Merrillville didn’t have to look far for its next girls basketball coach. The Pirates have hired assistant Kelly Kratz to replace Amy Govert, who resigned after 16 highly successful seasons.

Merrillville’s Jaylen Thomas looks to pass against Valparaiso ... he scrambled to extend a play and hit a wide-open O’Shawn Kelly for 55 yards. His second TD was a 61-yard catch-and-run ...