BEATING THE BRICKIES – Article #5 /

Over and Out

Munster Ends Hobart’s Regional Run, Bounce Bricks From Tournament

By Mike Dywan

To win the biggest game in your school’s history, you most likely had to overcome the Hobart Brickies. For the Munster Mustangs, that was just the case on a frigid November night on Columbia Avenue in 1986.

But this story begins 366 days before on November 15 of 1985.

The Mustangs, who finished the ‘85 regular season with an underwhelming 3-5 record, ended up playing their way into hosting a Regional Championship – hoping to win their first of such in the program’s history.

Who took a trip up to Barney Hill Field that night? Those Hobart Brickies.

The same Hobart team who was on a quest to win their seventh consecutive regional crown. The same Hobart team who up to that point has beaten Munster in all of their previous six meetings, with the last two to have taken place in a win-or-go-home scenario. The same Hobart team who only lost five games since the 1980 season – the same number of losses that Munster had suffered in the ‘85 season alone.

That year, Munster was just not quite ready.

“I just remember being ice cold,” said Bill Melby, a sophomore at the time. “Everything is a little bit worse when you’re losing.”

“We knew that Hobart was very physical up front,” said Leroy Marsh, the longtime former head coach of the Mustang football program. “We knew the only way to beat Hobart was to throw the football and the weather was not in our favor.”

“We got smoked in every phase of the game,” said Jim Dryjanksi, another sophomore on that 1985 team. “We were out ‘athleted’ and out powered. It didn’t feel like a high school team.”

As the seconds ticked away from the scoreboard that sported a 41-0 Hobart victory, it was evident that plenty of work needed to be done for the Mustangs in order to get to “that” level.

The Brickies would go on to make their second consecutive appearance at the Hoosier Dome, while the Mustangs immediately looked onward to the following fall.

A new season meant that new faces had to replace those seniors from the previous team. In a system and time period where sophomores rarely got to sniff the field on Friday nights, the upcoming junior class for the Mustangs were especially ready to get things rolling.

“Sophomores didn’t start,” said Dryjanski. “That was a rare thing. As sophomores, I think we were hungry and a little cocky. We got after it in the off-season. We had a lot of guys that wanted to play and wanted to win. We came out of that previous year, and we wanted it bad.”

“We wanted to be better than any team Munster had ever had before,” said Chris Dywan, another upcoming junior. “Even the Quarterback was benching close to 300. We worked out all day, every day. We were well-rounded on both sides of the ball. We knew we were going in with our guns blazing.”

“We talked about since seventh grade that we were going to get to the Dome,” said Brian Novotny, another talent from that upcoming junior class. “That is all we ever said. We knew we had the players, and we knew we had the coach. It became Hoosier Dome or bust.”

That soon-to-be junior class was littered with valuable pieces like Melby, Dryjanski, Dywan, Novotny, Gary Eldridge, Larry Wiley, Jim Magrames, and others.

Dan Porter, a quarterback and defensive back for the Mustangs, was in line to be one of the senior leaders for the ‘86 team. He especially would not forget that shellacking he received from the Brickies that previous November.

“I kept a picture of me sitting in a pile of mud and water,” he recalled. “I wrote 41-0 above it and I kept it on my bulletin board for a full year until we met them again. Our goal was to win the State Championship, and I knew that this was the one shot that I had.”

Marsh, who was then going into his seventh season as head coach of the program, also noticed that this Munster team was different than year’s past.

“The expectations were high,” he said. “We had a lot of players that were very goal oriented. We were solid at just about every position.”

Although the Stangs finished their regular season with a 27-0 loss to Lake Central (that same Indian team we talked about in the previous story), with a much-improved regular season record of 5-3, expectations rode high as sectional play began.

The Mustangs’ playoff run got off on the right foot with a convincing 27-14 victory at Morton. As they did all year, Munster ran the ball while shutting down their opposition’s rushing attack. Highlighted by two rushing scores from Porter, the Mustangs outgained the Governors on the ground, 270 to 5.

But that aspirational dream of a state championship was nearly shot down by a different Hammond school a week later.

The Hammond Wildcats, who Munster had outscored 65 to nothing in their previous two meetings may have been seen as a slight underdog. But after tragedy struck the Wildcat football program over the weekend prior to their game against Munster, none of that outside noise mattered.

One of the players of the Hammond football team was killed in an automobile accident the Sunday after their 14-0 victory over East Chicago Central in the sectional opener.

While battling a week filled with grief, Hammond would go on to arguably play their best game of the season against Munster.

At one point, the Wildcats held a 14-6 lead into the fourth quarter before Porter connected with fellow team captain and senior classmate, Adam Tavitas. A two-point conversion from Dan Hollis, a senior receiver, knotted things up at 14 a side. Four quarters was not enough for the two teams, as the game would make its way into an overtime period.

Hammond would get the ball first, but the stifling Munster defense did their job – leaving the door open for the Mustang offense. A successful field goal was all that was needed. That would soon become the case, but not kicked by exactly who many had thought of at the time.

Novotny came into the 1986 season as the team’s starting kicker and punter. However, given the number of snaps he would play on a given night at the physically demanding positions of a predominantly run-blocking tight end in addition to logging snaps at defensive end, it was in Coach Marsh’s best interest to find a backup kicker.

In stepped Mike Ulinski, a freshman football player who joined the varsity roster not long before this very evening.

Predominantly a soccer player growing up, this season was his first of organized football. That said, his job was laid out for him – kick when called upon.

Novotny missed a field goal attempt earlier in the game and would later suffer an injury in the game that sidelined him from kicking duties. Ulinski, who was considered as the “insurance kicker” going into the postseason, would soon relieve himself of that title.

The freshman would bury the game winning field goal and the Mustangs would squeak by a Hammond team that simply gave it their all under foreseen circumstances.

The dream was still alive, as Munster punched their ticket to the Sectional Championship against a third Hammond school – Bishop Noll – whom of which they played in the same round a year ago. The Warriors arguably had the best player on the field in Rusty Setzer – a gifted running back who would go on to play at the University of Notre Dame.

But as previously mentioned, when it came to stopping the run, few were better at the time than the Mustangs.

“It was a perfect matchup for us,” said Melby. “If you ask me what that team was best at, it was stopping the run.”

“We were coming up against the leading rusher in the state,” said Dywan. “We practiced containing all week on defense. Just planned on stopping the running attack and we did just that.”

In a 40-19 Munster victory, the Warriors were held to just north of 50 yards on the ground to the Mustangs’ 259. Steve Strick, a senior, stepped up for the injured Eldridge at the running back position, scoring twice while adding over 150 rushing yards. The aforementioned Setzer finished the night below zero in rushing yards, negative four to be precise.

A little bit of extra motivation by a Munster player’s father may have led to the mind-boggling performance of the Mustang defense that night.

“Eldredge’s dad, Bubba, said if we held Setzer under 50 yards, he would take us to Ron of Japan,” recalled Dryjanksi. “You offer steak and lobster to guys that could eat, we were in.”

Now, one may have asked, “Who was Munster going to face in the Regional Championship?” As the old adage goes, history tends to repeat itself.

The Mustangs were once again matched up against the Hobart Brickies, who were now looking for their eighth straight regional trophy. Hobart was coming into the game with a 9-2 record and as always, was regarded as one of the favorites in the class. Hobart also ran through their sectional in dominant fashion, outscoring their previous three opponents, 99 to 27.

Luckily for Munster, the game was once again to be played at Barney Hill Field.

“We did have home field advantage which we felt great about,” said Dywan. “Nobody wanted to go to the Brickie Bowl. It was the biggest game we have ever played up to that point. We knew it was going to be a battle.”

Nonetheless, this was still the Hobart Brickies we were talking about, the same team that now was seeking their eighth straight regional title. For many of these Munster players, Hobart football has been dominant for as long as they have been alive.

“Hobart, to be blunt, they were ridiculous,” said Novotny. “They played in the Duneland, and they were the only 4A school out of the 10 schools. Everyone else was 5A. They won the dang thing about every year.”

“My dad played for a brief time at Indiana University with Don Howell,” said Dryjanski. “He knew Coach Howell from way back. At that time, football was the thing in Hobart. Even in middle school, I went out to the Brickie Bowl to watch games, and it was just different. It was an event. It felt like a small college and their fans were intense.”

“We knew Hobart was the team to beat,” said Dywan. “Seeing that they were the powerhouse of the 80s, Hobart was always on your mind. We didn’t know if we were going to play Hobart come sectionals, but they were definitely on our minds.”

“In the 80s, Hobart was lingering on everybody’s mind,” said Marsh. “The thing with Hobart is you could never count on them doing something stupid to give you the game. You had to go out and play really solidly. Every play was critical.”

Although practice that week was business as usual, the excitement leading up to the game would not go unnoticed.

“I was sitting in speech class, my first class of the day ,” Novotny recalled. “At around 7:30 in the morning, the Brickie fans were lining up in their chairs. I just couldn’t believe it.”

While the hype surrounding the game built up to unimaginable heights, the confidence of the Mustangs did not waver.

“I remember going into the Hobart game going, ‘this is just another game, we’re going to beat them,’” Melby said. “If I could do my job and everyone else does theirs, we’ll be fine.”

“We knew that it was going to be competitive, but we believed it,” said Dryjanski. “Take your ‘Ted Lasso’ thing, we believed that we could beat them.”

“They were a force,” Porter said. “They were a good team, and I respected them for it. Seeing those fans lineup during class, it kind of motivated us.”

“Hobart was a mountain we were never able to climb,” Novotny said. “If Hobart was in the way, so be it. They were always going to be somebody we would have to beat.”

The two teams wasted little time picking up where they left off.

“Hobart kicked off,” said Dryjanksi. “I took the initial kick off. I saw a little bit of an opening and I cut to my left. I was looking at the left sideline and I got walloped. The game started with the bang, and unfortunately, I was on the receiving end of it.”

The Mustangs would strike first on a goal line plunge from Porter. After a failed two-point conversion, the 6-0 lead would be one that stood up almost the entirety of the first half.

With under a minute left in the second quarter, Brickie signal caller Jeff Ford found Ken Edmond for a 37-yard touchdown pass. In the less than usual kicker friendly conditions at Munster that night, a successful PAT from Hobart kicker John Batistatos sprung the Brickies in front with a 7-6 halftime lead.

After a scoreless third frame, Ford once again found the end zone, this time with his legs, to open up the fourth quarter and extend the Brickies’ lead to eight.

But the Mustangs would come storming back down the field, this time with a lengthy drive that required a breakout in the Munster passing game. On two different third down conversions, Porter connected with Wiley, the junior tight end, to move the sticks twice. On those two plays, Munster combined for around 35 yards passing. The team would finish the night around 50 passing yards in total.

Eldridge, who was sidelined a week ago, would cut into the lead with his first score of the night. Needing two points to tie, Porter would find Adam Tavitas to bring the two sides together at 14. After the Mustangs stifled the Brickies on the very next drive, they seemed to be in the driver’s seat.

That was until they quickly got out of it.

A Mustang fumble in their own territory set Hobart up for a potential game winning drive. With about three minutes to go, the Stangs were on the ropes and the Brickies seemed to be on their way to their eighth consecutive Semi-State birth.

Ford and company would move just inside the Mustang’s red zone, setting up Batistatos for the deciding field goal with under a minute to go.

But as mentioned before, the conditions that night were not kicker friendly. It was cold, it was windy, and it was ugly enough to force Batistatos potential game winner left of the intended target.

In a slugfest between two heavyweight fighters, we had to go to an overtime period to decide whose hand would get raised at the end of the night. For now the second time in three weeks, the Mustangs’ fate would be decided in the extra frame. Thankfully for them, the extra period was implemented in their practice plan.

“Coach Marsh actually had us practice overtime,” Melby said. “I was like ‘we’re ready,’ we actually practice for this. I was pretty confident going in.”

Munster would open up with the ball and struck first with a one-yard plunge from Eldridge. Hobart would soon respond on their do-or-die drive with a second touchdown pass from Ford.

One overtime period was still not enough.

The Stangs would begin the second overtime period with the ball, this time less successful. A sack from the Hobart defense called for a field goal.

Remember that freshman who was once the “insurance kicker?”

If he didn’t strip that title after his game winner against Hammond High two weeks ago, he would certainly strip it tonight. This time, it was no surprise to whoever was attempting the kick. Novtony, who suffered a significant injury in that week of practice, could not suit up for the Regional Championship.

“I did not play the Hobart game,” he said. “I was on the sidelines in a boot. My nervousness for that game never changed whether I was playing or not. I just wanted to win.”

That said, it was Ulinski’s kick, and he came through. The freshman nailed a 27-yard field goal to put the Mustangs back in front, 24-21.

On the ensuing possession, the Hobart offense did a bit of damage, but Munster stalled the Brickies to a fourth and short. It quickly became decision time for Coach Howell.

After a pair of timeouts from the Brickies, Hobart lined up to what many thought would be the game-tying field goal.

Although Batistatos missed that game winning kick in regulation, the belief was that Hobart would take the chip shot field goal and try to win it in a third overtime.

That looked to be the case until Jeff Ford rolled to his right in an attempt to steal the game from the Mustangs. It was a fake all the way. Hobart was going for the win and their eight straight regional crown.

Dryjanksi, who was the cornerback on that side of the field, thought he cost his team some hardware

“I thought I blew it,” he said. “I saw the quarterback get the ball and start rolling in our direction. I am lined up over a receiver. That receiver was pushing up field and trying to show block. I looked through the receiver and I saw the quarterback rolling in my direction and I went for it. I left that receiver uncovered to put pressure on the quarterback. I was able to pressure the throw but that was not my assignment.”

Marsh, like many others, the fake field goal was not in the forefront of his mind.

Thankfully for some, it was. 

“I never saw the fake coming but our guys on defense did,” Marsh said. “Danny Porter saw it.”

Porter was the final line of defense on that play.

“It was something I just baited him into it,” said Porter. “I showed myself as open so that they could run to my side. They did and I was like ‘here we go.’”

The same senior captain who vividly remembered that 41-0 blowout just more than a year ago on that exact field, had to make sure that his senior year ended in better fashion.

Porter would jump in front of the intended receiver, intercepting the pass. The Mustangs accomplished two things on that very play: their first regional championship and their first victory over the Hobart Brickies in program history.

To put it lightly, it was pandemonium on Columbia Avenue.

“I remember after celebrating on the field,” Dywan recalled. “I turned around and there were 10 purple jerseys face down in the grass like they were shot by a sniper. They were just deflated, defeated, didn’t even want to move.”

“It was a party for sure,” said Melby. “I remember being so exhausted that I was just watching everybody celebrate. As far as high school football memories, it had to be number one. You beat Hobart, you made it to a final four, and it was with some of my best friends.”

“It was a great moment,” said Marsh. “I remember I jumped in the air when we intercepted the ball, and I tore my calf muscle. I had to hobble over to shake hands.”

Although Munster would fall to the eventual state champion at DeKalb a week later, this game and team arguably sit alone as the greatest in the program’s history.

Munster has not won a game of that magnitude since, as they are hoping to add a second regional title next to that lone 1986 trophy.

It took four quarters, two overtimes, a devoted offseason, and so much more, all to accomplish one goal – to Beat the Brickies.