Kankakee Valley holds off Hobart for overtime win

HOBART — Even amid the pelting rain, the bright lights and a roaring fan base, Joel Bolen’s burst of confidence stood out vividly.

On a night when the odds were clearly against the junior quarterback and his Kankakee Valley football teammates, Bolen helped stage a striking blow against host Hobart in Northwest Crossroads play. After all, it was his deceptive rush in overtime that pushed the Kougars to a 22-19 win on Friday at the Brickyard.

Perhaps the most obvious setback coming in for Bolen and crew was their history against the Brickies. Bluntly stated, Hobart has long had KV’s number. And an 0-3 record under first-year coach Brad Stewart was also looming over the boys from Wheatfield. But after a sluggish first half (as evidenced by a slim 13-9 advantage for Hobart), followed by a scoreless third quarter (with five punts and only one first down), the lights started to flicker for both clubs.

Hobart (1-3, 0-2 NCC) chewed up the clock during the opening eight minutes of play, but struggled to reach the end zone. So, it was the heavy foot of kicker Aaron Delgrosso that gave the Brickies an edge with a pair of first-quarter field goals, including a 42-yarder. Delgrosso was 3-for-4 in field goal attempts.

And KV came back in the second with a TD and a forced safety before Hobart’s Andrew Barras sailed a 15-yard pass to Anthony Burgos with 9.9 seconds remaining before the intermission. The tension was mounting for the final moments. Though it was largely a defensive chess match, the table was set for both starting QBs.

Bolen woke up the offense with a 60-yard pass to Tim Hillers with 2:53 left in the fourth. But Barras, making his first start, clawed back on two long-range passes (including dodging a sack, in the pouring rain to complete a 38-yarder) before Delgrosso tied the score at 16-16 with a 24-yard field goal.

The Brickies were held to a field goal again in their portion of the overtime before Bolen scored off a trap play to rush from 9 yards out, to put KV in the win column.

“It was actually a trap, we faked it left and we took off right and the only thing I was thinking about was end zone,” said Bolen, in his second year at quarterback. “That’s all I thought was end zone, I didn’t want no 5 yards, I wanted end zone. I had to be the player to make the game (end).”

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