BricksCenter
DaDaDa DaDaDa
September 18, 2022
#21sports1team
Steve Prefontaine was an American long-distance runner who set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters between 1973-1975. He was a competitor at the 1972 Olympics for the United States and was preparing to race again in 1976 when his life was tragically cut short in an automobile accident. He was an incredible competitor ... one who was known to be an aggressive front-runner with an unbelievably strong will to perform. To this day, the "Prefontaine Classic" is still run every year at the University of Oregon.
As we approach the home stretch of the fall season, I think it's appropriate to look at a few quotes from "Pre" that help us refocus on what's important:
"Success isn't how far you go, but the distance you traveled from where you started."
The scoreboard does not define our success. We do, by working hard every day to become the best version of ourselves that we can be. How good can we get in the time we have left?
Brickies are known for hard WORK WORK WORK. To compete is an opportunity ... a gift. One that requires us to give our very best effort. If we can do that, our success will be evident.
Runners to your mark ... set ... it's time for BricksCenter!
Soccer
On Monday, the Lady Brickies hosted neighborhood rival River Forest at The Brickyard. The Ingots were missing a few players due to injury, so the game featured 8 vs. 8 on the field as opposed to 11 vs. 11. No matter ... junior Ella Freimuth got the scoring started early with a GOOOOOOOAAAAALL in the first two minutes of the game and our girls never looked back! In all, the Lady Brickies got goals from 10 different players (... that's right, I said 10) as they cruised to an easy 10-0 defeat of River Forest.
Tuesday, Hobart was back at it against NCC rival Lowell. This one is ALWAYS a BATTLE and the 2022 version did not disappoint. The Red Devils took an early 1-0 lead, but Lady Brickie sophomore Piper Ellenberger scored on a breakaway to tie it up! A few minutes later, Ellenberger added another GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAALL and all of a sudden our girls held a 2-1 advantage!! Late in the 1st half, Lowell knotted the scoreboard at 2-2 and the teams entered the break even. Over the final 40 minutes of play, the Red Devils outscored the Lady Brickies 3-1 and left town with a tough 5-3 win.
On Saturday, the Hammond Central Wolves visited The Brickyard for an afternoon contest. Under a warm September sun, these two teams went back and forth on the hot turf. After 40 minutes of play, the scoreboard showed all zeros. During the 2nd half, intensity increased as each squad tried desperately to find the back of the net! Thanks to some stellar D-D-D-DEFENSE on both sides, this one ended in a stalemate at 0-0.
The Lady Brickies are now 5-4-2 on the season and two HUGE games this week on the road ... @ Andrean and @ Boone Grove. GOOD LUCK LADIES!!!
Boys
On Wednesday night, the Brickies headed south on I-65 to face the Lowell Red Devils in NCC competition. In a frantic 1st 40 minutes of action, our boys LIT UP THE SCOREBOARD with 5 GOALS to take a commanding 5-1 lead into the break!! HOLY COW!! WHAT A HALF!!! Hobart added a goal in the 2nd half and the Brickies came away with a DOMINANT 6-1 VICTORY!! Junior Carson Bell scored two GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLS for Hobart ... classmates Jack Harris, Liam Deel & Carlos Gayton each added one ... and sophomore Gavin Guess also scored in the win!
Thursday, Hobart hosted Hanover Central for SENIOR NIGHT! After recognizing seniors Logan Perschau, Jacob Duggins & Stephanie Garcia, a very competitive first half left the scoreboard on all 0's after 40 minutes of play. Five minutes into the second half, Deel sent a shot into the back of the net for a GOOOOOOOOOAAAAALL and a 1-0 Brickie lead!! Roughly two minutes later, junior Thomas Martin put a header past the Hanover keeper for another GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALL and our boys had some breathing room at 2-0! Junior Jack Cruz scored the final GOOOOOOOOOOAAALL of the night and Hobart sent our 3 seniors out in style with a 3-0 VICTORY!!
On Saturday, Rensselaer was the destination for a morning contest. The host Bombers came in with a 9-1 record looking for a big win. Our boys shut down those thoughts in a hurry as the Brickies netted two 1st half GOOOOOOOOOAAAALLS and held a 2-0 advantage at the break. In the 2nd stanza, Hobart cranked the offense up to another level and scored 4 MORE GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAALLS to earn an easy 6-0 VICTORY!!! WOW!!! Deel and freshman Adrian Stojkoski each scored twice ... Bell & Cruz netted the other two scores for Hobart and junior goalie Parker Glass had 6 saves in the shutout win!
Hobart is now 10-1-1 on the year and still UNDEFEATED in NCC play at 3-0! Andrean and Kouts visit The Friendly City this week as our boys look to keep the victory train rolling down the tracks!! DON'T STOP NOW BOYS!!!
#WEAREONE
SENIOR NIGHT 2022!
Football
... we're gonna roll those Devils on the side, on the side, ro-o-ooll, hey!
Hobart got the ball first and senior Cody Johnston got things going with a BRILLIANT return near midfield! On the Brickies' 3rd play from scrimmage, sophomore Willie Shearer took the handoff and raced 59 yards for a TOUCHDOWN!!!! Lowell came right back ... scored a TD of their own and merely 5 minutes into the game, the scoreboard already showed a 7-7 tie! On Hobart's next possession, sophomore QB Noah Ehrlich found Shearer open over the middle and hit him for another TOUCHDOWN!!! In an ELECTRIC 1st 12 minutes, our boys led 14-7!! As exciting as the 1st quarter was for offense, the 2nd quarter was controlled by the defense. Neither team could muster any points and the Bricks entered the halftime locker room with a 7-point advantage!
After the break, Ehrlich once again hit paydirt over the middle, but this time the recipient was Johnston on 3rd & 9 from the 16-yard line! Once senior kicker Ryan Pimentel sent the point after through the uprights, the Brickies were now up 21-7!! Over the next 15 minutes of play, the Hobart D-D-D-DEFENSE sealed the VICTORY!! Lowell threatened inside the red zone 4 times and only scored once as our boys HELD THE LINE and preserved the THRILLING 21-14 WIN!!
Shearer was selected as the Crowel Companies Lanterman HERO of the GAME for gaining 119 yards on the ground, catching 4 passes for another 66 yards and scoring 2 touchdowns!!! Shout out to the Hobart O-line for doing a fantastic job creating space for Willie to run through!
The Brickies have now won 3 straight and own a 3-2 mark overall ... 1-0 in NCC play. Hobart will host Andrean on Friday in another HUGE NCC showdown, but this one will be on Don Howell Field @ The Brickyard in front of a Homecoming crowd. LET'S GO BRICKS!!
#PLAY15
Check out what the NWI Times had to say about Friday's VICTORY at Lowell!
CONGRATULATIONS to Brickie Willie Shearer for being selected as The Crowel Agency Inc. Lanternman Super Hero of the Game from Friday's victory at Lowell!
Boys Tennis
Tuesday, Hammond Academy was supposed to visit H-town, but a scheduling snafu over at HAST resulted in an inner-squad scrimmage for the Bricks. No reschedule date is set.
On Wednesday, our boys FINALLY got to play some tennis as Porter County neighbor Wheeler came across County Line Rd for a non-conference match. Prior to play beginning, Hobart recognized senior player Cam Gonzalez and senior manager Madelyn Baltrushaitis. Once the festivities concluded, it was GAME ON!! Junior Jacob Lewis (#2 singles) & sophomore Levi Snyder (#3 singles) won in straight sets to give the Brickies a 2-0 lead. Gonzalez WON a tough battle at #1 singles to give Hobart the winning 3rd point in the match and then our #2 doubles team of juniors Kaden Miller-Lane & Gavin Pettit rallied for a 3rd set tie-breaker victory!! In the end, the final was BRICKIES 4, Bearcats 1 - AWESOME!!
Thursday, Andrean visited The Friendly City for an NCC battle. Snyder bumped up to #2 singles and WON in 3 sets ... junior Connor Niemann won in straight sets at #3 singles and the overall match was tied at 2-2 with only #2 doubles still playing. Under the lights and with the match on the line, Miller-Lane & sophomore Evan Fuller DELIVERED!! In a MARATHON match, our boys gutted out a hard fought 7-5, 6-7, 7-5 WIN!! WHAT A MATCH!!
The Brickies are currently 4-7 on the year with one week remaining before IHSAA Sectional play begins! Our boys are showing consistent improvement and have won two straight matches ... KEEP IT GOING BRICKS!!
#ACES
SENIOR NIGHT 2022!
Girls Golf
This was a week of emotions for the Lady Brickies as they wrapped up the regular season on Tuesday and then swung the wrenches for the last time on Friday at the IHSAA Sectional.
On Tuesday, Hobart hit the cart path for a contest against Portage & KV. Can you say "peaking at the right time"? Juniors Morgan Ellenberger & Jesse Neace led the charge for the Lady Bricks as both fired sub-60 rounds! Unfortunately, the Kougars & Indians looked like they were throwing darts out there as opposed to swinging clubs and their accuracy was too much for our girls to overcome in the team scoring. Still - it was a nice tune-up for the sectional for the Lady Brickies!
On Friday, our girls traveled to the Valparaiso Country Club to play 18 holes in the IHSAA Sectional hosted by Valparaiso High School. VCC is one of the tougher courses around and the Lady Brickies played well - finishing 4th overall out of the 10 schools represented. The FAB 5 on Friday were junior Jillian Wilkinson, senior Emma McCoy, Ellenberger, Neace & sophomore Laila Perschau. Unfortunately, only the top 3 teams advance to the regional, which means a memorable fall season of golf came to an end for our team.
Wilkinson actually finished the 18-hole tournament tied for the 3rd & final individual spot that qualifies for the REGIONAL ... which meant PLAYOFF!! (Jim Mora, "Playoffs?") YES - Jill & Alyssa Hoernig from Boone Grove played an additional - SUDDEN VICTORY- hole to see who would advance! As BRILLIANTLY as Jill played throughout the day, unfortunately Hoernig bested her by 1 stroke in the playoff and earned the advancing spot. A tough end, but a GREAT FINISH for the 1st-year golfer!!
This was a season to remember for Hobart ... one that kept us on the map in Region girls golf and provided plenty of chest-pounding moments of BRICKIE PRIDE! Congratulations to Coach Gary Roach, assistant Crisse Hairston, and all of the Lady Brickies for a TERRIFIC year! WE ARE VERY PROUD OF YOU!!
#BETHEBALL
CONGRATULATIONS ON A GREAT SEASON LADIES!
Volleyball
Tuesday, the Andrean 59ers visited H-town for an NCC showdown! Andrean entered the contest with a record of 16-5, ranked #2 in class 2A, and sporting an undefeated mark in Northwest Crossroads Conference play. During the opening two sets, the 59ers looked every bit of their ranking as they controlled the contest and held a quick 2-0 advantage. In the 3rd set, Hobart FOUGHT HARD to get back in the game, but ultimately Andrean was just too much on this night.
On Thursday, our girls were back on the road - this time in west Lake County to face the Illiana Christian Vikings. The Lady Bricks had trouble getting things going in the 1st set and lost 11-25, but came out swinging in the 2nd and took Illiana to the brink before falling 23-25. In the 3rd set, both teams tried to seize control and were scoring on serves, spikes & blocks! The Lady Vikings eventually gained some momentum and ended up securing the 3-0 victory with a 15-25 win in the final set.
After navigating arguably the toughest stretch of the season, the Lady Brickies still sit at 12-10 on the year and 2-3 in the NCC. The 2nd half of the conference season begins this week with Highland - GO GET 'EM GIRLS!!
#WEAREHOBART
Cross Country
A chance for our kids to race against some of the very best around to get a glimpse of what we could be when the IHSAA Tournament Series begins in a few weeks. The course at New Prairie High School is also the site of the IHSAA Semi-State, which is exactly where the Brickies hope to be racing again in late October!
Girls
The Lady Brickies finished 24th overall out of 32 schools who were represented in the Class AAA race composed of all of the largest enrollment schools in attendance. Freshman Cassie Cohen paced Hobart finishing 13th with a time of 19:57 - her 4th race under 20 minutes this year! Classmate Joanna Cantu (144th), junior Ella Hornak (161st), freshman Millie Massey (184th), junior Addy Black (213th) & freshman Audrey Turley (218th) rounded out the varsity line-up that traversed the 5K course for the Lady Brickies!
In the reserve race, Hobart placed 13th out of 33 schools represented! Freshman Delaney Williams (77th) was the first Lady Brickie to enter the chute. Classmate Alyssa Trail (92nd), senior Haylie Skripac (93rd), junior Kyle King (134th), and freshmen Samantha Stankich (149th), Danielle Gawrysiak (165th) & Ella Oliver (239th) rounded out the Hobart line up.
Boys
The Brickie boyz placed 20th out of 33 schools competing in the Class AAA race. Sophomore Felix Lopez led the attack with a lifetime best performance on the NP course and a 52nd place finish! Junior Owen Stankich (94th), sophomore Kolin Gladney (101st), freshmen Lu Cohen (155th) & Durgon Click (160th), and junior Quentin Stengel (194th) completed the varsity lineup for H-town along with junior Vinny Guteirrez, who was unable to finish due to injury.
Hobart also had competitors in both the frosh-soph & reserve races for the boys. Freshman Ethan Murchek (58th) and sophomore Nick Meagher (100th) represented the Brickies in the 9-10 race and junior Calvin Shaginaw (66th) and seniors Tommy Williamson (92nd) & Kerry Fortenberry (114th) challenged the course @ NP in the reserve race.
For the day, here is what Coach A had to say,
"New Prairie can be tough sometimes. Team scores don't tell the whole story of the Brickies today. We saw some really good things ... we are young and improving. The most important thing is we have some kids who really care about, support, and want the best for each other. They lift each other up and hold each other accountable. These are the traits that will get us where we want to be and make the journey much more special."
Well said Coach! Thank you for seeing and modeling the importance of the journey ... and proving once again that our purpose here is so much more than just running races.
In two weeks, Hobart will run in the NCC Championship at Lowell ... and then onto the IHSAA Sectionals. Coach A has trademarked the next few weeks "OCTOBERFAST" - definitely an exciting time for running!!
#PRIDEANDTRADITION
"They lift each other up ... "
Check out this recent article on freshman Cassie Cohen!
Check out the new Brickie Camo options at www.hobart.k12.in.us/spiritwear!
This week is HOMECOMING! Lots of cool stuff planned as we build towards Friday's game against Andrean!
Sports Schedule This Week
Boys Tennis vs. Merrillville
Tuesday
Girls Soccer @ Andrean *
Boys Tennis @ Morton
Volleyball vs. Highland *
Wednesday
Volleyball vs. Hanover Central
Boys Soccer vs. Andrean *
Girls Soccer @ Boone Grove
Thursday
Boys Tennis @ Crown Point
Volleyball @ Kankakee Valley *
9th Football vs. Morton
Friday
Football vs. Andrean (HOMECOMING)
Saturday
Girls Cross Country @ Highland Invite
Boys Cross Country @ Highland Invite
Boys Soccer vs. Kouts
JV Football @ Andrean
* = NCC Opponent