Hobart would respond and drive to the Rochester 15 yard line but rather than attempt a field goal went for it fourth and seven. The Nick Strang pass was deflected but Rochester couldn't capitalize as the Statesmen defense held the Jackets to a three and out. Hobart would go for it on fourth down on their ensuing drive and was able to convert on a Webb four yard rush. Webb would cap the drive with a one yard burst and the Stephen Bruening point after was good and it was tied up 7-7 with 13:21 to play in the first half.
Rochester forced a Hobart punt but SO WR Yosh Karbowniczak booted the ball to Yellow Jacket 8 yd line. The Statesmen D held again and Strang would find FY WR Elvin Souffrant (who had a heck of a game punting seven times, three inside the 20, in relief of Karbowniczak) on a 33 yard TD strike, his first collegiate TD, to push the Hobart lead to 14-7 with 7:24 to play in the second quarter.
SR CB and Co-Captain Drake Woodard would intercept SO QB Dean Kennedy to give the Statesmen a potential red zone opportunity with 3:43 to play in the half, but Strang would be picked off himself thwarting the Statesmen's chance to take a two touchdown lead.
The Yellow Jackets would drive down the field and catch a break on a fourth and four when the officials caught Hobart with 12 men on the field. Alex Antonucci's 42 yard attempt was blocked but yet another Statesmen penalty gave Antonucci a second chance from 37 yards. The kick was good and Rochester pulled within 4 which would hold as a 14-10 Hobart lead at the half.
The start of the second half saw both teams exchange turnovers but the Statesmen would ultimately catch a break when running back Byron Saggese fumbled out of the end zone to give Hobart a safety and a 16-10 lead.
JR QB Kelly Olney would spell a struggling Strang [who I discovered on an 11/13 interview with Coach Cragg he was pulled due to a concussion] but neither offense could get much traction in the second half. In the final stanza the defenses continued to dominate the game and the teams traded field position but once again it would be the Hobart defense that made the play of the game. SO CB Kevin Hearon picked off Subick and returned it 36 yards for a TD that all but sealed the victory for Hobart. After successfully killing the clock to hold off the Jackets, the Statesmen claimed their seventh LL title (shared with Union) and a NCAA Pool A bid after closing out a hard fought 24-10 win.
Hobart was lead by SR LB Reggie Robinson with a game high 12 and a half total tackles and one forced fumble. Woodard added six tackles to his two INTs and Coleman had a game high three sacks.
Offensively Hobart was lead by Strang with 155 passing yards, one TD and two INTs.
Rochester was lead by Subick with 116 passing yards and two INTs. Onyiriuka lead all rushers with 64 yards and one TD. Defensively the Jackets were lead by Zach Cicero with eight total tackles.
Both teams traded four turnovers in a mostly poorly played second half. Hobart managed over 200 yards of offense in the first, but gained just over 60 in the second.
With the win Hobart improved to 7-1, 5-1 in the LL. Rochester drops to 4-5, 3-3. The Statesmen's first round NCAA opponent will be announced tomorrow night at 6 PM ET on NCAA.com.
Join us on www.inthehuddlle.com tomorrow when we speak to Coach Cragg and the NCAA tournament chair. We're on the air at 7:30 PM ET.
So glad they pulled it out . . . .
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks again for all your hard, and good work, in covering the Statesmen!
thx matt - have to edit the above story in that Strang was not benched - he suffered a concussion on a late hit after throwing an interception. we learned as such tonight on ITH (you can check the interview with Coach Cragg on www.inthehuddLLe.com
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