MERRILLVILLE | Two months after rattling off 49 points against Portage, Merrillville found itself in a fight at halftime on Friday night, trailing 3-0 in the Class 5A Sectional 1 championship game against the Indians.
Denzel Pierce and the rest of his teammates received a wakeup call at the break and the junior running back found the end zone late in the fourth quarter as the Pirates knocked off Portage 9-3 to win their third straight sectional championship.
The Pirates will play Mishawaka next Friday as the Cavemen defeated Penn 24-21.
"Halftime, we woke up and realized the situation we were in," Pierce said. "(The coaches) said to play for your teammates. To play for each other, to play for the seniors."
Pierce picked up the slack for the Pirates (11-1) when quarterback Zach Raspopovich was forced out of the game by the officials after taking a wicked blow to the head in the fourth quarter. Pierce, normally a running back, stepped in at quarterback and ran the ball seven straight times for 42 yards, capping off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:39 remaining in the game.
"When Raspo went out, I had to lead the team," Pierce said. "I had to keep it up when he left. I had to score."
Merrillville coach Zac Wells wouldn't elaborate on what he said to the team at halftime, and senior receiver Eddie DeLuna (7 catches for 82 yards) declined to say what transpired at the break.
"It was ... a conversation," Wells said. "There was a little bit of nervousness at halftime and we talked about that, just maybe not in those words."
Pierce finished the game with 139 yards and a touchdown, but was bottled up for much of the game by an aggressive Portage defense that lost senior leader Justin Rhein midway through the first quarter to a left leg injury.
The Indians (6-6) kept the Pirates off the board until the last play of the third quarter, when Mike Enghofer connected on a 36-yard field goal.
Portage's defense did not allow a score through the first 131 minutes of sectional play.
"Our defense, and I've said it for the last three weeks, we finally started to get some consistency," Portage coach Mark Peterson said.
After Pierce's score, the Indians looked to have just under four minutes to drive the field to take command of the game, but a muffed kickoff return led to Merrillville regaining possession. The Pirates ran more than two minutes off the clock, but the Indians were unable to score in the final minute.
"Our special teams play was just frustrating," Peterson said. "That last kick wasn't so much of an onside kick as it was just a hot shot and we didn't cover it up. I thought we had the ball, I was ready to start calling plays, then they had it."
PREP FOOTBALL
Class 5A Sectional 1
Championship
Merrillville 9, Portage 3
Pirates standout Denzel Pierce ran for 139 yards and a touchdown.
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