Trojans rack up yardage in Duneland win

Updated: May 9, 2012 9:45AM

MICHIGAN CITY — Joe Troop was just as surprised as everybody else when the punt landed in his hands late in the second quarter on Friday.

The Chesterton junior already has a reputation for being a dangerous punt returner. And Michigan City had made every effort to kick away from Troop on its first four punts. But not this time, and the Wolves paid.

Troop took the punt return 67 yards for a score after darting to his left, getting a huge block that sprung him, and then cutting back across the field and sprinting to the end zone with 1:04 left in the second quarter. It sucked the life out of Michigan City and gave Chesterton a 28-point halftime cushion that turned into a 48-14 Trojans victory in a Duneland Conference opener.

“We say that the offense can do what they do, and the defense can do what they do,” said Troop who returned a punt 43 yards for a TD last week against Munster. “But special teams have to step up.”

Chesterton (2-1) was equally as impressive on offense and defense, compiling 435 yards of offense, including 316 on the ground. Troop set the tone early at wingback, and when the Wolves (1-2) started keying on him, QB Chris Katsafaros and wingback Adam Lara picked up the slack.

Meanwhile, Chesterton fullback Zach Jenks made the most of his carries. He touched the ball four times and scored three times on runs of 18, 5 and 38 yards. Katsafaros led the way with 100 yards on the ground, and 65 came on the first two plays of the third quarter when he scored on a 41-yard TD sprint. Lara added a 22-yard touchdown run.

“We know how the DAC is,” Trojans coach John Snyder said. “Things get tougher and tougher from here on out. You have to be able to play tough on tough.”

Defensively, Chesterton was impressive for the second straight week. Michigan City didn’t get on the board until late in the third quarter when quarterback Joel Hirsch found Josh Gondeck in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass.

The Wolves added a fourth-quarter score when Hirsch sneaked in from a yard out.

“We took a couple steps back this week,” Michigan City coach Michael Karpinski said. “We didn’t execute anything, really. Chesterton didn’t do anything we didn’t see on film. It just came down to execution.”

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