Week 12 - Football Game of the Week Preview

Class 4A  Sectional 9 Championship Hobart (6-5) at Lowell (7-4)

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

11-2-2005

When: Friday, November 4, 2005

Where:  Lowell High School, Route 2, Lowell, IN.

Tickets:  $5.

Kickoff:    7:00 p.m.
Radio-TV:  WHLP (89.9) FM  - 6:00 p.m. pre-game.  WWCA is at Crown Point-Merrillville but there may be a tape-delay broadcast on WJOB (1230) AM.  They (WJOB) don't have much choice but to do Morton-Griffith live.  Lowell has probably had their last live game on radio until Griffith or Crown Point is eliminated. 

WEATHER:  Low-50s, chance of rain.  Temperatures are falling off after dark dramatically, as they tend to do when summer is over.  This will be a ridiculously warm week for November with temps in the 70s Thursday.  But it won't be warm at game time Friday and it won't be warm at all at the end.

PARKING:  Lowell's crowd was down last week.  Relatively few students showed up.  That figures to change now for a championship game.  With all other fall sports complete, all eyes again drift to football at both Lowell and Hobart.  With both sides having a legitimate chance to win Friday, a standing room only crowd is expected and everyone should attempt to arrive early.

RIVALRY:  On a night when arch-rivals Crown Point and Merrillville are playing 15 miles to the north, this game does not take a back seat to that one.  These teams had little history prior to three years ago when these schools found themselves in the same sectional (4A No. 9) and the same league (the LAC Black).  This will be the sixth meeting of Lowell and Hobart in three years and they figure to meet twice a year almost indefinitely. They are the top two teams in the eight team Sectional nine and even if East Chicago drops into Sectional nine (as is expected) in 2007, Lowell and Hobart will still be the heavy hitters.

Lowell and Hobart are much more similar than they realize.  Same type of people.  Same tax bracket.  Same attitude.  Very much working class.  Hobart is legendary in prep football with four state titles (1987, 89, 91 and 93) and 11 state final games.  Lowell has no record of success beyond the local level and, for decades, they didn't have that.  Still, in both towns, boys grow up to play football more so than any other sports and the community follows them around on Friday nights.

To be honest, kids in both towns work all their lives to play in a game like the one we'll have Friday night.  A one game single elimination playoff for the championship of Northwest Indiana.

While Hobart throws the ball 20 times a game now, they still have that aura of the big physical team with the strong offensive line.  Lowell traditionally is the little, physical team with the durable tailback.  I believe that long time Hobart fans respect Lowell's style of play because that's the way the highly successful Brickie teams of the 70s, 80s and early 90s played.  Quick run defense.  Make big yards on special teams.  Run the tailback 30 times and throw six passes.  That's 21st century Lowell and that was Hobart for about 40 years.

As I said earlier this year, the first recorded game for Hobart was a 7-7 tie with Lowell in 1927. These schools did not play from 1965-1992 but the return was dramatic.  After many seasons at .500 or below, Lowell defeated Munster for the 1992 sectional title before losing 35-7 to Hobart in the 64-year-old Brickie Bowl.  Two years later, in one of he region's most dramatic games, Lowell held off Hobart 28-25 in a November battle that saw both sides gain 350 yards.  That was the Devils first ever regional title and it continued a run of success that continues (5 sectionals, 2 regionals) to his day.

Hobart has not won a sectional title since 1997 and that's a very long time for a team that's been to the state final game 11 times in 30 years. Hobart has seniors who have been eliminated from state tournament play by Lowell in each of the past two years.  You never forget the team that eliminated you.

But Lowell was very disappointed to lose the regional title on their home field the last two years and the Devils then went 0-3 on their home field to start this season.  There are a lot of seniors in Lowell uniforms who not only want to go out as 3-time sectional champs, they most definitely do not want to be eliminated at home again.

So, as there should be in rivalry games, there will be a very unhappy loser and a very proud winner in Lowell Friday night.

Class 4A Hobart 

Coach Wally McCormack (20-14, 3rd year at Hobart)
Enrollment: 983
Sectional tiles (19) last in 1987
Regional titles (14) last in 1996
Semistate titles (9) Last in 1996
State Titles (4) 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993
2004 record: 9-2
Last year: Lost Sectional 9 semifinal 13-10 at Lowell in 2004

4A Hobart Brickies (6-5)
8-19 (W) 50-6 Gary West Side (4-7)
8-26 (L) 0-26 at Crown Point (11-0)
9-2 (W) 52-19 at Hammond (1-10)
9-9   (W) 14-0 at Highland (5-6)
9-16 (W) 22-19 Munster (4-7)
9-23 (L) 10-20 at Andrean (8-2)
9-30 (L) 21-28 at Morton (8-3)
10-7 (L) 7-14  Lowell (7-4)
10-14 (L) 10-35 Griffith (11-0)

 4A Sectional 9
10-21 (W) 24-21 at HIghland (5-6)
10-28 (W) 42-0 Gary West Side (4-7)
11-4 (Fri) at Lowell (7-4)

Class 4A Lowell 

Coach: Kirk Kennedy (112-59, 15 years)

Enrollment: 1,150 

Sectional titles: (5) 1992, 94, 99, 2003, 2004 

Regional titles: (2) 1994, 99 

2004 record: 9-4 

Lost the regional championship game at home 28-21 to eventual state Class 4A runner-up Wawasee. 

Lowell Red Devils (7-4)
8-19 (L) 6-16 5A No. 2 Crown Point  (11-0)
8-26 (W) 61-14 at Calumet (4-6)
9-2   (L) 0-21 3A No. 1 Griffith (11-0)
9-9  (L) 13-32 at Morton  (8-3)
9-16 (L) 0-7 3A No. 4 ANDREAN (8-2)
9-23 (W) 41-7 HAMMOND (1-10)
9-30 (W) 48-7 at Munster (3-7)
10-7 (W) 14-7 at Hobart (6-5)
10-14 (W) 41-14 Highland (4-6)

4A Sectional 9
10-21 (W) 41-7 at Gary Roosevelt (3-6)
10-28 (W) 41-6 Kankakee Valley  (7-4)
11-4 (Fri) Hobart (6-5)
11-11 (Fri) at Concord (8-3) or vs. Plymouth (11-0)

---

Hobart (6-5) at LOWELL (7-4)
Hobart:  Offense (22.9),  Defense (17.1)   

LOWELL:  Offense (27.8),  Defense (12.4)
Sagarin Computer ratings: LOWELL by 4

LOWELL (11-4-2005) - When Lowell and Hobart reported for practice last summer, the older players probably  thought, for a moment, about facing each other in the state playoffs. The two schools split two low-scoring late season high-profile games in 2004 with Lowell winning the big one 13-10 in the sectional semifinals.

Anyone who has looked seriously at this eight-team sectional at any time this year probably commented that each of these schools would have to get past the other one to win the sectional trophy.  And it has come to that.  We are hours before the game that will decide the season for both teams.

Don't kid yourself.  If Crown Point, at 11-0, loses to Merrillville, they still had a memorable season. If Hobart, at 6-5, loses to Lowell, they didn't even have a winning season.  And if Lowell loses at home to Hobart, they have four home losses and they give up the sectional championship.  That's nothing to write home about, either.

So, this is the game of the year for both teams and they will be excited about it.  You can play very hard when you know your opponent.  Because they are sectional and league rivals and because they share a non conference foe (Crown Point), no two teams in NW Indiana know each other better than Lowell and Hobart.

This game features the top two defensive players in NW Indiana.  Hobart linebacker Richard Mitchell (6-2, 215) has an unofficial 110 tackles this season (Mitchell had 133 stops last year) and he is a major reason the Brickies have only allowed about 115 yards per game on the ground against a fairly strong schedule.  Mitchell is the heart of the Brickies defense and if you can't block him, you can't run between the tackles against Hobart.  It's that simple.  If big Adam Bailey (6-4, 330) can occupy two blockers up front, Mitchell is going to make a lot of tackles.

Lowell's WR/DB Jeff Clemens #2 lines up as a receiver against Kankakee Valley in the Devils' 41-6 Sectional semifinal win, 10-28-2005.

Hobart QB Josh Miracle #18 may pass for 250 yards against Lowell Friday night, but will it be enough to win the Sectional title game?

On the other side of the ball is Lowell free safety Jeff Clemens, who has 75 tackles and six interceptions. Clemens is the most versatile player in the Lake Athletic Conference.  He is a punter, place kicker, wide receiver, part-time fullback and defensive back.  But that's not the first thing you notice.  Clemens closes out most plays from his free safety spot and he closes them out with emphasis.  Probably the hardest hitter in NW Indiana, Clemens discourages wide receivers from crossing the middle of the field and catching the ball more than once. 

Both of these boys are probably playing hurt and you worry about their health after early season injuries.  But when they make a big stop, their teammates get a big kick out of it.

So Hobart will live on short quick wide passes to freshman Bobby James (40 catches, 525 yards) and junior Michael Brown (38 catches, 494 yards), staying away from the center of the field.  Hobart QB Josh Miracle (114-241, 1,449 yards, 11 TDs, 16 INTs) doesn't have a 'deep pass' arm, but he can hit the short tosses if he isn't rushed.

Lowell will not change much on this night.  They will try to beat Hobart to the spot.  In other words, the Devils will use their perimeter speed for short runs in the hope they'll pop into the clear and for short passes that may do the same. Lowell also appears to have an edge on special teams, especially punts and punt coverage.

I think Hobart can stay even at the start of this game. This can clearly go both ways, but I think Miracle throws a TD pass in the early going, as James or Brown breaks a tackle for a long run after the catch.  Lowell will come back with a short pass to Clemens that breaks open for a game-tying TD.  Hobart will throw at the player Scott Gray is covering. They must wear him down. 

A Red Devil fumble will set up a score for Hobart's Ryan Valclavik, but a kick return by Clemens sets up the game-tying TD and a 14-14 tie at halftime.

The Devils will counter by blitzing from the outside with linebackers or cornerbacks to force the play into the middle of the field.  The idea is to make Miracle move as he does not throw that well on the run.  Hobart wants to force Scott Gray in between the hash marks and into their large line and the strength of the Brickie defense.

It's important for Lowell to run to the perimeter to stretch the Hobart defense.  The Brickies basic weakness is that they aren't that fast and athletic while Lowell's systemic flaw is that they aren't that big.  Hobart wants take advantage of the smallish Lowell cornerbacks and then overpower the line near the goal line. The Devils have to move Hobart from side to side on the field to get a breakaway. It's almost that simple and, if you look at the last five games, that's how they've been decided.  Steffan Peck's 73-yard run was the biggest play in the 14-7 Lowell win four weeks ago. A roll-out draw play when the Hobart defense was looking for Scott Gray.

Teams go over the tape of that last meeting extensively but Peck might break loose again because you can't play Lowell and not key on Clemens and Gray. After halftime, I think Lowell might whip out some misdirection runs with Clemens that they don't regularly use.  But the Devils have been able to use Gray's endurance to run the ball in the late going.  Lowell believes in two-way players and that either creates boys who are in better condition at the end of games in November or boys who are worn out and beaten up at the end of games in November.

I think Lowell is in better shape physically right now than Hobart is. They'll spring Scott Gray late in this game Friday, running him repeatedly and scoring twice. As the night gets older and colder, it will be tougher for Hobart to complete passes and they have a tendency to abandon the running game.

There will be a second half field goal for the Brickies by Mike White, but they aren't experienced enough to score the two TDs in the second half they will need to win this game unless Lowell sets them up with fumbles.  Give the Devils four QB sacks in the second half to stop Brickie scoring drives.

Lowell is not a come from behind team, but they are good closers.  With the lead, Lowell closes it out.  Hobart gets 250 yards passing but Lowell gets 250 yards rushing and the game's last two touchdowns.  Lowell advances to the regional championship game for the third year in a row.

LOWELL 28, Hobart 17

Copyright © 2005 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp.  All rights reserved.
Revised: November 02, 2005 .