The #25 ranked Hobart Statesmen traveled east down Interstate 90 to face off against the WPI Engineers at Alumni Field in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Statesmen made an opening statement on the first play of the game when SO OLB Devin Worthington caused WPI SO QB Johnny Antonopolous to fumble, giving JR QB Nick Strang and the Hobart offense the ball at the WPI 14 yard line. Four plays later, SO RB Steven Webb punched in a short TD run to post the Statesmen to an early 7-0 lead after the JR PK Stephen Bruening point after was good.
WPI's miscues would continue on the ensuing possession, as a bad punt snap set up Hobart on the WPI 18. After a short Strang to JR WR Junior Woodard completion, the Statesmen offensive line opened a huge hole on second down allowing FY FB Dominque Ellis to rumble 17 yards untouched into the end zone for his first collegiate TD. The Bruening point after was good, and Hobart enjoyed a 14-0 lead in less than five minutes into the game.
The Engineer's luck would change however, as the WPI defense would hold the Statesmen to a three and out, then see Engineer CB William Alves block a SO P Yosh Karbonwiczak punt on fourth down. WPI would drive into the Hobart red zone, capping the possession with a five yard SR RB Ernie Mello rushing TD. After the SR PK Cody Beckel kick was good, the Engineers cut the Hobart lead to 14-7 with 6:27 to play in the first.
The Statesmen offense would get back on track on their next drive, taking advantage of a 33 yard Webb run to set up SR WR Garth Muratori's sixth TD catch of the season from 20 yards out. The point after hit the upright, giving Hobart a 20-7 advantage with 4:32 in the first.
The teams would exchange four turnovers on ensuing possessions; the last leading to a Worthington 43 yard fumble recovery return to the WPI 12 yard line. JR RB Bobby Dougherty would score on the next play, giving Hobart a 27-7 lead after the Bruening kick was good.
WPI could continue to fight back however, with converted SR RB Manny Chambra picking off a Strang pass that hung up in the wind on what otherwise would be a touchdown to Woodard. The Engineers also took advantage of defensive coverage break down which would lead to an Antonopolous to Trevor Dunne 29 yard TD with 5:24 to play in the second quarter. The Engineer point after failed giving Hobart a 27-13 advantage. That score would hold until the halftime as Chambra picked off Strang a second time, thwarting another Hobart scoring drive with about a minute to play in the first half.
The second half saw more struggles by the offenses as the pending snow storm and snow fall picked up considerably. After trading punts and/or failed fourth down conversions, Coach Robertson took a page from the Cragg playbook, converting a successful fake punt near the end of the third quarter. Dunne rushed for 34 yards on the fake, ending up at the Hobart 30 yard line. The Statesmen dodged a bullet however, forcing the fifth WPI fumble of the game and recovering it on their own 9 yard line.
By the fourth quarter the snow was coming down hard and the defenses continued to dominate the game. Ultimately the Statesmen benefited from poor clock management by WPI, and Hobart ran out the time remaining in the game to hang on to a 27-13 win.
Hobart was lead by their OL which paved the way for 249 rushing yards for the trio of Webb (88 yards on 14 carries), Dougherty (83 yards on 18 carries) and Ellis (60 yards on eight carries) for three TDs. Strang endured his worst game in his career only managing 52 yards, going six of 16 passing with a TD and three INTs. Worthington and FY DE Tyre Coleman lead the defensive rush with nine and seven tackles a piece, including a total of eight tackles for a loss and three sacks.
WPI was lead by Ernie Mello with 119 rushing yards on 25 carries and one TD. Antonopolous threw for 118 yards and one TD. Tom Thackery and Yussein Hatim lead the Engineers with 10 and nine tackles a piece. Manny Chambra contributed on both sides of the ball, catching six passes for 43 yards, while adding two tackles and two INTs. SR DB John Perron also added an INT and two tackles.
With the win Hobart improves to 6-0, 4-0 in the league and will have the opportunity to clinch the LL championship, next weekend at home vs. RPI (3-4, 2-2) or in the season finale vs. Rochester (3-4, 2-2).
With the loss WPI falls to 2-6, 1-4 and will be idle next weekend, before hosting Saint Lawrence in the season finale on November 12th.
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