FOOTBALL: RSN Top 10 – Week #6

ON THE EDGE: Portage (3-2), Griffith (3-2), Calumet (3-1), Morton (3-2), LaPorte (2-3)

KO’D: Hanover Central (3-2)

#10.
CROWN POINT BULLDOGS
2-3/1-2

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LAST WEEK: #9

How are the Bulldogs hanging on to the #10 spots a week after losing to Portage, a team that’s missing from the rankings? While Crown Point may have a sub-.500 record, they are two plays (a controversial call in the Merrillville game and a bad break special teams play against Portage) away from being 4-1. There’s little doubt this team is better than their record and they’ll have a chance to prove that with a trip to Viking Field on Friday.

9.
HIGHLAND TROJANS
3-2/1-0

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LAST WEEK: NR

For the first time since 2005, the bridge is blue (even if just metaphorically) and the whole town of Highland can breathe a sigh of relief, having finally ended a long losing streak to rival Munster. That doesn’t mean Highland can rest on their laurels as they now host a team they have longer losing streak against – the Lowell Red Devils, a team they haven’t beaten since 2002.

#8.
BOONE GROVE WOLVES
4-1/2-1

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LAST WEEK: #8

Win or lose, the Wolves seem mired in this #8 spot. That’s where they stay after a 41-26 win over Hanover Central in a game that was closer than the score indicates. We know BG can light up the scoreboard, but can their defense slow down a hot offense? They’ll be tested big time this week as they head to Griffith to take on a Panther team that’s won three straight.

#7.
HOBART BRICKIES
4-1/0-1

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LAST WEEK: #1

Needless to say, that wasn’t the performance Hobart was looking for after getting elevated to the #1 spot in the RSN Top 10. There’s no time to dwell on the loss to Andrean though as the Brickies have to hit the road to take on a feisty pack of Kougars down in KV. How will Hobart react to adversity for the first time this year?

#6.
MERRILLVILLE PIRATES
3-2/2-1

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LAST WEEK: #6

There are some opponents that teams just don’t match up well against and in the case of Merrillville, that’s Michigan City. In the last three games against the Wolves, including last week, the Pirates have given up a combined 140 points. Yikes. Hopefully its only a case of a bad matchup instead of a downward trend for Merrillville as they head to LaPorte this week.

#5.
ANDREAN 59ERS
4-1/1-0

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LAST WEEK: #7

Statement made. With the 41-7 thrashing of Hobart last week, Andrean showed the rest of the Region that the opening week loss to Merrillville was just an aberration and that all roads to the NCC title go through 5959 Broadway. With Munster and KV on the schedule the next two weeks, the Niners need to come out of those games healthy with a huge Week #8 battle with Lowell on the horizon.

#4.
MICHIGAN CITY WOLVES
3-2/2-1

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LAST WEEK: #5

We’ve seen great offensive outbursts by Michigan City this year, including the 42 point performance at Merrillville last week. We’ve also seen smothering defense, shutting out Griffith and holding Chesterton to 10 points. What we haven’t seen is consistency as City is still looking for their first two game winning streak in 2018. They should get it this week with Lake Central coming to Ames. If not, expect a big drop.

#3.
LOWELL RED DEVILS
4-1/1-0

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LAST WEEK: #3

The 13-10 win over KV may not have been the pretintiest victory in the glorious history of Red Devil football, but there are no style points on the gridiron – only “W’s” and “L’s”. Next up is a trip to Highland to battle the Trojans. Lowell hasn’t lost to Highland since 2002, but if they want to keep the streak going they’ll have to play better than last week.

#2.
VALPARAISO VIKINGS
3-2/3-0

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LAST WEEK: #4

It’s been quite the turnaround for the Vikings after an 0-2 start to the 2018 campaign. Since falling to Mishawaka in Week #2, Valpo has dominated all three of their conference games, outscoring their opponents by a combined 75-15. We’ll see if that one-sided trend continues with Crown Point coming to town, in what should be an extremely physical game.

#1.
WHITING OILERS
5-0/3-0

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LAST WEEK: #2

As the only remaining unblemished team in the Region, the Oilers have claimed the top spot in the RSN rankings and there’s a chance they won’t be surrendering their place at #1. How impressive have the Oilers been this year? Their 33.2 point average margin of victory is 19^th best in the state and their 6.6 points against per game is 14^th best.