Lowell crushes Morton at "Mansion', 42-0 in regional, to host Dwenger for Semistate

HAMMOND (11-13-2009) A lot of times when you see the same athletic team week after week, you lose perspective on how good they actually are.  You overrate them because you become familiar with what they can do, or you underrate them because you see a lot of their flaws.

I don't know how good Lowell is anymore.  After scoring 60 points on a very good Concord team to win the sectional title, the seventh-ranked Red Devils shut out 10th-ranked Morton 42-0 to win the school's third consecutive Class 4A regional championship Friday in Hammond.

Outscoring Concord (8-4) and Morton (10-2) by a combined total of 105-23 and playing the substitutes throughout the fourth quarter in both games?  What's going on?  They can't be this good, can they?

We find out next Saturday night as Lowell (12-1) attempts to reach the Class 4A state championship game for the third time in five years when they host undefeated and second-ranked Bishop Dwenger (13-0) in a Saturday 6:00 p.m. semistate special.

In Hammond, a crowd of over 5,000 came to 169th street to see if the home town Governors, in their first ever regional appearance, could upset the two-time regional champion Red Devils.

The fans watched a total mismatch.

On the first Morton offensive play, a pass by junior quarterback Andrew Glidewell went right into the hands of Lowell linebacker Jordan Juarez, who raced 20 yards into the end zone for a 7-0 Red Devil lead.

Morton got a 63-yard kickoff return from Dominique Peterson, but three scrimmage plays lost a total of four yards and the Governors had to punt.  On Morton's third possession, a Glidewell pass was intercepted by Lowell's Brandon Grubbe at the Red Devil 49-yard.  One play layer, a 49-yard touchdown run by Grubbe was called back on a holding penalty.  Ten plays later, Grubbe scored on a three-yard run with 6:20 left in the half to make it 14-0.

At this point, it became obvious that Morton's all-time best 11-win season was coming to an end on a 50-degree mid-November evening in front of the biggest crowd of the year.  The Governors were showing stage fright on a stage that Lowell has owned in recent seasons.

"It was awesome," said senior co-captain Nate Cleveland, who was in on three quarterback sacks. "Looking at the home side when we came out.  I've played here since I was a freshman.  I've never seen it like that.  I've never seen that many people here.  There was some booing.  I loved it.  They booed us.  I loved it.  I said 'Just bring it."

Senior Ray Skamay said, "This atmosphere was unbelievable," he said.  "I've never seen this big a crowd outside of a state (title) game.  We heard about what it was going to be like all week.  Then to come out here and see it packed.  It was really cool."

Lowell had far too much for Morton, holding the home team to 55 total yards.  There was never a moment when you thought the Governors were in control of this game.  Lowell had been in the regional championship game in 2007 and 2008 with many of these same players.  Morton was playing in the school's first-ever title game and it showed.

"I think so," said Grubbe, who gained 179 yards on 31 carries to become Lowell's third player ever to gain 2,000 yards in the same season.  "We're battle tested.  We played three tough games in our sectional.  We knew what we had to do and we knew how we could accomplish it."

Juarez returned interceptions for TDs on the first series of the first and third quarters.  The Lowell linebacker was also consistently in the way of Morton's 1,000-yard halfback Kalyn Aaron, who ran frequently on a wingback reverse.  Aaron (6-0, 185) was held to 36 yards rushing on 10 carries.  Morton had four turnovers and they were clearly rattled.  Even simple running plays seemed clumsy and awkward.  The Governors, who had a 10-game winning steak stopped, had not trailed in many games this season and they didn't react to it well.

Lowell, which has not allowed any points in the second half of any of its four playoff games, could have scored 60 points had they not inserted the second string offense in the fourth quarter.

"Our defense was great," said Skamay.  "It just made it very easy for the offense.  Juarez was possessed.  It seems like he's trying to out do his brother (2008 all-area linebacker Justin Juarez, who was back from St. Francis College in Fort Wayne for the game).

What is easily underestimated about Lowell if you see them every week is how intimidating they appear.  This isn't the 2007 team that went 13-2 with a lot of fast, little guys.  Forget about Grubbe (6-1, 194) and Juarez (6-1, 200) and the seven consecutive sectional titles.  Cleveland (6-4, 215), Joe Bell (6-4, 207) Jay Trappani (6-4, 219), Luke Mitrisin (6-3 280), Mike Sekuloski (6-3, 210) and Tyler Wright (6-4, 223) look a lot scarier than they really are.  Morton was totally intimidated.

Late in the game it was hard not to feel sorry for Morton and the Governor's fans.  Few people normally attend Morton games.  Finally when they get a standing room only mob to come out and watch a championship game, the Governors could not perform.  It was painful to watch at times.

"I know what you mean," said Lowell offensive coordinator Jim Carlson.  "Now, I couldn't feel that way.  I couldn't feel sorry for them.  There's no time for that.  But it had to be tough for them."

It was especially tough for Glidewell, the 6-foot-5 junior QB, who threw three TD passes against Lowell in a 35-26 loss to the Devils in August.  On this night, he was sacked three times and threw three interceptions.

"We didn't have our match ups the way we eventually learned that they needed to be in the second game of the season," said Lowell defensive coordinator Brad Stewart.  "We do a lot with matching people up.  It was the second game of the season.  If we don't know the personnel as well as we should, we don't match up at well."

Joe O'Connell, now the 'quarterback coach for the Devils, but in another life, the QB on the 1999 Red Devil regional championship team, saluted the fact that Juarez has become an impact player.

"When you watch the films," O'Connell said, "(Juarez) more than anybody, you watch him for technique, getting rid of blocks.  He does almost everything the way he's supposed to."

The game quickly became a celebration of all things Lowell.  The Devils had two first half touchdown drives after Juarez' interception TD and they would have had a third had not the clock run down in the second quarter.  Boje Pejoski, who has quietly made 19 consecutive extra points, barely missed a 31-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.  The Devils led 42-0 after three periods and the Red Devils' second string got a full quarter of play for the second week in a row.

In good conditions and on the fast artificial turf, Lowell threw 12 passes, more than in the three-game sectional combined.  On the opening play of the game, Skamay tossed a 40-yard pass to junior Cole Midgett, who appeared to be tripped as he went for the ball.  There was no penalty.  Lowell ran a very similar play later on and Midgett, who was tripped again by the Morton defender, got the call.

If Morton's Maury Zlotnick Stadium holds 5,000 fans, there were about 6,000 in attendance Friday.  But more than one person claimed that all the people in the home grandstand were not Morton rooters.  Some were said to be Lowell fans that couldn't fit in the visitors' bleachers.  There was a 10-minute fireworks display after the game, obviously intended for a Morton victory celebration.  When the Devils won, the fireworks handlers decide to shoot off all the loud, booming sparklers anyway and the 1,000 or so Lowell fans cheered as if the display was for them.

The Devils are aware that Grubbe (934 carries, 5,583 yards), who has an outside shot at 6,000 career yards, was unable to play when Lowell reached the state finals in 2007 because he broke his arm in the first quarter of the loss to Reitz Memorial.  It has been mentioned quietly that it would be more than ironic if Lowell could return and play Reitz again (Reitz and Cathedral are the 4A Southern semistate finalists) so he could play the entire game this time.

But that's a tall order.  Some say Bishop Dwenger (13-0), Saturday's semistate opponent, has dominated most of the 14 games they've played.  The Saints have scored over 600 points and they have six shutouts.  When Saints meet Devils, Saints should always win.  But, as we all know, sometimes the Devil gets the best of everybody.

"A lot of people say they're better than last year," said Kennedy.  "So we have our work cut out for us.  We're familiar with them.  They're familiar with us."

Ray Skamay said, "It should be a great atmosphere.  Just like it was tonight."

DEVIL NOTES:  Bishop Dwenger is a 5-1/2 point favorite over Lowell on the Sagarin computer ratings.  Dwenger is 52-4 over the last four seasons.  With Friday's win, Lowell is 38-4 over the last three seasons.

Lowell lost 38-22 at Bishop Dwenger in the 4A Northern Semistate in November of 2008 and the Devils, who went into that game with a 13-0 record, have vivid memories of that cold Saturday night.

"What I remember from that game," said Grubbe, "if we didn't make mistakes in the second half like on that kickoff, who knows who wins?  That's the way I felt.  We had it and we let it go."

"It was freezing cold," Ray Skamay remembered.  "The field felt like cement.  It was a long, long bus ride.  A lot of mistakes that could have made the game go the other way.  Some fumbles changed the game.  We would like to even things up for the seniors who played last year."

Lowell's shutout is the fifth of the season for the Red Devils defense.

The 1968 Lowell team had five shutouts including a 13-0 win over Merrillville.  Total shutouts are a deceptive statistic.  Lowell 's 2005 state championship team didn't shut out anyone.
The 1936 (8-0-1) and 1937 Devils (8-1) both had seven shutouts, but the 1935 Devils (9-0), the schools only unbeaten, untied team and arguably Lowell's greatest team of the 20th Century, only shut out four opponents.  Lowell's 1935 team, which beat Griffith, Hobart, Valparaiso and Crown Points twice, allowed only 38 points in nine games for coach Jim Carter.

Mike French, a two-time 1,000-yard rusher (1999 and 2000) and Joe O'Connell, the QB on the 1999 regional title team, are in the unique position of being on the sidelines as unpaid assistant coaches leading the 'next generation' of Devils.  No one really knows how they feel watching their uniform numbers leading Lowell to more football glory.

"I'm just excited to see these kids live the exact same thing they watched us do," said O'Connell, who wore number 14.  "Ray said I was the first quarterback he watched and that's why he wears number 14.  They watched us do it and now they're doing it.  They get to experience what they imagined."

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Revised: November 16, 2009 .