Tuesday November 24th 2009

Written by Derek Gless

HOWELL—Lowell defeated Brother Rice on Saturday, 35-14, to advance to the state championship game against Inkster (9-3).

Lowell rushed for 344 yards, led senior Austin Graham who carried the ball 37 times for 221 yards and two touchdowns.

Sophomore quarterback Gabe Dean completed 7-of-11 passes for 101 yards and rushed for 108 yards on 26 carries.

The Lowell defense held Brother Rice to just 19 yards on 14 carries. The Warriors did, however, complete 12-of-27 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns.

Brother Rice took an early 6-0 lead when quarterback Frankie Popp hit Nate Slappey for a 62 yard touchdown on the Warrior's second play of the game. The extra point was missed.

Lowell would turn the ball back over to the Warriors on the first play of their next possession. A fumble gave Brother Rice the ball around the Lowell 35 yard line.

The Red Arrow defense would hold the Warriors to four incomplete pass attempts and give the ball back to the offense at the spot they lost the fumble.

Dean and Lowell would have some success on their next possession, gaining 32 yards on a pass play to Derek Cornish and rushing for an additional 16 yards, but would fail to get the ball into the endzone.

Lowell would get on track in the second quarter on their fifth possession of the game. Dean scored from 6-yards out to cap a nine play 43 yard drive and give Lowell a 7-6 lead.

The Red Arrows extended their lead to 14-6 on their next possession when Dean scored his second touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run. The touchdown came on an 11 play 81 yard drive where Lowell rushed for 28 yards and Dean completed 3-of-4 passes for 44 yards. Cornish had a 34 yard reception to set the Red Arrows up deep in Warrior territory.

After Lowell's defense forced Brother Rice to go three and out, Dean and Graham led Lowell down the field again, with lots of help from center Tyler Matteson, guards Mark Fron and Keith Williams, tackles Nick Crook and Kruse, and tight ends Keegan Hanrahan and Nick White.

Graham scored his first touchdown of the game on a 3-yard run to give Lowell a 21-6 lead with 1:25 remaining in the half. The Red Arrows third scoring drive of the quarter covered 59 yards in eight plays.

Brother Rice would answer before the half scoring in just over 40 seconds. Led by Popp, the Warriors quickly moved 60 yards in two plays. On the third play of the drive junior quarterback Tyler Lendzion came into the game and threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Kevonte Martin-Manley. Lendzion also competed a two-point pass to cut the Lowell lead to 21-14.

Neither team would score again until late in the third quarter. Two plays after the Lowell defense stopped Brother Rice on 4th and one at the Lowell nine yard line, Graham broke free for a 90-yard touchdown. The score gave Lowell a 28-14 lead with three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Lowell's defense would stop Brother Rice on their next possession and the Red Arrow offense would chew up the clock, scoring with six minutes remaining in the game to take a 35-14 lead. Dean scored his third touchdown of the game on a three yard run to cap a 16 play 79 yard drive.

Brother Rice would move quickly down the field on their next possession thanks to Nate Saldivar Garcia who three straight passes for 22, 15, and 10 yards. The scoring threat ended when junior Matt Houston intercepted Popp to seal the victory.

Popp finished the game completing 9-of-20 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. Lendzion finished the game 3-of-7 for 35 yards and one touchdown.

The Warriors were led in rushing by Jimmy Pickens with 11 yards on five attempts.

Lowell will face Inkster in the state championship game at Ford Field next Friday. The Vikings defeated Warren De La Salle 12-3 to advance.