Red Devils capture first sectional title since 1999 with 34-3 win over Hobart

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Hobart (5-7)	3	0	0	0	3
Lowell (11-1)	0	0	14	20	34

Friday, Nov. 7, 2003, 35 degrees in Lowell, Section 9 Championship

1st Q: HOBART (0-3) Kyle Gonzales, 27-yard field goal. 39 yards, 12 plays. 0:18 left.
2nd Q: No Scoring.
3rd Q: LOWELL (7-3) Justin Henley, 26-yard run. 67 yards, 7 plays. Korey Klidaras kick. 9:09 left.
LOWELL (14-3) Chuck Thompson, 2-yard run. 63 yards, 11 plays. 3:03 left.
4th Q: LOWELL (21-3) Justin Henley, 3-yard run. 59 yards, 10 plays. Korey Klidaras kick. 8:52 left.
LOWELL (27-3) Justin Henley, 13-yard run. 25 yards, 5 plays. Kick wide. 4:57 left.
LOWELL (34-3) Michael Dowling, 30 yard run. 45 yards, 3 plays. Korey Klidaras kick. 3:19 left

LOWELL (11-7-2003) - I don't understand it. I know it makes their coaches a little nervous. I know they're not trying to do it this way. Three weeks ago, Lowell trailed 13-3 in the third quarter before scoring 20 unanswered points to beat Highland 23-13. Four weeks ago, Lowell trailed 7-0 at Hobart before they muscled up for 21 consecutive points and a 21-7 victory. Even last week, Munster took a quick 7-0 lead before the Red Devils scored the final 21 points of the game.

Again in last Friday's Class 4A Section nine championship game, Lowell again was highly ineffective in the first half, trailing 3-0. But this November election also became a runaway election for the Devil candidates. In front of a capacity crowd of about 2,500 on a windless 35-degree night, Lowell hit Hobart with 34 points and 350 yards of total offense in the second half, crushing the Brickies 34-3 for the Devils' fourth sectional title in the 31-year history of the state tournament.

Lowell now goes where few Devils have gone before. Lowell (11-1) hosts top-ranked, undefeated East Noble (12-0) in one of the biggest games in school history.

"Before yesterday, we all went up to the sign over there," said Henley, talking of the Lowell scoreboard that lists all the school's football titles. "I've been looking forward to this all my life. We've been talking abut this since our eighth grade year. We were 0-5 but we'd lost every game by a touchdown. Since then, we've been talking about our senior year."

When the Devils' athletic director Don Bales handed the sectional championship trophy to the Lowell seniors, it signaled that the Devils have reached level one of the lofty expectations predicted for the 2003 squad. The Devils are mimicking the 1999 Lowell team (12-2) which won sectional and regional titles before a 24-8 Northern 4A semistate loss at Goshen. But the appearance of Hobart recalled 1994 when the Red Devils (11-2) beat Hobart 28-25 for the 4A regional title before a 21-0 semistate loss at DeKalb.

Lowell followers have wondered all year if this team was of that caliber. When word came down that East Noble, the 2000 Class 4A state champion, had won at home 28-14 over Plymouth and was coming to Lowell, the Red Devils had signed up for the ultimate test.

But it didn't look that way when Lowell trailed 3-0 at half-time.

"Some of that credit has to go to Hobart," said Lowell coach Kirk Kennedy. "It was championship night for them, too. They wanted to give it their best effort and they did. We were fortunate to only be down 3-0 at the half. Even with our mistakes, we should have been up at the half."

"It's one of those thing," said Hobart coach Wally McCormack. "They came out and marched 80 yards on us. They started nine returning starters on offense and eight on defense. Going into the season, you guys all said at the start of the year that Lowell was the best team in 4A in our area. So it's no surprise that they're here. We started eight underclassmen on offense and seven on defense."

The second half rocked Hobart like a hurricane. Lowell ran the ball seven times and went 67 yards for the go-ahead TV. Toby Goetz carried people. Chuck Thompson, who did not start because of a team rule violation, ran the option and dived for extra yardage. And Henley, the 180-pound two-time 1,000-yard rusher, actually hurdled defenders on two plays including the 26-yard TD run with 9:09 left in the third quarter.

Hobart was held to zero yards in three plays and a punt by Kyle Gonzales carried only to the Lowell 37-yard-line.

Lowell drove 63 yards in 11 plays. Nothing fancy. Option runs by Thompson, quick traps to the 210-pound Goetz and pitchouts to Henley. Vintage Hobart football of the 70s, 80s and 90s. Chuck Thompson's quick two-yard QB sneak past sophomore nose guard Adam Bailey (6-4, 350) made it 14-3 Lowell after three quarters. Three Brickie plays gained just eight yards and another punt carried only to the Hobart 41.

Lowell scored again in 10 plays. Thompson, who was 4-of-8 for 45 passing yards, hit 6-foot-3 tight end Jim Jeffries for eight yards to start the drive and gained a first down on a fourth-and-1 QB sneak from the Hobart 31. Henley scored from the 3-yard-line on a pitchout with 8:52 left to make it 21-3.

Lowell's pass rush, which had 43 QB sacks in 11 games, chased Hobart QB Tim Johnson all over the field but only sacked him once. Johnson was adept at throwing the ball away at the last moment. The price of not getting sacked was 2-of-14 passing. Hobart gained only 110 total yards.

Senior halfback Justin Henley gained 150 yards on 20 carries while junior fullback Toby Goetz collected 79 yards on 12 tries as the Brickies (5-7), who reached the finals with wins over Highland and Kankakee Valley, were in well over their heads against Lowell.

"They've got a lot of confidence over there," McCormack said. "When I was at Andrean (in 2002), they played us as well as hard as anybody did. They've got a lot confidence over there. When you're close, it's easy to get motivated. I think last year they thought they were close. They worked their butts off and conditioned their butts off and they're 11-1 for a reason. And it's not because they're not very good."

Henley said, "Our line really played in the second half. They opened up holes and that was not an easy defense to do it against. Hobart wanted to bring back that 'Brickie tradition. They brought it in the first half and we didn't. That's something we can't do against East Noble. We've got to bring it for four quarters."

"The stage is set," said Kennedy. "They use a two-back attack. Some I-formation. They've got a big line. I really don't know anything about them yet. I'm proud of our kids. I'm proud of our coaches. We can finally say we're champions after a tough season. Let's hope its not over yet."

SECTIONAL NOTES: East Noble halfback Konrad Mundon, who was a backup at the start of the year, went over the 1,000-yard mark with 230 yards on 20 carries in East Noble's 28-14 victory over Plymouth Friday. Plymouth, short seven players including their starting QB due to party-related suspensions, gained 200 first half yards and was tied 14-14 in the third quarter.

But Mondon keyed an 11-play, 70-yard drive that was capped by Mundon's one-yard run with 9:58 in the game that made it 21-14. East Noble QB Jeff Wedding was just 7 of 19 for 132 yards. He was a 67% passer after 11 games.

Hobart is clearly on the rise. After an 0-2 start, they split their last 10 losing to Munster, Andrean, Griffith and Lowell twice. Lowell and Andrean returns prime time teams in 2004, but Hobart could return to glory by 2005.
"I don't think the second half is indicative of our team," said McCormack. "We've come a long way. Did you come here tonight thinking we'd be leading at half-time? Nobody did last time either. But that's only half the game."

Henley unofficially is up to 1,458 yards on 233 carries, the fourth largest total in school history and more than the 1,413 yards he gained in 2002.

"Our line's got speed, said Henley. "And our defensive line is one of the best around. Jimmy (Jeffries), Marzotto, Larin (Childress) and Wiler. Nobody can stop them all. And our offensive line is the best I've seen here at opening up holes. Hobart is a tough team to run against but it's not always about size. It's about who wants it more."

Kennedy admitted he didn't panic late in the first half. "We were going to get a second half kickoff so I didn't do a lot of things at the end of the second quarter. If we'd have been kicking in the second half, I might have called some time outs and tried to do some things."

The Brickies ran only 18 offensive plays that were not punts in the second half, to 36 for Lowell. Sophomore halfback Michael Dowling (5-9, 145) swept left end for 30 yards and the game's final TD. Lowell's sophomore class has started to step to the front. Michael Koza (5-7, 140) is seeing time at wide receiver. Jeff Clemens has started all year and Jimmy Ritter (6-0, 160) took a lot of Justin Henley's time on defense against the Brickies.

"They thought I would be stronger if I wasn't on defense so much," said Henley, who likes going both ways. "Jimmy is doing a great job there."

"We started out with nine going both ways," said Kennedy, who likes two-way players. In the past, as the year goes on, some on the sophomores have worked their way into those spots. In a lot of those spots where we have those guys going both ways, there is a rotation. They're not really going both ways all the time. We condition hard. It's not really a factor."

Lowell only has 15 seniors and four freshmen on the 50-man playoff squad. That means 2004 could start with a core group of 35 returning upperclassmen. The Lowell-East Noble game will have a special starting time but it almost certainty will be held on Friday. The travel distance for the Knights (almost 130 miles) is less of a Friday night problem because Noble County is on Eastern Standard time. If the bus leaves at 3:30 for a three-hour ride to Lowell, it's only 5:30 when they get to town.

If Lowell reaches the semistate and must travel to Muncie, there is a significant chance that that game will be held on Saturday, Nov. 22 for the same reason. Muncie is 3 1/2 hours away from Lowell, which is on Central Standard time. The Devils would lose an hour crossing time zones.

Lowell's season-opening girls basketball game against North Newton, previously scheduled for next Friday night, has been postponed.

Sectional Championship games (11-7-2003)

CLASS 5A
1: Portage 43, MERRILLVILLE 28
2: Penn 24, Elkhart Memorial 21 (OT)
3: Fort Wayne Snider 44, Homestead 21
4: Carmel 42, Hamilton Southeastern 10
5: Warren Central 50, North Central (Indianapolis) 10
6: Ben Davis 49, Perry Meridian 0
7: Center Grove 35, Bloomington South 7
8: Evansville Reitz 56, Evansville Harrison 18

CLASS 4A
9: LOWELL 34, Hobart 3
10: East Noble 28, Plymouth 14
11: Fort Wayne Dwenger 35, Columbia City 7
12: Muncie Central 36, Muncie South 6
13: Indianapolis Roncalli 24, Zionsville 21
14: Mooresville 28, Greenwood 7
15: East Central 56, Columbus East 7
16: Vincennes 31, Floyd Central 21

CLASS 3A
17: ANDREAN 16, Griffith 14
18: Hamilton Heights 24, Twin Lakes 15
19: NorthWood 22, South Bend St. Joseph's 21
20: Norwell 27, Whitko 8
21: Blackford 52, Yorktown 23
22: Indianapolis Chatard 55, West Vigo 7
23: Batesville 34, Edgewood 0
24: Heritage Hills 37, Evansville Memorial 12

CLASS 2A
25: Rensselaer 26, North Judson 14
26: Garrett 28, Jimtown 6
27: Harding 47, Woodlan 6
28: Eastbrook 20, Oak Hill 10
29: Tri-West 56, North Putnam 14
30: Speedway 21, Western Boone 0
31: Brownstown 34, Indian Creek 21
32: South Spencer 38, North Posey 13

CLASS 1A
33: LaVille 35, West Central 6
34: Adams Central 46, Southwood 7
35: Seeger 28, Caston 3
36: Carroll (Flora) 48, Frankton 20
37: Eastern Hancock 13, Knightstown 7
38: Indianapolis Ritter 45, Park Tudor 3
39: Turkey Run 28, Riverton Parke 14
40: Tecumseh 12, Linton 7

REGIONAL PAIRINGS

CLASS 5A
Portage [11-1] at Penn [11-1]
Carmel [8-3] at Fort Wayne Snider [11-1]
(Indianapolis) Ben Davis [11-1] at Warren Central [10-2]
Center Grove [10-2] at Evansville Reitz [12-0]

CLASS 4A
East Noble [12-0] at LOWELL [11-1]
Muncie Central [11-1] at Bishop Dwenger [7-5]
Mooresville [10-2] at Indianapolis Roncalli [9-3]
Vincennes [11-1] at East Central [10-2]

CLASS 3A
Hamilton Heights [10-2] at ANDREAN [12-0]
NorthWood [9-3] at Norwell [6-6]
Blackford [9-3] at Bishop Chatard [11-1]
Batesville [8-4] at Heritage Hills [12-0]

CLASS 2A
Garrett [11-1] at Rensselaer [8-4]
Eastbrook [11-1] at Harding [11-1]
Speedway [12-0] at Tri-West [11-1]
South Spencer [10-2] at Brownstown [12-0]

CLASS 1A
Adams Central [10-2] at LaVille [9-3]
Carroll (Flora) [11-1] at Seeger [12-0]
Eastern Hancock [7-5] at Indianapolis Ritter [9-2]
Tecumseh [10-2] at Turkey Run [8-4]

2003: LOWELL (11-1, 6-1 LAC)
COACH: KIRK KENNEDY, 94-50 in 13th year at Lowell

8-22: 20-13 Crown Point (5-5)
8-29: 42-0 at Calumet (2-8)
9-5: 33-0 Griffith (7-5)
9-12: 42-7 at Morton (5-6)
9-19: 7-21 Andrean (12-0)
9-26: 53-6 Hammond (1-9)
10-3: 22-20 at Munster (8-3)
10-10: 21-7 at Hobart (5-7)
10-17: 23-13 Highland (4-6)
10-24: Sectional 9 quarterfinal 58-21 Lew Wallace (4-6)
10-31: Sectional 9 semifinals 21-7 Munster (8-3)
11-7: Sectional 9 championship Hobart 34-3 (5-7)

11-14: Regional championship East Noble (12-0)