Wednesday November 4th 2009

Written by Max Power

LOWELL—The Red Arrows defeated St Johns 42-3 to advance to the district final against the Muskegon Big Reds (7-3) on Friday.

Lowell totaled 466 yards of offense on a rain soaked and windy night. The Red Arrows were led by senior running back Austin Graham with 209 yards on 17 carries. The defense held the Redwings to 119 yards of offense. The only scoring for St. Johns came on a 34 yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

The Red Arrows scored on their opening drive, going 76 yards in nine plays to take a 7-0 lead. Graham led the way, rushing for 45 yards on five carries, including a 3-yard touchdown run.

St. Johns would come out throwing the ball on their first possession despite the tough weather conditions. The Redwings picked up one first down on a pass interference call against Lowell. Redwing quarterback Eddie Peters was 2-of-6 for 9 yards on the drive.

On Lowell next possession Graham would pick up where he left off. The senior would knock off runs of 16, 11 and 5 before a fumble by the Red Arrows gave the ball back to St Johns.

Both teams were slowed by the weather for much of the first half.

St. Johns put together a long drive on their third possession, moving the ball deep into Lowell territory. The Redwings moved the ball mainly on the ground, led by junior Tim Moinet who carried the ball seven times for 58 yards. The drive would end, however, when Peters had his pass deflects into the arms of Lowell's Austin Graham near the Lowell 5 yard line.

Lowell would take advantage of the turnover. The Red Arrows went 92 yards in 12 plays to take a 14 -0 lead with under two minutes to play in the first half. Graham had 48 yards on seven carries and capped the drive with a 20-yard touchdown run. Sophomore quarterback Gabe Dean rushed four times for 44 yards on the drive.

The Red Arrow defense came out strong to start the second half. Junior Matt Houston intercepted Peters on the third play of the second half to give the ball back to the Lowell offense.

With the wind at their backs, Lowell would score on the first play after the turnover. Dean connected with Derek Cornish in the middle of the field for a 44 yard touchdown. The touchdown extended the Red Arrow lead to 21-0 two minutes into the third quarter.

After the defense forced the Redwings to go three and out on their next possession, junior Jacob Meyer returned the St. Johns punt 30 yards down to the Redwing 20 yard line.

On the second play following the punt return by Meyer, Dean found Cornish again, the 16 yard touchdown gave Lowell a 28-0 lead with 7:16 to play in the third quarter.

Lowell's defense forced St. Johns to punt on their next two possessions, but the offense could not capitalize, fumbling the ball back to the Redwings on the possessions following the punts.

After another forced punt by the Lowell defense, the Red Arrows were pinned inside their own five yard line. Dean gained one yard on first down and was nearly dropped for a safety on second down. The Redwings forced an incomplete pass on third down, setting up a Lowell punt.

A ten yard punt by Lowell gave St. Johns the ball at the 11 yard line. The Red Arrow defense held St Johns to -6 yards and forced a field goal attempt. The Redwings connected on a 34 yard field goal to cut Lowell's lead to 28-3.

Lowell would answer 12 second later when Graham went 80 yards for a touchdown. Kyle Fitzpatrick added one of his six extra point on the night and the Red Arrows led 35-0 with 9:32 to play in the game.

On St Johns next possession, the Red Arrow defense recorded their third interception of the game. Jacob Meyer intercepted Peters to give the ball back to Lowell.

With senior Pat Martin at quarterback Lowell added their final touchdown of the game. A 50 yard run by Martin set up a 25 yard touchdown run by junior varsity running back Joshua Addington. The drive went 80 yards in four plays and extended the Lowell lead to 42-3.

The win improves Lowell's all-time playoff record to 23-7 (.767).

Gabe Dean completed 2-of-5 passes for 60 yards and rushed for 99 yards on 16 attempts.

St. Johns was led by running back Tim Moinet with 71 yards on 14 carries.

Lowell faces Muskegon in the district championship on Friday. The Big Reds have knocked the Red Arrows out of the playoffs two of the last three seasons. Muskegon defeated Lowell 45-35 in the district final in 2006 and last year in the regional final 49-14.

Muskegon has lost three games this season by a combined seven points.