Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Hobart's OL Named "Team of the Week" by D3football.com

The Hobart "hogs" are paving the way to a great start for the Statesmen.  Check the link below for more information:

http://www.hwsathletics.com/news/2011/9/27/HFB_0927111748.aspx

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Saint Lawrence Game Preview (League Opener and Payback Game #1)

Last Sunday night on “In The HuddLLe” Hobart Head Coach Mike Cragg reminded us that the Statesmen have lost their last two Liberty League openers to that season's eventual conference champions (you check out the archive at http://www.inthehuddlle.com/). Last season it was a 24-21 decision to the Saint Lawrence University Saints (2-2, 1-0) that upended Hobart in Canton, NY. The win was Saint Lawrence’s first victory over the Statesmen since 1991 and propelled the Saints to an eventual 5-1 league record and their first ever (“modern”) NCAA tournament berth.

This year the Saint Lawrence game will also serve as Hobart’s (2-0, 0-0) home opener, being one of only three games this season to be played at Boswell Field. The Statesmen are riding high after winning their first two contests by an 89-29 margin.

That said Hobart will be looking for some payback but will have to contend with one somewhat unfamiliar face to earn a victory on Saturday.

The new face of the Saints is their quarterback of the future, SO Nik Busharis. The Mansfield, MA native enjoyed his second three passing touchdown performance against the United States Merchant Marine Academy (1-3, 0-1) in route to helping the Saints retain the Hoffman Cup for the third consecutive season. Busharis has completed over 60% (good for 2nd in the LL in pass efficiency, just behind Hobart’s Nick Strang) of his passes for 633 yards and 10 touchdowns, the latter which leads the league. His favorite target is SR WR and Co-Captain Ethan Sutton who’s hauled in 26 catches for 331 yards and seven TDs.

In spite of these impressive numbers in the passing game, Saint Lawrence’s game changer on offense is really SR RB and Co-Captain Marcus Washington. The Pahokee, FL native leads the league with 583 yards rushing (145.8 yards per game average) on 108 carries (an impressive 5.4 YPR average).

Defensively the Saints are lead by SR LB and Co-Captain Trevor Saunders with 41 total tackles, including three and a half tackles for loss and one forced fumble. Overall Saint Lawrence has performed better against the pass (137.2 YPG) than the run (211.5 YPG) but struggled against the prolific Utica and Alfred passing games, allowing 262 yards and three TDs and 175 yards passing and two touchdowns, respectively.

Keys to the game:

1. (Re)Establish Home Field Advantage – After an impressive scoreless and win streak on the grass and mud of the old “Boz”, Hobart went 3-2 on the new field turf surface in 2010. So far the Statesmen have been effective starting off games quickly, having outscored their opposition 49-7 in the first half and should look to do the same to the Saints on Saturday.

2. The Buck Stops with Washington – Alfred was very effective in limiting RB Marcus Washington to 70 yards on 18 carries, jumping out to a big lead and forcing the Saints into passing / playing from behind.

3. Pressure Busharis – Busharis is not very mobile and lost 40 yards rushing on six sacks against Alfred as well. Overall the SO QB has been sacked nine times. Hobart’s FY DE Tyre Coleman collected the first two sacks of the year for the Statesmen defense and should look to collect a few more Saturday.

Prediction:

I like Hobart to exact some revenge for last year’s loss by a comfortable 38-21 margin (with two of the Saints’ scores coming late in the fourth quarter when the game is pretty much in hand).

Kickoff is slated for 12 PM ET and will be broadcast on WHWS (http://www.whws.com/) radio.

Go ‘Bart!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Hobart beats Fisher, 56-20

The Hobart Statesmen travelled to Pittsford, NY to face the Saint John Fisher Cardinals of the Empire 8 conference Saturday for a 1 pm kickoff. The Statesmen were looking to return the favor of playing spoiler to the Cardinals' homecoming game after falling to Fisher 34-14 last season under the lights at Boswell Field for Hobart's homecoming game.

The Statesmen defense made a statement early forcing a punt on the Cardinals' opening possesion. On the ensuing play, junior quarterback Nick Strang lead the Statesmen offense on a 12 play, 76 yard march which was capped when junior running back Bobby Doughtery found the end zone from three yards out to give Hobart a lead they would never relinquish.

The Statesmen would score on their next two possessions, both featuring Strang finding senior wide receiver and co-captain Garth Muratori and junior wide out Junior Woodard for 54 and 12 yard strikes, respectively.

Saint John Fisher would try and get back into the game, with junior quarterback Ryan Kramer finding senior wide receiver Ryan Schmidt for a 35 yard touchdown pass to pull the score to 21-7 with 6:44 remaining in the first half.
 
The Statesmen offensive onslaught would continue as three more Strang touchdown passes would push the Hobart lead to 42-7 before a 65 yard Schimdt run made it 42-14 with one minute, 17 seconds play late in the third quarter.
 
The final would end up 56-20 Hobart with the Statesmen outgaining the Cardinals 492 to 263 yards. Six different Hobart players would score, lead by Strang who went 20 for 29 yards for 266 passing for 5 touchdowns, while leading all Statesmen rushers with 64 yards on five carries. Garth Muratori enjoyed a career day with eight cathes for 145 yards and three touchdowns.
 
On defense the Statesmen were lead by senior linebacker Reggie Robinson with six tackles and one forced fumble. 
 
With the win Hobart improves to 2-0 and will host Saint Lawrence in the Statesmen's home opener on Saturday, October 1st.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Hobart (proves me wrong and) crushes Saint John Fisher 56-20 to go 2-0

Too many good things to say at this point.  Will provide more analysis later today and plan to get Head Coach Mike Cragg on In the HuddLLe (www.inthehuddlle.com) tomorrow night @ 7:30 PM ET to discuss this HUGE win over the Cardinals.  Fisher entered the game ranked #4 on scoring defense in all of DIII.  Guess not ;)
Hobart gave the Liberty League their first and only win over the Empire 8 conference this season.  It is Hobart's 11th win in the all-time series over the Cardinals, but their first since 2001!

The Statesmen will have their home opener next Saturday at the "Boz" looking to avenge last year's 24-21 loss to eventual League Champion Saint Lawrence (2-2, 1-0).

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Saint John Fisher Game Preview

After two weekends of no football games, the Hobart Statesmen (1-0) will travel to Pittsford, NY to take on the Saint John Fisher College Cardinals (2-0) this Saturday for a 1 PM kick-off. Last season the Cardinals sidetracked Hobart’s first ever night and most recent Homecoming game by a convincing 34-14 margin. The Fisher defense caused three Hobart turnovers and otherwise shut down the Statesmen on third down (Hobart would go 0 for 10). The only bright spot for the Statesmen that night was a historic 100 yard receiving and rushing game for then-FY RB Steven Webb.

Although the Cardinals’ offense and special teams turned several heads last Saturday scoring 52 points on the University of Rochester Yellow Jackets (1-1), the real story in my opinion is what Fisher continues to do on defense.

Fisher has only allowed 10 points in the past two games – both scores coming in the first quarter - and has otherwise pitched shut outs from the second quarter on. The Cardinals defensive line and linebackers have limited their opponents to a paltry 64.5 rushing yards on average. The defensive line’s effectiveness against the rush is also evident in that of the 24 first downs allowed by the Cardinals so far this season, only six came on running plays.

That said Fisher are also strong against the pass, only allowing an average of 141 passing yards, including four interceptions. Leading the Cardinal defense is Head Coach Paul Vosburgh’s son and SR DB Dave Vosburgh with 16 total tackles, including one and a half tackles for a loss (TFL) and a half a sack. Other key players include FR LB Nicholas LoBrutto (four TFL, one sack) and SR LB Brenden Moore who both have 15 total tackles a piece.

Although the Cardinals lost their all-time passing leader Tim Bailey to graduation, they appear to have reloaded having out gained their opponents 716 to 411 yards. The Fisher offense is opportunistic and has scored eight times in nine trips to the red zone.

The Cardinals are lead on the ground by SR RB FuQuan Borum who’s carried 35 times for 139 yards and one rushing touchdown. Borum had a career game against Hobart in 2010, rushing for 180 yards and three touchdowns. Taking the reins from Bailey in the passing game is JR QB Ryan Kramer who has passed for 361 yards including five touchdowns to two interceptions.

Kramer’s top targets are, somewhat ironically, a pair of Ryan’s – SR WR’s Schmidt (20 catches for 156 yards and three touchdowns) and Francis (13 catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns).

Keys to the Game:

1. Move the chains / third down conversions – It’s fairly obvious that this was one of, if not the, key contributor to the Statesmen’s 2010 loss to Fisher (no solution to Borum and the Fisher OL was probably equally problematic but I digress). While Hobart has a strong mix of offensive weapons, it will need all of them to move the ball against this defense.

2. Shut down the “Triple Ryan” offense - Hobart’s defense will need to bring pressure to force Kramer out of his comfort zone and the Statesmen defensive backs will have their hands full with the speed of Francis and Schmidt. That said Kramer doesn’t need to throw for that many yards to be effective. For example, although Rochester was fairly effective in keeping Borum in check (76 yards on 20 carries with one touchdown) and Kramer only threw 15 completions for 143 yards; four of those passes were for touchdowns.

3. Avoid turnovers and falling behind early – Having seen last year’s game in person I can say first hand that Hobart didn’t do itself any favors in the first half. The Statesmen committed a blocked punt, interception and fumble put them in an insurmountable 24-0 hole early in the second quarter. Although Steven Webb would score on an exciting 61 yard catch and run later in the game, it was too little too late for the Statesmen. Fisher hasn’t allowed any points other than the first quarter, so it would appear as though getting to a good start and posting scores early is as critical as anything for Hobart in this game (which also happens to be the Cardinals’ Homecoming game).

Prediction

On Sunday night’s “In the HuddLLe” broadcast I belabored a bit before I threw out a 30-20 Fisher prediction. While I hope Hobart’s improved offense will be able to keep up with Fisher, I have concerns based on how dominating the Cardinals defense played against Buff State (who scored 82 points in Week 2, albeit against a weak WNEC team) and Rochester. That said the Statesmen defense may end up having to shoulder the load in this one. If they can contain Borum and Kramer and keep the Fisher offense off the field, the Statesmen may have a chance to play Homecoming spoiler like the Cardinals did at Boswell Field last year.

Either way this should be Hobart’s toughest test of the season and will provide a measuring stick for a Statesmen team that has postseason hopes; not to mention providing the Liberty League with its first win of 2011 against an Empire 8 team (who are 5-0 so far vs. the LL).

Go ‘Bart (prove me wrong)!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Remembering Andy

It was ten years ago today my former Hobart teammate Andy Golkin '93 was killed in the terrorist attacks on 9/11.

In memory of Andy I hope everyone will consider a donation of any size to the Andrew Golkin Memorial Scholarship Fund:

http://www.seo-usa.org/andrewgolkinfund/index.html

God bless.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

In The HuddLLe Sept 4 Episode 2

You can download the replay of last Sunday's ITH to hear an interview with JR QB Nick Strang.  We discussed the Dickinson game among other matters.

Log onto http://www.inthehuddlle.com/ to check it out!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Hobart Runs Over Dickinson, 33-9

Recap

The Hobart Statesmen traveled to Carlisle, PA looking for their first road win over the Dickinson College Red Devils since 2005.

It was a dubious opening for the highly touted Statesmen offense as JR QB Nick Strang fumbled the initial snap from center. However, the Statesmen defense held on 4th and goal from their 1-yard line, and the offense quickly composed themselves driving 99 yards to strike first with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Strang to SR WR Garth Muratori, to give the Statesmen an early 7-0 lead.

Dickinson would respond by driving inside the Statesmen's 20, but once again Hobart's defense stopped the Red Devils on 4th down.

Muratori remained Strang's favorite target on the ensuing drive but it was JR RB Bobby Doughtery who capped off an 85-yard drive with a 28 yard burst to post the Statesmen to a 14-0 lead with 1:04 to play in the first quarter.

Dickinson turned the ball over twice more in the half, including a fumble recovery by SR DE Tim Murray and an interception (INT) by SO CB Connor Garrett in the second quarter. The Red Devil defense was successful turning away Hobart once but the Statesmen struck for a third touchdown on an 11-yard scramble by Strang. The Reyes Guevara point after was good, and the Statesmen were up 21-0 with 11:12 to play in the half.

Two more Hobart takeaways befuddled the Dickinson offense, including a goal line fumble by the Red Devils keeping the shutout in tact, at least temporarily.
The Dickinson defense came up big through the remainder of the period, keeping the Statesmen offense at bay, including another fourth down stop at the 8 to end the first half

The second half saw another Dickinson interception, this one by SO SS Devin Worthington, allowing the Statesmen to drive the ball 67 yards with SO RB Steven Webb running in a touchdown from two yards out to give Hobart a 27-0 edge.

By this point, the game was a lock for Hobart, and the final score was 33-9 Statesmen.

Hobart ran for over 300 yards on the day, racking up 500 yards of total offense. On defense Hobart capitalized on 5 Red Devil turnovers on 6 consecutive possessions.  Strang finished the day going 13 of 25 passing for 187 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.  Muratori collected seven catches for 123 yards and 1 TD.  The SR Co-Captain was recognized by the League as this week's Offensive POTY award.  Dougherty lead all Hobart rushers with 87 yards on nine carries.

The Statesmen defense was lead by SO CB Kevin Hearon and SR LB Reggie Robinson with eight tackles a piece.

The 1-0 Statesmen will return to action on September 24th as they visit the stalwart St. John Fisher Cardinals in Pittsford, NY at 1 PM ET. 

Analysis

The final stats have changed in the past couple of days, but by looking at the rushing totals and listening to the WEOS broadcast it seems pretty clear that the stars of this game were the Hobart OL.  They dominated the line of scrimmage, gave Strang plenty of time in the pocket and otherwise created gaping holes in the Dickinson defense.

My only critique of the Statesmen's play was they were once again a little sloppy in their execution, racking up 79 yards on 8 penalties.  While special teams was generally good - SO P/WR Yosh Karbowniczak garnered the league's Special Teams POTY award - Hobart did miss two PAT's (the Statesmen did not miss a single PAT in 2010), the latter which was returned for Dickinson's final two points of the contest.
That said Dickinson successfully moved the ball into Statesmen territory on several occasions but shot themselves in the foot with turnovers.  While the Hobart defense had an amazing game - five takeaways and holding three times on fourth down - Dickinson converted over half of their third down possessions and did not allow a sack.

Still, the Statesmen were clearly the superior team won easily.  They will have a greater challenge on 9/24 but I expect Coach Cragg to have the team ready.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Friday, September 2, 2011

Hobart Athletics' Dickinson Game and Season Preview is Up

The official Hobart season preview is online:

http://www.hwsathletics.com/news/2011/9/2/HFB_0902111400.aspx

An archive of my interview with SR Co-Captain Garth Muratori can be accessed at http://www.inthehuddlle.com/.  We're back on the air Sunday night at 7:30 PM ET to discuss the results of the Hobart-Dickinson game and the rest of the LL results from tomorrow's football games, including Coach and player interviews.

Don't forget to check ITH out and "like" us on Facebook!

Less than 24 hours until kickoff - go 'Bart!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Season IV of ITH starts tonight at 7:30 PM

The "In the HuddLLe" crew will be back on the air tonight and again on Sundays throughout the football season at 7:30 PM ET.  Check out http://www.inthehuddlle.com/ to hear the show live (or on tape delay).