On Friday, Oct. 11, the Indians versed the Merrillville Pirates. Friday night football was taken to a different level as the Indians and Pirates went head-to-head for the Duneland Athletic Conference title. The Indians lost the game 20-17; however, they are still able to tie for the title if Merrillville loses this week’s game.

“I felt like some kids were a bit scared to play just [because] it was Merrillville,” Jesse Ruiz (12) said.

The fight for the win started right after kickoff. The Pirates returned the Indian’s kick for a touchdown. However, the favor was returned when Alec Olund (12) returned the Pirates kick to the Pirates’ 10-yard line. By the end of the first half, the score was tied 14-14.

“[In the beginning], we had stuff that we weren’t doing right, and we fixed it,” Christopher Lessentine (12) said.

The battle continued through the second half. The Pirates scored another touchdown; however, they did not get the extra points. This left the score at 20-14, and the Indians were down by six.

“I was pretty confident in our ability to get stuff done…in every game you have ups and downs, and we couldn’t really let the fact that they kept scoring get us down,” Thomas Quinn (12) said.

Two minutes after the Pirates scored, and a little over five minutes left in the third quarter, the Indians scored a field goal. After another quarter of fighting and anticipation, the time was up and Lake Central lost.

The Indians will go up against the Valparaiso Vikings on Friday, Oct. 18 in Valparaiso. If the Indians win and Merrillville loses, the two could tie for the DAC title, which they also did in 2011.