THIS DAY IN REGION FOOTBALL HISTORY: 9/22

1967 – It was close, but quarterback Jerry Perkins and the Wirt Troopers won their 17th straight game – a 7-6 nailbiter at Bulldog Turf in Crown Point.

1972 – Harry Szurlborski and his Golden Tornadoes of Emerson High School beat Gary Wallace 29-0 at Gilroy Stadium. The Tornado went 7-1 in ’72; the first winning season for the school since 1958 and the last one ever for the former football powerhouse. The school closed after the 1980 school year.

1972 – In an early version of the Battle of the Bridge, John Friend and the Munster Mustangs hold off Zip Zypult and the Highland Trojans, who came in looking for their first ever victory over Munster. The Trojans came close, but it wasn’t meant to be, and for another year, the bridge on Ridge remained red. Final Score: Munster 14 / Highland 13.

1978 – Merrillville doubles up on the defending state champion Portage Indians 26-13. Les Kleins club were winners of 12 games in ’77, but only two in ’78.

1978 – The Highland Trojans move to 5-0 with a 20-0 home shutout of the Calumet Warriors. Dave Shelbourne’s squad went 10-1 and qualified for the sectional, where they played Tommie Franks and the Hammond High Wildcats. Check back in early November for more on that one.

1989 – The Bishop Noll Warriors make the short trip from North Hammond to Robertsdale, where they shutout the Clark Pioneers 21-0 on the slag pile between Wolfe Lake and George Lake.

2000 – In a battle between two of the Region’s best, Griffith and Lowell punch it out in a week six showdown in front of 5,500 fans in the Town By The Tracks. Griffith’s Tyler Radtke score three times, but it wasn’t enough, as the Red Devils got the best of it at the Boneyard, and posted a 39-36 win Lake Athletic victory.

2006 – Highland takes the one mile trip to the Boneyard in Griffith where they are greeted by 4000 Panther fans. Russ Radtke makes the home fans happy with a 64-0 Griffith victory. Rumor has it that Panther players were drawing up plays in the dirt. And as bad as 64-0 was, the score in 2005 was 71-0.

2006 – On their way to a second straight undefeated regular season, the Crown Point Bulldogs went to Valpo where they got the better of the Green Machine 35-21 at Viking Field.

2006 – On its way to a 10 win season for the first time since 1997, Wally McCormack and Hobart outlast the 59ers 36-29 on the Holy Lands of Father Eckert Field behind Andrean High School.