BricksCenter
DaDaDa DaDaDa
October 6, 2019
21 Sports ... 1 Team ... WE ARE HOBART!
Push pause on your favorite Sunday night show ... it's time for BricksCenter!
You see? I'm not the only one who thinks this is the most exciting time of the fall season ... this guy's so pumped he's eating invisible cereal!
Football
In 1990, MC Hammer released his album Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em which included the signature song, "U Can't Touch This".
Total Offense = Hobart 397, Highland 166
Rushing = Hobart 256, Highland 69
Turnovers = Hobart 0, Highland 3
... there's more, but you get the picture.
Junior QB Riley Johnston started the scoring with a 24-yard scamper for a TOUCHDOWN in the 1st quarter! Johnston finished with 13 carries for 134 yards and 3 TDs! Can't Touch This
Later in the 1st quarter, it was senior DJ Lipke from 1-yard out to make it 14-0! DJ finished with 13 carries for 89 yards and 2 TDs! You Can't Touch This
Clearly the BOYS UP FRONT were OVER-POWERING and opening up holes for the running game! Yo, I told you ... Can't Touch This
The Brickies did some damage through the air as well as Johnston completed 7/11 passes for 141 yards. Junior Zach Vode hauled in 3 catches for a whopping 101 yards!! That's an average of over 30 yards per catch!! Sound the bell, school's in sucka ... Can't Touch This
D-D-D-DEFENSE was INCREDIBLE once again!! Juniors Tyler Turley and Zach Vode each contributed 6.5 tackles followed closely by classmate Cameron Smith with 6. In all, the Hobart D combined for a total of 9 tackles for loss and senior Matthew Benton - for the 2nd consecutive week - picked off two passes!! I told you homeboy ... Can't Touch This
Special Teams? WE GOT 'EM! Senior Matthew Hylek connected on all 5 extra point attempts and punter Luke Smith pinned Highland inside their own 20-yard line twice !!
Too hot ... Can't Touch This
As you can see, the Brickies were AWESOME in ALL 3 PHASES and appear to be getting better and better every week! Over the last 3 games, Hobart has outscored their opponents 117-20 ... WOW! The Brickies have won 5 IN A ROW and are 3-0 in NCC play! Next up is Munster for HOMECOMING next Friday ... DON'T MISS IT!
Yo, we outta here ... Can't Touch This.
#PLAY15
Cross Country
Before we get to the good stuff, here at BricksCenter, we'd like to send a shout out to our cross country SENIORS! With only 1 home meet each season, these student athletes don't get the traditional SENIOR NIGHT festivities ... so the parent's decided to put together a pre-conference pasta party/SENIOR NIGHT to honor these fine Brickies! THANK YOU to Hailey Kerlin, Bryan Cherry and Lauren Romeo for all you've given to represent H-town in the very best way possible!! You are GREAT examples of what a student-athlete should be!
Girls
Remember what I said about it being a PERFECT fall morning to race? Well, the Lady Brickies proved it to be so!! Out of 7 varsity runners, 5 ran a LIFETIME BEST 5k race and a 6th ran a SEASON BEST time!! Sophomore Sydney "Speedy" Belk once again led Hobart with a 9th place overall finish in a SEASON BEST time of 20:33! Senior Hailey Kerlin joined her in the top 20 to earn ALL-NCC HONORS with a 19th place performance running a LIFETIME BEST 21:36! Sophomore Lily Butler, senior Lauren Romeo and sophomore Mikayla Fuentes rounded out the top 5 scoring positions for Hobart. The girls placed 5th as a team and look to be really making a GREAT PUSH to make a "run" in the post-season!
The sectional is next Saturday at Hebron and if our girls can get healthy, the next few weeks could be a lot of fun!!
GREAT JOB LADIES!!
Boys
The Brickies brought 11 competitors to Lowell on Saturday and matched the girls by notching 5 LIFETIME BEST races!! Three more earned a SEASON BEST to help the boys to a 5th place team finish. Junior Bruce Leipart placed 4th overall in a LIFETIME BEST time of 16:41!! Senior Bryan Cherry (11th) and sophomore Joe Meagher (17th) also earned ALL-NCC HONORS by finishing in the top 20! Meagher FINALLY broke the 18-minute barrier with a LIFETIME BEST of 17:59!! Junior Mark Perez and sophomore Donovan Ruiz completed the top 5 spots for Hobart.
The boys also begin the post-season next Saturday @ Hebron. Based on how our front-runners are performing, it looks like we might end up with some representation in Terre Haute for the 3rd consecutive year!
DON'T STOP NOW BOYS!!
#PRIDEANDTRADITION
#GRATEFULLYDEDICATED
ALL-NCC PERFORMERS!
Boys Tennis
This past week, Hobart High School hosted the IHSAA Boys Tennis Sectional. 6 schools make up the field ... Andrean, Hammond Academy of Science & Technology, Lake Station, Merrillville, River Forest and of course the host Brickies.
WEDNESDAY (QUARTERFINALS): The Brickies drew a bye in the first round, so our boys had the night off to do some scouting as Merrilville defeated Andrean 5-0 and Lake Station ousted rival River Forest 4-1.
THURSDAY (SEMIFINALS): Merrillville played Hammond Academy and advanced with an easy 4-1 win. Hobart faced Lake Station in the other match-up. The Brickies WON EASILY over the Eagles 5-0 and barely lost a point to advance to the championship in a match that lasted a little over an hour!
FRIDAY (CHAMPIONSHIP): About 10 days ago, Hobart traveled to Merrillville for a regular season match and potential sectional preview. The Pirates were able to defeat the Brickies 3-2 in a close contest. On Friday, the IHSAA SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP featured the rematch for all the marbles ... and it was exciting!
The first "score" of the night came at #3 singles as the Merrillville player defeated tennis newcomer sophomore Jaydon Hence. Hence BATTLED HARD in the 2nd set and forced the more experienced Pirate to play his best in order to secure the win. Merrillville 1, Hobart 0.
The next score came at #2 doubles. The Brickie duo of junior Carter Mohr and sophomore Ethan Cover jumped ahead early in the 1st set and looked STRONG! The Pirates fought back and were able to seize control ... keeping the young Hobart team off-balance and out of rhythm the rest of the match to win in 2 sets. Once again, the Brickies CHALLENGED, but unfortunately came up short. Merrillvillle 2, Hobart 0.
Next it was #1 doubles. Junior teammates Chad Tomaga and Nick Kolopanis were MONEY against the Pirate #1's! With Hobart up 1-0 and looking to capture the team point, the 2nd set went to a DEUCE for the game-winning point. Then Hobart took the advantage ... then back to deuce ... then advantage ... then deuce ... it went on like this for what seemed like an eternity! FINALLY the BRICKIES were able to send one past the Pirates and WIN!! WHAT A MATCH!! Merrillville 2, Hobart 1.
Senior Evan Kara was in an INTENSE battle with the Pirates #1 singles player for the next point. This was a roller-coaster! Kara would go up, then Merrillville would come back ... then Kara would claw back ... then Merrillville ... lots of ups and downs, twists and turns in a very entertaining match-up of two really good high school tennis players! Merrillville was able to win the 1st set and after Kara took an early lead in the 2nd, the Pirate junior was able to turn the tide once more and earn a HARD FOUGHT 2-set contest. Kara played brilliantly in his last match at HHS, but unfortunately it wasn't enough. Merrillville 3, Hobart 1.
In the last match of the night at #2 singles, junior Max Jancich was the COMEBACK KID! Jancich lost the 1st set, but ROARED back in the 2nd to secure victory and force a 3rd and deciding game! After a 10-minute break and some new tennis balls, they were back at it. Under the lights, Jancich was able to FIGHT OFF every move the Pirate #2 made and came away with a GRUELING 2-1 victory!! Even though the Pirates had already secured the team title, Jancich played with an ENORMOUS amount of BRICKIE PRIDE and got Hobart as close as he could!!
Final score: Merrillville 3, Hobart 2
It was a GREAT EFFORT from the Brickies after a SEASON TO REMEMBER ... one that started with only 6 players and ended with a 9-7 record and a SECTIONAL RUNNER-UP finish! HHS is SO PROUD of these boys for taking us on such an exciting ride this fall!! THANK YOU to Coach Davis and Coach Walsh for all your hard work and time spent with our boys to help them achieve everything they did!
Fortunately, there's still some tennis left to play for the #1 doubles team of Tomaga and Kolopanis! By winning on Thursday and Friday, they will advance to compete in the "Individual Doubles Sectional" at Munster on Tuesday!! CONGRATULATIONS GUYS!!
#SERVED
Soccer
Girls
On Tuesday, the Lady Brickies traveled to Highland for their final Northwest Crossroads Conference game of the season. In a physical contest, Hobart hung tough but couldn't quite get the stops they needed and dropped to 1-4 in conference play with a 5-2 defeat. Senior Grace Nestich and junior Cecelia Provins each scored for Hobart in the loss.
Wednesday, the wheels on the bus traveled to Bishop Noll for a make-up game that was "lightning-ed out" a few weeks ago. This one was INTENSE! In a game that went back-and-forth, the Lady Brickies got the upper hand when senior Lauren Romeo dished a sweet pass to classmate Grace Nestich who put the ball in the net for a 1-0 lead! Later in the game, with Hobart nursing the 1-goal lead, it was again the Romeo-to-Nestich combo that gave Hobart a much needed insurance goal and a 2-0 lead that would hold up as the clock struck zero! The win was a welcomed boost of confidence to this group of young ladies who have been knocking on the door all season!!
On Thursday, Merrillville was the destination and victory was the goal! Apparently seeing the ball go in twice on Wednesday was EXACTLY the boost our girls were needing because they saw it go in A LOT MORE against the Lady Pirates! The final score added up to a RESOUNDING 7-2 VICTORY!! In all, 6 different Lady Brickies scored on the night! Freshman Vivianne Garcia finished with 2 goals and 2 assists ... seniors Nestich and Romeo each found the back of the net ... juniors Faith Hillan and Emma Lewis scored a goal each ... and goalkeeper Allie LaVelle, to go along with her 6 saves, scored on a penalty kick!! WOW!! What a performance!
Saturday afternoon, the Lady Brickies closed out the regular season at home against Portage at The Brickyard. It just so happens that Hobart will play these same Indians in the sectional on Tuesday night. Therefore, Coach Provins wasn't about to show too much of his hand and even more than usual, played things safe to ensure our girls will be ready to rock next week.
All things considered, this was still ONE HECKUVA GAME! Portage got on the board 1st about 10 minutes in and held a 1-0 lead when a bit of a controversial call awarded them a penalty shot for a "handball" when it appeared that the ball actually went off a Portage player's hand. The penalty shot resulted in another goal and the Lady Indians led 2-0 at the half. In the final 40 minutes, Hobart's play was ELECTRIC! Our girls were ALL OVER the place ... CHALLENGING and PRESSURING from one sideline to the other!! After another Portage goal made it 3-0, senior Grace Nestich scored with almost 9 minutes remaining to cut into the Indian lead. The Lady Brickies had a few more chances in the last few minutes, but just couldn't get one past the posts and lost a tough one 3-1.
The Lady Brickies finished the regular season with a 5-10 mark, but gained some much needed momentum this past week scoring 12 goals in 4 games and appear to be playing their BEST soccer at just the right time! Hobart is the host school for the IHSAA SECTIONAL starting on Tuesday night and the Lady Brickies play at 7 PM. GOOD LUCK LADIES!
Boys
On Monday night, Hobart welcomed our neighbor to the north River Forest to the friendly city for a varsity game. Once the game started, the Brickies weren't so friendly as our boys came out firing! About 14 minutes into the game, Hobart scored 3 goals in a matter of about 45 seconds and CRUISED to a 6-1 VICTORY! It could've been triple that, but Coach Weinman and the Brickies showed GREAT sportsmanship in controlling the game and respecting the effort put forth by the Ingots.
Wednesday was the final home game for the Brickies and Highland was the opponent. The Trojans were defending NCC Champions and came in ranked in the top 10 in the area. D-D-D-DEFENSE was the name of the game in this one as both squads protected the net extremely well! In a rain-soaked 1st 40 minutes, the play was INTENSE but the score remained 0-0. In the 2nd half, the rain went away and the intensity spiked to a whole new level! These teams were going at each other in fierce competition ... neither one giving an inch. It was probably one of the most exciting soccer games these eyes have ever witnessed! With 2 minutes left, it appeared Highland scored the potential game-winner on a corner kick, but the lead official ruled a penalty on the visitors and the game ended in a 0-0 tie after 80 minutes. NCC games aren't allowed to end in a tie, so WE GOT OVERTIME!! That's right, 2 more 7 minute periods to determine a winner!! After the first 7 minutes, it was still 0-0! I'm telling you, the DEFENSE was UNBELIEVABLE!! With about 2:30 left in the 2nd overtime period, Highland attacked the goal and somehow snuck one past the posts for a 1-0 lead. The Brickies tried valiantly to even things up in the closing moments, but were unable to find the net and lost an absolute HEARTBREAKER 1-0 after 94 minutes of great soccer.
Teams can take tough losses in a variety of ways including being "defeated" or being "motivated". Thanks to terrific leadership from the coaching staff and our seniors, the Brickies didn't miss a beat and came out CONFIDENT @ Merrillville in the season finale. In fact, Hobart DOMINATED the Pirates all over the field and looked FANTASTIC in earning a convincing 4-0 VICTORY!! Senior Tyler Davis torched the net for two goals to lead the Brickie attack! What a "bounce back" for these guys!! GREAT JOB!
Hobart finished the regular season with a 7-4-3 record ... one the BEST season marks since the 2002 team won the DAC! The 3rd place finish in the NCC (3-2) was also a HUGE step forward for this program. SECTIONAL play begins Tuesday night for Hobart over at Valpo as the Brickies face #1-ranked Chesterton in the opening round. All season long our boys have chanted "I AM A CHAMPION" and "WE ARE ONE" in unison before breaking the huddle. Tuesday could be one of those moments ... these guys can do it ... LET'S GO BRICKS!!!
#WEAREONE
Volleyball
On Monday, Hobart welcomed potential sectional opponent Chesterton to town. In the 1st game, it was neck-and-neck the whole way with neither team gaining much advantage. Chesterton found the extra score it needed to win 26-24 and take a 1-0 lead. The first game loss took a toll on the Lady Brickies and Chesterton rolled in the 2nd 25-10. Some inspiring words from Coach Yanez sparked Hobart in the 3rd and once again it was a dog fight! Despite an enthusiastic comeback attempt, our girls fell in another close one 25-23 and lost the contest 3-0.
Wednesday, the Lady Brickies headed west to Griffith to do battle with the Lady Panthers. Hobart looked MAGNIFICENT from start to finish and COASTED to a 3-set victory! The scores were 25-14, 25-18 & 25-16 as the Lady Brickies were ROAD WARRIORS and never let the hosts reach the 20-point mark in any game!
On Thursday, Hobart traveled south on I-65 to visit the Lowell Red Devils in NCC action. This was the 2nd meeting between these two teams ... Lowell winning the first match-up 3-0 and controlling most of the game. This time around, the end result was unfortunately the same as the Devils sent the Lady Brickies home with a 3-0 defeat; however, the match was much more competitive than the final score. This match mirrored the Chesterton contest from Monday very closely with Lowell needing extra points to win 25-23, 25-11 & 26-24.
The improvement shown by our girls over the last 4 weeks since the last meeting was clearly evident, which should provide some added confidence heading into the last week of the regular season.
Hobart is currently 12-15 on the year with 3 games left ... all at home! Monday is SENIOR NIGHT against Hammond Gavit and Thursday is DIG PINK. Let's get out and watch these girls compete ... it should be a fun week!
#WEBELIEVE
HOMECOMING WEEK
Here the skinny on pretty much everything.
Theme:
None needed ... it's Homecoming, let's show our BRICKIE PRIDE!
Spirit Days:
Monday - Beach attire
Tuesday - Mismatch
Wednesday - 70s
Thursday - Color war (Seniors = RED, Juniors = ORANGE, Sophs = GREEN, Fresh = BLUE)
Friday - Purple & Gold
Competitions:
Monday - Powder Puff ... Seniors vs. Juniors, 6 PM @ The Brickyard
Tuesday - TikTok Challenge
Wednesday - Students vs. Faculty basketball during Power Hour
Friday - Pep Rally Tug of War and Class Cheers
*Spirit Day participation
**Winning class engraved on NEW SPIRIT BRICK!
Court:
Recognized at Pep Rally ... winners announced Friday night!
Dance:
Saturday in HHS Great Hall
LAST CHANCE FOR SPIRIT WEAR ... it closes tonight!
Sports Schedule This Week
Volleyball vs. Hammond Gavit (SENIOR NIGHT)
Powder Puff game
Tuesday
Girls Soccer SECTIONAL vs. Portage 7 PM @ Hobart
Boys Soccer SECTIONAL vs. Chesterton 7 PM @ Valpo
Boys Tennis REGIONAL (Tomaga & Kolopanis) @ Munster
Volleyball vs. Munster *
Wednesday
Boys Soccer SECTIONAL (TBA)
Boys Tennis REGIONAL (TBA)
Student vs. Faculty Basketball Game during Power Hour
Thursday
Girls Soccer SECTIONAL TBA
Volleyball vs. Andrean * (DIG PINK)
9th Football @ Highland *
Friday
Football vs. Munster * (HOMECOMING)
Boys Basketball Nelson's CHICKEN DINNER TAILGATE
Saturday
Girls Cross Country SECTIONAL @ Hebron
Boys Cross Country SECTIONAL @ Hebron
Girls Soccer SECTIONAL (TBA)
Boys Soccer SECTIONAL (TBA)
JV Football @ Munster
* - NCC Opponent