Bulldogs nearly perfect first half leads to 48-14 win over Hobart

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

8-28-2010

Friday, Aug. 27, 2010,  81 degrees at Hobart HS 'Brickyard' in HOBART, IN

1st Qtr: CROWN POINT (6-0) Jake Lindeman, 12-yard run. 73-yard drive, 7 plays (after the opening kickoff). 2:37 min. time of possession (TOP). Kick blocked by Mike Purusiecki. 9:23 left.
CROWN POINT (13-0) Austin Atherton, 24-yard pass from Joe Hopman. 28-yard drive, 2 plays following a short punt. 0:53 TOP. Brett Bayer kick. 6:47 left.
CROWN POINT (20-0) Pete Parks, 8-yard pass from Hopman. 38-yard drive, 3 plays. 1:57 TOP.  Bayer kick. 1:09 left.
2nd Qtr: CROWN POINT (27-0) Jake Lindeman, 4-yard run. 66-yard drive, 8 plays. 3:40 TOP. Bayer kick. 7:58 left.
CROWN POINT (34-0) Jake Lindeman, 5-yard run. 52-yard, 5-play drive. 1:23 TOP. Bayer kick. 4:02 left.
CROWN POINT (41-0) Joe Hopman, 2-yard QB sneak. 20-yard, 3-play drive following Austin Atherton's 34-yard punt return. 1:17 TOP. Bayer kick. 0:46 left.  
3rd Qtr: CROWN POINT (48-0) Cody Bacon, 1-yard run. 51-yard, 7-play drive. 4:21 TOP. Bayer kick. 2:16 left.
HOBART (7-48) Sam Kosich, 68-yard option run. 80-yard drive, 4-plays. 2:13 TOP. Aaron Delgrosso kick. 00:00 left.
4th Qtr: HOBART (14-48) Ian Drobac, 2-yard run. 30-yard drive, 4-plays after CP lost ball on botched punting snap. 0:50 TOP. 0:33 left.

RUSHING:
CROWN POINT (35 carries, 223 yards, 5 TDs) Cody Bacon (HB) 16 carries, 112 yards, 2 TDs; Joe Hopman (QB) 4-14 yards (2 sacks, -14); Peter Parks (FB) 2-12 yards; Jake Lindeman (HB) 7 carries, 52 yards; Jaime Johnson (RB) 2-8 yards; Tyler Smith (WR) 1-14 yards; Tristan Peterson (RB) 2-7; Jake Jatis (QB) 1-4 yards.
HOBART (20 carries, 129 yards, TD) Jamar Merritt (RB) 13 carries, 41 yards; Sam Kosich (QB) 3-76 yards, TD; Ian Drobac (RB) 3-11 yards, TB; Zac Randall (RB) 1-4 yards.

PASSING:
CROWN POINT: Joe Hopman (QB) 8-of-9, 148 yards, 2 TDs.
HOBART: Sam KOsich (QB) 2-of-9, 7 yards, INT.

RECEIVING:
CROWN POINT: Austin Atherton (WR) 5 catches, 98 yards TD; Pete Parks (RB) 1-8 yards; Tyler Kral (TE) 1-14 yards; Braxton Rice 1-28 yards.
HOBART: James Merritt (RB) 2-7 yards.

TOTAL YARDS:
CROWN POINT - 371 yards, 15 First Downs, 7 TDs, no turnovers.
HOBART - 136 yards, 5 First Downs, 2 TDs, one turnover (INT).

Click Here for Game 2 Photo Gallery.
 

HOBART (8-27-2010) Some games explain as much about other teams as they do the two teams on the field. Some final scores say as much about teams that aren't present as they do ones who are involved. Crown Point's 48-14 victory over Hobart said a lot. About Lowell.

When Crown Point stomped on Lowell 37-6 in the season opener on Aug. 20, the local reaction was odd. As if to say: "How could Lowell play so badly as to lose to Crown Point?"

While the victory margin over Hobart was expected, since the Brickies barely defeated Gary West Side in week one, the margin of victory and the manner in which they carried it out established that 2010 Lowell wasn't such a mediocre team after all.

The win, a game in which CP led 48-0 in the third quarter, also established CP as a vastly improved squad over the last two 3-7 seasons. I'll tell you how improved after this upcoming week's game at defending Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) champ Merrillville.

Crown Point scored touchdowns all six times they had the ball in the first half and they needed no help. Hobart did not commit a turnover until Austin Atherton intercepted Brickie QB Sam Kosich in the middle of the third quarter. Quarterback Joe Hopman was 8-of-9 passing in the first half for 147 yards and two touchdowns, while junior halfback Jake Lindeman ran for three more first half TDs. Hobart didn't move the ball beyond their own 35 yard line until Kosich ran 68 yards for a TD on the final play of the third period. In their 2010 home opener, Hobart gained only 24 yards and recorded only one first down in the entire first half.

"I don't know that we played all that well," admitted CP coach Chip Petit. "We just have more than they do this year. I don't know that we played particularly well or that they played particularly poorly. We just are bigger and we have more talent than they have."

CP's offensive line, keyed by seniors Andrew Wrecsics (6-4, 265), Alex Zagrocki (6-0, 275) and Mitch Kositzky (6-2, 255) gave senior halfback Cody Bacon a chance to use his speed and quick feet. Bacon played only three quarters and gained 126 yards on 15 carries. In front of a crowd of about 3,000 CP scored three TDs in the first quarter. The Bulldogs took the opening kickoff 73 yards in eight plays with Lindeman, CP's baseball shortstop, scoring from 12 yards out.

Hobart punted almost immediately and punter Sam Moore popped the ball up. A 4-yard punt gave CP a 1st-and-10 at the Hobart 28 and CP scored two plays later on a 26-yard pass from Hopman to Atherton, an under thrown ball that the CP receiver 'read' well and came back to catch at the 5-yard-line. Five plays later, Hobart punted again. CP scored in four plays, the finale a play-action pass to a wide open fullback Peter Parks.

CP dominated the second quarter as well, scoring three rushing TDs, two by Lindeman (5-10, 175) who is making his return to football after not playing in 2009. The second half on this warm night was boring. As the crowd slowly headed for the exits, Crown Point played everyone they could find on the bench, while Hobart struggled to cash in two consolation TDs.

"He ran hard," said coach Pettit of Lindeman's effort. "I thought he bounced it outside a couple of times. He made some good decisions."

Bacon has competed for the starting halfback role the last two years only to slide back to the bench as the season went on. Now he has 202 yards on 33 carries the first two weeks.

"We've got three seniors up front," Cody said of his offensive line. "It's the best line I've ever run behind. From how it was last year. I wanted to better myself. The whole team did. We talk about it. We don't want to be like last year. We want this year to mean something. Like coach says, you want to put a picture on the wall. There's pictures of all the sectional champions."

Pettit, as always, is very cautious about what his team will or won't do.

"I'm pleased that we came out and executed well the first couple of weeks," he said. "That a group that did not have a lot of success has come out and played clean (no turnovers) football is encouraging. These boys have all matured. They all played as sophomores and juniors last season. That's what you expect to happen. I think you could see we had some ability last year."

"To not turn the ball over and not commit penalties is a positive. It's huge. Let's just hope we can continue that into next week."

DOG NOTES: Nobody will say it out loud, but the margin of victory and CP's domination in this series suggest that Crown Point, with an enrollment of about 2,500, shouldn't be playing Hobart, a school of about 1200. No one has a real reason why Crown Point doesn't play next door Andrean in week two. The private school 59ers, a perennial 3A sectional champ, have had excellent teams in recent years and would be worthy foe for CP.

If Hobart one big school opponent every year, that foe should be Merrillville, its next door neighbor and arch-rival for the second half of the 20th Century. Merrillville now plays Andrean in week two. There is no question that CP-Andrean and Hobart-Merrillville would draw more fans than CP-Hobart and Merrillville-Andrean.

CP wide receiver Travis Woosley was injured in the final game of the 2009 season, the 16-13 playoff loss to Chesterton. Woosley, who has been the holder on extra points and field goals the first two weeks, isn't up to a full shift at wide receiver yet.

"Right now he's about a half a second slow," admitted CP coach Chip Pettit. "And that's a lot. Hopefully he can regain some of that. We'll see."

Only about 750 fans from Crown Point came out to see the Bulldogs in Hobart. It was another in a series of unpleasantly warm nights for football, but the small turnout was probably more a product of CP's combined 6-14 record the last two seasons.