HAMMOND (8-25-2007) - This was one of those games where the winner felt like losers and the loser felt like a winner.  Lowell's David Lang lifted a game-winning 39-yard field goal with 8:21 to play and the Red Devil defense stopped any and all Morton threats to win an unusual nonconference game 3-0 at an unusual time, 3:00 p.m. last Saturday.

Playing 'Illinois style' (many Illinois schools play Saturday afternoon football), the Governors (0-2) battled their second consecutive state-ranked foe into the second half before falling in one of those 'moral victories' that coaches say they don't like.

Lowell (2-0), coming off a 23-14 upset of 5A power Crown Point, made a lot of penalties and turnovers in the bright Saturday sun, and was lucky to get out of town with a three-point win.

Lowell coach Kirk Kennedy didn't want to hear any excuses after the game, which effectively ended as Joe Carlson and Justin Juarez sacked Morton QB Cory Phillips on a fourth down pass attempt at the Lowell 48-yard-line with 33 seconds to play.

"They (Morton) pride themselves on their ability to stay in the game," explained Kennedy in the 5:00 p. m sunshine after the game.  "They fought us until the end.  It's different playing in the afternoon, but we told them (the Lowell players) it would be.  Morton obviously handled that much better than we did."

Morton coach Roy Richards was very happy that his team did not wilt in the second half heat.

"We're getting closer," he said referring to the level of the other 4A powers in NW Indiana.  "We just couldn't get anything going consistently on offense.  We kept making little mistakes that cost us.  But I thought our defensive effort was outstanding."

Lowell seemed to be playing its ground-oriented field position game to the Devils advantage in the first quarter until Kurt Monix's pass inside the Morton 10-yard-line was stolen on an athletic leaping interception by DeAngelo Carter.  Lowell got a short punt at the Morton 39-yard line, but a 12-yard run by Steffan Peck was called back on a holding penalty.  The Devils got another short punt at the Lowell 45-yard-line but an apparent 55-yard scoring drive was short-circuited when fullback Danny Remboski was called for holding on the 25-yard TD pass from Kurt Monix to Eric Roadruck.

In the third quarter, Morton could not gain a first down with the second half kickoff, but TJ Lukasik fumbled away another short punt at the Morton 39-yard-line with Kywan Harris recovering the bobble.  Another Lowell drive moved the ball down into the Governors' end of the field, but a 10-yard run by Peck to the Morton 20-yard-line was called back on another holding penalty.

A fake punt run by Lukaslk from the Governors' 43 was stooped cold by the center of the Morton defense.  An 18-yard pass from Governor QB Cory Williams to Sanchez moved the ball to the Lowell 24-yard-line, but a Morton holding penalty backed them out of scoring range.

Both teams seemed to tire in the 80-degree heat and there was some doubt that anyone would score in regulation time.  But Lowell mounted a drive that started with two strong runs by Peck, who gained 110 yards on 24 carries.  A 20-yard run by Peck to the Morton 25 was called back by a holding penalty, but Monix flipped a screen pass to Remboski, who made the play of the day, a tackle breaking run to the Governors' 23-yard line.

Three plays later, after Monix slipped and fell on a 3rd-and-2 pass play, Lang, whose fourth quarter kicks defeated Hobart in 2006 and Fort Wayne South in 2005, booted a high arching three pointer to provide the game winning points.

The preface to this contest was that Morton gave up 28 points in the second half of the season-opening 35-21 loss to Griffith. So, Morton losing this game might be secondary to the Governors, playing under a cloudless summer sky, and keeping Lowell out of the end zone all day.

Morton laid some solid hits on the Devil runners and pass receivers, making Peck earn his 100-yard game.  Lowell's quick defense countered with four QB sacks, including two by senior end Joe Carlson.

"Our mistakes on offense overshadowed a great effort by our defense," said Kennedy.  "Everybody wasn't ready to play on offense.  I don't mean to take anything away from Morton.   They played us hard."

The Devils seemed to tire late in the game, which is something they pride themselves in not doing.  Morton, which has consistently faded in the second half in past years, bent, but never broke.  Morton's secondary, led by seniors Justin Faught and Ricky Carter, were able to support the run while still covering the occasional Lowell deep pass.  The only time the Governors' secondary was beaten came on the called-back 25-yard TD pass from Monix to Roadruck.

Cory Williams was the better of the two Governor passers and he almost hit a long bomb to senior Joe Edmonds at the Lowell 10-yard-line with 45 seconds left.  On the next play, Carlson and Juarez executed the final sack.

After the game ended, Richards asked Kennedy to speak to his team, probably something along the lines of 'We were 1-4 the last two years and we won the sectional.'

"Kirk and I have been friends," said Richards, who is a notable rare coaching good guy.  "I know his teams always play hard.  They're good competition.  That's why we want them on our schedule."

DEVIL NOTES:  Lowell won the second game of the season for the 11th year in a row.  In the past, however, those games have been against teams like Calumet and Lake Station.
The last time Lowell was 2-0 was in 2004 when they finished 9-4.

The crowd was not good for the 3:00 p.m. start.  There were about 200 Lowell fans and about 75 fans from Morton in the home grandstand that seats about 3,000.  Still, coach Roy Richards said of Saturday football:

"I wouldn't mind doing this again.  I like the atmosphere."

Lowell drew three holding penalties and a clipping penalty, all of which wiped out gains by the offense.  Morton drew eight penalties.

The game was postponed early Friday afternoon when weather forecasts predicted high winds and rains.  None of that materialized and the Morton playing field was in good shape for Saturday.  It had rained heavily on both Tuesday and Thursday.

Lowell's Kaleb Layman, who played in 2005 but missed most of the 2006 season with a knee injury, says he has received a favorable doctors report and that he believes he could get back on the field in October.  Layman reinjured his knee in the preseason after originally getting hurt in August of 2006 at Griffith.

Lowell and Kankakee Valley are the only teams in the new Northwest Crossroads Conference (NWCC) that are 2-0 after two weeks.  Those two meet at KV next week.