On October 8, 2021, Chesterton took on Crown Point in a high energy football game. Prestigiously, this was also the Breast Cancer Awareness game. The student section all wore pink, as well as the cheer and dance team. Speaking of the dancers, they all had an emotional performance that night, honoring not only the survivors of this deadly condition, but also the people who lost their battle as well. It was a hard fought game, and a rollercoaster for all of the talented players in the game.

Before anyone knew what was happening, the game had begun even more high energy than they anticipated. Both teams knew what the other was capable of, and what it would take to win. After 7-0 lead by Crown Point, Chesterton pushed back, making a 6 yard run into the endzone. This would secure a tie, at 7-7. Both teams completed multiple successful passes, but to no avail. Neither side was giving the lead to another, for a majority of the game, Chesterton was surprised with a burst of aggressive plays by Crown Point, to untie the game. The battle would end with a score of 14-7, the victory going to Crown Point.

By the end of the game, Chesterton had achieved 216 total yards, compared to Crown Point’s 315 total yards. Matthew McCracken, Duke Schaller, and Gage DeMarco, shined for the Chesterton defense.

 McCracken made 8 tackles, and 1 sack, Schaller made 9 tackles, and DeMarco made 17 total tackles. Not only was DeMarco the top defender, but was also the MVP of the game. He truly is a team player, and showed the Trojans that there is no shame in their performance.

The following week, and last Friday night the Trojans lost to the Pirates of Merrillville by a score of 40-6. However, those who have watched Merrillville this season, have seen that they have had high scores in all of their games this season, despite a very strong schedule.  Chesterton had a major setback early in the game, with quarterback Chris Mullen going down in the first quarter due to an undisclosed injury. CHS trainer Bernie Stento guided him off of the field with assistants to the bench on the sidelines. Backup quarterback Sebastian Boswell, a sophomore, went in for Mullen, throwing for 90 yards, and played most of the game to give Mullen time to recover. Mullen attempted to reenter the game for short spurts throughout the rest of the game, but never seemed as comfortable as his healthy self, finishing with a total of 64 passing yards.

Sophomore running back Garrett Lewis had a total of 75 rushing yards, and received a number of dump offs, helping Lewis to gain yards receiving as well. Luke Stento contributed the most pivotal moment when he ran to give Chesterton a scoring opportunity within the 10 yard line, which they converted for a touchdown. Stento had a total of 59 receiving yards, while fellow senior Jackson Westmoreland trailed slightly behind with 40 receiving yards. 

On defense, the most tackles an individual recorded was 4 tackles. Gage DeMarco led with 4 tackles and 2 assists, closely followed by Matt McCracken with 4 tackles and 1 assist, and Dane Snemis with 4 tackles. The Trojans defense held off the Pirates the entire 4th quarter, where the offense scored a touchdown. Unfortunately Alex Drewes did not have the opportunity to kick for an extra point because of the ISHAA running clock rule.

The Chesterton Trojans have a bye this coming week and will return to play on October 29, 2021 in the first round of sectionals against the Portage Indians. The game will be held at the Chesterton Trojans home field at 7 pm.