Midgett scores 3 TDs as Lowell stays unbeaten with 27-12 win at Griffith

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

09-13-2008

Friday, September 12, 2008,  71 degrees, steady rain at GRIFITH, IN

1st Qtr:  GRIFFITH (6-0)  Ryan Galiher, 85 yard pass-run from QB Greg Joyce.  Kick wide.  0:15 left.
2nd Qtr:  LOWELL (7-6)  Kurt Monix 1-yard QB sneak. 59 yards, 10 plays.  Matt Berkos kick.  4:48 left
LOWELL (14-6)  Cody Midgett, 19-yard run. 37 yards, 3 plays.  Matt Berkos kick.  1:11 left.
3rd Qtr:  LOWELL (20-6)  Cody Midgett, 36-yard run.  63-yard drive, 8 plays.  Conversion failed.  1:28 left.
4th Qtr:  GRIFFITH (12-20) Mark Butkus, 35-yard run.  35 yards, 1 play after Cody Midgett's fumble.  Kick wide.  11:25 left.
LOWELL (27-12)  Cody Midgett, 100-yard interception return. Matt Berkos kick. 5:03 left.

TOTAL YARDS:
LOWELL - 173; GRIFFITH - 171

RUSHING:
LOWELL (33 carries, 111 yards, 3 TDs, fumble):  Brandon Grubbe (HB) 4 carries (-5 yards); Cody Midgett (HB) 10-84 yards, 2 TDs;
Deron Johnson (HB) 7-10 yards; Kurt Monix (QB) 7-13 (2 sacks-minus-2); Bryan DeSomer (FB) 5-9 yards; 

GRIFFITH (22 carries, 53 yards, TD):  Ed Johnson (HB) 10 carries, 23 yards; Mark Butkus (FB) 5-41 yards;
Greg Joyce (QB) 7-minus-11, (2 sacks, minus -23) 

PASSING:
LOWELL:  Kurt Monix (QB) 4-for-7, 62 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs
GRIFFITH:  Greg Joyce (QB) 3-for-15, 43 yards, TD, 2 interceptions

RECEIVING:
LOWELL:  Cody Midgett (HB) 1-25 yards; Jake Belt (WR) 2-29 yards, Joe Bell (TE) 1-8 yards;
GRIFFITH:  Ryan Galiher (WR) 2-113 yards; Ed Johnson (HB) 1-5 yards

TURNOVERS:
LOWELL (1) fumble; GRIFFITH (2) Interceptions

GRIFFITH, IN (09-12-2008) - Lowell was undefeated and Griffith had a losing record, but there was a feeling that Friday night's annual Lowell-Griffith game was a battle for survival.  Lowell suffered some injuries.  The Devils had to come from behind in a warm, windless rain.  But they survived.  Griffith had lost two in a row and they needed a win to continue to play for the Northwest Crossroads Conference title.  The Panthers didn't get it.  In a lot of ways there was nothing pretty and nothing special about this bad weather night game in the mud except for Lowell senior Cody Midgett.

In a once-in-lifetime performance on one of Northwest Indiana's classic football stages, Midgett returned to his natural position, tailback, for one night, in relief of injured rushing leader Brandon Grubbe.  Not only did Midgett carry 10 times for 84 yards and two TDs, he also grabbed a pass interception and went 100 yards for a third score as the unbeaten Red Devils won at Griffith 27-12.

Midgett, a lifelong running back, who moved to wide receiver this season with Grubbe (1,675 yards rushing in 2007) and senior halfback Deron Johnson sitting 1-2 on the depth chart at halfback, broke three tackles on a 19-yard run that gave Lowell a 14-6 lead 1:11 before halftime.  In the third quarter, the 155-pound sprinter broke loose in the gooey conditions for a 36-yard TD run and a 20-6 Lowell lead.

Then after Griffith's Mark Butkus scored early in the fourth quarter and the Panthers were driving to tie the game, Midgett, who doubles as the Devils' starting cornerback, picked off a Greg Joyce pass that carried him to the Lowell goal line.  Midgett then bobbed and weaved his way up the visitors sidelines to the cheers of the Lowell fans and students, racing the entire length of the field to ice the game with 5:03 remaining.

It was Lowell's fourth consecutive win.  Even though they gained only 171 total yards in four very wet quarters, the outcome reversed the Devils' only regular season loss of 2007, a 29-28 Griffith overtime win in Lowell.  Truthfully, Griffith isn't Griffith right now.  The 12-time sectional champs, who had nine players returning on defense returning from the 2007 sectional champions, haven't gotten started yet.

This night might not tell the whole truth about anybody.  Except for one halfback-turned defensive back, turned wide receiver.

"I haven't had any reps (practice plays) at running back this season," said Midgett, who wears the No. 6, a number worn by a half dozen Lowell 1,000-yard rushers in the past 20 years. "I've been at receiver.  But I've always been a running back.  All the way back to Pups.  Brandon's a great running back.  When he got hurt, I just did the best I could."

"He can make plays," said linebacker/offensive lineman Justin Juarez.  "He's always been good.  I was glad to see him do what he did.  He deserved it."

Midgett began the rainy evening as Lowell's starting wide receiver and third string halfback.  But Grubbe was hurt on the opening kickoff and he left the game midway in the first quarter. Johnson, a senior transfer from Gavit, seemed to have trouble with his footing in the muddy conditions and coach Kirk Kennedy went to Midgett.

"We just wanted somebody who could hit a little harder up in there," he explained.  "One thing about running against Griffith.  If there's a hole, it won't be there very long.  You've got to get up in there.  Cody was able to do that.  He's  pretty confident."

This was not a good game.  It rained all day Friday and the Griffith stands were half full.  Both teams punted seven times and the Panthers drew 15 penalties, many unforced errors (illegal procedure, off-sides, etc.) on offense.  Lowell was happy to win, but the injuries to Grubbe (shoulder) and senior two-way lineman Nick Schultz (6-0, 238) definitely took some of the thrill out of the soggy victory.

Grubbe, who had gained over 400 yards in his first three starts, would be easier to replace than Schultz.  Lowell has plenty of running backs and Midgett and Johnson are quite capable.  The Devils were already playing without tight end Trevor Kersey (who is expected back soon) and guard-linebacker David Eastling was playing with a cast on a broken bone in his right hand.

Lowell travels to play at winless Highland (0-4) next week before a home field first place showdown with Hobart (4-0).  Eastling played the entire game Friday and Kersey is said to be capable of returning.  There was no way to know about Grubbe and Schultz.

"We'll have to see where we are on that," said Kennedy.  "You just don't know about injuries right away.  I'm proud of the way we came to compete in a tough place to win."

DEVIL NOTES:  Lowell coach Kirk Kennedy wasn't happy with his team's participation in some personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct late in Friday's game.  Kennedy lectured his team on behavior for five minutes on the field after the game, telling them that "Cheap shots will not be tolerated.  It would be different if that had not been a point of interest we talked about all this week."

"I'm unhappy that we lost our composure at the end of the game," he said.  "That's not something I want to see.  We have to do better than that."

When Brandon Grubbe left Friday's game, sophomore Jordan Juarez (6-1, 196) got some extended playing time in the defensive secondary.  Jordan Juarez is the younger brother of starting linebacker and offensive guard Justin Juarez (6-3, 225).

"He should get some playing time," said Justin, who is not unbiased.  "He's a very good player.  He was sick today but I thought he did a good job."

Schultz suffered a leg injury in the fourth quarter, but it did not seem to be a knee injury, which could be taken as a good sign.

The Red Devils have won nine consecutive regular season games and 21 of their last 24 games, the best stretch in recorded school history.  The 1993 (10-1) and 1994 (11-2) Lowell teams also won 21 of 24 games.

Cody Midgett's interception return was a spectacular coast-to-coast journey.  He intercepted the ball at the Red Devil 2-yard-line over his shoulder and he circled over his own goal line before racing up the field and cutting to the visitors sidelines.  Midgett was credited with a 95-yard return in the daily newspapers probably because it was difficult to see the play through the rain.  But he actually ran 100 yards with the ball.

"Was I in the end zone?" Cody asked later.  "I don't know.  When I was at about the (Griffith) 15-yard line, I didn't think I was going to make it."

Every player on every team feels they don't get enough credit for what their team has done, but it was odd to hear someone from Lowell say that.

"I don't think we got enough credit for beating Morton and Kankakee Valley the way we did," said Justin Juarez afterwards.  "Then there were some comments in the (daily) paper Friday about how we had a lot of guys going both ways and we would tire out."

Juarez goes both ways.  He's a natural linebacker converted into an offensive lineman, a position he's learning to enjoy.

"I love to pull," he said of the guard position.  "You can really get moving and deliver a blow."

Someone else who got moving was linebacker Russ Russnak, who grabbed an interception and raced 65 yards for a Lowell TD only to have the play called back on a holding penalty.  Russnak also doubles as Lowell's center.

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Revised: September 16, 2008 .