LOWELL - CLARK Scrimmage Report

Red Devils outscore Pioneers 6 TDs to 3

Open 2002 Season at Crown Point on Friday
A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

LOWELL (8-18-2002) From a team standpoint, you didn't learn anything about Lowell's 2002 football team in their scrimmage against Clark that you didn't already know.

Scrimmages tell you as much about a football team's prospects as the 'State of the Union' address tells you about the state of the union and since Clark was 3-7 last season nothing Lowell did against them is significant in any way.

Lowell looked good in the lines, decent, if one-dimensional on offense, stronger in the kicking game and very questionable in the secondary. They outscored Clark six TDs to three.

But since everybody knew that Saturday's scrimmage didn't mean nearly as much as the hog roast that Lowell hosted afterwards, any group impressions you got are sincerely open to debate.

You'll have to check the Devils out for yourself Friday night at 7 p.m. when the 2002 season kicks off in the shadow of the courthouse in Crown Point.

Some things don't change. Lowell is usually based on their offensive line and their running backs and that won't change.

Sophomore Toby Goetz looked very good Saturday. He has good feet, good balance and is tough to bring down. At 200 pounds, Goetz will be a factor in Lowell's desire to control the ball.

Junior Justin Henley and sophomore Randy Lukasik didn't break any long scoring runs Saturday but that should come eventually. The offensive line is new and needs a little time. It will be hard to blow the Devils out of any games with the running game they should have.

Kicker Tim Sova should be able to handle both punting and place-kicking based on what he showed Saturday. He appears to have 35-40 yard range and should be able to give Lowell the 35-40 yards a punt they'll need.  Indications remain that kicking, a weakness at times last year, will now be a strength.

Coach Kirk Kennedy said that he was leaning towards starting junior Chuck Thompson ahead of sophomore Scott Schultz at quarterback.

"Coming into today, I didn't have a real good idea of who I'd start," said Kennedy, who called Schultz a more explosive runner.  "But now I do."

The Red Devils looked shaky in the secondary and that is a concern with Crown Point and East Chicago coming up in the first three weeks. EC's Willie Frazier threw four TD passes Saturday in the Cardinals' scrimmage against Chesterton. CP's Matt Cowan tossed two TD passes and ran 35 yards for another score against Griffith.

"We can't be getting fooled by play-action fakes," said Kennedy.  "We've got to get better."

DEVIL NOTES - Lowell suffered no serious injuries Saturday. That will be crucial all season with only a 39-teen roster.    Lowell coaches will use a giant scaffold and basket to film from during home games. Kennedy said that it is a loaner from a company that is owned by a friend of one of his assistant coaches.

The Devils' fumbled a punt and dropped a TD pass in a continuation of some of the ball-handling problems they had last year.  Lowell never had Lukasik, Henley and Goetz on offense at the same time but that seems sure to come as the season progresses.