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Lowell (0-2) at Kankakee Valley (0-2) |
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Week
3 - Football Game of the Week Preview|
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Lowell (0-2) at Kankakee Valley (0-2) |
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09-02-2011
When:
7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 2, 2011
Where:
Kankakee Valley High School - 3923 State Route 10 - 3 miles west of
DeMotte.
TV/Radio/Internet:
WKIV (92.7) FM, WTMK (88.5) FM.
Tickets: $6 (new ticket price this year at all league games)
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| Junior Nicholas Hamm (24) and senior Daniel Reyes (5) along with their fellow Red Devils travel to Kankakee Valley looking for their first win of 2011. |
ENROLLMENT: Kankakee Valley
- 1,087; Lowell - 1,296
WEATHER: Not good. Temperatures will rise into the mid-90s Friday
afternoon and should still be in the upper 80s at kickoff. I would delay the
start of the game about 45 minutes to an hour to let the sun set and allow the
temperature to drop. Fortunately, KV has a grass field and not the red hot
artificial turf. There may also be a stiff breeze of 15-20 MPH. KV has to
maintain ball possession because Lowell has a big line and a lot of backs who
could wear out the Kougars in the heat.
PARKING: KV does not have a lot of parking, but they don't draw
that many for football right now. This isn't last week. With two winless teams,
I think you'll be okay strolling up about 6:45 p.m. You'll find a parking spot
fairly close to the field. Unlike Morton, they don't charge for parking at KV.
They're just happy to see you.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Lowell leads 19-2. Lowell has won the last four
meetings 43-0, 40-13, 42-0 and 38-0. KV's only wins were in 1984 and 1985.
HISTORY: KV is a 1970 consolidation of DeMotte and Wheatfield high
schools which both go back to the 1930s as far as I ca determine. There are only
two schools in Jasper County (the other is 400-teen Rensselaer), so KV would be
much larger than it is. KV has not won a football sectional title in 26 years
and they've never won a regional, so there's nobody who grew up watching KV
dominate anybody.
The move of former Lowell coach Brad Stewart to KV this season could spark something here, but it won't be easy. We know that because it hasn't been. Kankakee Valley has not yet upgraded to playing Munster, Andrean and Griffith every year in football. Their program has taken a beating (11-32 overall in 5 seasons) since joining those schools in league play in what is now the Northwest Crossroads Conference.
There is no shortcut here and the first
two weeks suggest the Kougars are not competitive in this league as of yet. But
with the door slightly open a bit with the decline of Highland and Griffith in
recent years, the possibility to contend seems within reach in this decade, if
not this year.
It's not surprising Kankakee Valley got their new coach from Lowell because that's the kind of area the school exists in and that's the model of success they want to emulate.
Lowell Red Devils
(0-2)
Coach Keith Kilmer (6-4, 1 year)
2010: 6-4, 2009: 13-2
Sectional titles (11): 1992, 1994, 1999, 2003-2010
Regionals (6): 1994, 1999, 2005, 2007- 09
Semistates (3): 2005, ‘07, ‘09
State titles (1): 2005
Aug. 19 (L) 6-27 Crown Point
(2-0)
Aug. 27 (Lt) 6-13 at Morton (2-0)
Sept. 2 (Fri) at KV (0-2)
Sept. 9 (Fri) Griffith (1-1)
Sept. 16 (Fri.) Highland (1-1)
Sept. 23 (Fri.) at Hobart (1-1)
Sept. 30 (Fri.) Hammond (2-0)
Oct. 7 (Fri.) at Munster (0-2)
Oct. 14 (Fri) Andrean (2-0)
Kankakee Valley
Kougars (0-2)
Coach: Brad Stewart (1st season)
Enrollment: 1087
2010 record: 1-9
Sectional titles: (0)
Regional titles: (0)
Last year: Lost 4A sectional 10 quarterfinal 39-0 to Logansport last season
Aug. 19 (L) 7-14 Rensselaer
(0-2)
Aug. 26 (L) 12-35 at Wheeler (2-0)
Sep. 2 (Fri.) Lowell (0-2)
Sep. 9 (F) at Hobart (1-1)
Sep. 16 (F) at Griffith (1-1)
Sep. 23 (F) North Judson (1-1)
Sep. 30 (F) at Andrean (2-0)
Oct. 7 (F) Highland (1-1)
Oct. 14 (F) Munster (0-2)
Class 4A Sectional 10
Oct 21 (F) with (SB) Washington, Riley, Clay, Hobart, New Prairie
Mishawaka and LOWELL
LOWELL (0-2) Update:
LOWELL (09-02-2011) The
Devils are not happy this week after losing 13-6 at Morton in a game where they
came up flat on three golden touchdown chances. Lowell may be feeling the weight
of great expectations because some of the things that are going wrong are out of
the ordinary. Lowell has given up eight turnovers in two weeks and has not
received a turnover. The Devils rushed for 250 yards last week, but scored only
one TD.
The good news is: Lowell's offensive line of Spencer Kersey (6-2, 226), Tyler
Wright (6-4, 245), Luke Mitrisin (6-3, 308), Jake Hayden (5-11, 266), Scott
Pitrowski (6-3, 276) and tight end Nick Kijurna (6-3, 226) looked good last week
and, to my knowledge, they are healthy. The reason the Devils did not score
wasn't the offensive line. After two weeks of facing Top-10 teams, expect the
yards to keep on coming against lesser foes.
Lowell QB Bryan Thomas has thrown three
interceptions in two games, but he's thrown in some bad luck situations as well.
Nick Hamilton rushed for 100 yards last week and I think he has to adjust to
playing both ways and special teams. It's a lot to ask, but it is what they ask
at Lowell. Hamilton will continue as Lowell 's place kicker despite a
forgettable debut last week. Word is, in practice, he's good from 30-35 yards
out.
Lowell's defense has not been bad at all.
They've allowed four TDs in two weeks against two top offenses with returning
QBs. I think they'd accept that. The Devils have an unusually tall, mobile stop
squad with the addition of Tyler Kristoff (6-3, 211) and Aaron Hamm (6-3, 180)
to a defense that includes Tyler Wright (6-4, 245), Nick Kijurna (6-3, 226),
Jeremy Crocker (6-2, 190) and Anthony Mauer (6-3, 185).
It's going to be hard for lesser QBs to
throw against them. Some may underestimate the talent Lowell has faced in the
'pre-season' so far, but if that's an issue, it has to show now. Lowell must win
this game and they need to win it decisively.
Lowell needs to find a big play man. Their backs are getting first downs on
plays that could be touchdowns. They are getting good yardage on kick returns on
plays that could be TDs. And how many interceptions are the Devils going to
drop? No takeways in two games? Come on, boys. Lowell is a minus-8 in
turnover-takeaway ratio (easily the worst of ALL NW Indiana teams) and that just
cannot go on. Bad passes must be intercepted.
Sophomore Aaron Hamm has done a good job as Lowell's new punter. The
place-kicking situation has been very sub-par so far, but struggles were
expected with all new boot personnel.
Lowell's biggest issue is confidence. Do they still think they're good? When you
look at them on paper, this is a team that should contend for the Northwest
Crossroads Conference title. As the defense gains confidence, they will be a
step faster. The running backs will hit the holes quicker. On paper, there is no
one the rest of the way (through the sectional) that Lowell can't beat. But do
THEY still think so?
Kankakee Valley (0-2) Update:
DeMOTTE (09-02-2011) The
problem for the Kougars is that they are a small team in a league where
everybody runs the ball. Try to find a pass-oriented spread offense team among
Griffith, Lowell, Andrean and Hobart. In the first two weeks, KV gave up only
300 yards rushing against Rensselaer and Wheeler, but they'd love an average of
150 the next seven weeks.
Last week, the Kougars gave up 252 yards passing against Wheeler's Nick Napinski,
an assault they won't have to worry about the rest of this year.
KV's offense is led by quarterback Joel
Bolen (13 of 28, 143 yards) and halfback Tyler Birky (27 carries, 116 yards).
Birky (6-2, 200) is going to be called on 15-20 times every game, working in
tandem with Bolen (6-1, 176), who was 46-98, 355 yards as a sophomore last
season. Alex Berdine (5-9, 205) is the fullback in a three-back attack that must
control the ball, because KV is facing size issues on defense.
The Kougars have only one senior on the
roster so they are very young and undersized defensively. Look for a lot of
changing fronts defensively to try to confuse offensive lines. KV will dare you
to throw the ball by bringing eight and nine men to the front because they have
to.
Cornerback Timmy Hillers will go against
the opposition's best receiver and most everyone else is available to blitz.
This is going to have to be a very emotional team because they will be the
underdog most nights.
In the first two weeks, has it worked?
Not yet. KV has not scored a point in the first three quarters.
The Kougars fumbled three times against Rensselaer, and like Lowell's
bobble-habit, they just can't do that and stay in games.
Lowell (0-2) at Kankakee Valley (0-2)
SAGARIN COMPUTER RATINGS: LOWELL by
24
Kankakee Valley has played two Top-10 2A schools
in No. 7 Rensselaer (2-0) and No. 9 Wheeler (2-0), while Lowell faced 4A No. 6
Morton (2-0) and 5A No. 10 Crown Point (2-0). I don't think it's a major
surprise that the Devils have lost twice considering who they've played. It's
not a shock KV is 0-2. If they are not broken down by the two defeats, they can
learn from playing two winning programs as they take the field Friday.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN...
WHEATFIELD (09-02-2011) I think KV will be motivated in the home opener
and they need to 'double down' on that bet by going for a 'home run' early. The
Kougars must take chances to win this game because they don't match up on the
lines. No matter what happens in the first few minutes, Lowell will begin to get
a big push on the offensive line late in the first quarter. The Devils know they
have a physical size mismatch here, and if thy can hold onto the ball, they
should score three first half TDs with Nick Hamilton and Zack Wolfe getting on
the board.
The game will break open on pass interceptions by
Kristoff and Hamilton.
You're going to see the debut of sophomore George
Fields, a highly-regarded halfback in the late going. He should score his first
TD. Jeremy Crocker will get some time in as the backup QB, a key role if QB
Bryan Thomas gets hurt at any time. Watch sophomore Sabastian Zagarena get a
shot at a field goal in the late going. He's still probably the future kicker
for the Devils.
Lowell does not want to run up the score on an old friend, but they are 0-2 and they can't be too sympathetic.
LOWELL 45, Kankakee Valley 0