Week 8 - Football Game of the Week Preview

Lowell (3-4, 2-3) at Hobart (4-3, 3-2)

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

10-6-2005

When: Friday, October 7, 2005

Where:  Brickie Bowl - at Hobart Middle School - Hobart, IN.

Tickets:  $5 

Kickoff:    7:00 p.m.
Radio-TV:  WHLP (89.9) FM - live.

Weather:  Lower 50s, upper 40s. slight chance of rain.

Parking:  There's never been any here.  Early or late, you will end up on the side streets or behind somebody's business.  Don't block people's driveways and try not to stomp on their lawns. Anybody who doesn't think the Brickies need a new stadium should show up late and try to park there.

Rivalry: This is the fifth meeting of Lowell and Hobart in three seasons and there will probably be a sixth in November. Lowell's greatest victory was 28-25 over defending state champion Hobart on Nov. 11, 1994. The Brickies lead the series 15-11-3 but these schools did not meet from 1955-1992. That was the end of one of the greatest periods of extended excellence in Indiana sports history.

Hobart won four state championships in 1987, 89, 91 and 93.  Lowell's victory in November of 1994 signaled impending reversals of fortune for both sides. Lowell has had 10 winning seasons since 1993 while the last of Hobart's 19 sectional titles came in 1997. These towns have played football forever. In the first recorded season of Hobart varsity football, Lowell and Hobart tied 7-7 on Nov. 5, 1927. At this point, Lowell is the perennial power while Hobart is trying to build consistent excellence again.

There are similarities in the towns. Working class, mostly white. None of the money-fed snooty-ness of the more wealthy suburbs like Valpo and Munster and none of the whining and complaining about the good old days like Gary and Hammond. You could call Lowell rural but that would indicate you haven't been to places like Remington and Fowler. There are farms in Lowell but there are farms in Merrillville and Crown Point, too. Lowell is largely small-town residential, at least the northern part. Hobart is similar. There are some farms on the outskirts but it's largely residential neighborhoods.

The great thing about both places is that they each have a distinctive town identity. Hobart's identity in the second half of the 20th century was high school football.  All the winning Friday nights in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s left three generations of people who grew up with the knowledge that Friday nights were special gathering times for the townspeople. I don't know what Hobart was known for in the World War II era, but I know now that if you travel to southern Indiana when you mention you live near Hobart, they ask 'What kind of team are they going to have up there this year?" And they don't mean the soccer team.

It's odd that Lowell is considered to be one of the 'haves' in high school football because they didn't have a winning team from 1967 to 1992 and many of those games were lopsided. The same Hammond schools that are complaining because the 'Big-7' (Munster, Highland, Andrean, Griffith,  Hobart,  KV and Lowell) is puling away from them in 2007 and forming their own league wouldn't play Lowell in the 60s and 70s when the Hammond teams were strong and good.  It's a back-handed compliment that Hammond schools want Lowell in their football league because the Devils have a lot of loyal fans while the Hammond schools cannot draw loyalty or fans.

Lowell is now a two-time sectional champion and they will bring 300-400 fans up to Hobart to watch both teams play their trademark, run-oriented physical style of football, which has brought great pleasure and pride to both towns.  And no matter what happens, they'll probably all get together in four weeks and do it again.

JV game:  Lowell at Hobart: Oct. 8 -  10 a.m.
Freshmen game: Munster at Lowell -  Thurs, Oct. 6 - 6 p.m.
Lowell at Hobart  -  Thurs, Oct. 13 - 6 p.m.

Class 4A Lowell 

Coach: Kirk Kennedy (106-58, 15 years)

Enrollment: 1,150 

Sectional titles: (5) 1992, 94, 99, 2003, 2004 

Regional titles: (2) 1994, 99 

2004 record: 9-4 

Lost the regional championship game at home 28-21 to eventual state Class 4A runner-up Wawasee. 

Lowell Red Devils (3-4, 2-3)
8-19 (L) 6-16 CP  (7-0)
8-26 (W)61-14 at Calumet (2-5)
9-2   (L) 0-21 Griffith (7-0)
9-9  (L) 13-32 at Morton  (4-3)
9-16 (L) 0-7 ANDREAN (7-0)
9-23 (W) 41-7 HAMMOND (0-7)
9-30 (W) 48-7 at Munster (2-5)
10-7 (F) at Hobart (5-2)
10-14 (F) Highland  (3-4)

4A Sectional nine
10-21 (F) at Gary Roosevelt (3-3)
10-28 (F) vs Munster (2-5) or at Kankakee Valley (5-2)


Class 5A Hobart
Coach: Wally McCormack   (19-12, 3 years)
Enrollment: 954
2004 record: 9-2
State titles (4) 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1993.
Semi-State titles: (9)  1982, 84, 85, 87, 89, 90, 91, 93 and 96
Regional titles: (14)   1979, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 96
Sectional titles (19)  1979-1997 (19 in a row)
Lost the 4A Sectional semifinal 13-10 at Lowell last season.

Hobart Brickies (4-3, 3-2)
(W) 50-6  Gary  West Side  (2-5)     
(L) 0-26 at Crown Point (7-0)
(W) 40-0 Hammond (0-7)
(W) 10-0    at Highland (3-4)     
(W) 22-19 Munster (2-5)     
(L) 10-20 at Andrean (7-0) 
(L) 21-28 at Morton (5-2)     
10-7 (4A) Lowell (3-4)     
10-14 (3A) Griffith (7-0) 

4A Sectional 9 playoffs
10-21 (F) at Highland (3-4)
10-28 (F) vs. Lew Walllace (2-5) or Gary West Side (2-5)

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LOWELL (3-4, 2-3 LAC) at Hobart (4-3, 3-2 LAC)

LAC Black Division - 10-7-2005 @ 7:00 p.m. (CDT)

HOBART - Hobart did not expect to be 4-3 at this point. The Brickies have had some injuries, but they probably went into the last two weeks on the road thinking they should win.  And the truth is, they led Morton 21-7 before the game got away.

Hobart runner Steve Gascy is out for the year and the Brickies' two top players, 340-pound lineman Adam Bailey (seperated shoulder) and 215-pound linebacker Richard Mitchell (knee) are playing hurt and it shows. Bailey anchors both lines and Mitchell adds toughness, even if he's a bit slower.  Both are playing both ways.

I wouldn't want to face the Brickies if the game came down to winning one-on-one confrontations with either boy. The Brickies have been forced to the air this year with junior QB Josh Miracle (75-151, 950 yards, 7 TDs) and it probably isn't what they want to do. New halfback Andrew Jackson (6-1, 220) ran for three TDs last week and he'll bring some punch back to the Brickie ground game.  Jackson, who carried the ball 36 times last week, could be the key to this game.  If he can break down the Red Devil defense and help Hobart control the ball, Lowell can't get the ball into the hands of speedy play-makers Scott Gray and Jeff Clemens.

Scott Gray (139 carries-1,008 yards) is on his way to a 1,500-yard year and the Devils need him in the end zone at least once a game.  Clemens (24 catches, 337 yards - 6 games) has been slowed by rib injuires, but this might be the night he busts loose as Hobart could not handle Morton WRs like Andre London last week.  Lowell QB Jimmy Ritter (41-77, 508 yards, one TD, 3 INTs) is not a prolific passer, but he can get the ball to Clemens and Chris Lampa (8 catches, 130 yards).  I'd like to see Lowell use more misdirection plays, maybe even with shovel passes that are virtual running plays.  Lowell won't simply be able to run straight ahead. They have to hope that the line, led by senior Jed Travis (5-11, 250) can squirt Clemens, Gray or sophomore Steffan Peck (5-6, 165) through the line for a couple of breakaway runs. Realistically, offense is fun but these two teams split two games last year and the scores were 9-6 and 13-10.

Hobart doesn't want Miracle throwing on third down into the secondary where Clemens has four of Lowell's six interceptions.
But unless Jackson can get four or five yards on first down (Mitchell sometimes is a lead blocker) with Bailey not 100%, Hobart will end up throwing 25 times on this night and Bobby James (6-1, 170) will break away to tie the game in the third quarter on a pass from Miracle.

What makes this a low scoring game? Conservative offenses. Lowell certainly. Hobart, as of last week. Rookie QBs.  Both teams have them. A faster road team against a slower home team. Exactly what you have here. I see Lowell as a much quicker team and that's why Hobart has not scored more than 10 points on Lowell in any of the last four meetings.

Hobart is bigger, but I see the Devils scratching for two TDs in a hard fought close game.  You aren't much good unless you're at least at the .500 mark and Lowell needs this victory to have a winning season. They'll get together to do it again on Nov. 4 but on this Friday, an old-school fourth quarter drive and 2-yard run by Jimmy Ritter wins another road game for the Devils.

LOWELL 14, Hobart  7

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Revised: October 06, 2005 .