vito

I believe Fred Joseph was at one time the AD of Portage HS. Not sure if that does or does not play into the situation? The current AD, Brett St. Germain, is as old school as they come and was a hell of a football coach in his own right

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, February 4, 2025 Casey McKim Catches Lowell Football, Head Coach Position Lowell Red Devils hire their third leader in 35 years! LOWELL, Indiana - Coach Casey McKim will lead the Lowell Red Devil football program into the 2025 season after five years and a 48-17 winning record as head coach of New Prairie High School. Being selected by a committee of stakeholders representing a broad cross section of the Lowell community, McKim intends to build upon the community’s proud past and embrace the mantra of Red Devil Pride. A man of high expectations, Casey McKim possesses incredible football knowledge and laser-light focus as evidenced by winning four consecutive 4A Sectional Championships, two Regional Championships, and two IHSAA Semi-State appearances. In 2022, the success included the IHSAA Class 4A State Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Coach McKim is no stranger to the state championship arena. Prior to his time at New Prairie, McKim served as Offensive Coordinator when Valparaiso High School made their bid for the state championship run in 2019. Coach believes football is a great teacher of life lessons by developing teamwork, integrity, perseverance, dedication, and selflessness. Additionally, football extends beyond the team itself to families, the school, and the community. In the words of Coach McKim “My dream is to be a head football coach that creates a championship program at the highest level, while developing young men of character who will be great leaders, husbands, and fathers when they leave our program”. In 2021 and 2022, Coach McKim received IFCA Coach Of the Year honors and has been a position coach in 3A, 5A, and 6A schools. Coach McKims’ message to the entire Lowell community: “I am humbled and honored to be a part of RDP!” Despite the current challenges due to significant budget reduction, Tri-Creek Schools was able to hire Coach McKim at no additional cost to the district through attrition and restructuring. Coach McKim will transition to his new football role after school hours effective immediately with full-time teaching beginning August 2025. Ms. Patti McCormack Athletic Director Lowell High School

AND? 1. Andrean has donated land from the Franciscans and that's about it. You really think with less and less people attending church these days they are going to raise enough capital to build a school and athletic complex? Only hardcore Catholics pony up that kind of cash. People willing to pay tuition to give their kid a better athletic experience for four years aren't going to donate huge sums for a complex that won't be completed until after their kid graduates. That's a pipedream. 2. But, let's go with it. They build it and double their enrollment to a fringe 3A/4A school by siphoning off CP kids (it is not up for debate that "stealing" CP kids would have to be their primary means of increasing enrollment). It still begs the question of why CP would play them when their goal is to compete with the Indy schools. They can just simply make the drive down 65 and play one of them. 3. I'm not naïve. If Lowell can't pull of a W every few years, CP may have no choice but to dump them too. P.S. You can't really believe there's only 10 6A teams better than Andrean? They got beat by a very average Lowell team Week 9.

So by your logic Andrean is better than Lowell because they gave CP a close game even though Lowell beat them? Don't be so butt hurt, I was just making a statement that CP dumping Andrean from their schedule is far more likely than dropping Lowell because: 1. It's the state's oldest rivalry 2. It's a huge gate Week 1 for the host team 3. It's a natural geographic rival 4. CP has nothing to gain from playing a 2A Catholic school. And, yes, they are a dominant 2A team but a 2A team nonetheless. But if you think CP is better off playing the 59ers over an Indy team (even if they have to travel), then you're just being stubborn and/or stupid. Douchebag comments like yours are the reason most Region fans don't root for Andrean in the playoffs. Lastly, if you're going to use the "we're still playing card," Lowell might not be the program to use it on.

Wrong! Lowell has beaten them the last two years and it's all about the gate receipts anyways.

Who has CP played? Their entire schedule was Region teams, only two of which were 6A and neither (LC and Portage) were a challenge. CP will win the Sectional and then it gets interesting. But long term, CP is going to have to find a bigger/better week 2 opponent. Their staff and admin isn't dumb, I'm sure they know this. Lowell in week 1 is too big a rivalry to take off the schedule unless things get out of hand in the future. The DAC itself is a potential long term problem. CP is the only school with increasing enrollment. The rest are growth neutral or on the decline.

Exhibit A: Crown Point Wrestling.

Fixed it again for you. You're welcome.

It's you're. So you're equating a person being transgender as having a potentially life threatening illness?

I try to love, respect, and be tolerant of all people.

Speaking of irony and (in)tolerance, how ironic will it be if one of the "patriots" on this post ends up having a transgender child or grandchild? This thread is an embarrassment and it's my sincere hope one of the moderators removes it soon.

Beyond the fact it's one of Indiana's oldest rivalries (some say the oldest), you are overlooking a very important fact as to why the CP-Lowell rivalry will remain: Economics! Lowell fans travel better than any other team in the Region. Plus, the kids are just getting back to school, it's week one of the HS season, the CP kids love to dress up as farmers to tweak the Lowell kids, etc. The stands are PACKED. You need to lighten up old man and realize competition isn't everything! If you weren't such a curmudgeon I'd invite you to the game at the Inferno next year as a side trip to visit your family. It's a top 10 Indiana HS Friday night atmosphere IMO.

CP is definitely a sleeping giant and the new Superintendent has deep football roots. All the chatter on the other thread has me very intrigued about who the new coach will be. I have some guesses, but I'm going to keep them to myself out of respect for all involved. I'm a Lowell guy so I hope they screw it up. Competitively, football is all we have!!

Lake Central to Penn is 85 miles. LC to Elkart is over 90. That sounds like loads of fun for a mid-week swimming or wrestling meet. The kids can do their homework on the way there since it will be too dark on the way back.... I bet the many LC parents who work in Chicago will love the drive after commuting through city traffic.

Just to put some enrollment numbers into the scenario (these are on another thread and Morton and Hammond's are after the presumed consolidations): Andrean - 348 Highland - 1061 Hobart - 1264 KV - 1015 Lowell - 1092 Munster - 1572 Hanover - 748 Hammond - 1596 (5A) Morton - 2063 (6A) A "closed" conference is NOT happening. This was done 20+ years ago. It was called the LAC and it was a mess. OUM states it well: Conference affiliations are about three things - gate revenue, participation across three levels in all sports and the ease of scheduling that comes with said participation. I'll speak from Lowell's perspective from the standpoint of a fan who wants them to do well - Morton is a great football opponent. What an awesome way to start your season against three 6A opponents in CP, Portage and Morton (this is why I LOVE the all in playoff format). If you believe adversity makes you stronger, playing those three to start your season does it. Finally, in regard to Hanover, keep in mind it encompasses a decent portion of St. John. South of 231 is exploding with growth. I can envision them being 4A in less than 5 years.