Lowell shuts out undefeated Hammond High 24-0

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

9-22-2007

Friday, Sept. 28, 2007,  61 degrees, dry - Non-Conference at LOWELL, IN

1st Qtr:  LOWELL (3-0)  David Lang, 26-yard field goal. 77 yard drive, 14 plays.  4:25 left.
2nd Qtr:  LOWELL (10-0)  Brandon Grubbe, 5-yard run. 66-yard drive, 6 plays.  0:23 left.
3rd Qtr:  LOWELL (17-0)  Brandon Grubbe, 3-yard run.  14-yard drive, 3 plays after Lukas Palmer interception.  9:59 left.
4th Qtr:  LOWELL (24-0)  Steffan Peck, 5-yard run.  21-yard drive, 5 plays after Bryan DeSomer's fumble recovery.  David Lang kick.  6:56 left.

RUSHING:
HAMMOND (28 carries - 64 yards, one fumble)  David Moore (HB) 15-43 yards, fumble, Louis Willis (QB) 8-15 yards (2 sacks minus-10); Artis Hailey (HB) 5-6 yards.
LOWELL (48 carries - 197 yards, 3 TDs) Brandon Grubbe (HB) 23-123 yards, 2 TDs;  Steffan Peck (HB) 11-34 yards; Kurt Monix (QB) 4-20 yards; James Zelenka (HB) 6-16 yards; Jacob Belt (WR) 1-8 yards.

PASSING:
HAMMOND - Louis Willis (QB) 4-of-14, 13 yards, 3 interceptions;
LOWELL - Kurt Monix (QB) 2-of-3, 37 yards, one interception.

RECEIVING:
HAMMOND - Jerry Smith (WR) 1-5 yards; David Moore (HB) 2-0 yards; Ernest Griggs (TE) 1-9 yards;
LOWELL - Jeff Barker (TE) 1-20 yards;  Eric Roadruck (WR) 1-9 yards.

TURNOVERS:
HAMMOND (4) 3 interceptions; 
LOWELL (1) interception.

TOTAL YARDS:
HAMMOND (77 yards, 3 first downs); 
LOWELL (234 yards, 15 first downs)

HAMMOND (9-28-2007) - It was almost as if many at Lowell Friday night were waiting for Hammond to make a glorious play to show why they were undefeated after six games.  It never happened.  There also may have been some in the crowd of about 2,000 at Lowell Friday night who were waiting for the Devils to make a spectacular series of plays to prove that Hammond didn't belong on the same field with the Class 4A No. 7 Devils.

Honestly, that never happened either.  The quick and strong running game of Lowell kept the ball away from the speedy visitors some of the evening and three interceptions took the ball away a little more of the time as the Red Devils shut out Hammond high 24-0.

The outcome left both teams in a good place.  Lowell's defense posted a fourth shutout in seven games as they held Hammond's fast 'purple boys' to less than 100 total yards.  But the Wildcats (6-1) hit hard and held Lowell under 200 yards rushing.

"I expected a hard hitting game," said Lowell senior fullback-defensive end John Black.  "I expected them coming out all fired up and they did.  They came out hard in the first half and we just came out harder in the second half."

Lowell took the opening kickoff and drove 74 yards in 11 plays and 7:35 minutes before David Lang's 26-yard field goal gave the Devils a 3-0 lead in front of a happy Homecoming crowd.

Red Devil coach Kirk Kennedy wanted the ball first because he thought Lowell might have some problems adjusting to Hammond's speedy backfield of Louis Willis, David Moore and Artis Haley.  On Hammond's first play, Moore (5-8, 160) took an option handoff from quarterback Willis, slipped two tackles and broke into the clear, carrying the ball inside the Lowell 40-yard-line.  A holding penalty during the run brought the ball back to the Hammond 48, but two plays later, Moore zipped off left guard for nine yards to the Lowell 43-yard-line.  On a 4th-and-2 at the Lowell 32-yard-line, Willis could not get loose on a QB keeper and the Devils took over on downs.  After regaining possession five minutes later, Willis ran 21 yards on a quarterback draw.  Four plays later, Lowell cornerback TJ Lukasik (5-8, 165) knocked down a long pass intended for big Daron Houston (6-4, 190) inside the Red Devil 20 yard line on fourth down to turn the ball over again with 6:59 to go before half-time.

That would be the last time Hammond would advance the ball into Lowell territory all night.  And while Hammond was definitely the first Red Devil foe all season that had noticeably quicker players, the gap was not that wide.  It was Lowell's speed getting to the ball and the ball carrier that shut down the Hammond attack, which still averages 34 points a game.

"They are very fast," said Hammond line coach and Hammond graduate Barry Tyler of Lowell. "We thought we could use our quickness against them in the line and in the backfield, but it didn't come together tonight like we'd hoped.  We try to beat people off the ball.  We couldn't put it together this week."

Once Lowell adjusted to 'reading' the Wildcats' option, Hammond did not have an answer.  This was a battle of two teams that run basic offenses.  The Devils and Wildcats aren't that different.  Both rely on quick-hitting running plays that, if run correctly, can work on anyone.  Hammond isn't nearly as efficient yet.  They drew, for example, 10 penalties Friday, at least four for simply jumping offside.  Both defenses shoot gaps between your blockers and basically dare you to beat them to the outside.  Louis Willis, also playing safety for Hammond, was credited with an unofficial 19 tackles.  Of course, when your safety is making 19 tackles, several others aren't.  But Lowell had no running play of over 18 yards because Hammond boys ran down any Devil who got into the clear.

"They were blitzing a lot," said Kennedy, "and we weren't running plays correctly.  We'd call a play off-tackle and we'd run it off guard.  The angle of the attack from the backfield is important.  We did that a little against KV last year in the playoff game where they had three goal line stands.  We were turning the ball back inside instead of running it to the point of attack.  We still are making some little mistakes."

Lowell didn't let Hammond leading rusher and scorer David Moore, who came into the game with 645 yards and 12 TDs on 64 carries get loose for a touchdown.

Black said of Hammond, "They were fast.  Very fast.  Number seven (Moore) was out of the backfield before we knew where he was.  Plus, he's so short, you can't find him.  If they'd have had just a few more holes, they could have beaten us."

Tyler is still high on Hammond's chances.

"Not only do they stick with us coaches," he said, "they stick with each other.  The community is starting to back us.  They love football.  It was a tough loss tonight, but we're still happy."

"They came down here and they were very emotional," said Kennedy, who cleared the bench with three minutes to play even though Lowell had a first down at the Hammond 20-yardline.  "But its hard to maintain that for four quarters.  They had a great effort.  There was no need to rub it in at the end."

DEVIL NOTES:  The biggest disappointment of the night was in the visitors stands where Hammond had approximately 100 fans (a very unofficial half-time count totaled 92) on a 60-degree, dry, windless September night.  The crowd was basically the same as it had been when the Wildcats were a winless team throughout this decade.  It was stunning to see so few fans for an undefeated team in the final month of the season.

Barry Tyler, who coaches the lines and played for Hammond when they won at Lowell in 2001, says the presently thin fan support may yet multiply.

"I don't get it," he admitted.  "But you look at the history of Hammond high football over the last five years and the community hasn't had anything to buy into.  I think they're trying to feel us out right now to see how real we are.  Hopefully in these next two conference games (Gavit and Clark), people will see we're for real.  They're conference games and they're all city of Hammond (players), so hopefully, they'll be there."

This was the ninth consecutive regular season win for Lowell over Hammond high.  That does not count a 7-0 Hammond 4A sectional nine semifinal win at Lowell in 2001.

"The rest of the region is doing the same thing.  Trying to see if we're good or if we just play a weak schedule."

The Lowell win over Hammond was not a conference game, so the Devils still need both Griffith and Hobart to lose for them to win an undisputed title in the new Northwest Crossroads Conference.  Lowell's next foe, Munster, got crushed 41-7 by Hobart on Friday.

Lowell got senior halfback Steffan Peck and end Joe Carlson (who recorded his team-leading fifth QB sack) back into the lineup on a full time basis and the four shutouts in one season is the most since 1982.  The plan now is to go with Peck at fullback and tailback.  Peck gained 34 yards on 11 carries after missing most of two games with a concussion.  Brandon Grubbe, a sophomore, who ran for 123 yards on 26 carries Friday against Hammond, has done so well there's no logic in sitting him down.

But Kennedy wants to keep Peck (459 yards on 107 carries) on the field, too, even if that means sharing time with fullback John Black (6-2, 195).

"We moved Steffan (from halfback to fullback) last year and he did a decent job for us, said the coach.  "But we don't want to move him again.  We want to sell him on the fact that he'll get his carries.  Steffan is a 'tweener'.  You never know.  There are positions we seem deep at, but one guy goes down and then we're not deep."

Kennedy said that David Eastling (6-0, 198), who starts at linebacker and is listed as a fullback on offense, is being tried as an offensive lineman.

"That's for next year," said Kennedy, who values offensive linemen very highly.  "We have fullbacks. He's never going to play at fullback.  We want to see if he can do it."

Junior Cody Midgett (5-8, 150) also got extended time on the corner after senior Chris Thompson suffered a minor hand injury.

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Revised: October 02, 2007 .