Week 5 - 2009 H.S. Football Preview: Highland at Lowell

Kickoff: 7:00 p.m.
Radio-TV: WTMK (88.5) FM. Live updates: WLPR(89.1) FM, 89.1 FM. Highlights: Lakeshore TV football recap show, 10:30 p.m. Comcast Cable Ch. 17.
Tickets: $5
The Lowell grandstand will be full but there will be room on the Highland side. The Trojans have won only five games in four years and it's a long way from Highland to Lowell if you're not winning.

JV game: Saturday, Sept. 20 at LOWELL - 10:00 a.m.
Freshmen: Thursday, Sept. 25 at Griffith - 6:00 p.m.
Numbers: Highland, Class 4A, enrollment 1,185; LOWELL - 4A enrollment - 1,224

Weather: I've had people tell me it's rained at other games, but I've also had people tell me that universal health care is a Communist plot. It hasn't rained on Lowell yet and it won't this week, either. Daytime highs Friday are slated for the low 70s and temperatures should be in the 50s by the end of the game and it can't come a minute too soon. Summer's over. Put on full pants, coats and shoes (not that flip flop nonsense you kids wear) and come to the ball game.

Parking: Okay, here's a game where you can stroll up at 6:45 p.m. and get a seat. Lowell will have the usual turnout because the Devils are undefeated and they score a lot of points. But Highland folks are going to sit this one out. When your team starts losing, going to road games can be like going to the dentist. Sitting in the bleachers and watching your team get smoked is about as entertaining as the new Jay Leno show.

The HISTORY: Highland leads this series 30-18, but Lowell has won the last seven since the Trojans last won 23-13 in 2002. The Trojans, a powerhouse in the 1980s, stopped having good teams in the late 90s a little bit after Lowell began having good squads.

FAST FOOTBALL FACT: Lowell has won 18 regular season games in a row, the longest stretch in recorded school history.

LOWELL (9-18-2009) I wish Highland had a better program than they now do because this school used to be a powerhouse. Under coach Brad Smith, the Trojans were 10-2 in 1998 and 9-2 in 1999. The '99 playoff game with Lowell, a 20-17 overtime loss in 35 degree weather, is a classic. In the 1987, on the day Hobart won the first of four 4A state titles, Highland played Ben Davis in the 5A state championship game. Highland and Hobart were at the top of the local football food chain. But in this decade, it's been ugly. Highland is 33-69 in the 10 years of this decade and I can't filter through the usual complaining about a losing team to distill the exact reasons why.

You may already know that Highland was 0-10 last season and broke a 14-game losing streak with a 15-13 upset of Hammond high last month. Coach Ken Bye, who was 16-26 at Michigan City from 1998-2001, has come out of retirement to try to lift the Trojans back into contention in the Northwest Crossroads Conference. The Trojans have scored 25 points all season and they've been bombed three times by 28 points or more so it may be awhile before Bye's staff can effect any change.

Highland began football in 1958 and (like Munster, which began in 1966 with an 8-2 record) they were an immediate success, going 8-2 in 1959. Highland and Munster are both the product of the steel industry, although Munster later benefited from the giant Community Hospital on Calumet Ave. during its growth.

Athletic success has been fleeting. Except for a girls basketball run in the 90s and consistent mid-level baseball success, Highland has not been able to create a signature sport, something the school is synonymous with. I don't know the numbers but I suspect Highland has always lost athletes and students to Illiana Christian and Andrean. That's just a reality. Also, Highland's community is complete. There's no more room that I know of for building there so the size that this school is (a little less than 1200) is about all they're ever going to have.

So with perennial football powers Lowell, Andrean, Griffith -- all sate champs in the last 15 years, in the same league, the long term hope for Highland is Class 6A. That expansion, which must come by 2011, would take some of the high end 4As (like Concord and eventually Morton and Lowell) out of Highland's way come playoff time.

The hiring of Bye, a 21-year coaching veteran is a good choice. No one can say he doesn't know what he's doing and he knows the time it takes to build a good football program. By the time 6A comes in and takes some of the bigger 4A schools up into 5A, Highland should be over .500. Until then, symbolic wins like the 15-13 victory over Hammond last month will have to be enough for the school.

The sign on Route 2 in Lowell says that it is game night in Lowell. Lowell hosts Highland Friday night. (Photos by Mark Smith)

By unofficial totals, Brandon Grubbe (6) needs 202 yards rushing Friday night to become Lowell's all-time career leading rusher.

4A LOWELL (4-0)
Coach: Kirk Kennedy (149-68 years) 19 years
Enrollment: 1,224
2008 record: 13-1
Sectional titles: (9) 1992, 1994, 1999, 2003-2008
Regional titles: (5) 1994, 1999, 2005, 2007, 2008
Semi state titles: (2) 2005, 2007

State titles:   (1) 2005
Lost 4A Northern Semi state 38-22 at Bishop Dwenger in 2008

LOWELL Red Devils (4-0, 2-0)
Northwest Crossroads Conference (NCC) games in CAPS - all 7:00 p.m. kickoffs
8-21 (W) 19-0 Crown Point (2-2)
8-28 (W) 34-25 at Morton (3-1)
9-4 (W) 40-13    at KV (1-3)
9-11 (W) 35-19    GRIFFITH (1-3)
9-18 (F) HIGHLAND (1-3)
9-25 (F) at HOBART (1-3)
Oct. 2 (F) Hammond (3-1)
Oct. 9 (F) at MUNSTER (4-0)
Oct. 16 (F) ANDREAN (2-2)

Class 4A, Sectional 10
Oct. 23 (F) with Concord (4-0), Plymouth (4-0), Kankakee Valley (1-3), Logansport (4-0), Clay (1-3), Riley (1-3) and (SB) Washington (3-1).

4A Highland (1-3)
Coach: Ken Bye, (1st season at Highland), 106-95 in 22nd year
Enrollment: 1,140
2008 record: 0-10
Sectional titles (3) 1982, 86 and 87
Regional titles (1) 1987
Semistate titles: (1) 1987

Highland Trojans (1-3, 0-2)
Northwest Crossroads Conference (NCC) games in CAPS - all 7:00 p.m. kickoffs
8-21 (L) 17-49 Wheeler (4-0)
8-28 (W) 15-13 at Hammond (3-1)
9-4 (L) 0-28 at Munster (4-0)
9-11 (L) 3-36 Morton (3-1)
9-18 (Fri.) at Lowell (4-0)
9-25 (Fri) Andrean (2-2)
10-2 (Fri.) Griffith (1-3)
10-9 (Fri.) at Kankakee Valley (1-3)
10-16 (Fri.) Hobart (1-3)

Class 4A Sectional 9
Oct. 23 (F) with Morton, Hammond, Hobart, Griffith, Gary West Side, Lew Wallace and Gary Roosevelt.

Look at who they've played. I know Wheeler is 2A but the combined record of the four Highland foes so far is 14-2. Defensively, the word I'm looking for is 'halfway decent' (that's two words). They gave Munster problems with their pass rush and the 37-3 loss to Morton last week was created by four Highland fumbles. After Friday (and maybe after the Andrean game), Highland does not see a team with a winning record the rest of the regular season. The Trojans' defense seems to be good enough to win.

2. Be ready to play for four quarters

What? This is Highland. Actually, the Trojans want to throw the ball. They've thrown almost (they haven't released stats, probably because they aren't pretty) 60 passes in four games. Highland wants to throw more, but they may be having problems protecting the passer. Lowell, which has given up five TD passes in the last three games, must be ready for Highland to spread the field and throw the ball. That means a lot of running.

3. Show respect

This is a hard call. Lowell should win. It is disrespectful to ease up on an opponent that is over-matched. It is also disrespectful to not play hard because you 'know' you're going to win. But where Highland is now is where Lowell was 20 years ago and it's a hard place to be. The Devils want to win and win decisively, but they don't want to degrade the opposition. How to walk that fine line? Knock them down. Help them up. Then, knock them down again.

The Bottom Line...

The Trojans have only scored 35 points all season and they need at least 35 to win Friday. The knowledge that you are facing a superior team frees you up, however, to try any offensive or defensive strategy you want to. And coach Ken Bye probably knows them all. I'd look for The 'Wildcat'. The 'Flea Flicker'. The Lonesome Polecat'. The Jailbreak blitz' -- that play where you throw the ball 50 yards and your receiver tips it to a friend of his who runs for a TD ('the Kyle Orton').

Lowell has to understand that there are very few home games in your career. You must want to go all out for the home fans and your program. Lowell hasn't lost a home game in two years and that's a badge of honor. The Devils also have some questions defensively. It does not matter how many points they score here, but Lowell should judge themselves by how many points they give up against a team that, again, is averaging less than nine points a game.

Lowell wants halfback Brandon Grubbe (45 carries, 445 yards) to get as many yards as he can. Grubbe (642 carries, 3,997 yards) will pass 4,000 yards and he conceivably could pass Lowell legend and 1995 graduate Michael Pickett (4,198 yards) on this night and become Lowell's all-time leading rusher.

Then the countdown is on for Grubbe to catch Paul Strabavy (5,024 yards) and Whiting's Mike Barsich (5,062 yards) and become Northwest Indiana's all-time leading rusher. On nights when you need a reason and a motivation against a team that's won only five games in four seasons, running the football (something Lowell does 95% of the time anyway) could provide the focus they need. The Devils lead all the way and almost get a much-needed shutout.

Highland (1-3, 0-2) at No. 4 Lowell (4-0, 2-0)

Copyright © 2009 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp. All rights reserved.
Revised: September 18, 2009 .

Highland (1-3, 0-2) at No. 4 Lowell (4-0, 2-0)

Copyright © 2009 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp. All rights reserved. Revised: September 18, 2009 .

Copyright © 2009 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp. All rights reserved.
Revised: September 18, 2009 .