Week 9-  Football Game of the Week Preview

Andrean (6-2) at Lowell (7-1)

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
10-15-2009
 
 

When:  7:00 p.m., Friday, October 16, 2009

Where:  Lowell High School  - 2051 E. Commercial AVE (Route 2), Lowell, 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
Andrean folks need to know that the Lowell football field you are visiting this Friday is not the same one you may have visited two years ago.  The visitors' stands are larger and standing will be something you do because of the cold and not a requirement due to lack of space.  The winner of this game will share the Northwest Crossroads Conference championship, but I don't think that's going to be enough to draw a capacity crowd in 40-degree weather.

JV game:  Saturday, Oct. 17 at LOWELL - 10:00 a.m.
Freshmen:  Thursday, Oct. 22 at ANDREAN - 6:00 p.m.
Numbers:  ANDREAN, Class 3A, 692;  LOWELL - 4A enrollment - 1,224

Weather:  Not good.  It hasn't been warm all week.  Temperatures won't get out of the 40s Friday and it will be 35 degrees late in the second half.  There was rain Thursday and there is predicted to be some Friday, although late forecasts say the rain won't be heavy.  Lowell's field will be wet and muddy although it wasn't torn up last week since Lowell was on the road.  Lowell does not have a home freshman game Thursday night so the field won't be rutted like an Aunt Jemima waffle.  If you are coming to the game, Andrean fans need to know there is no 'inside' at Lowell's field.  There is no place to get inside out of the rain or the wind.

It's a big game and it should be competitive.  But it's October in Northwest Indiana and it will be cold.  If you don't like football, you'd have to be insane to stand out in an open field in 38-degree weather to watch 22 boys roll around in the mud.  I'll see you there.

Parking:  The parking situation at Lowell is also better than it was two years ago.  There is now some parking behind the home grandstand near the baseball field.  And the bulk of parking in front of the high school (there's a healthy walk from there to the field) has multiple exits onto Route 2.  Sadly, there's not going to be an overflow crowd for this game due to the weather.  There's plenty of room for you and your car.

The HISTORY:

FAST FOOTBALL FACT:  Andrean has had so much athletic success (2 state softball titles, 2 state baseball titles and four state finals berths in football) that it's forgotten how small a school they are.  League rival Munster (1,670 students) is more than twice the size of Andrean (693).

MERRILLVILLE:  Andrean opened its doors in 1959 and after a freshman football team took the field in 1960, the school's first varsity club played in 1961.  Andrean's original home was Gary's Gilroy Stadium and Father Vincent Eckert Stadium saw its first game in 1976.

The most asked question about Andrean athletics centers on the name "59ers."  Stories differ between that being the address (5959 Broadway) of the school and that being the year the school opened.  I believe it's the year since I'm told that there was nothing else in the 5900 block of Broadway when the school was built.  Either way, the phrase "59er" is a play on the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers who are so named because the city of San Francisco grew from a population of 800 in 1848 to 50,000 in 1849.  Those who rushed in that year looking for a fortune during California's Gold Rush days were called "49ers".  Those who came to Merrillville's new private school in 1959 were dubbed "59ers."  
 

Truthfully, Lowell and Andrean have no real rivalry.  Lowell's first victory over Andrean was a 23-21 win on October 30, 1992, but the two schools did not meet again until Lowell and Andrean joined what would be the Lake Athletic Conference in 1998.  This is the third year the Andrean-Lowell game has been final regular season game and, as long as the schedule remains that way, it's going to be little more than a good playoff prep.  You have to be careful not to make this too big a game when the playoffs begin next week.

4A LOWELL (7-1)
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 (7-1, 5-1)
Northwest Crossroads Conference (NCC) games in CAPS - all 7:00 p.m. kickoffs
8-21 (W) 19-0 Crown Point (3-5)
8-28 (W) 34-25 at Morton (7-1)
9-4 (W) 40-13 at KV (3-5)
9-11 (W) 35-19 GRIFFITH (4-4)
9-18 (W) 42-0 HIGHLAND (1-7)
9-25 (W) 35-0 at HOBART (1-7)
Oct. 2 (W) 63-0 Hammond (5-3)
Oct. 9 (L) 13-15 at MUNSTER (6-2)
Oct. 16 (F) ANDREAN (6-2)

Class 4, Sectional 10
Oct. 23 (F) with Concord (7-1), Plymouth (8-0), Kankakee Valley (3-5), Logansport (7-2), Clay (1-7), Riley (1-7) and (SB) Washington (6-2).


3A ANDREAN (6-2)
Coach: Phil Mason (12-9) 2nd season
Enrollment: 749
2008 record: 6-7*
Sectional titles  (12)   including 2007 and 2008
Regional titles:  (5) 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004
Semi state titles:  (4)1997,  2001, 2002, 2004
State Titles (1)  2004

*lost the 3A regional 35-28 at Northwood on Nov. 14, 2008

ANDREAN 59ers (6-2)
8-21 (W)  6-0 Bishop Noll (4-4)
8-28 (L) 14-28 at Merrillville (7-1)
9-4  (W) 54-13 East Chicago (2-6)
9-11 (L) 14-19 at Munster (5-3)
9-18 (W) 48-25 Hobart (2-6)
 9-25 (W) 28-0 HIGHLAND (1-7)
10-2 (W) 44-9 Kankakee Valley (2-6)
10-9 (W) 10-6 GRIFFITH (4-4)
10-16 (Fri) at LOWELL (7-1)

Class 5A, Sectional (17)
Oct. 23 (F) vs. Calumet (6-2)
Oct. 30 (F) vs. Knox (3-5) or John Glenn (5-3)

FAST FOOTBALL FACT:  Andrean has reached the state championship game four times, winning the 2004 state championship with a win over Heritage Hills.  In the other three state finals' appearances, the 59ers lost to Bishop Chatard, a nine-time state champion.

Three Key Factors:

1. Be careful what you do

Andrean likes to throw the ball, but passing teams don't often defeat Lowell.  Why?  Because the more times you throw the ball, the faster you give it back to the defense after you score or punt.  And the more times you give someone like Brandon Grubbe (157 carries, 1,050 yards, 19 TDs) a chance to run, the more likely he is to end up in the end zone.  Also, Lowell's defensive ends Nate Cleveland and Joe Bell would prefer you throw the ball 20 times because they'd like a few sacks of your quarterback.  Andrean may consider taking the bus on this night even though they've been flying the friendly skies all season.

2. Throwing it and catching it

Andrean QB Richard Schmidt (98 of 164, 1,346 yards, 18 TDs) has three quality receivers in Mike Skinner (31 catches, 559 yards) and Demetri Blanco (15 catches, 152 yards) and tight end PJ Mason (20 catches, 215 yards).  Lowell won't see another one unless they play Concord next month.  As much as the Devils want to win and go undefeated, it's good for them to see a team that can hurt them through the air.

3. Be realistic about what's next week

The newspapers get all happy about conference championships, but they have about as much value as Saturn cars starting next week.  You must rest all injured players and you must pull out anyone with a minor injury.  Andrean and Lowell hope to play five or six more games AFTER this Friday.  If you can rest a key player in the final meaning non-winner-take-all game, you'll be better off for it.
 
The Bottom Line...

Sagarin computer ratings: LOWELL by 12

LOWELL - This game comes down to whether Andrean can block Lowell's pass rush.  This is an Andrean team that has been tied or ahead in the third quarter of every game all season.  They probably have no fear of Lowell.

Niner QB Richard Schmidt (98-165, 1,347, 18 TDS, 5 INTs) will throw two early TDs and the game will be tied at the half.  Lowell will be able to tighten up the secondary in the third quarter and force a couple of turnovers, which Ray Skamay will turn into TD runs as the Niners "contain" Brandon Grubbe on a somewhat slow field.

This is the first game of the year in which Lowell can actually accomplish something.  A second consecutive league title is on the line Friday.  Remember, a half-share of a league championship IS a league championship.

Andrean's pass rush (PJ Mason has six sacks) is somewhat irrelevant against Lowell, which averages about 7 passes a game.  It may not have looked like it in the fourth quarter last week, but the Devils are also built to play against passing teams.  Andrean isn't a strong rushing team (185 rushing yards per game) and they need to throw to win.  Munster was able to do it in the fourth quarter, but Andrean can't do it for four quarters.

LOWELL 30, ANDREAN 17

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Revised: October 15, 2009 .