Lowell keeps on rolling in 24-7 win over Mustangs

LOWELL (10-10-2008) - The intriguing thing about Lowell is that I don't think they've played up to their potential for four quarters in any of the first eight games of the season.  And they're 8-0.

You can make an argument that, with the possible exception of Hobart (7-1), a team the Devils defeated 35-32, that you can't be sure if any of the teams Lowell has played so far are really good.  But the Devils are 8-0.

I'm having MANY people tell me that Lowell could beat Valparaiso and Chesterton, the top teams in the big school Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC).  I'm hearing MANY people tell me that 4A Lowell would compete for the title in the all-Class 5A DAC.  Because they're 8-0.

I live in a crazy world.

Friday night in what was supposed to be a showdown for the Northwest Crossroads Conference title, Lowell led 17-0 with 7:34 left in the half.  But the final score was 24-7.  Lowell won decisively.  For the eighth consecutive week, they were the better team.  But 24-7 over Munster is really good only if Munster is really good.
 
"This was probably our worst effort of the year," said Munster coach Leroy Marsh.  "But a lot of that was them.  That's the best team I've seen in the northern half of the state.  In person or on film.  Their two inside linebackers (Justin Juarez and David Eastling) are great players.  When you guys (reporters) are asked to name all-staters, don't forget them."

But since Lowell has set a high standard (39-12 in the last four seasons), it's OK to pick out the flaws.  There were open Munster receivers in the secondary.  Washington and Concord, two potential 4A Sectional 10 foes, both have better receivers than anybody in Lake County has.  The Devils also had a hard time blocking a Munster front that probably isn't as good as what they'd see from Plymouth in Sectional 10.

Lowell didn't play well enough on offense to win in November either.  The Devils' undersized offensive line, which has performed exceptionally well this season, saw Munster force three Red Devil punts in the second half.  And if they could have protected quarterback Joe Gill (5 of 20, 88 yards) a little better, they might have made a game of it.

But that final score again?  24-7.  Munster, a Class 5A school that had lost only two games, each by one point, got beat by 17 by a Lowell team that wasn't at its best.  Shaky Devils? Or is the best yet to come?  Is this the best Lowell team in 15 years like the record would indicate?  Or do they simply have the best record?

In the first 25 minutes Friday, Lowell ruled the world.

In front of a crowd of about 2,500, the Devils started fast, moving 69 yards in 11 plays after the opening kickoff before settling for a 21-yard field goal by Matt Berkos.  Munster wrestling star Aaron Estrada broke off a 17-yard run on the Mustangs first possession, but the visitors had to punt and Grubbe broke off left guard and outran the defense for an 80-yard TD to give Lowell a 10-0 lead with 3:28 left in the first quarter.

Cody Midgett (5-10, 160), who was matched up all night against Joe Gill's brother, Mustang junior receiver Justin Hill (6-4, 170), intercepted a deep pass at the Lowell 3-yard-line early in the second quarter.  The Devils then drove 97 yards to score with Midgett, who also plays halfback and wide receiver for the Devils, busting up field on a sweep and dodging defenders for a 43-yard TD run with 7:34 left before halftime.

Midgett has turned into an all-purpose player for Lowell who can hurt teams that focus too much on Grubbe.  His quality play at corner back also keeps Lowell, for now, from using Grubbe on defense.

"Cody's really got good instincts," said Kirk Kennedy.  "He's turning into quite a player.  He's going to guard the other team's No. 1 receiver.  He's a fierce competitor.  Sometimes his aggressiveness leads to mistakes, but we'll take him.  He's a good player and a good kid."

Munster's only TD was a 21-yard pass from Joe Gill to Jason Han down the visitors' sidelines with 5:47 left in the half.  But the Mustangs were conservative.  They rarely threw the ball on first down (only twice all night) and Lowell's pass rush was as responsible for Munster's 5-of-20 passing statistics as their secondary was.

"The four guys they have on defense," said Marsh, who had his team running the ball when they were down 17 late in the game because they could not block Lowell's rush.  "The two inside guys and the two ends.  Those four are as good as anybody around here.  I can't say enough about them."

"We're just learning how to win. Turnovers are always big but they (Lowell) are really good.  They are very well coached.  They are very athletic and they play with an attitude."

That attitude extends to the coach.  Kennedy is hard on his quarterback.  He always has been.  When he speaks to signal caller Kurt Monix, the discussion isn't always quiet.

"Being a senior and a captain," the coach explains, "we've got to have a good performance, but he cant make mistakes.  If he was careless with the football, our offense can't work."

Monix completed 6-of-10 passes for 118 yards giving him 46 of 74 on the season for 1,025 yards with no interceptions.  As far is passing is concerned, the last statistic is the one Kennedy puts the highest priority on."

"Kurt is very talented and he's very smart," Kennedy says.  "He takes care of the football for us.  That's what we expect."

Kennedy knows that sectional quarterfinal foe South Bend Washington (6-2) throws the ball 20-25 times in every game.

"That's okay," he said.  "Our pass defense wasn't perfect tonight, but I think what happened against Hobart (the Brickies scored 3 fourth quarter TDs with an all-out passing game) won't happen again.  They were perfect and we acted like deer in the headlights.  Any body who gets that tape is going to think they can throw on us.  That game has taken on a life of its own."

Lowell's 2008 season is taking on a life of its own.  The Devils are now one game away from their first undefeated regular season since 1993.

"That's quite an achievement," said Kennedy.  "It's something you don't do every year."

DEVIL NOTES:  Lowell won eight games in a row in the 1968 season under coach Les Klein before they lost 19-14 to Chesterton in the Calumet Conference championship game.  Lowell was 8-2 in 1968 and it was, in hindsight, one of the school's greatest years.  The Devils beat Crown Point 19-0, Merrillville 13-0, Portage 20-7 and Lake Central 28-6 but they lost 19-15 to Whiting, as strange as that may seem now.

Lowell has two undefeated seasons.  In 1935 under coach Jim Carter, Lowell was 9-0 and a 10th game on Nov. 11, with Whiting was canceled for reasons that are unexplained.  In 1936, under coach Walter Floyd, Lowell was 8-0-1 with a scoreless tie against Frankfort.  In 1937, Lowell (7-0-1) shut out seven opponents in a row before losing 12-0 to Valparaiso.  Keep in mind that Lowell was one of the first schools in the state playing high school football.

In 1938, Lowell beat a then-14-year old Indianapolis high school that had just recently begun its football program by the score 44-6.  That east side Indy school, called Warren Central, has grown a little since then.

"Their line is excellent," said Marsh, "and Grubbe gets to the line of scrimmage faster than anyone we've see all year.  We've been in the meat grinder the past three weeks (against Griffith (4-4), Hobart (7-1) and Lowell (8-0).  Sure it makes us better for the sectional.  But right now, we're just starting to look at getting a win over Kankakee Valley (on Oct. 17)."

Defensive end and fullback Nate Cleveland (6-4, 200) is one of the reasons that nobody knows how good Lowell can be.  Cleveland, a junior upper weight wrestler, occasionally makes some very dominating physical plays.  Nate body slammed a Munster blocker in the second quarter and he ran over a Mustang defensive back carrying the ball in the third period.  How good is he?  Since he chose not to play in 2007, nobody knows for sure.

"I didn't play last year," he said.  "I went to a few games last year and I realized that high school is all about playing athletics and doing your best in school.  Being of teams.
I wanted to be a part of it."

Why did a 6-foot-4, 200 pound kid at Lowell quit football two years after the Devils won the state title?

"I wanted to focus more on wrestling," he said, "but I realized that's a sport where you're by yourself.  I went to all the off-season workouts and it was a combination of some of my friends talking.  I missed it.  I talked to coach Kennedy and he said I had to make the team and be a team player.  I think it was the fact that wrestling is an individual sport and football is all about the team."

"You have to make sure you take care of your responsibility.  Whether it's coach Stewart telling you what to do defensively.  Your responsibility changes each week.  You have to make an effort to know your responsibility and do it."

"Wrestling.  It's all on you.  Everyone who's watching knows your mistakes in wrestling.  In football, if one person messes up, it affects the whole team.  Not just you.  I was ready for that.  It bothered me not to play.  I missed it."

Lowell's Brandon Grubbe gained an unofficial 209 yards on 29 carries, but he suffered a leg injury in the fourth quarter.  Grubbe got up and walked off the field without help but there's no way to immediately know the seriousness of the injury.  He did not return, but he was not needed with Lowell ahead 24-7 in the final minutes.

"He was walking a little funny," said coach Kirk Kennedy.  "He felt a little twinge in his leg.  Is he alright?  He'd better be."

Grubbe, who gained 1,675 yards on 281 carries in 2007, now has an unofficial 1,024 yards on 166 carries.

"He's athletic. He runs well," said Kennedy.  "He was a linebacker, but I think if he had more time at that position (safety), he'd be more of a safety and less of a lineman.  We saw him running in the summer when we did conditioning and he's very agile.  He fits the position.  It just looks strange because of the number (number 54) on his back."

"He's not really a man coverage guy.  He's an over-the-top (free safety) guy."