Calumet earns its first victory of the season

Updated: May 9, 2012 9:50AM

GARY — Like most freshmen donning a varsity football jersey, Calumet’s Kyle Hubbard is modest.

Even while describing the play that so far defines his young career as an outside linebacker, Hubbard just looked to the basics. He’s just doing what coach Ivan Zimmer says.

“I had to contain my area,” Hubbard said about his sack of Bishop Noll quarterback Josh Galgan. “My coach has been telling me to do that and I had to listen to him.”

A pretty simple statement, considering the momentum generated by the takedown in the battle of the Greater South Shore Conference Warriors.

Calumet was leading by a two-point margin, but Noll started a drive in the last few minutes of play. Then with just over two minutes to go, Galgan — who had 125 yards of passing in the first half, including a TD throw — was slotting back. 

As the senior moved back 8 yards, setting up the play, Hubbard found his opening and popped him for the loss. Following a 2-yard run, another freshman, Richard Stately, picked up a fumble by Noll. Off of those clutch moments, Calumet tightrope-walked out with a 22-20 win, its first mark of 2011.

“I didn’t even know what I was thinking, I was speechless,” Hubbard said. “I didn’t even realize how big of a play it was.”

That last segment reversed a much different beginning.

On its first drive of the first quarter, Calumet clawed all the way down to 5-yard line, but failed to reach the end zone or make a 22-yard field goal attempt. Noll didn’t stay quiet for long, on its second possession of the first, led largely by Galgan, it took a 7-0 lead. Both teams scored in the next quarter, but Calumet missed the point-after, resulting in a 14-6 advantage for Noll.

“We have some big-play capabilities, but most of the time we’re grinding it out,” Zimmer said. “they came out and did what they had to do.”

The evasive kicking wasn’t enough to keep Calumet down. On Marquis Carlton’s one yard TD run in the third, Thomas Brown ran in on the two point play. And on the game winner, with 4:38 to go in the fourth, Carlton broke down field on 23 yard drive, before QB Donte Collins snuck in for the conversion.

“My line kept pushing and we wanted to win,” said Collins.

To Noll coach Mike Juscik it’s another learning measure before the postseason.

“We just can’t make our mistakes, it’s about us,” he said.

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