Crown Point’s Raymond Santiago, right, tries to get past Chesterton’s Zach Coursel during a game in Crown Point on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Raymond Santiago patted his legs — first the right, then the left.

The Crown Point senior was making a point.

“These right here — I dust people,” he said. “Once I turn these burners on, I’m taking off.”

Santiago showed that speed Friday night, pulling away for a 90-yard touchdown on a kickoff return in Crown Point’s 41-21 Duneland Athletic Conference victory against visiting Chesterton.

The Bulldogs (8-0, 6-0), ranked No. 7 in Class 6A in The Associated Press poll and No. 8 in the coaches poll, clinched at least a share of the conference title with the win against the Trojans (3-5, 2-4).

“We’ve come a long way, but we won’t back down yet,” Santiago said.

Crown Point’s Raymond Santiago, right, tries to power past Chesterton’s Devin Sain during a game in Crown Point on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Santiago also showed his strength on his TD, his second on a kickoff return in as many weeks after he also had a 98-yarder against LaPorte. He stumbled as he broke a tackle, putting his hand on the turf to maintain his balance before taking it the distance.

“At first, I was kind of nervous,” Santiago said. “I didn’t know if I was going to catch it. But once I saw the ball coming up, I knew it was my time to shine.

“I almost got tackled. They had my waist. But it’s easy to break off, and just look north.”

Santiago also was part of Crown Point’s efficient passing performance with four catches for 37 yards. Landen Delich had five catches for 103 yards, including a 32-yard TD from quarterback JJ Johnson.

“We feel like we have some good wideouts,” Crown Point coach Craig Buzea said. “We feel like we have tight ends who can catch the ball. We just weren’t clicking on all cylinders. But Ray made some big plays. We feel like Landen can do it on the other side.”

Johnson completed 14 of 16 passes for 193 yards and ran for 103 yards and three TDs.

“JJ’s a QB,” Santiago said. “When he throws the ball, our job is to come up and get it. He executes the way he should, we execute the way we should, we make a good play out of it.”

Crown Point’s Tommy Guadagno runs the ball past Chesterton’s Devin Sain during a game in Crown Point on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Buzea has seen Johnson’s progress.

“He threw some really nice balls to get some people open,” Buzea said. “He’s out to prove to people he’s more than just a runner — a quarterback, a good leader. He threw the ball exceptionally well last week, and he had some nice passes this week. I’m not trading him for anybody.

“They stacked the box a little bit. We were able to hit some things. But we weren’t consistent enough on offense. … It certainly wasn’t our best offensive performance. But teams are scouting us and doing a good job of what they need to stop. We have to make some adjustments ourselves.”

Crown Point won its first DAC championship since 2007, when it shared the title with Merrillville. The Bulldogs close the regular season at Michigan City on Oct. 14. With a win in that game, they’d have their first outright title since going back to back in 2005 and 2006.

“It is one of our goals. … We’re very proud of that,” Buzea said of the DAC title.

Tommy Guadagno had 69 yards on 16 carries as Crown Point’s primary running back. Elijah Tiawhan, who was in uniform with a brace on his right knee, sat out his fifth straight game. Buzea said Tiawhan has been cleared, but Buzea opted not to play him.

“We know we want him full speed when it comes to the playoffs,” Buzea said. “He’d make a big difference for us.”

Chesterton quarterback Sebastian Boswell, left, throws a pass under pressure from Crown Point’s Niko Pavlou, center, and Paul Clark during a game in Crown Point on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Chesterton’s Tyler Peterson had nine catches for 107 yards, including a 22-yard TD. Quarterback Sebastian Boswell threw for 204 yards, and Garrett Lewis ran for 105 yards, including a 74-yard TD.

“It wasn’t our best performance, but kids read scores,” Buzea said. “We came out fairly decent. Give credit to Chesterton — they played hard. It was just one of those games you couldn’t get any type of rhythm one way or another.

“But we’re not going to apologize for anything. … We just have to keep on getting better like we have every week.”