LOWELL – Being a tailback for the Lowell Red Devils is like being an outfielder for the New York Yankees.
Simply put, it screams that you are “The Man” for a very good program.
Lowell junior Tymothy James, a 6-foot-2, 180-pounder, was feeling that vibe last Friday night. His Red Devils were battling Hanover Central in a Northwest Crossroads Conference game.
And, well, it was just one of those nights.
“The line was blocking well. They were opening the holes,” James said of Lowell’s 45-31 victory, in which he rushed for 356 yards and four touchdowns. “Just six yards. If someone would’ve told me I would have gotten it.”
The laughter that followed had a familial flair.
His older brother, Ike, was listening to the game from Nashville, Tennessee. Ike, like Tymothy, was a tailback at Lowell. He owns the program’s single-game rushing record of 362 yards against Munster in 2014.
The James gang has a special place in Lowell football lore.
But the youngster just wished he had one more carry.
“Had I known, I would have got it,” Tymothy said.
His parents, Tim and Lisa, looked on Friday night. The forebears of a prominent Region sports family weren’t following the game yard by yard or sibling by sibling.
Ike graduated in 2016, then starred at Wabash College.
Sister Karina James won the IHSAA state cross country championship in 2020 and is currently the Mid-American Conference champion in cross country and the mile at Toledo.
Annalise graduated from Western Michigan, where she won more running medals than some towns hold collectively.
Brother Malachi, a current football assistant at Lowell, battled injuries in high school but was a very good defensive player when healthy.
“The girls made the boys in our family tougher,” said Tim, principal at Merrillville Intermediate School. He also coached Pop Warner football in Lowell for 17 years.
“I didn’t even know Tymmy was getting close,” he said. “I was just proud of the way the offensive line blocked. Tymmy was just running with the ball.”
Lowell coach Casey McKim was just as proud of the physicality his young team showed against the Wildcats.
“There isn’t a better feeling than moving someone against their will,” he said of his offensive line. “This was the first game where we were getting movement. We’re a young team. We’re only going to get better.”
Lowell (2-2, 1-0 NCC) travels to Highland (1-3, 0-1) on Friday night.
James has carried the ball 111 times for 788 yards and seven touchdowns. He ranks third in the state in rushing yards. Quarterback Gavin Gutierrez also had a big night against Hanover, rushing for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
And, in keeping the family legacy going, Malachi James is an assistant coach this season, along with Brandon Grubbe, Lowell’s all-time leading rusher.
Like Mickey Mantle replacing Joe DiMaggio, it just doesn’t seem to end in this blue-collar town.
It didn’t begin this way for Tymothy, however.
His father didn’t let him play football when he was very young. All his time went into wrestling. Ike was starring for the Red Devils at the time, so little brother watched from the bleachers.
“I always loved football,” Tymothy said. “But I wasn’t allowed to play until third grade. I’ve always been a competitive person. At family events, we’d start wrestling and we’d get yelled at. ‘Take it outside. Your grandma’s watching.’”
Tymothy has many more games to try to catch his older brother’s record. Like Ike, James wants to play college football and will surely have opportunities to do so.
But there is another way he is chasing his brother’s shadow.
Ike is currently a construction manager helping build the Titans’ new stadium in Tennessee. And the James gang hopes to work together one day.
“I want to study construction management, too,” Tymothy said. “We all want to work together to put the Bears stadium up in Hammond.”

By Steve Hanlon
Heartland Sports Network

It is a moment I’ll never forget.
Never.
I was working in Indianapolis when I woke up a couple of minutes late on a beautiful fall morning. I had a meeting with Greenwood High School’s athletic director, so I rushed to my car and flipped on the radio.
Strangely, there was no rock ’n’ roll playing as usual. Instead, people were talking in stern, cold voices about something that had happened in New York.
I arrived at GHS within 10 minutes. The building seemed lifeless.
I walked into the athletic office and noticed a young girl with a ghost-like pallor on her face. I asked what was going on.
She never uttered a word. She simply pointed toward the television.
I walked around the counter to take a look.
Instantly, my world — our world — was forever changed.
I watched a replay of a commercial jet flying into one of the towers of the World Trade Center.
It was September 11, 2001.
The horror of that moment has never fully left me.
Friday night marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11, and many of our local high schools will pause to remember an event that most people over the age of 30 can recall with the same clarity our parents had when they told us where they were and what they were doing on Nov. 22, 1963.
The day John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Crown Point athletic director Chris Seibert was a student at Valparaiso University 25 years ago. He remembers driving home to his parents’ house to watch the news coverage that had shaken the nation.
Consequently, Crown Point will have a major remembrance before the Bulldogs battle Lake Central at home Friday night.
Crown Point native Jason Wille, the IHSAA’s sports information director, sent directives to schools this week that want to recognize the anniversary.
I hope everyone is doing something.
Seibert said there will be a moment of silence, along with words honoring the firefighters, police officers and medical personnel who put their lives on the line to help others.
“Our student section is planning on wearing American attire, flags and things like that,” Seibert said. “I know our students didn’t live through 9/11. But I want them to be grateful for living in our great country. It is a blessing to live in America.
“I want our kids to be proud of that.”
The horror of those terrorist attacks impacted every aspect of American life, including the sports world.
Major League Baseball, the NFL and college sports suspended activity for at least a week.
In Indiana, the IHSAA faced a difficult decision. The attacks happened on a Tuesday morning. Should football be played just three days later?
The IHSAA left that decision to individual schools.
Most played.
I covered a game at Indianapolis Ben Davis. Never have I seen so many American flags.
It seemed the entire nation had come together as one.
Political and cultural differences were set aside. Nothing like the days we live in now.
Sadly.
Crown Point football coach Craig Buzea was coaching at Portage in 2001, and his Indians played Crown Point that night.
It was a night when the score of the game really didn’t matter at all.
“Both teams came on the field together for the National Anthem,” Buzea recalled. “The patriotism was very high. Flags were everywhere. It was a powerful moment. Very few people really cared about the score of the game that night.”
Portage won 47-0, for those keeping score.
One of the public-address announcements sent by the IHSAA to schools came from Commissioner Paul Neidig. Here are some of his words:
“As our nation approaches the 25th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001, we remember the nearly 3,000 lives lost, the thousands of first responders who answered the call, and the enduring spirit of unity that emerged during one of America’s most difficult moments. … While today’s students were not yet born when these events occurred, the anniversary provides an opportunity to reflect on the values of service, courage, sacrifice, and resilience that continue to define our nation.”
This is a great thing the IHSAA and the schools involved are doing.
We must never forget what happened.
We must keep our eyes open so such a thing never happens again.
And, most importantly, we must come together.
MAGA. Democratic Socialists. Republicans. Democrats. Bears fans. Packers fans. Everyone.
We don’t have to agree with one another.
We don’t have to share the same politics, the same beliefs or the same opinions.
But we don’t have to hate someone simply because they see the world differently than we do.
Never.
That, too, is something worth remembering.

By Steve Hanlon
Heartland Sports Network

CALUMET TWP. – Nick Testa coached at Wheeler for the past three seasons. But when that chapter ended, he believed it was time to take his talents elsewhere.
Having competed against Calumet and previously serving as an assistant coach there in 2020, Testa chose to return to Lake County.
The former standout wide receiver at Lake Central in the late 1990s saw talent along Ridge Road that he believed he could develop. Three weeks into the season, things appear to be working out just fine.
The Warriors have scored 94 points over the past two Fridays against River Forest and East Chicago Central.
“I wanted to coach at a place where football was a priority. That’s why I chose Calumet,” Testa said. “I was not planning on being a head coach anymore. But I knew a lot of people here and I knew the talent they had here, so when the opportunity happened, I was very happy to take the job.”
Two players known by their teammates as the “Brandon Brothers” were a big reason for the move.
Bryce Brandon, the Warriors’ running back and safety, and Brandon Smith, a wide receiver, cornerback and kick returner, have been at the forefront of the program’s resurgence.
Brandon is coming off the best game of his career at East Chicago Central, where he carried 20 times for 160 yards and five touchdowns.
“I coached Levi Murray at Wheeler, and now coaching Bryce, I believe they are the best two running backs in the Region,” Testa said.
Brandon enters Friday’s game against Highland with eight touchdowns this season.
Smith opened the season by returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown. He also had six kick or punt returns for touchdowns last season.
Calumet has developed an offense capable of attacking a defense in multiple ways. If opponents load up to stop the run, the Warriors can throw the ball. If they focus on defending the pass, Calumet can turn to its running game.
“I love this team,” Testa said. “They will take whatever the other team will give us. My goal for this team will never change. We want to be playing for championships.”
Smith played his freshman season at West Side before deciding Calumet was a better fit. The move a few miles south, however, wasn’t based solely on football.
“Calumet is a better academic school,” Smith said. “My school work is important to me. I want to keep getting better at football so I can play in college, where I want to study engineering. I want my mind to be at the very best.”
Brandon also arrived at Calumet from another program. He played two seasons at Hammond Central, but when coach Adam Hudak left the program, Brandon followed suit.
“I just felt Calumet was a better opportunity for me,” Brandon said. “This was a good opportunity. (Testa) prepared us for the ups and downs of the game. Our first game against Fairfield (a 43-14 loss), they ran the ball all night and we didn’t get the ball that much. But we’ve learned from that.
“It set us straight. It gave us more focus. This summer also prepared us for this.”
Testa took the Warriors to a camp at Manchester College, where they scrimmaged against bigger, more established programs in the summer heat.
There were plenty of ups and downs. But that was part of the lesson.
This team is learning that football is about responding to both.
“We’re learning every day to do the things that winning teams do,” Testa said.
For Calumet, it’s about taking things day by day, Friday night by Friday night and, ultimately, play by play.
The Warriors are still a work in progress.
But so far, it’s a promising one.
“We hate losing,” Smith said. “We’ve come together. We love what Nick Testa is doing here. We believe we’re going to keep getting better. The future of this program looks real good to me.”

By Steve Hanlon
Heartland Sports Network

UNION TWP. -- Levi Murray was a soccer player as a lad. He ran around and kicked the ball. Then he ran around and kicked the ball some more.
His only connection to America’s version of football was an Indianapolis Colts cap he wore around his neighborhood.
His father, Bryan, grew up in Greencastle, which made him a big fan of Peyton Manning and the boys in blue a generation ago. Watching the Colts on television, something dramatically changed for Levi.
“I absolutely fell in love with football,” said Murray, Wheeler’s standout junior running back.
He played some Junior Bulldogs football in Crown Point, but it was rather nondescript. Nothing special. Nothing that suggested what was to come.
Then he started playing Pop Warner football for his local community team.
They were trailing Warsaw by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter when his coach finally put him in the backfield.
Murray scored three touchdowns to help secure the victory.
That moment changed everything.
“My coach pulled me to the side after the game,” Murray said. “He told me, ‘You’re going to be something special.’ That’s when I knew what I wanted to do.
“I wanted to be a running back.”
He played sparingly as a freshman at Wheeler. But last year, when he got the ball, people started to smile.
Murray rushed for more than 1,000 yards and led the Bearcats’ offense until the final week of the Greater South Shore Conference season, when Wheeler played Griffith for the league championship.
While running down the sideline, Murray was hit by a Panther — helmet to helmet — and suffered a concussion that ended his season. He was unable to play against Lake Station or Andrean in sectional competition.
“That’s what I want more than anything,” Murray said. “I want to compete in the postseason this year.”
So far, Murray and the Bearcats are doing plenty to suggest they’ll be a postseason factor.
Wheeler is tied for 12th in the state in scoring average, averaging 49 points per game through its first two games against South Central and Kankakee Valley.
Murray has rushed for 316 yards and seven touchdowns, although he has spent much of the second half of both games on the bench because of what the scoreboard was saying on those Friday nights.
He ranks 18th in the state in rushing yards.
Wheeler’s first-year coach is Josh Wissing, a Fort Wayne native who played at state power Bishop Dwenger. In 1997, he was part of the Saints team that played Griffith in the Class 4A semistate.
The power went out, delaying the game several hours. Griffith eventually won and went on to dominate the state championship game.
“I still think we were better,” Wissing said. “Had the power not gone out, we would have beat them.”
Griffith defeated Hamilton Southeastern 49-7 in the state final.
Wissing went on to play at DePauw before becoming an assistant coach at Valparaiso University. He later coached at Portage for eight years, Merrillville for six and Chesterton for one.
He was hired at Wheeler in March.
“The first thing I told the guys was we have to get in the weight room,” Wissing said. “I keep telling them to ‘Be Cold.’ That’s our motto. You win championships when it’s 32 degrees or colder. We have to learn to play and win when it’s cold.”
Wissing noticed Murray right away.
Levi was a leader — in the locker room, in the hallway, in the weight room and in the classroom.
Murray also owns a 3.9 GPA.
“I have a passion for learning,” Murray said. “Both of my parents always tell me they were good students, so I want to be like them.”
Like many high school football players, Murray wants to play college football.
And if he keeps putting up numbers like these each Friday night, there should be plenty of suitors.
For now, though, Murray has something else on his mind: making sure his season doesn’t end before the postseason begins.
The Bearcats travel to River Forest on Friday night.

By Steve Hanlon
Heartland Sports Network

DYER -- The idea had been floating around for years.
Literally.
Could a small, private Christian high school build and support a football program?
How could such an expensive sport, dependent on a healthy enrollment and a steady stream of athletes, work at a place like Illiana Christian?
“It came up every year,” said Darren DeBoer, who has been the school’s athletic director for 12 years. “When we were in Lansing, the facilities were landlocked. Our enrollment was declining. So playing football at that time wasn’t doable.”
The school, established in 1945, built its new campus in rural Dyer in 2018.
That’s when the whispers about football started getting louder.
Enrollment is now around 700. Fundraising, facility upgrades, more fundraising and, perhaps most importantly, making sure the student body supported football were all aspects DeBoer had to juggle.
“We did not want other fall sports to lose athletes to football,” DeBoer said.
Then, in the fall of 2024, the announcement was made.
Football was coming to Illiana Christian.
There was excitement throughout the administration.
Then DeBoer walked into the first call-out meeting.
“There were nine kids there,” DeBoer said with a laugh. “I was sweating.”
Last fall, the Vikings played their first junior varsity season. They had 50 students put on the pads.
Yes, there was still work to do.
But when the Vikings played their first JV game against Bishop Noll, 3,000 fans came out to support the team — and the idea.
FieldTurf was installed in 2024. Then former Washington Township strength and conditioning coach and Griffith offensive line coach Sam Kessler was hired as the school’s first football coach.
Suddenly, there was tremendous momentum.
“Even though I was a little nervous after that first meeting, I knew football would take off here,” DeBoer said. “Sam has been great. We have 70 kids out this year. We’re building a feeder program. Very few of our kids had ever played before.”
They started middle school football programs at Highland Christian and Crown Point Christian.
They started flag football for sixth- through eighth-graders, with more than 100 student-athletes participating.
Illiana also has a girls flag football team this year, following a trend that continues to grow throughout Indiana.
And this school year marks the Vikings’ first in the Northwest Crossroads Conference, a very strong football league.
“Some said I’d have a tough time getting Christian young men to be violent,” Kessler said. “But they’ve handled that pretty well. They are learning that getting up after being hit, fighting through a competitive battle and getting through that will help them in the classroom, on the field and in life.”
Next year, the Vikings will begin varsity football.
Consequently, Illiana competed only in varsity scrimmages this past summer. The road is long and bumpy in this sport. It takes time.
But the school’s community is embracing the idea with great joy.
They had a tailgate at one of this year’s JV games, complete with a beanbag tournament and a whole lot of great food.
Then, out on the field, the Vikings battled Chicago powerhouse St. Rita down to the wire before losing 20-16.
Junior Cade DeJong is a 6-foot-7, 270-pound offensive lineman who has an offer from Miami University of Ohio without ever playing a varsity game.
“I’ve played football for six years,” DeJong said, explaining his unusual path on this roster. “All my family went here (Illiana), so I was going to play at Calumet Christian first and then transfer to Crown Point. But when we started football, I was happy to stay here.”
There are a handful of seniors playing JV football for the Vikings.
For them, it was either this or nothing.
Senior Seth Striggow played football for one year when he was 12. But he said his mother encouraged him to stop.
“The whole concussion protocol thing,” he said. “So I played soccer. I didn’t play last year, but I came to a lot of the games. I fell in love with it. I like the night games. The adrenaline it gives you is amazing. There is nothing holding you back.
“I wish I could be here next year when we’re varsity. But I’m happy I can at least do this.”
Teammate Jackson Bandstra, also a senior, had never played football until last year.
And he didn’t even watch it.
“I didn’t even watch it,” Bandstra said of football on television. “Last year, a big dude hit me pretty hard. That was rough. I really didn’t like it. But now I enjoy the contact. I feel confident. We fought hard. We’re learning the game.
“The (St. Rita) game showed us we have a lot of work to do. Our offense didn’t move the ball. But we want to show everyone that Illiana can compete in football. I can’t wait to see where we go from here.”
That, right there, is what this story is about.
This whole thing is a little bit of a miracle.
From starting with nine athletes at that first call-out meeting to teaching players what a defensive back is, to getting pounded by Andrean last year, to competing with St. Rita last week — it’s going to be fascinating to see where this goes.
Playing a varsity schedule in the NCC next year will provide a much better indication of where this program, and this idea, stands.
My guess, however, is these Vikings are going to be pretty good.
One day.

Steve Hanlon
Heartland Sports Network

CEDAR LAKE -- Anthony Layman was a 14-year-old rising baseball star competing for the Indiana Bulls travel team. On this particular day, Layman was wearing the catcher’s gear.
A runner on first took off for second on the dusty diamond in Oak Forest, and Layman did what he had done countless times before.
He rose to fire a strike toward second.
Then, just like that, everything changed.
Layman’s fingers got caught in the umpire’s mask as he tried to make the throw. There was a little discomfort at first, but the full impact of the injury didn’t hit him until the next morning.
Extreme pain sent him to the doctor, where the incoming Hanover Central freshman was told he needed Tommy John surgery.
“They told me if I chose not to play baseball anymore, I wouldn’t need to get the surgery,” Layman said. “And that was fine with me because my first love is football.”
Hanover football coach Tony Bartolomeo knew Layman well. The two were neighbors, and eventually Bartolomeo’s son, Rocco, would drive Layman to school each morning.
The baseball injury eventually subsided, and Layman started on varsity as a freshman.
But it returned the summer between his sophomore and junior seasons.
And the return was devastating.
“I had to get Tommy John,” Layman said. “And when I woke up, I couldn’t feel anything in my right hand. Nothing. I had to relearn everything.
“How to use a fork. I had an art class, and I had to draw with my left hand. It was tough.”
Bartolomeo watched as Layman came out for summer drills like a one-armed bandit, scuffling with every step he took.
“When a kid is going through something like that, you quickly start thinking not like a football coach, but as a father,” Bartolomeo said. “You care about his well-being, his health, everything. So he had a second Tommy John, and it seemed to fix the problem.
“He was able to play the next season without missing anything.”
The fact that Layman was on the field, along with 20 other seniors, last Friday in Hanover Central’s first-ever game against Lake Central was huge.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound tight end and linebacker and his teammates held on for a historic 24-21 victory.
The victory was special for Bartolomeo.
The same could be said for Layman.
Anthony’s father, David Layman, was a star on several Lake Central teams in the late 1990s.
The win was secured in the final minutes when fellow linebacker Logan Baughman recovered a fumble, followed by a very sweet victory formation for the Wildcats.
“I told our guys before the game that (Lake Central) has 3,000 students and we have our 850,” Bartolomeo said. “But I let our guys know that I believe we have the right 11 to go out on the field.”
Hanover is now 2-0 against two Duneland Athletic Conference schools and will open Northwest Crossroads Conference play Friday when Highland comes to town.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Layman said of his emotions after beating Lake Central.
But certainly, he no longer has issues feeling anything anymore.
“We were jumping up and down, going crazy all over the field,” he continued. “No one believed we could do it, and we did.”
Layman has two younger brothers in the Hanover system, and his sister plays flag football for the Wildcats.
Yes, football is huge in the Layman family, to say the least.
“My dad coaches all of us in everything,” Layman said. “That’s what made Friday’s win so big for us.”
Layman, who has 10 catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns, attended several football camps this summer and hopes to play college football one day.
He has an offer from Roosevelt University so far, with several other schools watching this season to see if Layman can play his way into their recruiting circles.
“I want to be a history teacher,” Layman said.
“And I want to coach football.”

By Steve Hanlon
Heartland Sports Network

MERRILLVILLE — This nation — and, sadly, this world — seems so divided. It is consumed by anger, screaming, violence, a lack of control and, to put it mildly, madness.
During my 30-plus years in print journalism, I reported the news all day and night, then went home and turned on the national news for another hour or three. These days, my veteran eyes can hardly watch the day's happenings.
Too much sorrow. Too many tears.
So I am especially happy to be entering my second month of writing for the Heartland Sports Network.
Just as during those three decades in print, the joy and inspiration found in stories about local high school athletes and teams have been lifting my spirits.
And that's my goal for my readers.
Here's a story that should bring a smile to everyone's face.
On Monday, Aug. 3, Merrillville football coach Brad Seiss walked onto the grounds of Demaree Stadium for the first official day of high school football practice in Indiana. Coming off a trip to Lucas Oil Stadium for the Class 5A state championship game, he had a little extra pep in his step.
Then he saw Merrillville's girls flag football team going through its first practice.
His steps slowed.
About six of his players were on the field working with the female Pirates.
No one had asked them to.
They just did it.
"It was very inspiring to have our boys come out to show us some things," junior quarterback Justice Bernard-Conner said. "They were showing us love, trying to help us get to where they've been for quite a while. It was awesome."
Patrick Coffey is coaching the first girls flag football team in Merrillville school history. He also coaches the boys and girls track teams, and many of his track athletes play football.
Coffey recruited 15 female track athletes to play a sport many of them had never played before.
The Indianapolis Colts donated $1 million to the IHSAA initiative to grow girls flag football. There are 108 teams competing this fall, and the sport is expected to become an official IHSAA sport next school year.
"The boys came out to show the girls what football can do for them," Coffey said. "They've been super supportive of them. We've got a great group of kids at this school."
I would certainly agree.
I've heard whispers about male football players in the area criticizing the girls at their schools, almost making fun of them.
"It's not real football because no one gets tackled," they say.
But I watched the first quarter of Monday's Lake Central-Merrillville game, and let me tell you: Flag football is incredibly athletic. And difficult.
Grabbing the flag from the hip of someone sprinting downfield is not easy.
Not easy at all.
"Yeah, our boys were showing us love," Merrillville junior Jordy Fort said. "They came out to be there for us. They were showing us drills. Footwork. How to run routes. Basic stuff. We're all athletes, but we've never competed in football before.
"It meant a lot to me, to all of us, that they were there."
On Monday night, Pirates defensive end Josiah Horton and a teammate worked the chains for the game. Many of the Bucs football players, after a long, hot practice, sat in the stands cheering for their schoolmates.
This was so much better than watching Fox News, CNN or MSNBC.
Bickering. Yelling. Barking like mad dogs while seemingly adding fuel to the flames burning around the planet.
"We wanted to help them out so they could be as good as us," senior running back Kam Brown said. "When you're just starting, everyone needs to have someone show them the ropes. We all needed it when we started playing, too.
"The speed our girls have is pretty good. I think once they get going, they're going to be a tough team."
Teammate William Golden agreed as the two watched Monday's game.
"Just starting, they needed someone to explain some things," Golden said. "We were happy to be there and do that. We know most of them from track, and we're all friends. We cheer each other on.
"Everyone's got to start somewhere. I think they have a chance to be pretty good."
Seiss joked that his players just wanted to hang around some girls.
But the 12th-year coach on Broadway was also genuinely proud of his players' character and their willingness to lend a hand.
"I saw my guys out there running stations, doing drills, explaining football language and things like that, and I was proud," Seiss said. "We've got nice kids here. They get along very well. But seeing them working together made me proud."
As it should, Coach.
I may not watch the so-called "news" for a month.
I need to go to more high school events.
Because there is far more hope and love in our communities than a lot of those "broadcasters" tell us.

Steve Hanlon
Heartland Sports Network

MUNSTER – Sam Sudac was just running around his house when he was 5 years old. Then came a knock on the door.
Thump. Thump. Thud.
It was his next-door neighbors, Joe and Owen Burns, also 5 at the time. They weren’t asking to borrow some sugar.
They were offering an opportunity.
“They asked me if I wanted to play football,” Sudac said. “We played for the Munster Colts Pop Warner team, and I just fell in love with football immediately.”
Like a tattoo on the skin, Sudac’s friendship with the Burns brothers — and his love of football — have carried through to his senior season at Munster.
It all culminated Saturday night when the Mustangs defeated Lake Central 37-35, earning their first victory over the Indians in 11 seasons.
Sudac threw for 103 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 194 yards and three scores.
Burns provided the finishing touch, booting a 32-yard field goal with 3.5 seconds remaining to give the Mustangs the dramatic victory.
The Stangs trailed by 15 points at halftime.
“We had to put everything on the field,” Sudac said of the comeback. “I knew we were still in the game. When the kick was good, it didn’t even feel real in the moment. It was like a sigh of relief.”
Coach Romison Saint-Louis is in his third season of rebuilding Munster’s program. The once-proud Region power hasn’t had a winning season since 2014.
“Confidence is what you hope for with the assurance in what you believe,” Saint-Louis said. “You never know what will happen when you take the field. But you know you will never quit and keep fighting until the very end.
“That’s what we did.”
Sudac has played running back since he was a youngster. There wasn’t much else to it.
But Saint-Louis had a plan for the athletic runner.
Sudac played Wildcat quarterback for roughly 10 percent of Munster’s offensive snaps last season.
After the season, the ball was placed in Sudac’s hands full time.
“I don’t like to brag, but I’ve always been an athlete and I can throw the ball,” Sudac said. “I can spread the field. I know we’re going to continue getting better.”
That improvement will be tested Friday when Munster hosts preseason No. 8 Griffith in a Class 3A matchup.
The boys in red will have to be at their best.
Sudac has a large tattoo on his throwing arm. It means the world to him.
It features Philippians 4:13 from the New Testament:
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
“It lets me know I can push through anything as long as God is with me,” said Sudac, a lifelong Catholic. “It has carried through many things in my life. The (Lake Central) game gave our team morale a great boost. We have to keep pushing through. We have to hope for the best.”
Sudac is involved in plenty at Munster. He runs track and is a member of Link Crew, a group of upperclassmen who welcome freshmen and help them find their way around the school.
He also serves on the athletic council and is a member of the National Honor Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Sudac hopes to play football in college, where he plans to study finance.
“I knew Sam was the best athlete and he could handle it,” Saint-Louis said of turning the offense over to Sudac at quarterback. “We know we’ve got a big one against Griffith. They’re very good, very aggressive. We’ve got to limit their big plays.
“And we’re going to have to score.”
All things considered, that sounds like a plan.

By Steve Hanlon
Heartland Sports Network

MERRILLVILLE – Recruiting great athletes from high schools across Indiana is nothing new. It has been happening in one form or another for more than 100 years.
But the script has been flipped a bit at Merrillville High School.
Pirates football coach Brad Seiss was walking down a hallway a couple of years ago when he was cornered by the school’s choir director.
“You’re not trying to take my best singer, are you?” she asked.
The crooner and defensive end they were discussing was Josiah Horton, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound senior.
Horton didn’t always play football. He put on the cleats for the first time in eighth grade.
Music, however, has always been part of his life.
“The Jackson 5, they are my favorite,” Horton said. “I love all those bands from that time. I guess I’m old school. But music has always been with me.”
Seiss has no doubts about Horton’s standing in the choir.
“Josiah is the best singer in the choir,” he said.
But Horton isn’t too bad on the gridiron, either.
The relative newcomer played junior varsity as a freshman. He saw some varsity action as a sophomore, but opposing teams hardly had him on their scouting reports.
Like the program itself, Horton didn’t step into the spotlight until last season.
After a 1-2 start, the Pirates won 10 straight games and advanced to the Class 5A state championship game.
“Last season was like a movie,” Horton said. “Running onto the field at Lucas Oil was a dream. That’s what it’s all about.”
In the semistate victory over Concord, Horton recorded a strip-sack with a couple of minutes remaining before halftime and recovered the fumble. The play set up a late touchdown in Merrillville’s 41-14 victory.
It marked the first time the Pirates had advanced to a state championship game since 1976.
Horton finished second on the team in sacks last season.
Merrillville lost seven offensive and defensive starters from that team to graduation.
“Josiah is the lone senior on our defensive line,” Seiss said. “We’re a much younger team.”
Perhaps that youth factored into the Pirates’ 27-21 victory over Andrean last Friday, when the defense stood tall in the closing minutes to stop a 59ers drive.
“Our program has always gotten stronger as the season goes on,” Seiss said. “We take pride in that every single day at practice.”
The young Pirates face another tough task Friday when they travel to Lafayette Jeff, which lost to state power Indianapolis Chatard, 35-7, last week.
“Last year we were a brotherhood,” Horton said. “I followed the older guys. We had all the right pieces. Like a bond with glue. We always knew where everyone would be, and we always had each other’s back. That’s what we’re working to do this season.
“But this year I’m one of the leaders. Just like last year, we know what the end goal is.”
An honor-roll student, Horton has become a positive influence throughout the school, whether he has a microphone in his hand or not.
On Monday night at Demaree Stadium, Horton and a teammate served as the chain crew for Merrillville’s first girls flag football game in school history.
Horton plans to play college football when this season ends.
The Apollo Theatre can wait.
“I just want to leave a legacy here,” Horton said.
Anyone who watches this young man do his thing knows he is doing just that.

​By Steve Hanlon
Heartland Sports Network