Northwest Indiana football poll after Week 1

Northwest Indiana football poll after Week 1

By Paul Honeycutt

Top 10 (last week’s rank in parentheses)

1. Merrillville (2) – It has been reported that defensive back Trey Stephens is longer at Merrillville, but the defense didn’t miss a beat after beating 2A state runners-up Andrean 40-13 thanks to the help of four sacks and a great performance from first-year starting QB Dontae Pope, who passed for 215 yards and ran for 76 yards and two scores.

2. Crown Point (3) – The Clark brothers, Will and Paul, and the stout Bulldogs defense settled back in to their regular season dominance with a big 42-7 season-opening win over Lowell in which the ‘Dogs allowed just 83 total yards.

3. Valparaiso (1)  – The big play bug hit the Vikings in their 38-21 loss to Penn, but the offense performed admirably with Justin Clark’s two TD passes and TD run and Travis Davis’ 105 rushing yards. Penn beat Valpo 35-6 last year and we all know how Valpo ended the season, so it’s never wise to count out a Bill Marshall-led team.

4. Hanover Central (5) – Senior quarterback Matt Koontz was an efficient 12-of-16 for 213 yards passing with two scores in his team’s 40-17 season-opening win over Wheeler. Running back Caiden Verrett burst on to the scene with 125 yards rushing with four total TDs. The Wildcats look to keep their regular season winning streak of 16 games alive in a showdown with upstart Morton.

5. Hobart (10) – Just as it was said last week, Hobart is still Hobart. The duo of Jonny Sorensen and TJ Caldwell showed out in their hard-fought 16-13 comeback win over Chesterton in Week 1. Caldwell caught five passes for 116 yards and a TD while Brad Gibson recorded 11 tackles.

6. North Judson (9) – The Bluejays won their sixth straight season opener with a 47-0 victory over Culver Community and they’ll look to keep rolling in Week 2 against Caston, which they’ve beaten in eight straight seasons while averaging 43.5 points a game versus the Comets.

7. LaPorte (NR) – The Slicers broke a five-game losing streak against their cross-county rivals New Prairie, as Jack Doty booted a field with six seconds left to lift LaPorte to the 20-18 win. Despite New Prairie returning multiple big name defensive starters, sophomore QB Aiden Penziol carved up the Cougars defense by passing for over 200 yards and two scores.

8. Lake Central (NR) – Xavier Williams was up to his old tricks in his team’s impressive 46-14 Week 1 win over Munster after rushing for 132 yards and three scores. In a Duneland Conference full of good running backs, he might just be the best of the bunch. He’ll look to build on that total when the Indians host Providence Catholic in an interstate battle.

9. Andrean (6) – The Niners’ yearly nonconference schedule might be harder than selling ice to an Eskimo, as it doesn’t get any easier since they face Valpo in Week 2, but part of why this program is successful is because of the opponents they schedule.

10. New Prairie (4) – Senior quarterback Marshall Kmiecik ran for 115 yards in his team’s 20-18 loss against LaPorte. He and the rest of the Cougars look to rebound against Goshen.