Merrillville blows out Concord for first state final since 1976
Class 5A No. 5 Merrillville 41, 5A No. 6 Concord 14
By Paul Honeycutt

MERRILLVILLE – JQ Johnson was NOT going to let it happen again.

The violent runner made absolute certain that it didn’t either, with one emphatic play.

Up 14-7 late in the second quarter against No. 6 Concord in the Class 5A Northern Semistate, Johnson got to the open field, but he was seemingly going to be taken down by two different Concord defenders.

Until he said not tonight!

Johnson wrestled away from both of them and busted it open for a 60-yard rushing score, propelling No. 5 Merrillville to their first-ever semistate win in a 41-14 victory over No. 6 Concord.

The Pirates (11-2) broke a 10-game semistate losing streak and will face No. 1 and defending champ New Palestine (13-0) next Friday in the 5A state final at 7 p.m. Eastern at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

“I gotta do what’s best for the team, and I don’t go down on solo tackles,” said Johnson, who ran for 210 yards on 22 carries. “The job still ain’t finished.”

The other man that was not going to let the Pirates lose was junior running back Cam Jordan, who overcame a fumble on the Pirates’ first series and rushed for an 80-yard touchdown on the next drive.

Looking for its first state finals appearance since 2006, Concord (11-2) took advantage of the Jordan fumble and scored on a 51-yard touchdown run from Reese Breveard, who added his 28th rushing score.

After the Pirates responded with the Jordan score, Concord fought back and drove all the way to the Merrillville 11.

However, Minutemen QB Bo Brunner fumbled in the end zone after a great run, which was recovered by Pirates senior DB Greg Hughes.

Hughes was at it again on Concord’s next drive after picking off Brunner.

Merrillville scored on its next possession with a Johnson 19-yard score, his first of two on the night, giving him 14 rushing TDs on the year.

Prior to Johnson’s monstrous 60-yarder, Merrillville faced a second-and-22 deep in its own territory that junior quarterback Michael Hill, Jr. turned into a manageable third-and-6 with a nice run.

“Michael’s decision-making has gotten better as the year has gone along,” Merrillville coach Brad Seiss said of his Duneland Offensive Player of the Year.

Afterwards, Concord was penalized for too many men on the field, then on the next play, Johnson made the Minutemen pay.

Merrillville junior defensive end Josiah Horton killed Concord’s last drive of the first half with a strip sack and fumble recovery, which was one of three Minutemen turnovers.

“We didn’t tackle well at first, but then shored up our tackling, and that’s a pretty high-powered offense over there, so I’m glad we were able to force some turnovers, and we’re really proud of our defense,” said Seiss. “It’s been a long time coming, you know, through all the heartache, I feel good for everyone whether it’s the current coaches and players, or the previous coaches and players.”

Breveard, who rushed for 126 yards on 21 carries, added a 3-yard rushing score midway through the third quarter.

The rest of the second half belonged to Jordan, who rushed for scores of 41, 16, and 4, respectively.

“We got over the hump, man, we got the mission done and now it’s time to go get the other mission done,” said Jordan.



Merrillville 41, Concord 14

Concord; 7 0 7 0 – 14

Merrillville; 0 20 7 14 – 41

C – Reese Breveard 51 run (Nathan Potter kick), 1:28 1st

M – Cam Jordan 80 run (Benito Gonzalez kick), 9:19 2nd

M – JQ Johnson 19 run (Gonzalez kick), 5:04 2nd

M – Johnson 60 run (kick failed), 2:03 2nd

C – Breveard 3 run (Nathan Potter kick), 6:26 3rd

M – Jordan 41 run (Gonzalez kick), 0:31 3rd

M – Jordan 16 run (Gonzalez kick), 10:00 4th

M – Jordan 4 run (Gonzalez kick), 2:50 4th



Concord;Merrillville

First Downs;16;20

Total Yards;258;516

Rushes-Yards;39-154;46-448

Passing;104;68

Comp.-Att.-Int.;13-21-1;5-10-0

Penalties-Yards;3-20;9-100

Fumbles-Lost;3-2;2-1



INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – CONCORD, Reese Breveard 21-126, Bo Brunner 11-27, Derek Gomez 7-1. MERRILLVILLE, JQ Johnson 22-210, Cam Jordan 13-179, Michael Hill, Jr. 8-44, Kam Brown 2-11, Darnell Bowles 1-4.

PASSING – CONCORD Bo Brunner 13-21-104-0-1. MERRILLVILLE, Michael Hill, Jr. 5-10-68-0-0.

RECEIVING – CONCORD, Reese Breveard 7-45, Derek Gomez 4-41, Chase Thompson 1-13, Mark Herman 1-5. MERRILLVILLE, Rynell Lewis Cam Jordan 2-30, Rynell Lewis 2-27, Mikel Smoot 1-11.