Junior QB delivers big for Pirates in opener
Merrillville’s Nelson passes for 215 yards, 3 TDs against Crown Point’s pressure
It must be nice for Merrillville’s Angel Nelson to have options.
The junior quarterback completed 13 of 19 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns on Friday night as the Pirates topped Crown Point 42-7 in a Duneland Athletic Conference opener.
Nelson, who exited after three quarters, has made strides in his first season as the starter for Merrillville (3-0, 1-0).
“Crown Point likes to bring it,” Pirates coach Brad Seiss said. “That’s what they do — they bring pressure. So he stepped up and took some shots while delivering. He’s only gotten in a couple games as well, so it’s new to everybody.
“He did a nice job. We still have to improve. We have more depth in that position now. Because we haven’t had a summer and team camp, we’re still figuring things out more as the season goes compared to years past because we just haven’t gotten the reps.”
Merrillville players remain unavailable for comment.
Senior quarterback Paris Hewlett, a Morton transfer, made his Merrillville debut with eight minutes left in the third quarter. He had a 9-yard run and then broke
loose for a 70-yarder with a minute left in the quarter.
“Paris is going to help us,” Seiss said. “He’s still figuring some things out with our verbiage and how we do stuff.
“He’s in a tough spot. When you come in really, really late, he’s probably in one of the hardest positions to come in and play because not only do you have to know what you’re doing, you have to know what the other 10 guys are doing. It’s tough, but he’s doing a nice job.”
Among the Pirates’ talented receiving corps, JoJo Johnson led the way against the Bulldogs (1-2, 0-1) with seven receptions for 112 yards.
Marcus Hardy Jr. made his catches count, with both going for TDs, the first for 15 yards and the second for 16 yards.
And Armani Glass contributed four catches for 72 yards, including a 43-yard TD.
Lavarion Logan provided balance with 154 yards and two TDs on 16 carries.
Merrillville’s defense also was stellar, limiting Crown Point to 76 yards, including 11 through three quarters.
“We felt really strong about what we were going to be defensively this year,” Seiss said. “Our inside six guys are really good, and we have a lot of the back-end guys back.
“We know offensively that our defense is going to get the ball for us. … They’re pretty stout against the run, and they’re able to get after the passer. I’m really proud of our guys. We ask a lot of the kids, and they haven’t made too many mistakes, and they’ve played really good football.”
Merrillville marched five plays on the game’s opening possession, with Nelson connecting with Hardy for a 15-yard score with 10:19 left in the first quarter.
After Logan’s 29-yard TD run midway through the second quarter, the Pirates added Nelson’s 16-yard TD pass to Hardy with just 1.2 seconds left before halftime.
After forcing a punt, Merrillville scored on its first play of the second half, with Nelson hitting Glass for a 43-yard TD with 10:47 left in the third quarter. Logan added a 2-yard TD run with 6:13 left in the quarter.
JJ Johnson scored for Crown Point on an 11-yard run with a minute left in the game.
“We’ve been up 21 on these guys in the past and kind of eased up a little bit off the gas,” Seiss said. “We talked about that at halftime — the importance of getting a stop and getting another score and making them feel like they weren’t in it.”