Inside of seven minutes left in Friday night’s game, the Portage sidelines went a little loopy at The Inferno in Lowell.
Water bottles were flying. Cups were crushed and kicked. Words flew into the air with some fire.
They were angry, the words.
Senior linebacker Jordan Warner summed up the scene for Portage, which would pull out a 7-3 win.
“We weren’t very happy,” Warner said. “We knew this was going to be a defensive fight.”
The Indians’ offense had just turned the ball over at midfield. Lowell was leading 3-0 at the time, and it looked like the game was a lock.
Portage was coming off a 35-14 loss at Mishawaka in the season opener. And on the back of the Indians’ helmets they remembered last year’s 20-7 loss to Lowell at home.
All these emotions and memories gave the defense a push as the bleachers — clothed in black and red — got louder and louder.
Senior defensive lineman Tyler Stone rushed Lowell quarterback John Alessia III, hit him and picked up the fumble at the 48. Suddenly, the home side of the field grew silent, but not all was lost.
Lowell’s defense had been stout all night, and that expectation stayed the same.
That’s when Portage quarterback Zack Warchus took a few steps back and fired a perfect strike to Trevor Smaw for a 72-yard touchdown to clinch the win.
Junior defensive lineman Humberto Morales couldn’t hide his emotion for Portage.
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“That play put tears in my eyes,” Morales said. “It really did.”
The win stopped Class 4A No. 2 Lowell’s 18-game winning streak in the regular season.
Red Devils quarterback Ethan Igras did not play on offense against the Indians. He played in Lowell’s secondary with a wrap on his right hand.
“I am so proud of the fight of my kids,” Portage coach Darren Rodriguez said. “They could’ve quit but they didn’t. Our defense played right with one of the best defenses around. And we made a great throw and catch to win the game.
“This is big for us.”
Portage’s Troy Carrington recovered a fumble in the second quarter. Warner picked off a pass inside the 10-yard line, turning the red zone into the dead zone with the game-changing catch.
Senior linebacker Truman Edwards said the winning effort began in practice.
“We came in on Monday and knew we had to fix some things (after Mishawaka),” Edwards said. “We knew that our defense was strong and we had to come here and do our job in a very tough place.”
Steve Hanlon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.