Bank is so money
Junior QB’s teammates are, too, as Lowell avenges loss to Hobart in 4A sectional final
Riley Bank flourished in both of Lowell’s games this season against Hobart.
The junior quarterback’s teammates followed suit the second time around in a Class 4A sectional championship game Friday night.
Bank rushed for 152 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries as the Red Devils overwhelmed the visiting Brickies 38-10.
Lowell (9-3), which lost 39-27 to Hobart (8-4) on Sept. 17 in a game between two of the three champions in the Northwest Crossroads Conference, had three 100-yard rushers in the rematch.
Senior running back Joey Heuer had 127 yards and a TD on 22 carries, and senior running back Ryan Marx had 106 yards and a TD on six carries. Marx added two catches for 40 yards.
“It’s great,” Bank said. “We can feed off of each other. If one of us isn’t getting that many yards or that much of a push, we can rely on each other.
“We have a great line, and our receivers block well, too, and we have a great set of backs. Everybody does their part.”
Bank also had 143 yards and a TD on 23 carries against Hobart in the regular season.
Lowell coach Keith Kilmer was especially happy Bank eclipsed 1,000 yards for the season. Bank joined Heuer in that category, giving the Red Devils two in a season for the first time in Kilmer’s recollection.
Kilmer, who recorded the 100th victory of his career, also praised the offensive line.
“That’s been our biggest improvement from day one to now, is those guys,” he said. “They take a beating, and nobody knows their name. But they’re the most coached group we have out there, and they take it upon themselves to get better. Three 100-yard rushers is on the backs of them.”
Lowell also excelled defensively. Junior running back Trey
Gibson had 107 yards and a TD on 22 carries for Hobart, with 65 of those yards and the score coming on the Brickies’ final possession. Freshman quarterback Noah Ehrlich completed 6 of 20 passes for 70 yards.
“You had to stop Gibson,” Kilmer said. “We had guys back from the first game. That makes a big difference. Coach (TJ) Lukasik and his defensive staff just came up with a great game plan. The fact we were able to stop the run with a threeman front is huge.”
After winning its first sectional title since 2018, Lowell, which also ended a four-game losing streak to Hobart, advances to a regional against New Prairie (10-2). The Red Devils lost to New Prairie 24-14 on Sept. 3.
“There’s a reason we put them on the schedule,” Kilmer said. “It’s nice to go into a regional game knowing what we have to do to get better. We’ll go watch some film, and we’ll see if we’ve improved enough from Week 3.”
The Red Devils certainly improved from their first meeting against Hobart, the Class 4A state runner-up last season.
“We’re healthy,” Kilmer said. “We’re playing with a full deck. In this house, in this family, we knew we were going to be pretty good. We just didn’t know when. We had to get everybody in the fold and back in the game and get everybody out here at the same time. We knew we had the talent.
“I was hoping we’d put it together at the right time, and so far we are. And now we get to play another week.”
Lowell took a 7-0 lead on its first possession, putting together an impressive drive to score on the first play of the second quarter. The Red Devils marched 80 yards on 17 plays, consuming 8:28, with Bank running it in from 18 yards. They converted two fourth downs along the way, including one in their own territory.
That TD came after Hobart’s 16-play drive to open the game ended with a missed field goal.
Lowell’s defense came up with a goal-line stand to maintain its lead.
Lowell’s snap over the punter’s head gave the Brickies the ball at the 11-yard line, and they had first-and-goal from the 1.
But the Red Devils stiffened, and Hobart settled for senior Miki Djankovich’s 25-yard field goal with 3:05 left in the first half.
“Holding them to three was just huge,” Kilmer said. “That was the ballgame.”
Lowell answered with a field goal, set up by Bank’s 37-yard pass to Marx, whom Kilmer described as “a little spark plug,” to the Hobart 17 with 19.5 seconds left in the half. Junior Caden Britton kicked a 30-yard field goal as time expired.
Bank extended the Red Devils’ lead to 17-3 with a 14-yard TD run with 9:34 left in the third quarter. His 25-yard TD run with 5:06 left in the third made it 24-3.
Heuer added a 40-yard TD run with 3.3 seconds left in the third, and Marx had a 37-yard TD run with 7:33 left in the game.
Gibson scored Hobart’s lone TD on a 5-yard run with 4:40 left.
“Being able to tack three on right before we went in (at halftime), it’s all about momentum with high school kids,” Kilmer said. “The mindset in the locker room is different. That’s what gave us a boost to come out the second half and take control.”