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Lowell (1-0) at Hammond Morton (0-1) |
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Week
2 - Football Game of the Week Preview |
Lowell (1-0) at Hammond Morton (0-1) |
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8-23-2007
When:
7:00 p.m., CDT on Friday, August 24, 2007
Where: Morton High School, 6915 Grand (near 169th and Cline AVE), Hammond, IN
Tickets: $5 (for everybody)
TV/Radio/Internet: WTMK (89.5) FM will carry this game live. Tape-delayed coverage on Comcast Cable in Hammond.
Weather:
Mid-60s, wet field. Bad weather favors Lowell because their running game is
simple. Lowell would like to pass but Morton needs to throw to win.
Parking: Morton traditionally does
not bring many fans and Lowell is not a big
draw like Griffith or Andrean is. There may
not be a big crowd here.
The series: There was a time when
Morton was too good to play Lowell.
The Devils have no tradition of football
success before 1990. Morton has defeated
Lowell in each of the past two years but
Lowell has won 10 of 15 games since 1985. There is no record of Lowell and Morton
meeting before 1985.
Junior varsity: Lowell at Morton -
Sat. Aug. 25, 10:00 a.m.
Freshmen: Hammond at Morton -
Thursday, Aug. 30 - 6 p.m.
The RIVALRY...
The future of this
rivalry is probably more interesting than
the past, to be honest. There really is no
tradition between these two schools of any
long-standing nature.
Morton was a powerhouse in the 60s and 70s
and they wouldn't play Lowell on a bet. I
don't blame them. Morton was 7-3 in 1969,
6-3-1 in 1970 and 9-1 in 1971 and that's
when the Hammond and East Chicago schools
were still powerful. Morton was the champion
of the old Lake Shore Conference in 1969,
1970 and they were the undefeated league
champ in 1971 and 1972. Hammond high won
seven LSC titles in a row and they were 10-1
in 1977, 11-1 in 1978, 11-1 in 1979, 10-1 in
1979, 10-1 in 1980, 10-1 in 1981 and 8-2 in
1982.
When folks talk about the great history of Hammond football, it's the 60s and 70s they are speaking of.
Meanwhile, Lowell had 25 consecutive non-winning season before 1992. Also, keep in mind, 40 years ago, there was no snapping your fingers and going from Hammond to Lowell. It was a road trip, to say the least. Hammond folks didn't know that Lowell existed, to a great extent.
Lowell was an absolute doormat for decades. To others in the old Lake Suburban Conference (1970-1992) Lowell was a football joke. They were hicks. The Devils never won the league and they never drew any crowds. It speaks to the eternal change that is possible in sports that Lowell is now considered the power and Morton the up-and-comer. Much has been written about the rise of the Morton program in recent years while Lowell's ascension has still gone somewhat unchronicled. That irony is often lost on those in the old Lake Athletic Conference. Lowell, for decades, was the Homecoming opponent you beat 69-0.
Some don't realize that when they consider Lowell one of the 'rich' schools that broke away from the LAC, leaving the Hammond schools with no league, they are showing ignorance of history. When Lowell was down, as they were for a generation, no one helped them at all and Lowell was far worse off athletically than any Hammond school ever was in their worst nightmare. When Lowell's athletic department was bankrupt three years ago due to a theft, nobody outside of Lowell lifted a finger to help them. The Devils moved from the weaker Northwest Hoosier Conference to the LAC, started at the bottom of the LAC (2-8 in 1998) and dragged themselves up to a state title with little notoriety and fanfare until the final few weeks of the 2005 championship season.
You would not realize from local media that Morton has never won a sectional title and Lowell has won seven sectionals and three regionals in 15 years. Ten years ago, when Lowell was reaching football prominence for the first time, Morton had hit the skids. The Governors were 0-10 (1997) and 3-7 ('99), Lowell was 8-3 ('97) and 12-2 ('99).
But the arrival of popular coach Roy Richards from East Chicago was the genesis of a turnaround. Morton's greatest victory in recent years came in October of 2002 when they overcame a 21-6 Lowell lead in the fourth quarter of a sectional semifinal. The Governors won 24-21 that night and they have split four games with Lowell since then, winning the last two. The Governors have gone about it in an entertaining way, with wide open offense. But they know that the development of offensive linemen is the key to their future. The Morton lines continue to get better, but that's going to be a slow process until the facilities get better.
I don't sense a big rivalry between Lowell and Morton in any sport, but the Governors surely see Lowell, a four-time defending sectional champ, as a standard they would like to achieve. This is likely to be the only meeting between Lowell and Morton this year. Since the Devils were banished to Sectional 10, both Lowell and Morton would have to win sectional titles to meet in the post-season. It would be a mid-November matchup and there are major matchups for both teams before that would happen.
But, in the future, Lowell will almost inevitably come back to sectional nine (Griffith is highly unlikely to remain a 4A school) and the Governors and Devils will be sectional rivals. Morton will almost certainly become the eighth team in the Northwest Crossroads Conference, meaning they will play Lowell in a league game every year. By all reports, Morton would be in the NWCC now had they accepted the offer to join when the league was conceived. They originally declined, reportedly out of loyalty to the other Hammond schools. It was understandable, but it was a mistake.
With football at Hanover Central (Lowell's sister school) at least five years away you can bet cash money that Morton will be the eighth NWCC school by the fall of 2009. The concept of four Hammond schools is (as it is in Gary) on borrowed time, anyway. Hammond, as a city, wants to consolidate at least two of the four high schools into one new school which would anchor the neighborhood and stop population decline.
Gary's failure to provide top education facilities is one reason why they keep losing citizens by the bus load. Hammond cant make that mistake or they'll approach being a ghost town, too. My thought is to consolidate Hammond and Gavit and divide city kids into three districts. All the schools would benefit and the new Gavit-Hammond school plus Morton would both gain students and be educational and athletic powers. The city would also save money in heating and cooling. Residents would stay and others would move back. Schools bring pride to a city and Hammond would grow again. But the inevitable Hammond consolidation seems further away than Hanover Central football.
Morton isn't suffering. They have benefited
from being a magnet school, much like West
Side is in Gary. Anyone in Hammond can
attend Morton under the right situation. It
is part of the reason for Morton's rise in
athletics (baseball won 20 this year) and
the fact that they are now Class 4A in all
sports. Morton is clearly the coming school in
Hammond.
In the next decade, there will be
consolidation in the city of Hammond and
Morton will be involved. The
new-and-improved Hammond Morton may be 5A by
2015 or 2020. But then, if the IHSAA goes to
six classes of football playoffs (as many
believe is inevitable), and Lowell gains
300-500 students in the next 10 years,
Lowell could move to 5A about the same timer
as Hammond consolidated high school. The
point is that Lowell and Morton are stuck
with each other. And in football, at least,
both will benefit from the company they
keep.
Class 5A Morton
Coach: Roy Richards (47-41, 9th year)
Enrollment: 1,186
2006 record: 5-5*
Sectional titles: (0) Regional titles: (0)
Semistate titles: (0) State titles: (0)
*Lost 40-21 at Griffith in the
sectional quarterfinal
Morton (0-1)
8-17 (L) 21-35 at Griffith (1-0)
8-24 (F) Lowell (1-0)
8-31 (F) Clark (1-0)
9-7 (F) at Highland (0-1)
9-14 (F) Munster (0-1)
9-21 (F) at Hammond (1-0)
9-28 (F) at Gary West (0-1)
10-5 (F) Hobart (1-0)
10-12 (F) Gavit (1-0)
5A Sectional (9) Nine
Oct. 19: vs. Griffith, Highland, East
Chicago, Hobart, Hammond, Lew Wallace, or
Gary West Side.
Class 4A Lowell
Coach: Kirk Kennedy (123-65, 17 years)
Enrollment: 1,247
2005 record: 7-6*
Sectional titles: (7) 1992, 1994, 1999,
2003, 04, 05, 06
Regional titles: (3) 1994, 1999, 2005
Semistate titles: (1) 2005
State titles: (1) 2005
*Lost 33-14 to 4A state finalist Concord in
the regional championship game
LOWELL (1-0)
8-17 (L) 23-14 CP (0-1)
8-24 (F) at Morton (0-1)
8-31 (F) at KV (1-0)
9-7 (F) GRIFFITH (1-0)
9-14 (F) HIGHLAND (0-1)
9-21 (F) at HOBART (1-10)
9-28 (F) Hammond (1-0)
10-5 (F) at MUNSTER (0-1)
10-12 (F) ANDREAN (0-1
4A Sectional 10 playoffs
10-20 (F) vs. Northridge, Concord, Clay,
(SB) Washington, Logansport, Kankakee Valley
or Plymouth.
LOWELL (1-0) at Morton (0-1)
Sagarin ratings: Lowell by 15
HAMMOND (08-24-2007) - Morton is still working on the offense. They scored three TDs last week, but one came on a Griffith fumble and tow others came in the fourth quarter. Junior quarterbacks Allen Polkinghorn (6-1, 170) and Cory Phillips (6-0, 175) share the duties running the team, but that's almost irrelevant. Polkinghorn is a said to be a better passer while Phillips specialty is running. They may alternate on every play but I've seen Morton stop the every-other-play plan when one QB gets hot. Switching QBs after every play leaves you open to defensive substitutions. Sometimes the QB telegraphs what you are gong to do on offense. But neither will do either unless the offensive line plays well and that's where Morton's hopes lie. Jeremy DeRolf (6-2, 275) and Danny McGing (6-2, 245) anchor the line that must protect for the always-athletic Governors.
Baseball star David Faught (6-0, 185) takes over at tailback in back of fullback Ryan Graciano (5-11, 225). They simply have to score points while the defense gets experience. Morton can be potent on offense because they don't have QBs who can't run the ball.
The Governors punted eight times last
week for a 25-yard average and that's not
good enough. Traditionally, Morton has not
punted the ball well and that will be a key
against Lowell.
Shevin Williams (6-2, 195) can be an
outstanding wide receiver and cornerback
David Smith (6-0,185) is a top defensive
back. Both can be game-breakers.
This Lowell team was thought to be a sectional and regional contender and they did nothing in week one to discourage that thought. The Lowell defense, with seven returning starters, shut out Crown Point after the first quarter as the Devils beat CP for the sixth time in nine years. Defensive end Jeff Barker (6-4, 205) had 3 1/2 sacks last week and Morton must double block him. Junior linebacker Bryan DeSomer (5-11, 175) had eight tackles. Lowell wants the ball thrown at all-area defensive backs Lukas Palmer (6-0, 170) and TJ Lukasik (5-8, 168).
Runners must contend with linebackers like
Justin Juarez (6-2, 221), Ben Rigby (6-0,
1270), Danny Remboski (6-0, 187) and David
Eastling (6-0, 198).
Geno Wentworth (6-2, 240) anchors the line
and they have a few other line prospects to
shake down. Lowell has depth and quickness
defensively. It will be hard to score a lot
of points on them.
Offense is the question mark and that was
answered in week one when senior halfback
Steffan Peck gained 94 yards on 30 carries
and sophomore Brandon Grubbe (5-10, 170)
gained 90 yards on six carries. New junior
QB Kurt Monix was 4-for-4 and Barker caught
two passes for 40 yards.
With kicker and punter David Lang plus
Lukasik and Peck running back kicks, this is
a very complete team.
I think you can overpower Lowell physically
as they are not big on either line. This
will also be Monix' first start on the road. But Lowell was down 14 starting the second
quarter at home last week and if they didn't
fold then, I wouldn't hold my breath. Lowell tends to fumble a lot early in the
season and that could be their undoing here.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN...
HAMMOND - Morton will come out trying
to establish the run. Look for Justin Faught
(6-0, 185) to get the ball behind fullback
Ryan Graciano (5-11, 225). This Morton team might be better suited
to play Lowell because they aren't a
quick-strike basketball-on-grass team. While Morton has defeated Lowell two
years in a row, Lowell dominated them before
that.
Traditionally, Lowell's running game and long possessions wear down Morton, which strikes quickly and has short possessions. The Governors will score first on a run by Faught, but Lowell will come back on a short TD run by Steffan Peck. Remember, Morton punted eight times for a 25-yard average last week so they can be exploited there. A long runback by Peck will set up a Kurt Monix TD on a keeper. A Lowell fumble will set up a TD run by Graciano, but Lowell will match that and the game will be 14-14 or 17-14 at the half.
In the third quarter, Monix will find Eric Roadruck behind the Morton defense for a TD. A blocked punt will give Lowell a short field and sophomore halfback Brandon Grubbe will again come off the bench for a TD run. When Morton goes to the air, the game will get out of hand because of Lowell's pass rush. A sack and a defensive TD will add to the score.
Morton passer Allen Pokinghorn was 7-of-19 last week for one TD, but he will be under a heavy rush on this night. Morton must go at Lowell's defensive backs, but they have to do it on early downs to stay away from the rush. I expect the Governors to pass early to try to set up the run later. Morton has to get a good kicking game and trey are vulnerable there.
The Governors were probably pleased that
Lowell beat Crown Point last week because
they didn't want a bunch of angry Devils
getting off the bus in Hammond tomorrow. Morton can sneak up on an overconfident
Devil squad. But the Governors have defeated
Lowell two years in a row and the Lowell boys
will hear about that all week.
The Governors will blitz Monix to try to get
him to make some bad throws. But they also
have to be able to defeat Lowell's blockers
for four quarters and that is a lot to ask
without bringing eight or nine men to the
front, which opens up 1-on-1 opportunities
for Barker.
Morton consistently is a very good team
for about a half. The Governors gave up 21
third quarter points last week to Griffith,
while Lowell scored 20 second half points on
Crown Point. Morton must challenge
themselves to stay strong in the fourth
quarter.
If Lowell does not fumble more than twice,
they should break open a close game in the
second half. This is one of the Devils' best
teams and they have running backs backed up
on the bench. Morton needs experience to
hang with Lowell and if they meet them again
in November, they'll have it.
LOWELL 48, Morton 20