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!
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