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For Crown Point and its head coach Craig Buzea, a berth in the Class 6A state championship game may not have seemed likely, even just a few seasons ago.
Afterall, Buzea -- a long-time coach in northwest Indiana and as well as 11 years in Chicago’s south suburbs -- last brought a team to the IHSAA finals in 1994 when his undefeated Portage squad fell to Castle.
Yet, in just his third season at Crown Point, the fourth-ranked Bulldogs (13-0) will meet No. 3 Ben Davis (12-1) in the title game Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“What, 29 years … it’s kind of like coming full circle, right?” Buzea said as his team began preparations for the title game. “I guess it’s one of those things you think will never happen, but it has.”
There are a few reasons for thinking it might not ever happen. While it’s been 29 years since Buzea’s team appeared in the title game, Crown Point has never made the state finals. In fact, CP has only gotten past the regional just once (1988) before this season.
But, the Bulldogs have won 24 of their last 25 games over the past two seasons and the last two wins --victories over Penn (34-33 in the regional) and Westfield (38-31 in double overtime in the semi-state) – have landed them at Lucas Oil Stadium.
For Buzea himself, the trip back to the finals seemed problematic after being diagnosed with Leukemia in 2019. He received a stem cell transplant in 2020 and has been healthy since.
The Class 6A State Championship featuring Crown Point (13-0) and Ben Davis (12-1) will stream via PPV on IHSAAtv.org this Saturday at 7 pm ET / 6 CT!
While a trip to the state finals is new for Crown Point, it’s almost an expectation at Ben Davis. The Giants of first-year coach Russ Mann are making their 12th appearance in the state finals, winning nine of the previous 11. Only five schools have made more appearances.
Like Crown Point, Ben Davis has had to endure a few heart-stopping finishes to earn its berth. The Giants beat top-ranked Brownsburg, 28-25, in the sectional opener, then took out Cathedral, 27-24, in the regional and, finally, needed overtime to take out three-time defending state champion Center Grove, 37-34, in the semi-state.
While losing only to IMG Academy of Florida this season, Ben Davis has scored five of their 12 wins by three points.
“I guess they say you can only win so many of those close battles,” Mann said, “so, we’ll see Saturday. If things go well, people will say we were battle-tested; if not, people will say we ran out of gas.”
Crown Point isn’t expecting the latter.
“Ben Davis is just ultra-talented,” Buzea said. “At every position, it’s like watching a college team. They are well-coached and their talent level is off the charts. Plus, the road they had to come through to get here shows the quality of that program.”
The Giants are led by quarterback Thomas Gotkowski (2,423 passing yards, 34 touchdowns, five interceptions), while running back Alijah Price has rolled up 933 yards and 11 touchdowns rushing this season.
Defensively, linebacker Toreeq Oyesigi has 108 tackles, 16.5 for loss and seven sacks.
Buzea said his team’s strength is its defense. The Bulldogs allowed only 76 points over their first 11 games before the regional and semi-state contests.
“For the most part, our defense has been great for us,” Buzea said, mentioning standouts Will Clark (inside linebacker) and defensive ends Seamus Malaski and Nate Kalk, among others. Malaski is a state-champion discus thrower, while Clark won the 220-pound class at the 2022 state wrestling finals – which helped CP claim the team state championship.
Quarterback Noah Ehrlich has passed for 2,236 yards and 27 touchdowns this season, while running back Larry Ellison is approaching a school-record with 1,776 yards rushing.
“We’re going to have to accept the physicality of this game,” Mann said. "Crown Point is a tough, nasty team and believes in the system they are running.
“It’s a big key for us to start fast.”
