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Highland (0-4) at Lowell (3-1) |
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Week
5 - Football Game of the Week Preview|
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Highland (0-4) at Lowell (3-1) |
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A
USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
09-06-2007
When:
Friday, September 4, 2007
Where: Lowell High School - 2051 E. Commercial AVE (Route 2), Lowell, IN.
Tickets: $5 - (for everybody).
Kickoff:
7:00 p.m.
Radio-TV: WTMK
(88.5) FM.
Weather:
Low 60s, upper 50s and wet field.
The first true football night. Bring a coat.
I'm going to guess you can leave the bug spray at home (always dangerous at
Lowell) because even the boldest bugs cant hang with the upper 50-temps that
should exist in the second half.
Junior Varsity: Highland at Lowell -
Saturday, Sept. 15 - 10:00 a.m.
Freshmen: Lowell at Highland - Thursday,
Sept. 20 - 6:00 p.m.
Parking: The thrill is gone from
Highland football, at least, for the 2007
season. Only the most loyal Trojan fans will
be down on Route 2 to watch the Trojans take
on the state rated Devils. I think you can
sashay up about 6:45 p.m. and still be able to
park in the school lot.
The series:
Highland leads this series 30-16 but that's
deceptive. Almost everybody leads Lowell in
the all-time series. Recently, Lowell has
won five in a row since a 23-13 win by
Highland at Lowell in 2002.
I was glad to see Highland play a close game
with Morton last week. Morton is the better
team and they should have won. But Highland
was being embarrassed in the first three
weeks and that did not happen last week. I cant say exactly what has happened to
Highland football in recent (21-37 in the last
58 games) years. They were a regional power
in the 80s and 90s, reaching the state
finals in 1987, losing to a then-unknown
Indianapolis school named Ben Davis.
Highland is one of the youngest NW Indiana schools as they have only had a varsity program since 1958. Highland and Munster are the quintessential NW Indiana suburban schools, blooming around region bedrock cities like Hammond, Gary and East Chicago in the 50s and 60s. Highland is much more a suburb of Chicago than Lowell is. You can get on the highway at Kennedy Avenue and be in downtown Chicago in a half hour.
A stable and peaceful bedroom community of about 23,000, the town isn't named after any early settler. The area that is now Highland was low-lying land that was reportedly under water 200 years ago. That's not 'breaking news' to anyone living there now because there are areas that still flood badly after heavy rains. A sandy ridge area (which probably led to the name Ridge Road for the east-west main street through Lake County) that was above water in the center of the county was called 'High Land'. As simple as that may seem, as far as I can tell, that apparently is why the town of Highland got its name.
The only problem with Highland is that it is pretty much full. There's not much room for more housing developments like there are at the southern end of the county. Highland will probably lose citizens to the 'greener pastures' of places like south Lake and Porter County in the years to come. But I'm not sure that anybody there will mind a few less citizens and a little less traffic.
Highland and Lowell high school are similar in size and they have been league rivals in the Calumet Conference (1949-1969), the Lake Suburban Conference (1970-1991), the Lake Athletic Conference (1997-2006) and now the new Northwest Crossroads Conference. These two had some great games in the late 90s when Highland was still strong and Lowell was just coming to power. Highland had a potential 4A state finalist in 1999 but they finished at 9-2 because Lowell beat them twice, the second game a dramatic 20-17 overtime game in freezing weather in Highland.
But these schools aren't really football rivals. They're just two similar schools that have always been slotted in the same league. Ten to 20 years ago, Highland was the example for Lowell football. Now, Lowell is the example for Highland football. Sitting at 0-4 now with a team that returned 14 starters and with three Top-10 teams remaining on the schedule, Highland is going to need a big night to avoid an 0-10 season. It might not be Friday. But the Trojans can look at Lowell and see how quickly they can turn things around and get back into contention for local football championships.
Class 4A Highland (0-4)
Coach: Eric Miller (13-24, 4th year)
Enrollment: 1,234
2006 record: 3-8*
Sectional titles: (3) 1982, 1986, 1987
Regional titles: (1) 1987
Semistate titles: (1) 1987
State titles: (0)
*Lost 49-0 in Hobart in the 4A Sectional
nine semifinals
Highland (0-4, 0-2)
(L) 21-35 at Wheeler (3-1)
(L) 0-28 at Portage (2-2)
(L) 0-49 at MUNSTER (2-2)
(L) 21-27 MORTON (2-2)
9-14 (F) at LOWELL (3-1)
9-21 (F) ANDREAN (3-1)
9-28 (F) GRIFFITH (2-2)
10-5 (F) at Kankakee Valley (2-2)
10-12 (F) HOBART (3-1)
5A Sectional (9) Nine
Oct. 19: vs. Griffith, Highland East
Chicago, Hobart, Hammond, Lew Wallace, or
Gary West Side.
Class 4A Lowell
Coach: Kirk Kennedy (126-65, 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 (3-1, 1-1)
8-17 (W) 23-14 Crown Point (3-1)
8-24 (W) 3-0 at Morton (2-2)
8-31(W) 38-0 at Kankakee Valley (2-2)
9-7 (L) 28-29 (OT) GRIFFITH (2-2)
9-14 (F) HIGHLAND (0-4)
9-21 (F) at HOBART (3-1)
9-28 (F) Hammond (4-0)
10-5 (F) at MUNSTER (2-2)
10-12 (F) ANDREAN (3-1)
4A Sectional 10 Playoffs
10-20 (F) vs. Northridge (2-2), Concord (3-1), Clay
(2-2), (SB) Washington (0-4), Logansport
(3-1), Kankakee Valley (2-2) or Plymouth
(2-2).
SECTIONAL OUTLOOK: Concord QB David Yoder passed for 330 yards and six TDs in Concord's 52-27 win over Wawasee last Friday. But Lowell and KV eyes should be on Logansport (3-1), which lost 35-16 last week on the road at undefeated 5A Huntington North (4-0). Logansport plays four 5A schools in the North Central Conference (NCC), more than anyone else in Sectional 10. The NCC is not a football power. Muncie Central is 0-4 and Marion is 1-3. But they are 5A schools. As good as Lowell's schedule is, it's not as good as Logansport's.
HIGHLAND (0-4) at
LOWELL (3-1)
Sagarin
computer ratings: Lowell by
40
LOWELL
(09-13-2007) -
Highland
has had hard times. Losing to 2A Wheeler and getting shutout was bad enough,
but after losing to Portage and Munster, the Trojans had to be at a low-ebb.
However, a 27-21 loss at Morton had to be a lift because the Trojans were
close. At the start of the year, I really thought the Trojans would be 2-2 at
this point of the season.
The Trojans suffered a key injury when QB Adam Musielak was 13-of-27 for 224 yards and two TDs last week, and with the Trojans collecting less than 500 yards total on the ground in four games, the Highland passing attack figures to be on display this week.
Emilio Covarrubias (5-9, 190) rushed for 1,051 yards and 10 TDs as a sophomore
last year, but he had knee surgery in August and I do not believe he's back yet.
Johnny Tyler (5-9, 175) carried 30 times for 95 yards last week, and while he
hasn't shown it in a game yet, he can break the long run if the blocking is
there.
JJ Garza (5-9, 160) caught 21 passes for 261 yards last season and he grabbed a
60-yard TD pass last week from Musielak. Highland rolled up 361 yards last week
in the loss to Morton and there's nothing wrong with the skill position players
on this team. The Trojans desperately must create some type of running
attack because they have totaled just 300 yards rushing in four weeks. The
offensive line has had problems, but last week's production against a fast
Morton defense had to be encouraging to them.
Morton's problem is not their offense. The Trojans have given up 139
points (34.7 per game) in four games and that's why they are winless. It's
worse than it looks. Highland has been scored on in the first, second and
third quarter every week this season. The Trojans have been outscored
40-14 in the first period this year. They have been outscored 40-7 in the
second quarter.
Highland has allowed just under 1,200 yards rushing and that usually suggests a lack of physical strength and that can't be corrected, especially going into the heavy part of the schedule. For Highland to beat Lowell, they've got to make big plays. The Trojans can do that if the offensive line can pass block. Against a Lowell team that may be short-handed this week, the Trojans might have a chance to score the 28-35 points they need to win Friday.
Lowell was outplayed for the first time last week in the 29-28 overtime loss to Griffith. It wasn't the loss, it was the yards. Griffith gained an official 356 yards, almost twice as many as anybody else has put up against Lowell this year. Looking back, I'd actually like to give credit to Griffith, who attacked the Devils' run defense for the first time since opening night when CP ran for two first quarter TDs.
Lowell safety Lukas Palmer made a career-high 16 tackles, which sounds good except that your safety can't be making 16 tackles. That means the Panther running backs got past a lot of boys. Linebacker David Eastling had a career-best 13 tackles. Ben Rigby (8) and Danny Remboski (9) combined for 16 more tackles. The truth is Griffith had 50 running plays. Highland won't attack Lowell with an option attack so the Trojans can't hurt the Devils in that manner.
But Griffith also isolated 6-foot-3 receiver David Alexander on 5-foot-8 corner TJ Lukasik and that's something Highland will try. The Trojans average over 20 passes a game so the ball will be in the air. Lowell may have lost pass rush specialist Joe Carlson to a knee injury last week. The two-year starter left the game on crutches. One choice to replace Carlson could be Johnny Black (6-2, 195), the starting fullback. Another is Brian DeMario (6-3, 222), an offensive tackle.
There are no injury reports, but linebacker Danny Remboski, who had nine tackles last week, also may be out. He left the Griffith game with a leg injury. Lowell has a lot of linebackers and Eastling (33 tackles), Justin Juarez (29 tackles), Ben Rigby (two fumbles recoveries last week) and Bryan DeSomer (28 tackles) can back up the line more than adequately. But there isn't much depth there now.
The secondary also took a hit when Brandon Grubbe, a speedy rookie cornerback, also left with a leg injury. I don't know any more about his condition than I do Remboski or Carlson, and I'd assume that senior Johnny Underwood will take over on the corner. But the Devils will need fourth and fifth defensive backs this week because Highland is going to throw the ball.
Offensively, Steffan Peck (105 carries, 456 yards) will be asked to grind it out, especially if Grubbe (21 carries, 184 yards) can't play. Look for junior Anthony Eldred (5-9, 165) or even Lukasik to play tailback. None of Lowell's injuries affect the offensive line. QB Kurt Monix (18 of 35, 265 yards) or tight end Jeff Barker (9 catches, 173 yards). Lowell might want to run Peck without actually running him by tossing short passes to the senior halfback. Monix eventually will run the ball more. Eventually may be Friday. I wouldn't be shocked to see Barker line up in the backfield or on the wing and get some handoffs. Lowell would like to get Barker and his 4.55 speed into the secondary.
Senior veteran kicker David Lang is 3-of-4 on field goals with three-point kicks of 21, 39 and 46 yards.
The Devil's defense has been carrying them until last week. They need more from the offense.
What Will Happen...
LOWELL - Lowell will be asked to respond this week after a home loss and
they will come out running Peck at the Highland rush defense. The Devils will
take an early lead as Highland will have short possessions in the early going.
Even if the Trojans can move the ball, they will do it through the air and their
possessions will not take very long. Peck will score three times in the
first half. That's not that bold a prediction because Lowell hasn't shown
a squadron of running backs right now. If the Devils score on the ground,
it's probably going to be Peck.
QB Adam Musielak will get Highland on the board with a passing drive capped off by a short run from junior Johnny Tyler and the score will be 21-7 after three quarters. In the final period, the challenge for Highland will be to not get Musielak sacked a half dozen times. This night may come up with good news for Lowell. Weather forecasts are calling for temperatures in the low 60s and a wet field.
The Trojans need to pass to pull this upset on the road and everything points to a night for running the football. Lowell will get three pass interceptions with Lukas Palmer running one back for a TD. The Devils will stay conservative to win on this night, a 'going back to basics' game in the middle of the season.
LOWELL 35, Highland 7