Crown Point runs past Portage
By Michael Osipoff 648-3137 or mosipoff@post-trib.com September 14, 2012 11:42PM
Updated: October 16, 2012 6:14AM
CROWN POINT — Crown Point notched its first Duneland Conference win of the season in emphatic fashion.
The Bulldogs downed Portage 42-7 on Friday night, after losses to Merrillville and Lake Central.
“After the last two weeks, not playing as well as we thought we should have, to execute like that, I’m pleased,” Crown Point coach Kevin Enright said. “Questions start popping up, and I’m proud of the kids for fighting through that adversity.”
Tristan Peterson raced to 224 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries for the Bulldogs.
“Iso power,” Peterson said. “The O-line was moving them. “The openings were all there. I wasn’t getting hit at the line at all; it was the secondary.”
Crown Point (3-2, 1-2 DAC) also generally shut down Portage (1-4, 0-3), limiting the Indians to 148 yards, including 95 rushing.
“The list of things we did wrong — you don’t have enough paper,” Portage coach Wally McCormack said. “They whipped us up front.
“There were no surprises. It was just a matter of getting whupped. Our kids tried hard. But we made a ton of mental errors. That’s my fault.”
Rashaan Coleman had 31 yards rushing on 12 carries and four catches for 45 yards, after the standout racked up 202 yards rushing, 80 receiving and three total touchdowns against Merrillville last week.
“Coleman’s a great back,” Enright said. “They have some great skill kids. We were concerned about that coming in. I’m just extremely proud of how the defense rebounded.”
On the first play after a Connor Miller interception with 4:31 left in the first quarter, Peterson broke free for a 40-yard touchdown run.
The Bulldogs didn’t look back.
They extended their lead to 21-0 with 6:48 left in the first half when Troy Grady blocked a punt, and Morgan Kral scooped it up for a touchdown. Grady also had a third-quarter interception.
The Bulldogs have won four straight games in the series against the Indians, and nine of the last 10, including two sectional games.
“If we play like that, we’ll be successful,” Peterson said.
