FOOTBALL: RSN Top 10 – Week #3

#10.
HOBART BRICKIES
Team Spotlight

1-1
Last Week:
Not Ranked
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Apparently, the Brickies didn’t like being absent from the poll. After a week one loss to Chesterton, Hobart was jettisoned from the rankings only to upset LaPorte and earn their way back into the Top 10’s good graces. A win over this week’s opponent (West Side) likely keeps them in, but then things get tough – three of their next four after this week are on the road.

#9

CROWN POINT BULLDOGS
Team Spotlight

1-1
LAST WEEK:
#10
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Last week’s 29 point win over Highland last week was the biggest margin of victory for the Bulldogs since….a 31-0 shutout of LaPorte in October of 2013. Can Crown Point take that momentum and use it against a Merrillville team that has to be desperate for a win? We’ll find out Friday.

#8
HANOVER CENTRAL WILDCATS
Team Spotlight

2-0
LAST WEEK: #9
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The ‘Cats have picked right up where they left off last regular season, outscoring their first two opponents by a combined 105-20. With the offense being ahead of last year’s pace and the defense not far behind, does Hanover, whose schedule isn’t daunting at all, start prepping for their Week #9 showdown with Griffith?

#7
GRIFFITH PANTHERS
Team Spotlight

1-1
LAST WEEK: #8
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Now that the one-sided non-conference game against fellow GSSC member Whiting is in the books, do the Panthers start focusing on the rest of their conference foes, or considering their next six opponents combined for 24 wins last year (with seven of those coming from 1A South Central) do they just start prepping for Week #9 against Hanover Central?

#6
MICHIGAN CITY WOLVES
Team Spotlight

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LAST WEEK: #5
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While City was able to make it competitive for a little bit, the fact that they were routed by Illinois big school powerhouse Homewood-Flossmoor comes as little surprise. With DAC play getting started this week, the Wolves don’t have much time to lick their wounds with 2-0 Chesterton coming to beautiful Ames Field.

#5
PORTAGE INDIANS
Team Spotlight

0-2
LAST WEEK: #4
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We can already hear the complaints of an 0-2 team being ranked in the top five teams, but when you consider that the Indians took Mishawaka (a team that would be ranked if they were local) down to the wire and kept things tight against Lowell, it’s an earned spot, despite the record. Now if the Indians in red lose to the unranked blue Indians of Lake Central this week, we may not see Portage in the poll.

#4
ANDREAN 59ERS
Team Spotlight

2-0
LAST WEEK: #6
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Trivia question time – since the start of the 2015 season, which team has Andrean faced the most? That’s right, it’s this week’s opponent New Prairie, as this will be the fifth meeting between the two over that last two calendar years. The 59ers swept the series in 2015 while the Cougars took both meetings last year, but this Niners team has to be confident after blowout wins in both “The Battle of Broadway” & “The Bishop’s Bowl”.

#3
LAPORTE SLICERS
Team Spotlight

1-1
LAST WEEK: #2
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You can bet finishing off drives has been a point of emphasis for the Slicers at practice this week. In the loss to Hobart, LaPorte got shutdown on a 4^th and goal from inside the one yard line on one drive and then on another situation near the end zone, fumbled the ball away. Points are going to be hard to come by against the Valpo defense, so they’re going to have to make those chances count.

#2
VALPARAISO VIKINGS
Team Spotlight

2-0
LAST WEEK: #3
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In our first Top 10 of the season, we mentioned that thanks to a very difficult schedule, Valpo’s record may not be as good as the team really is. After two weeks and two wins….that still may be the case as Gang Green has been dominating on the defensive side of the ball against both Penn and Mishawaka. They’ve got another tough test this week when they travel to the Maple City for a knock down, drag out with the Slicers.

#1
LOWELL RED DEVILS
Team Spotlight

2-0
LAST WEEK: #1
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Last season, despite being the pre-season #1 in just about every poll, Lowell got off to a slow start, losing three of their first four. That’s not the case this year, as the Devils have lived up to the pre-season hype with a pair of impressive defensive performances in their first two outings.  The schedule isn’t too bad from here on out, but we’ve got the October 6 game against Andrean circled on the RSN calendar.