Lowell steamrolls Logansport 54-13 in Class 4A, Sectional 10 opener

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

10-20-2007

Friday, October 12, 2007,  49 degrees, dry - Northwest Crossroads Conference finale at LOWELL, IN

1st Qtr:  LOWELL (6-0)  Brandon Grubbe, 29-yard run.  71 yard drive, 6 plays.  Kick wide.  8:54 left.
LOGANSPORT (6-7)  Matt McIntire, 85-yard run.  87 yard drive, 2 plays.  Cam Foster kick.  7:32 left.
LOWELL (13-7) Steffan Peck, 2-yard run.  66-yard drive, 6 plays.  David Lang kick.  4:47 left.
LOWELL (20-7) Brandon Grubbe, 36-yard run.  65-yard drive, 5 plays. David Lang kick.  1:35 left.
2nd Qtr:  LOWELL (27-7) Brandon Grubbe, 79-yard run.  43 yard drive, 8 plays.  David Lang kick.  8:35 left.
LOWELL (34-7) Brandon Grubbe, 53-yard run.  49 yard drive, 6 plays.  David Lang kick.  4:53 left.
LOWELL (41-7) Steffan Peck, 1-yard run.  56-yard drive, 11 plays.  David Lang kick.  0:13 left
3rd Qtr:  LOWELL (47-7) Brandon Grubbe, 1-yard run.  32-yard drive, 8 plays.  Kick wide.  3:37 left.
4th Qtr:  LOWELL (54-7) Steffan Peck, 26-yard run.  68 yards drive.  David Lang kick.  9:48 left.
LOGANSPORT (13-54) Matt McIntire, 50-yard run.  Pass failed.  0:07 left.

RUSHING:
LOGANSPORT (41 carries, 253 yards, 2 TDs)  Matt McIntire (FB) 25-240 yards, 2 TDs; Derrick Rowe (HB) 4-9 yards;
Sammy Starbuck (QB) 8-7 yards (sack -8); Travis Emery (HB) 3-4 yards; Luke Zinsmaster (WR) 1-8 yards.   

LOWELL (53 carries, 419 yards, 8 TDs)  Brandon Grubbe (HB) 22-251 yards, 5 TDs; Steffan Peck (FB) 20-129 yards, 3 TDs;
Kurt Monix (QB) 5-16 yards; Jake Belt (WR) 1-13; TJ Lukasik (WR) 1-10, Cody Midgett (HB) 2-0; Mark Puskar (QB) 2-0.

PASSING:
LOGANSPORT:  Sammy Starbuck (QB) 0-5, 0 yards;  Derrick Rowe (QB-HB) 0-3, 0 yards.
LOWELL:  Kurt Monix (QB) 4-7, 55 yards

RECEIVING:
LOWELL:  Jeff Barker (TE) 1-17, Eric Roadruck (WR) 1-11; Jake Belt (WR) 1-6, Brandon Grubbe (HB) 1-21.

TOTAL YARDS:
LOGANSPORT - 253 yards, 6 first downs, 0 turnovers;
LOWELL - 516 yards, 18 first downs, 0 turnovers.

LOWELL 1,000-yard rushers - single season
1. Scott Gray (2005) 323 carries, 2,336 yards
2. Michael Pikcett (1994) 339 carries, 2,256 yards
3. Toby Goetz (2004) 276 carries, 1,939 yards
4. Matt Pernick (1996) 229 carries,  1,827 yards
5. Michael Pickett (1993) 273 carries, 1,687 yards
6. Justn Henley (2002) 147 carries, 1.552 yards
7. Justin Henley (2003) 227 carries, 1,413 yards
8. Mike French (2000) 220 carries, 1,382 yards
9. Matt Pernick (1995) 175 carries, 1,549 yards
10. Max Znika (2006) 224 carries, 1,302 yards

11. Mike French (1999) 226 carries, 1,280 yards
12. Brandon Grubbe (2007)  170 carries, 1,182 yards (unofficial)
13. Sean Anderson (2001) 242 carries, 1,048 yards
14. Nick Holley (19997) 131 carries, 1014 yards
15. Steffan Peck (2006)  198 carries, 995 yards
16. Chris Goult (1999) 156 carries, 949 yards

LOWELL (10-19-2007) -  Okay, I'll ask.  Was Lowell that good or was Logansport that bad?  I know the Devils are wonderful and all that, but there was most definitely a split opinion on the field as to whether Friday's 54-13 horsewhipping the Devils gave Logansport to start the 35th Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) playoffs was more a product of sixth-ranked Lowell's offensive and defensive power or the visitors misleading record due to a suspect schedule.

Either way, Lowell overcame what was thought to be a major hurdle in the first week of the eight-team single-elimination sectionals by shelling the third-place team from Indiana's North Central Conference and advancing to play at Plymouth (5-5), a 38-8 winner over Northridge in another Sectional 10 quarterfinal.  The Rockies have seven days to figure out how to stop Lowell, a team that is coming off a 28-point win over Andrean and a 41-point win over Logansport.  Friday's game was 20-7 after one quarter and 34-7 with five minutes left in the first half.  The Devils came out of the dugout like there was no tomorrow, now that there isn't.

"The first series," recalled senior tackle Geno Wentworth.  "The whole offensive line came out and we were so jacked up.  I don't think we've ever been jacked up on the first series."

"They knew there was no tomorrow," said coach Kirk Kennedy. "That's how you'd hope they'd be."

There is a scenario under which Lowell would have to play the next three playoff games on the road.  So, if this was it for the Devils on the home turf, they went out with a bang.  Lowell played with a first quarter fire that had been missing much of the year. The Devils's junior QB Kurt Monix threw an incomplete pass on the Devils' first play of the game and they then ripped off gains of 12,16, seven, seven and 29 with the final carry a 29-yard TD by Brandon Grubbe.

Logansport (7-3), which ends the season with a 1-3 record against teams with records of .500 or better, struck back immediately.  Star fullback Matt McIntire burst through the Red Devils line and outran the Lowell secondary 85 yards to the goal line to give the Berries a 7-6 lead with just 4:28 gone.

But it quickly became obvious that Lowell could run almost any play they wanted to run. Grubbe (5-10, 170) broke a 35-yard cutback run to the Logansport 26-yard-line.  After a five-yard penalty and a 7-yard run by Grubbe, fullback Steffan Peck scored from the 12 yards out in two plays to put Lowell up 13-7.  The Lowell defense forced a quick punt and the Devils again started ripping off big yards on every play.  Peck and Grubbe alternated carries with Peck zipping off left guard and tackle and racing 36 yards for the 20-7 TD with 1:35 left in the first period.

At the start of the second period, Peck ran a punt back 12 yards to the Logansport 43-yard line and the Devils were off again.  In eight plays (six of them rushes of five yards or more), Lowell was in the end zone again with Grubbe scoring a 7-yard TD run on a pitchout, making the score 27-7 with 8:35 left in the half.  After another three-play Logansport possession, Lowell had the ball at the Red Devil 47-yard-line.  They ran a pitchout sweep where they faked a reverse to the wide receiver.  Grubbe, who has gained 200 or more yards three times now in 10 games, simply cut up field, through and away from the Logansport defense for a 53-yard TD and a 34-7 lead.

You never want to give a sophomore too much credit.  Especially a running back who's got a bunch of juniors and seniors blocking for him up front.  But Grubbe, who ran 66 yards for a TD on his first career carry back in August against 5A No. 10 Crown Point, is clearly not like the other boys.  The 16-year-old sophomore runs like a deer in hunting season and he has taken enough punishment to give his coaches and teammates some confidence that the other teams can't stop him by beating him up.  Just the opposite.  Grubbe had six runs of 10 yards or more in the first quarter against Logansport.

"At the start of the season," Wentworth recalled, "I had heard how good he was.  Once he came out and for the first two weeks he didn't say anything.  He was so quiet and humble about everything.  Then we had a scrimmage and I'm coming up to tackle him and he just pops me.  I said 'whoa'.  Wow.  Okay.  That was a pretty good hit.  Since then, he's been good with me.  He's cool."

Logansport gained 2,500 yards rushing during the regular season, but only 650 yards passing and that let everybody know that they weren't going to rally to win on the road 100 miles from home.  Passes by QB Sammy Starbuck and Derrick Rowe were hurried and off target.  The Berries were 0-for-8 passing and it was again obvious that teams that are going to beat Lowell are going to have to run the ball.  The Devils get very excited about 3rd-and-long situations for the other side.

Wentworth said the team was also glad to be in the playoffs, playing games that really matter.

"This was the first step on the road to the Dome," he said.  "It was good to get past this one."

Sectional 10 features long drives for the visiting team, and next week, it's Lowell driving down the highway.  It is not easy for young players to sit still for two hours on a bus and then play.

"When I get off the bus," Wentworth said, "I flip a switch and I'm in the game mode.  I don't know how everyone else handles it.  I think we'll be all right."

They'll be all right as well as the offensive line continues to succeed.  Against Logansport, Josh Hayden (5-11, 210), David Lang (6-0, 206), Matt Haebel (5-9, 165), Jon Sgouroudis (6-1, 260), Nick Schultz, Justin Juarez (6-2, 221) and Wentworth (6-2, 240) all got first string time.  It seems odd for a winning team to have a rotating situation in the offensive line, but it's very hard to argue that it isn't working.  Lowell's goal has always been to wear down the defensive front of the other side.

"Some of those guys are defensive players, too," said Kennedy.  "So we rotate them in and out to keep them fresh."

"The 0-line has really picked it up," Wentworth said.  "It started out with me and Schultz, Lang, Hayden and (Brian) DeMario.  Schultz and Hayden and I have pretty much stayed in there and the others have changed.  The coaches have been riding us the whole season, but I think it's really been coming together."

Frankly, it has to.  When Lowell won the Class 4A state title in 2005, they got three home playoff games, including the sectional championship game and the semistate game at home.  The Devils also got to play Gary Roosevelt and Kankakee Valley.  Lowell does not have to be told that Plymouth is not Gary Roosevelt.  But Lowell foes won't be able to ignore the Devils' 54-13 smackdown of a 7-2 team.

"Plymouth's about an hour and a half on the bus," said Kennedy, looking ahead.  "An easy drive down Route 30.  It's a pretty tough place to play.  We were healthy tonight and we got a lot of things done tonight.  I think we captured emotion coming off last week.  Tonight gives us even more confidence."

DEVIL NOTES:  Brandon Grubbe is the first Lowell sophomore in the state tournament era (1973 to present) to gain 1,000 yards.  His unofficial 251 yards on 22 carries lifts him to 1,182 yards on 170 carries.  Steffan Peck's 129 yards on 20 carries moves him to 739 yards on 164 hauls.  Lowell has never had two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season.  Peck gained 995 yards last season on 198 carries.

The win over Logansport was Lowell's 13th consecutive sectional win over five seasons.  Grubbe has 18 touchdowns.  Peck's three TDs give him 11 for the season.  This was the first game this season in which both Peck and Grubbe gained over 100 yards.  There is no chance that Lowell can play at home in the next two weeks.  Lowell travels to Plymouth on Oct. 26 and, no matter who wins next week's Kankakee Valley-Concord game, a victorious Lowell team would again be on the road on Nov. 2.  It's always dangerous to project ahead in the IHSAA playoffs, but Lowell's next possible home game would be the regional championship game on Nov. 9, if they can get there, most likely against Griffith (7-3) or Hobart (7-3).

The starting time of the Lowell-Plymouth playoff game has not yet been determined, but it will almost certainly not be 7 p.m. Lowell time.  Usually, teams in different time zones move the starting time of a playoff game back 1/2 hour as a courtesy to the fans of the traveling team. 

Lowell's Jake Belt ran 58 yards for a third quarter Red Devil TD that was called back on a holding penalty.

You can't always explain everything: The New Castle (4-6) team Logansport defeated 50-22 last week beat Pendleton Heights 42-36 in 4A Sectional 12.

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Revised: October 21, 2007 .