Lowell running, passing and late defensive stand beats rival Griffith 21-20
A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

Friday, Sept. 27, 2002 - 62 degrees in Griffith

Scoring Summary:

1st Q: LOWELL (7-0) Justin Henley, 46-yard run (8th TD, 7th TD rushing). Tim Sova kick.  61-yard drive, 3 plays.  4:59 left.
2nd Q: GRIFFITH (7-7) Jack Kosinski, 10-yard run (5th TD, 4th TD run).  Matt Denny kick. 64-yard drive, 7 plays.  9:20 left.
3rd Q: LOWELL (14-7) Justin Henley, 1-yard run (9th TD, 8th TD rushing). Tim Sova kick. 49-yard drive, 6 plays, after Justin Henley recovered Jack Kosinski's fumble at the Griffith 49.  6:51 left.
LOWELL (21-7) Jim Jeffries, 58-yard TD pass (2nd TD catch) from Chuck Thompson.(6th TD pass). Tim Sova kick.  61-yard drive, 3 plays.  3:21 left.
GRIFFITH (21-14) Jack Kosinski, 98-yard kickoff return (6th TD, 2nd kickoff return TD). Matt Denny kick. 64-yard drive, 7 plays.  2:57 left.
4th Q: GRIFFITH (21-20) Chris Baccino, 1-yard run .  Two-point run by Derrick Duffy stopped by Mike Marzotto.  80-yard drive, 8 plays.   :14 left

GRIFFITH (9-27-2002) For Lowell, this is about as good as a regular season win can get.  To go to rival Griffith, a long time tormentor, a team that beat them twice last season, and come away with a dramatic, 21-20 win in front of a regional television audience.

The Red Devils were strong most of the night and had one big play left at the end to escape from Griffith with their biggest victory of the season. After leading 21-14 the entire fourth quarter, Lowell saw the bigger, more experienced Panthers drive 80 yards in the final two minutes to score on a one-yard run by second string halfback Chris Baccino with 14 seconds to play. Veteran coach Russ Radtke boldly went for the two-point conversion but the Panthers came up with a bizarre call, a sweep by fullback Derrick Duffy. Lowell cornerback John Huseman forced Duffy wide and to the sidelines and Devil senior linebacker Mike Marzotto knocked the big Griffith back out of bounds at the two-yard line to end the game.

The victory was especially sweet to Lowell after Griffith won at Lowell 42-3 and 10-7 last season.  "That was my first game as a starter," Chris Marzotto said of the 42-3 slaughter. "Nothing went right that night. This game was so great. We thought all week we could do this. We have good players. We have a lot of talent. To beat Griffith is so great and to do it with my brother is unbelievable."

The underdog Red Devils, with just 38 boys in uniform, played their finest game in two years. Lowell never trailed, getting two TD runs from junior Justin Henley and a lightning quick 58-yard TD pass from Chuck Thompson to Jim Jeffries. Lowell led 21-7 when Griffith's Jack Kosinski fired up the home crowd with a 98-yard kickoff return to cut the lead to 21-14 late in the third quarter.

It isn't fair to say that Lowell dominated Griffith. That didn't happen. But Lowell, for the first time all season, did not fumble the ball. Griffith lost two fumbles and recovered three other bobbles.

"That was the difference in the game," said Chris Marzotto. "The turnover ratio. We worked hard on that all week and I think we finally got it worked out."

"Our coaches had us prepared," said Justin Henley, who played offense, defense and special teams.  "Everything they tried, our coaches said would happen."

"We beat a great team," said coach Kirk Kennedy. "They have a lot of talent. Give them credit and give coach (Russ) Radtke a lot of credit for going for the two point conversion. If he kicks the point we're playing the overtime right now."

Lowell got started on their second possession in front of a surprisingly small crowd. Thompson hit John Huseman for 11 yards to the Griffith 46-yard-line. Then the Lowell QB pitched left to Henley, who got  a strong block from senior left tackle CJ Hall, circled the end and rambled 46 yards down the home sidelines to start the scoring with 4:59 left in the first quarter.

After another exchange of possessions, Griffith tied the game. Senior halfback David Martin broke loose for runs of 25 and 11 yards as the bigger Griffith line gave the Panthers traditional option rushing game  time to get going. Jack Kosinski (16 carries, 77 yards) scored from the 10 yards line with 9:20 left in the half.

Just before the half, Griffith held the ball for 15 plays but the drive broke down when they fumbled on successive plays. Actually, Lowell's Chris Garza recovered one of those fumbles and should've had the opportunity to take the lead with 55 seconds left in the second quarter but game officials simply blew the call and gave the ball back to Grifffith.

In the third quarter, Kosinski fumbled on the fifth play of the half and Justin Henley recovered at the Griffith 49. On play later, Toby Goetz (16 carries, 84 yards) busted loose behind right guard Chris Marzotto (6-2, 223) and right tackle Adam Holley (6-0, 238) and rambled 35 yards to the Griffith 10 yard line. On 4th-and- goal from the Panther one, Lowell brought in second string sophomore fullback Randy Lukasik and lined him up a stacked I formation to the right of Goetz and behind right guard Marzotto. Henley took the handoff and ran behind, Lukasik, Marzotto, Holley and tight end Jim Jeffries and it was no contest. Henley's ninth TD of the year made it 14-7 with 6:01 left in the third quarter.

Six plays after the kickoff, Derrick Duffy fumbled and Chris Garza recovered at the Griffith 38. After Goetz carried to the Lowell 42, Thompson rose up and fired a quick strike down the middle to Jeffries behind the packed in Lowell defense.  The 6-foot-2 junior ran away from the defense for a 58-yard score and a 21-7 Lowell lead. "We work a lot on the passing and the play was just open," said Thompson later. "I thought they'd catch him from behind but they didn't."

Lowell didn't catch Jack Kosinski who ran the ensuing kickoff back 98 yards for his second kick return TD in two weeks.

Lowell forced a punt with 10 minutes to play and the Devils then produced their most impressive drive in several seasons.  The Red Devils held the ball for 18 plays and eight minutes before Tim Sova barely missed a 35-yard field goal with 1:40 to play.
Griffith, which had not completed a pass all night, then got 4-of-6 and 68 yards from Brad McFarlane in an 80-yard TD drive. One pass was a hook-and-ladder trick play with Hunter Rogowski making the catch from McFarlane and lateralling to David Martin who carried to the Griffith 46.  Two others were great catches by tight end Jeremy Glover and Martin, diving to grab a toss at the Red Devil 3-yard-line.

With Kosinski injured, Chris Baccino. a junior halfback swept right end to score untouched to set up the conversion drama.  This game was marvelous theater for the WYIN Channel 56 broadcast crew which did an exceptional job of highlighting the key plays and airing live in-game comments off the Griffith sidelines. The live audio of the Griffith players talking their coaches into that atrocious conversion call was priceless.

Unofficial numbers had Griffith out-gaining Lowell 268-264. Henley gained 84 hard yards on 16 carries but he must have added 15 tackles.  Thompson had his best game at QB with 87 yards passing and no fumbles. Lowell's spirits took a huge lift in this game. Red Devil players stood outside the bus as their cheerleaders chanted "Devils! Devils!"  For many of the sophomores and juniors, this was the first big victory that they had a hand in. It turned what was projected to be a .500 season into a year when they could regain the Sectional championship.

"I know you didn't pick us to win," said senior lineman CJ Hall. "I saw that. Hey, nobody picked us to win this one. I like that. I think we like being the underdog."

DEVIL NOTES:  Lowell's attendance at this game... Maybe 100 fans, was very disappointing on a 60-to-65 degree night. "We have some fair weather fans," said one adult. "They didn't think we'd win tonight. They'll all be back next week at Kankakee Valley."  Griffith's clock operator irritated both sidelines by running the game clock during conversions, something that is simply incorrect at any level of football. Fortunately, that little bit of insanity didn't affect the outcome of the game.

This was Lowell's first game at full strength all year. The trio of sophomore fullback linebackers Chris Garza, Randy Lukasik and Toby Goetz, all of whom missed time with injuries, all played and made significant contributions.  This was the fourth time Lowell has beaten Griffith in the last six meetings, the last time being Lowell's 39-36 win at Griffith on Sept. 22, 2000, a very similar game to this one. The last Lowell team to start the season 4-2 was the 1997 team which finished at 8-3. Griffith defeated Munster 14-3 and took Andrean to overtime before losing. Lowell has yet to face those two teams.

GRID GRADES

DEFENSE (C+)

Yeah, I know that's a little harsh for a team that held Griffith's 300-yards a game rushing offense to just 200 on 42 carries. But there's no way Griffith should be able to drive 80 yards in the final two minutes on Lowell. That just cannot happen. Plus, Jack Kosinski ran a kickoff back for a TD against Munster. Lowell knew he was good. But they still didn't stay in their lanes and make sure tackles and he ran another one back against the Devils.

Despite those errors, it was a great effort by everyone on the Lowell defense. Chris Marzotto did a fine job rushing the passer. Scott Schulz, John Huseman and Justin Henley seemed to be everywhere and Mike Marzotto and Toby Goetz must've been in double figures in tackles. Lowell's line was overmatched physically but they never gave up the big play. Lowell lacks depth size and experience on defense but they will eventually solve all three of those problems.

OFFENSE (A-)

This was Lowell's best offensive game. Justin Henley and Toby Goetz both broke big runs against a tough run defense that had held Munster to 39 yards on the ground. The offensive line (Mike Marszalek, Adam Holley, Chris Marzotto, Brian Jones and CJ Hall) had a great game. No Lowell fumbles. Only two penalties. Chuck Thompson hit the 58-yard TD to Jim Jeffries and was 4-of-6 overall. They were bold, pitching and throwing the ball late in the fourth quarter. One questionable 3rd down pass when Griffith had no time outs in the final two minutes almost was fatal but other teams will see that on film and wonder if they can count on Lowell being conservative in key situations. Tim Sova missed a clinching field goal from 35 yards but he was 3-of-3 on extra points.  The defense put them in position to win but Lowell's offense won this game.