LOWELL (09-30-2011) Five weeks ago, some of us still believed that Lowell was a good team. The Devils had lost to Crown Point (4-3) and Morton (6-1) in a flurry of turnovers and stood at 0-2 for the first time in almost 20 years.

Five weeks later, the best way you can put it is that Lowell has earned the chance to prove they are championship caliber. Lowell wore down Hammond with 250 yards rushing and won for the fifth week in a row, 33-6 over the small-roster Wildcats in the mud down in South Lake County.

Senior Nick Hamilton and sophomore George Fields, tag teamed the visitors for a total of 153 yards and four rushing TDs as Lowell (5-2) never trailed, topping Hammond for the ninth year in a row.

Its all on the line for the Devils now. They can clinch at least second place in the Northwest Crossroads Conference (NCC) with a win next Friday at Munster (3-4) and they can win the NCC outright a week from Friday in a season-ending collision with 2A No. 2 Andrean (7-0) in Lowell.

"I love our schedule," said second year coach Keith Kilmer, walking off the field after the bruising win over Hammond. "We aren't shifting into gear going into the playoffs. Our playoffs start tomorrow."

"We are ready," said Lowell tight end/defensive end Nick Kijurna of the final big games. "Those first two games are in the past. Our goal is to get that conference championship. That's been our goal the entire season and now we're here. We've got to get that conference championship. That's the first thing on our minds."

This was an above average game for Lowell, but nobody would call it outstanding by Red Devil standards. Lowell led 14-0 after one quarter, but just 21-6 going to the fourth quarter. Hammond, with just 28 players in uniform and at least six playing offense and defense, fought the hosts to a scoreless third period and stayed in the game until they punted with 10:36 to go in the game.

The Devils drove 53 yards in nine plays for the game clinching score, a 4-yard run by Hamilton with 5:36 to go. Hammond, which had only 28 players in uniform and less than 50 fans in the visitors stands, battled until the final seconds, with a new Griffith-style offense installed by new Hammond coach and 1993 Griffith grad Eric Schreiber.

"We're building," said Kilmer, who was very vocal on the sidelines when his tam stalled at 21-6 for most of the second half. "We have just two tough games to finish it out. Sometimes when you get on them you have to come back and get in their ear later. They need a little extra tutoring. I'm usually the bad cop. The staff is pretty much the 'good cop.' I think they get it. These kids understand what the expectation is. Most of the time, they put it on themselves more than they need to."

"For us tonight, it was more enthusiasm," added Kilmer. "We got out to a quick lead and we relaxed. We can't do that with the teams left on our schedule. I had to remind them."

"We get it," said Kijurna. "Absolutely. Hammond's a good team and they were nowhere near out of the game at that point. We've got to put people away. They hit hard all night. They never let up. I've got to give them credit."

The nonconference win didn't advance Lowell's season much, but it completed a stretch of games they should have won and finally erased the first two losses. The Devils have been playing uphill for weeks, trying to maintain their reputation and confidence after those early defeats. Now, having topped Hammond (5-2) and Griffith (5-2), the Lowell boys know they haven't let the tradition down.

"You've got to finish. We had a 4th-and-1. We challenged the kids at the end of the third quarter and they came out and responded. We're getting better. When we don't turn the ball over we have a lot of potential."

Lowell drove 64 yards on 11 plays to make it 7-0 in the first quarter after Hammond's first punt. On 4th-and 4, QB Bryan Thomas rolled out and tossed a four-yard TD pass to Kijurna with 5:12 left.

Hamilton intercepted a pass on the home sidelines (he appeared to have a foot out of bounds when he caught it) and ran it back to the Hammond 24-yard-line. Hamilton's 5-yard run gave Lowell a 14-0 lead on the final play of the first quarter.

Hammond drove 63 yards on 12 plays to cut the lead to 14-6. The big play was a 32-yard pass from sophomore left-handed QB Eric Schreiber Jr. to Michael Peavy. But Hamilton ran the ensuing kickoff back to the Lowell 49-yard-line and Lowell drove for another score. George Fields took a pitchout and raced 22 yards for Lowell's third TD with 3:39 left till halftime.

"I thought we gave them the first three touchdowns," said coach Schreiber. "Every drive we stop if we tackle. It should have been 6-0 at the half. We've just got to get better blocking and tackling."

I know the situation we're in (just 28 players), but I've got good kids. A lot of good kids."

"Our totals change daily with the things we have to deal with at Hammond high. We've got three kids out from last week. We lost Kennis Dillon (6-1, 260) from last week. He broke his leg Tuesday night. He was our best blocker. We've had to move guys around."

"We were hoping for a dry field, obviously. I didn't know how much it rained down here. I knew we'd have trouble powering the ball up the middle with their tackles, so we wanted to get outside."

Kijurna scored the opening TD, but he didn't want to say that offense was better than defense or his new found (he's been the kickoff man all season) special teams' prowess.

"I just want to help out," he said. "No aspect is more important than the other. Whenever they call my number, I just want to help out."


DEVIL NOTES: Senior Nick Kijurna took over as the Lowell place kicker and was 3-of-4 with one blocked.

"When he hit three in a row," said Lowell coach Keith Kilmer, "everybody was thinking, 'Why hasn't he been in there all year?' And then he hit the fourth one."

The fifth extra point kick was deflected by Hammond's Keirhan Richard.

Hammond coach Eric Schreiber doesn't like to talk about how few players (just 28) he has. But he does admit to one personnel need.

"We need offensive linemen," said Schreiber, who described his offense as Griffith's triple option "with some flash."

"I need to develop them. That's what keeps me up at night. We're always going to have good athletes. I have some good linemen, but if we can develop a lot more, we'll always be able to run the ball. If we can get the job done up front, we'll be tough to stop."

All regular high school football players have some injury by the seventh week of the season. Lowell senior Nick Kijurna, who starts at tight end and defensive end, is no exception.

"I got hit in the Highland game," he said, pointing to what can now be referred to as his 'kicking leg.' "Then I got clipped against Hobart. But I'm good."