HOBART | Frankie Porras walked into Wally McCormack's office three years ago and told the Hobart football coach that he wanted to play for the Brickies. McCormack's jaw dropped.
"I asked him if he'd spoken to his family about it," McCormack said of the current 5-foot-9, 149-pound defensive back, who won the 130-pound IHSAA state championship in wrestling last winter. "He said he had and he wanted to play (football). I didn't expect him to because he is so good at wrestling.
"But we are very happy that he decided to play football with us."
"A lot of people were worried about me getting injured in football," Porras said. "But I knew I could still be great at wrestling and also play football. I wrestle almost year-round. Being off the mats during football season is good for me. I need the break. It's been good for me.
"When football ends I'm ready to go, I can't wait for wrestling to start. But this year I want our football season to keep going as long as it can. Wrestling can wait."
On Friday night, Hobart (4-7) will host Morton (10-1) in the Class 4A Sectional 9 championship game. The Brickies haven't won a sectional title since 1997, while the Governors have never won one.
Hobart has won three straight games, with the Brickies' last loss coming against Morton, 49-13, in Week 8. The seven-game losing streak beforehand was tough, especially for Porras, who finished off a 40-1 wrestling campaign with a 4-1 victory over Indianapolis Pike's D'Marcus Spencer at Conseco Fieldhouse.
"It was frustrating for me because we all believed we should've won those games we lost," Porras said. "We were right there with them, Griffith and Munster. We just didn't pull it off. But we're feeling good about ourselves right now. We're getting better. Coach McCormack has told us all season long that we were working to play our best in the sectional championship game.
"We feel like we're finally rolling forward."
Porras has a 4.2 grade point average and is being heavily recruited for wrestling. Purdue, Indiana and Columbia are the three schools that Porras has narrowed his college decision down to.
Wrestling always will be No. 1 with him. But he hopes he gets a later start on the mat this year.
"A lot of people have asked me if I'm worried about wrestling. No, I am not," Porras said. "I'm ready to ride this thing out as far as it can go. If we make it to state, I'm fine with that. I'll catch up on the mat. I'm excited we've gotten this far. I'm excited we get to play this Friday.
"If next Friday is there for us, I'm there."
McCormack hopes the season continues for a multitude of reasons. But being around Porras a little longer is right there near the top.
"Frankie is an unbelievably dedicated athlete who has worked hard and made himself a good football player," McCormack said. "If my son (Brady) turned out to be like Frankie, and I'm not talking about sports here, I would be very, very happy. He's just a great young man who does things the right way."
PREP FOOTBALL
Class 4A Sectional 9
Championship
Morton (10-1) at Hobart (4-7)
When: 7 p.m. Friday.
Radio/Internet: WZVN-FM (107.1), WJOB-AM (1230), heyregion.com.
Vote online
Who will win Friday's Sectional 9 championship game? Vote at nwi.com/sports.
