The eighth ranked Hobart College Statesmen hosted the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) Champions, the Gallaudet University Bison at Boswell Field in the first round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship tournament.
The Bison, being the only University in the country that specifically serves deaf and hard of hearing students, had a mountain of press this week including a feature on ESPN. The attention is well deserved, especially given their first ever run to the NCAA tournament.
The Statesmen however have been there and done that and were ready to show it. After a defensive stop, Hobart would score on it's initial offensive possession. A 14 play drive that featured a balanced attack of passes and runs ended with a two yard SR RB Steven Webb TD with 6:26 to go in the first quarter.
After both teams turned the ball over on downs, Gallaudet looked to make something happen with their first possession of the second quarter. JR DE Tyre Coleman had other plans, causing a fumble which was scooped up by SR OLB Devin Worthington and returned 48 yards for the score. Tonight at 7:30 PM ET we'll have Devin on In The HuddLLe (www.inthehuddlle.com). Tune in or catch the interview on our podcast.
Although the point after failed, Hobart enjoyed an early 13-0 advantage. Bison Head Coach Chuck Goldstein decided to try another fourth down conversion, but SO DE Mark Guarino-Hyde snuffed out the play. Three Webb runs later and he had his second TD, pushing Statesmen's lead to 20-0 after the FY PK Sean Kirsche kick was good.
You could say everything was going the Statesmen's way, which was true, until a fateful tackle behind the line of scrimmage hobbled JR QB Patrick Conlan. Conlan had to be carried off the field and was unable to put any weight on his injured leg. JR QB Kyle Bayly came in and led the offense to another score, a one yard JR TE Mike Berkowitz TD pass to push Hobart's lead to 27-0 just before halftime. We probably won't know Conlan's status until Saturday's game.
The offensive fireworks would resume on the first play of the third quarter. Webb took the first hand off from scrimmage and streaked 58 yards to the end zone for this third, and 20th rushing, TD. The latter broke a long standing Statesmen record (hopefully someone in Geneva has nominated Webb for the Gagliardi Trophy by now).
Up 34-0 Head Coach Mike Cragg emptied the benches and although the reserves did allow a one yard BJ Flores TD, they held the Bison out of the end zone as time expired for a 34-7 victory.
Webb led Hobart with 161 rushing yards and three scores. The defense was led by Coleman with a game high 10 tackles and three and a half for a loss.
Flores led all rushers with 176 rushing yards, most of them coming in the second half. Three Bison defenders tallied nine stops a piece.
The loss drops Gallaudet to 9-2 and ends what was otherwise a remarkable and historic season. The win improves Hobart to 10-0 overall and the Statesmen will host 9-2 Saint John Fisher College, who upset OAC runner up John Carroll University 25-16, in the Second Round of the NCAAs next Saturday in Geneva. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
Great stuff, James. Glad to see Coach Cragg gave everyone a chance to experience a playoff game and didn't run up the score unnecessarily (like Bethel).
ReplyDeleteLook forward to your pre-game write up about SJF. I think we stand a chance. And it's high-time we let SJF know that Hobart is not the "also ran" team they seem to think we are.