The Hobart Statesmen (1-1) will open their Liberty League (LL) title defense against the Susquehanna University Crusaders (2-1). Hobart is 2-0 against Susquehanna since they joined the LL in 2007. This is the Crusaders final season in the LL as they will depart to join the Centennial Conference in 2010. The Statesmen will make the trip down to Selinsgrove, PA for a 2 PM ET kick-off.
If Hobart prevails in Saturday’s contest, Head Coach Mike Cragg will have 100 victories in his coaching career at Hobart. As he goes for his 100th win, Coach Cragg will also be participating in the AFCA’s national campaign “Coach to Cure Muscular Dystrophy” campaign. Hobart and SU fans can donate money to Coach to Cure MD, either through the Web site:
www.CoachToCureMD.org
or by texting “CURE” to 90999 to donate $5 on your next cell phone bill.
Last season Hobart literally ran out to 20-0 lead behind 221 yards rushing and cruised to a 27-14 win. Although that loss dropped the Crusaders to 1-3, SU would finish the season 4-6 and fourth place in the LL with wins over Rochester, Merchant Marine and WPI. The Crusaders also hung very tough in shoot outs nearly defeating St. Lawrence (49-42) and Union (51-45).
This season SU enters the LL opener averaging 30 points per game and allowing 16.7. The Crusaders have a very explosive and balanced attack, averaging 171 yards rushing and 207.7 yards passing a game. SU also has a nose for the end zone going 11 for 11 in end zone scores (eight touchdowns and three field goals). JR PK Bobby Eppleman is also perfect – going four for four on field goals on the season (long of 38).
Leading the SU attack is SR RB Dave Paveletz (79 attempts for 378 yards and four touchdowns) and SO QB Rich Palazzi 48 for 80 passing for 623 yards six touchdowns and only two interceptions. Palazzi’s leading receivers are classmate WR Mike Ritter (13 catches for 199 yards and 1 touchdown) and SR WR J.J. Moran (11 receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns).
That said the Crusaders aren’t just about offense – SU has only allowed one passing touchdown this season, and opponents are three for 10 in scoring red zone touchdowns against the Crusader “D”. Also of note is that SU defensive line has sacked opposing QBs nine teams and the secondary has five interceptions.
The Crusader defense is lead by SR LB Erich Majors (17 tackles, 14 solo) but boast seven other defenders with double digit tackles. SR DE Pete Johnsen leads the SU “D” with 7.5 tackles for loss (TFL) including 5.5 sacks.
Keys to the game:
1. Rushing
a. Offense - Last season RBs Andy Marlier (21 carries) and Anthony Hobaica ’09 (15 carries) racked up an impressive 177 yards and two touchdowns against the SU defense. It appears as though Marlier will start this Saturday and it’s crucial that the Hobart OL control the line of scrimmage against the aggressive Crusader defense. Marlier has a track record of success against SU, but so far he hasn’t had much playing time (only 12 carries for 52 yards so far this season). Hopefully Marlier will return to form now that he has returned to the starting RB role – one in which he was very successful at, especially late in 2008 and in the NCAA play-offs.
b. Defense - On the flip side, the Hobart defense needs to be prepared to handle RB Dave Paveletz who currently is the #1 rusher in the LL. To win on Saturday, the Statesmen defense needs to learn from the Lycoming (1-1) playbook as the Warrior defense stifled SU to only 43 yards on 27 carries (1.6 average yards per carry) in a 37-23 victory over the Crusaders last weekend in Selinsgrove.
2. Pick off Palazzi – Hobart will face the leading passer (by average yards per game and second in overall passing efficiency) in the LL. Last season the Statesmen handled the SU passing attack of Derek Pope ’09 limiting SU to only 107 yards. This year is a different story. Hobart will be challenged downfield by Palazzi but the Statesmen pass defense is only allowing 125 yards per game. Hobart has only one interception on the season so far, but the majority of the Statesmen’s defensive backfield that finished 2008 ranked fourth in the nation in pass efficiency defense will be on the field Saturday. SO DB Drake Woodard (who finished 14th in the nation in interceptions as a rookie) will be looking for his first interception of the season – assuming the Crusaders challenge his side of the field.
3. Limit mistakes/maximize opportunities – SU is +2 on the season in turnovers and has always cashed in on trips to their opponent’s red zone – scoring eight touchdowns to date. Hobart will need to improve their red zone defense (opponents scoring 86% of the time, 71% of which are touchdowns), while concurrently avoid turning the ball over.
Although my “In the HuddLLe” broadcast partners picked Susquehanna to win on Saturday, I am going with Hobart to take the win late in the fourth quarter, 24-21.
Both Hobart and SU game notes are up and can be accessed at:
http://www.hwsathletics.com/documents/2009/9/24/Susquehanna.pdf
and
http://www.gosusqu.com/sports/men/fball/2009-10/game-previews/hobart/Hobart_insert.pdf?dec=
As always, you can hear the game at www.weos.org and live stats are available on both the Hobart and Susquehanna football websites.
Don’t forget to listen in to www.inthehuddlle.com on Sunday night at 7:30 PM.
Thanks and Go ‘Bart!
No comments:
Post a Comment