2025 Duneland Conference Preview
The big dogs of “The Region” are set for another exciting football season this fall. However, many of the top teams in the conference face the challenges of replacing top line talent from one season ago, and, as the postseason rolls into late November, DAC schools are given the tall tasked with going toe-to-toe with the football powers down state. Which DAC school will reign supreme in 2025?
6A Crown Point Bulldogs (13-1; 7-0 1st DAC in 2024; Lost 30-7 to Westfield in 6A Northern Semi-State)
HC: Craig Buzea (40-8; 5th season at Crown Point)
Key Returners
TE/LB - Trevor Gibbs
OL - Nolan Cicero
TE/DE - Ben Keller
Key Departures
QB - Noah Ehrlich
LB - Lucas Szymborski
RB - Larry Ellison
Crown Point is quickly turning into a football factory as more than 210 kids showed up to the team’s first summer practice in early June. It clearly doesn’t take much convincing for the top athletes in the school to play football.
The Bulldogs will have to replace three top players in 2025, including starting QB, Noah Ehrlich. However, with the returning services of IU-commit Trevor Gibbs, Ball State-commit Nolan Cicero, and the versatile Ben Keller, Crown Point can and should be the favorite in the DAC but not as big as the past few years. It may be tough to replicate the dominance of last season (CP never lost a conference game by fewer than 4 touchdowns), but, a fourth consecutive conference title is at least achievable, and likely expected.
The question with Crown Point becomes, how far can they go in the State Tournament? They should be favored in their Sectional featuring Portage, Lake Central, and Penn, but the road gets much tougher beyond that. The Bulldogs look to prepare themselves better for the state tournament this year by adding Pike to their non-conference schedule in Week 2. Look for Crown Point to run the gauntlet again with only the next team able to compete.
5A Merrillville Pirates (11-2; 6-1 2nd DAC; Lost 31-14 to Warsaw in Semi-State)
Head Coach: Brad Seiss (83-37 11th season at Merrillville)
Key Returners
RB - JQ Johnson
RB - Cameron Jordan
S - Warren Brown III
Key Departures
DE - Trenton Nixon
S - John Peters
Entire Offensive Line
As far as offensive skill positions go, Merrillville returns a bulk of their production from one year ago. This includes 1000 yard rushers JQ Johnson and Cam Jordan, plus leading tackler Warren Brown III and starting Quarterback Jordan Sanders. However, Brown will be tasked with helping fill the hole left by WMU-bound John Peters, and the entire starting Offensive Line from their Sectional Championship win over Morton has graduated.
Merrillville might be the team best equipped to fight with Crown Point for the DAC crown, but they still have a lot of ground to make up. They also have an interesting Week 2 test as they play Illinois powerhouse Loyola Academy. The bigger question with the Pirates is the Postseason.
They should be favored in their Sectional, which features Hammond Central, Hammond Morton, and Munster. Their Regional, should they get that far, is also winnable, as they would play one of the four other 5A DAC programs. However, Semi-State gets tougher for Merrillville as they look to advance to their first State Title game since the 1970s.
5A Valparaiso Vikings (8-4; 5-2 3rd DAC; Lost 48-14 to Merrillville in Regional)
Head Coach: Bill Marshall (69-18; 8th season at Valparaiso)
Key Returners
QB - Kaden Hosek
LB - Benjamin Fedorchak
LB - Brody Wheeler
Key Departures
RB - Thomas Burda
WR - Julian Stokes
LB - Brendan Gaghan
It will be a fairly new look Valpo offense in 2025 as Kaden Hosek treks into his Senior Season without Tomas Burda and Julian Stokes. The Linebacking corps looks to be strong for Valpo this season with top tacklers Benjamin Fedorchak and Brody Wheeler returning, even with Brendan Gaghan graduating.
Valpo is a team that you can never count out, as their 2022 State Championship run proved. However, Valpo was clearly a few steps behind both Crown Point and Merrillville in 2024, both teams Valpo tends to contest closely. Like Merrillville, Valpo will also play a top Illinois private school program in Week 2 as they play Brother Rice in what should be a fun measuring stick.
While Valpo should be the favorite in their Sectional, featuring LaPorte, Michigan City, and Chesterton, it will not be an easy one. The Vikings won by only one score against Michigan City in the regular season, and Chesterton once again gave the Vikings a scare in the Sectional Championship. Getting over the Crown Point/Merrillville hump will be tough, but even getting to that hump will be a task. However, if any coach is able to prepare his program for a road like this, it’s Bill Marshall.
5A Michigan City Wolves (3-7; 3-4 4th DAC; Lost 28-21 (OT) in Sectional to Chesterton)
Head Coach: Cody French (9-12 3rd Season at Michigan City)
Key Returners
QB - Trinaston Hart
WR - Kyron Hart
LB - Ethan Buskirk
Key Departures
HB - Jamorieon Gee
S/OLB - Michael Crawford
DE/OT - Adrian Holley
Michigan City just might be the most intriguing dark horse in the DAC this season. They return almost all of their skill position talent on offense, save for Jamorieon Gee, and they played about as well as a 3-7 team could. Five of their seven losses were by one score, including three to Sectional Champions, Valparaiso, Merrillville, and Lafayette Jefferson.
Michigan City proved last year they belong on the field against the top teams of the Region, but, do they have enough to get over the hump? With Trinaston Hart having another year under his belt with a solid receiving corp surrounding him, the lessons learned from one year ago could be enough to get them over that hump. Watch for Michigan City to make an upset or two during the regular season.
In the postseason, their sectional is winnable, even if they are not the favorite. The Wolves shut out Chesterton in the regular season before the heartbreaking Sectional loss, and held their own against Valpo in DAC play. The question is, can they play at their best on a consistent basis?
5A Chesterton Trojans (6-5; 3-4 5th DAC; Lost 28-21 in Sectional to Valparaiso)
Head Coach: Mark Peterson (58-68; 11th season at Chesterton)
Key Returners
Andrew Goveia
Roberty Guzman
Lucas Anderson
Key Departures
Brady McCormack
Owen Elden
Jude Palm
Chesterton is probably the toughest team to get a read on. In five of the last six seasons, they have lost by one score in Sectionals, and that trend continued last year with a heartbreaking loss to Valparaiso.
This year, it looks like Chesterton is firmly in the same, middle of the road status as they have been in recent years. The schedule is exactly the same as it was one year ago, with non-conference games against Hobart and Morton. The Trojans do return a good chunk of talent from one season ago, but they also lose some as well.
If Chesterton plays at their best, they just might be able to surprise some people. Keep in mind, this team has never won a Sectional.
6A Lake Central Indians (3-7; 2-5 6th DAC; Lost 35-7 in Sectional to Penn)
Head Coach: Pete Koulianos (3-7 2nd Season at Lake Central)
Key Returners
SS/QB: Cameron Reddick
LB/RB: Brody Ramirez
DE/OLB: Christian Gavin
Key Departures
WR/SB/FS: Trevor Kubacki
LB: Tyler Bechich
FS/SS: Ryder Fernandez
Pete Koulianos heads into his second season at Lake Central, and he has his work cut out for him. Not necessarily from a talent standpoint, but from a schedule standpoint. With players like Cameron Reddick on offense and defensive players Brody Ramirez and Christian Gavin returning, Lake Central does have some talent.
The Indians were around the “Michigan City/Chesterton” tier in 2024, except with one glaring difference. Lake Central is a 6A, meaning they have to go through Penn and/or Crown Point to win a Sectional. This is what makes the road tough in 2025.
However, it is the second season of a head coaching regime. With his culture firmly in place, this will be a big measuring stick season for Koulianos and the Indians.
6A Portage (4-6; 2-5 7th DAC; Lost 42-0 in Sectional to Crown Point)
Head Coach: Tony Klimczak (Interim; Roy Richards was let go on May 6)
Key Returners
QB - Kodie Young
WR/CB/RB - Ogbonna Williamson
CB/FS - Psymon Marshall
Key Departures
WR - Jojo Mabon
DT/DE - Everett Mcclelland
Head Coach - Roy Richards
No team has had a more turbulent offseason in this conference, the region, and potentially even the state than Portage has. Roy Richards seemed to be righting the ship as the Indians had their highest win total in six seasons in 2024, until Richards was placed on Administrative Leave in early May and removed from his post one week later. The school has not explained why Richards was shown the door.
Now, its’ Tony Klimczak who takes over as interim Head Coach, but nothing has come out of Portage regarding a potential permanent replacement. Klimczak is a brilliant choice as an interim coach, as he previously coached for five years at nearby Wheeler. He led the Bearcats to back-to-back GSSC South titles in 2014 and 2015, and the programs most recent 10-win season in 2014. It could be fun to watch Klimczak at a larger program, albeit under unfortunate circumstances.
Portage has a tough road ahead in 2025. Not only do they have the DAC gauntlet, but they are in 6A Sectional 1 alongside Lake Central, Penn, and Crown Point. With uncertainty surrounding the head coach position, it’s tough to envision how Portage will fare.
5A LaPorte Slicers (0-10; 0-8 8th DAC; Lost 35-0 in Sectional to Valparaiso)
Head Coach: Austin Epple (2-18; 3rd season at LaPorte)
Key Returners
Reed Raymond
Dawson Shreve
Jack Borelli
Key Departures
R.J. Carnes
Vann Warner
Keli Hay
2024 was rock bottom for a LaPorte squad that has fallen on hard times in recent years. The Slicers have not had a winning season since 2017, and they have gone through five head coaches in that span. However, as Austin Epple enters his third season at the helm, giving the program some much-needed stability.
As far as next season goes, the Slicers need to get the quarterback position figured out as four guys had 18+ passing attempts in 2024 for an offense that averaged 6.7 points per game. However, they did have three guys with 100+ tackles on defense, including returners Dawson Shreve and Jack Borelli. That defense will be the foundation Epple looks to build on in 2025.
The goal for LaPorte in 2025 is to regain some respectability. Their schedule starts off with two tough 4As in New Prairie and Lowell before DAC play begins, and getting a good start there will be crucial to building some confidence before being tested against the bigger schools.
The DAC figures to be a very competitive conference in 2025. There are schools who are capable of making deep runs in the state tournament, but whether or not they will remains to be seen.
DUNELAND CONFERENCE PREVIEW
