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4A No. 2 Lowell (7-0) at Munster (4-3) |
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Week 8 - Football Game of the Week Preview
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4A No. 2 Lowell (7-0) at Munster (4-3) |
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10-08-2015
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| Munster is one of three Northwest Crossroads schools (Hobart and Griffith) to install artificial turf in recent years. Since the start of the program in the 1960s, the Mustangs have played on their present site on Columbia Avenue. (Photo by Mark Smith) |
When: 7:00
p.m., CDT on Friday, October 9, 2015
Where: Munster High School, 8808 Columbia (one block east of Calumet), Munster, IN.
Tickets: $6
TV/Radio/Internet: WTMK (88.5) FM live, live updates of all local
scores all night on
WLPR (89.1) FM.
Enrollment: Munster 1,519, LOWELL - 1,204.
Weather: Don’t be fooled by the summer-like conditions Wednesday and Thursday. This won't be a warm night. Highs in the upper-50s Friday are predicted, which usually means the game will be played in temperatures in the low-50s. Thursday’s rains will (hopefully) clear out. Munster has artificial turf so the playing surface should be fast. This should be a decent October night and the weather won't be an issue.
Parking: All Lowell people who have been to Munster for any NCC sports know there actually isn’t a lot of parking. I don’t think the school was even meant to be as large (over 1,500 students) as it is and there just isn’t a lot of open space where they could be parking for a big event. The field is east of Columbia Ave and the school is west of Columbia. You’ll’ probably be parking in the school lot and you may end up southwest of the school. The cooler temperatures (not to mention a 34-point Munster loss last Friday) will certainly hold down the home crowd. Still, try to get there before 6:30 p.m. and be patient. It's not easy to get in and out of Munster high school on a football game night.
WHAT'S AT STAKE: This is Munster’s
Homecoming and they would like to upset the undefeated Devils and tie for the
NCC championship. It's been an uneven, but memorable year for the Mustangs who
have defeated arch-rival Lake Central (5-2) and almost arch-rival Andrean (5-2).
But Munster (4-3, 3-1 NCC) is one game behind Lowell (7-0, 4-0 NCC) in the
Northwest Crossroads Conference (NCC), so they cant win the league title unless
they defeat Lowell Friday.
This night is a big deal for Lowell. Many of these boys grew up watching Lowell
win sectional titles and the older players won 4A Sectional 17 last year. Lowell
has won 11 sectional football championships. But not everybody realizes that
Lowell does not win a league title very often. The Devils never won the old Lake
Suburban Conference, which lasted from 1970 to 1992. When they won the 4A state
title in 2005, the Devils did not win the conference (then the Lake Conference)
that year. Griffith did. Andrean was second. Lowell was tied for third.
Last season, the 4A Sectional 17 champ Devils did not win the NCC. Andrean did.
Lowell was tied for second place. Lowell’s last league championship came when
they went 7-0 in the NCC in 2008. Lowell tied for first in the NCC in the state
finals seasons of 2007 and 2009. I know that, compared to the sectional
playoffs, it's just a patch on the ‘letter jacket’. But I think it would mean a
lot to the boys in the program to win the conference and Lowell clinches an
undisputed NCC title with a win at Munster.
The HISTORY: When folks up in North
Lake County talk about the ‘suburban schools,’ places like Munster are what they
are referring to. The very affluent ‘south suburb’ of Hammond is probably the
ultimate suburban ‘bedroom community' in Northwest Indiana.
In a town of about 23,000, Munster high school is a big part of everything and
athletics are a big part of Munster high. The boys tennis team just won a 32nd
regional title Wednesday and Munster is also the traditional swimming power for
our region.
In football, Munster was 8-2 the first year they had football in 1966 and they’ve always been competitive. They’ve only had two coaches in 50 years: John Friend (104-31-4, 1966-79) and LeRoy Marsh (217-154, 1980 to present) and, while they’ve never reached the state finals, the lack of change in the head coach position has helped make this a quality program. Munster has had 35 winning varsity football seasons in 50 years and the continuity, the fact that they have had steady leadership, has to be part of the reason why. I believe the 37 years as head coach is a NW Indiana record. There is talk that this may be Marsh’s final season as Munster’s head coach and if it is, the next coach will adopt a program that has been the standard for stability in NW Indiana.
1992 Munster (7-4)
Head coach Leroy Marsh (217-152, 37 years)
-----------------------------------------------
Aug 28 (W) 34-7 at Hammond
Sep 04 (W) 26-0 *at Highland
Sep 11 (L) 7-27 *GRIFFITH
Sep 18 (W) 20-14 *at Lowell
Sep 25 (L) 20-31 EAST CHICAGO
Oct 02 (W) 3-0 *CROWN POINT
Oct 09 (W) 54-6 *CALUMET
Oct 16 (L) 14-20 *at Lake Central
Oct 23 (W) 43-19 Horace Mann
4A Sectional 9
Oct 30 (W) 14-7 at Clark
Nov 06 (L) 7-9 at Lowell
MUNSTER – In 1992, Munster was Munster. They were 4-2 in the old Lake Suburban Conference with wins over Crown Point and Highland, among others. The Mustangs surely thought they’d be coming down to Lowell for a good spirited game and then moving on to the sectional championship game against mighty Hobart, the 1991 4A state champion. Why were the Mustangs confident?
Since Munster began varsity
football in 1966, Lowell had never beaten Munster. They were 0-26. One loss per
year for 26 seasons. The earlier meeting in ’92 had been close. But Munster
always beat Lowell. That’s the way it always was.
But on this November 6 in sub-freezing weather, an unknown junior quarterback
named Paul Lacy fired a three-yard, third quarter TD pass to Kurt Meier giving
the Devils a 9-0 lead, a lead they held to the end in front of a roaring home
town crowd.
To this day, I remember the Lowell students rushing the field celebrating one of
the landmark wins in Lowell history. One week later Hobart beat Lowell 35-7 and
the Brickies would later win the 1993 state title. One year later Munster evened
the score with a 28-14 victory over a 10-0 Lowell team. But 13 years later,
Lowell won the school’s only state championship in any team sport. And in a
small way, it all began the night of Nov. 6, 1992.
(All info from
NorthernIndianaFootball.com)
MUNSTER Update:
MUNSTER - I’m not going to be able to explain Munster’s season so far. Big
wins over Lake Central (5-2) and Andrean (5-2), but a 48-35 loss to Morton (4-3)
and a 34-0 loss at Hobart (3-4). The Mustangs had only 90 total yards last week
and reportedly everyone in the backfield left with an injury at one time or
another. For the first time this season, they didn’t effectively get the ball to
big junior receiver Jaylon Scott (6-2, 195), who has 30 catches for 360 yards
and four TDs.
Senior Jordan Cistola (6-2, 245) has 28 solo tackles and four QB sacks. But the
Mustangs have given up 20 points or more five times. They have to control the
ball and kill time on offense. It's hard to say how confident the Mustangs are
coming into this week, but any team that can stop Lake Central and Andrean could
certainly win at home over Lowell.
HB - Jeff Proctor (5-11, 205) Sr.
Here’s a situation similar to last week’s Morton game with injured Mark Snorton.
Proctor did not play two weeks ago when the Mustangs defeated Griffith 41-24 and
he ran the ball just twice last week in the 34-0 loss at Hobart. Last season,
the Munster halfback ran 114 times for 720 yards. In five games this fall,
Proctor has 81 carries for 608 yards and eight TDs. His 76-yard run was the
final TD in the 20-19 win over LC. Jeff carried 15 times for 142 yards in the
33-15 win over Highland on September 4. I don’t know if Proctor is okay to play
and I also don't know if you want to play your top runner two weeks before the
state tournament if he is not 100% well.
QB – Andrew Jumonville (6-0, 178) Jr.
Jumonville’s rookie season at QB has been interesting with the big victories and
hard losses. The totals of 59 of 108 for 930 yards suggest that he hasn’t thrown
more than 15 times in any game. Sophomore Vince Bravo (6-1, 158) came in
at QB last week, so I’m not sure if Jumonville was hurt or not. For Munster to
have a significant chance this week, I would think that Jumonville, who also has
200 yards rushing on 74 carries, would have to be ready to go.
HB/DB – Danny Stanley (5-9, 164) Jr.
Stanley carried 25 times for 195 yards two weeks ago in the 41-24 win at
Griffith, including a 55-yard TD run. The small, speedy halfback has 400 yards
rushing on 61 runs. Munster as a team averages 5.3 yards per carry and that
suggests they have to run effectively to win. Proctor, Jumonville and Stanley
have 1,212 of the team's 1,266 rushing yards.
LOWELL Update:
LOWELL - This is a big night for Lowell. After seven weeks of playing
for the love of the game, Lowell finally has a chance to win something this
Friday. True, the Devils did win the ‘Leather helmet’ trophy by defeating Crown
Point and the ‘Milk can’ by topping Kankakee Valley. But Friday they can go
beyond old pieces of worn out stuff and win an undisputed conference
championship. A Munster win Friday gives the Mustangs the Northwest Crossroads
Conference (NCC) championship if Lowell also loses to Andrean. But a Lowell win
this Friday gives them a 2-game league lead with just one game to go and
clinches an undisputed NCC championship. Some nights, you need a little extra
motivation. This Friday might not be one of those nights.
Halfback – IKE JAMES (6-0, 191) Sr.
Ike joined Brandon Grubbe (2010), Matt Pernick (1998), Justin Henley (2004),
Mike French (2001) and George Fields (2014) as Lowell Red Devils who have run
for 1,000 or more yards twice (Grubbe did it three times) in their careers.
James 499 carries for 3,516 yards trails 1995 grad Michael Pickett (652 carries
for 4,198 yards) by 682 yards for second place all-time in career rushing at
Lowell. Brandon Grubbe, who played three full seasons, gained 5,923 yards and 80
touchdowns on 1,001 carries in three years and that record figures to stand for
a while.
Lowell’s 1,000 yard rushers
• In the state tournament era (1973-present)
• 1. Brandon Grubbe (2009) 403 carries, 2,417 yards
• 2. Ike James (2014) 319-2,411 yards
• 3. Scott Gray (2005) 323-2,336 yards
• 4. Michael Pickett (1994) 339-2,256 yards
• 5. Toby Goetz (2004) 276-1,939 yards
• 6. Matt Pernick (1996) 229-1,827 yards
• 7. George Fields (2012) 277-1,811 yards
• 8. Michael Pickett (1993) 273-1,687 yards
• 9. Brandon Grubbe (2007) 281-1,675 yards
• 10. Justin Henley (2002) 167, 1.552 yards
• 11, Cole Midgett (2010) 195-1,481 yards
• 12. Justin Henley (2003) 227-1,447 yards
• 13. Mike French (2000) 2000-1,382 yards
• 14.Geotrge Fields (2013) 209-1,377 yards
• 15. Matt Pernick (1995) 175-1,349 yards
• 16. Max Znika (2006) 224-1,302 yards
• 17. Mike French (1999) 226-1,280 yards
• 18.Sean Anderson (2001) 242-1,048 yards
• 19. Nick Holley (1997) 131-1,014 yards
• 20. Ike James (2015) 161-1,008 yards (still active)
QB – Darion Hornickel (6-0, 181) Sr.
Hornickel was again very efficient in last week’s win over Morton with 5-of-10
passing for 94 yards and a touchdown, plus five rushes for 69 yards and a TD.
For the season, Hornickel is 26-of-49 for 503 yards, nine TDs and no
interceptions plus 52 rushes for 283 yards. Those numbers are not spectacular,
but are steady and that’s been the key to the Devils’ success. Lowell has lost
just seven turnovers all season in seven games and Hornickel is a big reason for
that.
Linebacker Chris Han (5-7, 194) Sr.
Chris Han was in on 11 tackles last week in the 35-0 win over Morton, the
Devils’ first shutout this season and Lowell’s third in the last 14 games. Han
has been in on 57 tackles, including eight tackles for losses. Lowell has great
defensive numbers. They’ve allowed just 71 points all season and no more than 13
in six games. The Devils have allowed 695 yards rushing in seven games and just
52 first downs. No one has yet scored on them in the third quarter. Lowell does
not have a lot of seniors (only 17) so all the older players share in the
success to this point. A league championship would probably mean most to the
senior class.
SAGARIN RATINGS: LOWELL by 16.
MUNSTER: This spread comes largely from the two teams' matchups
with Hobart. Lowell won 30-10 at Hobart on Sept. 25 and Munster lost there 34-0
on October 2. Munster has played a slightly rougher schedule (including
Chesterton and Andrean), but Lowell has won every game by 14 points or more.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN:
MUNSTER (10-09-2015)
All teams have injured players at this point of the year and many of them play
anyway. It's hard to tell who is going to be able to go for the Mustangs, but
I’m assuming that everyone will be set to go in the home finale. Munster gets on
the board first with a long field goal from Scott Fisher (4 of 4 in fields goals
this season) in the first quarter.
Lowell takes the lead on a short pass from Darion Hornickel to Jordan Jusevitch
in a conservatively played game on a cold night.
Lowell takes the second half kickoff down the field for an Ike James score and a
14-3 lead. Andrew Jumonville’s TD pass to Jaylon Scott cuts the edge to 14-10 in
the third quarter. But a fumble recovery and a second TD by James makes the
score 21-10 early in the fourth quarter. A short punt sets up Lowell for a late
drive and James’ third TD ends the scoring.
Munster is hard to predict and they will be set for a big effort this week in
what, for their seniors, is their final home game. But unless Lowell gives up
two or three turnovers, Munster does not have enough offense to win this game.
LOWELL 27, Munster
10