BricksCenter

This past week in Brickie sports gave us a little bit of everything ... Struggle. Survival. Victory and Defeat. Sports always take us on a roller coaster of highs and lows. Ultimately they are just games, but we sure do love 'em. 5-time NBA Champion Kobe Bryant, widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential basketball players of all time, had a great perspective on dealing with those highs and lows:

"Wasting your time doubting whether you're going to be successful or not is pointless. You just put one foot in front of the other, you control what you can control and then you see what the outcome is. If you win ... great ... you're going to have to wake up the next day and do the journey over again. If you lose ... it stinks, but you're going to have to wake up the next day and do the journey all over again anyway."

Kobe is saying that the key is to focus on what you can control and continue to put in the work, regardless of whether you win or lose. Here in The Friendly City, we know a thing or two about putting in WORK WORK WORK ... and it really is more about the journey than the destination. The experiences, lessons, and growth that happen along the way are more important than the end goal itself.

Where is our journey leading us now? ... BricksCenter!

Playing football in November is always a blessing ... and when the Hobart Brickies laced them up against the AP #12-ranked Lowell Red Devils on Friday night @ The Brickyard, it was for all the marbles. Our boys were chasing the IHSAA Class 4A Sectional 17 title and seeking to avenge a Homecoming night defeat to these same Devils back on September 26th.

If there was any nervous energy in the hearts & minds of the Brickies, it didn't show as our boys came out READY TO ROCK!! Hobart received the opening kickoff and marched right down the field ... averaging nearly 10 yards per play ... and finished the drive off with a 23-yard strike from junior QB Aleks Tatum to classmate Bryce Tolliver!! When junior Peter Janda sent the point after through the uprights, it was 7-0 Brickies just 2 minutes into the game!! WHAT A START!! Later in the same period, Hobart scored again on a 2-yard run by senior Max Pickett to move in from 14-0!

With their proverbial backs against the wall, Lowell responded with 15 unanswered points to take the lead near the end of the second quarter. At this point, it was literally a tale of two quarters ... Hobart dominating the first and Lowell doing the same in the second ... but the Bricks weren't done.

With time ticking down in the half, Hobart mounted a 60-yard drive capped by a 30-yard pass from Tatum to Tolliver in the corner of the endzone - a PERFECT THROW accompanied by a FANTASTIC CATCH - to regain the lead at 21-15!!!

Fortunately the Brickie faithful in attendance, the second half was more of a coronation than a competition :). The Hobart D-D-D-DEFENSE completely shut down the Red Devil attack ... holding them scoreless over the final 24 minutes of play to erase any doubts on who would be victorious!! On top of that, the Brickie offense continued to click ... scoring two more touchdowns - both on runs by Tatum - to close it out and secure the sectional championship!!

Final Score: Hobart 35, Lowell 15

WEEEEEEEEEEEE ... ARE THE CHAMPIOOOOOOONS ... MY FRIEEEEEEEEENDS!!!!!

WHAT A NIGHT!! WHAT A PERFORMANCE BY OUR BRICKIES!!! OUR BOYS WERE AWESOME!!

The ground attack was RIDICULOUS for Hobart ... Tatum had 22 carries for 153 yards & 2 TDs ... Pickett finished with 20 carries for 134 yards & 1 TD ... and junior Aiden Kasch had 5 totes for 34 yards. Total? 47 rushes for 321 yards ... that's almost 7 yards per carry!! RIDICULOUS!!! A DOMINANT performance for our O-line! Tatum also threw for 2 TDs (both to Tolliver) and Janda was a PERFECT 5-for-5 on extra points including one from 35 yards thanks to a penalty! WOW!

The D-D-D-DEFENSE was just as good ... junior Nathan Sobczynski had a 3rd quarter interception ... sophomores Terry Earvin & Miles White each collected 11 total tackles ... junior Vontrell Jones & senior Josh Diaz each finished with 10... White & senior Preston Perez each had a sack!!

CONGRATULATIONS to Coach Eric Schreiber, his entire staff, and our boys for winning the IHSAA Class 4A SECTIONAL TITLE!!

This is Hobart's 23rd IHSAA Sectional Championship in school history and first since 2020! The Brickies (10-2) will travel to South Bend to face the #7-ranked St Joseph Huskies (11-1) on Friday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30pm CT. DON'T STOP NOW BOYS!!

#DOUBTUS

#THEJOURNEYCONTINUES

On Thursday night, the Lady Brickies opened the 2025-2026 campaign at home against the LaPorte Slicers from the Duneland Athletic Conference. It was the season opener for both squads, which meant there was some nervous energy and a lot of enthusiasm in the gym! LaPorte jumped out to an early lead, but our girls stayed right with them the rest of the first half and trailed just 24-17 at the break. The 3rd quarter was a BATTLE with each team playing HARD! The Lady Bricks trailed 30-22 with time winding down, but senior Riley Weber SCORED to beat the buzzer and cut the deficit to just 30-24!! Hobart even scored the first point of the final period to get within 30-25, but that's as close as it got. A 5-0 run by the Slicers extended the lead (35-25) and gave them enough cushion to hold off any last minute Hobart run. Final score: LaPorte 42, Hobart 32.

Weber, classmate Samantha Stankich & freshman newcomer Taryn Babcock each netted 7 points and junior Kurah Krucina added 5. Babcock & Krucina tied for the team lead with 8 rebounds apiece ... Krucina also finished with a team-high 4 assists in the loss.

Saturday afternoon, the Lady Bricks were back at it over at Boone Grove High School. In a back-and-forth first half of play, neither team could find much rhythm - particularly on the offensive end - and the scoreboard showed a 16-13 advantage for Hobart at the break. Coach Gregory made a few adjustments in the halftime locker room and our girls SHINED BRIGHT in the 2nd half!! In fact, the Lady Bricks were methodical in their approach in the 3rd quarter ... getting stops & scores consistently to build a double-figure lead!! In the final period, Boone tried to forge a comeback with some defensive pressure and outside shooting, but Hobart didn't flinch ... continued to answer the bell ... and actually extended the lead to secure a 49-27 VICTORY!! The Brickies got contributions from EVERYONE in the lopsided win ... Krucina finished with career highs of 20 points & 13 rebounds - WOW! Weber also registered a double-double with 16 points & 11 rebounds and Babcock filled the stat sheet with 5 points, 5 rebounds & a team-high 4 assists in the win!

Hobart is now 1-1 overall on the year and will host Griffith on Saturday afternoon in their only contest of the upcoming week. GOOD LUCK LADIES!!

#SHEGOTGAME

The Lady Brickies were 2025 IHSAA Sectional Champions and advanced TWWWOOOOOOO (sorry, old habits are hard to break) competitors to the IHSAA State Finals ... Joanna Cantu & Lena Raygoza ... in the FIRST sanctioned year for Girls Wrestling. Not too shabby :)

To kick start year #2 as a sanctioned sport, Hobart opened the 25-26 season at Illiana Christian on Saturday for a round-robin of competition against some other area powerhouse schools!

The Brickies wrestled 4 dual matches over the course of the day and SHINED BRIGHT!! In the opener against Crown Point, our girls BATTLED HARD against the talented Lady Bulldogs. In fact, these teams went toe-to-toe ... each team winning 7 of the 14 matches! Unfortunately, even though each squad finished with 6 pins, the 'Dogs had a tech fall in their 7th win vs the Brickies to ultimately deliver a heartbreaking 39-41 defeat for Hobart.

A second round matchup against the Penn Kingsman was just as competitive, but the Kingsmen won 8 bouts (all by fall) vs the Brickies' 6 to earn a 48-30 win.

In round #3, it was Hobart against the host Vikings and our girls sunk their ship 78-6! IWOW!!

In the final dual match of the day, it was the Brickies against the Portage Indians ... and it was another ROMP as Hobart DOMINATED in a 71-12 VICTORY!!

So ... for the day our girls went 2-2, but showed up and looked STRONG against some GREAT competition!! Seniors Joanna Cantu & Lena Raygoza ... along with freshman newcomer Corabella Wesley ... each went UNDEFEATED on the day with a 4-0 record! Senior Maddie Lams, juniors Addy Hendricks & Gaby Robles, sophomore Bailey Varella & freshman Julia Helminski each finished the day with 3 wins! GREAT JOB LADIES!!

#GIRLPOWER

On Wednesday, a group of H-Clubbers traveled to Lowell High School for the annual Northwest Crossroads Conference Leadership Summit! Organized by Munster Athletic Director Mike Schultz, the NCC Leadership Summit gives student athletes from each of our member schools (Andrean, Hanover Central, Highland, Hobart, Kankakee Valley, Lowell & Munster) a chance to interact and lead about team building, positive mental health, goal-setting, and other traits that help them pursue their best.

It was a FANTASTIC day with the Educational Stadium group leading the morning session and IHSAA Assistant Commissioner Robert Faulkens there to guide the afternoon activities!

H Club members in attendance were Evan Harness, Connor Kenjic, Aleks Tatum, Aiden Kasch, Marin Ray, Lexi Turley, Abigail Rinas, Nora Hornak, Natalie Vera, Isabella Freeman, Kurah Krucina, Val Rodriguez & Lilliana Lopez.

#ENERGYSACRIFICEDIRECTION

Boys Basketball - First Official Practice

Boys Swimming & Diving - First Official Practice

Tuesday

H Club Meeting

Wednesday

Girls Wrestling vs Highland/Valpo

Thursday

9th Girls Basketball vs. Munster *

Friday

Football @ South Bend St Joseph (IHSAA REGIONAL)

Saturday

Girls Wrestling @ Penn

Girls Basketball vs Griffith

* = NCC Opponent