The Merrillville Pirates will face off against the Chesterton Trojans at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Merrillville knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 31 points or more in their past five matchups -- so hopefully Chesterton likes a good challenge.
Merrillville is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Lake Central: they outscored them in every quarter. The Pirates were the clear victors by a 42-18 margin over the Indians on Friday. The win continues a trend for the Pirates in their matchups with the Indians: they've now won nine in a row.

Michael Hill Jr
| 10/10/25 @ Lake Central | 126.8 |
| 10/03/25 @ Valparaiso | 126.5 |
| 09/26/25 vs La Porte | 124.2 |
| 08/22/25 vs Andrean | 122.9 |
| 09/12/25 vs Portage | 119.2 |
Merrillville's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Michael Hill Jr, who threw for 298 yards and three TDs, and also punched in one touchdown on the ground. The dominant performance also gave Hill Jr a new career-high in passer rating (126.8). Jacquarious Johnson helped Hill Jr out on the ground, rushing for 126 yards and one score while picking up 7.4 yards per carry, and also catching one touchdown.
Meanwhile, Chesterton entered their game against Crown Point on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. The Trojans had to suffer through a 48-10 loss at the hands of the Bulldogs. The Trojans were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 35-10.
Chesterton's loss dropped their record down to 5-3. As for Merrillville, their victory bumped their record up to 6-2.
Merrillville didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Chesterton in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, but they still walked away with a 29-23 win. Will the Pirates repeat their success, or do the Trojans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps