The #18 ranked Hobart Statesmen (1-0) will host the Geneva College Golden Tornadoes (0-1) of Beaver Falls, PA this Saturday at Boswell Field. In somewhat of an ironic occasion, Geneva (PA) will travel to Geneva (NY) for a rare Liberty League (LL) vs. President’s Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup. Geneva is relatively new to Division III, and was a NAIA / NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) school until they officially joined the NCAA about five years ago. Since that time the Tornadoes have averaged six wins a season as a DIII program; the best years being 2007 and 2009 when they finished 8-3. Last year Geneva had a losing season going 4-6 overall, but went 4-4 in the PAC.
While this isn’t the first time Hobart and Geneva have faced off on the gridiron, it’s been such a long hiatus you could say this is the first “modern meeting” between the two programs. In fact, you have to go all the way back in 1900, which was a game that the Tornadoes (if they were even called that back then) won 6-0. Geneva also deserves credit for keeping this year’s game alive; they could have easily backed out much like Widener (of the MAC) did in 2011 causing the Statesmen to lose a game and have a large gap between their season opener and Saint John Fisher. The Tornadoes also get a nod for good sportsmanship for allowing this to be a home game for Hobart. Originally the series was scheduled as Geneva hosting in 2012 and Hobart hosting in 2013, but the Tornadoes switched it since they cancelled the 2013 game due to the expansion of the MAC (adding Stevenson) and the emergence of the annual “MAC/PAC Challenge.”
Last weekend the Tornadoes lost in a 56-53 shootout to the Frostburg State Bobcats (MD) of the Empire 8 Conference (which went 7-0 overall in Week 1). Geneva racked up 709 yards of total offense but coughed up the ball twice and lost the time of possession battle 34:02-25:58. JR QB Zack Hayward had a big game against Frostburg passing for 530 yards completing nearly 80% of his passes (39 of 49) and throwing seven passing touchdowns. A converted QB, JR RB Rocco Colavecchia lead the Tornado rushing attack with 79 yards on 13 carries. He also threw six passes, completing two, for 27 yards.
SR WR Corey O’Patchen and SO RB/WR Josh Guiser were the Tornado QB’s favorite targets. O’Patchen had seven receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown. Guiser added six receptions for 131 yards and two scores.
On defense the Tornadoes were lead by SR LB Brett Hutira with a game high 20 tackles.
While the above Week 1 Geneva statistics are impressive, a closer look shows that Frostburg finished in the bottom 25-30% in total defense back in 2011. That said I expect the Tornadoes to have a tougher time against the Statesmen defense.
Keys to the game:
1. Grind it out – In the Dickinson post game interview, Hobart head football coach Mike Cragg indicated he and his coaches decided to run the ball more against the Devils than they had in prior years. I think this strategy also makes sense against a spread, high scoring offense like Geneva’s as well. The Statesmen OL averages 283 lbs and with the variety of running and fullbacks Hobart has, they can grind out long, time-consuming drives and effectively keep Hayward and the Geneva offense on the sidelines for most of the game.
2. Hassle Hayward – Last weekend the Tornadoes dropped back to pass on 53 of their 83 total plays from scrimmage. The Statesmen did not blitz Dickinson given the front four and linebackers provided sufficient pressure to keep Red Devil QB Cole Ahnell on the run and unable to find many openings in the secondary. Geneva’s receivers are probably on par, if not better than Dickinson’s and Hayward (on paper at least) appears to be a stronger passer. If the Tornado OL can give Hayward some time (they only allowed one sack against Frostburg), we will quickly see whether or not the Hobart secondary is still susceptible to a strong vertical passing game.
3. More discipline – The Statesmen committed way too many penalties in last Saturday’s game. Although they won handily, you want to see your team play with discipline and I expect Coach Cragg and his staff made this a focus in practice this week.
Prediction:
Hobart’s defense is in a completely different class than Frostburg’s. I expect the Statesmen to follow a similar script to the Dickinson game on offense, but throwing in a few blitz packages on defense depending on how well the Geneva OL blocks for Hayward and the ability of O’Patchen and Guiser to get open.
I think the Tornadoes will have some success passing against the Statesmen, but I think it’s highly unlikely they’ll crack over 150-175 yards given the amount of pressure Hobart’s front four will bring.
I’ll take Hobart 42-7 in another dominant win. Kickoff is at 12 PM on Saturday, live coverage starts on WEOS (www.weos.org) around 11:45 AM.
Thanks for reading and go ‘Bart!
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