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FOOTBALL: RSN Top 10 – Week #7

Halloween may be more than a month away, but the Bulldogs are already in their own house of horrors when playing at their home field. Crown Point is 0-3 at the Pound, with all three coming by 14 points or more. On the other hand, the Crown Towners are 3-0 on the road…with all the wins coming by 14 points or more. The ‘Dogs will try to buck that trend on Friday when LaPorte comes to the County Hub – we’ll see if Bulldog Turf is truly cursed.

Did any team in the Region need a win as much as Michigan City last week? With three straight losses, the Wolves’ season was teetering on the brink of disaster, but the team responded with a 49-13 rout of LC to even up their record. With a favorable schedule the rest of the way, City has time to build momentum heading into the tournament. It all starts this week when they host Portage in the final regular season game of the season at Ames Field.

The hurdle that was the Griffith Panthers has been overcome, as Calumet beat their neighbors to the west for the first time since 1983, although it wasn’t exactly in convincing fashion with just a 14-10 final score. But a win is a win and style points don’t matter in the conference standings like they do in the rankings. Calumet has a chance to put up big numbers this week with 0-6 SB Clay coming to town. We’ll be surprised if we don’t see a running clock in the second half.

Another week, another one-sided win for the Bearcats as they took out GSSC foe Whiting 35-0 for their second straight shutout. Wheeler’s average margin of victory is 36.25 points, which just goes to show they aren’t just beating opponents, they are running away from them. The big matchup with Hanover Central looms in Week #8, but first a date with Bishop Noll this Friday night.

The Brickies drop a spot after the last second loss to Andrean, but if there truly are such things as moral victories, we think Hobart’s performance would qualify. Trailing by three touchdowns in the second half, the Brickies showed a lot of resiliency to tie the game before having their collective hearts broken. You know this is going to be a fired up squad this week after the frustrating defeat, and they may look to take out those frustrations on a the visiting Kougars.

Not only did the ‘Cats set a school record last week with their 77 point outburst in the win over Boone Grove, but they moved among the state’s elite in scoring differential, with an average of 38 point differential per game – the third best mark in the state. HC isn’t just lighting up the scoreboard, they’re also keeping their opponents from doing the same, as they’ve given up 14 or fewer points in five of their six games this year. This team is absolutely rolling right now, but they have Top Ten matchups waiting in weeks eight and nine. Both games are at home, where HC hasn’t lost in the regular season since 2018.

Talk about all three phases of the game getting the job done. In the win over Hobart, the Niner offense scored three TDs, the defense added one of their own on a pick six and of course, Nico Tovar’s clutch game winning field goal as time expired got the special teams in the mix. Not only did the victory put Andrean in first place in the NCC race, but it was the kind of victory that can spark a team to do special things going forward. With home games in weeks seven and eight, the Niners look like they could continue to roll.

We wondered how Chesterton would respond after their first loss of the season. We thought they’d come out strong, and they did just that with a 27-0 win over Portage. The Trojan defense remains one of the best in the state, giving up just 8.3 points per game, the eighth best mark of any team in Indiana, and will keep this team in pretty much any game. LC comes to town on Friday – so don’t be surprised if we see another strong defensive performance.

All season long we’ve talked about how the running game fuels the Viking offensive attack, but the passing game did its fair share of damage last week when QB Logan Lockhart completed nine of ten passes for 210 yards, with 179 of those going to Ricky Hall, in the 56-14 win over CP. The Viking offense was scary enough for opponents with just that running game, but now if they’re able to mix in a consistent passing attack? The rest of the state better take notice. We’ll see if they can keep that aerial game going this week when Merrillville, who’s also undefeated, raids Viking Field.

The Pirates continue to pillage and plunder the opposition as no team has come within 26 points of this Band of Buccaneers on the season. Merrillville has been making statements each week with the way they rout their opponents, and now has an opportunity to make the biggest statement of all when they head to Valpo on Friday. Another rout not only solidifies their top spot in the RSN Top 10, but it’ll have them moving up the state rankings as well. Are you ready for some football?

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