Football Game Preview: Lake Central Indians vs. Merrillville Pirates

Lake Central is 2-8 against Merrillville since October of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Indians will be playing in front of their home fans against the Pirates at 7:00 p.m.

Lake Central is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Chesterton on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Indians lost 27-6 to the Trojans.

Meanwhile, Merrillville entered their tilt with Valparaiso on Friday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They really took it to the Vikings for the full four quarters, racking up a 48-21 victory. The home team had taken home the W every time these teams have met since September 30, 2022, but that streak is no more.

Lake Central better keep an eye on Michael Hill Jr. He was instrumental in Merrillville's win, rushing for 241 yards and a pair of scores on only 12 carries, while also throwing for 345 yards and four touchdowns while completing 73% of his passes. Those 241 rushing yards gave Hill Jr a new career-high. Mikel Smoot was Hill Jr's top target, picking up 60 receiving yards and a pair of TDs.

Merrillville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 300 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their rushing yard total in three consecutive contests.

Lake Central's defeat dropped their record down to 2-5. As for Merrillville, their win bumped their record up to 5-2.

Lake Central took a serious blow against Merrillville in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, falling 43-10. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Pirates' Cameron Jordan, who rushed for 168 yards and three scores while picking up 9.9 yards per carry. Now that the Indians know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.