Undefeated Crown Point starts and finishes the regular season on top, and Portage’s Kodie Young and Morton’s Jalen Arnold are the players of the week.
TOP 10 TEAMS
With records through Tuesday and previous rankings in parentheses.
1. Crown Point 9-0 (1)
Noah Ehrlich, Larry Ellison, Trevor Gibbs, Lucas Szymborski and Co. complete the Duneland Athletic Conference champion’s dominant regular season against Michigan City.
2. Merrillville 8-1 (2)
Adam Camphor, John Peters and the Pirates continue to impress, with their only loss coming to Crown Point and their latest win coming against Chesterton.
3. Valparaiso 6-3 (3)
Thomas Burda, Kellan Hosek and the Vikings close out another strong regular season with a win against Lake Central.
4. Chesterton 5-4 (4)
Andrew Goveia, Owen Edlen and the Trojans figure to be a tough out as they pursue the program’s first sectional title, opening the postseason against …
5. Michigan City 3-6 (8)
Adrian Holley and the Wolves, who acquit themselves well against the juggernaut that is Craig Buzea’s Crown Point.
6. Hanover Central 7-2 (5)
Caiden Verrett, Dylan Bowen and the Wildcats split the Northwest Crossroads Conference title three ways with …
7. Andrean 5-4 (6)
Ethan Reyna and the 59ers, who defeat Lowell to clinch their share, and with …
8. Hobart 5-4 (9)
Willy Shearer and the Brickies, who take down Highland to wrap up their share.
9. Wheeler 7-2 (10)
Caleb Klimczak, Bryce Compton, Jayden Ortiz and the Bearcats seize the Greater South Shore Conference South Division title with a victory against …
10. Griffith 8-1 (7)
… Ryan Bullion and the Panthers, who suffer their first loss of the season.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior quarterback Kodie Young completes 8 of 13 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns for Portage, which tops LaPorte 35-14 for its fourth win of the season after going 0-10 in 2023.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior linebacker Jalen Arnold posts 13 tackles with two for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery for Morton, which beats East Chicago Central 56-0 for its fourth straight win after going 0-4 against a challenging schedule.
