Beau Hobbie had to wait for Michael Chan to graduate, sat out a couple games this year with a hamstring injury, and yet still ran around, over and through would-be tacklers from La Cañada last Friday night on his way to an even 300 yards. More importantly, Hobbie—the grandson of Titan head football Coach Mike Hobbie—also eclipsed San Marino High School’s career rushing total, taking the mark from…Michael Chan.
“I am really excited about it,” Hobbie said. “That was my goal this year, to beat the record. I knew it was going to take a lot to beat Michael Chan, who was a great running back.”
Hobbie said he “had no idea. Zero idea” that he was within striking distance entering Friday’s contest.
“Someone had told me I was close but I didn’t know if they meant a game or a couple games ahead,” Hobbie told The Tribune. “I had no idea.”
Hobbie called Chan “an inspiration” when the two were on the same team in the fall of 2016 when Chan was the starter.
“Michael showed me what it was like to be a captain and a team leader,” Hobbie said. “I really looked up to him.”
In 2016, Chan broke what was at the time a 38-year-old record that had been set by Bert McKee, who later played at Cal. Chan finished his career with 3,088 yards, topping McKee’s 2,349 in a game at Temple City. Hobbie entered last Friday’s contest needing 258 to tie, and is now alone at the top of the list with 3,030 and regular season games left at Temple City and Monrovia. Postseason yardage counts, too, and the Titans are pretty much a lock for the playoffs.
“I honestly wouldn’t have anything if it weren’t for the linemen and wide receivers who give me the time and space,” Hobbie said. “Also, my grandfather has such a good offensive scheme. He uses everybody and that allows me to have my space. The quarterbacks are making reads on our option so the ball doesn’t automatically go to me. Against Santa Fe I barely got the ball because their ends were immediately taking me out of the equation. But our line does such a great job and our receivers keep their man controlled for a long time. I really appreciate them all.”
Senior wide receiver Wheeler Smith says that Hobbie is also responsible for Smith’s excellent downfield blocking.
Huh?
“Beau knows how to set up his blockers really well,” Smith explained. “He has the rare ability to change direction at the right time and run the defender into his blocker. That is a tremendous skill.”
Smith also appreciates his teammate for his affinity to make big plays.
“I know that every time he touches the ball we have a great chance of scoring,” Smith said. “Beau is also a really nice guy and a great teammate. He is really funny.”
Try telling that to the legions of opponents still grasping for air in search of The Elusive One.
Hobbie’s next goal?
“Win the rest of our games and go as far as we can in the playoffs,” he said of the Titans, who are 2-0 in Rio Hondo league play and 6-1-1 overall. “Hopefully we can take this all the way.”
When reached on campus at USC where he is majoring in Business Administration, Chan said was happy for his former teammate.
“Beau once said to me ‘I am coming after your record,”’ Chan said with a laugh. “I told him ‘I humbly accept your proposal.’ And I am super happy for Beau. He is a great running back and a great football player. He deserves it.”
No regrets…at all?
“Absolutely not,” Chan exclaimed. “I was very proud of breaking a record that had stood for almost 40 years, but I am super happy for Beau. It is well-deserved.”
Further testimony could come from El Monte High School’s defensive eleven, who spent a painful August night chasing Hobbie, who compiled 257 rushing yards and six touchdowns in the first half of San Marino’s 76-36 drubbing of the Lions.
“That was one of the best running back performances I have ever seen,” said Grandpa Hobbie, who has seen a lot of great running back performances in his lifelong coaching career and typically downplays the exploits of his kin.
Football season is also family time for the Hobbies. Suzanne Hobbie, Beau’s grandmother and Mike’s wife, is a science teacher at San Marino High School and fixture at Beau’s games. Uncle Matt Hobbie is also an assistant coach.
