Regional 4A Title slips away from Lowell in 28-27 loss at New Prairie

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

11-16-2014

 

Snow was everywhere but on the field for Friday's playoff game as New Prairie fans and friends of the program were able to clear the field in time for the game.
(All photos by Mark Smith)
New Prairie halfback Tyler Weller (2) tries to get around Lowell's Tim Kreczmer (80) late in Friday's game. Both teams scored three rushing TDs in the Cougars 28-27 win.
Lowell's Ike James (32) scored three TDs in Friday regional championship at New Prairie. He finished the 13-game season with 37 touchdowns.
Lowell's Zach Bobos (18) drops back with time to throw Friday in New Carlisle. Bobos tossed a 23-yard fourth quarter TD pass to junior Darion Hornickel.
Lowell fans were cold but loud at New Prairie as the students showed up to watch the Devils battle for the Class 4A regional championship.
Lowell's Darryl Deveaux (43) is congratulated after his two-point conversion run cut the New Prairie lead to 27-21 in the fourth quarter Friday.
Senior Chris Han (44) checks in with the sidelines during Lowell's second half rally. Down 28-13 with 20 minutes to play, Lowell rallied to within one point in the final quarter.
New Prairie coach Russ Radtke, the former Griffith coach, was cold but happy after his boys had held off Lowell 28-27 Friday.
It didn't matter whether you were at the 30-yard line or anywhere else Friday at New Prairie. On the field it was cold and green. Outside the lines, snow was at your feet for the regional championship football game.
Lowell QB Zach Bobos (18) gets a play call. The Devils, who began the season with three losses... finished as 4A Sectional 17 Champions with an 8-5 record. (All photos by Mark Smith)
Team 1 2 3 4 F
LOWELL (8-5) 6 7 0 14 27
GARY WEST SIDE (2-9) 7 14 7 0 28

Friday, November 14, 2014 - 23 degrees, dry - Class 4A Regional at NEW CARLISLE, Ind.

1st Qtr: (7-0) Nick Brassell 21-yard TD pass to Drake Dierdorf. Evan King kick. 5:48 left.
LOWELL (7-6)
Ike James 70-yard run. Kick wide. 5:26 left.

2nd Qtr: LOWELL (7-13) Ike James, 3-yard run. Colton Wilkey kick. 11:55 left.
NEW PRAIRIE (14-13)
Nick Brassell 37-yard run. Evan King kick, 4:51 left.
NEW PRAIRIE (21-13)
Nick Brassell 40-yard run. Evan King kick, 2:18 left.
3rd Qtr: NEW PRAIRIE (28-13) Nick Brassell 73-yard run. Evan King kick. 11:00 left.
4th Qtr: LOWELL (28-21)
Darion Hornickel. 24-yard pass from Zach Bobos. Darryl Deveaux, 2-point run. 10:08 left.
LOWELL (28-27)
Ike James, 7-yard run. Run failed. 1:19 left.

GAME STATISTICS
RUSHING:
NEW PRAIRIE (41 carries, 300 yards, 3 TDs, one fumble): Nick Brassell (QB) 17 carries, 204 yards, 3 TDs; Tyler Weller (HB) 16-79 yards; Jordan Peck (HB) 8-17 yards.

LOWELL (43 carries, 297 yards, 3 TDs, 0 fumbles): Ike James (HB) 34 carries, 226 yards, 3 TDs (season: 321 carries, 2,413 yards, 2nd all-time at Lowell); Zach Bobos (QB) 8-57 yards; Austin Giordano (FB) 2-3 yards; Darion Hornickel (QB-WR) 1-11 yards.

PASSING:
NEW PRAIRIE: Nick Brassell (QB) 2 of 4, 36 yards, One TD, no interceptions.
LOWELL: Zach Bobos (QB) 3 of 8, 53 yards, One TD, one interception.

RECEIVING:
NEW PRAIRIE: Drake Dierdorf (WR) 1-21 yards, TD; Evan King (WR) 1-15 yards.
LOWELL: Darion Hornickel (WR) 1-24 yards, TD; Austin Giordano (FB) 1-6 yards, Jacob Belt (WR) 1-24 yards.

TURNOVERS:
NEW PRAIRIE (1) one fumble; LOWELL (1) one interception.

Class 4A Semistates
all games Friday Nov. 21

No. 8 New Prairie (12-1) at No. 9 Northridge (11-2)
No. 1 Columbus East (13-0) at No. 2 New Palestine (13-0)
 


NEW CARLISLE, IN (11-14-2014) Very few things would be worth standing in the middle of a country field in sub-freezing temperatures for two hours in mid-November. But last Friday's Lowell-New Prairie Class 4A regional championship game definitely was.

In a game where Cougars and Red Devils played like giants and kings, only one could survive and it was eighth-ranked New Prairie, a 28-27 winner in a dramatic finish.

Trailing 28-21, the Devils got the ball on a punt at their own 18 yard line with 7:11 left in the final quarter of play. Backed by the large Lowell portion in a freeze dried total of about 2,000 fans, Lowell drove 82 yards in 14 plays to cut the lead to 28-27 on a five-yard run by junior halfback Ike James with 1:19 to play.

The Devils could have kicked the extra point, but it wasn't logical. On the slick playing surface, they had already missed two extra points and kicking to tie the game would be a move made in the hope that they could stop the Cougars in the final 79 seconds and win in overtime. No. There was only one thing to do.

Lowell lined up in a four man backfield with two blockers in front of James. They shifted the blockers from right to left and quarterback Zach Bobos turned and looked to hand off to James, who had already gained over 200 yards and scored twice.

But the Lowell halfback, who had gained an unofficial 226 yards on 34 carries, slipped and fell. Bobos tried to run, but was covered up by New Prairie defenders. The Cougars' Jared Culp recovered Lowell's onside kick and the game was over.

"It just happened to be that he (James) fell down," said veteran region coach Russ Radtke, who is now 33-4 in three years at New Prairie. "We got penetration. You always have to go for two on the road. Ask me how many times we've tried it. We've done it. You have to go for two there."

Coaches never want to say that a game came down to one failed effort, because that unavoidably puts blame (even self blame) on those who were involved.

"It didn't come down to one play," said Lowell coach Keith Kilmer, who saw his most successful season come to an end. "It was a great game between two great teams. We went head to head and we came up one point short."

It was very difficult for Lowell to lose a second one point game (they lost 42-41 to Morton when James slipped on a two-point conversion run) for the same reason. But it was not at all surprising that anyone slipped on the natural grass turf, which had been under snow most of the day.

"We had a stretch of about three minutes where we lost it (allowing 15 second quarter points) and that was too much to overcome," Kilmer said.

The game seemed like a step back in time to when Lowell and Russ Radtke led Griffith teams matched option and power running games with hard hitting defense a decade or two ago. Most everyone from Lowell noticed that New Prairie's uniforms (gold with gold helmets) were almost identical to one of the uniform sets that Griffith used to wear. New Prairie's school colors are 'Navy Blue' and something called 'Old Gold,' but Friday's dress was all gold.

Lowell's rally came when they opened up their formation, using four wide receivers. They used a passing formation to run the ball better.

"We have athletes," said Kilmer, "and they have athletes. We just changed it up to get our athletes in space. They did the same thing to us for 15 points. A little different look for Lowell and 'Griffith Prairie' as I like to call them."

New Prairie scored first when junior quarterback Nick Brassell fired a rare pass, a 21-yard TD to Drake Dierdorf. But the Devils came back when James raced 70 yards over the frozen turf for a TD with 5:25 left in the quarter.

A Cougar fumble set the Devils up and James scored again for a 13-7 lead early in the second quarter. Lowell then drove to the New Prairie 2-yard-line, but the Devils drew a false start penalty on a 4th-and-goal run and settled for a field goal attempt, which barely missed.

The Cougars jumped all over that slip up. New Prairie, the undefeated champ of the Northern States Conference, drove the length of the field with the help of four Lowell penalties and scored to take a 14-13 lead on a 37-yard option run by Brassell, who has gained 1,500 yards this year.

On Lowell's next possession, Tyler Weller, who played a dominating game offensively and defensively, intercepted a Zach Bobos pass and ran it back to the Lowell 40-yard line.

On the very next play, Brassell zipped between tackles and pulled away from the defense for a 40-yard score and a 21-13 halftime lead.

It looked like New Prairie would run away to victory when Brassell (5-11, 185) danced around right end and broke away for a 72-yard run with 11:06 to go in the third quarter.

Trailing 28-13, Lowell failed to score on two consecutive possessions and with the temperature dipping into the low 20s, it seemed like a time to quit. Except that you really don't ever give up in a single-elimination playoff game.

Lowell's defense held and they started a drive from their own 27 yard line. Spreading out into a four wide receiver, double slot formation, James ran for 14 yards and Bobos broke loose for 35 more to the New Prairie 24-yard-line. Two plays later on 3rd and 10, Bobos fired a high arching pass into the corner of the end zone where Darion Hornickel pulled it in for a 24-yard TD, cutting the lead to 28-19.

Lowell then lined up for a two-point conversion with senior Darryl Deveaux as the tailback and gave him the ball. The 235-pound blocking back busted into the end zone to make the score 28-21 with 10:08 to go.

Now the Lowell fans found new life. Brassel ran for 26 yards to midfield, but the Devils defense held and New Prairie had to punt again. Lowell took the ball at their own 18 and started a final march south. Bobos had runs of 18 and 11 yards. Hornickel took a reverse for 11. On 2nd and 14 from the New Prairie 46 yard line, Lowell drew a 15-yard pass interference call and James then broke loose for three consecutive five yard runs, scoring from the 5-yard line with 1:19 to play, making the score 28-27. Lowell had made the decision early in the game-tying 14-play drive that if they scored, they were going for a two-point conversion to take the lead.

Everyone in the stadium came to their feet for a rare season-defining moment. The next play would end it or extend it for both sides.

Lowell lined up two backs behind the QB Bobos and in front of James. They then shifted to the left. The play was going to be the same power run off left tackle that had just scored. But James slipped on the frosty turf and Bobos was left holding the ball against the rushing Cougars. With no receivers going out for a pass, the Lowell QB was tackled for a 5-yard loss.

The Cougars recovered Lowell's onside kick and ran out the clock to win their second (the first was in 2004) regional football title.

What was frustrating for Lowell was the QB Brassell lining up in the shotgun formation and slipping through the line or around end untouched a half dozen times.

"That's just a read coming from the (defensive) box," said Radtke. "You get a chance to go 1-on-1 and Brassell can beat that. If the defender goes one way, Brassell goes the other. Can't do it all the time. But it works pretty well when you can make that read. It's just a defensive technique that they use. Not like I've seen it before in the 20 years we (at Griffith) played Lowell."

While no one would ever say this, there is a sense around Lowell that winning the sectional title makes it a successful season, even if you lose at the regional. On the other hand, losing the sectional, no matter what your won-loss record is, cannot be considered a good year for Lowell.

Those are the old school Lowell standards and the Devils program is now certainly back to that, if they ever left.

"This is what it's about," said Kilmer. "This team brought some heart back to the community and there's a lot of good things that are ahead for them down the road."

"I really feel for our kids because I don't know if they deserved to lose. I don't know if New Prairie deserved to lose. It was one heckuva football game in the snow and the cold. Two proud programs."

DEVIL NOTES: The crowd of about 2,000 was surprising. The visitors' grandstand was full and the much larger home side was near capacity. It was difficult to tell how many fans simply wanted to stand because of the weather.

New Prairie had at least six inches of snow late Thursday and early Friday but the field was cleared. It was hardly in perfect condition, but the cold temperatures reduced slipping on the grass because it solidified the wet turf. The playing surface did not appear to alter the outcome of the game.

"We got started at noon," said NP coach Russ Radtke. "I got out here at about 1:30 p.m. We knew we had to get some things done. It looked like (Green Bay's) Lambeau Field."

The offensive coordinator for New Prairie is Bo Radtke, coach Russ Radtke's son. Bo was a star QB at Griffith playing for his dad.

It does not show in the statistics, but freshman Jordon Jusevitch deserves some credit. On Lowell's final drive, Jusevitch took a handoff on a reverse and threw a long pass to senior Austin Belt. Belt would have caught the ball had not New Prairie's Tyler Weller wrapped his arms around the Lowell receiver. There was 15-yard penalty called against New Prairie, but Jusevitch officially does not get a pass completion on the play.

Ike James has a 13-game unofficial total of 2,413 yards on 321 carries and he is now fourth on the single season Lowell rushing list all-time. Indiana University senior Brandon Grubbe, who graduated in 2010 but last played for Lowell in the fall of 2009, carried 403 times for 2,503 yards.

LOWELL single-season rushing:
1. Brandon Grubbe (2009) 403 caries, 2,504 yards
2. Ike James (2014) 321 carries, 2,413 yards.
3. Scott Gray (2005) 339 carries, 2,256 yards
4. Michael Pickett (1994) 339 caries, 2,256 yards
5. Toby Goetz (2004) 276 carries, 1,939 yards

6. Brandon Grubbe (2008) 316 carries, 1,831 yards
7. Matt Pernick (1996) 229 carries, 1,827 yards
8. George Fields (2012) 277 carries, 1,811 yards
9. Michael Pickett (1993) 273 carries, 1,687 yards
10. Brandon Grubbe (2007) 281 carries, 1,675 yards

11. Justin Henley (2002) 167 carries, 1,552 yards
12. Cole Midgett (2010) 195 carries, 1,481 yards
13. Justin Henley (2003) 270 carries, 1,447 yards
14. Mike French (2000) 200 carries, 1,382 yards
15. George Fields (2013) 209 carries, 1.377 yards

16. Matt Pernick (1995) 175 carries, 1,349 yards
17. Max Znika (2006) 224 carries, 1,302 yards
18. Mike French (1999) 226 carries, 1,280 yards
19. Sean Anderson (2001) 242 carries, 1,048 yards
20. Nick Holley (1997) 131 carries, 1,014 yards


CLASS SECTIONAL JOHN HARRELL'S INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL RECENT SEASONS
4A 17 E-MAIL CORRECTIONS MAP TO SCHOOL 8-5
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
LOWELL
RED DEVILS
Coach: Keith Kilmer, 30-23 in 5th year at school
DATE OPPONENT CENTRAL TIME OA 32.5, DA 17.3
Aug. 22 at Crown Point {6A}   L 10-24   
Aug. 29 Hammond Morton {4A} ot  L 41-42   
Sep. 6 Kankakee Valley {4A}   L 12-17   
Sep. 12 at Griffith {4A}  W 48-26   
Sep. 19 at Highland {4A}  W 45-14   
Sep. 26 Hobart {4A}  W 35-13   
Oct. 3 at Hammond {3A}  W 32-  0   
Oct. 10 Munster {5A}  W 42-25   
Oct. 17 at Andrean {3A}   L 14-26   
Oct. 24 at Griffith {4A}  W 48-  7  sectional
Nov. 1 at Gary West {4A}  W 41-  0  sectional
Nov. 7 Hammond Morton {4A}  W 28-  3  sectional
Nov. 14 at New Prairie {4A}   L 27-28  regional 
NORTHWEST CROSSROADS CONFERENCE GAME
 
 

 

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Revised: November 19, 2014 .