BricksCenter
DaDaDa DaDaDa
September 5, 2021
#21sports1team ... WE ARE HOBART!
Here in H-town, collars are generally more blue than white and we know all too well about how WORK WORK WORK plays a vital role in contributing not only to our personal growth and success, but to that of our entire community as well. In the SCOH, this holds true both in the classroom and on the turf, court, diamond and course! All 21 of our sports know what it means to be a BRICKIE and compete with PRIDE ... Purpose, Respect, Initiative, Discipline and Excellence. These are the exact same characteristics displayed by workers who are honored each Labor Day! WE are 1 TEAM here in The Friendly City ... WE are HO-BART!
I hope everyone gets to enjoy a day off tomorrow - you've earned it. Right now ... it's time for BricksCenter!
Soccer
After an exciting start to the year for both boys & girls soccer, anticipation was high as they were scheduled to open NCC play against perennial powerhouse Munster this past week!
Girls
A Monday night tilt with Griffith was quite a WARM-UP before Tuesday's NCC opener at Munster! The Lady Brickies were looking to get the soccer ball rolling again after all events last week were rescheduled due to the extreme heat. In a very competitive 1st 40 minutes of play, the score remained 0-0 thanks to some PHENOMENAL D-D-D-DEFENSE played by both teams! 10 minutes into the 2nd half, the Lady Panthers finally put one in the net ... and then added another goal shortly after to take a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately, the Hobart offense never could quite get much going throughout the night and the clock ran out with the score still 2-0 Griffith. Our girls FOUGHT HARD, but ultimately this one belonged to the Panthers. Junior keeper Rylee Cotton was FANTASTIC in goal with 10 saves on the night.
On Tuesday, Hobart traveled West to square off against the Munster Lady Mustangs, the pre-season NCC favorite. In a fast-paced 1st half, Munster took a commanding 4-1 lead. During the 2nd half, in spite of a great EFFORT displayed by the Lady Brickies, Munster was able to extend their lead and go on to win 8-1. Don't let the final score deceive you ... our girls are getting better and this one was much closer than the final score would indicate. Freshman Makenna Rotz scored the lone goal for the Lady Brickies.
Thursday, our girls were once again road warriors as they headed over to Illiana Christian. The Lady Vikes struck first with a goal in the 1st half for an early 1-0 advantage, but Hobart responded almost immediately as freshman Piper Ellenberger went nearly coast-to-coast and sent one into the net for a GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALL!! Halftime score was all even at 1 apiece. In the 2nd half, it was Illiana again who struck first to go up 2-1. The Lady Brickies kept BATTLING and tied it up AGAIN with another GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALL by Ellenberger!! With time running low, sophomore Ella Freimuth scored her 3rd GOOOOOOOOOOAAALLL of the season to give Hobart the lead and our girls held on for a THRILLING 3-2 VICTORY!!! WOW - WHAT A GAME!!
The Lady Brickies are 2-3 on the year and will be back at it vs. NCC foe KV on Tuesday.
KEEP WORKING LADIES! YOU'VE GOT THIS!!
Boys
Wednesday, the Brickies hosted perennial powerhouse Munster at Brickyard Stadium for an NCC SHOWDOWN! The Mustangs had outscored Hobart 7-0 over the past 2 seasons and had never lost to our boys in conference play (foreshadowing). Six minutes into the contest, the Mustangs took a 1-0 lead and for a moment, it appeared to be the "same old story". The Brickies ... determined to flip the script of this "story" ... stayed the course, kept playing, and responded with a goal of their own with just over a minute left in the half! Sophomore Carlos Gayton scored the Brickie GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALL to tie things up at 1-1 after a slick assist from classmate Thomas Martin!! In the 2nd half, Munster again got the upper hand and took a 2-1 lead after netting a penalty kick. Still, the Brickies NEVER STOPPED PLAYING and continued to WORK WORK WORK until senior Ivan Garcia tied it up again with just over 5 minutes left in the game!! The GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALL by Garcia was assisted by sophomore Luke Weinman and made the score 2-2. Just when it seemed like these two squads were destined to play some OT, Weinman BURIED a shot into the back of the net from 20+ yards at the 2-minute mark to give the Brickies their 1st lead of the contest!!! From there, Hobart kept its proverbial foot on the gas pedal and when the clock struck zero, our boys celebrated like it was 1999!! An INCREDIBLE COME-FROM-BEHIND VICTORY by a 3-2 score! The victory was the 1st for the Brickies over Munster in 14+ years!! UNBELIEVABLE!!
On Saturday, our boys were looking to keep the momentum going after reaching cloud 9 Wednesday against Munster. The opponent ... Michigan City. The location ... Brickyard Stadium. The result ... a DOMINATING 7-0 VICTORY by the Brickies!! Garcia got the party started early by sending a header into the net after a corner kick from Gayton and Hobart led 1-0 just 4 minutes in! About 15 minutes later, foreign exchange student Pedro Villar scored the GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALL #2 for Hobart and less than a minute later, it was junior Ryan Pimentel's GOOOOOOOOOAAAAALL after an AMAZING pass from Gayton that made it 3-0 Brickies! Hobart would get one more GOOOOOOOOOOAAAALLL in the 1st half ... this one from Martin ... and after 40 minutes, it was 4-0 "good guys" :). Our boys would net 3 more in the 2nd half ... all by sophomores Jack Harris, Liam Deel & Carson Bell ... to claim VICTORY!!
Our boys are 3-0-2 on the season and 1-0 in NCC play. Next up is a Wednesday night road trip to Kankakee Valley. MAKE IT HAPPEN! YOU CAN DO IT!!
#WEBELIEVE ... #WEAREONE
Cross Country
Girls
The 81st 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! It was a B-E-A-UTIFUL night as the Lady Brickies welcomed 8 other schools from around the area to compete on the specially designed 2-mile course. Hobart ran EXTREMELY WELL around the lake and took 2nd PLACE as a team! Led by sophomore Ella Hornak in 3rd place overall, the Lady Brickies put 2 more runners in the top 10 ... junior Gianna Rodriguez & senior Mikayla Fuentes ... and placed all 7 varsity members among the top 20 overall finishers! INCREDIBLE!! For the 2nd consecutive year, Illiana Christian brought home the team title after placing all 7 varsity runners in the top 10 - wow.
Here are the TOP SEVEN from Tuesday's race:
3rd - Ella Hornak (sophomore)
5th - Gianna Rodriguez (junior)
8th - Mikayla Fuentes (senior)
11th - Olivia Garcia (senior)
16th - Kylee King (sophomore)
19th - Adriana Arauz (sophomore)
20th - Madison Jones (junior)
Boys
Our boys welcomed 7 other schools to Big Maple Lake on Tuesday chasing the same goal as the girls - PR and hopefully some hardware! Coach A was looking for a "best effort" along Ainsworth Road and that's EXACTLY what he got!! Our boys SHINED in placing 4 runners in the TOP 10 overall finishers!! Unfortunately, Illiana Christian had the other 6 spots in that top 10 and stole the championship from the Brickies by a mere 4 points ... 26-30. Still, the 2nd place finish in the team standings by Hobart was a spot better than the previous 2 years!
Senior Joe Meagher and freshman Felix Lopez went 1-2 for the Brickie harriers ... finishing just 2 seconds apart over the 2-mile race! Sophomore teammates Ryan Mattel and Thomas Martin were Hobart's other two TOP 10 placers!
Here are the boys varsity finishers:
2nd - Joe Meagher (senior)
3rd - Felix Lopez (freshman)
6th - Ryan Mattel (sophomore)
8th - Thomas Martin (sophomore)
11th - Owen Stankich (sophomore)
13th - Kolin Gladney (freshman)
15th - Jonah Wells (senior)
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
Football
Hobart received the opening kickoff and went 3-and-out on the 1st possession. When the Panthers got the ball, the Brickie D-D-D-DEFENSE moved them backwards on 3 straight snaps and then a bad Griffith snap on 4th down resulted in a recovery in the endzone for a Hobart TOUCHDOWN!! Senior Justin Sawyer came up with the ball and the Brickies were in business! With the Hobart faithful still cheering the Brickie TD, Griffith took the ensuing kickoff 95 yards to the house and all of a sudden it was 7-7.
If the Panthers entertained any thoughts about winning after the TD return, the Brickies quickly put those to rest with scores on their next 4 consecutive possessions to take a COMMANDING 35-7 lead into the halftime locker room! The 1st score was a 33-yard pass from freshman QB Noah Ehrlich to junior Trey Gibson. The next 3 were also courtesy of Gibson as he ran through some ENORMOUS holes created by the Brickie O-line and then dazzled the Hobart fans in attendance with some nifty moves in open space to score from 6-yards, 1-yard, and 39-yards to help Hobart build the comfortable halftime cushion!!
When Gibson scampered for another score to open the 3rd quarter ... this time from 35-yards out ... the door officially closed on any chance of a Panther comeback. Each team would go on to find the endzone 1 more time ... senior Chase Homoky scored for the Brickies ... and Hobart returned to The Friendly City with a RESOUNDING 49-13 VICTORY!!!
Hobart got positive contributions in all 3 phases in picking up the win! Gibson led the Brickie offensive attack with 13 carries for a season-high 159 yards and 4 TDs on the ground! He also caught 2 passes for another 46 yards and a score!! The Brickie D-D-D-DEFENSE caged the Panthers all night long and sophomore Jacob Ramirez corralled his 1st interception of the season ... and our boys even scored on special teams with Sawyer's recovery in the 1st quarter! WHAT A NIGHT TO BE A BRICKIE!!!
The Brickies are 1-2, ranked #16 in the Class 4A AP Poll, and will return home on Friday to face the undefeated Culver Academy Eagles! It should be a great night as Hobart officially dedicates DON HOWELL FIELD and JJ TRACK @ The Brickyard during a special halftime ceremony you won't want to miss! Game time is 6:30pm ... BE THERE!!
#PLAY15
BE THERE on Friday to watch Hobart take on undefeated Culver Academy as we dedicate DON HOWELL FIELD & JJ TRACK @ THE BRICKYARD in a special halftime ceremony! 6:30pm start
Boys Tennis
The Brickies had a busy week with matches on Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday ... not to mention an Invite @ New Prairie on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Hobart played Lowell in their 2nd NCC match of the young season. Anytime the Brickies & Devils line-up across from each other, there's a little something extra on the line ... and this one proved to be no different! This one was a BATTLE with 3 of the 5 competitions playing into a 3rd set tie-breaker!! Senior Ethan Cover WON at #1 singles in a 3-hour marathon of tennis!! As it turns out, the Red Devils would find a way to burn the Bricks in both of the other 2 tie-breaker matches and go on to win 4-1. It was a tough match but a GREAT EFFORT!
Wednesday, the Brickies were in Porter County to take on the mighty Valparaiso Vikings. I know, I know ... when we all think of Vikings, we think about words like raiders, plunder & treasure. Well, apparently we need to add tennis to the list because the Green Machine was rolling on Hump Day as the Vikings blanked the Brickies 5-0.
On Thursday, it was Hobart's turn as our boys hosted Hammond Central. The Wolves brought 3 players and our boys SHINED on a perfect afternoon for some tennis! In fact, they SHINED SO BRIGHT that not 1 point was lost in the entire match!! That's right sports fans, Hobart not only won 5-0, but all 3 matches played were 6-0, 6-0 - WOW!! Doing WORK WORK WORK for the Brickies on Thursday were Cover, sophomore Jacob Lewis (#2 singles) and senior Ethan Ferba (#3 singles)! For Ferba, it was his 1st ever singles match in competition!! Not a bad way to start :)
Saturday, the Brickies were "On The Road Again" (thank you Willie Nelson) @ New Prairie to compete in the NP Invitational ... and OUR BOYS SHINED! With a TOUGH DRAW at seemingly every spot, Hobart gave a TREMENDOUS EFFORT and placed 8th overall.
The Brickies are 1-4 so far and 0-2 in NCC play, but are BATTLING every match and showing consistent improvement! No rest for the weary this week with two CRITICAL NCC matches on the road @ Highland (Tuesday) & @ Munster (Thursday) sandwiched around a visit from Illiana Christian on Wednesday. The week will conclude @ the Highland Doubles Invite on Saturday. Better eat our WHEATIES boys - LET'S GO!!
#ACES
Girls Golf
On Monday, Hobart was basically THROWING DARTS out there on the course in defeating the Wheeler Lady Bearcats 249-259!! Our girls also earned a victory over Calumet as the Lady Warriors only brought 2 golfers to compete. Senior Morgan Sanchez fired a 48 to earn medalist honors on the night and was joined in the Lady Brickie top 4 by classmates Chelsea Chavez & Shanena Knight and freshman Hanna Balaszek.
Tuesday, the Lady Brickies were back in NCC play with a home date against Munster. On a beautiful evening at River Pointe Country Club, our girls actually shot better than they did the night before against Wheeler & Calumet ... lowering the team score from 259 to 256! Unfortunately, the Lady 'Stangs were on fire and finished the round in a blistering score of 196. Sanchez again led the Hobart attack. Seniors Sydney Belk, Chavez & Knight rounded out the top 4.
Earning a virtual split for the week could be just what the doctor ordered for our girls going into the home stretch of the season. This is a BIG week for the Lady Brickies as they will be swinging the wrenches Tuesday over at White Hawk Country Club in the Northwest Crossroads Conference CHAMPIONSHIP! For some inspiring words to get focused in on Tuesday's NCC meet, we turn to fictitious golf legend Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy - "I hit it again because that shot was a defining moment, and when a defining moment comes along, you define the moment... or the moment defines you." Define the moment ladies ... go get 'em!
#GRIPITANDRIPIT
Volleyball
#CANYOUDIGIT
Athlete of the Month
As former Dallas Cowboys head coach and current FOX NFL Sunday analyst Jimmy Johnson might say, "How 'bout them Brickies!" Congratulations to our August Athletes of the Month!
Joe Meagher - Boys Cross Country
Anna Wood - Volleyball
THANK YOU to our coaching staff for nominating these fine student athletes for their OUTSTANDING WORK WORK WORK!!
#BEEXCELLENTONPURPOSE
Sports Schedule This Week
Labor Day - No Events Scheduled
Tuesday
Girls Golf @ NCC CHAMPIONSHIP Meet (White Hawk CC)
Boys Tennis @ Highland *
Girls Cross Country @ New Prairie Cougar Kickoff Classic
Boys Cross Country @ New Prairie Cougar Kickoff Classic
Volleyball vs. Lowell *
Girls Soccer vs. KV *
Wednesday
Volleyball vs. Hammond Morton
Boys Soccer @ KV *
Girls Golf @ Merrillville
Boys Tennis vs. Illiana Christian
Thursday
Girls Soccer vs. Bishop Noll
Boys Tennis @ Munster *
Volleyball @ Munster *
9th Football @ Lowell
Friday
Football vs. Culver Academy (*6:30pm Start)
Saturday
Girls Cross Country @ Bob Thomas Invite (Lowell HS)
Boys Cross Country @ Bob Thomas Invite (Lowell HS)
Volleyball @ Chesterton Invite
Boys Soccer vs. Portage
Boys Tennis @ Highland Doubles Invite
JV Football @ Culver Academy
* = NCC Opponent