Week 7-  Football Game of the Week Preview

Hammond (4-2) at No. 4 Lowell (6-0)

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
10-01-2009
 
 

When:  7:00 p.m. on Friday, October 2, 2009

Where:  Lowell High School  - 2051 E. Commercial AVE (Route 2), Lowell, IN (3 miles west of I-65 on Route 2).

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
This is the 'homecoming' game for Lowell so the Devil fans and parents will be out in force. Unfortunately, Hammond high will simply not bring many people. Hammond was undefeated in 2007 when they came to Lowell and they brought about 78 fans. It has nothing to do with wins or losses.  For reasons I do not totally understand, Hammond parents and students do not follow the football team.  Even if you son lost every single game, you could still show up once every three weeks to watch him. Teams like Lake Station and River Forest lose all the time and they probably have more fans in the stands than Hammond high does on the road.  The relevant point for Friday is, if you cant find space to sit in the home grandstand, wear something purple and go sit on the Hammond side. there will be plenty of room.

JV game:  Saturday, Oct. 3 at Lowell - 10:00 a.m.

Freshmen:  Thursday, Oct. 8 at Hammond - 6:00 p.m.

Numbers:  Hammond, Class 4A, enrollment 1,036;  LOWELL - 4A enrollment - 1,224

Weather:  Late word says that heavy rain Thursday will clear before Friday afternoon.  Maybe.  The field is going to be wet, which may not help either side.  Both teams have a lot of speed.  It will get cold.  The daytime high is scheduled to be in the low 60s, so we could have temperatures in the upper 40s by the end of the game.  This is cold weather for fans but for the players, it will enable them to stay strong for four quarters.  I believe that one of the reasons Lowell traditionally plays better late in the season since coach Kirk Kennedy arrived is that he promotes players going both ways and, later in the year, Lowell's two-way players stay stronger longer.  Dry and cold is Lowell football weather.  Wet and cold isn't anybody's weather.

Parking:  Understand that this is Lowell's homecoming and you're going to have to weave your way between not only football players and students but kids in formal wear.  I don't think they have floats at Lowell's homecoming, so it isn't as crowded and complicated as others (CP has a parade in the downtown square) are.  I think the lack of any fans from Hammond is going to make this a pleasant and roomy night for attending the ball game.

The HISTORY:  Lowell leads this series 10-5, but I don't think the two schools ever met before 1988 and that's odd because Lowell and Hammond are two of the original Northwest Indiana high schools.  Both have recorded football history going back 100 years ago.

The Wildcats have had some great seasons.  They were 10-0 in 1937, 8-0-1 in 1958 and 10-0 again in 1960 and 1962.  Hammond was 10-1 in 1980 and 1981.  But as the population began to leave Hammond in the 70s, their high school team sports declined.  The state tournament has not been kind.  Hammond was just 6-36 from 2003-2006, while Lowell, a longtime doormat, was rising to its present status as a Top-10 Class 4A state power.  Lowell has won the last eight meetings with Hammond and as long as the present schedule breaks down the way it has, the Wildcats will have a hard time defeating Lowell.  Why?

Hammond wants to beat crosstown rivals a lot more than they want to defeat Lowell.  Morton is a neighbor and a sectional rival.  Lowell is neither.  So emotionally, I would suggest that Hammond 'sells out' mentally to defeat Hammond Morton in week six every year.  In week seven, it's hard for them to come back strong.  Plus, Hammond is always a team with a short bench.  They do not have that many players. 

Lowell is a running team that gets better as the weather gets worse.  The last five games: 63-0, 24-0, 35-12, 41-6 and 47-14.  The Wildcats need to play this game earlier in the season.  Hammond wants to beat Lowell but they probably left a lot on the field last week in the 35-14 loss to Morton.

This is the game on the 2009 schedule that the Wildcats are least likely to win and they can reach their season goals without defeating Lowell.

FAST FOOTBALL FACT:  Lowell is 32-3 in the last three seasons and 70-19 in the last seven seasons.  That's their best stretch in school history.

4A LOWELL (6-0)
Coach: Kirk Kennedy (150-68 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 (6-0, 4-0)
Northwest Crossroads Conference (NCC) games in CAPS - all 7:00 p.m. kickoffs
8-21 (W) 19-0 Crown Point (2-4)
8-28 (W) 34-25 at Morton (5-1)
9-4 (W) 40-13 at KV (1-5)
9-11 (W) 35-19 GRIFFITH (3-3)
9-18 (W) 42-0 HIGHLAND (1-5)
9-25 (W) 35-0 at HOBART (1-5)
Oct. 2 (F) Hammond (4-2)
Oct. 9 (F) at MUNSTER (4-2)
Oct. 16 (F) ANDREAN (4-2)

Class 4A, Sectional 10
Oct. 23 (F) with Concord (6-0), Plymouth (6-0), Kankakee Valley (2-4), Logansport (5-1), Clay (1-5), Riley (1-5) and (SB) Washington (4-2).


4A Hammond (4-2)
Coach:Robert Robinson  (20-8) 3rd year
Enrollment: 1,042
2008 record: 7-4 (lost sectional semifinal 42-0 to Morton)
Sectional titles (4) 1978, 83, 88, 2000
Regional titles (1) 1988
Semistate titles: (0) none

Hammond Wildcats (4-2)
Aug. 21 (W) 32-12 at East Chicago (2-4)  
Aug. 28  (L) 13-15 Highland (1-5)) 
Sep. 4   (W) 42-0 Chicago (Ill.) Charter (0-5)
Sep. 12 (W) 33-8 at Gary Roosevelt (1-5) 
Sep. 18 (W) 26-19 at Gary West Side (3-3)  
Sep. 25 (L) 14-35 Morton  
Oct. 2 at Lowell  (6-0)  
Oct. 9 at  Gavit  (2-4)  
Oct. 16 Clark  (5-1)  

Class 4A Sectional 9
Oct. 23 (F) with Morton (5-1), Hobart (1-5), Highland (1-4), Griffith (3-3), Gary West Side (3-3), Lew Wallace (1-4) and Gary Roosevelt (1-5)

THREE KEY FACTORS

1. Brandon Grubbe

I think it's important for Brandon Grubbe to get a lot of yards.  Everyone says the goal must always be to win the game, but the reality is that the more Grubbe gets, the more Lowell wins.  Grubbe (4,308 yards) passed 1995 Lowell graduate Michael Pickett (4,198 yards) to become the school's all-time career leading rusher last week and he's on line to break the all-time region career rushing record of 5,062 yards by 1994 Whiting graduate Mike Barsich.  If Lowell has six more games (and they've been to the sectional title game six years in a row) Grubbe needs 126 yards a game.  I think that Lowell should have that record.  It would mean a lot to Grubbe and even more to the offensive line, which would be immortalized in Lowell high school history.  But beyond that, two decades of Lowell football has been based on hard running tailbacks and it would honor a lot of Lowell's 1,000-yard rushers if Lowell became the school with the number one all-time leading rusher.  It means something.

2. Its one on one

Some games are power against power. This game is one-on-one. Hammond wants to get speedy players outside the hash marks and have them make a play.  Lowell's goal tonight needs to be to make all one-on-one tackle opportunities. If they do, they'll win easily. But on a wet field against the basketball-style talent Hammond has that's easier said than done. In truth, Lowell doesn't want Hammond ballcarrriers to have one-on-one chances but it will happen. Lowell boys have to make sure tackles.
   

3. Offensive line
 

Lowell's rushing totals are strong.  239-298-257-283-208-235.  But I'll say the same thing I said last week.  The schedule has not been great.  It's time for the Devils to start dominating on the offensive line.  The five new starters in the line including a couple of big sophomores in Tyler Wright (6-4, 222) and Luke Mitrisin (6-3, 281) need a game where they totally dominate and this can be it.  I do not think that Ray Skamay, Brandon Grubbe, Nate Cleveland and Cole Midgett have reached their yardage potential.  I'm still looking for that 300-yard game.  Lowell can't win the sectional unless ALL of their backs are gaining yards.  Lowell has a collection of fine runners and they don't have a 300-yard rushing game yet?  You don't want to peak too soon, but any time now would be fine.

The Bottom Line...

Sagarin computer ratings: LOWELL by 20

HAMMOND (10-2-2009) Hammond comes in with a couple of injuries, the biggest being to receiver Robert Stone, who will miss this game with a wrist injury.  Junior QB Antwon McGee (6-2,195) and Stone have connected on eight TD passes this year and he will be missed on this night.

Lowell wants to make this a short night, because they don't want to give Hammond any hope and they'd like to get the starters to the bench in sloppy field conditions.

The Devils and QB Ray Skamay will run exclusively with Brandon Grubbe and Nate Cleveland because Hammond's defense gave up 500 total yards last week.  The idea is not so much to score quickly, but to keep Hammond's defense, especially the two-way players on the field in the mud on the road.  Grubbe (100 carries, 746 yards) is the focus of every Lowell game and he'll get into the end zone early for a 7-0 lead.  But I think Cleveland will get the ball some here as Hammond may overrun some of Lowell's quick-hitting plays.

Lowell tight end Joe Bell (6-4, 195) has caught only five passes this year and the Devils will want to get him the ball Friday as well because they need him as an offensive threat in the post-season.  Without their top receiver and with a wet field diminishing their speed, I'm not sure what the Wildcats can do here to move the ball.  It's going to be hard to get the Devils to concentrate on this opponent so Hammond may break through for a couple of scores.  But this is a game where Lowell's backups need to be ready to play because it looks like they will.