LOWELL | Five plays. That was it. Then -- crack. And a ride in an ambulance.

"People told me they heard it from the stands," Lowell senior running back Brandon Grubbe said. "People said that I looked like a ghost walking off the field."

"I saw a picture of it later and it looked like he had two elbows," Lowell coach Kirk Kennedy said.

In the 2007 Class 4A state championship game at the RCA Dome, Grubbe went left against Evansville Reitz, spun and put his left arm out while being tackled. That would be the last thing Grubbe did in the game, which Lowell lost 33-14.

Surgeons at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis put two plates in his broken arm and a 12-inch scar is a constant reminder of the gruesome incident.

"I remember going down and thinking, 'Wow, this is weird,'" Grubbe said on Tuesday. "I looked down and said, 'This isn't good.' But I was in the weight room about a month and a half later."

On Saturday, Grubbe will lead Lowell into the state championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. It's a rematch with Reitz.

The gruesome injury isn't at the forefront of his thoughts this week. That isn't what has the Region's all-time leading rusher with 5,749 yards on 971 carries with 79 touchdowns ready to motor.

The total of 9 yards he got on five carries against Reitz isn't what's driving him either.

"It's the state championship game, if you don't have motivation from that alone then you need help," Grubbe said. "Losing to them was hard. Seeing pictures of all the seniors down and out, I do not want that to happen again. Nothing else could describe the redemption we could get if we beat them.

"It would be storybook."

Earning the tough yards

After being suspended for the end of his freshman year at Lowell, Grubbe started two-a-days as a 10th-grader at No. 4 on the tailback depth chart. With Steffan Peck returning as Lowell's tailback, the starting job appeared to be occupied, and looking for another position would have made sense.

But the driven Grubbe kept working. On the first varsity carry of his career, he rambled 66 yards against Crown Point. By Week 6 he had taken over the tailback position, wearing the strange No. 25 jersey.

Since Kirk Kennedy took over the struggling Lowell program in 1991, where he instilled toughness and a program built on the ground game, No. 6 had always been the number of the Red Devils' top running back.

Six was the number that Kennedy wore in college at Louisville.

Grubbe rushed for 1,675 yards his sophomore season, which ended with that tough break in Indy. When his junior season started, he still wore 25 because senior Cody Midgett had taken over No. 6.

But that didn't mean Grubbe wasn't the man. He led Lowell to the semistate, finishing the season with 1,831 yards on the ground.

And unlike all the other great Red Devil running backs -- Mike Pickett, Matt Pernick, Nick Holley, Nathan Kersey, Mike French, Sean Anderson, Justin Henley, Toby Goetz, Scott Gray and Peck -- Grubbe did his damage in a much less flashy way.

His yardage didn't come with countless 70-, 80- or 90-yard runs. His real estate came in smaller chunks.

"He hasn't broken as many long runs as some of our other running backs," Lowell offensive coordinator Jim Carlson said. "It says a lot about him. He takes a lot of hits. He's gotten a lot of his yards on 4- and 5-yard gains.

"That says a lot about his work ethic and toughness. Over 5,000 yards that way lets you know how hard Brandon works and how driven he is to be the best."

"No. 6 will get the ball"

Reitz coach Tony Lewis came up to watch the Devils' 24-21 win over Fort Wayne Dwenger last Saturday in the semistate. Lewis, who was coaching in Ohio in 2007, knows how good Lowell's program is and who steers the Cadillac.

"They have a very, very good running back," Lewis said at Monday's IHSAA news conference. "Lowell is a very tough, very physical and very disciplined team. They are going to try to run the ball right at us and we'd better have an answer for that.

"We know No. 6 will get the ball, and we better be ready for that."

Kennedy doesn't alter his game plan, and he never will. The Red Devils will attempt to defeat Reitz how they've tried to beat everyone -- by moving the chains on the ground and eating as much clock as possible.

The old-school philosophy is why, Kennedy believes, his program is returning to Indy for the third time in five years. Grubbe's talent isn't what amazes Kennedy the most, it's the 6-foot-1, 194-pounder's leadership that gives Kennedy the most pride.

"I don't get tired of telling people what an outstanding leader he is, what a positive influence he is on his teammates," Kennedy said. "He's very productive, but he's modest. He always thanks his offensive line and his teammates.

"Brandon does it the right way."

Kennedy was amazed by Grubbe's ability to overcome the bad break he sustained two days after Thanksgiving in 2007. He said the injury seemed to motivate and take Grubbe to a higher level.

"After that, he never missed a beat," Kennedy said. "As soon as he could, he went to work on the next year. I never saw him favor it. Now, he has a rare opportunity for a second chance against the same team.

"He's got an opportunity to finish what he didn't get to before."

Grubbe is at his best in the clutch. Of his 5,749 career yards, 2,470 have come in the playoffs. His career high came in this year's sectional semifinal against South Bend Washington, when he had 55 carries for 294 yards.

His worst playoff game came against Reitz two years ago.

"We have to play our best game of the year," Grubbe said. "No mistakes. Those will kill us. I know this -- I want to beat them so bad, even more with what happened last time."

PREP FOOTBALL | STATE FINALS PREVIEW

Exclusive Times ballcards inside

Check out the 2009 Lowell football state finalist ballcards on PAGES B6-7.

'FNI' previews Lowell's state title game

In the season finale of "Friday Night Insight" on nwi.com, Times sportswriters Jim Peters and Nate Ulrich visit Lowell High School to preview the Red Devils' upcoming Class 4A state championship game against Evansville Reitz. Can Lowell end its magical postseason by knocking off the undefeated Panthers? Find out what senior running back Brandon Grubbe and coach Kirk Kennedy think their chances will be Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. And join Peters at 2:30 p.m. Saturday as he leads a live chat from Lowell's game against Reitz.

Vote online

Will Lowell beat Reitz on Saturday? Vote at nwi.com/sports.

Lowell tickets available

Tickets for Lowell's Class 4A state finals game against Evansville Reitz will be available at Lowell High School today 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.

State Finals

At Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis

Today

Class A

Lafayette Central Catholic (14-0) vs. Fountain Central (14-0), 2:30 p.m., midamericabroadcasting.com, sportsjuice.com

Class 2A

Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (9-5) vs. Monrovia (14-0), 6 p.m., WWCA-AM (1270), WGVE-FM (88.7), regionsports.com, midamericabroadcasting.com, sportsjuice.com

Saturday

Class 3A

West Lafayette (14-0) vs. Evansville Memorial (11-3), 11 a.m., WWCA-AM (1270), midamericabroadcasting.com, sportsjuice.com, regionsports.com

Class 4A

Lowell (13-1) vs. Evansville Reitz (14-0), 2:30 p.m., WWCA-AM (1270), WGVE-FM (88.7), midamericabroadcasting.com, sportsjuice.com, regionsports.com

Class 5A

Carmel (13-1) vs. Warren Central (12-2), 6:05 p.m., WWCA-AM (1270), midamericabroadcasting.com, sportsjuice.com, regionsports.com