(Friday, Aug. 30 - 7 p.m.)
TICKETS:
$5
Radio-TV: None
WEATHER: Warm, mid-70s, light winds
A
USA-365.com special report by Mark Smith
HISTORY
- I'm sure that at some time in the two schools' history
that Lake Station defeated Lowell in football. But it has not been recently.
Lake Station forfeited last year's game because they could not field a team. Two
years ago, Lowell beat Lake Station 76-0. Three years ago, Lowell won 54-0. When
the two teams were league rivals in the Northwest Hoosier Conference (NWHC) from
1992-97, Lowell won every game.
LOWELL - Lowell goes from playing a school twice their size to playing
one less than half their size. The enrollment disparity (1,085-341) gives you a
good indication of how this game will go although Lowell (39) does not have that
many more varsity players that Lake Station (reportedly 31) has. Lake
Station will come in thinking they can win because they did score a fourth
quarter TD in last week's 39-7 loss to Wheeler and Lowell didn't score against
Crown Point.; That's not much to build your hopes on, you say? When you've lost
17 games in a row, you grasp at straws. The Eagles did gain 153 yards
rushing in the opener but quarterback David Cicillian was injured early in the
game and Lake Station completed no passes. Lowell will see a very inexperienced
quarterback, even if Cicillian plays.
LAKE STATION - Wheeler quarterback Mark Peterson completed 10 of 20 for 152 yards so the Eagles worked on pass coverage this week. There are so many freshmen (11) listed on the roster, it's impossible to tell you how much they can change/improve in one week.
Kicker Risto Nikoloski converted the extra point after a late TD by sophomore tailback Neil Anderson (5-6, 120) and that's significant because kicking has been a major problem for the Eagles the last couple of years. Lake Station punted three times Friday for an average of only 15.7 yards. They've got to add 10-15 yards to that or they won't win a game.
Two of only four seniors are two-way lineman Jeff Szakacs (6-0, 254) and WR/DB Jeremy Dick (5-9, 172) . They must make big plays on both sides of the ball. The Eagles will stack the line against Lowell, bringing 8 or 9 players up close to stop the run. There's no secret that Lowell runs the ball and Lake Station will probably blitz on angles to try to get to the Lowell ball carriers.
The Red Devils will use sophomore Toby Goetz (5-10, 198) on straight-ahead runs and junior Justin Henley (5-9, 179) off-tackle and outside. Henley (12 carries, 47 yards last week) and Goetz (16 carries, 67 yards) will have monster games if the offensive line gets confidence early.
The boys up front decide this game with juniors like Chris Marzotto (6-1, 223), Justin Wiler (6-0, 258), Adam Holley (6-0, 238) playing key roles. Look for Lowell QB Chuck Thompson to look to pass to three other juniors, wide receivers John Huseman and Ed Overdorf and tight end James Jeffries (6-2, 196) in an effort to jump start the Lowell passing game. The Red Devils didn't complete a pass last week either and they must get a diversified attack in operation before East Chicago gets to Lowell on Sept. 6.
Huseman (5-9, 156), another junior had four solo tackles, two fumbles recoveries and an interception last week in a memorable debut at cornerback. . A player can go an entire lifetime without getting three turnovers on defense in the same game. Hopefully, mom and dad saved the cable-TV replay tape, although the announcers didn't notice his feat.
Mike Marzotto was credited with 11 tackles including six solo stops. Junior Rob Blackford 5-7, 201) had three solo tackles including a quarterback sack. Senior Nick Brill showed he can handle the punting chores, kicking four times and averaging 34.5 yards. Huseman also returned two kicks for 33 yards and John Giglio almost broke for a TD on a 27-yard return. Lowell's ball-handling neutralized a fairly good effort. They had several players in their first varsity starts and they were clearly guilty of stage-fright.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
The worst thing that could've happened to Lake Station was for Lowell to get shut out last week. The Red Devils have now spent a week being grilled over lack of offensive execution. Lake Station has to get the opening kickoff and move the ball. If the Eagles can get an early TD like Clark did against Griffith last week, Lowell might get shaky in front of the home fans. But that's unlikely. I think the Devils will score a defensive TD in the first quarter and will jump out to a 17-0 or 21-0 lead. After a couple of early passes, Lowell will stick to the ground game with Henley, Goetz and soph Randy Lukasik. I still see Lowell as a talented offensive team that lacks experience. The Devils can't feel sorry for Lake Station if they get a big lead early. They need to play and they need to score. Lowell has to go hard for four quarters no matter what the score is. The battles in future weeks against East Chicago, Griffith, Munster and Andrean will be decided in the fourth quarter.
The Red Devils have to handle the ball without error all night. Three or four turnovers and this night will not be a success, no matter what the final score is.
This is the final meeting of Lowell and Lake Station for the foreseeable future. North Newton takes the Eagles' place on the schedule next fall.
Lowell
will rush for 350 yards and win easily. I hope the Lowell fans will treat Lake
Station with good sportsmanship, There will be a lot of freshmen on the field
for the Eagles and they are trying to rebuild their program. Lowell was in the
same position 25-30 years ago.
DEVIL NOTES: With a slim roster, don't expect Lowell to be too
public about injured players this season but the word at mid-week was still that
Lowell suffered no major injuries in week one. Even Lake Station's
1998 team which won eight games and lost three, lost 32-10 to Lowell. The Eagles
did not get any first downs against Lowell two years ago. The Red Devils'
back-up quarterback Scott Schulz played three series and gained four yards on
five carries. Clearly, no one won the starting QB job permanently last week.
Soph fullback Randy Lukasik lost four yards on three carries in his debut
against Crown Point but he didn't really get a good chance.