BricksCenter
DaDaDa DaDaDa
November 24, 2019
21 Sports ... 1 Team ... WE ARE HOBART!
As we approach THANKSGIVING this week, it's appropriate to acknowledge things in our lives that we are grateful for ... our health, our families, our job, etc. Something you might add to the list of blessings this year is simply being a BRICKIE. Over the last few months, BRICKIE PRIDE has been BEAMING from every direction thanks to the successes of our fall sports teams - in particular the boys on the gridiron and their run to the FINAL FOUR of IHSAA Class 4A!
At HHS, we preach being #21sports1team ... in the city, maybe we could preach #29000citizens1team? Doesn't quite roll off the tongue as well, but you get the idea :).
Junior quarterback Riley Johnston said it best when he was quoted in the Post Tribune on Saturday morning. “I love our town. There’s nothing that compares to being a Brickie. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”
Well said.
Right now, I'm thankful that it's time for BricksCenter!
Football
HYPE
On Friday night, the Brickies traveled to Kendallville to face the undefeated East Noble Knights for the IHSAA Class 4A Northern SEMI-STATE crown with the winner advancing to Indianapolis to play for the STATE TITLE in Lucas Oil Stadium. Three buses packed with students, along with what seemed like our entire town, made the 2.5 hour trek across the state to support our boys playing in their 1st SEMI-STATE in 23 years! The East Noble stadium was bursting at the seams with fans eager to watch this clash of titans!
EARLY SUCCESS
East Noble received the opening kickoff and on their 1st series, do-it-all quarterback Bailey Parker fumbled and senior Sean UUUUUNNNNNNderdahl recovered to give Hobart the ball in Knight territory! On the very next play, junior quarterback Riley Johnston ripped a long run down to the 4 yard line! The Knights were able to hold the line and Hobart settled for a 22-yard field goal by senior Matt Hylek to take an early 3-0 lead. On the Knight's next possession, junior Zach Vode blocked a punt ... setting Hobart up on the East Noble 18 yard line! Soon after, the Brickies were able to punch it into the endzone on Johnston's 1-yard keeper to go up 10-0 after Hylek's point after! Vode AGAIN got in on the action ... this time intercepting his 6th pass of the year on the Knight's next drive and the 1st quarter ended with the Brickies in control 10-0! About 4 minutes into the 2nd quarter, senior Matthew Benton stepped in front of an East Noble receiver, picked off the pass and raced 30 yards into the endzone for another TOUCHDOWN!!! It was Benton's STATE LEADING 12th interception on the season and with Hylek's extra point, Hobart owned a 17-0 lead with 8:39 left in the half!!
COMEBACK
East Noble, it's high-powered offense completely shut down through a quarter and a half, FINALLY put together a drive and scored to cut the Brickie lead to 17-7. After a Hobart punt, the Knights again drove down inside the red zone and connected on a 30-yard field goal to make it 17-10 at the half.
ALL TIED UP
To open the 2nd half, the teams traded turnovers. Shortly after an East Noble interception gave them the ball in Hobart territory, senior Hayden Homoky got it back with an interception of his own in the endzone - not only breaking up a would-be touchdown for the Knights, but also giving H-town the ball back at the 20 yard line!! After a short drive, the Brickies had to punt again and this time, East Noble was able to manufacture a 60-yard drive that ended in a 1-yard touchdown run to even things up on the scoreboard at 17-17, which is where the 3rd quarter ended.
EDGE OF YOUR SEAT FINISH
With the Knights threatening again inside the red zone, a FUMBLE near the goal line was recovered by Vode to give Hobart the ball back! That's right folks ... junior Zach Vode had a blocked punt, interception, and a fumble recovery to go along with 4 catches for 50 yards! Unfortunately, East Noble bottled up the Brickies and tackled senior DJ "workhorse" Lipke in the endzone for a safety to take their 1st lead of the game at 19-17. Another touchdown on their next possession gave East Noble a 26-17 lead with 8 and a half minutes remaining in the game. Just as it seemed that the Knights were in control, Johnston found an opening on Hobart's ensuing possession, made an AMAZING cut-back through the East Noble secondary, and sprinted 71 yards for a TOUCHDOWN to give the Brickies new life and send the Hobart faithful into a FRENZY!! The Hobart D-D-D-DEFENSE held the Knights to a field goal on their next possession and the Brickies got the ball back with 2:25 left on the clock needing a touchdown to win. Johnston's legs and Vode's hands helped Hobart drive down to the East Noble 39 yard line with only 0.7 seconds left in the game. Johnston lofted a long pass intended for Vode down the right sideline headed for the endzone. A touchdown would send the Brickies to the STATE FINALS, anything less meant the season was over. As Vode went up for the catch, two East Noble defenders were able to knock the ball away and the pass fell incomplete sending the Knight fans into hysteria and leaving the Brickies heartbroken.
Final Score - East Noble 29, Hobart 24.
PRIDE
What a game ... what a season ... what an AMAZING group of young men. They lifted the hopes of an entire town on their backs and carried them to the doorstep of the high school football "Promised Land", Lucas Oil Stadium. It had been 23 long years since the Hobart Brickies played on this stage and the story they wrote in Purple & Gold is definitely one for the history books. FAMILY is something they preached from day 1 and it showed ... not just on the field, but throughout this blue-collar town with a foundation built on toughness and embedded in a deep-rooted love for the Brickies.
CONGRATULATIONS to Coach Osika, his outstanding staff, and these boys for taking us all on such a fantastic voyage through the fall season. A voyage that ran deep into the state playoffs and seemed to also take us back in time to the "old days". So much PRIDE was displayed on the field, in the stands and through Hobart. These kids played with their hearts on their sleeves and reminded us of what is possible with a lot of hard WORK WORK WORK and a strong sense of togetherness. The WE definitely came before ME with these boys - an approach we should all employ in our daily lives. The goal was and still is to #PLAY15, but the purpose is so much more.
The 2019 Brickies finished 11-3 and earned the distinction of being NCC, Sectional & Regional CHAMPIONS!
THANK YOU to all the fans for showing SO MUCH support to this team - it was absolutely AMAZING to be a part of the ride!!
#ALLMYLIFE
Basketball
With two games on the schedule this past week ... plus a trip to Kendallville for some Friday night lights, the Lady Brickies had a full slate of activity!
On Tuesday night, Hobart hosted the Griffith Lady Panthers in non-conference action. Griffith came in boasting a 2-0 record and looking to hand our Lady Brickies a loss for the 2nd year in a row. This one was an INSTANT CLASSIC!
Hobart jumped out to an early lead thanks to some TENACIOUS D-D-D-DEFENSE and transition baskets to go up 12-8 after 8 minutes of play. The Lady Panthers stormed back in the 2nd quarter, attacking the hoop and pounding the boards to lead 25-22 at the half. After a back-and-forth 3rd, Griffith clung to a 1-point lead, 36-35, heading into the 4th quarter of play. With about 3 minutes left in the game, Griffith sunk two free throws to extend their lead to 46-40 as hope was slipping away for the Lady Brickies. A quick score by the Brickies and a timeout by Coach Feddeler gave Hobart NEW LIFE and after another made FT from Griffith, freshman Asia Donald drilled 2 FT's and senior Grace Nestich nailed a 3 to tie it up at 47!! The Lady Brickies turned up the HEAT on DEFENSE and caused a turnover, which gave Hobart a chance to hold for the last shot. Against the Lady Panthers zone defense, Nestich drove a gap with the clock ticking down and kicked to sophomore Claudia Torrico-Ledesma in the corner who launched an uncontested 3 ... AND BURIED IT to give H-town a 3-point lead with 8 seconds remaining!! Griffith was unable to get a good shot off before the final buzzer sounded and the Lady Brickies WON A THRILLER 50-47!!! Freshman Asia Donald led 3 Lady Brickies in double figures with 14 points, followed closely by senior Kora Neace and Nestich with 13 a piece.
A Saturday afternoon tilt @ River Forest was next on the schedule for the Lady Brickies. Early on, the Ingots matched Hobart point for point and with a little over a minute to play in the 1st quarter, Hobart held a slim 9-8 lead. Senior Grace Nestich sparked a rally with some OUTSTANDING DEFENSE and was able to finish repeatedly at the hoop as the Lady Brickies closed the frame with 6 consecutive points to make the score 15-8. That spark continued into the 2nd quarter as RF turned it over or missed quick shots and Hobart was RUNNING the floor and FINISHING in transition to build a 25-8 cushion before the Ingots would score again!! The lead ballooned to 37-11 at the half and the Lady Brickies cruised over the final 16 minutes to win easily 56-35!! Eight different players scored for Hobart in the contest with Donald (12) and Nestich (10) notching double figures, followed by junior Lexi Williams with 9 points and sophomore Melanie Leonard adding 8.
The Lady Brickies are 4-1 and off to their BEST START since the 2013-2014 team began the season 5-0! The girls are THANKFUL for two more games this week ... a Tuesday home game against LaCrosse and another Saturday afternoon match-up @ Calumet. If you're looking for something for the family to do around the holiday weekend, I highly recommend checking out the Lady Brickies - they are FANTASTIC!!
#GIRLSJUSTWANNAHAVEFUN
Swimming
On Thursday, the Lady Brickies welcomed Porter County neighbor Portage to Hobart Middle School for their 2nd consecutive home meet to start the season. After coasting to an easy victory last week over Wheeler, Hobart would need to be at their best to stay afloat against the Lady Indians!
Hobart was ON A MISSION right out of the blocks ... winning the 1st event (200-yd Medley Relay) behind strong performances from senior Becky Lozano and juniors Delaney O'Brien, Ana Tepavcevich and Emma Wright! Next it was Portage's turn as they took 1st in the 200-yd Free. Then Hobart won the 3rd event with Emma Wright in the 200-yd to regain control. When O'Brien took another 1st in the 50-yd Free and junior Alivia Ahner, sophomore Sydney Arias and freshman Gabby Tomich swept the 1 meter diving competition ... the Lady Brickies pulled away to WIN 105-78! O'Brien (50-free, 100-back) and Wright (200-im, 500-free) were each DOUBLE-WINNERS in individual races and Lozano won the 100-fly for the 2nd meet in a row!
Here are some other results from Thursday's meet:
200 Medley Relay - 1st = junior Emma Wright, junior Ana Tepavcevich, senior Becky Lozano & junior Delaney O'Brien
200 Free - 3rd = sophomore Paige Solivais
200 IM - 1st = Wright, 4th = sophomore Bridget Chavez
50 Free - 1st = O'Brien, 3rd = Solivais
Diving - 1st = junior Alivia Ahner, 2nd = sophomore Sydney Arias, 3rd = freshman Gabby Tomich
100 Fly - 1st = Lozano, 3rd = Chelsea Chavez
100 Free - 2nd = Lozano, 3rd = sophomore Meghan Horn
500 Free - 1st = Wright, 3rd = Tepavcevich
200 Free Relay - 1st = O'Brien, Tepavcevich, Lozano & Wright
100 Back - 1st = O'Brien, 3rd = Ahner
100 Breast - 1st = junior Julie Hunt, 2nd = Tepavcevich
400 Free Relay - 2nd = C. Chavez, Hunt, Solivais & Ahner
The Lady Brickies are 2-0 on the season with a HUGE home meet against Valparaiso scheduled for Saturday morning. BE THERE!
#JUSTKEEPSWIMMING
Fall Sports
#21sports1team
ACB
This is the FIRST EVER BOWL GAME IN INDIANA! You don't want to miss this - be a part of HISTORY!!
#COLLEGE
Sports Schedule This Week
9th Wrestling @ Crown Point
Tuesday
Girls Basketball vs. LaCrosse
9th Boys Basketball @ Griffith
Wednesday
No Events Scheduled
Thursday
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Friday
No Events Scheduled
Saturday
Girls Swimming vs. Valparaiso (10 AM)
Boys Swimming vs. Valparaiso (10 AM)
Girls Basketball @ Calumet (1 PM JV, 2:30 PM Varsity)