INDIANAPOLIS | Two years ago, the surname of McIntosh was almost a curse word around Lowell. A 33-14 thumping by Evansville Reitz in the 2007 Class 4A state championship game started the dislike.

Quarterback Paul McIntosh ran for 155 yards and threw for 104 yards and was a part of five Reitz touchdowns in the blowout over Lowell. His talent earned him the Mr. Football Award that year.

At Monday's news conference for 37th annual IHSAA state championship at Lucas Oil Stadium, the name McIntosh was all over Reitz's stat sheet as Lowell coach Kirk Kennedy prepared for a rematch with Reitz.

"Like Yogi Berra said, 'It's deja vu all over again,'" Kennedy said.

Paul McIntosh's younger brother, Matt McIntosh, is a big part in why the Panthers have returned to Indianapolis. This fall McIntosh has rushed for 1,414 yards on 187 carries and 19 touchdowns. The 6-foot-2, 173-pound junior also is 135-of-204 passing for 2,048 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Lowell (13-1) will play Reitz (14-0) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Region time at Lucas Oil Stadium.

"Matt wants to be as good as Matt can be," Reitz coach Tony Lewis said. "He really doesn't want to be compared with Paul. But I believe he has every opportunity to be better."

Lewis did not coach at Reitz two years ago, although he had coached there before moving on to Ohio. After Panthers' coach John Hart left for Warren Central after the 2007-08 school year, Lewis returned to take over and has seen some magic in his second year.

Last Friday, in front of 12,000 fans at the Reitz Bowl, the Panthers routed Indianapolis Cathedral 31-10 in the southern semistate. McIntosh threw for three TDs and ran for another against the Irish. Reitz's defense also picked off four Cathedral passes.

"If we can't stop their run, it's going to be a long night," Lewis said of Lowell, which he saw beat Fort Wayne Dwenger 24-21 at The Inferno on Saturday. "Hopefully we'll be able to spread them out and let our athletes do some work. Defensively, we've got to at least slow them down.

"Lowell is a very well-coached team. They tackle well. They block well. The reason they beat Dwenger is that they were the more physical team. Our goal will be to match them and try to be just as physical as them."

Reitz other offensive weapons is senior running back Alordo Bell, who has rushed for 1,045 yards and 16 touchdowns. Jeff Hudson has 62 receptions for 751 yards and eight scores. Cuda Dimmett has 33 receptions for 619 yards and five TDs. And Morgan Jones has caught 25 passes for 474 yards and seven scores.

The Panthers are averaging 158.9 rushing yards and 167.7 passing yards per game. Reitz has outscored opponents on average 39.2-8.6.

"They were good in '07, but I know we didn't play very well against them," Kennedy said. "We have to bring our A-game in order to have a chance. We have to lay everything we have on the field and let the chips fall where they may. If we take care of our own end (then) I like our chances."

PREP FOOTBALL | CLASS 4A STATE FINALS PREVIEW

More online

Visit nwi.com today at 7 p.m. to discuss the prep football state finals in a live chat with The Times' Jim Peters and Steve Hanlon. And join Peters at 2:30 p.m. Saturday as he leads a live chat from Lowell's Class 4A state championship game against Evansville Reitz.

Lowell tickets available

Tickets for Lowell's Class 4A state finals game against Evansville Reitz will be available at Lowell High School today from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4-7 p.m., Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Friday from 8-11 a.m. All tickets are $15 each. Lowell faces Reitz on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Region time at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Some of Evansville Reitz's top weapons

QB Matt McIntosh 1,414 rushing yards, 19 TDs; 2,048 passing yards, 24 TDs

RB Alordo Bell 1,045 rushing yards, 16 TDs

WR Jeff Hudson 751 receiving yards, 8 TDs

State Finals

At Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis

Friday (all times Region)

Class A

No. 1 Lafayette Central Catholic (14-0) vs. No. 3 Fountain Central (14-0), 2:30 p.m., midamericabroadcasting.com, sportsjuice.com

Class 2A

Fort Wayne Luers (9-5) vs. No. 2 Monrovia (14-0), 6 p.m., midamericabroadcasting.com, sportsjuice.com

Saturday

Class 3A

No. 2 West Lafayette (14-0) vs. No. 9 Evansville Memorial (11-3), 11 a.m., midamericabroadcasting.com, sportsjuice.com

Class 4A

No. 7 Lowell (13-1) vs. No. 4 Evansville Reitz (14-0), 2:30 p.m., midamericabroadcasting.com, sportsjuice.com

Class 5A

No. 1 Carmel (13-1) vs. No. 3 Warren Central (12-2), 6:05 p.m., midamericabroadcasting.com, sportsjuice.com