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Indiana recruit Jordan Jusevitch scores twice, dominates on ‘D’ as Lowell rolls

Griffith stunned Lowell when Cole Cervantes returned Friday night’s opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown.

Then senior defensive back Jordan Jusevitch took over the Class 4A Sectional 17 championship game for the Red Devils.

The Indiana recruit had a fumble recovery, an interception, a 5-yard touchdown run and a 37-yard punt return for a TD as Lowell topped the Panthers 42-7.

“I know what my capabilities are and I have to lead this team to great things,” Jusevitch said. “We all stepped up.

“I couldn’t have done it without all the guys. They made some key blocks on the punt return and the pick. I was in the right place at the right time.”

Jusevitch’s performance didn’t surprise Lowell coach Keith Kilmer.

“He’s been doing it for four years,” Kilmer said.

The Red Devils (12-0) won their fourth straight sectional title by defeating the Panthers (10-2) in a matchup of former Northwest Crossroads Conference rivals.

Lowell limited Griffith to 75 yards. The Panthers had four first downs, with their first coming in the final minute of the third quarter.

Griffith coach Ben Geffert was proud of the foundation this group has laid.

“These guys did some incredible things, the senior class,” Geffert said. “They came into a very broken program and bought into everything we were telling them and turned it around into something special.

“You wish you could give them more, but hats off to Lowell. They’re everything as advertised.”

Junior quarterback Ethan Igras completed 9 of 13 passes for 140 yards and a TD and ran for 68 yards and a TD on 15 carries. Tyler Wildman ran for 103 yards on 17 carries.

Jaeger Gill had four catches for 82 yards, including a 49-yard TD, and Jusevitch added three catches for 51 yards.

“When you have athletes, you have to use them,” Kilmer said. “They make us look good. We just have to put them in position to succeed.

“When you have the horses, you have to use them in big games.”

Jusevitch recovered an errant pitch at the Griffith 34 with 9:19 left in the first quarter. The Red Devils turned that turnover into offensive lineman Robert Bergstrom’s fumble recovery in the end zone on Igras’ carry.

After Igras’ 6-yard TD run gave Lowell a 14-7 lead, Jusevitch’s 5-yard TD run made it 21-7 with 10:16 left in the first half. His 37-yard punt return with 2:54 left gave the Red Devils a 28-7 advantage.

Kilmer said the Panthers’ kickoff return might have “woke up a sleeping bear.”

“We wanted this game for a long time,” Jusevitch said. “Griffith came out with a great play, and it kind of opened our eyes. But after that, we started clicking.”

Lowell will play New Prairie (11-1), under former Griffith coach Russ Radtke, in next Friday’s regional.

“This was a statement,” Jusevitch said. “We let the rest of the state know we’re not a team to joke around. We’re the No. 1 team in the state for a reason, but we know we have to come out every week and prove it.”

mosipoff@post-trib.com

Twitter @MichaelOsipoff