Midgett's 3 TDs lead Devils to 42-3 rout of Trojans at Highland

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

09-18-2010

Friday, September 17, 2010,  67 degrees at HIGHLAND, IN

1st Qtr:  LOWELL (7-0) Cole Midgett, 82-yard run. Cole Midgett kick 7:49 left
HIGHLAND (7-3) Mike Anderson, 37-yard field goal. 63 yards drive, 10 plays. 3:14 left.
2nd Qtr:  LOWELL (14-3) Jeremy Crocker, 16-yard run. 80-yard drive, 14 plays. Cole Midgett kick. 9:24 left.
LOWELL (21-3) Cole Midgett, 13-yard run. 67-yard drive, 10 plays,. 2:36 left.
3rd Qtr: LOWELL (28-3) Cole Midgett, 75-yard run. 80-yard drive, 2 plays. Cole Midgett kick.
4th Qtr: LOWELL (35-3) Nick Tokarz, 5-yard run. 80-yard drive, 5 plays. 10:02 left.
LOWELL (42-3) Clark Mikesell, 2-yard run. 61 yard drive, 4 plays. 6:04 left.

GAME STATISTICS

RUSHING:
LOWELL (36 carries, 388 yards, 6 TDs) Cole Midgett (HB) 13-208 yards, 3 TDs; Zach Wolfe (HB) 4-79 yards; Jeremy Crocker (FB) 3-30 yards, TD; Joey Gruszkowski (HB) 4-24 yards; Nick Tokarz (FB) 3-10 yards, TD; Jason Parker (WR) 2-14 yards; Chris Sekuloski (QB) 6-24 yards; Clark Mikesell (HB) 1 (-1 yard) TD;

HIGHLAND (36 carries, 239 yards) Nigel Palmer (HB) 14 carries, 83 yards; Nick Good (FB) 7-42 yards; LaKice Brooks (HB) 3-35 yards; Gunner Grider (QB) 12-79 yards.

PASSING:
LOWELL - Chris Sekuloski (QB) 4-9, 92 yards;
HIGHLAND - Gunner Grider (QB) 4-6, 39 yards; Eric Sims (QB) 2-3, 25 yards; Jesse Gerenda (QB) 0-2.

RECEIVING:
LOWELL - Jason Parker (WR) 2-27 yards; James Szafranski (TE) 1-45 yards; Jeremy Crocker (TE) 1-20 yards.
HIGHLAND - Nigel Palmer (WR) 1-32 yards, Lucas Baker (WR) 1-3 yards; Michael Urban (WR) 1-12 yards; Nick Good (FB) 1-5 yards.

TOTAL YARDS:
LOWELL - 480 yards, 10 first downs, no turnovers;
HIGHLAND - 293 yards, 12 first downs, no turnovers.

Official Lowell Football Statistics through (Game-5) 9-17-2010:

Lowell_Football_5-game_Season_Summary_09-17-10.pdf
Lowell_Football_Individual_Leaders_09-17-10.pdf
Lowell_at_Highland_Box_Score_09-17-10.pdf
Lowell_Football_1st-5-game_summary_stats_2010.pdf
Lowell_at_Highland_Team_Stats_09-17-10.pdf

HIGHLAND, IN (09-17-2010) It honestly wasn't a great game by Lowell. They again started the night too slowly and without emotion. The Devils gave up far to many yards rushing. Although Lowell won 42-3 at Highland Friday in front of a less-than-capacity crowd, that's where we are with Lowell football. The Devils wore down the home team with a relentless ground game, led by a makeshift offensive line and senior halfback Cole Midgett. But everyone from Lowell hopes the best is yet to come.

"We're getting better," said first year coach Keith Kilmer. "We're getting there."

"There," in Lowell terms is that sectional championship that Lowell has earned the last seven seasons. And if they make it eight or more. This night might be the turning point.

Lowell played without four players who both play both ways in junior lineman Tyler Wright, fullback-linebacker Jordan Juarez, two-way lineman Jay Trappani and halfback-defensive back Nick Hamilton.

The defense especially, was almost unrecognizable to anyone who saw the Devils at the start of the year. The defensive line was junior tackles Jake Hayden and Brandon Reed in between sophomore end Spencer Kersey and junior Jeremy Crocker. Jeremy Crocker? Didn't he start the season at quarterback? And linebacker, right? Against Highland he played fullback and defensive end.

"Yeah," he smiled after the game. "I was quarterback and linebacker tonight. You gotta do what you gotta do for the team."

This defense gave up 293 total yards (239 rushing yards), but they also kept Highland (1-4) out of the end zone, the first time in five games that the Trojans, who average 19 points per game, have not scored a TD.

But it didn't start out that way. On perfect 65-degree night the Lowell sideline was not a happy place when Highland, operating from a college-style shotgun offense with two quick wingbacks, ran for six first quarter first downs. Senior Nigel Palmer broke runs of 18 and 35 yards while QB Gunner Grider picked up 11, 13 and 22 yards.

Lowell scored quickly on an 82-yard run by scoring leader Cole Midgett, but 6-foot-4 Mike Anderson cut that lead to 7-3 with a 37-yard field goal late in the first quarter.

The Devils problems up front had something to do with who was on the sidelines. Without Wright, Juarez, Trappani and Hamilton, all starting defenders, Lowell could not stop Highland early.

"We just started to play," said Crocker, of the Devils improvement as the game went along. "We're one of the top teams. We just started to play like it. I think a lot of it was that no one trusted each other at the start. We have to trust each other to do our jobs and stay in our gaps."

The key play of the game was probably a Lowell punt early in the second quarter where Highland was caught with 12 men on the field. Lowell got a first down on that penalty and drove for the TD to make it 14-3 on Crocker's 16-yard run with 9:24 left in the half.

Lowell scored again on a 70-yard drive late in the second period. Jason Parker gained 14 yards on a wide receiver reverse to the Highland 13-yard-line and Midgett scored on the next play, a 13-yard run with 2:36 left in the second quarter.

The most encouraging aspect of this game for Lowell was the Sekuloski twins. Linebacker Mike Sekuloski, Lowell's leading tackler, had at least three tackles for loses and was in on at least a dozen stops.

Quarterback Chris Sekuloski completed 4-of-9 passes for 92 yards and ran an offense with no turnovers. He made three solid passes: A 19-yarder to Jason Parker, who was well covered; a center screen to Crocker for 20 yards in the first quarter and a quick-hitting short pass to tight end Jimmy Szafranski, who collected 45 yards in the second quarter. This was Sekuloski's best night so far.

"We just want him to manage the game," said Kilmer. "He doesn't have to be superstar. Just manage the game."

Highland started the third quarter with a six-minute drive that ended when Midgett blocked a 44-yard Anderson field goal. One play later, Midgett broke off left tackle for a 75-yard run, his third TD of the game and 12th in his last four games.

Senior Nick Tokarz and junior Clark Mikesell scored fourth quarter TDs. Speedy junior halfback Zach Wolfe broke loose for a 70-yard run in the fourth quarter and sophomore option QB Bryan Thomas gained 34 yards on a QB keeper.

"We're scared early," admitted Kilmer, who was very vocal on the sidelines during Highland's 120-yard first quarter. "But once we get some hits in them, they're getting better."

"We're not going to worry about who's injured. We can't do anything about it anyway. You've got to do your job and if you can't, we've just going to go down (the depth chart) and find someone who can. It's week five. If you can't do it by now, we've just got to go to the next guy."

DEVIL NOTES: Jay Trappani (ankle) and Nick Hamilton (shoulder) had minor injuries and both may back next week for the homecoming game with Hobart, according to coach Keith Kilmer.

Tyler Wright had his knee surgery and is out for the season. Jordan Juarez (dislocated elbow) could be back by the final home game with Munster on Oct. 8.

Junior Austin Magley (5-9, 180), who would be in the playing rotation at fullback and linebacker with Juarez out, is also disabled. Magley suffered a significant foot injury in practice two weeks ago and is on crutches. He hopes to be back for the sectional opener on Oct. 22.

Lowell only has 13 seniors in the program, so with seniors Jordan Juarez and Jay Trappani out last Friday, a lot of the boys on the field at Highland are next year's team, too. The future is bright if nature takes its course.

Zach Wolfe (5-5, 155), Joey Gruszkowksi (5-10, 154), Clark Mikesell (5-8, 160) and Nick Hamilton (5-8, 150) are all speedy, little underclassmen who will need to contribute in Lowell's sectional title run.

"They've just got to get a little tougher by the end of the season," said coach Keith Kilmer.

But the injuries have put some boys on the field ahead of their time. Defensive end Spencer Kersey (6-0, 205) and linebacker Anthony Mauer (6-3, 182) are sophomores who are starting and getting pushed around a bit right now. Sophomore tight end-defensive end Mitch Leckrone (6-5, 177) is another teenager whose prime time is still well ahead of him.

"Leckrone's going to be a state champ hurdler," said Kilmer. "Until I put some weight on him. He can catch the ball, too. But he's a sophomore and he plays like it. We've got a lot of good sophomores. Mauer. Kersey, Gruszkowski. But they all play likes sophomores right now."

Lowell's freshman team was undefeated in 2009 but all of those boys did not come out for football in 2010. That's one of the reason Lowell's varsity roster (just 47 players) is as small as it is. Clark Mikesell (5-8, 159) started the game as Lowell's third leading tackles even though he's an undersized linebacker.

"Mikesell's probably the smallest linebacker in our history," said Kilmer. "But he's always been a linebacker. He moved to defensive back this summer to try to get playing time. Then Magley gets hurt and Juarez gets hurt and he comes back."

It's hard to justify handing the ball to anyone but get Cole Midgett (73 carries, 502 yards, 12 TDs) right now, but Kilmer sounds like he wants to get junior Zac Wolfe a few carries.

"He's a track guy," says Kilmer, who is Lowell's track coach. "The thing he does real well is that he doesn't take extra steps to cut. That's what makes a slower running back seem faster."

Junior Jeremy Crocker (6-2, 212) began the season as a quarterback. But with Juarez out he's clearly a fullback now and sophomore Bryan Thomas, is the backup quarterback. Thomas is an option runner.

"We feel very comfortable that if something happened to Chris (starting QB Chris Sekuloski) that we'd be okay. It would change our offense a lot, but we'd be Okay."

Copyright © 2010 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp.  All rights reserved.
Revised: September 20, 2010 .