(LAPORTE, IN) - The class 5A #3 rated Merrillville Pirates rolled into Kiwanis Field Friday night and defeated La Porte 41-3.
In the first quarter, the Pirates forced the Slicers into three and outs on their first two possessions and allowed a single first down on La Porte’s third possession. Merrillville scored touchdowns on three one-yard runs in their three opening-quarter possessions. DJ Love dove into the end zone at the 6:57 mark, capping a 56-yard drive. Next, Trey Stephens scored at the 2:56 mark after a 53-yard 7-play drive. Finally, quarterback Jaylen Thomas scored at the 33.6-second mark after moving 55 yards in 4 plays. Jovanni Martinez was good on all three extra points, and the Pirates led 21-0 after the first quarter.
Merrillville scored twice more in the second quarter. First, on an 11-yard Thomas to Javeon Gill pass at the 5:35 mark, and a Stephens 6-yard run at the 3:36 mark. Martinez split the extra points, and the Pirates lead 34-0 at the half.
La Porte came out fighting in the third quarter. Merrillville received the second-half kickoff, but the Slicers promptly forced a turnover. Thomas’ pass to the left was deflected by Javelle Broome and picked off by Keegan Anderson at the Pirate 20. La Porte could not get into the end zone but picked up 3 points on Jack Doty’s 33-yard field goal at the 8:39 mark of the 3rd quarter, making the score 34-3 Merrillville.
For the remainder of the third quarter, the Slicer defense came up with stops, and the offense, while unable to score, was able to move the ball.
Merrillville scored the game’s final points on Brady Barnett’s 14-yard run with 4:04 left. Martinez made it 41-3 Merrillville.
Sophomore Keigan Henckel got his first start at quarterback, replacing injured senior RJ Anglin, who is out with a broken collarbone. Henckel was 1-10 passing and ran four times for 3 yards. Junior Dylan Salisbury, usually a starting wide receiver, stepped in for the final few possessions and was 2-7 passing for 20 yards.
On the ground, the Slicers used a host of runners from their full house backfield set and standard single-back spread offense. Sophomore Tre’ Beghtel led the way with 29 yards on 11 carries. Kai Jones, a junior, had 22 yards on five carries, while senior Nathan Donah had 5 yards on two carries. Freshman Dawson Shreve had 5 yards on two carries in the fourth quarter. In addition, the Slicers got 10 yards on two carries by freshman Lucas DelRio and a 1-yard run from Brennan Balka from the truck full house backfield formation.
The La Porte defense led by Balka, Evan Back, Robbie Rompa, Broome, Anderson, and others played the talented Pirates to a second-half standstill.
Merrillville moves to 5-1 on the season and 3-1 in the DAC. They will host Valparaiso next Friday night.
La Porte falls to 1-5 and 1-3 in the DAC. They will host undefeated and 6A-rated Crown Point in next Friday’s homecoming game.
