Soph QB Hopman leads Bulldogs to 14-7 home-opener win over Hobart Brickies

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

8-30-2009

Friday, Aug. 28, 2009,  67 degrees at CROWN POINT, IN

1st Qtr:  CROWN POINT (7-0) Cody Bacon, 1-yard run. 11-play, 58-yard drive.  Brett Bayer kick.  6:32 left.
CROWN POINT (14-0) Brad Qualizza, 19-yard pass from Joe Hopman.  7-play, 72-yard drive. Brett Bayer kick. 1:59 left.
2nd Qtr:  HOBART (14-7) Richard Qglesby, 85-yard run. 6-play, 98-yard drive. Steve Karatglidis kick. 4:05 left.
3rd Qtr:  No scoring.

4th Qtr:  No scoring.

RUSHING:
HOBART (25 carries, 159 yards, TD): Richard Oglesby (FB) 10 carries. 119 yards, TD; Kendall Gunn (HB) 5/9 yards; Sam Korsich (QB) 11 carries/40 yards;

CROWN POINT (40 carries, 167 yards, TD): Cody Bacon (HB) 23 carries/77 yards, TD; Travis Woosley (WR) 7/61 yards; Mason Popovich (HB) 2/11 yards;
Joe Hopman (QB) 4/6 yards; Spencer Rapchak (FB) 2/6 yards; Chris Klein (HB) 2/6 yards.

RECEIVING:
CROWN POINT: Travis Woosley (WR) 6 catches/65 yards; Brad Qualizza (TE) 1/19 yards TD; Nate Haase (WR) 1/5 yards, Austin Atherton (WR) 1/23 yards.

PASSING:
HOBART Sam Kosich (QB) 0-for-8; CROWN POINT (QB) Joe Hopman (QB) 6-of-11, 91 yards; Chris Klein (HB) 1-of-1, 27 yards.

FIRST DOWNS:
HOBART (18), CROWN POINT (5).

PENALTIES:
HOBART (5) 40 yards; CROWN POINT (8) 75 yards.
 

CROWN POINT (8-28-2009) Crown Point was just a couple of yards away from leading 21-0 in the season opener over Hobart last Friday.  The Bulldogs had totally dominated the game and were about to cash in their third touchdown.

But they fumbled.  And Hobart got an 85-yard touchdown run to cut he lead to 14-7.  And the game wasn't the same after that.

Give CP credit for eventually holding on for that 14-7 victory and a much-needed win in front of about 3500 fans at Crown Point.  The victory certainly lifted the team going into the week three matchup with arch-rival Merrillville.  The CP team that led 14-0 with a first and goal inside the Hobart 10 yard line was certainly not the team that lost 19-0 to Lowell on opening night.  But it was also not the team that went scoreless the final three periods and barely held off a very enthusiastic Hobart squad that stayed in the game until the final minutes.

Crown Point (1-1), a 19-0 loser to Lowell in week one, came out strong.  The Bulldogs got a 41-yard kickoff return from Brian Holloway to the 42-yard line and they went 58 yards in 14 plays.  The big play was a 23-yard halfback pass from senior Chris Klein to sophomore Austin Atherton, who made a leaping catch at the Hobart 8-yard-line.  Atherton was injured on the play (it appeared that the back of his head hit the ground as he fell) and the delay while he was attended to lasted almost 15 minutes.  Three plays after the delay, junior Cody Bacon scored the Bulldogs' first touchdown of the year from one yard away.

Hobart could not get a first down and they punted to the CP 28-yard-line where CP went 72 yards to score in seven plays, the final one being a 19-yard pass from rookie QB Joe Hopman to tight end Brad Qualizza.  Hopman (5-10, 160), who was 2-of-8 in the loss at Lowell, was 9-of-17 on this night for 118 yards and he looked like he has a lot of potential.

"Hopman played really well," said coach Chip Pettit.  "In fact, I couldn't have asked for any more from him.  Travis Woosley played well.  At times, the offensive line did well.  We did break down later.  Some of that was the line and some of it was the backs."

"Last week, we were buttoned down.  But I think the running game will be effective if we have the threat of the pass.  We can't let teams just load up on us and put nine in the box.  We can't run against that.  We've got to be diverse.  Travis made some plays today.  Miles Atherton made a big play before got hurt."

While Woosley, a wide receiver, got 61 yards on seven carries on reverses and misdirection plays, the left side of the CP line, largely guard Mitch Kositzky (6-3, 260) and tackle Zach Breuckman (6-2, 230) seemed to have a good night.

"When you get shut out, as an offensive lineman," said Breuckman, "it's tough.  Usually everybody figures it's your fault.  Nobody scores so the offensive line sucks.  And I'm not going to say we had a good night (at Lowell) by any means.  We could have done better."

"Tonight, we had two good (TD) drives in a row.  Then we fumbled right down at the goal line and after that, we couldn't get it going again.  If we'd have scored that third touchdown, I think that would have pumped the defense up so much more.  That would have been it.  We would have dominated."

The Brickies (1-1), led by linebackers George Georgos (5-9, 175) and Joe Peco (5-9, 180) reversed the trend and held CP scoreless for the final three quarters.

"We just switched front and became a little more aggressive," said Hobart coach Wally McCormack.  "They're so much bigger than us up front.  Your fear is that they'll line up with three tight ends and just run over you.  We're getting lined up in one way and then they shift back and we didn't do a very good job of adjusting."
 

"We ran six plays the first quarter and a half.  We got a lot better during the game and we got a lot better from last week to this week.  Was it good enough today?  No.  But in the long run, nobody cares about how we did today."

Breuckman said that Merrillville will be formidable.

"They're always good.  I didn't get to go to the Warren Central game, but I heard they were in it at halftime.  They're a very good team.  I know from a left tackle standpoint, that means I see James Travis.  He's a big boy.  I've got to step it up a lot against him."

He's definitely speaking for the entire team there.

DOG NOTES:  Crown Point sophomore receiver Austin Atherton apparently suffered a concussion after catching a 23-yard halfback pass from Chris Klein in the first quarter.  Atherton, just 140 pounds, did not move for about five minutes.  But he did wave to the crowd as he was rolled off the field on a stretcher.  The CP teen was taken to St. Anthony Medical Center and there word is he was released later that night.  Best case scenario still would probably see him sitting out the Sept. 4 game with Merrillville.

Junior wide receiver Brian Holloway also suffered a leg injury that was not knee or ankle related.  He sat out the second half but did not appear to be seriously hurt.  Senior linebacker Brad Pusateri sat out the game with an undisclosed injury.

It was a little surprising that the home opener drew a near capacity crowd of 4,000 fans.  The Bulldogs usually draw well at home but Hobart is not a rival and CP was 3-7 last season and a dull 3-7.  They didn't score many points.

"We always get a lot of fans," said Zach Breuckman.  "We always have a lot of fans.  It's a great atmosphere.  Losing to Lowell was bad, but losing the home opener would have been 10 times worse.  Everyone from Crown Point's here."

The Bulldogs certainly know they have to score more points.  They were held to 10 or less seven times last season and they have scored 20 points only twice in their last 12 games.  This was only Crown Point's 12th win in 60 games against Hobart, but the Bulldogs have won four of the last five meetings.  Crown Point had rain much of Thursday and Friday, but the artificial turf, which now exists at five of the eight Duneland Athletic Conference schools, kept the field very playable.

Richard Oglesby, who gained 110 yards on 10 carries against CP, gained 1,237 yards on 120 carries last season in 11 Hobart games.

Copyright © 2007 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp.  All rights reserved.
Revised: September 06, 2009 .