BricksCenter
DaDaDa DaDaDa
August 23, 2020
21 Sports ... 1 Team ... WE ARE HOBART!
Here we are in August of 2020 and after over 5 months without competition, this edition of BricksCenter is making the same kind of announcement.
"WE'RE BACK!"
Ok ... so comparing the Return to Play of Brickie sports to the Return of His Airness to Chicago might be a bit of a stretch. ... or maybe it isn't? Jordan was a one-of-a-kind talent who led the DA BULLS to 6 NBA World Championships. Yohan is a one-of-a-kind mascot that has led DA BRICKIES to 7 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS (4 football, 2 cross country, 1 gymnastics). Maybe it wasn't that much of a stretch after all!
FINALLY ... it's time for BricksCenter!
Soccer
Monday, the Lady Brickies opened the 2020 campaign at 2X state finalist Wheeler ... and by the way, those 2X were 2 out of the last 3 years. Looking at the crazy off-season our girls have endured, the first one was going to be tough anyway - playing the Lady Bearcats made it that much more challenging as they have been one of the premier teams in NWI over the last few years. Unfortunately, Wheeler showed it again on Monday by jumping out early and then keeping our Lady Brickies at bay throughout the contest. Hobart battled throughout, but just couldn't get much going and lost a tough one 8-0.
On Saturday, LaPorte traveled to the Friendly City for an afternoon tilt with the Lady Brickies. In a very physical game, Hobart stood tall. Actually, it was Hobart who controlled the ball ... staying on the offensive attack for much of the 1st half only to go into the break tied 0-0. 8 minutes into the 2nd half, senior Samantha Paterson sent one past the LaPorte goal keeper to give the Lady Brickies a 1-0 lead!! With roughly 20 minutes remaining, it was another senior ... Faith Kietzman ... who extended the Hobart lead to 2-0! Finally, after a would-be goal by senior Faith Hillan was waived off due to a penalty on the Lady Slicers, it was Paterson again finding NOTHING BUT THE BACK OF THE NET on the penalty shot to seal the deal and Hobart earned a hard fought 3-0 VICTORY!!
The Lady Brickies are an even 1-1 so far. The improvement from Monday to Saturday was noticeable. If these girls keep working hard, it's going to be an exciting season!
Boys
On Monday, the boys played the nightcap of the varsity double-header (soccer pun intended) over @ Wheeler. After looking sharp in the jamboree last weekend against Portage and Valpo, this was our first chance to see OUR BOYS SHINE when it was for real ... and as Rhianna might say, they SHINED BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND! During the 1st 40 minutes of play, the Brickies were launching shots on goal relentlessly, but couldn't quite get one past and the teams remained tied 0-0 at the half. Whatever Coaches Weinman and Harris said at halftime WORK WORK WORKed because the flood gates opened wide during the last 40 minutes and Hobart won in DOMINATING fashion 5-0!! Seniors Avione Lane and Jonathan Hernandez-Valdez scored a goal a piece and freshmen Luke Weinman (1) and Jack Harris (2) added the other three!! Freshman Carlos Gayton added two assists in the victory!
Saturday, the Brickies were ROAD WARRIORS in a late morning contest over at Illiana Christian. The Vikings got the best of Hobart a year ago in their 1st ever meeting. Can you say, "payback"? PAYBACK!! Early on, Hobart was the aggressor as our boys ATTACKED the net HARD resulting in a 2-0 halftime lead! One more goal in the 2nd half for some insurance and our boys returned home with another W by the score 3-0!! The D-D-D-DEFENSE was again SUPERB as the Brickies pitched their 2nd SHUTOUT in as many games!! Freshman Carlos Gayton found the back of the net twice on Saturday and junior Cade Mangel got his first goal of the season to finish off the scoring!
The boys are 2-0 so far on the young season and have outscored their opponents 8-0!! These kids can play ... now the GOAL is to continue improving each week ... and that comes from good old fashioned WORK WORK WORK! WE GOT THIS!
#WEAREONE
Football
Chesterton received the opening kick-off in front of a limited capacity crowd on their home turf and marched 72 yards for a touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead. After both teams traded turnovers and stalled drives on the next few possessions, Hobart got on the scoreboard when junior placekicker Miki Djankovich nailed a 26-yd field goal to make it 7-3. With the 2nd quarter winding down, senior Riley Johnston intercepted a pass and appeared to headed for a pick-6 before being tripped up at the Chesterton 7 yard line! Unfortunately, the Trojan defense held the line and our boys went into the half trailing by 4.
With Hobart still trailing 7-3 halfway through the 3rd quarter, junior Dakota Vanderberg returned a punt deep into Trojan territory to give the Brickies new life! Three plays later, Johnston threw the ball towards the endzone intended for classmate Zach Vode who made an incredible leaping catch between two defenders for a TOUCHDOWN!!! After a successful PAT by Djankovich, Hobart led 10-7! With Chesterton driving for a potential go-ahead score early in the 4th quarter, it was Vode making another spectacular play ... this time he intercepted a tipped pass and raced 96 yards to PAYDIRT to extend the Hobart lead!!
After a Trojan field goal pulled them within 17-10, the Brickies put the game on ice with a 2 yard touchdown run by junior Marc Enslen!! Final score: Hobart 24, Chesterton 10!
Hobart's D-D-D-DEFENSE was LOCK DOWN after the opening drive and limited Chesterton to only a field goal the rest of the way.
The Brickies are 1-0, ranked #2 in class 4A, and play their home opener this coming Friday night against class 6A #7-ranked Merrillville @ The Brickyard. See below for more information regarding entry to varsity home football games and all other fall sports. LET'S GO!!!
#PLAY15
FALL SEASON TICKET GUIDELINES @ HHS
Volleyball
Thanks to COVID, the Lady Brickies pre-season scrimmage was cancelled, which means they had to hit the floor running this past week with a tough opener against Portage on Tuesday and the 42nd Annual HOBART INVITE on Saturday.
LET'S GO BRICKS!!
Saturday, Hobart finished off the 1st week of competition for the 2020 season by hosting the 42nd Annual Hobart Volleyball Invitational. The Invite took on a slightly different format this year with 3 teams missing for COVID reasons; however, the level of competition was OUTSTANDING! The Lady Brickies CRUISED through their 1st two matches of the day 2-0 against River Forest (25-16, 25-15) and Lake Station (25-16, 25-20). Wheeler and Marquette Catholic were waiting in the final two matches of the day. Each was close ... much like the 1st two sets against Portage on Tuesday ... unfortunately, Hobart couldn't quite get over the hump and dropped both of the hard fought games (14-25, 23-25 to Wheeler and 19-25, 20-25 to Marquette). Marquette finished the day 4-0 to earn the unofficial title.
So far this season, junior Hannah Mathis leads Hobart with 9 kills ... senior Jessica Fazekas has accounted for 22 assists ... senior Sasha Thomas has 13 digs and 7 serving aces ... and classmate Abby Dumbauld has registered a team-high 5 blocks.
The Lady Brickies are 2-3 and GETTING BETTER every time out! They'll get tested again this week with 3 more matches! GOOD LUCK LADIES!! WE BELIEVE!!
#BRICKIEPRIDE
Cross Country
Girls
Junior Sydney Belk, a 2-time all-conference runner and IHSAA semi-state qualifier, is back to lead a very young group of Lady Brickies! Racing on the 4K loop, freshman phenom Ella Hornak was the first finisher for Hobart on KV's revamped course followed by junior Mikayla Fuentes, who was next into the shoot. Belk was the 3rd Lady Brickie to cross the finish line and a trio of freshman newcomers - Addy Black, Kylee King, and Melanie Paterson - rounded out the Hobart contingent. Junior Emma Ramirez was the lone Hobart representative ran on the 3K course and ran a GREAT race! No team scores were kept, but these girls have some potential! Once this group gets all of the pieces in place and can run at full strength, they are going to be a force to be reckoned with!
Boys
On the boys side, senior Bruce Leipart, a 2019 IHSAA STATE qualifier and 3-time ALL NCC performer, picked up where he left off last fall and ran a PHENOMENAL race on the 4K course to cross the finish line first for Hobart! Juniors Joe Meagher, Kaiden Click, and Jonah Wells joined Leipart in the 4K race along with sophomore Ryan Wein and a contingent of freshman newcomers - Ryan Mattel, Owen Stankich, and Vinney Gutierrez - that should provide the Brickie harriers with some much needed depth! As good as Hobart looked in the 4K race, it was sophomore Tommy Williamson who stole the show with a lifetime best 3rd place finish in the 3K race!
Also running at less than full strength on Tuesday, these boys will be fun to watch develop as the season progresses!!
#PRIDE&TRADITION
Girls Golf
On 8/11, the Lady Kougars looked strong on their home course at Sandy Pines Country Club and sent Hobart home with a 196-241 loss to open the season.
Monday, the Lady Brickies hosted Highland at River Pointe Country Club in their 2nd Northwest Crossroads Conference match of the season. Led by ..., Hobart collectively dropped 16 strokes and shot a 225 over 9 holes to earn their first victory! After a tough loss @ Valparaiso on Tuesday, our girls shot a season best 220 to earn a split in their double dual against Andrean (W) and Munster (L)!
Head Coach Gary Roach always says, "The best motivation comes from within" ... it appears that motivation is starting to spill out onto the course for our girls!! Scores are going down and confidence should be going up ... as conference play heats up over the next few weeks, this could be really fun!!
To date, our girls are 2-3 overall and 2-2 in NCC play!
#NANANANANANANANA
Boys Tennis
Due to East Chicago Central delaying its return to sports, our boys didn't get a chance to shake the nerves out with a scrimmage before their first competition. Fortunately, new head coach Kenny Walsh has been WORK WORK WORKing our boys hard so they were prepared when Tuesday rolled around!
On Thursday, Hobart traveled north of Ridge Road to neighborhood rival River Forest for "The Battle of Hobart Township". The Brickies SERVED notice that this is OUR TOWNship and rolled to an easy 5-0 VICTORY!! After earning forfeit wins at #3 singles and #2 doubles, it was up to Hobart's 4 SENIORS to seal the deal at the other spots. Jancich again looked smooth winning 6-0, 6-0 at #1 singles ... Carter Mohr picked up his first varsity win at #2 singles 6-2, 6-0 ... and the combo of Chad Tomaga & Nick Kolopanis (IHSAA Regional qualifiers in 2019) also cruised with a 6-0, 6-1 WIN!
The Brickies are 1-1 on the young season and will play their 1st home match against potential IHSAA Sectional opponent Hammond Academy of Science and Technology (HAST) this upcoming Wednesday.
#ACES
Sports Schedule This Week
Girls Golf @ Bishop Noll
Volleyball @ River Forest
Tuesday
Volleyball vs. Wheeler
Wednesday
Girls Golf @ Lowell *
Boys Tennis vs. HAST
Girls Soccer @ Michigan City
Thursday
Girls Golf vs. Calumet
Boys Tennis vs. Kankakee Valley *
Volleyball @ Highland
9th Football @ Chesterton
Friday
Football vs. Merrillville
Girls Golf @ Hanover/Portage
Saturday
JV Football @ Merrillville
JV Volleyball @ Chesterton
* - NCC Opponent
Eventlink
For online access to the Hobart sports schedule 24/7, check out our scheduling software company Eventlink! You can set up your own FREE account and have access to all Hobart events on a customized calendar!
https://eventlink.com/what-we-do/?tab=1
... or make sure to check out the Hobart Athletic Department website where schedules are linked to Eventlink. In the era of COVID, schedules could adjust quickly - get connected to stay up to date with all the changes!