The eighth ranked Hobart Statesmen hosted a familiar foe Saturday when they took on the Saint John Fisher College Cardinals in a second round NCAA playoff game. Although Hobart was the home team and higher seed, the Cardinals were far from an underdog. The Statesmen got off to an auspicious start when JR FB Dominique Ellis fumbled the ball on the opening series of the game.
The turnover set up Fisher near midfield but a personal foul penalty on JR OL Ali Marpet improved the Cardinals field position. With only 36 yards to go, Fisher quickly found the end zone and a three yard Cody Miller touchdown got the visitors on the board 7-0 just over five minutes into the game.
Hobart would add fuel to the fire after a nine yard SR / P Yosh Karbowniczak punt was fielded by Fisher at the Statesmen 15 yard line. Hobart would dodge the bullet however as the defense made a stand and forced a 33 yard Brendan Carey field goal. The kick was wide left and the Statesmen would try and capitalize on the second chance. JR QB Patrick Conlan led the team down the field, eventually driving to the Fisher 18 yard line. The Cardinals defense stiffened and Hobart was unable to convert on fourth and eight, although Conlan could have gained the first down if he held onto the ball, he opted for a shovel pass to Karbowniczak but he wasn't able to collect the pass and the Statesmen turned the ball over on downs.
Fisher’s more sure handed receivers would take charge, but it really was a holding penalty on SR CB Connor Garrett that kept the Cardinals in business on the ensuing drive. SR QB Tyler Fenti would take advantage of the call and find SR WR Kevin Francis for 37 yards to get into the Hobart red zone. Two plays later, Fenti connected with JR WR Nathan Nigolian for 17 yards and a second Fisher TD. The Carey point after was good and with 7:31 to go in the first half, the Cardinals had a 14-0 lead.
The Statesmen attempted a few trick plays with SO WR Connor Merrill at quarterback but to no avail. At the half Fisher continued their 14-0 advantage and would receive the kickoff in the second half. The Cardinals Brandon Fuentes would take the kick 51 yards setting up Fisher with yet another short field. Although the Hobart defense held, Carey came away with a 27 yard field goal and the Cardinals lead was up to 17-0 only three and a half minutes into the third quarter.
Hobart would attempt to rally but once again made a mistake when Conlan was intercepted by FS Mike Guinta. On the very next play Fenti would effectively ice the game on a 32 yard TD pass to Francis.
Although Hobart would avoid the shutout due to a four yard JR TE Mike Berkowitz receiving touchdown, the Statesmen were otherwise too little, too late Saturday and fell by a score of 27-6. Fenti led the Cardinals with 244 passing yards and two touchdowns. Defensively Fisher dominated the Statesmen, holding Hobart to 241 total yards and six of 14 on third down. The Cardinals’ Ryan Seymour led the Fisher defense with nine tackles. The Statesmen defense was led by SR LB Cory Davis with a game high 10 stops. On offense Hobart was led by Conlan with 120 passing and 27 rushing yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
The loss drops Hobart to 10-1 on the season and broke a 12 game home field winning streak by the Statesmen at Boswell Field. The win improves Fisher to 10-2 overall and advanced them into the National Quarterfinals for the second time in three years. The Cardinals, the final remaining East Region team in the tournament, will face off against third ranked University of Mary-Hardin Baylor next Saturday in Belton, Texas.
We'll discuss yesterday's game tonight at 7:30 PM on "In The HuddLLe" www.inthehuddlle.com. I'll also write up a season retrospective later this week.
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