hobart pick was OK, although Lowell has consistently defeated Hobart in recent years.  But the pick of the week was picking an 0-5 Kankakee Valley team to win by double digits over Clark. That's a strength-of-leagues pick.  KV's Northwest Crossroads Conference is stronger than Clarks' Greater South Shore Conference.  Truthfully, the last place team in the Duneland Conference would finish in the top half of the Northwest Crossroads Conference.  That's just the way it is.

 

'Mr. Picker's Recent Picking Record

2008 (Week 6)  9 of 11   = 81.9%
2008 (Week 5)  5 of 10   = 50.0%
2008 (Week 4)  7 of 10   = 70.0%
2008 (Week 3)  7 of 12   = 58.3%
2008 (Week 2)  6 of 10   = 60.0%
2008 (Week 1)  9 of 12   =  75.0%
2008 Year to Date:  43 of 65 = 66.1%
2007 (final) OVERALL:  143 of 188 = 76.0%
2006 (final) OVERALL:  166 of 217 = 76.4%
2005 (final) OVERALL:  170 of 233 = 72.9%

VALPARAISO (10-03-2008) - There are not a lot of blockbusters in week seven.  In fact, most of these games are less exciting than the Vice Presidential debate.  We have to eliminate the usual suspects.  River Forest (1-5) vs. Bishop Noll; Wheeler vs. Lake Station (0-6); Highland (0-6) vs. Griffith; Governor Sarah vs. Joe Biden.  I'm not going to pick blowouts.  And don't make me pick West Side and Morton.  Just between you and me, there just aren't 10 competitive games this week in NW Indiana.  It's a bad year.  What can I tell you?

Gavit (2-4) at Clark (3-3)

HAMMOND (10-3-2008) Clark got bombed last wee km but they were playing without soph QB Micah Rooke.  Clark has more young players on the field that Gavit and this will be close.  Gavit's only wins are over Gary schools and Clark, with Rooke, has a lot more offense.

Clark 28, Gavit 20


Whiting (5-1) at Calumet (5-1)

GARY (10-3-2008) This is intriguing because in perfect weather, Whiting's passing attack would give them the edge over Calumet.  But the bottom fell out of summer this week and it'll be in the low 50s or upper 40s late Friday.  Calumet's the better rushing team, but they had serious problems against Bishop Noll's passing attack and Whiting's a better throwing team than Noll is.

Whiting 35, Calumet 20


Andrean (3-3) at Kankakee Valley (1-5)

DeMOTTE (10-3-2008) KV bombed Clark 31-6 for their first win last week and they've been tough at home.  Andrean has a very explosive offense, but they have been vulnerable against the run and the Niners are turnover-prone.  This is the final home game for KV.  They are hungry for wins and I think they have an upset in them.

KV 21, Andrean 16


North Newton (1-5) at South Central (2-4)

UNION MILLS (10-3-2008) Who is this South Central freshman Ethan Biggs (5-11, 190), who gained 157 yards on 20 carries last week in the 55-26 win over Lake Station?  Is that the same kid who gained 286 yards (13 carries) against Bishop Noll?  If it is, North Newton's in for a whipping here because they can't stop the run.

South Central 49, North Newton 21


Lowell (6-0) at Hammond (4-2)

HAMMOND (10-3-2008) Hammond has to look at it this way.  Sometimes you gain more from a good beating than from a bad victory.  Lowell has rushed for almost 1500 yards this season, while Hammond gave up almost 300 yards rushing last week.  The Cats can throw.  If they get decent pass protection, they can score three TDs.

Lowell 52, Hammond 20


Michigan City (2-4) at Portage (4-2)

PORTAGE (10-3-2008) Portage has been beaten decisively the last two weeks and I don't know about the condition of halfback-linebacker Ryan Cherry (out 2 weeks now), a key player.  The Indians are going to come back, but I don't know when.  Michigan City just broke a 20-game DAC losing streak and I think they have the defense to win on the road here over a Portage offense that is not healthy.

Michigan City 24, Portage 16


Chesterton (5-1) at Lake Central (3-3)

St. JOHN (10-3-2008) Chesterton just lines up and comes at you with QB and 900-yard rusher Aaron Knight, while LC has scored just 86 points all year.  There is a distinct feeling that LC can win this game.  I cannot explain why they can't run the ball.  I wonder how long an offense that is 100% running will work for Chesterton, but I think the answer is: At least one more week.

Chesterton 28, Lake Central 14


Crown Point (2-4) at LaPorte (2-4)

LaPORTE (10-3-2008) The Slicers are good at home and they've lost to four winning teams.  Crown Point has scored just 60 points in six games and it's hard to project wins on 10 points a game.  The defense has been effective against most teams, but the Bulldogs have searched for offense since 'day one'.  I don't think they'll find it in LaPorte County.  Even the outstanding CP teams have struggled in LaPorte.

LaPorte 28, Crown Point 17


Hobart (5-1) at Munster (5-1)

MUNSTER (10-3-2008) Hobart's defense didn't handle Lowell last week and they face another tough test this week against Munster, which has rallied in the fourth quarter to win two weeks in a row.  Two experienced QBs in Munster's Joe Gill and Hobart's Matt Barras.  This is the fifth of six Munster home games this year and they are undefeated on the home turf.  I'm just not convinced Munster is a top team and I believe that Hobart has proven they are.

Hobart 27, Munster 14


Valparaiso (5-1) at Merrillville (3-3)

MERRILLVILLE (10-3-2008) Time's running out on Merrillville to play a complete game, but the Pirates have won two in a row.  Valpo is big on the offensive line and Zack Livovich (6-6, 215) is undefeated as starting QB.  But Merrillville's Dolapo Macarthy (6-6, 208) has won sectional and regional championship games.  Some of us still believe that these are the two best teams in the DAC.  These teams also match the region's top two field goal kickers in Merrillville's Ryan Stokes and Valpo's Tony Hite.  Something tells me not to go against the Pirates at home on this night.

Merrillville 26, Valparaiso 23


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Revised: October 02, 2008 .