Week 2 - Football Game of the Week Preview

Crown Point (0-1) at Hobart (1-0)

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

8-27-2008
 

When:  Friday, August 29, 2008

Where:  Hobart's Brickie Bowl - Hobart Middle School - 36 East 8th St, Hobart, IN

Tickets$5 

TV/Radio/Internet:  WKIF (92.7) FM, WWLO (89.1) FM, www.USA-365.com

 

Weather:  Disappointing.  Some of the early part of the week was cooler, but Friday's high will be in the mid-80s, which means a very warm mid-70s at kickoff.  There's no one to blame.  It's still mid-summer on the calendar.  But it's going to be about 15 degrees warmer than the boys need it to be and what's warm at Crown Point is even warmer in the Brickie Bowl, which is truly a bowl, set down below ground.  Players are going to need a lot of ice water again on this night and all backups need to be ready to go in at any moment.

JV game:
 
Saturday, Aug. 30 at Hobart - 10:00 a.m.

Freshmen:
Thursday, Sept. 4 at Crown Point - 6:00 p.m.

Numbers:
  Crown Point - Class 5A, enrollment 2,510;  Hobart - 4A, enrollment 1,315

Parking:
  Sorry. There isn't any.  Hobart's old stadium is tucked away in a neighborhood near the center of town.  You are going to have to find a spot on the streets that doesn't block anybody's driveway.  There is a grassy hill south of the bowl behind the railroad tracks that can be used if it doesn't rain.  I use that because the walk over the railroad tracks (the tracks that run behind the visitors grandstand) to the stadium is a visual highlight.  Try to avoid blocking someone's driveway and do the best you can.  One group of people that will be VERY happy with the new Hobart high school that's set to open in January are the residents of the area around the Brickie Bowl.  The people I've talked to over the years consider simply leaving the neighborhood on football night because of the kids, the cars and the noise.  There's a bank drive-up parking lot a couple of block from the Bowl, but don't let me kid you.  There is no parking lot here and there never has been.

The SERIES:  Hobart has dominated this 58-game series 45-11-2 even though in the 1980s, when Hobart was at its football peak, CP was not in the Duneland Athletic Conference and rarely saw Hobart.  CP didn't miss them.  In the 1970s, CP was 0-10 against the Brickies and they were 0-4-1 against the Brickies in the 60s.  It was long CP walk with a drink of water for most of the second half of the 20th Century.  After a 27-13 CP win in October of 1952, Crown Point did not defeat Hobart for 46 years until CP won 24-7 on Sept. 11, 1998.

 

Crown Point high school existed decades before Hobart did, but Hobart has always been a football powerhouse.  Hobart, Indiana goes back almost 160 years and the football teams' nickname is more traditional than I thought it was.  Hobart was founded by a man named George Earle who bought 3,000 acres of land from the early Potawatomi Indians in the mid 1800s in what is now Hobart and Lake Station.  Earle was an architect and house builder in Cornwall, England and he came to America to fulfill a contract to build new brick houses in the new country.

 

Originally targeting a place he'd heard from in west Lake County called Liverpool on the Deep River, Earle bought land there in the hopes that would be the County Seat.  When the county seat moved to Crown Point, Earle began developing an area five miles south of Liverpool (there is a Liverpool road that splits Hobart to this day) and settled, building a dam across Deep River and a saw mill.  George Earle named the town in honor of his brother, Fred Earle.  Fred Earle's middle name was Hobart.

 

Hobart has always been a 'blue collar' town, known for its production of brick, pottery and later lumber.  The original Brickyard was the Kulage Brick Works, established in the 1880s.  The brickyard ran along where Lake Park Avenue is in Hobart now.  The Pennsylvania Railroad (now the CF & E Railroad) that runs behind the Brickie Bowl, used to carry bricks to Valparaiso and Chicago.  No other Indiana school, or any school in the country that in know of, is called the Brickies.  But the name not only refers to boys who worked in the brickyards in the early part of the 20th Century (as I have thought for years), the founder of Hobart actually made bricks and that's why he came here and started the town.  To build brick houses.  In some respects, everyone who is a long time descendent of a Hobart resident is a Brickie.

 

Hobart and CP were within 500 students of each other in enrollment 30 years ago, but now, CP is twice the size of Hobart.  The football results reflect that.  Since CP joined the DAC in 1993, Hobart leads the series 8-7 and the Bulldogs have won seven of the last 10 games.  This is Crown Point's final visit to Hobart's Brickie Bowl, the 69-year-old neighborhood stadium that was the home to Hobart's four (1987, 89, 91 and 93) state football champions.  When CP plays at Hobart in 2010, it will be at ˜the Brickyard", Hobart's new 5,500-seat stadium being constructed on the campus of the new $84 million dollar Hobart high school at the south end of town.  So us old folks might want to take a lot of pictures of the Mecca of Indiana high school football this Friday night.

Coaching icons Don Howell (314-73-2, 33 years) and Russ Deal (114-49-6, 18 years) helped the small Lake County town southeast of Gary's steel mills roll up an incredible all-time record of 536-244-19 in high school football.  The Brickie Bowl, built in the post World War I era, was a feared place to play in the 60s, 70s and 80s.  After struggles in the mid-90s, Hobart coach Wally McCormack and his staff have been able to lift the Brickies back to state power with big winning seasons in 2004 (9-2), 2006 (10-2) and in 2007 (8-4).

 

I believe that moving into the new high school will increase the population of Hobart, which is said to be about 25,000.  Families like new high schools and they want to live near them.  I can see a day when Hobart returns to the Duneland Athletic Conference, because I can see a day when Hobart gets back over the 1,500-student level.

 

When Indiana football's class 6A comes about in 2009, Hobart will probably be a large 4A, which will be a tremendous boost to their post-season hopes.  I can also see a day (not soon) when River Forest high school closes, which would boost Hobart's enrollment to nearly the 2,000 mark.  Hobart's bold move to build a new school and to spare little expense means the city will continue to be one of the tradition-rich jewels of Northwest Indiana.

 

But unless we go back to the county seat debate in 1840, I can't make up some deep rivalry between Crown Point and Hobart.  Recent games have been competitive.  CP's 22-20 win on a late field goal by Michael Lipton is indicative of the last 15 games, which more often than not, have been worth battling for a rare Brickie Bowl parking spot to see.


Crown Point Bulldogs (0-1)
Head varsity coach Chip Pettit, 49-29 (8th year)

DAC games in CAPs 
8-22 (L)  0-1  Lowell (1-0)         
8-29 (F) at Hobart (1-0)       
9-5 (F) at MERRILLVILLE (0-1)         
9-12 (F) LAKE CENTRAL (1-0)
9-19 (F) PORTAGE (1-0)
9-26 (F) at VALPO (1-0) 
10-3 (F) at LaPORTE (1-0)
10-10 (F) CHESTERTON (1-0)
10-17 (F) at MICHIGAN CITY (1-0)

5A Sectional 1

10-24 (F) quarterfinals vs. LC, Valpo, Portage, Munster, Chesterton,  Michigan City or MERRILLVILLE
10-31 (F) 5A Sectional semifinals
11-7 (F) 5A Sectional 1 final
11-14 (F) 5A Regional
11-21 (F) Northern 5A Semistate championship
11-29 (S) 2008 Class 5A state championship  (7:00 p.m. EST) - Lucas Oil Arena - downtown Indianapolis


Hobart Brickies (1-0)
Coach  Wally McCormack   (48-23) 6th year
Northwest Crossroads games in CAPs

8-22 (F) 40-13 West Side (0-1)
8-29 (F) CROWN POINT (0-1)
9-5 (F) GRIFFITH (1-0)
9-12 (F) at KANKAKEE VALLEY  (0-1)
9-19 (F) ANDREAN (0-1)
9-26 (F) at LOWELL (1-0)
10-3 (F) at MUNSTER (0-0)
10-10 (F) Morton (0-1)
10-17 (F) HIGHLAND (0-1)

Class 4A Sectional 9

10-24 (F) quarterfinals vs. Morton, Gary West Side, Highland, East Chicago, Hammond, Griffith or LW.
10-31 (F) Sectional one semifinals
11-7 (F) Sectional one championship
11-14 (F) 4A Regional championship
11-21 (F) Northern 4A Semistate  championship
11-29 (S) 2008 Class 4A state championship - Lucas Oil Arena (4:00 p.m. EST) - downtown Indianapolis


Bulldogs wide receiver Nate Haverstock (1) caught three passes for 38 yards against Lowell, 8-22-2008. (All photos by Mark Smith)
Crown Point junior pass rusher Steven Strong (94) putting pressure on Lowell QB Kurt Monix (2), 8-22-2008.  (All photos by Mark Smith)
Crown Point head football coach Chip Pettit and offensive coordinator Brett St. Germain in the Bulldog sidelines, 8-22-2008.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

1.  Hobart four-year veteran receiver Bobby James

 

Hobart wants to get the ball to big senior receiver Bobby James (6-3, 220), who caught 41 passes for 639 yards last year.  He'll split wide and word is, this season he's lining up in the tight end slot, which is probably his college position.  The key is to rush QB Matt Barras (74 of 135, 1,302 yards in 2007) and make him throw bad balls.  CP has a good secondary, but they don't have one player who can stop James.  The Bulldogs need to put a linebacker over him, not only to try to defeat his blocking, but to keep him from getting off the line on pass plays.

 

The Bulldogs have a lot of quickness defensively to rush the QB and that's how they'll stop Bobby James.  You don't want to defend good passes to good receivers.  You want to try to stop bad passes to good receivers.

2.  Be more conservative than the FOX NEWS network

 

This is a night when you probably take the field goal on 4th-and-1.  Not only do both Crown Point (Michael Lipton) and Hobart (Michael Josifovski) have good kickers, but both teams have new running backs and offensive line issues.  Hobart won't make a living throwing 25 times into the CP secondary and CP quarterback Marcus Shrewsbury is a better runner than passer.  I just cant see either side blowing a fuse in the Brickie Bowl scoreboard with frequent touchdowns.

3.  Play hungry

 

That might be a motto for CP all season.  The Bulldogs have a lot of seniors who are starting for the first time.  They want to get the most out of every week, much less a game in the prestigious Brickie Bowl.  Hobart has lost three in a row to Crown Point and the seniors have to see this CP team as beatable.  They're tired of losing to the Bulldogs.  Plus, there may be an unsaid goal for Hobart to go undefeated at home in their final season in the Brickie Bowl.


CROWN POINT (0-1) at Hobart (1-0)
Sagarin computer rating:  Crown Point by 3

HOBART (8-29-2009)  The Sagarin ratings are usually off early in the year, but they may have this one slotted pretty well.  This is truly Hobart's season opener since the match with West Side is rarely competitive.  I think CP always has an edge playing the Brickies because Hobart's opener is a walk-over, while CP opens with a state-rated school.  This is also Hobart's final home opener at the Brickie Bowl, so they will play with great enthusiasm, especially early.  The Brickies may be able to overpower the CP defensive front and score early so the Bulldogs will have to rally on this night.

A TD by Cory Talian will make it 7-0 and field goals from Hobart's Mike Josifovski and Crown Point's Michael Lipton will make it 10-3 at halftime in a game that the Brickies control.

Look for the Bulldogs to tie the game at the start of the second half, probably on a QB run by Marcus Shrewsbury, who will have limited success passing against an athletic Hobart secondary.  But Hobart's combination of QB Matt Barras and wide receiver Bobby James will hook up to boost the home team to a 17-10 edge.

CP's depth matters and in the heat, the Bulldogs will take control of the game in the late going.  CP will find simple offense in multiple runs by Shrewsbury and Nick Bruno, plus key short passes to Mike Kozlowski.

CP will mount multiple second half drives, but they will not be able to push the ball into the end zone due to their inexperienced front.  As the score narrows, the Brickies will become conservative and a long kick return by Nate Haverstock will set up CP for a Lipton boot to cut the lead to 17-16 in the fourth quarter.

The CP defense will hold on downs, and after a ball control drive, Lipton will connect again, from about 35 yards out.  I'm seeing a dramatic finish with Hobart throwing deep into the CP secondary repeatedly as time runs out.

Truthfully, many signs point Hobart to winning this game and had CP won the season opener, I'd have picked the Brickies this Friday.  This game is that close.  But nothing motivates like defeat and CP is desperate this week.  They cannot be 0-2 going to Merrillville, or odds are they'll be 0-3.

In a game dominated by punters and place-kickers, CP survives for their first win of the season.

CROWN POINT 19, Hobart 17


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Revised: August 27, 2008 .