By E. Shawn Aylsworth
Managing Editor
Down 11 points in a Sept. 26 Northwest Crossroads Conference clash at Class 4A second-ranked Lowell, Hobart senior Roger Cardwell returned the opening kickoff of the second half 62 yards to the host’s 36-yard line.
But the 4A No. 10 Brickies went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, and Lowell running back Brandon Grubbe’s 68-yard touchdown gave the Red Devils a commanding 21-3 lead over the offensively challenged Brickies.
Flood gates opened, right? Well, uh, no. Not by a long shot.
In a kooky second half that saw 50 points fly up on the scoreboard before a packed house at The Inferno, Hobart rallied big-time after consecutive fumbled snaps by the previously coasting Red Devils and actually had a chance to steal a victory in the game’s final four minutes.
But a bad shotgun snap from Lowell’s 24 resulted in a critical 20-yard loss. And that bad karma swallowed the Brickies’ comeback effort – Hobart scored three touchdowns in the first 6:44 of the fourth quarter to cut a 24-point deficit to just three – whole two plays later when senior quarterback Matt Barras was intercepted with 3:36 to play.
Behind six more carries from Grubbe (37 rushes for 253 yards and three touchdowns), Lowell was able to run out the clock and preserve a thoroughly frightening 35-32 victory.
Not too shabby for Week 6’s only battle of unbeatens in the entire state.
Grubbe (rhymes with “groovy,” which he was – last seen by those outside “The Region” suffering a gruesome leg injury in Lowell’s 33-14 loss to Evansville Reitz in last year’s 4A state championship game – had no problems being the workhorse in this one. The 5’11”, 175-pound junior toted the rock 20 times in the first half for 123 yards and a touchdown as Lowell racked up 11 first downs en route to a 14-3 lead at intermission.
There must have been something in the locker room Gatorade.
The second half saw big play after big play as Lowell (6-0 overall, 4-0 in Northwest Crossroads play) and Hobart (5-1, 3-1) suddenly found themselves in a shootout of Warren Centralian proportion. Witness:
* Cardwell’s 62-yard kickoff return to start the half for Hobart
* Grubbe’s 68-yard TD scamper five plays later that pushed Lowell’s lead to 21-3
* Lowell senior QB Kurt Monix’s 26-yard pass on 3rd and 7 to sophomore Cole Midgett that superceded Grubbe’s second TD run that shifted the game into rock ’n Lowell at 28-3
* Barras’ 53-yard bomb to 6’4”, 230-pound senior Bobby James four plays later – followed by a two-point conversion pass from Cardwell on a botched PAT snap, no less – that drew Hobart within 28-11
* Senior Cody Midgett’s 92-yard kickoff return on the next play that put Lowell back up 35-11 … with 2:27 still remaining IN THE THIRD QUARTER
Pause, take a breath. Yes, that was indeed 29 points scored.
OK … fourth quarter!!
Barras, 4 of 5 for 57 yards on the next drive, hit Cardwell for a 10-yard touchdown pass. On the first play of the period. Of course!
That made it 35-18 and, other than noticing that the scoreboard is starting to exude smoke, there’s no reason to think Lowell could let this get out of hand. Even after the Red Devils go three-and-out and give Hobart the ball at the Lowell 47 following a 22-yard punt.
PSYCH! Barras found James (a ridiculous five catches for 132 yards and two TDs in the second half) on a 47-yard bomb on the next play to cut the lead to 35-25. And that’s when things really started to get interesting.
On 3rd and 3 from his own 49, Monix fumbled the snap from center. Hobart recovered at the Lowell 48, and nine plays later – after a huge 12-yard completion from Barras to Cardwell on 3rd and 8 – Barras snuck it in from the 1.
Badda-bing, badda-bang. Suddenly we have a 35-32 contest with 5:10 still remaining on the clock.
Incredibly, Monix fumbled the snap from center again two plays later, and again Hobart recovered – this time at the Lowell 24 with an eternity (four minutes) to cash in and take the lead. But that’s when the tricky Brickies met their match, the snap from the shotgun formation sailing over Barras’ head and resulting in the 20-yard loss.
After an incomplete pass deep to Cardwell, Barras’ pass to James deflected off the big fella’s fingertips and into the hands of senior linebacker Justin Juarez, who rambled all the way for an apparent pick-six.
A block in the back on the return prevented the score, but Lowell was able to maintain possession the rest of the way to finally end it.
Despite all the second-half fireworks and Hobart’s practically Lazarus-like resurrection, the difference in this game was the Brickies’ inability to prevent the big – make that huge – play. For the game, Hobart surrendered a baker’s dozen plays of 10 or more yards, including whoppers of 23, 25, 26, 68, and 92 yards.
The final dagger? A 46-yard completion – on 3rd and 15 from the Lowell 43, no less – from Monix to senior wide receiver Jake Belt with just under a minute to play.
All that, my friends, was simply too much to overcome. But the Brickies sure did try.
Next up for Lowell is a non-conference battle Oct. 3 with Hammond (4-2), a 63-8 Week 6 loser at Hammond Morton. Hobart – which remains homeless with its famous Brickie Bowl still recovering from those terrible northwestern Indiana floods of a few weeks back – will travel next Friday to Munster (5-1, 3-1), a 17-14 winner over Griffith.
(NOTE: Thank you to the fine folks at regionsports.com for streaming this epic game over the Internet!)
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