By Paul Honeycutt

Teams

  1. Valparaiso – After hanging around in the top two or three for the past few years, the 5A No. 1 and defending state champs are the clear-cut best team in Northwest Indiana and should stay that way all year long.
  2. Merrillville – The Pirates have been the most consistent team in the Region over the past five years and this year, Merrillville coach Brad Seiss and Co. don’t expect any differently, boasting probably the best defense the Region has to offer.
  3. Crown Point – After the Bulldogs faithful thought they’d have to cope with losing last year’s best offensive player in the Region in JJ Johnson, in comes Noah Ehrlich from Hobart. Craig Buzea has shaped Crown Point into a perennial big school football powerhouse, something that’s just in his DNA to do.
  4. New Prairie – From a legendary coach at No. 3 to one of the brightest up-and-coming coaches in Casey McKim, his Cougars return Marshall Kmiecik, who is quite possibly the most dangerous dual threat in the Northern half of the state, but they will have to absorb the loss of do-it-all running back Noah Mungia.
  5. Hanover Central – New field, check. New conference, check. Same quarterback, triple check. Three-year starter Matt Koontz comes back and will lead the Wildcats as a legitimate threat to challenge and win their new conference in the Northwest Crossroads with the likes of Andrean, Hobart and Lowell.
  6. Andrean – The 2A state runners-up lost All-American linebacker Drayk Bowen and senior signal caller Billy Henry to graduation and wide receiver Pat Clacks III to eventual transfer, but it is still Andrean and Scott Ballentine, who led the 59ers to a state title two years ago, will be under center for the perennial 2A power.
  7. Michigan City – The most dynamic backfield is back for the Wolves in Jaden Hart and QB Tyler Bush. Michigan City will have a new coach in Cody French, but this isn’t his first go-round at a new program after he sustained at Calumet for a couple years. With more talent to choose from, the Wolves will be right in the hunt for a DAC title.
  8. Chesterton – Garrett Lewis and Sebastian Boswell are back to see if they can help the Trojans improve upon a 5-6 record. The duo combined for just over 1,900 yards of total offense while they try to navigate through a tough schedule and a young defense.
  9. North Judson – The Bluejays will look to replace a ton of production from their semistate-appearing team a year ago after losing Cheyenne Allen and Aldric Harper to graduation, but the good news is that 1,000-yard rusher Brock Benson is there to shoulder some of that load. Also, five of their seven leading tacklers from last year return on the defensive side of the ball.
  10. Hobart – Just as Andrean is still Andrean, Hobart is still Hobart. As long as coach Craig Osika and his crew are manning the Brickie sidelines, they’re going to be competitive. While losing Ehrlich, Cody Johnston and all-state rusher Trey Gibson will hurt, they do get two big transfers in QB Jonny Sorensen from Lake Central and WR TJ Caldwell from Calumet, and they still have one of the best linebackers in the area in Brad Gibson, who was among the Region leaders in tackles one year ago.

Top 10 Offensive Players

TJ Caldwell, WR, Sr., Hobart – Caldwell carved a path of destruction for a couple years over at Calumet and now heads to Hobart, where he will be the unquestioned No. 1 target for Jonny Sorensen and the Brickies.

Justin Clark, QB, Sr., Valparaiso – As the architect of “The Drive,” he led the Class 5A No. 1 Vikings to a state title last year in a thrilling victory over Whiteland. Clark combined for over 2,000 yards of offense in 2022 and looks to add to that this fall.

Travis Davis, RB, Sr., Valparaiso – After everyone thought his season would end after suffering a broken leg in Week 5 last year, he came back and helped the Vikings win it all and pairs with Clark to form the most dangerous backfield duo in the Region and quite possibly the state.

Noah Ehrlich, QB, Jr., Crown Point – Ehrlich raised a bunch of eyes after transferring from one Region power in Hobart to another in Crown Point. The former Brickie is a three-year starter and the most experienced under center that the Region has to offer.

Jaden Hart, RB, Sr., Michigan City – Undoubtedly the flashiest and most athletic football player in the area, Hart will be a huge focal point of a new offense brought in by Cody French, who comes over from a successful stint at Calumet.

Matt Hofer, OT, Sr., Valparaiso – The anchor to the area’s most dominant offensive line paired with the most dominant rushing attack in the Region has this Toledo recruit as the focal point of every defensive coordinator’s worst nightmare.

Marshall Kmiecik, QB, Sr., New Prairie – All the now senior did was rack up 2,739 yards of total offense for the Class 4A runners-up in 2022. He’ll look to expand upon his massive totals with the loss of Mungia.

Matt Koontz, QB, Sr., Hanover Central – Since the Wildcats have run roughshod over everyone in the Greater Southshore Conference over the past few years, Koontz hasn’t exactly had to play past the second quarter, but he will be relied upon even more after the losses of Kyle Haessly and Gannan Howes from an explosive offense.

Ayden Silver, QB, Jr., River Forest – Silver accounted for over 1,300 yards and 16 TDs last year and will undoubtedly be an even bigger part of the Ingots offense with the departures of their two other top rushers.

Xavier Williams, RB, Sr. Lake Central – With over 1,400 rushing yards and 13 TDs last year, Williams, an Iowa recruit, returns as the best and most highly-touted rusher in the Region, as coach Rick Good plans to use him early, often and always in the run-heavy Indians attack.

Top 10 Defensive Players

Will Clark, LB, Sr., Crown Point – After recording 60 tackles last season, the leader of the ‘Dogs defense hopes his team will take an ever bigger step and stay atop the Duneland for a second straight year.

Terrelle Elmore, DE, Sr., Merrillville – The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder will be the anchor for the stout Merrillville defensive line and paced the Pirates in sacks last year with four and fumble recoveries with three.

Colin Foy, DL, Sr., Hanover Central – A big reason why the Wildcats recorded 13 total picks as a team last year was because of the pressure on the interior provided by Foy, who finished with 76 tackles and a massive 15 tackles for loss in 2022.

Nick Johnsen, LB, Sr., Highland – In a long line of ball-hawking Region linebackers, Johnsen might just be the best one. With 134 tackles a year ago, his defensive efforts kept the Trojans in a lot of games and that could be the same case this year.

Roshaun McGee, DL, Sr., Merrillville – As Elmore’s cohort, he will provide the interior pressure after producing 60 tackles and 9 TFL’s a year ago.

Alex Ponce, LB, Sr., Calumet – The middle linebacker had a monster junior year with 131 tackles and could be poised for even more with the loss of fellow linebacker David Flores to graduation.

Hayden Scott, OLB, Jr., New Prairie – The 102 tackles and four picks Scott ended with a year ago helped catapult the Cougars to a state finals berth.

Trey Stephens, DB, Sr., Merrillville – The senior will be the leader in the defensive backfield in a position that has seen many talented, athletic individuals over the past few years at Merrillville.

Tyler Verschure, DB, Sr., Valparaiso – While there might be pressure to defend their state title, VerSchure may feel like he’s playing with house money after a stellar junior year with seven picks and 38 tackles.

Dylan Wilson, DE/OLB, Sr. New Prairie – Just like his junior counterpart, Wilson played a huge part on a defense that dominated most of the regular and postseason with his 71 tackles and team-leading six sacks.

Top 10 Games

Bishop Noll at South Bend Clay, Aug. 18 – Many reading this will look at this and do a double take, but this Week 1 game is immensely important for both programs. Noll hasn’t won in their last 16 games and Clay has suffered a 28-game losing streak.

Hobart at Merrillville, Aug. 25 – These two Region powers have been battling each other on and off since 1949 and is a showcase game no matter what week they play, with this year’s chapter of the rivalry coming in Week 2.

Valparaiso at Andrean, Aug. 25 – Two of the three best programs in Northwest Indiana over the last three years go head-to-head for the first time ever in the teams’ combined 167 years of playing football.

North Judson at Knox, Sept. 8 – In a game that may last just about an hour, these two teams will run the ball early and often in what’s sure to be a slobber knocker. The outcome of this game will go far in determining the winner of the Hoosier North.

Valparaiso at Crown Point, Sept. 22 – This will be the third game of an extremely tough stretch for the Vikings, as they play Michigan City and Chesterton before going down to Crown Point.

Merrillville at Valparaiso, Sept. 29 – Even with a ton of football left to be played, this game may go far in determining the fate of the Duneland Conference in 2023.

Portage at Michigan City, Sept. 29 – Longtime successful Region coach Roy Richards is back at the helm, but this time at Portage and he’ll face the team in which he served as the defensive coordinator for many years.

Hanover Central at Andrean, Oct. 6 – The narrative for the whole football season is going to be if the Wildcats will be able to hang with presumably tougher competition in the NCC. This game will be program-defining one for coach Brian Parker and Co.

Penn at New Prairie, Oct. 6 – While this game could probably be circled on the schedule on an annual basis for the Cougars, this year hits a little different, as New Prairie looks to avenge its only loss in last year’s 21-0 defeat by the hands of the Kingsmen.

Lake Central at Valparaiso, Oct. 13 – In the regular season finale for both teams, it could be Rick Good’s chance to unseat Valpo as the potential king of the DAC, as he only needed three years to guide his old team in Calumet to a 9-2 record. Good is entering his third year at Lake Central and this could be a possible turning point for the program.