Red Devils score 5 TDs and hold Indians scoreless in scrimmage at Twin Lakes
	A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith 8-15-2009

(4A) LOWELL  (13-1)
 

Coach: Kirk Kennedy, 148-68 (19th year)  13-1 (2008), 13-2 (2007), 7-6 (2006), 11-4 (2005)
Northwest Crossroads Conference (NCC) games in CAPS -all games begin at 7 p.m.
 

Sectional 10
Oct. 23 (F) with Concord, Plymouth, Kankakee Valley, Logansport,
Clay, Riley and (SB) Washington 


2008 Lowell (13-1)
 

Aug. 22 (W) 7-0 at Crown Point (3-7)
Aug. 29 (W) 57-20 Morton (7-5)
Sep. 5 (W) 42-0 Kankakee Valley (3-7)
Sep. 12 (W) 27-12 at Griffith (8-5)
Sep. 19 (W) 55-7 at Highland (0-10)
Sep. 26 (W) 35-32 Hobart (9-3)
Oct. 3 (W) 63-0 at Hammond (7-4)
Oct. 10 (W) 24-7 Munster (7-4)
Oct. 17 (W) 35-6 at Andrean (6-7)

4A Sectional 10
Oct. 24 (W) 24-7 at South Bend Washington (7-3)
Oct. 31 (W) 20-14 (OT) Plymouth (10-1)
Nov. 7 (W) 49-20 South Bend Clay (6-6) 49-20 (title)

4A Regional
Nov. 14  (W) Griffith (8-5) 19-13

3A Northern Semistate
Nov. 22 (W) at Bishop Dwenger (14-1) 22-38

MONTICELLO (8-14-2009) There's no sure way to analyze a preseason scrimmage.  At Twin Lakes high school Friday night, Lowell was good enough defensively to prevent the home team from scoring on any of its possessions.  That's good.  Lowell scored five TDs, including two on pass plays.  Obviously, that's pretty good, too.  But I can't tell you how well Lowell will do against their nine regular season foes.  Twin Lakes certainly won't present the type of physical problems that a much larger Crown Point team will in the 2009 season opener next Friday night.

"I thought Twin Lakes hit hard," said Lowell's new center and middle linebacker Anthony DeMario.  "There's a lot to improve on.  We played well, don't get me wrong.  But we've got to improve.  Maybe get a little more aggressive off the ball on the offensive line."

"Our defense needs to swarm and read our keys a little better."
 

Lowell began the game with DeMario at center and Cleveland at fullback in front of quarterback Ray Skamay and all-state halfback Brandon Grubbe, who ran 27 yards for a TD in Lowell's first 15-play scrimmage series.

Lowell's second QB was sophomore Jeremy Crocker (6-0, 180), who is expected to start at linebacker.  Crocker hit fellow soph Tyler Kristoff (6-2, 195) for a short roll out TD and Skamay came back in to find Cleveland for a 15-yard roll out TD on the last play of the second series.

Grubbe, who gained 80 yards on 11 carries, later scored a second TD as did Cleveland.  Junior Jordan Juarez also ran for a touchdown.  Those last three scores came in a series that started at the 10-yard line.  The line rotated players and any evaluation should probably wait until after they face what should be a tough Crown Point defense Friday.
 

Lowell's defense had six sacks, but again, Twin Lakes did not have anywhere near the manpower on an 80-degree evening in White County that Crown Point will show when they get to Route 2 next Friday.  There's no way to tell you with any certainty that Lowell, which has posted 13 wins in each of the last two seasons, can do that again.  The offensive line and the kicking game are still question marks.  Line coach Jim Kiechle said the line will take some time.
 

"It'll take us a couple more weeks to figure out exactly what we're doing but we'll be all right.  We don't like guys going both ways.  No matter how good you are, you need a break,  There's very few kids who can give you everything they've got both ways.  They think they can, but there's very few who can."

Oddly enough, the scrimmage said almost as much about 2010 and 2011 as it did about this year.  Lowell has done so well (62-14) in recent seasons, you wonder how long their success will continue.  Friday's scrimmage suggests that Lowell will have winning teams for at least two more years after this one.

The Devils need four new linebackers and Crocker (6-0, 180) appears to be one of them along with DeMario, Jeff Harbrecht (6-1, 191) and junior Jordan Juarez (6-1, 197).  The three-man secondary included Stephan Garton, Franz Stagl at cornerbacks and Cole Midgett at safety, while two big sophomores Luke Mitrisin (6-3, 281) and Jake Hayden  (6-0, 290)  got some time up front.  Juniors Dominic Rebesco (6-2, 215) and Mike Sekuloski (6-3, 210) plus another big sophomore, defensive end Tyler Wright (6-4, 223) overran the tiring Indians on occasion.

Everyone who was eligible played Friday down by 'Indiana Beach' and Lowell does not have anything close to a steady starting lineup yet.

"I thouhgt we did pretty well," said Bell, the Red Devil basketball forward who, along with Cleveland, didn't really allow the Red Devil secondary to be tested on this night.

"We had a lot of new faces out there tonight and I thought they did pretty well.  We've just got to get our minds fixed towards Crown Point.  Nate's more like power and strength and I'm more speed.  I think we work together really well."

Lowell coach Kirk Kennedy said he was happy traveling to Twin Lakes for the scrimmage and he'd like to continue it.

"This is fine.  I don't want to play a big school in the scrimmage and get beat up," he explained.  "I like coming here.  This is a good situation.  We were fortunate to find this after Clark dropped us.  They treat us well here.  Going into the Crown Point game, I just want to get out of here healthy and come out of it with a good feeling about it."

DeMario knows he'd be crazy to jump up in August and say that the Devils will finish better than the last two years.  Lowell was 13-2 and semi state champs in 2007 before going 13-1 and becoming regional champs in 2008.  Mathematically, you can't do much better than that.
 

"I just want us to keep up the standards of Lowell football," he said.  "We need to get better and just play Lowell football.  Just play the way this school is supposed to play.  If we do that, we'll be OK."

In Lowell football language, 'OK' means they expect to be play for another sectional championship in November.  But the main thing you got out of the sunset drive down to Monticello Friday was that Lowell's winning ways won't be ending after this season, either.  There are more of them coming.  Bigger ones...

DEVIL NOTES:  Crown Point showed a solid running game in their scrimmage at Highland.  Halfback Chris Klein (6-0, 170) ran 45 yards for a TD on the first play of the night.  Halfbacks Cody Bacon (5-8, 155) and Mason Popovich (5-9, 170)  also got playing time.  Klein gained 60 yards and scored two TDs on six carries.  Bacon carried 14 times for 48 yards and two TDs.  New CP QB Joey Hopman (5-11, 165), a sophomore, will  face Lowell after going 5-for-13 in the scrimmage for 37 yards.

Highland scored three TDs (all on passes), but that's deceiving because they used a 4-receiver spread offense and threw the ball 80% of the time.  Freshman Highland quarterback Gunner Grider was 5-of-10 for 67 yards and three TDs but he gave up a 70-yard interception return for a TD to Crown Point junior corner back Brian Holloway.  It was suggested that Grider is still behind Highland junior Matt Holloway.

Lowell graduated both kickers from last season so they've been looking for volunteers.  The Devils may have found a new place kicker last week.

"His name is Boge Pejoski (6-1, 276)," line coach Jim Kiechle said of the senior volunteer.  "I don't know if he actually tried out, but he was kicking in practice like a lot of them try to do and he's booming the ball.  He's been getting the distance.  Boge may do PATs also, but we've still got Cole Midgett there.  There're issues with Boge on kickoffs.  We've got to decide what we want him to do after he kicks the ball because he's not going to be making any tackles."

"Brandon Grubbe is the new punter.  Sophomore Jeremy Crocker will be the long snapper for kicks and punts.  "That's the way it's gone in camp.  He's done it before.  He's a little ahead of the other sophomores."

Lowell's new center and inside linebacker Tony DeMario has gone from no playing time to all the time he could ask for.

"I filled in for (2008 graduate linebacker) David Eastling against Hobart," said DeMario, whose brother Brian was a senior starting offensive tackle last year.  "So I've gone from not playing to playing both ways.  I'm a little surprised.  It's a little scary.  I figure we'll have a rotation, but we're still looking for other kids to play."

"I think that defensively we've got an advantage up front with Nate (Cleveland) and Joe Bell.  They're great players."