BricksCenter
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September 15, 2019
21 Sports ... 1 Team ... WE ARE HOBART!
All 8 of our fall sports were ACTIVE in multiple events over the last 6 days and if it could happen, it did! The HIGHs, LOWs, and everything in between that collectively add up to create the drama, excitement and lasting images only sports can provide were present in large supply! Those of you that were in attendance were treated to a show EVERY night! Those of you that were not ... there's still time to catch the action! If I were you, I'd try to get out and watch our SCOH student athletes in the near future ... high school or middle school ... to see what you've been missing ... you won't be disappointed!
As for now, take a break from your weekend activities and read up on all that our kids are doing ... it's time for BricksCenter!
LET'S GO!!!!!
Football
John Q Public, "Hey guys, last year was an AMAZING game ... there's no way this year could match that excitement."
Hobart football, "Hold our gatorade."
On Friday night, it was ALL CULVER early as the Eagles controlled the game for the majority of the 1st half and actually led 14-0 at the break on COACHES vs. CANCER night. Coach Osika obviously delivered a "Knute Rochne, Win One for the Gipper" speech at halftime because the Brickies came out FIRED UP! On the opening drive of the 3rd quarter, Hobart DOMINATED the line of scrimmage as senior DJ Lipke ate up yardage on the ground over and over again until crossing the goal line for a TOUCHDOWN to cut the Eagle lead in half, 14-7. Next, it was junior Zach Vode stepping in front of a Culver pass and taking it to DA HOUSE for a "Pick-6"!! After senior Matt Hylek's extra point was good, the game was tied at 14-14! Each team threatened down the stretch, but no one could put anymore points on the board and when the game clock struck 0, the score remained tied ... and you all know what that means ...
OVERTIME!
That's right folks, we got the BONUS plan on Friday night!
In high school, overtime means each team gets the ball at the 10 yard line with 4 plays to score and they basically continue this until one team scores more than the other. LET'S GO!!
1st OT - Culver scores a touchdown after 2 rushing plays and Hobart answers with a touchdown pass from sophomore back-up quarterback Mark Enslen to junior Zach Vode ... score = 21-21.
2nd OT - Hobart senior Matt Hylek is good on a short field goal attempt and Culver matches it ... score = 24-24.
3rd OT - Culver gets the ball first and connects on another field goal to lead 27-24 ... and now it was Hobart's turn. On the Brickies first play from the 10 yard line, Enslen lofted a pass towards Vode in double-coverage on the far side of the field ... Vode made an INCREDIBLE move on the ball, caught the pass in front of the Eagle defenders and DANCED into the endzone for the GAME-WINNING TOUCHDOWN!!! ... FINAL score = 30-27
Muhammad Ali might've called this the "Thrillart in Hobart"? Maybe? Maybe not, but it was AWESOME watching the Hobart players storm the field after Vode caught the game-winner for the 2nd year in a row ... WOW!! WHAT A GAME!!
The Brickies have won 2 in a row and continue to improve on both sides of the ball! Arch rival ANDREAN is next on the schedule as Hobart travels to 5959 Broadway next Friday night. I'll be there - will you?
#PLAY15
THANK YOU to the American Cancer Society and all those who contributed to COACHES vs. CANCER night @ The Brickyard! Current SCOH students and CANCER SURVIVORS Matt Cherven and Xavier Mejia were recognized in a special ceremony during halftime
Hobart participated in the Safety in Football Campaign with helmet decals to support all that our AMAZING athletic trainers do to keep our student athletes safe! THANK YOU to Mark Leto, Amanda Marshall and our student trainers!!
Boys Tennis
On Tuesday, the Brickies fielded a full team for the first time this season with sophomore Jaydon Hence filling the #3 singles spot @ Highland. The result? Coach Davis had this to say, "Our guys delivered one of the best come back matches in recent history with the excitement of a sectional championship!" Things started with a quick point by junior Max Jancich at #2 singles ... then Highland evened the score with a hard fought win at #1 doubles. In order to secure the 'W', Hobart would need to win at least 2 of the final 3 matches still playing. In each of those matches, the Brickies fell behind by losing the 1st set. CALL IT A COMEBACK!! In all three matches, Hobart's "raqueteers" were VICTORIOUS in full three set matches! Winners were sophomore Jaydon Hence @ #3 singles, sophomore Ethan Cover and junior Carter Mohr @ #2 doubles, and senior Evan Kara @ #1 singles, who played the MATCH OF THE NIGHT! Down 1-4 in the 3rd and deciding set, Evan won 6 straight games to defeat Highland's #1 and secure the win for Brickies!
Wednesday, Hobart welcomed Hammond Morton to the Friendly City for a home contest and continued their hot streak with yet another 'W'! The final tally was 4-1 in favor of the Brickies with wins at #1 & #2 singles (Kara & Jancich) and #1 & #2 doubles (juniors Chad Tomaga & Nick Kolopanis and Cover & Mohr).
On Thursday, the Brickies traveled west to face #1-ranked Munster in conference play. This one did not end the way we hoped it would on the scoreboard; however, Hobart showed battled hard against the top-ranked Mustangs. Always a good experience - particularly for a young team - to face the BEST and see where we measure up a few weeks before sectional play begins. It was a good learning experience for our guys ... one that should help us down the road!
Hobart is 5-3 overall and 1-2 in Northwest Crossroads Conference play. These guys are getting BETTER and BETTER EVERY WEEK! The next week will challenge the Brickies' endurance with matches on 4 consecutive days ... WE GOT THIS FELLAS! LET'S GO!!
#SERVINGACES
Volleyball
On Tuesday, the Lady Brickies hosted NCC rival Lowell. The Lady Red Devils are very much improved over the last 2 years and brought some heavy hitters to the Friendly City. In a match that was more competitive than the 3-0 final, Hobart lost 25-13, 25-23, & 25-17.
Wednesday, Hobart was on the road in Porter County at the hub city of Valparaiso. The Lady Vikes eliminated Hobart from sectional play last fall and the Lady Brickies were looking for some payback. In spite of a TREMENDOUS effort, Hobart dropped the first 2 games 25-14 & 25-9 to fall behind 0-2. In the 3rd, our girls came out swinging (... not literally, but you get the idea) as they BATTLED back to win 25-21 and draw within a game of tying things up! Unfortunately, in the 4th game, Valparaiso had a counter for everything Hobart tried to win the game 25-13 and ultimately the match by a 3-1 score.
On Thursday, it was another road test ... this time at #2-ranked Munster. With more college prospects than you could shake a stick at, the Lady Mustangs were simply too much for Hobart playing their 3rd match in 3 days, winning in straight sets.
Saturday, the Chesterton Trojans Volleyball Invitational pitted the Lady Brickies against some unfamiliar foes, but volleyball is volleyball - serve, volley, set, etc ... and our girls know how to play! In the 1st of 4 matches on the day, Hobart beat up on the South Bend Clay Colonials 25-10 & 25-20. Next up it was Boone Grove and the Lady Wolves were able to keep Hobart off balance, handing the Lady Brickies a tough 25-14, 25-10 defeat. In the 3rd match of the day, Kokomo won the 1st game 25-14 and then hit the repeat button and took the 2nd 25-14 as well. After losing 2 in a row, Hobart found itself facing the Bishop Noll Lady Warriors in the 4th and final match of the long day. Ok ... put yourself in our girls shoes ... you've now played 6 matches in 5 days and you are EXHAUSTED, but still have 1 more left. You're still without injured senior leader Addison "The Hammer" Metts. Think about the sheer WILL to pull things together one more time and put their best out there on the court. Well sports fans, OUR GIRLS SHINED! In a back-and-forth match, YOUR LADY BRICKIES FOUGHT HARD, winning the 1st game 25-21. The 2nd game was so close it needed an extra point to be decided - fortunately, that extra point was scored by HOBART as YOUR LADY BRICKIES WON a THRILLER 26-24 to earn a split for the day! WOW - WHAT PERSEVERANCE!! OUTSTANDING!!
The Lady Brickies have faced some adversity over the last 2 weeks, but they are working hard and coming together as a team. In fact, our girls WON the TEAM MVP award at Chesterton for showing great teamwork and BRICKIE PRIDE!
Overall, the girls are 8-9 on the year and 0-3 in NCC play. This week is HUGE with matches against Whiting, Andrean and Hammond Morton. YOU CAN DO IT LADIES!
#WEBELIEVE
CONGRATULATIONS to junior Jessica Fazekas for being named the MVP of the Chesterton Invite in recognition of her outstanding work ethic and positive attitude!
Girls Golf
On Monday, the Lady Brickies earned their 2nd NCC win of the season by defeating Highland @ Wicker Park by the score of 219-225! Senior Skye Lipke shot an even 50 to lead Hobart ... followed by junior Alivia Ahner with 52, sophomore Morgan Sanchez at 57 and junior Claire Duca with 60 in her first meet back from injury.
Tuesday, Lowell visited River Pointe Country Club for another NCC match-up. The Lady Brickies played EXTREMELY WELL in shooting an AMAZING 201 as a team! Unfortunately, the Lady Red Devils were 4 shots better with a 197 and left town with a close conference victory. Ahner was tops for Hobart with a career-best 43 and was backed up by Lipke (46), Duca (54) and senior Maddy Buxbaum (58).
On Wednesday, Turkey Creek was the destination and Merrillville the opponent. Here's where the Dalai Lama may have helped as the Lady Brickies shot a SEASON BEST 189!! The 189 is Hobart's BEST team score in over 3 years and one of the better scores in school history! The DOMINANT win over Merrillville (189-261) gave our girls their 9th win of the year!!
Thursday, 18 holes awaited at Wicker Park for the Northwest Crossroads Conference Championship! The Lady Brickies were once again PHENOMENAL in securing their BEST NCC finish in recent memory as they wrapped up 4th place overall with a team score of 413 ... only 3 strokes behind 3rd place Lowell. Senior Skye Lipke and junior Alivia Ahner finished 2nd -team All-NCC shooting 94 & 95 respectably.
Hobart is 9-9 on the season and finished 4th in the NCC. Friday, the Lady Brickies will travel to Palmira Golf and Country Club for the IHSAA Sectional hosted by Lake Central.
#GUNGAGALUNGA
CHIRP CHIRP! Seniors Maddy Buxbaum & Skye Lipke and junior Alivia Ahner have all recorded BIRDIES this season!
CONGRATULATIONS to junior Alivia Ahner and senior Skye Lipke for earning ALL-NCC honors at the conference championship meet!
Soccer
The Lady Brickies played 3 games this past week and had a 4th postponed by a surprise lightning storm Thursday that caused a stadium evacuation and definitely added to the excitement :).
On Monday, Hobart played Hammond High in a make-up game that was previously postponed due to heavy rainfall. The Lady Brickies and Coach Provins were ready from the start for this one as Hobart jumped all over the Lady Wildcats. Seniors Grace Nestich and Lauren RomeGOAL, along with junior Cecelia Provins, each scored 2 goals in the 1st half as Hobart opened up a 7-0 lead and never looked back picking up their 2nd win of the season.
Tuesday night, the Lady Brickies welcomed NCC foe Kankakee Valley to The Brickyard. The Lady Kougars opened up an early 2-0 lead, but Hobart continued to put pressure on the goal and FINALLY broke through on a corner kick when senior Grace Nestich kept the ball alive and classmate Julia Olmos knocked it in to cut the deficit in half! The Lady Brickies had a few more chances throughout the rest of the 2nd 40 minutes, but never could quite capitalize and KV left town with a 3-1 victory.
Saturday, Hobart traveled to #2-ranked Chesterton to battle the Lady Trojans in non-conference action. In a well-played game that was much more competitive than the final score, Chesterton ultimately got the best of our girls and won 9-0.
The Lady Brickies are 2-5 as we approach the mid-season point. This is an important week for Hobart with two NCC match-ups ... STAY THE COURSE GIRLS - KEEP ON KEEPIN'ON!!
Boys
On Wednesday, our boys "futbol" players traveled south to DeMotte to wrangle with KV. In a close contest, the Brickies were more INTENSE, more ANIMATED and more TOGETHER than the host Kougars! Those attributes added together to equal a BIG WIN 3-1 for the Brickies - their 1st NCC victory on the season! Scoring goals for Hobart were senior Jackson Palichuk and junior teammates Brian Daniels and Daniel Flores Jr!!
Saturday featured a rematch of last year's IHSAA sectional opener ... Hobart taking on Portage. Last October, Portage won 3-1 in a very competitive game. Saturday's contest was no different in terms of how HARD the two teams played and how truly AGGRESSIVE the players were attacking the ball ... it was almost like Olivia Newton John was singing "Let's Get Physical" in the background! Portage scored early on an amazing shot from 20 yards out that just made it past sophomore goalie Dimitrios Karagiannakis to make it 1-0. The scored remained 1-0 at the half as Hobart was unable to put one in the net during the 1st 40 minutes of play. As for the 2nd 40 minutes? ... HERE COME THE BRICKS! Hobart was ALL OVER THE PLACE in the 2nd half, tying the game on a brilliant shot from junior Daniel Flores Jr with roughly 25 minutes to play!! From sideline to sideline, these two teams went at each other the rest of the way, but no one was able to get one past either goalie and the game ended in a 1-1 tie. WHAT A GAME!! Even though the result wasn't a "W", it wasn't an "L" either ... our boys are playing better and better!
Hobart is 2-3-2 this season and 1-1 in NCC play. The boys will host Lowell in a BIG NCC match-up on Wednesday ... 6pm start for the varsity - I suggest you be there if you can, these kids can play!
#WEAREONE
Cross Country
We start this section of BricksCenter with a simple definition because in Cross Country, as much as you run against the competition each time out, student athletes are really racing themselves and in pursuit of a new PR. Generally, if a student athlete can run a PR, the results of the race are secondary because the day is already a success! Why specifically bring up PR this week? Well ... it's because our boys & girls were SHATTERING old PRs this week and showing off how much their training has helped them improve and prepare to be their lifetime best!!
Girls
On Tuesday, the Lady Brickies took a trip to New Prairie for the Cougar Kick-Off. The course at NP is LEGENDARY and always an adventure with named sections like "The Snake" and "Agony Hill". The last time our girls ran at New Prairie was in the 2018 IHSAA Semi-State where they placed 7th overall - one spot away from qualifying for the state finals.
Sophomore Sydney Belk paced the Lady Brickies from start to finish and senior teammate Hailey Kerlin raced to a new PR!
Saturday @ Lowell High School, Hobart raced in the Bob Thomas Invitational, which has become one of the premier events in NWI. The beauty of cross country is that competitors not only race each other, but also the clock ... and success can be defined in many ways when looking at the final results. Overall, the Lady Brickies finished 15th out of 28 schools there, which might not sound like much; however, when you observe the fact that over half of the girls who ran finished in a LIFETIME BEST PR time, you realize that the Lady Brickies were simply AWESOME! Varsity finishers for Hobart included sophomore Sydney Belk, senior Lauren Romeo (PR), senior Hailey Kerlin (PR), junior Lily Butler, and sophomores Mikayla Fuentes and Dominique Clemons (PR).
Boys
On Tuesday, the Brickie Harriers joined the girls at New Prairie for the Cougar Kick-Off. This was a GREAT opportunity for our boys to get some experience on the IHSAA Semi-State course! After winning at the Hobart Invite and the Valpo Jamboree, junior Bruce Leipart extended his streak to 3-in-a-row as he cruised to yet another victory with a FANTASTIC final 400m! Junior Mark Perez and freshman Tommy Williamson each ran their 1st 5K of the season and LOOKED GOOD doing it! Even though it was a long bus ride on a school night, the experience was worth it!
Saturday, the bus headed south and took our boys to Lowell for the prestigious Bob Thomas Invitational that features some of the very best teams from around NWI. The boys WERE AMAZING as they finished 13th out of the 28 schools in attendance! 7 of the 10 boys who raced ran LIFETIME BESTS ... or what we call a PR!! Once again it was junior Bruce Leipart leading the Brickies with an 8th place finish overall in a time of 16:49! A HUGE lift for Hobart was the return of senior and 2X semi-state qualifier Bryan Cherry. After battling through a lower leg injury over the last few weeks, Bryan was back in action at Lowell. Despite Coach A's advice to relax and ease back into things, Cherry ran 17:40 and appears to have not missed a beat, which is GREAT news at the mid-season point.
Next weekend, the boys and girls will both head back to New Prairie for THE LARGEST INVITATIONAL in Northern Indiana! The best of the best will be there so we'll get a potential preview of how the Brickies will stack up against semi-state caliber competition! GOOD LUCK!
#PRIDEANDTRADITION
Purple & Gold Panic
#PGP
Sports Schedule This Week
Girls Golf vs. Griffith/Bishop Noll (Senior Night)
Volleyball vs. Whiting
Boys Tennis vs. Griffith
Tuesday
Girls Soccer @ Lowell *
Volleyball @ Andrean *
Wednesday
Volleyball vs. Hammond Morton (Yohan's Army Event)
Boys Soccer vs. Lowell *
Boys Tennis @ Wheeler
Thursday
Boys Soccer @ Hanover Central
Boys Tennis vs. Andrean *
9th Football vs. KV
Friday
Football @ Andrean *
Girls Golf @ IHSAA Sectional
Saturday
Girls Cross Country @ New Prairie Invitational
Boys Cross Country @ New Prairie Invitational
Girls Soccer @ Munster
Boys Soccer vs. Michigan City
* = NCC Opponent
JV Football vs. Andrean