Merrillville's dynamic offense takes down Concord

MERRILLVILLE — Inches away from a touchdown that would give his team a 14-0 lead in a Class 5A semistate game, Concord quarterback Bo Brunner fought for the end zone with everything he had.

Then it happened.

The ball came loose and Merrillville recovered the fumble in the end zone for a touchback.

One play later, the Pirates' Cameron Jordan was in the end zone for an 80-yard touchdown run that would tie the game and switch the momentum for good, as Merrillville took down Concord 41-14 to claim a spot in the Class 5A state title game in Indianapolis.

The Pirates, now 11-2, will face No. 1 New Palestine at Lucas Oil Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday in the championship game.

"Do we win the game if we score there? ... I don't know, that's a really good football team,'' Concord coach Craig Koehler admitted. "Bo was trying to make a play and the ball came out. That's football.''

Concord would finish the game with four turnovers to just one for the Pirates. Meanwhile, Merrillville's high-octane offense would finish with 537 yards, including 467 on the ground.

"That doesn't surprise me,'' Koehler said. "We've had trouble tackling all year and their offense is just dynamic. They're really fast and athletic on both sides of the ball and we knew going in that we'd have to score in the 40s to beat them.

"We needed to have some breaks tonight and, unfortunately, that didn't happen. Their speed was too much to overcome and they just have so many weapons.''

But Concord gave its large contingent of fans plenty of hope early.

Merrillville drove to the Concord 13 on its first possession, before Jac'Quarious Johnson fumbled, with the Minutemen recovering.

The Minutemen would drive 87 yards to take a 7-0 lead, when senior halfback Reese Breveard broke three tackles near the line of scrimmage and scampered 51 yards for the game's first touchdown.

The Concord defense then forced a three-an-out and, and after a short Pirate punt, the Minutemen took over at the 50.

Brunner's fumble then happened on a first-and-10 from the 11, as he fought for the end zone.

Jordan then scored the first of his four touchdowns, breaking through a gaping hole in the line and running untouched for his 80-yard touchdown run to stun the crowd and tie the game at 7.

The Pirates would take a 20-7 halftime lead after scoring twice in the final 5:04 of the half.

The first came on a 19-yard run by Johnson around the right side of the Concord defense to make it 14-7.

The Pirate defense came through with a big play late in the half, stopping Breveard on a fourth-and-two from their own 31.

Three plays later it was Johnson again breaking through for a 60-yard touchdown run to give Merrillville a 20-7 halftime advantage.

However, the Minutemen opened the second half with their best sustained drive of the game, going 80 yards in 13 plays — which included a pass interference penalty and a late hit flag — with Breveard going in from three yards out to cut the Merrillville lead to 20-14.

"After three turnovers in the first half, we're within one score late in the third quarter,'' Koehler said. "Our guys kept fighting and battling, but hey, that's a really good football team we played.''

Both teams had a three-and-out before Jordan's second touchdown came after a short Concord punt. The junior's second score came from 41 yards out with just 31 seconds to go in the third quarter to make it 27-14.

Jordan, who would rush for 189 yards on just 14 carries, added a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, a back-breaking 17-yarder with 10:08 to play and a five-yard run with just 2:50 showing on the clock to provide the final margin.

Johnson would lead the Pirates with 196 yards rushing, while quarterback Michael Hill added 62 to go along with Jordan's 189.

Breveard led Concord with 119 yards rushing, but the Pirates' defensive front held Derek Gomez to just two yards on seven carries.

So the Minutemen's first trip to the semistate ended one game short of a trip to Lucas Oil Stadium and the state finals, finishing with a record of 11-2.

"We are one of the last four teams in Class 5A playing football and that is something to be very proud of,'' Koehler said. "These kids laid it on the line for us every night without a true home game all season. Is it disappointing to lose? Of course, but this team has nothing to hang their heads about.

"I'm just so proud of this team. We had some flaws, but these our Concord kids from our program ... I'm never going to go out and recruit a linebacker or defensive back ... that's not how we do things, nor will we ever.''

After playing at four different "home" fields his season, the Minutemen should be back at Jake Field in August for the grand re-opening against Elkhart in Week 1 of the 2026 season.

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MERRILLVILLE 41, CONCORD 14

Merrillville;0;20;7;14;—;41

Concord;7;0;7;0;—;14

First Quarter

C — Reese Breveard 52 run; Nathan Potter kick; 1:28.

Second Quarter

M— Cameron Jordan 80 run; Benito Gonzalez kick; 9:19.

M — Jac'Quarious Johnson 19 run; Gonzalez kick; 5:04.

M — Johnson 60 run; kick failed 2:03.

Third Quarter

C —Breveard 3 run; Potter kick; 6:26.

M — Jordan 41 run; Gonzalez kick; 0:31.

Fourth Quarter

M — Jordan 17 run; Gonzalez kick 10:08.

M — Jordan 5 run; Gonzalez kick; 2:50.

Team Statistics

;Con;Mer

Rush yards;172;467

Pass yards;100;70

Total yards;272;537

First downs;12;21

Fumbles-lost;3-3;1-1

Had intercepted;1;0

Penalties-yds;3-20;8-100

Individual Leaders

Concord: Rushing — Reese Breveard 20-119, Bo Brunner 12-52, Derek Gomez 7-2. Passing — Brunner 11-19-100, 1 int. Receiving — Breveard 6-50, Gomez 4-32, Chase Thompson 1-13, Mark Herman 1-5.

Merrillville Rushing — Jac'Quarious Johnson 17-196, Cameron Jordan 14-189, Michael Hill 9-62, Kam Brown 2-14. Passing — Hill 5-10-70. Receiving — Rynell Lewis 2-29, Warren Brown 1-23, Mikel Smoot 1-12, Cameron Johnson 1-5.