‘Bragging rights’
Logan powers Merrillville to marquee win vs. Valparaiso
Lavarion Logan wasn’t necessarily surprised by the nature of Merrillville’s victory at Valparaiso on Friday night.
“In the back of my mind, I had a feeling if we prepared hard, we were going to go out and do what we had to do,” he said.
The standout senior running back did his part with 185 yards and four touchdowns, including a 93-yarder, on 22 carries as the Pirates rolled to a 42-7 Duneland Athletic Conference win in a matchup between the top two teams in Northwest Indiana. Logan also had four catches for 31 yards.
“They have a really great defense,” Logan said of the Vikings. “A little bit of everything was working. I really appreciate my O-line.”
Merrillville’s Justin Marshall had seven catches for 72 yards, including a 29-yard TD. He also had a 61-yard TD run out of the wildcat formation. Quarterback Angel Nelson completed 17 of 23 passes for 222 yards.
The Pirates (7-0, 5-0) ended a 25-game conference winning streak for Valparaiso (6-1, 4-1), which had suffered its last loss on Sept. 22, 2017, in a game against Crown Point.
The Pirates, ranked No. 3 in the
Class 6A Associated Press poll and No. 4 in the coaches poll, also snapped a five-game losing streak to the Vikings, who are ranked No. 2 in Class 5A in both polls.
“It means a lot,” Logan said. “It’s really important. … Region bragging rights.”
Merrillville stifled Valparaiso’s potent offense. Vikings standout senior running back Hayden Vinyard had 35 yards on 17 carries. Quarterback Logan Lockhart completed 6 of 16 passes for 48 yards.
“It starts with stopping the run,” Merrillville coach Brad Seiss said. “That’s what they want to do, and that’s what we wanted to do — force their hand and stop the run. We knew they were going to keep trying it because that’s the identity of Valpo, a power running game. It sets up their passing game.
“We came in with a great plan. … The bottom line, when you play on Friday night, the kids have to execute, and they did a great job of executing.”
Merrillville scored on each of its first three possessions, setting the tone.
“Just talking with our staff and the kids, you win, you beat a really good team, and maybe it validates you have a chance to be pretty good,” Seiss said when asked about the importance of
the game. “You lose, you refocus and you worry about the playoffs.
“I told the kids, ‘Don’t be nervous. It’s a game. Be excited about the environment.’ It was a great environment, but we controlled that environment from the get-go.”
Logan capped the Pirates’ first drive with a 13-yard TD run.
The Vikings appeared on the verge of answering with a score. But on second-and-goal from the 1, Michigan recruit Kenneth Grant stormed into the backfield to disrupt a handoff, forcing a fumble. Jordan Magee recovered, and Logan broke loose for the 93-yard TD.
Merrillville extended its lead to 20-0 with 10:14 left in the first half, with Logan converting on fourthand-goal from the 1.
Valparaiso scored its TD by
capitalizing on a turnover. Aiden McNeil recovered a fumble at Merrillville’s 14, setting up Lockhart’s 11-yard TD run.
Set up by Tyrese Frazier’s interception, the Pirates closed the first-half scoring when Nelson hit Marshall for the 29-yard TD with 22.6 seconds left.
Valparaiso coach Bill Marshall took the result in stride, focusing on learning from it, finishing the regular season 8-1 and preparing for the postseason.
“We played a great football team,” he said. “We played a great program in regards to athletes and everything else. Just a lot of talent, and we had some miscues in terms of alignment and things we just weren’t doing with the basics of football — blocking, staying on blocks, tackling. A team like this will make those things compound.”