Tom Markowski

Gabe Dean wins the day over Inkster star

In August, a conversation couldn't take place about Michigan high school football without mentioning Inkster quarterback Devin Gardner. Gardner had taken his team to the Division 3 final as a junior and had committed to coach Rich Rodriguez and the University of Michigan. The anticipation of what Gardner, an impressive-looking athlete who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 200 pounds, might do his senior year created a buzz in Detroit, Ann Arbor and throughout the state.

Back then, few knew who Gabe Dean was. No media outlet contacted the Lowell High School athletic department to schedule interviews with Dean. Heck, Dean was just hoping to make the varsity as a sophomore and play quarterback for his uncle, coach Noel Dean. If not, he'd humbly defer and learn his uncle's offense on the junior varsity.

On Friday, it was Dean who grabbed the spotlight. It was Dean who made the plays on third down. On Lowell's third scoring drive, Dean ran 10 yards on a third-and-1 to the Inkster 12 that set up his 7-yard touchdown run. It was Dean who ran for 177 yards and scored two touchdowns. And it was Dean who held up the Division 2 trophy after his team's methodical, 27-6 victory at Ford Field.

It was simple, almost too simple, to the casual fan. Lowell runs the veer offense, more specifically the midline veer. Two plays -- yes, just two plays -- beat Inkster's defense on this day. The quarterback takes the snap and either gives the ball to the fullback, Austin Graham in this case, or he keeps it and follows the fullback into the line or slips around the end.

It was a thing of beauty for the Lowell faithful or a slow death for those on the Inkster side.

Gardner average in loss

Gardner struggled, throwing the ball and avoiding the rush. He suffered a groin injury in the second game of the season and never ran the ball as well as he had his junior year and in the opener against Ann Arbor Pioneer. In last week's semifinal, Gardner suffered a left (non-throwing) shoulder injury that limited the velocity on his throws. He didn't use it as an excuse, saying afterward he "felt fine. The other quarterback just outplayed me today."

Gardner was 9-of-17 passing for 134 yards and he was sacked three times. Average numbers for most quarterbacks, but Gardner is no ordinary quarterback.

As well as Dean played Friday, and throughout most of the season, it wasn't what his uncle or his staff had planned during the offseason and summer practices. The job belonged to senior Pat Martin. But Martin broke his collarbone in practice. Noel Dean had a decision to make: either start his nephew or Renn Osborne, another sophomore. But Osborne was slated to start at safety. That latter fact played a part in Dean's choice and no one in Lowell is questioning that decision.

Noel Dean wasn't so sure. He didn't want to show it, especially to his players, for fear they would question Gabe Dean and perhaps themselves.

Sophomore learns fast

The veer looks like a basic offense but it's not.

Coaches such as Tony Patritto at Rochester Adams and former Muskegon coach Tony Annese, who's now at Grand Rapids Junior College, have enjoyed quite a bit of success with it, but it takes years to execute it properly. Any successful veer offense must have a quarterback who can quickly read defenses in order to make the proper decision.

"There are certain bubbles on the end," Gabe Dean said. "Then they're some in the middle. There are certain reads we make into those bubbles and we try to hit them."

Now we know why it looks so easy. It's the bubbles.

tom.markowski@detnews.com 313-223-4633