‘Dynamic’ Hewlett boosts Merrillville
Morton transfer totals 162 yards, scores TD as Pirates top Chesterton, win conference title
Paris Hewlett’s versatility helped Merrillville secure its first Duneland Athletic Conference title since 2013.
The senior had four catches for 86 yards and a touchdown and added 76 yards on five carries as the visiting Pirates topped Chesterton 34-10 on Friday night.
“It’s what I do,” Hewlett said. “I wanted to help my team win a championship. It feels good I got to do that.
“I like to move around and be dynamic. I just want to help my team win.”
Hewlett, who was a quarterback at Morton before transferring late this summer, did most of his damage at wide receiver as Merrillville (7-1, 5-0) jumped ahead of Chesterton (4-4, 4-2) early.
Hewlett caught a 50-yard pass from Angel Nelson on the game’s first possession to set up Lavarion
Logan’s 2-yard TD run. Hewlett hauled in a 13-yard TD on Merrillville’s second drive.
At quarterback, Hewlett nearly had a TD run, getting tripped up at the 3-yard line after racing for 62 yards.
“The idea of grounding it and pounding it, we have to be able to read some people, and Paris gives us that dynamic. … He’s a really good athlete,” Merrillville coach Brad Seiss said. “He gives us more things to worry about for opposing defenses.”
An array of Merrillville’s skill position players contributed.
JoJo Johnson had four catches for 124 yards, including a 56-yard TD reception with 5:48 left in the third quarter after the Trojans had closed to 13-10. Nelson completed 10 of 13 passes for 297 yards and three TDs, including a 61-yarder to Marcus Hardy. Logan had 74 yards and two TDs on 24 carries.
Defensively, senior lineman Dierre Kelly, a Bowling Green recruit, was a force with five sacks.
“I played at a high level,” Kelly said. “I played to my full potential. I was just being a playmaker.”
Chesterton junior quarterback Chris Mullen completed 18 of 42 passes for 225 yards, including a
24-yard TD to Colby Bullock, who had eight catches for 64 yards.
“You have to give credit to Mullen and what Chesterton’s doing,” Seiss said. “For us to only give up 10 points when they’re
throwing it most plays and he has the ability to run around and you have to cover longer, it’s big for us.”
Chesterton next plays Penn in a Class 6A sectional semifinal on
Oct. 30. Merrillville will play Crown Point in its postseason opener the same night.
“We have a lot of potential in this group,” Hewlett said. “We have a lot of athletes, a lot of guys who want to work hard every week at practice. This is a special group.”
Seiss praised his team for having successfully navigated the regular season during the coronavirus pandemic. One of Merrillville’s games was canceled when Michigan City reported a positive COVID-19 test, and the Pirates added a game against Indianapolis Chatard — their only loss — after Valparaiso canceled due to a positive test.
Seiss knows one misstep could end the season.
“The playoff scenario is going to be so different,” he said. “Not only do you have to worry about your kids and who you’re playing, you have to worry about the big elephant in the room, which is COVID.
“I’m proud for us to win the DAC. That’s the first thing you can do as far as team goals is concerned. We want to do more. We have bigger things we want to be able to do.”