Lowell continues path to dome with 20-13 win at Griffith for Class 4A, Regional Title

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

11-12-2007

Friday, November 9, 2007,  42 degrees, dry field- Class 4A, Regional Championship at GRIFITH, IN

1st Qtr:  GRIFFITH (7-0)  Mark Blount, 35-yard return of a blocked punt. Jacob Melton kick.  5:29 left.
LOWELL (7-7)  Chris Thompson, 67-yard pass from Kurt Monix.  71-yard drive, 2 plays.  4:12 left.
2nd Qtr:  LOWELL (10-7)  David Lang, 41-yard field goal.  27-yard drive, 10 plays.  9:38 left.
LOWELL (13-7)  David Lang, 40-yard field goal.  49-yard drive, 7 plays.  1:24 left.
3rd Qtr:  NO SCORING.
4th Qtr:  GRIFFITH (13-13)  Doug Ashenbaugh, 6-yard pass from Derek Hitt.  38-yard drive, 8 plays.  7:37 left.
LOWELL (20-13)  Jeff Barker, 59-yard pass from Kurt Monix.  77-yard drive, 7 plays.  4:02 left.

RUSHING:
LOWELL  (30 carries, 82 yards, 0 TD, 0 fumbles)  Brandon Grubbe (HB) 19-68 yards; Steffan Peck (FB) 5-17 yards; Kurt Monix (QB) 6 (-3 yards), 2 sacks (minus 12 yards);
GRIFFITH (39 carries, 87 yards, 0 TDs, 0 fumbes)  Derek Hitt (QB) 27 carries, 67 yards (2 sacks - 13 yards); David Alexander (HB) 6 carries, 14 yards; Kyle Najar (FB) 4 carries, 14 yards; Rex Cullen (HB) 2-2 yards.

PASSING:
GRIFFITH:  Derek Hitt (QB) 5-13, 57 yards; 0 TDs, one interception;
LOWELL:  Kurt Monix (QB) 3-8, 137 yards, 2 TDs, one interception.

RECEIVING:
GRIFFITH:  Ryan Galiher (WR)1-12 yards; Doug Ashenbaugh (TE) 2-13 yards, TD; David Alexander (HB) 2-32 yards;
LOWELL:  Chris Thompson (WR) 1-67 yards, TD; Jeff Barker (TE) 1-59 yards, TD; Jacob Belt (WR) 1-11 yards.

TOTAL YARDS:
GRIFFITH - 142 yards, 11 first downs, one turnover;
LOWELL - 219 yards, 8 first downs; 2 turnovers.

GRIFFITH, IN (11-09-2007) -  They just keep pulling these games out.  I don't really know how they're doing it.  You're not supposed to be able to go on the road in the post-season, fall behind early and come back to win week after week.  But these are the good old days for Lowell.  This is the multiple year state tournament run that folks will remember 20 years from now.  It won't always be like this.  It can't be.

But when Jeff Barker's kids ask their dad about his high school days in the year 2025, he'll tell them how he helped Lowell stay alive when he caught a rollout sideline pass from Kurt Monix and turned it upfield for a 59-yard touchdown with 4:02 to play, giving the Red Devils a 20-13 victory.

The perfectly run play climaxed a hard-hitting battle between long time rivals, completing an against-the-odds run through the Class 4A playoff bracket.  After winning 14-8 at Plymouth and surviving 31-21 at faraway Concord to win 4A Sectional 10, Lowell found themselves tied with the sectional nine champion Panthers (9-4) after a missed Griffith extra point with 7:37 left in the game.

It was a mix of classic 'old school' Northwest Indiana cold weather football with a finishing twist.  Starting from their own 23-yard line, Lowell quickly faced a 4th-and-1 just short of their own 33.  With the entire season on the line, the Devils chose not to punt and Brandon Grubbe, who was held under 100 yards rushing for the first time in seven games, got the first down with a 2-yard gain.

Quickly, there was another moment of truth.  It was 3rd-and-6 at the Lowell 41-yard-line and the Devils still had less than 100 yards rushing for the game against a Panther defense that often showed a nine-man front.  Lowell junior quarterback Kurt Monix rolled out to left and made a spinning throw to Barker (6-4, 205) on a down-and-out pattern towards the visitor's sidelines.  Barker, a sprinter on Lowell's track team, grabbed the ball in-stride, turned upfield past Panther two-way star Dave Alexander and ran away to the goal line to put Lowell ahead by seven with 4:02 to play.  The sight of nothing but green grass in front of him in a tie game was a jolt to Barker, who only has 21 catches all season.

"My stomach just dropped," he said when he saw the path to the game-winning TD wide open.  "I just tried to stride out.  I think the defenses have been jumping me this year and it's freeing up a lot of other people.  As long as we're putting points on the board, I'm happy."

What Barker just described was how Lowell scored their first TD after a blocked punt bounced into the hands of Griffith's Mark Blunt who ran 35 yards for a first period score.

Two plays later, Monix dropped back and fired a long bomb in the direction of Barker, but well beyond him, down the visitors sidelines.  Cruising behind the Lowell tight end was Lowell senior Chris Thompson, who had never caught a pass in a varsity game.  Griffith defenders, possibly assuming the ball had to be going to Barker, closed in on the big tight end.  But the ball was never intended for Barker and Thompson caught it over the leaping Blount and completed a 67-yard game-tying TD play.

Lowell coach Kirk Kennedy, whose team has rushed for over 2600 yards in 13 games, was asked if that was Thompson's first touchdown reception.

"Take away the word 'touchdown," Kennedy smiled.  "That's his first reception.  Ever.  Maybe even in practice.  It was just like last week at Concord.  We felt, just like last week at Concord, we felt they were overloading the box and the play-action was there.  But the kids have to execute it and the kids did."

This was not an especially well-played game (Lowell drew eight penalties), but it was exceptionally hard-hitting.  After losing a controversial 29-28 game in Lowell on Sept. 7, the Devils dominated the first half and should have led by much more than the 13-7 count.

But the Panthers, who defeated Morton, Highland and Hobart to win Sectional 10, dominated the third period, driving 67 yards in 15 plays before Lowell's defense rose up and stopped Hitt on an option keeper at the one-yard-line.

Three plays later, Griffith had the ball again and running a double tight-end option attack with two lead blockers, they powered down the field again and on a 3rd-and-goal from the six yard line, Hitt got away from pass rusher Joe Carson and made a perfect off balance throw into the back of the end zone where senior tight end Doug Ashenbaugh made the grab to tie the game.

On the TD, TJ Lukasik was called for a personal foul as he tackled Ashenbaugh in the back of the end zone.  For reasons that were not clear, Griffith coach Russ Radtke held a long discussion about the penalty, which was a dead ball foul after the TD.  During the discussion, Griffith kicker Jacob Melton had to wait.  His delayed extra point boot then sailed wide, leaving the game tied.  The final Lowell drive probably turns out differently if Lowell is trailing instead of simply being tied.

Lowell held Griffith's 250-yards-per game rushing offense to just 85 yards rushing.  But that's a little deceptive.  The Panthers mounted two long drives in the second half, collecting nine first downs.  If not for the Devils' goal line stand in the third quarter, they'd have trailed beginning the fourth quarter.

"I think we'd just had enough," said Barker, who is a Division 1 college prospect for his defensive skills, not his pass-catching ability.  "They'd gone right down the field on us.  I did a lot of yelling out there because I thought we were letting down a little.  It feels good.  They're a heckuva ball team."

Brandon Grubbe, who passed the 1,500 yards mark rushing as a sophomore, noted that the Panthers knew all about him.

"They were good," said Grubbe, who carried 19 times for 68 yards.  "Their defense was awesome.  I think there was a lot of pressure tonight on both teams.  It's a regional championship game.  It's win-or-go-home."

Grubbe is different from every other Lowell starter because he wasn't even in school when Lowell won the 2005 state crown.

"Was I in the stands two years ago?" he was asked.  "I was up against the fence.  We weren't allowed in the stands.  I didn't think I'd missed my chance.  I knew these guys would be good.  This senior class is awesome."

Lowell was held to just 219 total yards and only 82 yards rushing.  They contributed to the pass plays for a Red Devil team that runs 95% of the time.  It also made the 4th-and-1 deep in their own territory in the fourth quarter of a tie game a very risky call.

"I was comfortable with punting at that point and putting the ball in the hands of our defense," said Kennedy.  "But I didn't want to.  I felt we could get a yard, maintain possession and drive down to make something happen.  It was time to win the game or not win the game.  I did the easy part.  Coach (offensive coordinator Jim) Carlson called a good play and the kids executed it."

"You've got to give Griffith credit," aded Kennedy.  They took away what we liked to do.  We had to go to different things.  Our kids made plays.  Their kids made plays.  It was a great game."

Its also been a great 2007 run for Lowell.  More impressive in some ways than their 2005 six-game state title run where they got three home games and a road 'test' at weak Gary Roosevelt.  Kennedy never complained publicly about Lowell's shift to Sectional 10, which put hundreds of miles on the team bus and put them at a competitive disadvantage when they had one of the school's best teams.  Nobody at Lowell wanted to complain about an unfortunate state tournament draw that had the Devils playing on the road three weeks in a row against strong teams.  But the Red Devils were almost as happy to be going home one more time as they were to be playing for a state finals berth.

"I think we're going to get on the bus and go down to Highway 10 and come back right before the (semistate) game," Kennedy joked.  "You've got to be proud of our team for going on the road like we had, winning against what are obviously good teams.  We find a way to fight another week."

SECTIONAL NOTES:  Lowell has never won more than 12 games in any football season in the history of the school.  The 2005 state title team was 11-4.  The Devils are 1-2 in semistate games, but they have played at home at the semistate level only once, a come-from-behind 16-14 win over Fort Wayne South on Nov. 18, 2005.  Lowell lost to Goshen 24-8 in the 4A Semistate on Nov. 19, 1999 and they lost 21-0 at DeKalb in the 4A Northern Semistate on Nov. 18, 1994.  The 1999 Lowell team was 12-2.

Griffitrh was a two-time defending Class 3A regional champion (they were bumped up to 4A this year) and a 14-time sectional champion.

Junior defensive tackle Logan Wright, who was in the middle of the effort to stop Griffith's option offense, said it wasn't just another opponent.

"It's better to beat Griffith," he said.  "We've played them for something like 72 years.  That tells you about the rivalry right there."

David Lang added, "It was good to beat them after the game we lost before.  It was better them than anyone else."

Lowell defensive end Joe Carlson has an older brother in the US Navy, stationed in Georgia.

"He called me for the results," said Carlson, whose parents noted that their eldest son had called throughout the second half when Griffith was driving down the field.  Carlson, who recorded his 11th QB sack in 13 games, said the Devils had trouble when Griffith simplified their offense.

"They weren't even running the fullback anymore, so I just tried to get the quarterback (Derek Hitt)," he said.  "They just used the fullback as a lead blocker.  We just tried to get some linebackers out there.  I just tried to take more of an outside angle than I usually do, because I only wanted to get the quarterback."

Once Lowell regained the lead in the final period, Carlson and Jeff Barker took off, hoping to meet at the passer.

"Every week we just have the objective of getting to the QB as many times as we can," Carlson said.  "It's a contest between us.  This run is amazing.  We're just not letting being on the road affect us."

This was not a crisply officiated game.  What appeared to be obvious pass interference calls against Lowell's Jeff Barker and Griffith's David Alexander were not made in the second quarter.  Lowell's TJ Lukasik was called for a personal foul for tackling receiver Doug Ashenbaugh after he caught a fourth quarter TD pass from Griffith's Derek Hitt.  That's something that's just never called a penalty.  It simply is not unusual to tackle a ball carrier in the end zone.

He plays both ways and he plays at two high impact positions," said Kennedy.  "He has a high motor and he plays with great effort and he's an inspiration for the rest of the team."

David Lang's two field goals both barely cleared the bar but they were accurate.  It was the first time in his three-year Red Devil career that Lang, who has the school-record 46-yard field goal, had kicked two goals of 40-plus yards in the same game.  Lang was one of those who won this game.

"He sure did," said Kennedy.  "This is his time of year.  This is his time."

Lowell linebacker Justin Juarez (6-2, 220), who was injured early in the game on Nov. 3 at Concord, did not play a regular shift at Griffith but did enter the game for a series when junior linebacker David Eastling had a problem with his helmet.  Senior Danny Remboski was the starter at cornerback with Lukasik and he was again solid on perimeter defense.

There seemed to be extra security on hand for the Griffith-Lowell rematch after hard words were exchanged between coaches at the end of the 29-28 Griffith win in September.  Griffith had been accused of taunting Lowell after the earlier game and the Panthers have a tradition of flamboyant pre- and post-game behavior.  There were no pre-game or post-game onfield incidents that were not unique to a regional game.  Griffith coach Russ Radtke made sure he shook the hand of every Lowell player.  Lowell did not celebrate after the clock ran out, immediately lining up and shaking hands with the Panthers.

The Northern 4A Semistate with Lowell hosting Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (13-0) at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16.  Dwenger defeated Jay County (9-4) 42-14 late Saturday in Fort Wayne.

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Revised: November 12, 2007 .