Lowell runs over East Chicago 49-13
A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

Friday, Sept. 13, 2002 - 78 degrees, dry  (in Lowell)

Scoring Summary:

1st Q:

LOWELL (7-0) Toby Goetz, 53-yard run (3rd TD of the season) Tim Sova kick. (74 yards, 4 plays) 10:27 left.

East Chicago (7-7) Jamaal Garrett, 92-yard kickoff return (3rd TD) Edgar Cuadra kick. 10:11

LOWELL (14-7) Justin Henley, 27-yard run (4th TD) Tim Sova kick.
(98 yards, 10 plays) 3:05 left.
2nd Q:

LOWELL (21-7) Justin Henley 36-yard run (5th TD) Tim Sova kick. Henley took an option pitchout from QB Chuck Thompson after
Thompson had gained 13 yards around right end. 10:53 left.
LOWELL (28-7) Jim Jeffries, 55-yard pass (2nd TD catch) from Chuck Thompson (2nd TD pass). Tim Sova kick.  (55 yards, 3 plays)  :21 left

LOWELL (35-7) Chad Wietbrock, 5-yard pass from Scott Schulz (1st career TD pass).  (2 plays, 5 yards) after Schulz returned an interception 40 yards to the EC 5-yard line. Tim Sova kick.  :10 left.
3rd Q:

LOWELL (42-7)  Justin Henley, 63-yard run (6th TD). Tim Sova kick.
(69 yards, 3 plays) 7:15 left.

LOWELL (49-7) Chuck Thompson, 2-yard QB sneak (1st career TD) Tim Sova kick. (13 yards, 5 plays after Scott Schulz returned an interception 46 yards to the East Chicago 13) 3:11 left.

4th Q:
East Chicago (49-13) Harley Taylor, 15-yard run (1st career TD). Kick blocked. (80 yards, 11 plays)  :34 left

LOWELL:  It was an almost perfect night for Lowell as the young Red Devils fired up their rushing attack on the home field to down East Chicago 49-13.

The Devils (2-1), who open Lake Athletic Conference (LAC) play with a visit to Highland next Friday, surprisingly whipped up on the Cardinals to a greater extent than they beat Lake Station the week before.

After Jamaal Garrett's 92-yard kickoff return tied the game 7-7 in the first two minutes, Lowell scored the next six TDs to rout the Class 5A Cardinals, who clearly have lost much of the talent and spirit off the team that defeated Lowell 34-24 last year in East Chicago.

Lowell's junior halfback Justin Henley ran like the wind all night long carrying 15 times for 194 yards and three touchdowns in his career-best performance. Henley also made a key interception in 1-on-1 defensive coverage at the Lowell 2-yard-line with the score tied 7-7, that sparked a 98-yard drive and the beginning of the Devils scoring parade.

"We knew East Chicago had the potential to be explosive," said coach Kirk Kennedy. "And we also knew they had the potential to make mistakes and not play a complete game. Our offensive line is coming together. It's starting to jell."

The 98-yard drive ended with Henley scoring on a 27-yard run (after a 50-yard run had been called back by a penalty). The 180-pound halfback took a neatly executed option pitch from QB Chuck Thompson 13 yards beyond the line of scrimmage and rambled 36 yards for the 21-7 TD with 10:03 to go in the half.

The Red Devils blew the game open in the final two minutes of the half when Thompson hit a 55-yard pass-and-run play to tight end Jim Jeffries before Scott Schulz made the second of his two interceptions. Schulz then threw a 5-yard TD pass to Chad Wietbrock to make the score 35-7 at the half.

The only downside of the night came late in the fourth quarter when fullback/linebacker Toby Goetz suffered an ankle injury that had him carted off the field after the game. Goetz was in the game at running back because Lowell's second string fullback Randy Lukasik was on crutches (out four weeks with a knee problem) and their 3rd string fullback Chris Garza was playing with a cast on his broken hand.

Kennedy second-guessed himself after the game although the option of playing a fullback with a broken hand was not a good one. "Garza went in after the injury," said Kennedy, obviously upset. "Why couldn't he have gone in before?   He was in the game because of lack of depth. We certainly need that kid to be okay."

East Chicago needs a lot more to be okay. They have been outscored 136-34 in three games and they appear to give up at times on the field. The Cardinals played without tailback Sammy Daniels and they tried to use Garrett, a 6-0, 200-pound senior all-area DB-WR at halfback with little success. They may have found a tailback late in the game when sophomore Harley Taylor ran well.

The Cards used both Louis Napules and Willie Frazier at quarterback with limited success even though some receivers we open.  EC brought less than 30 fans to Lowell for the game in almost perfect weather and it's just as well that this series comes to an end with this game.

The big positive for Lowell is that their offensive line is healthy and they have rushed for 641 yards in the last two games.

Henley has carried an unofficial 41 times for 344 yards in three games. Toby Goetz is and unofficial 38 for 239 yards.

DEVIL NOTES:  The good news on Randy Lukasik is that, while he'll probably miss the next three games (Highland, Hammond and Griffith), he has no structural damage to his knee and should be back this year. The 5-foot-7, 180-pound fullback-linebacker is said to have had an infection in his knee from an unknown origin. Now that that has been diagnosed and treated, the promising sophomore will be all right.

Lukasik also was thought to have a stress fracture in his foot but that problem is said to be OK.

Lowell's season-to-date doesn't look so bad now that Crown Point, who beat the Devils 23-0, is now 3-0. The Lake Station team Lowell beat 56-6 on Aug. 30, won their first game last week 23-6 over Calumet, a new addition to Lowell's 2003 schedule.

GRID GRADES

OFFENSE  (C+)

The Red Devils offensive line which, at times, included center Mike Marsalek, guards Chris Marzotto, Brian Jones and  Eric Raszewski and tackles Justin Wiler, CJ Hall and Adam Holley, is getting much better.

Marzalek, who missed time with an injury, has boosted the line, which includes tight end Jim Jeffries, the Devils leading receiver.

Henley (5-9, 180) is a gifted breakaway runner who posted his second consecutive 100-yard game and Goetz is just as good in a different way. QB Chuck Thompson is showing improvement at running the option and he is another good runner. This might be Lowell's most talented backfield in the Lowell career of coach Kirk Kennedy.

But the Devils fumbled too much. Simple exchanges from center are inexplicably muffed and that will cause them to lose in the weeks to come if they can't correct it. Lowell has lost six fumbles in three games but they have fumbled 12 times as a whole, recovering the other six themselves. And they aren't fumbling because they're getting hit so hard. They're just dropping the ball.

DEFENSE (B+)

The Devils posted an outstanding effort in the defensive secondary last week against Jamaal Garrett and Willie Frazier.  EC was 3-of-15 passing with four interceptions. Scott Schulz looks like a find at safety and Justin Henley's 1-on-1 play against the 6-5 Frazier in the first quarter changed the game. Led by big linebacker Mike Marzotto (6-2, 226), Lowell held the bigger, faster Cardinals to 143 yards rushing and Nick Brill averaged 43 yards per punt.

The Lowell secondary has to be more physical to make up for their lack of size and the Red Devil pass rush was not as good as it could've been. Also, there is a sharp drop off down to the second string defense and, to be honest, Lowell has no third string defense.  

But the Devils have given up only 42 points and 603 yards in three games, two of them against bigger 5A schools. So far, so good.