FOOTBALL: RSN Top 10 – Week #5

#10.

 KANKAKEE VALLEY KOUGARS
Team Spotlight

3-1
Last Week:
#10
↔

Conference play hasn’t even started in the NCC and the Kougars have already matched last season’s win total thanks to their narrow victory over North Newton in Week #4. Will the good times continue down on The Farm with Lowell coming to Fred Jones Field this week? It’ll be a tough one for KV – while they’ve won a couple of games against the Devils at “The Inferno” in recent years, they haven’t beaten Lowell at home since 1983.

#9
GRIFFITH PANTHERS
Team Spotlight

3-1
LAST WEEK:
#8
↓

In their three games against GSSC opponents (only two count as official conference games, the Whiting game does not), the Panthers have outscored their new foes by a combined total of 150-9. How ridiculous is that? In 2015, Ben Geffert’s first year as head coach at Griffith, the team scored a total of 184 points throughout the course of the regular season. Life must be good in the GSSC, but it does them no favors in these rankings.

#8

ANDREAN 59ERS
Team Spotlight

3-1
LAST WEEK: #8
↑

With no surprise, Andrean rebounded from their 39 point loss to New Prairie by burying Hammond High.  The Niners can’t focus on that win for too long though as they have a tough one to open up conference play with Hobart coming to 5959 Broadway. Andrean is one of the highest scoring teams in the Region and Hobart’s defense is rock solid, so something has to give.

#7
HOBART BRICKIES
Team Spotlight

3-1
LAST WEEK: #7
↔

Speaking of that rock solid Hobart defense, the Brickies haven’t given up a single point since Week #2 – and they still won that game. With having to play last Saturday, Hobart gets one less day of rest heading into their game against Andrean, but considering the conference ramifications, they’ll be too pumped up to care.

#6
PORTAGE INDIANS
Team Spotlight

2-2
LAST WEEK: #6
↔

Is Indians QB Anthony Maceo the most exciting individual playmaker in Region football? If not, he has to be on the short list as evidenced by some of the runs he put together to lead his team to a late win over Merrillville. Portage has now won two straight and three of their next four are at “The Warpath” – so don’t be surprised if this team is right in the thick of the DAC race all season.

#5
LAPORTE SLICERS
Team Spotlight

2-2
LAST WEEK: #5
↔

Enjoy the home game at Kiwanis Field this Friday night Slicer fans – it’s the only game you’ll see there in the entire month of September as LaPorte is on the road the next two weeks following this home tilt against LC. The Slicer offense doesn’t appear to be nearly as dangerous as they were a season ago, but this could be a good week to get jump started and build some momentum to stay near the top in the conference standings.

#4
MICHIGAN CITY WOLVES
Team Spotlight

2-2
LAST WEEK: #4
↔

An upset victory was so close the Wolves could taste it, but a Valpo TD with just a few ticks remaining on the clock dropped City to 2-2. Fortunately for them, it doesn’t drop them in the RSN rankings as both of the Wolves’ losses have come to excellent competition. Merrillville comes to beautiful Ames Field this week in a game that should see lots of highlights and a lot of points.

#3
HANOVER CENTRAL WILDCATS
Team Spotlight

4-0
LAST WEEK: #3
↔

Pop quiz time – which team has the sixth best scoring defense and the eight largest margin of victory in the entire state? Well, considering you’re reading about Hanover Central, it wasn’t that hard of a quiz, but the Wildcats have been absolutely dominant on both sides of the ball so far in 2017 and their regular season win streak is now up to 15 games.

#2
VALPARAISO VIKINGS
Team Spotlight

4-0
LAST WEEK: #2
↔

Most teams and their fans would be thrilled to give up just 14 points in a game. For Valpo,  the 14 points given up to Michigan City was the most against them in 2017, but that doesn’t mean they trending downward by any stretch of the imagination. Three of the next four are on the road, with stops at Chesterton, Crown Point and Portage.

#1
LOWELL RED DEVILS
Team Spotlight

4-0
LAST WEEK: #1
↔

At this point last year, with just as much if not more hype surrounding them, Lowell was sitting with a 1-3 record and a million “what’s happening to the Red Devils?” queries. No such concern this year as Lowell remains undefeated with a smothering defense that’s given up just 26 points in the current campaign. NCC play starts this week with the Devils making a short trip to KV to play for the milk jug.