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FOOTBALL: Home Improvement Week 2 Top 10 – 8/26/25

Check out our Home Improvement Week 2 Top Ten! This list is presented by Eenigenburg Exteriors.

10. WHEELER BEARCATS (1-0)

LAST WEEK: 52-0 win at South Central

PREVIOUS RANKING: Outside Looking In

NEXT WEEK: at Kankakee Valley (0-1)

WHY ARE THEY HERE?: The Bearcats, although it’s quite early to judge, started strong against their new week one opponent with South Central. With some early-season uncertainty with a few other teams in our “bubble”, the Bearcats get the tenth spot for now.

The offense was quite efficient, as junior Logan Fox had a solid first start under center, with three of his five completions resulting in touchdowns. All three scores came at the hands of senior Tyne Vettickal. Levi Murray was impressive to begin his sophomore campaign, scoring twice and racking up 136 yards on the ground. 

Week two will be a bit more of a test for Nick Testa’s Bearcats. They will face a KV team that they lost to a season ago. If they can take down the Kougars, the Bearcats could be a mainstay on this list heading into GSSC play.

9. MORTON GOVERNORS (1-0)

LAST WEEK: 35-7 win vs. Portage

PREVIOUS RANKING: 10

NEXT WEEK: at Chesterton (0-1)

WHY ARE THEY HERE?: The Governors avenged a loss to these same Portage Indians a year ago with an impressive performance in all three phases. In a game that went in Portage’s favor 41 to 17 last year, this was quite the first game showing from the Governors.

Under center was the freshman QB, Amari Price, who did a great job in his first taste of Friday night action. Elijah Boone found pay dirt in his first action as a Governor, while the defensive unit was stout per usual. Long story short, although Portage may experience some growing pains with new faces all across the board, this was a statement win for Morton.

They will now focus on a Chesterton team that is planning for a bounce back. Morton will be on the road against a Trojan team that beat them last season.

8. CHESTERTON TROJANS (0-1)

LAST WEEK: 20-3 loss at Hobart

PREVIOUS RANKING: 6

NEXT WEEK: Morton (1-0)

WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK?: An example of what happens when Plan A may not work.

Chesterton made its identity known last year, especially after the season-ending injury to its signal caller mid-fall. They excelled at running the football with the now-senior RB, Andrew Goveia. Logging 25+ carries a game some nights, a lot was asked, but Goveia often delivered. That said, what happens if expectations are not exactly met?

Hobart contained the RB to just 43 yards on 15 carries, an average of 2.9 yards per tote. The Trojan defensive unit did a fair job, giving the offense additional opportunities with its four takeaways. However, things just did not work against the Brickie defense. Sophomore QB Hunter Boyd got a good taste of Friday action, although things could have gone better, he connected with seniors Louis Raffin and Michael Rone seven times each.

Chesterton will hope to bounce back against an always-talented Morton squad. The Trojans will head back home to take on a Governors team they ran all over, 36-23, last year.

7. MICHIGAN CITY WOLVES (1-0)

LAST WEEK: 31-0 win vs. Hanover Central

PREVIOUS RANKING: 8

NEXT WEEK: at Lafayette Jefferson (0-1)

PLAYER TO NOTE: Daequon Fields, Senior, Defensive End/Wide Receiver

There were a lot of new-school debuts this past Friday, and there was arguably no player with a bigger impact for their new home than Michigan City’s Daequon Fields, who led in part to the Wolves’ thrashing of the Hanover Central Wildcats. The Portage transfer saw time on both sides of the ball, but had his biggest play on defense with an 80+ yard scoop-and-score to really put the game out of reach.

Fields adds to a unit that showed plenty of positive signs in week one. The City defense forced five turnovers against an offense that was shut out for only the second time since the 2019 season. Two touchdowns came directly off of turnovers, while the offense did an impressive job as well. Returning QB Trinaston Hart got the party started with a 55-yard bomb to Zavier McKinney. After that, it was all Wolves.

Up next is a trip to take on Lafayette Jefferson, an always-strong opponent for Coach Cody French and company.

6. VALPARAISO VIKINGS (0-1)

LAST WEEK: 21-13 loss vs. Penn

PREVIOUS RANKING: 4

NEXT WEEK: at Brother Rice

WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK?: A few costly turnovers and multiple squandered opportunities cost the Vikings the opener.

This game was a track race last year for both sides, with the Kingsmen narrowly winning. That said, the Vikings did a much better job defensively containing the Penn offense. Yes, there were a few long touchdowns in the opening half, but Penn was only able to get much done through the air, which is a positive for Valpo, considering this was a unit that gave up 26 points a night last year.

While the defense played fairly well, the offense hopes to improve. We saw plenty of flashes from the signal caller, Kellan Hosek. However, while there were a few good drives, a couple came up empty. Valpo turned the ball over three times, all of which came in enemy territory. Two of those three turnovers were in the final frame with the game still in reach. 

Things will not get much easier opponent-wise, as Valparaiso will take on host Brother Rice for their season opener. The Vikings hope to avoid the team’s first 0-2 start since 2018.

5. GRIFFITH PANTHERS (1-0)

LAST WEEK: 56 to 14 win at Highland

PREVIOUS RANKING: 7

NEXT WEEK: vs. Munster (0-1)

STATISTIC TO NOTE: This is the seventh time since the start of the 2024 season that Griffith has scored over 45 points.

There is plenty of offense to go around in what is an exciting new core for the Griffith Panthers under Phil Mason. After what was a slow start against Highland, the Panthers took advantage of a big second quarter to cruise to a victory. Griffith can put up points in a hurry, as this was a unit that averaged 42.8 a night last fall.

The stars did their thing once again, as the offensive trio of Ryan Buillon, Jason Quillin, and Ventris Tetter all came to play. The Panther defense had a much better second half, blanking Highland as the Panthers outscored the Trojans 28 to 0 in the final two frames.

Griffith will face its second of three straight NCC opponents before conference play. They will open up the Boneyard against Munster.

4. ANDREAN 59ERS (0-1)

LAST WEEK: 41-14 loss at Merrillville

PREVIOUS RANKING: 3

NEXT WEEK: vs. Bishop Luers (0-1) *GAME PLAYED ON SATURDAY, 8/30

WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK?: We are sure you have heard this before, but there are very few 2A schedules in the state that are as difficult as the Andrean 59ers. That said, this opener against Merrillville is always a challenge, and as of late, a wake-up call.

The offensive unit struggled to get things going with its three turnovers and 176 total yards. Sophomore receiver Tyler Vo may have been the lone bright spot from the offensive skill positions, with four catches for 57 yards and a score. Defensively, junior LB Ethan Reyna did some work with a team-high 11 tackles to go along with a sack. Sophomore LB Vinny Zsuppon added 10 of his own.

Andrean ran into what is suspected to be another talented Pirate bunch, which is why they only fall a spot in our list. The talented out-of-conference opponents will not end there, as they will gear up for the home opener on Saturday against Bishop Luers.

3. HOBART BRICKIES (1-0)

LAST WEEK: 20-3 win vs. Chesterton

PREVIOUS RANKING: 5

NEXT WEEK: at Portage (0-1)

WHY ARE THEY HERE?: This week one opener was a lot sweeter for Eric Schreiber Jr. and company, as the Brickies had a convincing 20-3 win over a Chesterton team that dominated them this same time last year. Aleks Tatum continued to show his improvement from his first start against this same team last year. The junior QB had over 250 yards of offense and two scores.

If there was one spot the Brickies would hope to improve on going forward, it would be the turnover department, as Hobart actually lost the turnover battle 4-0 despite the convincing win. A positive, however, was the defensive unit, as despite some sudden changes due to the turnovers, they limited the Chesterton offense to only 43 yards rushing and 165 total yards. For reference, the Trojans ran for 381 yards against Hobart last year.

The Brickies will take on another Duneland opponent, this time at the home of the Portage Indians.

2. MERRILLVILLE PIRATES (1-0)

 LAST WEEK: 41-14 win vs. Andrean

PREVIOUS RANKING: 2

NEXT WEEK: Loyola Academy

PLAYER TO KNOW: Michael Hill Jr., Junior, Quarterback

Merrillville’s newest man under center had quite the first start against the rival Andrean 59ers. Hill had the same number of incompletions (4) as total touchdown passes. The junior threw for north of 250 yards and did not have to show off much of his scrambling ability, given his track-and-field background.

Pairing a potential dynamic piece like Hill with the tandem of running backs JQ Johnson and Cameron Jordan should suit the Pirates just fine going forward. Both of those aforementioned RBs scored two times each. The game was neck-and-neck until Merrillville hung 27 points to Andrean’s 0 to ultimately put the game on ice. The defense, as mentioned in the Andrean portion of this piece, was on point.

Merillville’s new signal caller may have a larger test in start number two, as the Pirates will welcome in an Illinois powerhouse in Loyola Academy.

1. CROWN POINT BULLDOGS (1-0)

LAST WEEK: 38-7 win at Lowell

PREVIOUS RANKING: 1

NEXT WEEK: at Pike (0-1)

HOW TO SUM UP LAST WEEK?: The Bulldogs continued their dominance against rival Lowell, getting ahead of the Red Devils early and never looking back. More importantly, it was an impressive “ease-in” process for the new QB of the Bulldogs, Cooper Malaski, while junior running back Brayden Schutt admirably did his part in his first start in the backfield with three scores and over 125 yards on the ground.

The defense was equally as strong, as the first team unit allowed what was reported to be 42 yards of total offense for RDP.  Although the Bulldogs have some new players across the board, they have seemed to pick up where they left off in previous seasons. 

Crown Point will be on the road again this time, down to the Circle City against Pike, before a big home opener against Merrillville in Week 3.

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

LAKE CENTRAL INDIANS (1-0)

HANOVER CENTRAL WILDCATS (0-1)

CALUMET WARRIORS (1-0)

WEST SIDE COUGARS

LOWELL RED DEVILS (0-1)

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