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Lowell (2-0) at Kankakee Valley (2-0) |
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Week
3 - Football Game of the Week Preview|
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Lowell (2-0) at Kankakee Valley (2-0) |
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08-29-2007
When:
Friday, August 31, 2007
Where: Kankakee Valley High School - 3923 State Road 10, Wheatfield , IN.
Tickets: $5 - (for everybody).
Kickoff:
7:00 p.m.
Radio-TV: WTMK
(88.5) FM.
Weather: Mid-60s, dry. Cooler dry weather should favor Lowell, which has more than one two-way lineman.
Parking: The crowd should be good for this game. This is a natural border rivalry and the two teams met in the post-season at Lowell last year. There isn't a lot of parking at KV and that will be an issue on this night.
The Series:
Lowell has always dominated the series with Kankakee Valley. The Devils
lead 16-2 and KV has not won since the mid-80s. Lowell has eliminated KV from
the sectional playoffs in each of the past two years.
Junior Varsity:
Kankakee Valley at Lowell - Saturday, Sept. 1 - 10:00 a.m.
Freshmen: Lowell at Kankakee Valley - Thursday, Sept. 6 - 6:00 p.m.
The RIVALRY: It has been 23 years since Kankakee Valley defeated Lowell. The Devils don't have this type of domination over any other school. Lowell has a 16-2 edge in this series with KV's only wins coming in 1983 and 1984. But with Lowell being the southernmost Lake County community and DeMotte being the northernmost town in northwest Jasper County, this game always features high spirits. KV is a consolidation of the old DeMotte and Wheatfield high schools after the 1969 school year. There is no record of Lowell ever playing DeMotte and Wheatfield (Wheatfield teams were also called the Red Devils) in football, possibly because those schools played 8-man football in the Post-WW II era.
Lowell and KV used to be rivals in the Northwest Hoosier Conference and now they are both league players again in the new Northwest Crossroads Conference (NWCC). One of the great failings of the old Lake Athletic Conference (LAC) was that Lowell and KV were placed in opposite divisions, robbing both athletic departments of a big-time gate once every two years. Leagues are supposed to help schools support their athletic departments, not prevent them from making money. The new NWCC doesn't change much else for Lowell, but it is a Godsend for KV. They don't have to go bankrupt on gas driving to the north end of Lake County to play five different LAC Blue Division schools they have nothing in common with. To get Lowell as a rival is good for them. To not have to travel further north than Highland in all sports is great for them.
When Lowell joined KV in the now-defunct Northwest Hoosier Conference after the break-up of Lowell's old Lake Suburban Conference in 1992, the Lowell-KV game was dubbed the 'Milk Can' game, with a large black dairy farm style milk can becoming the traveling trophy awarded to the winner of the annual matchup.
So two weeks after claiming the 'Old Leather Helmet" trophy from Crown Point, the Devils will try to add the 'Milk Can'. You and I might think that an old milk can is something you might throw out of the side of the bus as you leave the DeMotte city limits, but the boys are going to treat this can like it was the Stanley Cup if they win Friday.
These communities are similar, but the DeMotte-Wheatfield area is a little more rural. There was a time when I thought that Kankakee Valley would see an upsurge in enrollment and I don't know why the population expanded in other areas but not here. These are quiet, peaceful school-oriented communities largely because there isn't much else from an entertainment standpoint. KV feels good about football now. After nine .500 or below seasons (including an 0-10 in 2001), KV has gone 15-6 in the last two seasons. Now, in two games they could have lost, the Kougars are 2-0. There should be a lot of renewed interest in KV playing Lowell Friday night.
Class 4A Kankakee Valley (2-0)
Coach: Mike Peo (10-2) 2nd year
Enrollment: 1,107
2006 record: 8-2*
Sectional titles: (2) 1984-85
Regional titles: (0)
Semistate titles: (0) State titles: (0)
*Lost 40-21 at Griffith in the sectional quarterfinal
Kankakee Valley (2-0)
8-17 (W) 25-21 at Renssealer (1-1)
8-24 (W) 25-0 at Wheeler (1-1)
8-31 (Fri) LOWELL (2-0)
9-7 (Fri) at HOBART (1-1)
9-14 (Fri) at GRIFFITH (1-1)
9-21 (Fri) Clark (2-0)
9-28 (Fri) at ANDREAN (1-1)
10-5 (Fri) HIGHLAND (0-2)
10-12 (Fri) MUNSTER (1-1)
4A Sectional 10 Playoffs
10-20 (F) vs. Northridge (1-1), Concord (1-1), (SB) Clay (0-2), (SB) Washington
(0-2), Logansport (2-0), Lowell (2-0) or Plymouth (1-1).
Class 4A Lowell (2-0)
Coach: Kirk Kennedy (124-65, 17 years)
Enrollment: 1,247
2005 record: 7-6*
Sectional titles: (7) 1992, 1994, 1999, 2003, 04, 05, 06
Regional titles: (3) 1994, 1999, 2005
Semistate titles: (1) 2005
State titles: (1) 2005
*Lost 33-14 to 4A state finalist Concord in the regional championship game
LOWELL (2-0)
8-17 (L) 23-14 Crown Point (1-1)
8-24 (F) at Morton (0-2)
8-31(F) at KANKAKEE VALLEY (2-0)
9-7 (F) GRIFFITH (1-1)
9-14 (F) HIGHLAND (0-2)
9-21 (F) at HOBART (1-1)
9-28 (F) Hammond (2-0)
10-5 (F) at MUNSTER (1-1)
10-12 (F) ANDREAN (1-1)
4A Sectional 10 Playoffs
10-20 (F) vs. Northridge (1-1), Concord (1-1), (SB)Clay (0-2), (SB) Washington
(0-2), Logansport (2-0), KV (2-0) or Plymouth (1-1).
LOWELL (2-0) at
KANKAKEE VALLEY (2-0)
Sagarin
computer ratings: Lowell by
18
WHEATFIELD
(08-29-2007) -
I'm not sure how good Kankakee Valley is and I don't think they know. In
week one, Rensselaer led Kankakee Valley 14-6 after three quarters and somehow,
KV won 25-21. In week two, Wheeler committed an unbelievable 10 turnovers and
lost to Kankakee Valley 25-0. If the Kougars are totally committed to
contending in the Northwest Crossroads Conference, they are going to have to
change the first two games on their schedule. You can't go from facing a
couple of 2A public schools to league play with 4A Top-10 teams like Griffith,
Hobart and Lowell. That dog won't hunt.
But the Kougars held Rensselaer to 114 yards rushing, they have a core of impressive athletes and they held Wheeler to under 100 yards on the ground. Alex Byers (6-2, 175) is the key to KV. He's a double-threat passer and runner and he wants to get the ball to David Walstra (6-1, 185) and Kale Popp (6-2, 190). These are good skill players, but Byers has to gain yards rushing for everything else to work. The line is the key and big Billy Recker (6-6, 240) has to lead the way.
The Kougars have not faced a running attack like Lowell's, but defensive end Mitch Sytsma (6-2, 175) and Donovan Czarnecki (6-1, 210) are ready and new tackle Kevin Davis (5-11, 305) looks like a run stopper. Byers had 100 tackles and five interceptions last season at free safety. He is the key to the game and both sides know it. The Kougars have a new kicker in sophomore Chinges Erdenchimeg (5-8, 140), who is said to have 35-40 yard range.
Transfer Larry Hest (5-7, 145) from Lafayette and WR-DB Ryan Bozeman (6-4, 190) may play both ways. The Kougars were lucky to rally and beat Rensselaer, but a 25-0 shutout is a 25-0 shutout.
The Devils didn't look as good in week two as they did in week one. A win is a win, but 3-0 just isn't playing the game very well and the Devils have to consider that a game they must rebound from. I thought Lowell tired in 80-degree heat last week at Morton and they should find new life in the mid-60s temperatures in DeMotte Friday.
Lowell's defense has seven consecutive shutout quarters, but the offense has not kicked in yet. Steffan Peck (54 carries, 204 yards) is doing a great job at tailback because he is battling for almost four yards a carry and he hasn't fumbled. Soph Brandon Grubbe (5-10,170) has carried 12 times for 127 yards and he has breakaway speed. I expect to see both of them more in the backfield at the same time.
The Devils are also using TJ Lukaski (5-8, 165) at a wingback position and bringing him across the formation against the flow of the play. QB Kurt Monix is 7-of-14 passing, but that's misleading. He's had a couple dropped and a 25-yard TD pass at Morton was called back. What Monix (5-10, 155) has shown is presence. He's not making all the right decisions yet, but his teammates and coach seem to have faith in him and it's unusual for a junior QB at Lowell to get that mandate. Lowell has to establish they can get the ball to Jeff Barker even if they have to hand it to him. Barker is the fastest offensive player they have and he's gotten the ball three times in two games. That will change.
Kicker David Lang booted a 39-yard game winning field goal last week. His
field goal in the sectional title game beat Hobart 31-28 last year.
Lowell's defense has been outstanding. Justin Juarez (6-4, 222) and Lukas
Palmer (5-10, 175) both had 10 tackles last week. Junior Bryan DeSomer (5-11,
175) has been a revelation at linebacker with 16 tackles in 2 games. The
Devils have seven quarterback sacks (4 by Barker and 2 by Joe Carlson) in two
games and they have allowed 157 yards rushing on 57 carries. Chris Thompson
hasn't' gotten beat on the corner and Grubbe adds some speed in the backfield.
Geno
Wentworth (6-2, 240) anchors the line with Logan Wright (5-10, 250) between
Carlson and Barker, another set in Lowell's long line of pass rushing ends.
Linebackers Juarez and David Eastling (6-0, 198) hold down the middle while Ben
Rigby (6-0, 170) has defensive back speed at outside linebacker.
It's hard to talk about fast defenses in a county that includes Merrillville, but this is a very fast Lowell defense and the only success against them so far was CP rushing between the tackles early in the first game. Teams like Griffith and Hobart are going to run between the tackles on Lowell and that's certainly where KV will attack them Friday.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN...
WHEATFIELD - This game won't be a blowout because Lowell can expect
a highly motivated KV team when they get down to Jasper County. The Kougars
know they haven't beaten Lowell in 23 years and I would not be surprised to see
some type of trick play early (maybe a double pass back to Byers) in the game to
try to stun the Devils with an early TD.
Lowell is going basic here. They've seen some big players from CP and some speedy players from Morton and KV is neither quite as big as CP nor quite as fast as Morton. Lowell takes a 7-0 lead on a run by Steffan Peck, but a turnover starts a KV drive which ends up in a field goal by the Kougars' new kicker Chinges Erdenchimeg.
The Devils will revisit one of their basic plays, the quick pop pass to the tight end down the middle and Jeff Barker will score to make it 14-3 before the half.
With the lead, the Devils will spread the ball around using fullbacks Johnny
Black and Danny Remboski occasionally to take the heat off Grubbe and Peck, who
will go over 100 yards for the second consecutive game. This should be the
first big yardage rushing game of the season for Lowell with 250-300 yards
rushing.
Byers will find Walstra for a passing TD in the late going but two second half
rushing TDs will ice the game. I'll say it again. You can't play 2A
teams and then go to playing 4As. If Lowell does not commit a turnover, this
will be a shutout. But the Devils are not mistake-free yet.