Week 8 -  Football Game of the Week Preview

4A No. 4 Lowell (7-0) at Munster (5-2)

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

10-08-2009
 

When:  7:00 p.m., CDT on Friday, October 9, 2009

Where:  Munster High School, 8118 Columbia AVE (One block east of Calumet Ave.), Munster, IN

Radio-TV:  WWCA (1270) AM; WTMK (88.5) FM; Updates: WLPR (89.1) FM; Highlights: Lakeshore TV football recap show, 10:30 p.m. Comcast Cable Ch. 17

Tickets: $5

This is a big game for Munster.  There are just 25 undefeated teams (of 317) left in the state of Indiana after seven weeks and Munster is hosting one of them.  They have certainly been looking forward to it all season and everyone who cares about Munster football will show up if the rain quits Friday afternoon to see if they can defeat Lowell.

Munster's football complex is not that large and there is not an endless amount of room in the stands.  If it rains, there's going to be empty seats.  But if it doesn't, this may be standing room only.  Because of the parking situation and the magnitude of the game, you might want to get to Munster at 6:30 p.m. or earlier.

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

Freshmen:  Thursday, Oct. 15 at Lowell - 6:00 p.m.

Numbers:  Munster, Class 5A, 1,565;  LOWELL - 4A enrollment - 1,224

Weather:  Late word says that heavy rain Thursday will clear Friday afternoon, but that's what they said last week, too.  The natural turf field is going to be wet, which will help Munster because Lowell has more speed.

It will be cold.  Mid-50s during the day Friday, but high 40s by the end of the game.  The players will like it.  It's not painfully cold.  Playing in the mud can be fun.  If the rain clears up (and that's a big if) the weather will have only a small effect on the game.  If it doesn't?  Well.  I hardly ever say this.  But this might be one game you sit home and listen to on the radio.  I say that because we've had a couple of rainy night games in a row and you want to stay healthy for the next few weeks.  Trust me on this one.  If you go, break out the heavy coats and a raincoat.  You can't get by with a light jacket Friday and you'll be sorry if you try.

Parking:  There's not that much close to the field.  Munster's field is east across the street from the high school and most of Munster's parking is immediately south and west of the school.  Show up early and get a spot relatively close to the field and you can sit in the car if it's raining and listen to the pre-game show on the radio.  I don't believe you can go in the school to stay dry and parking west of the school means a long walk to the field.

The HISTORY

MUNSTER - Lowell never defeated Munster the two decades both schools were in the old Lake Suburban Conference.  The Mustangs had a 25-game, 26-year winning streak against the Red Devils when Lowell turned the corner with a 9-7 upset in 35-degree weather on the night of Nov. 6, 1992.  Since that night 17 years ago, Lowell has had just one losing season, has won eight more sectionals, five regionals and the 2005 Class 4A state title.

Munster was 8-2 in its debut season of 1966 and 26-9-3 in their first four non-conference years.  In the 1970s, Mustangs ran wild all over Lake County with 78 wins and 22 losses and in the early days of the state football tournament (1973-to-present) the wild horses got quite a reputation for hard-running, hard-hitting play.  The Mustangs were 71-37 in the 1980s and their fortunes tailed off in the mid-90s as Lowell's were on the rise.

Munster is perhaps the richest community in Lake County.  Some say it's because of the large hospital and others say Munster simply became a suburban home for steel executives in the middle of the 20th century.  The average family income in the town of 21,000 is near $75,000, according to the latest census.  They've got bucks.  There's always a little bit of a superiority complex that comes with cash, but that does not extend to Munster coach Leroy Marsh, who has led the Mustangs for 30 years.  He has always conducted himself and his program with class.

Munster has had only two head varsity football coaches in its history and I believe that Marsh is coach for life if he wants to be.  He's earned it.  You wish Leroy Marsh well every week he isn't coaching against your team.

FAST FOOTBALL FACT:  Lowell is 34-3 in the last three seasons and they have won 22 regular season games in a row.

4A LOWELL (7-0)
Coach: Kirk Kennedy (151-68 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 (7-0, 5-0)
Northwest Crossroads Conference (NCC) games in CAPS - all 7:00 p.m. kickoffs
8-21 (W) 19-0 Crown Point (3-4)
8-28 (W) 34-25 at Morton (6-1)
9-4    (W) 40-13 at KV (2-5)
9-11  (W) 35-19 GRIFFITH (4-3)
9-18  (W) 42-0 HIGHLAND (1-6)
9-25   (W) 35-0  at HOBART (1-6)
Oct. 2  (W) 63-0  Hammond (4-3)
Oct. 9  (F)   at MUNSTER (4-2)
Oct. 16  (F) ANDREAN (4-2)
Class 4A, Sectional 10
Oct. 23 (F) with Concord (6-1), Plymouth (7-0), Kankakee Valley (2-5), Logansport (5-2), Clay (1-6), Riley (1-6) and (SB) Washington (5-2).

 

5A Munster (5-2)
Coach:Coach: Leroy Marsh  (183-124) 30 years
Enrollment: 1,663
2008 record: 7-4
Sectional titles: (5)  1985, 86, 87, 1993, 1996
Regional titles: (1) 1996
Lost sectional quarterfinal game 37-7 at Merrillville in 2008

Munster Mustangs (5-2)
all games begin at 7:00 p.m.
8-21 (W)  28-10 Lake Central (1-6)
8-28 (W) 62-21 at Bishop Noll (4-3)
9-4  (W) 28-0 Highland (1-6)
9-11 (W) 19-14 Andrean (5-2)
9-18 (L) 13-14 MORTON (6-1)
 9-25 (L) 6-7 AT GRIFFITH (4-3)
10-2 (W) 12-7 HOBART (1-6)    
10-9 (Fri) LOWELL (7-0)
10-16 (Fri) at Kankakee Valley (2-5)

Class 5A, Sectional (1) One
Oct. 23 (F) with East Chicago, Lake Central, Valparaiso, Chesterton, Portage, Crown Point and Merrillville.

Munster leads the all-times series 32-11

FAST FOOTBALL FACT:  On the night on Nov. 5, 1993, Lowell was 10-0 and had allowed just 71 points all season when Munster defeated them 28-14 in Lowell.

THREE KEY FACTORS

1. Brandon Grubbe

You may wonder why I'm singling out Brandon Grubbe to keep track of his totals.  I don't like to make team sports 'all about one kid' and I don't like to put underclassmen ahead of seniors.  But Grubbe (123 carries, 923 yards, 18 TDs) is a senior.  He's paid his dues like the other seniors and he happens to be the one with the ball.  I believe that the more yards he gets, the better off the team is and I also think his totals inspire future Devils the way 1995 grad Michael Pickett (4,198 yards) did and inspired a generation of Lowell halfbacks.

Grubbe (720 carries, 4,429 yards) has a chance to break the all-time region career rushing record of 5,062 yards by 1994 Whiting graduate Mike Barsich, but probably only if Lowell wins the 4A Sectional 10 championship and he plays six more games.

Like I said last week, I think that Lowell should have that record.  It would mean a lot to the all-new offensive line and everybody else on the team.  The NW Indiana record would stand for 15 years of Lowell fundamental run-oriented football success and no one that I can see is going to approach it in the next few years.

Friday, Grubbe should become the first Lowell player to gain 1,000 yards three years in a row.  On a night when passing may be limited, Lowell may run the ball 50 times.  Grubbe's yards gained will take care of themselves.

2. Who's the QB for Munster?

Mark Strbjak (49 of 94, 689 yards, 12 TDs), but the Munster offense struggled and Strbjak was replaced (I don't believe he is injured) by Josh Lukoshus (6-2, 190), who was 7-for-13 for 123 yards last week in the 10-7 win at Hobart.  You could see either or both this week.  Lukoshus is a two-year starter at safety, but Friday he'll be throwing to Justin Gill (6-5, 195).  Gill (30 catches, 470 yards) is a big boy who is a big threat, especially near the goal line.  All of Lowell's defensive backs are small so you might see Grubbe (6-1, 194) or Jordan Juarez (6-1, 197) guarding Gill.

Near the goal line, I wouldn't be shocked to see defensive end Joe Bell (6-4, 207) guarding Gill.  You're not going to be able to put a 5-foot-8 defensive back (or even two) on a 6-foot-5 senior.  But Lukoshus, a co-captain, will lead Munster's Wing-T attack.
   
3. The formation

Munster has run the same offense for 30 years, a Wing-T attack, which sends the wingbacks in opposite directions of the main flow of the play.  If I was facing Lowell, this is the perfect offense to run, taking advantage of the speed of defenders like Joe Bell, Brandon Grubbe and Cole Midgett.  The Devils have to be very wary of where Munster running plays end up and not so much the first motion.

Though they don't call it the same thing and Plymouth changes what they do dramatically depending on their personnel, there are some similarities between what Munster does and what Plymouth does.  It will be good for Lowell to try to defense Munster two weeks before 4A Sectional 10.
 

The Bottom Line...

Sagarin computer ratings:  LOWELL by 15

MUNSTER (10-9-2009) This is a test Lowell needs.  Munster can score early here but the Red Devils will rise to the occasion.  I think Lowell is a noticeably faster team.  The situation with Munster's QBs indicates they are still looking for answers, which is understandable since they've scored just a total of 29 points in the last three weeks.  But those were all road games and Munster is home for the first time this month.  Everything points to a maximum Munster effort while Lowell may take a while to lift their intensity level to that of the home team.

It will be very close going into the fourth quarter where two breakaway TDs by Brandon Grubbe and Cole Midgett will make the final score more lopsided than the game actually was.

LOWELL 28, Munster 13