Preview: Hobart Brickies vs. New Prairie Cougars
Hobart has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against The New Prairie Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Indiana (Hobart is ranked 54th, while New Prairie is ranked 67th).
Last Friday, Hobart got themselves on the board against Highland, but Highland never followed suit. They breezed by the Trojans at home to the tune of 48-0. The result was nothing new for Hobart, who have now won four contests by 27 points or more so far this season.
Hobart found their leader in underclassman Max Pickett, who rushed for 197 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 11.6 yards per carry. Jonny Sorensen was another key contributor, rushing for 61 yards and a touchdown on only six carries.
Meanwhile, New Prairie beat Elkhart 16-8 on Thursday. The victory was just what New Prairie needed coming off of a 22-0 defeat in their prior contest.
The critical scores for New Prairie came from Reece Lapczynski and Brock Sinka.
Hobart's win was their fifth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 7-2. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 45.8 points per game. New Prairie is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Hobart has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 200.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like New Prairie struggles in that department as they've been averaging 191.7 per game. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Hobart might still be hurting after the 49-28 defeat they got from New Prairie in their previous matchup back in November of 2022. Can Hobart avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
