BricksCenter
DaDaDa DaDaDa
September 8, 2019
21 Sports ... 1 Team ... WE ARE HOBART!
Each of our fall sports are running their own marathons right now - trying to learn about what it means to be a part of a team, to grow individually and collectively as people and as teammates, and to improve skills ... both mental and physical ... that will help us reach our potential this season and ultimately in life. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose, that's always a part of the game. The goal is always to win the game and be at our best, but the purpose is to be at our best so we can endure, enjoy, and succeed in the marathon we are all racing ... life. If we can achieve that, the VICTORY BELL will most certainly ring!!
The Brickies have been great so far ... showing growth and improvement every week. With the fall sports season approaching the midway point, the 2nd half looks to be better than the first if our kids continue to "race" with everything they have!!
#ALLMYLIFE
Cross Country
Girls
The 79th Annual Hobart Invite was run at Big Maple Lake County Park - an extension of Deep River and a PERFECT venue for some high school cross country in the fall! The Lady Brickies welcomed 9 schools from around the area to compete on the specially designed 2-mile course. Once the exchange of pleasantries were over, Hobart went on to DOMINATE the competition en route to a 1st PLACE team finish! Led by sophomore sensation Sydney Belk's 1st place finish, the Lady Brickies put 3 more runners in the top 5 and placed all 7 varsity members among the top 16 overall finishers ... WOW!!
Here are the MAGNIFICENT SEVEN from Wednesday's race:
1st - Sydney Belk (sophomore)
3rd - Lauren Romeo (senior)
4th - Hailey Kerlin (senior)
5th - Lily Butler (junior)
13th - Emma Ramirez (sophomore)
14th - Ja'Diah Belk (sophomore)
16th - Ahliyah Villarruel - (junior)
Boys
Our boys welcomed the same 9 schools to Big Maple Lake on Wednesday chasing the same goal as the girls - PR! The goal is always to run our best and let the winning & losing take care of itself. Still competing without returning #1 senior Bryan Cherry thanks to a lingering lower leg issue, Hobart ran EXTREMELY WELL and finished 3rd overall ... a narrow 7 points from overall winner Andrean and 6 points from 2nd place Victory Christian Academy. Once again it was junior juggernaut Bruce Leipart taking the tape at the finish for his 2nd consecutive overall VICTORY! Following Leipart were sophomore Joe Meagher in 8th and freshman Ryan Wein in 9th to put 3 Brickies in the top 10!
Here are the boys varsity finishers:
1st - Bruce Leipart (junior)
8th - Joe Meagher (sophomore)
9th - Ryan Wein (freshman)
18th - Donovan Ruiz (sophomore)
25th - Kaidin Click (sophomore)
29th - Darrin Johnson (junior)
44th - Jacob Marcayda (sophomore)
The Brickies have a HUGE week ahead with races at New Prairie on Tuesday and the annual Bob Thomas Invite @ Lowell on Saturday! As former coach Steve Schwanke used to say at the start of every race, "Hurry back!" :)
#GRATEFULLYDEDICATEDXC
Look who Coach A caught up with on Friday night ... HHS grads at the NEXT LEVEL!! Current members of PNW's cross country team include Diego Gomez ('18) and Christina & Holly Shaginaw ('19)!! #Pride&Tradition
Soccer
Girls
The girls contest scheduled for Tuesday @ Munster was postponed until Saturday, September 21st due to standing water on Munster's field ... which means that a Thursday night contest with area top 10 Griffith became the MARQUEE MATCH-UP! This one was another AWESOME game for the Lady Brickies! For nearly 30 minutes, D-D-D-DEFENSE ruled the field as neither team was able to find the net and the score remained 0-0. Then, like a bolt of lightning, Hobart struck from the right side as senior Grace Nestich hit PAYDIRT from about 15 yards out for a 1-0 lead!! At the break, the game remained 1-0 with the Lady Brickies looking to keep the pressure on! In the 2nd 40 minutes, both teams continued to attack ... unfortunately, it was the Lady Panthers who netted 2 goals while Hobart just couldn't get anything in. Our girls FOUGHT HARD and WORKED until the clock showed 0, but it wasn't enough as Griffith ESCAPED the friendly city with a hard earned 2-1 win.
The Lady Brickies are currently 1-3, but if a few plays here and there had gone differently, they could be 3-1 ... that's how close our girls are. KEEP WORKING LADIES! WE BELIEVE IN YOU!!
Boys
On Wednesday, the Brickies hosted area #7-ranked Munster in an NCC SHOWDOWN! Last year, Munster got the best of Hobart by a 4-2 score ... and our boys were looking for a little payback in The Brickyard! Play was INTENSE early on with both teams going HARD at each other. In all the intensity, the Mustangs were able to squeak in a goal around the 36 minute mark for a 1-0 lead. The rest of the first half was a clinic on how to play GREAT DEFENSE as neither team could gain an edge and after 40 minutes, the score was 1-0 Munster. The Brickies continued to ATTACK in the 2nd half ... putting pressure on the Mustang goal time and time again, but we just could not find the back of the net and the score remained 1-0 until Munster scored an insurance goal with less than a minute left in the game. Basically, our boys played a top 10 team to a 0-0 tie for 75 of 80 minutes, but the Mustangs were able to avoid the upset bid and slipped out of The Brickyard with a narrow 2-0 victory. The EFFORT displayed by the Brickies was OUTSTANDING ... something to be VERY PROUD of!
Much like our girls, these boys are THIS CLOSE (finger and thumb symbolizing a small space) to turning the corner. MAKE IT HAPPEN! YOU CAN DO IT!!
#WEBELIEVE ... #WEAREONE
Football
The Boneyard was ELECTRIC on Friday night with seemingly EVERYTHING going on for "Panther Pride Night" ... unfortunately for the hosts, it was BRICKIE PRIDE on display for all to see as Hobart thoroughly CRUSHED the Panthers on both sides of the ball en route to a convincing 42-0 VICTORY!!
The Brickies scored early and often to take a commanding 21-0 lead midway through the 2nd quarter. Junior quarterback Riley Johnston got it going with a long touchdown run on Hobart's first possession of the game. Senior running back DJ Lipke was PHENOMENAL in rushing 18 times for a team-high 95 yards and scoring a hat-trick with 3 TD's!! Junior Zach Vode had a break-out game as well with 5 catches for a team-high 126 yards and a touchdown! Senior Matthew Benton scored the 6th Hobart TD and hauled in 3 catches for 26 yards. The offensive line was AMAZING, showing lots of growth over the 1st 3 weeks of the season!
As many highlights as there were for Hobart, #1 would be the D-D-D-DEFENSE! This unit has been FANTASTIC all season and pitched a shut-out on Friday! The very best part was their goal-line stand with a little over 5 minutes left in the 1st half. With Griffith driving and gaining momentum, junior Riley Johnston made a GUTSY hustle play sprinting from across the field to knock the Panther ball-carrier out of bounds at about the 1-yard line in what looked to be a sure touchdown. At that point, the BRICKWALL of defenders stood tall and held Griffith out of the endzone on 4 consecutive plays to squash any thoughts the hosts might've had on making a comeback. Hobart then put a few more nails in the coffin as they drove 98 yards for a score and a 28-0 lead. One more touchdown before half made it 35-0 and the Brickies were ROLLING!
Hobart returns home this coming Friday to play Culver Academy in the first Coaches vs. Cancer football game ... start time is 6:30PM - BE THERE!!
#PLAY15
If you haven't been to a football game yet ... you are MISSING OUT! These guys are FUN to watch! BE THERE on Friday to watch Hobart take on Culver Academy in the COACHES vs. CANCER game @ THE BRICKYARD! 6:30pm start
Girls Golf
Who's talking about flutes? We're here to talk about GOLF! Although, a golf course without holes is also not a golf course :). Fortunately for the Lady Brickies, every course we've played has at least 18 holes and it is taking fewer and fewer strokes to find them!
On Wednesday at Wicker Park, the site of this fall's NCC Championship on Thursday, Hobart was basically THROWING DARTS out there and shooting their BEST ... I said their BEST golf of the season in defeating the Calumet Lady Warriors 207-278!! The 207 was the lowest team total this fall and one of the best in recent history as senior Skye Lipke and junior Alivia Ahner tied for medalist honors with a score of 45 each on 9 holes. Senior Maddy Buxbaum tallied 55 and sophomore Morgan Sanchez rounded out the top 4 for the Lady Brickies with a 62.
Thursday, the Lady Brickies returned home for a HUGE Northwest Crossroads Conference match-up against preseason favorite Kankakee Valley. On a beautiful evening in Hobart, our girls hung tough and were within reach of the Lady Kougars ... unfortunately, it wasn't enough and the Lady Brickies fell to the NCC leaders 203-226. Again it was senior Skye Lipke leading Hobart with a 49. Junior Alivia Ahner (51) and seniors Maddy Buxbaum (61) and Faith Scott (65) rounded out the varsity line-up.
Earning a split for the week puts the girls at 7-8 overall this year and 1-2 in conference play. This is a BUSY week for the Lady Brickies as they will be swinging the wrenches often - including at Wicker Park on Thursday for the NCC Championship. For some inspiring words regarding the enormity of the next five days for Hobart, once again we turn to golf legend Ty Webb - "Stop thinking ... let things happen ... and be the ball."
#NANANANANANANANANA
Volleyball
On Tuesday, Hobart traveled to Kankakee Valley to play the #9-ranked Lady Kougars. KV, very much like the Lady Brickies, is off to a GREAT start this year and this one was shaping up to be a classic NCC battle! Unfortunately, coming off the 3-day weekend and going a full week without playing a game thanks to a cancellation last Thursday, Hobart struggled early to find some rhythm as KV took the first game 25-12. In the 2nd, the Lady Brickies regrouped and battled back in what was the BEST game of the night, but the Lady Kougars were too much down the stretch and went up 2-0 with a 25-20 win. In the 3rd game, it was all KV in a 25-4 victory to earn the 3-0 sweep. When high school teams play 26+ games per season, inevitably they have at least one where nothing seems to go right ... and that's what this one was for the Lady Brickies ... just a tough night. Adversity helps teams learn and grow - finding strength to overcome and continue fighting collectively as one unit is something all teams need to do ... down the road, even though this wasn't the outcome we hoped for, this game and this night will help our girls improve.
Wednesday, Merrillville was the destination and the Lady Pirates were the opponent as Hobart looked to rebound from Tuesday's tough loss. WOW - was this one another INSTANT CLASSIC! These two teams went back and forth ... Merrillville won the first game 25-23 ... Hobart won the second game by the same score to tie things up at 1-1. The Lady Pirates came back to take the 3rd game 25-21. With their backs against the wall, Hobart came out like gang-busters in the 4th game ... THESE GIRLS WERE ON FIRE (thank you Alicia Keys)! What a game! It was ALL Lady Brickies in a 25-14 win to once again even things up at 2-2! In the 5th and deciding game, it was up for grabs ... Hobart and Merrillville each gave it EVERYTHING they had and played like CHAMPIONS. Sadly, it was the Lady Pirates who came out on top 15-11 to earn the 3-2 win. It was a great game ... one where both teams deserved to win. The EFFORT displayed was something Brickie Nation would and should be VERY PROUD of.
With two tough losses last week, the Lady Brickies fell to 6-4 overall on the season and 0-1 in NCC play. Lowell, Valpo and Munster dot the landscape this week ... along with a tournament over at Chesterton. One game at a time ... WE CAN DO THIS!!
#WEWORKFORIT
Boys Tennis
In their most active week this season, the Brickies played Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matches! It was exhausting, but worth it with the experience gained that will certainly pay dividends with Sectional play a little more than 3 weeks away.
On Thursday, Hobart traveled to Dowling Park in Hammond to battle the Gavit High School Gladiators at the home of PNW tennis. Still playing without a #3 singles competitor, the Brickies were able to pull out the 'W' over the south Hammond school. Winning for Hobart were senior Evan Kara (#1 singles), junior Max Jancich (#2 singles) and the #2 doubles team of Cover and Mohr.
Saturday, the Brickies were "On The Road Again" (thank you Willie Nelson) @ New Prairie to compete in the NP Invitational ... and OUR BOYS SHINED! A 3rd place team finish overall was OUTSTANDING! Placing 2nd in their divisions were Kara at #1 singles and Cover & Mohr at #2 doubles ... Jancich placed 3rd at #2 singles and the #1 doubles team of Tomaga & Kolopanis were 6th. GREAT JOB BOYS!!
The Brickies are 3-2 so far and 0-1 in NCC play. No rest for the weary this week with Highland, Morton & Munster on Tuesday-Thursday ... not to mention a tournament @ Highland on Saturday. Better eat our WHEATIES this week boys - LET'S GO!!
#SERVINGACES
Athlete of the Month - AUGUST
Senior Addison Metts - Volleyball
Junior Bobby Babcock - Football
#BRICKIEPRIDE
Safety In Football
This week, look for decals on the Brickie helmets in support of this campaign. Here in H-town, we are blessed to have two OUTSTANDING athletic trainers - Mark Leto and Amanda Marshall. They, along with their staff of student trainers, provide excellence in sports medicine healthcare for our student-athletes on a daily basis. They are experts in prevention, examination, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of emergent, acute or chronic injuries and medical conditions and play a vital part in keeping student-athletes healthy and safe.
For more info about the "Safety" campaign, visit the Indiana Athletic Trainers’ Association website at www.iatausa.org.
#TRAININGDAYS
Sports Schedule This Week
Girls Golf @ Highland (Wicker Park) *
Girls Soccer vs. Hammond High
Tuesday
Volleyball vs. Lowell *
Boys Tennis @ Highland *
Girls Cross Country @ New Prairie (Cougar Kick-Off)
Boys Cross Country @ New Prairie (Cougar Kick-Off)
Girls Soccer vs. Kankakee Valley *
Wednesday
Girls Golf @ Merrillville
Boys Tennis vs. Hammond Morton
Volleyball @ Valparaiso
Boys Soccer @ Kankakee Valley *
Thursday
Girls Golf @ NCC Championship (Wicker Park) *
Girls Soccer vs. Bishop Noll
Boys Tennis @ Munster *
Volleyball @ Munster *
9th Football @ Griffith
Friday
Football vs. Culver Academy (6:30pm start - Coaches vs. Cancer Night)
Saturday
Volleyball @ Chesterton Tournament
Boys Soccer vs. Portage
Girls Soccer @ Chesterton
Girls Cross Country @ Lowell (Bob Thomas Invite)
Boys Cross Country @ Lowell (Bob Thomas Invite)
Boys Tennis @ Highland Doubles Tournament
JV Football @ Culver Academy
* = NCC Opponent