Lowell's Clemens scores 5 TDs as Red Devils devour Trojans 48-7, repeat Sectional 9 title

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

11-6-2004

Sectional 9, 4A Championship - Friday, Nov. 5, 2004,  45 degrees, wet field in Highland

1st Q: LOWELL (7-0) Jeff Clemens, 23-yard run (17^th TD). Matt Seidel kick. 9:01 left.

2nd Q:  LOWELL (14-0) Jeff Clemens, 60-yard run (18^th TD). Seidel kick. 9:47 left.

LOWELL (21-0) Jeff Clemens, 2-yard run (19^th TD). 93-yard drive, 4 plays. Seidel kick. 2:26 left.

LOWELL (28-0) Jeff Clemens, 28-yard pass (20^th TD) from Scott Schulz (5^th TD pass). 2:03 left.

LOWELL (35-0) Scott Schulz, 67-yard QB sneak. Seidel kick. 0:00 left.

3rd Q: LOWELL (42-0) Jeff Clemens, 3-yard pass (21^st TD from Scott Schulz (6^th TD pass). 41-yard drive, 9 plays. Seidel kick. 3:22 left.

4th Q:  LOWELL (48-0) Scott Gray, 16-yard run. (4^th TD) 58-yard drive, Kick short. 11:48 left.

HIGHLAND (48-6) Davin Goins, 12-yard run. 89-yard drive, 14 plays. Sam Porter kick. 3:38 left.

Game Statistics

LOWELL (11-5-2004) The truth is, there was not a lot of celebrating after Lowell's 48-7 victory in Friday's Sectional nine championship game Friday night. Not as much as in past seasons.

Of course it was 45 degrees. The game was 35-0 at the half. And Lowell did beat Highland 42-6 three weeks ago. And Lowell won the sectional championship last year, too.

“We have higher expectations than this,” coach Kirk Kennedy told his players, who were kneeling on the wet grass under the Highland scoreboard, which brightly displayed the final score. “There's more we want to do. For tonight, you're champions.”

There was a feeling of satisfaction. Boys posed for pictures. Someone from Highland finally found the sectional trophy. The Lowell co-captains had to walk up towards the press box to take possession of the wooden statute, like they were getting a package of results from a track meet.

But nobody really cared. All night long, the Lowell sidelines were getting updates on the Wawasee-Plymouth game, won by 10^th-ranked Wawasee 28-7. After eliminating the last remaining NW Indiana Class 4A team, the Red Devils (9-3) now take on the great unknown. Wawasee (11-1) at Lowell (9-3) next Friday starts the 'real' season. The one many of Lowell's boys have planned for since this junior class was 9-0 as freshmen in 2002. The final two steps to Indianapolis that Lowell's senior class has thought about taking since some of them watched Lowell's 1999 sectional and regional championship team lose 24-8 at Goshen in the 4A semistate five years ago.

“I was at the Goshen game,” said senior Larin Childress, minutes after his 2004 Red Devil squad became just the fifth team to win a sectional title and the first to win two in a row. “The stands were packed. It was awesome back then and it's even more awesome now. I always looked up to those guys. Now, kids will look up to us hopefully.”

If any future Devils were watching from the visitors stands at Highland, they saw Lowell shake off an early emotional challenge from the underdog Trojans (6-6) before wearing them down and busting them up with variations off their trademark quick-hitting running game.

Highland's Andrew Helmer was 5-of-9 passing early against a soft Red Devil pass rush but a dropped pass by wide receiver Jeff Fenchek kept the Trojans from tying the game 7-7.

With the Devils leading 7-0 after an early Jeff Clemens TD run, a Trojan punt backed Lowell up to the Red Devil seven yard line. Two player later, big tailback Toby Goetz took a trap play 22 yards to the Red Devil 40. On the next play, Jeff Clemens took a quick hitter off left tackle and ran away from the defense 60 yards to the goal line and a 14-0 lead.

Highland's spirited hard-hitting effort broke down after that. Blitzing linebacker Chris Lampa leveled Helmer, causing a fumble recovered by linebacker Ryan King at the Highland 5-yard line with three minutes left in the half. Two plays later, Clemens scored on a pitchout to make it 21-0. On the first play after the ensuing kickoff Lampa blitzed from Helmer's blind side and flattened the big junior quarterback again, causing another fumble recovered by Childress at the Highland 28.

Lowell QB Scott Schulz then sent Clemens in motion, faked to Goetz, who gained 108 yards on 23 carries, and tossed a high lob to a wide open Clemens in the end zone for a 28-0 lead.

Then, in a symbol that the competitive part of the game had ended, Highland punted after three running plays. The Trojans punt rolled dead with six seconds left in the half at the Red Devil 33.

Schulz then ran straight ahead on a quarterback sneak and no one tackled him. The Lowell QB cut to the sideline and completed a 67-yard TD run as time ran out.

“Honestly,” Scott said later, “we were just trying to run out the clock. But they just didn't stop me and, all of a sudden. People starting throwing blocks.”

Highland took a look at the tape of Toby Goetz (258 carries, 1,878 yards, 27 TDs) gaining 200 yards rushing against Hobart seven days earlier and decided they had to stop him at all costs. The Trojans line up in a six lineman, two linebacker defense that blitzed two other people. It was, in effect, a 10-man front. It worked, somewhat, for about a quarter and a half.

The Devils began to play off of Goetz. Something they rarely do. With 3,600 yards rushing, Lowell is somewhat of a hard-headed, stubborn team which drives the ball at the defense even if the defense knows what's coming.

“We tend to stick with things and try to make them work,” admitted Kennedy. “We ran some clock and wore them down a bit and then we went to some other things. But we didn't go to our second and third options right away. Then, we got the ball in some other people's hands and the points started coming.”

One change Lowell showed this week was to line up in a pro set (two split backs behind the QB) and then send Clemens (6-0, 171) in motion before the snap. It makes the defense make a choice. They either shift to cover the shifty Clemens (21 TDs) or stay stacked in the middle against the quick-starting 215-pound Goetz (27 TDs). It will take a very good defensive front to stop both of them.

“You get him (Clemens) outside on the perimeter and obviously, he's going to get people's attention,” said Kennedy. “Especially when he's moving (in motion) like that. Used to be where we just ran that quick toss off that motion. But now we have three or four plays off that.”

Schulz had his best game in weeks with the TD run, which also was a product of the defense focusing on Goetz. The Lowell QB, who had been intercepted in each of Lowell's first two playoff games, connected on two TD passes to Clemens and zipped a quick 24-yarder to Lampa to set up Scott Gray's 16-yard fourth quarter TD run.

Lowell will face a passing team in Wawasee (11-1), a big time offensive team from little Syracuse, Ind. They must tighten up their coverage. Receivers have run free in the secondary at times during the last two games and Wawasee's Kory Lantz (6-2, 180) is clearly the best passer Lowell has seen since Tommy Finn threw for 410 yards against the Devils in September.

“Helmer gave us fits in the secondary but we tightened up our coverage,” said Kennedy.

“We made some adjustments. But, more important than that, we got more pressure on the quarterback. Initially we were playing our base defender and we just weren't getting the kind of pressure we need off of that. So we lined him (Lampa) up and brought him off the edge. He made the hit (that forced a fumble) both times.”

Despite the outside talk about how physical they are, Lowell is a very small team for Class 4A with an offensive line averaging about 215 pounds and a couple of 5-foot-8 people in the secondary battling 6-foot-4 players like Highland's Derek Moser. When the final story of this season is written if will have to include a chapter on how little guys like Scott Schulz (5-9, 157) succeed against bigger players. Two years from now when the school renovation is finished and, Goetz and Clemens are playing in college, the 'little guys' will talk about the two trophies behind the glass in the hallway.

“It's great,” Schulz said of the back-to-back sectional titles. “I was a safety on one of them and a corner and quarterback on the other. First time in school history.”

“It's awesome,” said Larin Childress (5-9, 240), another player who is constantly matched against bigger people. Childress was a center and tackle in 2003 and is a two-way tackle now. I feel like I've been a part of both of them.”

Whether the Devils become part of the ultimate Lowell milestone (no Lowell team has ever reached any state final in any sport) has to do with the strength of this region. The Red Devils have not played a game outside of Lake County all year. Lowell is 9-3, should be 11-1 and could have been 12-0. Is Wawasee (11-1), from the Northern Lakes Conference, a better team from a tougher league? Or are they just another Griffith, Hobart or Andrean than can be beaten if Lowell can stay away from penalties and fumbles?

“We've got to take it one game at a time,” said Schulz.

That won't be hard. With only eight Class 4A teams still left playing Indiana high school football in 2004, there are only two 'one game at a time' weeks left.

DEVIL NOTES:  There was a lot of talking on the field early in the game as Highland was trying to psych themselves into an upset. Schulz tried to ignore it.

“Coach just said to show them with your pads,” said Schulz. “We didn't talk any crap. We just went out and did what we were supposed to do.”

Schulz said he remembered the 1999 season, too. “I remembered the Goshen game. I remember how long the drive was there. We didn't score until the end.” 

Lowell has never played Wawasee or any team from the tradition-rich Northern Lakes Conference.

“They like to spread you out,” said Kennedy, of Wawasee. “But they spread you out to run the ball. What I'm worried about is that we're going to be thin defensively. They have a very good running back named (Jordan) Swain and they like to run more than they do throw. I assume they have a run-pass option based on our alignment and if we put too many people in the box (up front to stop the run) they'll have the option of throwing.”

Lantz (106-181, 1,658 yards, 12 TDs, 9 interceptions) completed 6-of-9 for 107 yards Friday in Wawasee's 28-7 win over Plymouth in Wawasee. Lantz also ran 16 times for 117 yards. TB Jordan Swain (5-11, 205) carried 16 times for 117 yards but he was knocked out of the game after a collision on a fourth quarter Plymouth onside kick. Swain (250 carries, 2,331 yards, 25 TDs) was said to be 'reevaluated Monday' which would indicate he might have a concussion. His loss would be equivalent of Lowell losing Toby Goetz but Lowell inserted Scott Gray when Goetz was hurt and Gray ran for 202 yards.

Friday's results made the playoff picture clearer. Lowell will hosts Wawasee (11-1) on Nov. 12. If they win, they will probably play at Muncie Central (12-0), which won 34-22 Friday night against Pendleton Heights. Central must get past Logansport on Nov. 12 in Muncie. Logansport held on to beat Fort Wayne South 21-14 on Friday. Logansport, which was 1-9 last year, is coached by longtime Lake Central coach Elmer Britton.

A Lowell-Muncie Central game would be played in Muncie and probably on Saturday night, Nov. 20 due to the distance and time difference between Lowell and Muncie. If Lowell reached the 4A state finals, their foe would probably be defending state champion Roncalli (10-2), a 17-16 win over arch-rival Cathedral Friday night.

Roncalli, a seven-time state champion is considered one of the top 10 teams in the state in any class. While Mooresville and Columbus East are both 12-0, few believe they can beat Roncalli in the southern half of the 4A bracket.

The crowd at Highland Friday night was about 800 and half of them were from Lowell. Lowell's 42-6 win on the same field three weeks earlier probably held the crowd down as much as the 45-degree temperatures.

Lowell's season-opening girls basketball game with North Newton, scheduled for Nov. 12, will have to be postponed. With Andrean (10-2) still alive after a 36-35 win at Griffith Friday night, Lowell's Nov. 27 girls basketball game with Andrean is also now in question. Nov. 27 is the date of the Class 3A and Class 4A state finals.

This is the first time in modern Lowell history that two players have scored more than 20 touchdowns. It is also maybe the first time in Lowell school history that any Red Devil athletic team has won two sectional titles in a row. Lowell improved their record to 5-2 on the road. The Devils have played just five home games this season.

The last time Lowell went to the semistate was 1999 and that was the only other time in history that they defeated Highland twice in the same season.

Lowell 48, Highland 7

TOTAL YARDS: 

LOWELL – 392 yards (339 rushing); Highland – 180 yards (92 rushing)

FIRST DOWNS: 

LOWELL -- 14, Highland -- 12

TURNOVERS: 

LOWELL -- 1 (fumble); Highland – 3 (3 fumbles)

PASSING: 

Scott Schulz (L) 4-of-5, 58 yards, 2 TDs

Andrew Helmer (H) 6-of-21, 88 yards

RECEIVING: 

Paul Sink (H) 2-21 yards; Derek Moser (H) 6-47 yards

Jeff Clemens (L) 3-34 yards, 2 TDs; Chris Lampa (L) 1-22 yards

RUSHING: 

HIGHLAND (26-92 yards, TD, 3 fumbles) Davin Goins (H) 9-63 yards, TD; Dave Lepucki (H) 3-14 yards; 

Jake Berber 1-4 yards; Glenn DuRocher (H) 1-11 yards; Brendan Magrady 1-4 yards; 

Danny Stretnjak (H) 1-1 yards; Andrew Helmer (H) 8 – (Minus-6 yards) 3 sacks (minus – 16 yards).

LOWELL (44-339 yards, 6 TDs, one fumble) Jeff Clemens (L) 11-129 yards, 3 TDs; Toby Goetz (L) 23-108 yards, fumble; 

Scott Schulz (L) 2-74 yards; Scott Gray (L) 4-20 yards, TD; Michael Dowling (L) 2-5 yards; Ethan Winel (L) 1-0 yards.

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Revised: November 06, 2004 .