Merrillville blows by Andrean in the Battle of Broadway

Merrillville blows by Andrean in the Battle of Broadway

5A No. 3 and Indiana Preps NWI No. 2 Merrillville 41, 2A No. 5 and Indiana Preps No. 3 Andrean 14

By Paul Honeycutt

MERRILLVILLE – Andrean and Merrillville might be separated by just under two miles, but in Friday night’s opener, the gap was much larger.

The IHSAA Class 5A No. 3 Pirates (1-0) rolled out their newest QB Michael Hill, who finished 19-23, passing for 274 yards and four TDs in his first varsity start.

Hill admitted he was a little pensive before the game.

“I was nervous all week, but I got with my sports psychologist, I sat down with her and we talked it out and once you out the cleats on, it’s another day, another game,” said Hill.

Luckily, he has the Region’s best backfield at his disposal in senior RB JQ Johnson and junior RB Cam Jordan, who both predictably showed out in different ways in Merrillville’s 41-14 season-opening win.

Two of Hill’s passing scores went to Jordan, who did his best impression of Alvin Kamara to the tune of 10 catches for 163 yards.

“I think we played good, and we got some stuff we need to work on,” said Jordan. “There was some great game calling by our coach.”

Johnson provided the thunder and some lightning of his own, punishing Andrean’s defense for 131 yards and two scores on 12 carries, one of which was an electrifying 80-yard run in the third.

“You know the company line, we got JQ and Cameron back,” Merrillville coach Brad Seiss said. “Each week we just gotta find holes in the defense, but we gotta be better and just line up and run the football because they’re big up front and Andrean is a good team. You have to give them credit.”

After both teams exchanged three-and-outs, the scoring began with a 70-yarder from Hill to Jordan.

IHSAA Class 2A No. 5 Andrean (0-1) responded with an impressive 32-yard fade from senior QB Brady Elish to sophomore wide out Tyler Vo, who caught four passes for 57 yards and a TD.

Elish passed for 64 yards and a score while junior RB Jeremiah Gonzales added a 3-yard rushing score in the fourth quarter.

Johnson notched his first score on a 15-yard run at 11:07 in the second, and just a little under two minutes later, Jordan added his second score of the night on a 51-yard TD catch.

Pirates senior WR Rynell Lewis put himself in early contention for play of the year after converting a first down with a one-handed catch late in the second quarter and was later rewarded with a 9-yard TD on the same drive.

Merrillville senior WR Mikel Smoot pitched in a score from 54 yards out right before the first half came to a close by jetting past the 59ers defense on his way to the house.

Merrillville also forced three turnovers with interceptions from seniors Keith Edwards and Greg Hughes while senior Warren Brown recorded a fumbled recovery.

“Andrean is pretty big up front, but we thought we an advantage with our quickness, especially on the D-line,” said Seiss, who has now won eight straight over Andrean.

While the Pirates recored 446 total yards of offense and had the three turnovers, Seiss said his club has a lot to work on before hosting IHSA Class 8A No. 2 and three-time state champ Loyola Academy.

“We have big aspirations for our team every year and a program as good as Loyola is only gonna make us better,” said Seiss. 

Merrillville 41, Andrean 14

Andrean; 7 0 0 7 – 14

Merrillville; 7 27 7 0 – 41

M – Cam Jordan 70 pass from Michael Hill (Benito Gonzalez kick), 6:36 1st

A – Tyler Vo 32 pass from Brady Elish (Jax Alvarez kick), 0:09 1st

M – JQ Johnson 15 run (kick failed), 11:07 2nd

M – Jordan 51 pass from Hill (Gonzalez kick), 9:10 2nd

M – Rynell Lewis 9 pass from Hill (Gonzalez kick), 4:17 2nd

M – Mikel Smoot 54 pass from Hill (Gonzalez kick), 0:07 2nd

M – Johnson 80 run (Gonzalez kick), 9:12 3rd

A – Jeremiah Gonzales 3 run (Alvarez kick), 2:55 4th

Andrean;Merrillville

Total Yards;171;446

Rushes-Yards;30-85;30-172

Passing;86;274

Comp.-Att.-Int.;9-20-2;19-23-2

Penalties-Yards;8-50;10-103

Fumbles-Lost;2-1;1-1

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – ANDREAN, Dylan Gore 5-36, Brady Elish 7-22, Ethan Reyna 3-9, Jeremiah Gonzales 5-8, Brady Stovall 5-8, Javier McCoy 4-3, Rashawn Johnson 1-(-1). MERRILLVILLE, JQ Johnson 12-131, Michael Hill 8-13, J’Savion Ellis 2-17, Darnell Bowles 1-10, Cam Jordan 7-1.

PASSING – ANDREAN, Brady Elish 6-12-64-1-1. Dylan Gore 3-8-22-0-1. MERRILLVILLE, Michael Hill 19-23-274-4-2.

RECEIVING – ANDREAN, Tyler Vo 4-57, Javier McCoy 2-26, Brody Lane 3-3. MERRILLVILLE, Cam Jordan 10-163, Mikel Smoot 2-63, Rynell Lewis 4-32, JQ Johnson 2-14, Rae’Sean Shelley 1-2.