CLASS 4A, SECTIONAL 9 Playoff Preview:

LOWELL (6-4) at Hammond Morton (9-1)

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

Kickoff: 7 or 7:30 p.m. (The time is up to the school. The IHSAA says 7:30)

Tickets: $5

Weather: A major factor. Mid-30s and light snow

History: The last meeting was a 21-0 Lowell win the sectional semifinal in 1999. When the two teams met in a non-conference game every year from 1992-97, Lowell won six games in a row by a combined score of 270-31. The last Morton victory over Lowell was 19-14 at Lowell in a sectional quarterfinal game on Oct. 25, 1991.

Parking: Lowell people need to get there early because there is construction around Morton High School and bad weather is expected. Take I-65 to I-80-94 (the Borman Expressway) and head west six miles to Cline Ave. Take Cline to 169th and exit west. Morton High is only a couple of blocks west of Cline Ave. on 169th.

MORTON’s (9-1) Road to the Playoffs

8-23-2002: 33-28 Hammond (4-6) Morton gained 447 total yards.

8-30-2002: 13-41 Munster (7-3) Morton held to minus-12 yards rushing.

9-6-2002: 21-0 Clark (4-6) Morton gained a season-low 213 yards.

9-13-2002: 40-12 at Whiting (8-2) Morton gained 437 yards, 17 first downs.

9-20-2002: 41-20 at Gavit (3-7) Darian Reed caught two TD passes.

9-27-2002: 69-0 Calumet (1 -9) Morton gained 315 first half yards.

10-4-2002: 27-26 at Bishop Noll (6-4) Morton had four turnovers, won when Noll missed late two-point conversion.

10-11-2002: 48-21 Lake Station (1-9) Matt Kaftanich threw four TD passes to Darian Reed.

10-18-2002: 40-19 Highland (4-6) Morton gained 519 total yards.

10-25-2002: 46-14 at Highland (4-6) Adam Keilman ran for three TDs. 

MORTON UPDATE: The 1990s were not kind to Morton.  They had a losing record in football for eight years in a row from 92-99, a period when they won just 16 and lost 62.  Coach Roy Richards and his staff have been able to turn that around. In four years, the Governors have gone 3-8, 6-4, 6-4 and now 9-1. True, the split of the Lake Athletic Conference into the stronger black and Morton's weaker blue division has certainly helped the win totals but Morton was 0-9 and 0-10 in 1996 and 1997. Richards resurrected a program that was not only down, it was all the way out in the alley.

Morton does something that no other winning region team does. They alternate senior quarterbacks Maft Kaftanich and Adam Keilman.  Kaftanich (6-2, 180) was 65 of 112 for 1,145 yards, 198 TDs and just five interceptions during the regular season. Keilman (6-0, 175), more of a runner, has scored 16 touchdowns, number one overall in the LAC.

Opponents must recognize just who is in the game and adjust their coverage on all-state candidate Darian Reed (6-3, 180) accordingly. Reed, who caught 33 passes for 642 yards in 10 games last year, has grabbed 57 tosses for 900 yards and 14 TDs in nine regular season games this year. No one has successfully covered him 1-on-1 but, when Keilman is in the game, the defense will risk it to stop the run. Keilman carried 13 times for 203 yards two weeks ago against Highland. Kaftanich, reportedly, does not want to run and is not effective at it. Morton has a junior tailback in Uriah Austin (5-11, 175), who carried 10 times for 124 yards last week at Highland. Austin had nine runs for 97 yards two weeks ago against Lake Station.

Morton has rushed for 2,163 yards in 10 games and has outscored 10 opponents 373-181. The flaw in all this is that the Governors have had this 'great' year against one of the weakest schedules in the state of Indiana. The have faced only two larger schools (Hammond and Highland) and only three winning teams in Munster (7-3), Whiting (8-2) and Bishop Noll (6-4). Whiting is a 1A school, Morton beat Noll 27-26 and Munster bombed the Governors by 28 points.

The Sagarin computer ratings have Morton's schedule ranked 213th in a state of about 300 teams. The question is, are they a product of the LAC's Blue Division? The black and blue divisions are a poor idea that should be thrown in the trash. Teams with bad programs are thrown together for competitive balance and are shuffled back and forth. The LAC needs to split into three divisions based on enrollment and stop this black and blue nonsense, which is insulting to programs and breeds 'paper tigers,' teams which build good records against schools that are down.

Morton leaves the blue division next year after three winning seasons but the question remains, what would their record be in the LAC's Black Division, which includes powerful programs like Andrean (10-0), Griffith (7-3) and Lowell (6-4)?

Morton's offensive and defensive lines, led by junior guards Greg McGing (6-2, 245) and Josh Turner (6-0, 230) and senior DT Andy Zart (6-2, 235) are largely inexperienced and questionable. They have allowed 1,700 yards rushing against a schedule with a combined record of 40-60. Since the Munster game, the Governors have not faced anything that could possibly be considered a strong defense. Morton's kicking game looks very shaky. They haven't had to punt much and average less than 30 yards a boot. Kicker Adam Hermosillo has not kicked a field goal all season and he may not have attempted get the ball if Austin can't get traction on a wet, muddy field. Only two Morton games have been decided by 19 points or less. The Governors have won eight games in a row, the last three by a combined score of 134-54, but they also have 21 turnovers. The bottom line is, you don't prepare for the playoffs by facing bad teams.

LOWELL UPDATE: The Red Devils were largely unimpressive in a 22-12 home victory over Gary Roosevelt. Their running duo of Justin Henley (28 carries, 124 yards) and fullback Toby Goetz (10 carries, 62 yards) posted their best combined numbers since the 21-20 upset at Griffith in week five. Ace linebacker Mike Marzotto (6-2, 226) will be a key man in the assault on Adam Keilman and bother Chris Marzotto, who had two sacks at KV, will join in the sack chase on Matt Kaftanich. The Red Devils appear to beat full strength at linebacker with Goetz, Mike Marzotto, Adam King and soph Randy Lukasik (5-8, 186) who had matched Marzotto's five solo tackles against Roosevelt last week. After facing the speed of East Chicago, Hammond and Roosevelt, the power of Munster, Griffith and Crown Point and the state class skill players of Andrean, Morton has little chance of intimidating Lowell.

Look for Lowell to use Chris Marzotto at tight end and Jim Jeffries and a big (6-2, 186) wide receiver. It would not be impossible to see Jeffries utilized as a big, extra defensive back defender in a double-team or goal line passing situation against Morton's 6-foot-3 Darian Reed and 6-foot-5 Kevin Potchen. I look for Lowell to confront Reed with their biggest, fastest defensive back, who happens to be junior rushing star Justin Henley.

Ed Overdorf (5-8, 142) isn't very big but he did a good job against Hammond's 6-foot-6 receiver Keonte Aaron last month. Against Reed, the key is to stay close to him and hit him as he's making the catch. Do not leap with him because that's futile. Also, somebodv’s going to have to hit the Morton star if he comes across the middle. It's tough to change direction on a wet field and a big hit early in the game could be very telling. But Lowell, which gave up four TD passes to Andrean, really can't cover all the Morton pass catchers. They will attack the quarterback, especially if the weather is as bad as it is predicted.  Lowell has won 8 of their last 11-playoff games for several reasons. One of them is, they are a conservative, defense-oriented team much better suited for 35 degrees and snow than they are for 75 degrees and a summer breeze.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN: Neither team can stop the other all night.  Look for Morton to go to an early lead on 7-0 or 14-7 but, as the night wears on, Lowell will begin moving the ball on the ground. On a cold night, there's even more of a premium in making offensive players stand on the sidelines or play on the defensive side of the ball.

Morton ran at will on Highland, a team that beat Lowell 23-13. But Lowell sells out (commits as many men as it takes) on the run and the Governors aren't going to simply line up and run over them. I like Darian Reed to catch a TD pass and maybe run back a kick for a TD, but he will be double covered on third down plays and, its going to be tough for him to catch 8-10 balls in these conditions. Morton's 46-14 win over Highland last year is a little deceiving. Highland had two TDs called back on penalties.

Morton will bring eight or nine men to the front to stop the run and Lowell QB Chuck Thompson must hit roll out passes to TE-WR Jim Jeffries or running backs like Toby Goetz and Justin Henley. The Devils do not throw much to the wide receivers but Josh Huseman or Chad Wiethrock will get a deep shot early to try to jump the Red Devils into a quick edge. Remember that on a cold night, its a lot easier to throw on the first series in the first and third quarters than it is later because the weather works on your hands and the ball.

In the Crown Point-Chesterton game last week, CP worked all week on run defense against the Trojans' option attack which had averaged 300 yards a game. On the first play, Chesterton completed a 34-yard pass down the middle of the field. Teams in playoff situations often go against tendency on the first series of the game because the other side has been working on tendencies all week. I see Keilman causing problems running the ball when the passing game goes cold and he can surprise Lowell by throwing the ball because Lowell will assume that Kaftanich is in the game to throw. Toby Goetz will gain 100 yards in this game, especially if the Red Devils can establish a quick pitch or sweep attack with Henley (208 carries, 1,214 yards), who is the best running back Morton has faced. Chuck Thompson will have room to run and his 4-of-4 in the first half last week in muddy, wet conditions was impressive.

Lowell will read in the newspapers how everyone thinks they are going to lose this game. Some who are not familiar with Lowell's personnel (and that’s almost everybody) will predict a 15-20 point Governor win. Morton is the number one feature on local media hype agendas because Roy Richards is a likable guy and because the Governors have gone from the outhouse to the penthouse in five years. Few observers factor in strength of schedule. But everything points towards Morton having problems.

Morton simply has not seen anyone like Andrean, Griffith or Crown Point. The weather and field conditions will favor Lowell. I don't know how many fans for Morton will show up but Lowell's people usually get on board when the playoffs start. Lowell will run for 200 yards and rally to take the lead late in the second or early in the third quarter. A trick play will work for the Devils, maybe a pass by Justin Henley; maybe a pass by Nick Brill, who has a very strong arm. Morton may insert Kaftanich and Keilman on the same play to try to fool the Devils. Lowell will forge a 30-20 or 34-21 lead and will hold off a late rally in the cold. Morton has had a fine year, but history tells you that you can't jump up your level of competition from teams like Lake Station to Lowell in the state playoffs and roll along like nothing happened. The Red Devils have a great team coming in future seasons and, with some freshman in uniform Friday, those players will all be on the field Friday in Hammond.

The winner of this game could reach the semistate or the winner could be shut down by Griffith on Nov.8.  But this victory will be one the Red Devils think back on with pride as they work towards a highly anticipated 2003.

LOWELL 34, Morton 28

DEVIL NOTES: Lowell's freshmen completed an 8-0 season last week with a 28-7 win at Andrean on Oct. 23.  The Red Devils' Class of 2OO7 has not lost a football game in three years and it would not surprise me to see one or two of them reach the field Friday. Last year in the sectional title game against Griffith, an unknown freshman named Toby Goetz played linebacker and made eight tackles. Lowell had 18 different boys make tackles last week against Roosevelt.

There is no TV scheduled for this game at this time. WYIN Channel 56 is not willing to pay the IHSAA fee, reportedly $500 per game until the sectional championships. AT & T Cable Channel 3 is willing step up and foot the IHSAA bill but they will probably carry the Crown Point-Portage rematch.

WJOB (1230 AM) will almost certainly cover this game, either as their main contest or as 'bonus coverage." The Chris Ramirez-Chris Lanin group that buys time from WJOB, will probably carry Griffith and Hammond.  But if that is, as expected, a blowout, the station will have someone like Steve Fower on hand at Morton and they will go to this game live in the second half. If you go to the game, take a radio because you'll either be able to hear the game Lowell is involved in or the game involving their next opponent.

Lowell will certainly be on TV and radio if they reach the Section Nine championship game against Griffith. Lowell's sophomore fullback-linebacker Chris Garza did not play last week and his availability for this week is unknown.

Classic Lowell versus Morton Games

LOWELL 21, Morton 0 (10-29-1999)

Morton gained only 55 yards rushing and turned the ball over four times, losing by three TDs. But Lowell did not play well on this night, leading only 7-0 after three periods.  Then-Morton QB Alan Bevill hit 13-of-27 passes for 136 yards but he also tossed three interceptions.

Lowell's Mike French scored two TDs including a 73-yard punt return early in the final period. Lowell's Joe O'Connell threw only eight passes, hitting 4-of-8 for 53 yards. The game was highlighted by the visitors’ stands packed with Red Devil fans and the virtually empty home stands. That, reportedly, has changed.

LOWELL 47, Morton 6 (9-12-1997)

This game was typical of Lowell's six regular season routs of Morton in the 1990s. Lowell out gained Morton 330-170 and led 24-0 at the half. Adam Hudak, now a kicker at Valparaiso University, booted field goals of 27 and 43 yards. Nick Holley ran for two TDs and caught a third TD pass from Hudak, who was also Lowell's QB. Dustin Wietbrock scored on a 20-yard return of a blocked punt. Chad Wietbrock will start at wide receiver this Friday night. Morton punted eight times and completed just one pass.