Bulldogs top Slicers in final minute

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LAPORTE -- Every time one team scored, the other seemed to have the answer.

But Marcus Shrewsbury and Crown Point had the final word against LaPorte on Friday night.

The quarterback scored on a 7-yard touchdown run with 30.1 seconds left in the game as the Bulldogs pulled out a frenetic 35-28 victory over the Slicers.

Crown Point (3-4, 3-2 Duneland Conference) rushed for 266 yards, with Shrewsbury going for 106 and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Evan Nikrin, who missed the first four weeks with an injury, had 114 yards and two scores on 18 carries. Shrewsbury also completed 7-of-10 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown, to Danny Osojnicki, who hauled in six catches for 117 yards.

"I think our offensive line took control of the game, and we could run the ball," said Shrewsbury, who had 12 carries for 105 yards in the second half.

LaPorte (1-6, 1-4) rushed for 328 yards, with Carlton Austin shining for 196 and two touchdowns on 25 carries. The Slicers drove as deep as the Bulldogs' 41 on their final possession, and Crown Point didn't secure the victory until it batted down a pass at the goal line as time expired after Dustin DeMuth had scrambled to and fro before launching.

The Bulldogs scored on all three of their second-half possessions, aided by the second of two fourth-down conversions and a key fumble recovery.

On what proved to be the winning drive, Shrewsbury hit Nikrin for 34 yards on a third-and-5 from the Crown Point 32, and later connected with Osojnicki for a 16-yard gain to the LaPorte 7.

"I think Marcus played well," Crown Point coach Chip Pettit said. "He made some plays with his feet. And he was on the money."

Shrewsbury's 8-yard touchdown run with 9:25 left in the game had given Crown Point a 28-21 edge, capping a drive on which he ran seven times for 51 yards. The Bulldogs had picked up a fourth-and-6 from the LaPorte 43 on Osojnicki's leaping catch for 19 yards.

That score came after Tommy Renn recovered a fumble at the Crown Point 40 with 3:07 left in the third.

"The difference in the second half, we got a turnover," Pettit said.

The Slicers then tied the score at 28-28 with 2:40 left in the game, when Bryce Holland scored from 3 yards to complete a 13-play, 76-yard drive that took 6:37. They had kept that drive alive when Scott Vaughn made a juggling 25-yard catch on a fourth-and-7 from the Crown Point 35.

Crown Point tied the score at 21-21 to start the second half when Nikrin scored on a 4-yard TD run with 7:53 in the third.

The game had started with a flourish as the teams combined to score touchdowns on the first five possessions, including three by the Slicers for a 21-14 lead.

To start, LaPorte marched 72 yards on 15 plays -- 14 runs -- in 7:59, capped when Austin scored on a draw play on a third-and-20 from 26. Crown Point responded with a nine-play -- all runs -- 65-yard drive to tie the score 7-7 with 10:46 left in the second quarter, as Nikrin scored on a 1-yard run.

The Slicers went back ahead when DeMuth broke free for a 70-yard touchdown with 9:38 in the half, getting flushed out of the pocket and streaking down the right sideline virtually untouched.

The Bulldogs came back again, as they drove 90 yards in eight plays, the first seven runs before Shrewsbury connected with Osojnicki for a 24-yard touchdown -- their first pass attempt of the game -- with 5:23 in the half on a fourth-and-7. But that tie was short-lived, as on the next play from scrimmage, Austin raced 66 yards untouched for another score.

LaPorte coach Bob Schellinger wasn't surprised at the offensive output, given the teams' recent history.

"Typical Crown Point game, up and down the field," he said.

"We failed to make plays. We didn't wrap up, we didn't get low. It's been the same old story all year."

Contact Michael Osipoff at 648-3137 or mosipoff@post-trib.com. Comment on this story at www.post-trib.com.