(LAPORTE, IN) - The Crown Point Bulldogs traveled to Kiwanis Field Friday and showed a large homecoming crowd why they are undefeated, leading the DAC and rated in the top ten in Class 6A.
La Porte won the coin toss and elected to receive. Cody Fishel's kick went into the end zone, and the Slicers started at their own 20. Crown Point jumped offside before the first snap and gave LP a 1-and-5. On the first play from scrimmage, the Slicers tried to run wide. Nathan Donah couldn't handle Dylan Salisbury's pitch, and Crown Point recovered at the 25. Four plays later, at the 10:26 mark of the 13 quarter, Crown Point's talented quarterback J.J. Johnson ran it in from two yards out. Fishel's kick made it 7-0.
On the next possession, the Slicers moved the ball to their own 40. Opting to go for a 4-and-1, the Slicers could not convert and turned the ball over on downs. Three plays later, Johnson ran 22 yards for his 2'd touchdown of the night. Fishel's kick made it 14-0 with 6:32 left in the 1st.
Crown Point took advantage of a second Slicer lost fumble. However, the Slicer defense held, and the Bulldogs settled for a 29-yard field goal by Fishel with 17.3 seconds left in the opening quarter. The Bulldogs led 17-0 after 1.
Crown Point scored on their first two second-quarter possessions. Johnson scored his third rushing TD at the 9:29 mark. Fishel's kick made it 24-0. Johnson then hit Trevor Gibbs with a 37-yard touchdown pass. However, a bad snap cost Crown Point the extra point, and they led 30-0.
La Porte put together an 8-play 55-yard drive. Jack Doty hit a 39-yard field goal making the score 30-3. Ray Santiago ran the ensuing kickoff back 98 yards for a quick Crown Point score. Johnson ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 38-3 Crown Point.
Josh Eberly finished the Bulldog's first half by scoring with a 3-yard run. Fishel's kick made the halftime score 45-3.
The entire second half was played with a running clock. Backup Crown Point quarterback Logan Hat hit Logan Rodriguez on a 10-yard pass at the 1:39 mark of the third. However, the Bulldogs took a knee on the 2-point conversion, and the score stood 51-3 at the end of 3 quarters.
The Slicers put together a 73-yard 11-play scoring toward the end of the fourth. Lucas Del Rio scored from 3 yards out. Doty kicked the extra point, and the final score was 51-10.
It was not all bad news for the Slicers. Dylan Salisbury showed flashes in this first start at quarterback. He was 13-29 passing for 134 yards. He ran three times for 23 yards and avoided being sacked despite constant pressure from the Crown Point blitzing defense. Ollie Kring caught five passes for 35 yards. Drew Flores caught two for 24 yards. Kai Jones caught two passes for 24 yards. Keli Hay, replacing Salisbury at wide receiver, had a nice 25-yard sideline catch.
Slicer Center Lucas Pacheco was crowned Homecoming King at halftime. Fellow seniors Nathan Donah and Al Mrozinske were in the court.
La Porte travels to Michigan City next Friday night before finishing their regular season at Portage.
