BricksCenter
DaDaDa DaDaDa
October 27, 2019
21 Sports ... 1 Team ... WE ARE HOBART!
Why do we love them so much? I think it's because they can both take us to places our ordinary lives can't on a regular basis. In sports, there really is a THRILL OF VICTORY and an AGONY OF DEFEAT that as fans we FEEL when our team competes. There is TANGIBLE INTENSITY when the stakes are at their highest. In music, the stories told through lyrics or notes can draw upon those same kinds of emotions. That's why they go so well together.
For this edition of BricksCenter, sports and music are connected to help us CELEBRATE another unforgettable week of competition for our Hobart Brickies. With the IHSAA fall post-season underway, it's a "win or go home" scenario, which brings our most intense emotions to the surface as we ride the roller-coaster of ups & downs with our student athletes.
This past week in Brickie sports provided exhilarating excitement and unbelievable heartbreak in a time frame of less than 24 hours. Still, when the sun went down and the moon came up, our kids did shine :)
Crank up the volume ... it's time to spin this edition of BricksCenter!
Football
On Friday night, the Hobart Brickies (#10 ranked team in the state) traveled to Zlotnik Field to take on Hammond Morton (#14 ranked team in the state) for a 1st round CLASH OF TITANS in IHSAA Class 4A Sectional 17. This one was THE marquee match-up of the week and played out almost like a movie. The setting was dimly lit (lighting is marginal at best at Zlotnik Field) ... there was some serious star power on both sides ... and the story included adversity that had to be overcome by our heroes in order to have a happy ending.
All great movies have an awesome soundtrack with a headline song. Friday night's could be a song by American rock band Cheap Trick called "I Will Survive", borrowed from the 1992 movie Gladiator, a tough fight movie set in Chicago's south side.
Here's the first stanza:
The battle line is drawn
I dare you to cross it
You better think twice
Before you mix it up with me
These lines make me think of the Brickies D-D-D-DEFENSE on Friday night. These guys were ANIMALS! The Governors entered the game scoring almost 50 points per game ... the Brickie D was only surrendering 10 ... something had to give. On Friday night, that "something" was the Morton offense as they "gave" the ball back to Hobart 7 TIMES on turnovers throughout the game! A few highlights include senior Matthew Benton intercepting 2 more passes to bring his season total to 9 and classmate Mark Mummey scooping up a fumble caused by a Bobby "The Destroyer" Babcock sack and rumbling into the endzone for a touchdown! In all, Hobart held the high-powered Morton offense to less than 100 yards passing and 30 points lower than their season average!!
Here's another stanza:
I won't back down
I'll keep the fire burning
As hard as you try
You're never gonna stop me now, no
This one applies to the Hobart Offense ... in fact, senior DJ "workhorse" Lipke might be singing the words himself. Lipke was FANTASTIC with 28 carries for a whopping 160 yards and 2 touchdowns ... effectively putting him over the 1,000-yard mark for the season! Junior quarterback Riley Johnston covered 73 yards on only 14 carries and scored 3 times as well!! The Brickie offensive line was BRILLIANT against Morton's athletic front 7 as Hobart controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the night and paved the way for our over-powering ground attack!
Overall, the "movie" that played out in front of a raucous Hobart fan base had a very happy ending that saw our boys SHINE and earn a hard-fought 42-21 VICTORY!! If you missed it, shame on you ... it was such an exciting game - the energy in the stadium was electric, there were HEROES all over the field for Hobart, and these Brickies gave everyone plenty of opportunities to stand and cheer!!
The goal is to #PLAY15 ... in order to do that, our boys must SURVIVE and ADVANCE. The song I WILL SURVIVE fits this group of tough, gritty kids from our blue-collar town very well.
I think I'll add it to my playlist :)
Next Friday night, Hobart will host Highland in the semi-final round of Sectional 17.
Game time is 7 PM
Be there
#PLAY15
Check out what the NWI Times had to say about Hobart's 1st round VICTORY!
Cross Country
Eminem ... take it away
Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity ...
To seize everything you ever wanted, in one moment ...
Would you capture it, or just let it slip?
On Saturday, the FAB FOUR ... sophomore Sydney Belk, junior Bruce Leipart & seniors Bryan Cherry and Lauren Romeo ... traveled to New Prairie High School to compete in the IHSAA Cross Country SEMI-STATE. In order to advance to next week's STATE FINALS at Laverne Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, IN, the Brickies would need to finish among the top 10 individuals not competing for an advancing team.
the moment, you own it, you better never let it go
Sophomore Sydney Belk and senior Lauren Romeo were running as individual qualifiers in the girls race on Saturday. It was cold and rainy, but the Lady Brickies were FIERCE competitors and put all they had ON THE LINE.
In a race with 180 competitors, both girls got swallowed up by the mass of runners in the first 400 meters and couldn't quite break out in a near record fast race on the wet & muddy course. Belk, who missed the state finals last year by a mere 2 spots, gave everything she had to give, but finished out of contention this year coming in 117th overall in a time of 21:31.4. This was Sydney's 2nd straight run at the NP Semi-state and with a great off-season, will be poised to come back stronger next fall to chase a qualifying spot in the state finals.
Romeo, running cross country for the 1st time in high school, ran a PR in the most important race of the year! She was a WARRIOR this fall as she competed in both Cross Country and Girls Soccer!
Lauren placed 127th in a time of 21:40.4!
These two girls represented Hobart EXTREMELY WELL on the biggest stage of the season! We are SO PROUD of their hard work, time and dedication for Brickie XC. CONGRATULATIONS LADIES on a EXCELLENT season!!
Boys
Junior Bryan Cherry and sophomore Bruce Leipart were running as individual qualifiers for the Brickies. In another PHENOMENAL effort, our boys ran their hearts out against the best of the best.
Leipart was TERRIFIC as he raced to 21st place overall with a time of 16:38.5! If you recall, the top 10 individuals who are not on advancing teams earn a spot in the STATE FINALS next week ... Bruce was the heartbreaking 11th individual in that category as the 10th spot went to a runner from Hanover Central who edged Bruce by about 4 seconds. The heartache was tangible, but Bruce was surrounded by supportive teammates and handled the disappointment like the true CHAMPION that he is. This was Bruce's 3rd trip to the semi-state ... fortunately for all of us, we get to watch him race again next fall determined to finish his senior season in Terre Haute. GREAT JOB BRUCE - WE ARE VERY PROUD OF YOU!!!
Senior Bryan Cherry was making his 4th consecutive trip to SEMI-STATE. Last year it was Bryan who finished in the 11th spot and missed the state meet by 4 seconds to a runner from Portage. This year, a lower leg injury that sidelined Cherry for much of the season ended up being too much to overcome against the best runners in our corner of the state. Bryan finished 144th with a time of 18:19.6. Sadly, this was the final race for Bryan in a Hobart cross country uniform, but what a career he has had for the Brickies! Cherry has been in IMPACT RUNNER for us his entire career and to be able to compete on the doorstep of the state finals EVERY year is impressive to say the least. CONGRATULATIONS BRYAN on a GREAT CAREER in purple & gold!! Fortunately, we get to see Bryan represent H-town a few more times this spring on the track!
Overall, these 4 had ONE OPPORTUNITY to SEIZE EVERYTHING and they absolutely left it all out there on the course trying to capture it. Even though the end result was not the happy ending we hoped for, the JOURNEY to get there was AMAZING! CONGRATULATIONS to Coach A and Coach C for guiding these fine student athletes so well as they navigated the ups and downs of this season ... and THANK YOU for helping all of our runners continue the PRIDE and TRADITION we have grown to embrace every fall.
#BRICKIESRUNONDIRT
The FAB FOUR
ACADEMIC ALL-STATE
In 2012, American rock band Imagine Dragons released a song that's title perfectly describes how each of these student athletes must feel after receiving ACADEMIC ALL STATE recognition ... I'M ON TOP OF THE WORLD 'AY!!
CONGRATULATIONS to all of the Hobart soccer players recognized for ACADEMIC ALL STATE by the ISCA (Indiana Soccer Coaches Association)! These kids truly represent the VERY BEST of what being a STUDENT-ATHLETE is all about!!
Girls
Hayley Borman, Danielle Gayton, Abby Haluska, Emma Lewis, Liesl Martin, Grace Nestich, Samantha Paterson, Brianna Paulson, Cecilia Provins, and Lauren Romeo
Boys
Troy Brown, Tyler Davis, Daniel Flores Jr., Jonathan Hernandez and Shaun Mirr
#BELIEVEANDACHIEVE
Middle School
Over the last two weeks, HMS Sports have had some milestone moments!
About 12 days ago, the 6th grade girls cross country team DOMINATED the conference meet to finish 1st and claim the outright championship! A week later, the 7th grade football team capped an UNDEFEATED season with a resounding win on Tuesday night!!
Remember those welding masks we talked about last week because our high school seniors SHINED BRIGHT? I'd recommend keeping them within reach - you're gonna need them :)
#ALLMYLIFE
6th Grade XC CONFERENCE CHAMPS!
7th Grade UNDEFEATED SEASON!
JROTC
These kids have been fantastic ... CRUSHING the competition a week ago at our own invitational and then did some WORK WORK WORK on Saturday at Camp Atterbury to bring home the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP! CONGRATULATIONS to LTC Scott Buhmann and all 12 of these fine student-athletes for such an outstanding accomplishment!
This BAND OF RAIDERS will travel to Georgia next weekend to compete in the NATIONAL COMPETITION! LET'S GO!!
#CHARACTER-DESIRE-COMMITMENT-TEAMWORK
BRICKIE GEAR
In 1994, alternative rock band Weezer talked about destroying a sweater by pulling a thread (Undone - The Sweater Song). In the athletic department, we aren't destroying anything. On the contrary, we're trying to PRODUCE some nice gear for the winter sports season!
If you happen to be in the market for some, you're in luck! The HHS Athletic Department currently has a shop that closes TONIGHT and Hobart Wrestling has one that closes on November 10th ... both links can be found below.
These sites have THE BEST ... I say THE BEST options around! Go on in there and get yourself some gear :)
#BRICKIEPRIDE
Sports Schedule This Week
Girls Swimming - 1st day of Practice
Tuesday
No Events Scheduled
Wednesday
Girls Basketball @ Hanover Central (Scrimmage)
Thursday
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Friday
Football vs. Highland (IHSAA Sectional Semi-Finals)
Saturday
No Events Scheduled