BricksCenter
DaDaDa DaDaDa
September 19, 2021
#21sports1team
This past Friday night, we saw it again from 1956 HHS graduate Ted Talian. Ted was a senior on the 1955 Brickie cross country team that placed 2nd at the IHSAA State Finals. These Hobart Harriers, coached by Frank Kurth himself, were inducted into the Hobart Athletics HALL OF FAME at halftime of Friday's varsity football contest against Lowell. Ted was honored and humbled with the recognition, but unable to make the trip from California. Through correspondence with his daughter Carole, we still got to witness his chest-pounding BRICKIE PRIDE on full display as he watched the game via livestream from his home on the west coast. As you can see in the picture below, he's wearing his letterman sweater.
Once a Brickie, Always a Brickie isn't just a phrase ... it's who we are. It can be easy to lose sight of that in a fast-paced world where the word "community" doesn't seem to mean what it used to. THANK YOU Ted for reminding us how important it is to know who we are, to take great pride in where we're from, and to embrace how truly special being a Brickie is.
Grab your trowels ... it's time for BricksCenter!
Football
WOW! In case you missed it, YOOOUUUR HOOOBAAAART BRRRRICKIEEEEES battled arch rival Lowell on Friday night on Don Howell Field @ The Brickyard! You know the line, "Oh, our team will shine tonight, our team will shine"? (If not, you've got issues this newsletter can't help solve) Anyway, fans in attendance should've brought some welding masks because our boys SHINED BRIGHT!!
After a scoreless 1st quarter of play, the Brickies finally got on the board with a 31-yard touchdown pass from freshman QB Noah Ehrlich to senior Miki Djankovich! Less than a minute later, junior Gavin Miller-Lane caused a Lowell FUMMMMMMBLLEE and senior Jacob Irizarry recovered in Red Devil territory! Ehrlich went back to the air to find junior Trey Gibson from 25 yards out for another TOUCHDOWN and a 12-0 hafltime lead!
That's when things got a little crazy :)
On the 1st play from scrimmage in the 3rd quarter, Gibson took the handoff in the backfield, found some room and SPRINTED 75 yards for a SCORE!! Djankovich drilled the PAT and Hobart held a commanding 19-0 lead!! The Red Devils responded with a 75-yard drive on their own that resulted in a 1-yard plunge into the endzone, cutting the Brickie lead to 19-7. After a defensive stop, Lowell scored again - this time on a 25-yard scamper that got them within 1 score ... 19-14 ... with roughly 2 minutes still to play in the 3rd quarter.
Early in the 4th, Ehrlich scored on a 1-yard keeper to give Hobart a 26-14 cushion! The Red Devils came back with a 40-yard TD pass to cut the Brickie lead in half, 26-20, after a missed PAT. Hobart answered with a 60-yard drive and pushed the lead back to double-digits with another Gibson TOUCHDOWN ... this time from 5 yards out ... Hobart leads 32-20 with just under 5 minutes left! When senior Marc Enslen intercepted a Red Devil pass on their next possession, it seemed to be the proverbial "nail in the coffin", but Lowell came back AGAIN and scored from 15-yards out to make it 32-27. With under a minute left, the Red Devils tried an onside kick to get the ball back, but senior Ryan "The Hammer" Flores sealed the deal by scooping it up and RUMBLING 50 yards for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!!
Final Score: Hobart 39, Lowell 27
From a fans perspective, this one HAD IT ALL!! WHAT A GAME!! Our boys are now 3-2 on the season and 1-0 in NCC play. The Brickies travel to 5959 Broadway next Friday for another HUGE NCC SHOWDOWN ... this time against Andrean. I recommend getting there early.
LET'S GO BRICKS!
#PLAY15
Check out what the NWI Times had to say about our boys on Friday night!
Freshman QB Noah Ehrlich was featured this past week in the NWI Times!
Girls Golf
This was a week of emotions for the Lady Brickies as they celebrated SENIOR NIGHT with a fun-filled team scramble on Monday, wrapped up the regular season on Tuesday, and then swung the wrenches for the last time on Friday at the IHSAA Sectional.
Monday, SENIOR NIGHT looked a little different in 2021 thanks to a late cancellation by previously scheduled opponent Boone Grove. Instead of competing against the Wolves, our girls celebrated a strong senior class by playing an intra-squad scramble and enjoyed one last round together at River Pointe!
On Tuesday, Hobart hit the cart path for a contest against Portage & Hanover Central. Can you say "peaking at the right time"? PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME!! Our girls looked PHENOMENAL in their last regular season match ... posting a season low team score of 207! Were they throwing darts or hitting golf balls? THAT'S AN AWESOME SCORE!! A quartet of SENIORS did the damage ... Sydney Belk shot a 48, Brooke Blanchard 49, Shanena Knight 54, and Autumn Turley 56. Knight's round was a career best and included the first BIRDIE of her high school career!
On Friday, the 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 5th overall out of 10 teams competing. The FAB 4 on Friday were Belk, Blanchard, Turley and classmate Morgan Sanchez. Unfortunately, only the top 3 teams advance to the regional, which means a memorable fall season of golf came to an end.
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!!
... and for our 6 seniors ... always remember, ONCE A BRICKIE ... ALWAYS A BRICKIE!
#BETHEBALL
SENIOR NIGHT 2021
IHSAA SECTIONAL ... Brooke, Morgan, Sydney & Autumn
Soccer
Girls
With 2 on the schedule + 2 more to make-up from earlier this season, the Lady Brickies found themselves saddled with 4 games in 6 days. Any concerns about conditioning Coach Provins? Nope
Monday, our girls hosted Bishop Noll in a game that was postponed in favor of an NCC game last Thursday. This one was scheduled with very short notice, but the Lady Brickies were game! Both D-D-D-DEFENSES were locked in during the 1st 40 minutes of play and at halftime, the scoreboard showed a 0-0 tie. In the 66th minute of the game, Bishop Noll scored on a corner kick to break the scoreless stalemate and hung on for the remaining 14 minutes to secure a 1-0 victory. Hobart played their tails off, just couldn't get one in the net.
On Tuesday, Hobart traveled down I-65 to Lowell for an NCC match-up against the Red Devils. In yet another contest DOMINATED by D-D-D-DEFENSE, the Red Devils scored with just 3.7 seconds remaining in the game and sent our girls back to H-town with a tough 1-0 defeat.
Thursday, the Lady Brickies headed East on I-94 to square off against Michigan City. After yet another scoreless 1st half of action, Hobart FINALLY got it going on offense when freshman Natalie Hostetler scored a GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALL off an assist from classmate Piper Ellenberger to give our girls a 1-0 lead early in the 2nd half! Ellenberger would add 3 more GOOOOOOOAAAAALLS of her own before the final buzzer sounded ... assisted by classmate Makenna Rotz & sophomore Ella Freimuth ... and Hobart scored a HUGE VICTORY over the Lady Wolves 4-0!!
On Saturday, Hobart again played the role of ROAD WARRIORS ... this time at Hammond Central. Freshman Laila Perschau kept the offense rolling with 2 GOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLS in the 2nd half ... one assisted by Freimuth ... and the Lady Brickies WON by a 2-0 score! Junior keeper Rylee Cotton was PHENOMENAL with a clean sheet in goal and the D-D-D-DEFENSE continued to show improvement in only allowing 2 goals in 4 games!!
The Lady Brickies are currently 5-6 on the season, but still looking for that 1st NCC win. A home game against rival Andrean awaits on Tuesday. WE ... WE BELIEVE ... you know the rest!!
Boys
With 3 games in 4 days to close out the week and a chance to stay in the driver's seat in the hunt for an NCC crown, this was HUGE stretch for our boys!
Wednesday was SENIOR NIGHT for the Brickies as they hosted NCC rival Lowell. After recognition of seniors Angel Cuevas, Ian Freimuth, and Ivan Garcia, play began and was extremely competitive throughout the 1st 40 minutes. With just 3.6 seconds remaining in the half, sophomore Parker Glass sent a crossing pass in front of the net and junior foreign exchange student Pedro Villar slipped it past the goalie for a GOOOOOOOOAAAAALL and a 1-0 BRICKIE LEAD!! Our boys were on the ATTACK all night long ... keeping the ball in Lowell territory for most of the game and putting a ton of pressure on the Red Devil defense. Finally, sophomore Liam Deel scored in the 62nd minute to give Hobart a 2-0 advantage and the proverbial floodgates opened!! Freimuth sent one into the back of the net for a GOOOOOOOOOAAAAALL to make it 3-0 in the 70th minute and Deel added one more for good measure ... assisted by classmate Jack Cruz ... to give the Brickies a CONVINCING 4-0 VICTORY!! Junior goalie Ryan Pimentel recorded 2 saves in Hobart's 3rd shutout of the season!
On Thursday, the Brickies headed South to St. John to face future NCC foe Hanover Central. This one was all Hobart as our boys netted 3 GOOOOOOOOOAAAAALLS in each half to earn an easy 6-0 WIN!! Freimuth registered a hat trick with 3 scores ... assisted by sophomores Jack Harris & Luke Weinman along with fellow senior Ivan Garcia ... and a trio of sophomores took care of the rest of the scoring -- Deel, Carson Bell (also assisted by Harris), and Carlos Gayton (assisted by Glass). Pimentel had 3 saves in the win.
Saturday, Hobart welcomed Rensselaer to The Friendly City looking to defeat the Bombers for the 1st time in program history. Again showing a BALANCED ATTACK from all angles, the Brickies took a 2-0 lead into halftime and then doubled it after the break to send Rensselaer home in defeat 4-0!! The 4 GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLS for Hobart were scored by 4 different Brickies ... freshman Eddie Udave (assisted by Bell), Freimuth (assisted by Weinman), Bell (assisted by Glass) and Deel (assisted by Glass) - that's what I call BALANCE!!
3rd straight shutout on D-D-D-DEFENSE? Check. Stay undefeated? Check. Make history? Check.
Our boys are currently 7-0-3 on the season and 3-0 in NCC action! Just call them BUTTER 'cause they must be on a ROLL!! Hobart will look to keep it rolling with three more contests this week! DON'T STOP NOW BOYS!!!
#WEAREONE
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 down the road!
Girls
The Lady Brickies finished 17th overall out of 27 schools who were represented in the Class AAA race composed of all of the largest enrollment schools in attendance. Sophomore Ella Hornak paced Hobart finishing 61st with a SEASON BEST time of 21:36! Junior Gianna Rodriguez (97th), seniors Mikayla Fuentes (107th) & Olivia Garcia (125th), and sophomore Kylee King (126th) rounded out the varsity line-up that traversed the 5K course for the Lady Brickies!
In the reserve race, Hobart placed 14th out of 28 schools represented! Sophomore Addy Black turned in a SEASON BEST performance to place 70th overall. Juniors Haylie Skripac (79th) & Madison Jones (86th), sophomore Adrianna Arauz (90th), and freshman Olivia Alexander (110th) also represented the Lady Brickies along with foreign exchange student Stefanie Tiburcio.
Boys
Coach A mixed things up a bit this year @ NP. With only 1 senior and 1 junior racing, the Brickies were divided into 3 groups ... varsity, reserve, & frosh-soph. The split squad gave the coaching staff a good look at where our guys are currently and a chance to see where our youngsters might be in a few years! Senior Jonah Wells was the lone Brickie representative in the varsity race ... finishing 137th overall. Hobart also had an incomplete team racing in the reserve race with sophomore Giovanni Nunez leading the trio of Brickies competing with a 128th place finish. He was joined by freshman Nick Meagher (145th) and junior Tommy Williamson (186th).
In the freshman-sophomore race, Hobart SHINED with a RUNNER-UP finish out of 31 represented! Led by freshman Felix Lopez who placed 5th, these Hobart Harriers put all 5 scorers in the top 23 overall finishers! Sophomore Owen Stankich (12th), freshman Kolin Gladney (14th), and sophomores Ryan Mattel (20th) & Vinny Gutierrez (23rd) rounded out the Brickie top 5! Fellow sophomores Thomas Martin, Jayden Ramos & Quentin Stengel also competed for Hobart! AMAZING!!!
In all, the Brickies saw 12 SEASON-BEST performances on the day between the boys & girls! FANTASTIC!!
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
HUGE THANKS to Mackie Stankich for all of the AMAZING PHOTOS!!
VARSITY Class AAA
BOYS FROSH-SOPH RACE
RESERVE RACE
Check out Snyder & Smith's New Prairie Cross Country Course ... one of the best (I say the best) in all of Indiana!
Boys Tennis
On Monday, Hobart brought both their rackets and their BROOMS out as our boys SHINED by sweeping all 3 singles matches against the Griffith Panthers for a 3-2 VICTORY!! The Three Racketeers were senior Ethan Cover (#1 singles), junior Cameron Gonzalez (#2 singles) and sophomore Jacob Lewis (#3 singles) ... Hobart won in straight sets at both #1 & #2 and earned a win by default at #3 since the Panthers did not fill that position in the line-up. End result? A "W" for the Bricks!!
Tuesday, Hobart hosted neighborhood rival River Forest in a make-up match from earlier this fall that was postponed due to inclement weather & wet courts. Repetition leads to mastery and the Brickies hit the REPEAT button on the player from Monday ... swept all 3 singles spots AGAIN ... and earned another EXCITING 3-2 VICTORY!! Cover, Gonzalez & Lewis all won in straight sets this time to give Hobart a 2nd consecutive win.
On Wednesday, the opposition was Wheeler and the location was Porter County. How does that saying go again? Oh ya ... Repetition leads to mastery. Got it. Another day, another 3-2 VICTORY as the Brickies ... for the 3rd straight day ... WON all 3 singles matches!! UNBELIEVABLE!! Cover needed OT in the 1st set, but took the 2nd 6-3 for a win @ #1 singles. Gonzalez won in straight sets AGAIN @ #2 singles and Lewis dropped a tough 1st set before rebounding to WIN the next two and give our boys their 3rd consecutive WIN!! AMAZING!!
Just because our boys found the "W" column 3 times in 3 days by dominating singles play, the Brickies are not a 3-man show. On Thursday, Hobart traveled to 5959 Broadway for an NCC battle with Andrean and this time, it was a Duo of Doubles that got it going!! Sophomores Connor Niemann & Gavin Pettit picked up a BIG W at #1 doubles and the combo of classmate Kaden Miller-Lane & freshman Evan Fuller won by default at #2 dubs to get the Brickies within 1 win of a 4th straight victory! Unfortunately, Andrean swept all 3 singles spots to send our boys home with a tough 2-3 loss in conference action.
Hobart is currently 4-7 on the year with 4 to play ... Merrillville, Morton, Crown Point and Highland ... before sectional play begins. The Brickies will host the IHSAA Sectional starting on Wednesday, September 29th, and look to bring home the trophy for the 1st time since 2016.
#ACES
Volleyball
After playing essentially 7 games a week ago, the Lady Brickies kept pushing forward with 3 more as they moved past the halfway point in the regular season!
Tuesday, the Lady Brickies traveled to face one of the NCC front-runners and state Top 20-ranked Andrean. Our girls BATTLED and were able to challenge every point, but just couldn't quite get over the hump and lost 25-11, 25-9, 25-10 in a match that was more competitive than the final score. Sophomore Abby Roper led the Lady Brickies in kills ... senior Bella Skalba was the team leader in blocks ... and junior Addy Klemm led Hobart with 34 digs on the night.
On Thursday, it BACK HOME AGAIN as the Lady Brickies welcomed Illiana Christain, who entered the contest with an impressive 15-3 record. In a close 1st game early on, the Lady Vikings got on a roll and ran away with a deceiving 13-25 victory. Hobart rallied in the 2nd game of the night, but it wasn't enough as Illiana won a close one 18-25. Unfortunately, that's as close as our girls would get against the aggressive Lady Vikes and Illiana left town with a 3-0 win.
The Lady Brickies currently hold a 7-10 record on the season with 3 weeks remaining before IHSAA Sectional play begins. This week is HUGE for Hobart with 3 NCC matches in 5 days. WE GOT THIS GIRLS!!
#SERVENOTICE
Hall of Fame
On Friday night, the Hobart Athletic Department and Hall of Fame Committee shared the privilege of inducting two memorable groups into the HHS Hall of Fame ... the 1955 State Runner-Up Cross Country team and the 1980 Class 3A State Runner-up football team!
Both groups received recognition during a special halftime ceremony at Friday's varsity football game against Lowell. Members of both teams were on hand to take part in the festivities and to watch the present-day Brickies earn a hard-fought victory over the Red Devils in an entertaining high school football game!
It is always a special occasion when we get the opportunity to welcome back Hobart's very best. We are forever grateful for the contributions they have made to this school city and the impact they made on this town! THANK YOU to all who came out to honor these fine individuals!!
#ALLMYLIFE
PRIDE of Hobart Marching Band
The Pride of Hobart was at it again this weekend at the Highland High School Festival and earned a 2nd consecutive silver rating! Mrs. Rehlander had this to say following the competition, "The kids worked so hard this week and their performance showed it. They looked and sounded great!" AWESOME WORK WORK WORK!!
#PLAYTHATSONG
Sports Schedule This Week
Boys Soccer vs. Hammond Central
Boys Tennis @ Merrillville
Tuesday
Girls Soccer vs. Andrean *
Boys Tennis vs. Morton
Volleyball @ Highland *
Wednesday
Volleyball @ Hanover Central
Boys Soccer @ Andrean *
Girls Soccer vs. Boone Grove
Thursday
Boys Tennis vs. Crown Point
Volleyball vs. Kankakee Valley *
Friday
Football @ Andrean *
Saturday
Volleyball vs. Highland *
Boys Soccer @ Kouts
Girls Cross Country @ Highland Invite
Boys Cross Country @ Highland Invite
JV Football vs. Andrean *
* = NCC Opponent