Lightning, rain delays wreak havoc on Week 2 schedule

MERRILLVILLE — Such a perfect start — at least for viewing purposes.

Merrillville, which struggled last week in 35-28 victory over South Bend Clay, took the opening kickoff 80 yards on a 12-play drive that that ended with a 17yard touchdown run by Jonathan Robinson. Robinson was listed as a wide receiver, but he carried the ball four times for 34 yards. He also caught a 19-yard pass.

Andrean looked almost as sharp, successfully recovering an onside kick from Merrillville at the 39. It took them nine plays to go 61 yards. The big play was a 23-yard pass from Jake Paliga to Charles Puntillo on third-and-7.

Then the storms and lightning came. The delay, which started at 7:27, lasted one hour, 53 minutes. The game picked up where both teams left off.

Robinson scored on a 2-yard TD run. That was set up by a 69yard reception from DJ Wilkins to Terrance Grayson. Andrean tied it with 10:29 left in the second quarter on a 22-yard TD catch by Jamie Johnson.

By the end of the first half, Merrillville had a 27-21 lead. They grabbed the lead when James Kirklen caught a 15-yard TD pass from Wilkins.

▪ At Griffith, the opportunity to christen its new Sprint-Turf playing surface was something Griffith was looking forward to.

Thanks to lightning, the commemorative game had its share of setbacks. The game was tied 7-7 when play was halted 6:44 into the first quarter. School officials and administrators made the decision around 9:05 p.m. to try and resume the game, which then restarted just before 9:25 p.m.

Griffith running back Antonio Suarez bolted for a 59-yard TD on the first play following the delay. He added a 2-point conversion run to give Griffith a 15-7 lead.

Wheeler quarterback Jacob Wasz answered Suarez’s score by bolting 67 yards on a keeper, pulling the Bearcats within 15-14.

Suarez added another 78yard dash for a TD — following a missed 29-yard field goal by Wheeler kicker Ethan Woods — giving Griffith a 21-14 lead.

Wheeler scored the first time it had the ball as Wasz ran in from the 2, giving the Bearcats a 7-0 lead. The Panthers answered back as Jacob Cottrell scored from the 9 following two consecutive Wheeler penalties, making it 7-7.

▪ At Valparaiso, coach Dave Coyle knew his team was in for a big challenge. The weather only complicated matters, pushing the game’s kickoff back several hours.

The game was initially scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start. One storm moved the kickoff back to 7:45. Around 7:15, with both teams warming up on the field, another storm cleared the field. The opening kick didn’t arrive until after 10.

Final results of the game were not available at press time.

▪ Elsewhere, LaPorte had a dedication of their new Field-Turf surface. The Slicers led at the end of the one quarter 7-0 on a Charles Salary 10-yard misdirection run and a Casey Cornett kick. Lightning was spotted just as the first quarter ended.

Lightning delayed the Lake Central and East Chicago for two hours, but that was all that could stop the Indians. Lake Central scored touchdowns on its first four possessions to take to a 28-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Brandon Scott had touchdown runs of three and 22 yards. Collin Studer threw TD passes of 20 yards to Austin Atkins and 18 yards to Antawn Davis.

At North Judson, the 2014 rematch of North Judson and Knox began in a similar fashion as last year’s extended rain and lightning delayed game stretched out.

The game finally got underway at 10 p.m., 30 minutes after an explosive electrical display struck just east of the field. The Bluejays went into the restart with 8:49 left in the second quarter up 7-0, courtesy of a 10-yard Keaton Leszak run. Mavrick Pitts added the extra point.