Lowell rushes for 300+ yards, rallies to beat Hobart 19-17

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

9-24-2011

Friday, Sep. 23, 2011,  58 degrees, cloudy - Northwest Crossroads Conference at The Brickyard, HOBART, IN

1st Qtr:  LOWELL (7-0) Nick Hamilton, 21-yard run. 29-yard drive, 3 plays after Hamilton recovered a fumble at the Hobart 29. Sebastian Zagarena kick. 9:50 left.
HOBART (7-7) Zac Randall, 4-yard run. 65-yard drive, 8 plays. Aaron Delgrosso kick. 5:38 left.
2nd Qtr:   LOWELL (13-7) Nick Hamilton, 2-yard run. 63-yard drive, 4 plays. Kick wide.
HOBART (10-13) Aaron Delgrosso, 22-yard field goal. Three plays after linebacker Brandon Coubal's interception return to the Lowell 13.
3rd Qtr:  No scoring.
4th Qtr: HOBART (17-13) Anthony Brugos, 21-yard pass from Andrew Barras. 81-yard drive, seven plays. Delgrosso kick. 11:02 left.
LOWELL (19-17) Bryan Thomas, 12-yard run. 72-yard drive, 12 plays. Kick failed. 5:11 left.

RUSHING:
HOBART (25 carries, 80 yards, TD, fumble) Zac Randall (HB) 14 carries, 30 yards, TD), Sam Kosich (QB) 14-60 yards;
Andrew Barras (QB) 4-minus-6 yards; Anthony Brugos (WR) 1-minus 4.

LOWELL (47 carries, 305 yards, 3 TDs, fumble) Nick Hamilton (HB) 19 carries, 151 yards, 2 TDs; George Fields (HB) 13-67 yards; Bryan Thomas (QB) 8-61 yards, TD;
Jeremy Crocker (FB) 3-13 yards, Clark Mikesell (HB) 2-8 yards, Austin Magley (FB 1-5 yards, fumble.

PASSING:
LOWELL: Bryan Thomas (QB) 3-7, 31 yards, one interception;
HOBART: Andrew Barras (QB) 12-20, 141 yards, TD)

RECEIVING:
LOWELL: Tyler Hamm (WR) 1-8 yards;
HOBART: Max Wilson (WR) 4-39 yards; Anthony Brugos (WR) 3-63 yards; Chris Kingsland (WR) 2-33 yards; Ian Drobac (FB) 3-6 yards.

TOTAL YARDS:
LOWELL: 336 total yards, 14 first downs, 2 turnovers;
HOBART: 221 total yards, 12 first downs, one turnover.

HOBART (9-23-2011) The Friday night game between Lowell and Hobart was far more exciting than Lowell wanted it to be. And probably far more rewarding than Hobart thought it could be. There's nothing like this week-to-week soap opera that is high school football. You know all week how you are and how you feel, but until you kick off, you don't know how they are and how they feel.

With a four-game losing streak and coming off a 48-0 loss, Hobart didn't figure to stand up too long against a Lowell team that was coming off a 45-20 win over Highland and trying to extend a three-game winning streak. But if Lowell doesn't drive the length of the field to score in the fourth quarter, the Devils don't win 19-17 to stay tied for the Northwest Crossroads conference lead with three weeks left in the regular season.

Lowell wasn't 'up' for the game. And the home team was.

In front of a lively Homecoming crowd of about 3,000, Hobart was very emotional and nearly grabbed what, for them, would have been a season-changing win. Lowell coach Keith Kilmer didn't know why the Devils couldn't get deeply excited about the game until the fourth quarter.

"It was like this last year (a Hobart 42-41 win at Lowell)," he said. "We were coming off a couple of victories and they were coming off a couple of losses. I don't know if our kids take them lightly, but they shouldn't. It's Hobart-Lowell and we're always going to play each other tough. They (Hobart) played with a lot of spunk and we answered the call, finally."

Lowell was more relieved than overjoyed at the win. But in the long run, the fact that they went the length of the field to win in the fourth quarter to win is what they will take from this game.

"When we're getting six yards at a time, they're not going to stop us. Our offensive line was dominating on that drive and our running backs were making all the right cuts." said Kilmer. "We come up to the line, they have their hands on their hips. It's going to be 'First down, Red Devils.'"

Hobart (1-5) was tied or trailing for the first three quarters. But with a rally led by senior defensive end Brandon Couball (5-9, 200), the Brickies kept Lowell from piling up points. On offense, alternating QBs Sam Kosich and Andrew Barras zapped Lowell will a running-passing mix that frustrated the Devil defense. Receiver Anthony Brugos made two 'come back' catches including a 21-yard fourth quarter TD, a play where he got to the goal line on the home side of the field and then came back toward the QB to catch the high-arching 'fade' pass.

"We're not happy with the outcome," said new Hobart coach Ryan Turley. "But we're pleased with our effort. We're coming together. I could not be prouder of our boys. The scoreboard is not what we want, but the effort was what we want."

"They fought really hard and that's what it's going to take. The kids haven't quit on us so I think we'll get there. If things work out (Lowell and Hobart are sectional opponents) we can play them again."

There were two big Lowell plays. Trailing 17-12 and with a 3rd-down and 3 at the Hobart 12-yard line, Thomas faked a handoff to running back George Fields and took a naked bootleg (no blocking) into the end zone on the visitors' side of the field. The play requires that the corner back on that side of the field, senior Anthony Brugos, 'bites' on the fake and chases the play to the opposite side of the field, running away from the place where the QB wants to go.

"Every play, the hole game, sometimes he bit and sometimes he didn't," Thomas said after the game. "That time he did. I had to do some acting. P. Lacy (Paul Lacy, a 1990s lowell QB star and now the QB coach) called that one," said Kilmer. "He'd been seeing it. It's all about the depth (drop back footwork) of the QB. You've got get depth and let him (the opposing cornerback) come down the line. They did it to us three times."

Finally with the score 19-17, Lowell had a 4th-and one at the Lowell 45 yard line with just 50 seconds left in the game. Lowell could have punted, but they knew that Hobart junior kicker Aaron Delgrosso had earlier barely missed a 50-yard field goal, a kick that would have been good from 65 yards out. As the fans came to their feet, Lowell did not call time out. They just stepped to the line and Thomas handed the ball to Fields who gained two yards and the final first down.

"It wasnt even a yard," Kilmer said later on the distance the Devils needed. "We've got to be able to make that. We have a sophomore punter and he's done very well. But we've got senior linemen. You can't think about it in that situation. You can't hesitate. That's what Peyton Manning does. You don't give the other team time to think about it. We just lined up and got it. You've got to close it out there."

Hobart may have found something with the two QB attack. Although it's somewhat obvious that Kosich (5-11, 170) is likely to run and Barras, whose brother Matt was Hobart's QB in 2008, is likely to throw, Lowell had trouble containing the tag team QBs.

"They're both competing," said Turley,  and they've been good sports about it. They're being team players. They both have a different asset. We're really pleased with it and it (the tag team) will probably stay that way. We need them both."

Lowell knows they need a better first half next week against Hammond high (5-1) and in the upcoming games with Munster and Andrean (6-0). Kilmer was one of many who could not explain how quiet the Lowell sideline was in the first half.

"I don't know," he said. "Sometimes championship teams find a way to win when things aren't going right. We'll get back to work and work on those mistakes, Three weeks ago, I don't think we would have won. Our kids are starting to believe in themselves. They (Hobart) played a great game. It was a great game. We just found a way to win."

Thomas, a Lowell native, grew up with the Devils rallying to win regular season and playoff games with hard-running fourth quarter drives. He's aware that roller-coaster games like this are the experience of a lifetime.

"Sometimes, things go my way and sometimes they don't," Thomas smiled. "Like that (second quarter) interception. He was open. I threw it a half second too late. The coaches want me to think 'run first' and I hesitated. You have to get over it."

"But I'm getting better," said Thomas, enjoying a very 'eventful' rookie season as Lowell's quarterback. "Every game is different. We're starting to come together. It's a beautiful thing."

DEVIL NOTES: Lowell has a very interesting scenario at tailback where senior Nick Hamilton (114 carries, 674 yards) is on his way to becoming one of Lowell's Hall-of-Fame stable of 1,000-yard rushers following Cole Midgett (2010), Brandon Grubbe (2007, 2008 and 2009), Max Znika, Scott Gray (2005), Toby Goetz (2004) and others. Since 1990, Lowell has had 17 1,000-yard rushing seasons spread out over 10 different 1,000 yard Red Devil rushers.

But it's obvious who the 2012 running star could be. Sophomore George Fields (5-11, 160), who has carried 32 times for 229 yards (7.1 avg.) looks like he's too skinny to play, but he also looks like he has the acceleration to go all the way on any play.

Kilmer has used Hamilton, who also starts on defense at corner back, as the 'starting pitcher' and Fields, who doesn't have a regular defensive role yet, as the relief pitcher. At Hobart, Hamilton almost played himself into exhaustion gaining 151 yards and two TDs on 19 carries before Fields gained 67 yards on 13 carries, including 28 yards on five carries in the game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.

The key is that everyone accepts why Hamilton is starting and that everyone also understands why Fields is getting a lot of carries with the game on the line. Right now, it's working.
"He's got fresh legs," said Kilmer of Fields, the only non-senior among Lowell's six running backs. It's like NASCAR. He (Fields) comes in with four new tires. He's a nice weapon for us. and he'll get more carries as time goes by. And our kids are buying into it. I'm sure some of our kids are unhappy about their carries when they go home but
when they're here, they're buying into it."

One running back who's obviously unhappy is senior Zac Wolfe, who was injured against Highland and had to watch the game at Hobart in street clothes.

"I've never missed a game in my life," said Wolfe, who has knee problems. "I'll be back by Munster (Oct. 7). I've got one more week (out) and then I'll have to wear a knee brace."

"He'll get it braced up," said Kilmer. "And then it'll just be a matter of how much he can go. We've got a lot of guys like that. Like Crocker. He's just a tough kid. He's got two bad feet. But he just said he has to play his senior year. And he'll probably wrestle too."

Jeremy Crocker (6-2, 190) was knocked down and dazed in the third quarter and had to be helped off the field. But he was back playing late in the fourth quarter when the game was decided. Lowell tight end/defensive end/placekicker Nick Kijurna was limping off the field with a leg problem early in the game and, while he returned, he almost 'bunted' the kickoffs down the field the rest of the night.