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Lowell completes 2007 football season as Class 4A state runner-up after falling 33-14 to Reitz |
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Lowell completes 2007 football season as Class 4A state runner-up after falling 33-14 to Reitz |
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A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
11-26-2007
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Evansville REITZ (15-0) | 14 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 33 |
| LOWELL (13-2) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
Saturday, November 24, 2007- Class 4A State Championship at RCA Dome, INDIANAPOLIS, IN
1st
Qtr:
REITZ (7-0) Paul
McIntosh, 7-yard run. 61-yard drive, 11
plays. Houston Hobbs kick. 6:44 left.
REITZ (14-0) Paul McIntosh, 1-yard run. 80-yard drive, 14 plays. Houston Hobbs
kick. 0:14 left.
2nd
Qtr:
REITZ (20-0) Paul
McIntosh, 21-yard run. 64-yard drive, 5
plays. Kick blocked by TJ Lukasik. 6:51
left.
REITZ (26-0) Ryan McIntosh, 22-yard pass
from Paul McIntosh. 25-yard drive, 2 plays. 2-point pass failed. 4:57 left.
LOWELL (7-26) TJ Lukasik, 77-yard option
pass from Eric Roadruck. 79-yard drive, 3
plays. David Lang kick. 3:18 left.
3rd
Qtr:
REITZ (33-7) Jeffrey
Hudson, 8-yard pass from Paul McIntosh. 70-yard drive, 15 plays.
Houston Hobbs kick. 6:59 left.
LOWELL (14-33) TJ Lukasik, 6-yard pass from
Kurt Monix. 14-yard drive, 4 plays.
David Lang kick. 1:23 left.
RUSHING:
REITZ - Paul McIntosh (QB) 24-151; Tyler
Julian (HB) 19-98;
Christopher Dueg (HB) 3-15; Tyler Boyle (FB))
2-7; Nick Kaffenberger (FB) 1-7; Ryan
Williams (HB) 1-1.
LOWELL - Steffan Peck (HB-FB)
11-56; Cody Midgett (HB) 6-12; Brandon
Grubbe (HB) 5-9 yards; T.J. Lukasik (WR)
1-6; Kurt Monix (QB) 5-(minus-11); Josh
Hayden (C) 1-5.
PASSING:
REITZ - Paul McIntosh
(QB) 11-21,104 yards, one TD, one
interception;
LOWELL - Kurt Monix (QB) 6-14, 46 yards, one TD, 2 INTs;
Eric Roadruck (WR) 1-1, 76 yards, one TD.
RECEIVING:
REITZ - Jeffrey
Hudson (WR) 8-74; Ryan McIntosh (WR) 1-22;
Tyler Julian (HB) 1-5; Ryan Williams (WR)
1-3.
LOWELL - T.J. Lukasik (WR) 3-95, TD;
Cody Midgett (HB) 3-16; Jeffrey Barker (TE)
1-12.
TOTAL YARDS:
REITZ - 383
yards, 23 first downs, 2 turnovers (one
fumble);
LOWELL - 200 yards, 6 first downs,
2 turnovers (both interceptions).
I
"You fall into a hole, but you crawl out of it," said 17-year Lowell coach Kirk
Kennedy after his team looked up at a 26-0 scoreboard deficit midway in the
second quarter.
Senior cornerback TJ Lukasik added of Reitz' early assault, "We knew they had a
great offense. Obviously. Coach told us all week we had to be ready
and we weren't ready. We didn't execute on defense. There's no one
to blame but ourselves."
Lowell (13-2) was never winning this game. They took the opening kickoff and punted immediately after QB Kurt Monix underthrew a 3rd-and-5 deep pass to a wide open Jeff Barker that may have been tipped by fast-retreating Reitz safety Houston Hobbs. The Devils punted and Reitz (15-0), which would win the school's first state championship, went 61 yards in 11 plays to score on a seven yard option run by all-state quarterback Paul McIntosh with 6:44 to go in the quarter.
After the kickoff, Lowell's Steffan Peck broke three tackles on a 48-yard run down to the Reitz 13-yard-line. But three more plays gained one yard and Lowell's David Lang missed on a 29-yard field goal. The Panthers, from the second oldest school (90 years old) in Evansville, then went 80 yards in 13 plays. Tailback Tyler Julian (6-2, 195), who gained 1,200 yards in the first 14 games, broke loose out of a three wide receiver 'shotgun' set for gains of 12 and 13 yards. McIntosh completed three passes for 17 yards and then scored the TD himself, diving in behind right tackle Zach Campbell (6-1, 260) for a 14-0 lead with 14 seconds left in the first quarter.
Then came the most ominous play of the day. On the final play of the first quarter, Brandon Grubbe, the sophomore running back who had gained 1,666 yards and scored 22 touchdowns in 14 games, swept around left end and tried to burst past a tackler who grabbed him. Grubbe, with the ball in his right hand, stuck his left hand into the turf to protect himself as he fell. He got up holding his left arm, which swelled up quickly. The 16-year-old was strapped into a rolling cart and taken out of the Dome as the 15,000 fans from both schools applauded him. He did not return to the field.
Lowell moved Steffan Peck, who has often been the Devils tailback in the past three years, to the position. Later, they used junior Cody Midgett at tailback with Peck at fullback. While they only had one first quarter rushing first down, the Devils did not get another rushing first down the rest of the game. Lowell's game plan is always to control the clock with rushing first downs. Lowell's lines were so ineffective that it's not fair to say that Grubbe, who had nine first quarter yards on five carries, would have made much difference. But they certainly did nothing rushing the ball after he left.
"I'm sure that (Grubbe's injury) took some of the wind out of our sails," said Kennedy. "But we made our adjustments. We just didn't make plays. I feel bad for him. His first trip here and hopefully, not his last. And it certainly didn't pan out the way that any of us would like to have seen it happen."
Lukasik added, "Brandon was great for us all year. But Steffan's a great runner, too. It hurt us, but it's no excuse."
Lowell seemed to panic temporarily after Grubbe's graphic injury. After an exchange of punts. Monix was intercepted by Reitz senior Houston Hobbs at the Reitz 36-yard-line. McIntosh ran for 15 yards and quickly hit receiver Jeff Hudson for 13 yards. Julian raced nine yards to the 20 and McIntosh swept outside on the option and danced away from no less than five Lowell defenders on a 20-yard TD run to the flag to make it 20-0.
After another interception on a wobbly throw by Monix, McIntosh made his second best play of the day, a high-arching 22-yard fade pass over defender Danny Remboski to MacIntosh's junior brother Ryan McIntosh (6-3, 195) for a fourth Reitz TD and a 26-0 lead with 4:57 left before halftime.
"He's got my vote for Mr. Football," said Lukasik. "I've been saying it all week. He's a great player. He proved everyone right. I give all the credit to him in the world."
Lowell did not give up. On the next Devil possession, senior wide receiver Eric Roadruck fooled Reitz by running a reverse and pulling up to throw a halfback pass, which Lukasik grabbed for a 76-yard TD before halftime.
Reitz drove 70 yards in 15 plays with the second half kickoff to make it 33-7, but a fumbled punt set up Lowell for a fourth down Monix to Lukasik TD pass to make it 33-14 with 1:23 left in the third quarter. But two fourth quarter possessions gained one first down.
"With the right combination of things," said Kennedy, perhaps being overly optimistic, "the game was still ours to win in the third quarter. "But with what we do offensively running the ball, it was just too hard for us to climb out of the hole we dug. We got what we got. Our hats are off to Reitz. They made the big plays and we had no answer."
"They were playing in a different gear than we were. They made plays. They were clicking on all cylinders. They had a great game offensively and defensively and we were not able to get our feet underneath us."
"They outplayed us. They were hungrier than us at the start of the game. This is a tough way to say good-bye to a good senior class."
Since the Devils were 26 points behind in the second quarter and it was obvious Lowell would not win for most the fourth quarter, it may have been easier for the players to handle the post-game scene. They had some time to think about their fate. There was no crying and throwing things on the soft RCA Dome surface.
Steffan Peck, one of only three starters (kicker David Land and Jeff Barker) who started in both the 2005 and 2007 state title games, was quiet and composed afterwards.
"I certainly wish we'd have done better," said Peck. "They had a lot of speed. Our defense was a step behind them all day. And they had some big guys on defense who could move. It's been a great three years to play football. I can't imagine any place else in the whole state of Indiana I'd rather have played."
This was the final state finals to be played in the RCA Dome. The 67,000-seat Lucas Oil arena is under construction next door to the RCA Dome and the state finals will be played under that retractable domed stadium in 2008. When will Lowell play there? That's a good question.
Remember when Hobart was going to the state finals every other season? Something like 11 finals in 15 years? Would you believe that Hobart hasn't been to the football state finals in 14 years now? Remember when Andrean was in the finals (1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004) every year? This was the third consecutive season Andrean has not advanced beyond the regional. It appears that Lowell and Concord will be sectional favorites next season and there is a chance that the freshman and sophomore classes, led now by Grubbe, could be very good. But when I drive away from the state finals, I always wonder if I'll ever be back. But the next time Lowell plays in downtown Indianapolis, they'll play better than they were last Saturday. After showcasing their ability in 2005 with the come-from-behind won over Roncalli, this was an embarrassing loss for Lowell on state-wide TV.
Coach Kennedy, as he always does, took his team's play very personally.
"I feel very bad for our seniors," he said. "Our players. Our fans. Our community. This was not a good way to come down here and represent ourselves. Being here twice says a lot for our football program that we've been here two of the past three years. But I hope our goal is not to just to make it here. The goal is to make it here and win. You've still got a game to play and a game to win. Seems like we forgot about that today."
DOME NOTES: Lowell had one rushing first down: Steffan
Peck's 48-yard first quarter run. Lowell used Jeff Barker to run back kicks.
The defensive end with 4.5 speed ran one back for 23 yards. Reitz
Defensive end Craig Austin (6-4, 230) sacked Lowell QB Kurt Monix twice, giving
him 23 sacks for the season. Junior Cody Midgett caught a career-best
three passes for 16 yards. Not counting punts, Reitz had 71 offensive
plays to just 43 for Lowell.
Reitz defensive back Zak Kissell, who had seven tackles, was named the Mental
Attitude Award winner.
"We knew we had to be physical with them," he said of Lowell.
FIVE REASONS LOWELL LOST:
1.) Reitz has an overwhelming offense led by a great QB.
We may have forgotten that this is the team that scored 60 points on fifth-ranked Columbus East on Nov. 10 and 35 points on defending state champ Cathedral on Nov. 17. Is it a shock they scored 34 on Lowell? Hardly. Reitz QB Paul McIntosh, a Division I player going to Ball State, has a great ability to avoid the first tackler and make potential negative plays into positive plays. That skill was almost equaled by his passing accuracy.
He didn't just do it to Lowell. Before the title game, McIntosh had run for 30 touchdowns and passed for 20 more. He had completed 65% of his passes. Against the Devils, McIntosh carried 24 times for 155 yards and three TDs. He completed 11 of 21 passes for 104 yards and two TDs. McIntosh ran the team without a fumble from a spread formation, a single wing, a pro set, a formation where the slot men were stacked behind each other, and a 'naked backfield.' He fielded low snaps and never seemed to take a hesitant step. McIntosh is the best offensive skill position player I saw this year.
The Devils had a quick defense on a fast, dry field, but they were facing a fast
foe led by an experienced leader. Reitz averaged 40 points a game and they
scored 33 or more points 13 times in 15 games. The Devils simply had not
seen a player or team that effective on offense this season and McIntosh only
did to Lowell what he'd done all season.
2.) Lowell started slowly as they had throughout the playoffs.
What had been amazing about Lowell's run to the state finals was that they fell behind in every game. That's not a blueprint for success, it's a potential crime scene. You don't need CSI to figure out what happened to the Devils in the Dome. You can't keep falling behind increasingly better teams. It had been amazing that Lowell, without a real come-from-behind (read: passing) offense had come from behind in the fourth quarter to beat Concord in the sectional final and top-ranked Bishop Dwenger in the semistate.
When you do not score the first touchdown and fall behind 10 points or more in a
playoff game, you are supposed to lose that game. What Lowell has been
doing in the playoffs the last three years (7 comeback wins after trailing at
the half) is the exception, not the rule.
3.) Brandon Grubbe got hurt early.
It's not just the loss of Grubbe and his average of about 115 yards rushing a game. It was what happened to him. It was obvious immediately on the sidelines that the sophomore was seriously hurt and would not be coming back. Don't misunderstand. Lowell trailed 14-0 when Grubbe was injured. But they seemed to panic. QB Kurt Monix threw two third down interceptions in Lowell's next eight second quarter plays after Grubbe's injury. If the Devils weren't trailing by 14 (and then 20 points) and without their rushing and scoring leader permanently, maybe Monix throws the ball out of bounds in those situations.
When you trail, you need speed more than power. To rally, the Devils badly needed a run of 70 or 80 yards and Grubbe was the guy who could give them that, even against some fast Reitz defenders. Plus, I can't calculate what this sight of Grubbe, the team's youngest regular player, being strapped onto a medical cart and rolled away out of the building did to the spirit of the Lowell team. It bothered me and I wasn't playing.
4.) Lowell's lines were over-matched.
This decided the game. The Reitz line of center James Oglesby (6-2, 280), guards Adam Hermann (6-2, 240), Tyler Mattingly (5-11, 225) and tackles Zach Campbell (6-1, 260) and Josh Lefler (6-2, 250) got a standoff with the smaller Lowell defensive front. On short yardage plays, the Devils could do nothing to stop QB Paul McIntosh (6-2, 200) pushing forward behind Oglesby or skipping outside as Campbell and Lefler locked up (read: held) the Lowell defensive ends. All offensive linemen hold. These guys were just too strong for the Devils to break free and McIntosh was gone so quickly, the line only needed a brief tie-up.
But the big problem was the offensive line, which was simply too small and weak to handle the Reitz front. Lowell gained 3,000 yards in 14 games. Against Reitz, the Devils gained only 77 yards on 28 carries and much of that was a 50-yard first quarter run by Steffan Peck. The Reitz defensive tackles Mark Spoddy (6-2, 310) and Josh Winiger (6-1, 240) only got moved once in a while and it was usually Winiger who got moved. Spoddy is a pro-sized base defender the likes of which Lowell only ran into late (Concord, Dwenger) in the playoffs. Defensive ends Craig Austin (6-4, 230) and Anthony Evans (6-2, 235) forced sweeps wide where they were run down. Lowell had only 43 offensive plays and 15 were passes. They have no choice. Austin sacked the quarterback twice, but again, that's not breaking news. He had 21 sacks in the first 14 games. Saturday's 3A finalists, Bishop Chatard and St. Joseph's, were physically much larger than Lowell in the lines especially. You can say the comparison is not fair because they're private schools, but it is what it is.
For Lowell to compete consistently at the semistate and state level, the Red Devils need more size and strength. And they are well aware of it.
5.) You can only beat so many superior teams.
This is probably the hardest one to accept, but it's actually a compliment. In 2005, in the final three playoff games, Lowell beat Concord at Concord by seven, Fort Wayne by two and Roncalli by one point.
This year, they beat Concord at Concord by 10, Griffith by seven, Bishop Dwenger by three and got blown out at the Dome. Lowell did a great job. Other than Griffith (and that's debatable), all the others were more physically gifted (size, speed, strength) teams. Reitz was bigger, faster and stronger than Lowell at most positions. Reitz was playing in the 5A playoffs the last four years. They had a better team.
Player-for-player, Concord was better than Lowell. Concord's Kyle Magnuson (6-9, 302) may play in the NFL. Bishop Dwenger was better than Lowell. John Goodman (6-4, 210) is going to Notre Dame. Mick Mentzer (6-2, 295) is going to play in the Big-10 at IU. Jeff Barker (6-4, 205) has Division I college ability but he's much smaller physically.
Watching the Devils on the field prior to games against Bishop Dwenger and Reitz Memorial, you notice that Lowell is exceptionally small. Not bench-warmers, but stars like TJ Lukasik, Steffan Peck, Ben Rigby and Lukas Palmer are all painfully small compared to players on the state's top teams. Kurt Monix (5-10, 156) got hit so hard from behind by Craig Austin (6-4, 230) one time that you were holding your breath until the little guy got up. I still can't believe Cody Midgett ran down 4.5 sprinter John Goodman of Fort Wayne to make a game-saving tackle on Goodman's 50-yard fourth quarter run on Nov. 16. Lowell's trips to the Dome are flat-out mind-blowing when you look at the size mismatches they had to overcome.
There are two kinds of champions. Teams that ARE the best. Best players. Biggest. Fastest. Like Reitz. And then there are the teams that have uncanny ability to rise up half the time and defeat teams with more size, speed and talent. Lowell is obviously the latter.
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2007 USA-365.com and Meyer
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Revised: November 26, 2007
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