Phone: 317-846-6601 Fax: 317-575-4244 Website: www.ihsaa.org
Blake Ress, Commissioner
_________________________________________________________________________
November 24, 2007
EVANSVILLE REITZ WINS FIRST
FOOTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Evansville Reitz won its first IHSAA
state football title, defeating Lowell, 33-14, in the Class 4A state championship
game at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. It
was the first state title by a boys team in school
history, the second overall and the first since the girls basketball team won
it all in 1981.
Evansville Reitz took a 26-0 lead
and senior quarterback Paul McIntosh had a hand in all four of the Panthers (15-0)
first half touchdowns, running for three and throwing for another. He ran it in
from seven yards, one yard and 21 yards and then connected with brother Ryan from 22 yards. Reitz scored on four of its
first five possessions but had an extra point blocked and a two-point
conversion halted.
Lowell (13-2) finally answered with
3:18 left before halftime when senior wide receiver Eric Roadruck found senior
wide receiver T.J. Lukasik for a 4A championship game record, 77-yard touchdown
on a reverse pass, narrowing the deficit to 26-7 at halftime.
The Panthers came out strong in the
second half as well scoring on the opening drive when sophomore wide receiver Jeff
Hudson caught McIntosh’s second touchdown on the day on an 8-yard pass. The
Red Devils were forced to punt on their next possession but the punt was muffed
and Lowell recovered at the Reitz 14. Lowell found the end zone four plays
later when Lukasik caught his second touchdown of the day, this time on a
6-yard pass from junior quarterback Kurt Monix, cutting the lead to 33-14 which
turned out to be the final margin.
The Panthers, coached by John Hart,
were led on the day by McIntosh’s 255 total yards and five touchdowns
(three rushing, two passing) and Hudson’s 4A state finals record eight
receptions. Lukasik led the way for the
Red Devils, finishing with 95 yards on three receptions and two touchdowns. The
Red Devils were severely hampered when their top ground gainer, Brandon Grubbe,
was lost to injury early in the game. Lowell came in averaging nearly 218 yards
per game on the ground but were held to only 77 for
the day. Kirk Kennedy was the Lowell coach.
Evansville Reitz’s Zak Kissel
was named the winner of the Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award following the
game.
REITZ’S
ZAK KISSEL NAMED MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD WINNER
Zakary
Kissel of Reitz High School was selected by the IHSAA Executive Committee as
this year’s winner of the Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award in Class 4A
football.
He is the
second student-athlete from Reitz High School to earn an IHSAA mental attitude
award and the first since Bob Stephenson won the honor for Class 3A football in
1977.
Kissel
maintains a 3.8 GPA, ranks 40th in his senior class of 317 students
and is a member of the National Honor Society. He gives back to the community through
several volunteering efforts, mission trips and church activities.
He intends
to study engineering at either Purdue University or Rose-Hulman Institute of
Technology.
Athletically,
Kissel is a three-year varsity letterwinner in football and has been an
Academic All-City honoree each of those three years. He also has played
basketball for the Panthers earning two varsity letters in the sport and was
selected for his team’s mental attitude award the last two years.
He is the
son of Rick and Jody Kissel of Evansville.
The award
is presented annually to a senior participant in the state finals who was
nominated by his principal and coach and has demonstrated excellence in mental
attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability. It is named in honor of
the IHSAA’s third commissioner who served the association from 1962-76
and who helped initiate the state tournament in 1973.
Indiana
Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s corporate partner, presented a $1,000
scholarship to Evansville’s FJ Reitz High School in the name of Kissel.
Class 4A Game Quotes
Evansville Reitz coach John Hart
On senior quarterback Paul McIntosh
“As
far as I’m concerned Paul McIntosh is Mr. Football. Anyone who can’t figure that out is
just not very smart. He’s one of
the best football players in the state of
On the Reitz Defense
“I
thought our defense played well and really stepped it up and played great team
football. I really thought on offense we
were diversified and that gave them (
“Other
than the trick play and a dropped punt, we shut them (
“A
little piece of this win goes with everyone who has played football at
Reitz. At Reitz, we have had several
mythical state championships, now we can say we’ve just got a state
championship.”
Lowell coach Kirk Kennedy
On Reitz’s Effort
“They
definitely came to play today. We picked
our effort up in the second half, but they are obviously state champions. They were in a whole different gear than us. We fell in a hole and then you have to crawl
out, but they are the state champs. We
were up against it today and didn’t have any answers for it. We worked on it all week and or game plan
just didn’t come to fruition.”
On Senior Leadership
“It’s
great to be here again. I am just
disappointed in our effort, that we came this far, only to have this kind of
disappointment. That’s kind of
tough to handle, we have a great group of seniors. It will be tough to say goodbye to them. They will be Red Devils forever, and they
know that. We will get back in the
weight room with next year addition in a couple of weeks.”
Lowell Fans
“Our
fans have been tremendous all year, and today was no different. There was great spirit
on both sidelines. We are blessed to
have some great fans. It says a lot for
our football program.”
On Halftime Speech
“I
just challenged their pride. I asked
them, ‘Is this the way you want to go out? Is this the way you want to be
remembered?’ We didn’t do
much in the first half. With the right
combination of things, the game could still have been a win. We just had to take advantage of
opportunities. The later it got in the
game, the more desperate we got. My hats
off to them, they played a great game.”
On Brandon Grubbe
“I’m
sure it took some of the wind out of our sails, but we have other football
players. We made our adjustments, and
didn’t make plays. I feel bad for him, I hope it’s not his last trip to dome
(Finals).”
VSN MEANS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY
Visit our
friends at Visual Sports Network, the
IHSAA’s official photographer for all state championship events and one
of the leading action photographers in the
CHAMPIONSHIP MERCHANDISE STILL AVAILABLE
For t-shirts and other merchandise commemorating this year’s tournament or for any of our events, visit our friends at Morris, Inc.
STATE FINALS PROGRAMS AVAILABLE
Couldn’t
be there for the state finals? You can still purchase a copy of the official
souvenir program while supplies last! Programs are $3.00 if you purchase in
person at the IHSAA Office (