LOWELL | Lowell couldn’t get out of its own way in the first half, but the Times No. 10 Red Devils rallied for a 36-21 Northwest Crossroads Conference win over Munster Friday at the Inferno.
Of course with a running back the caliber of George Fields, the Red Devils (5-3, 3-2) never panicked, even when trailing 21-10 at the third quarter.
"We’ve been in situations before when we’ve been down throughout the season, quite a lot actually," said senior quarterback Bryan Thomas, who rushed for two scores. "But these guys fight constantly. They never give up no matter what the score is."
Fields rushed for a career-high 295 yards on 46 carries and a touchdown on senior night. Fields’ career night gave the Devils their fourth win in five games and denied longtime Munster coach Leroy Marsh his 200th career win.
"The tackles and guards opened up the holes for me, and I just read off that," Fields said.
After Munster’s Seth Gutwein ran up the gut for a 60-yard TD for the 21-10 lead, Lowell responded.
Thomas ran for a 33-yard TD before Fields sprinted 40 yards for a TD and a 24-21 advantage with 1:18 left in the third.
Lowell turned a Gutwein interception into a score as Thomas capped a 13-play drive for a 30-21 lead in the fourth quarter.
Earlier on, Lowell’s Edward Simmons ignited the damp crowd with a game-opening 90-yard kickoff return to put the hosts up 7-0.
Munster tied the game at 7-7 when it used its first of two short fields courtesy of Lowell miscues. Zacharen Cherogan pounced on a Lowell fumble at the 13-yard line, and Nick Marlow bulled in from the 7 for the score with 4:48 left in the first quarter.
Colton Wilkey put the Red Devils ahead 10-7 with a 24-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
Lowell’s third turnover of the first half set up another Munster score. Cherogan broke through the Lowell line to block a punt that was recovered by Lawrence Gaines at the Lowell 4-yard line.
Gutwein dove in from the 2 to put the Mustangs up 14-10 with 3:30 left in the second quarter.
"The kids have been trying, and we played as hard as we could," Munster's Marsh said. "We were a little shorthanded on the defensive line, and they took advantage of that. Their coaches did a good job of preparation, and we couldn’t get off track to get a stop when we needed to."
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