Dickinson Game Preview

The Hobart College Statesmen and Dickinson College Red Devils will face off for the 23rd consecutive season this Saturday. Kickoff is slated for at noon in Geneva. What was once a very competitive rivalry (Hobart leads the series 12-10-1) in the prior decade has been four straight wins by the Statesmen by an average score of 33-6. The Red Devils are coming off a tough, injury plagued 2013 campaign that saw them go 3-7 overall.

Last season Steven Webb had a career day rushing against Dickinson to the tune of 200+ yards and three TDs (the official box score had 207 but the SID game recap had 203 so you be the judge). The Statesmen defense shut out the Red Devils until the final two minutes of the contest and Hobart won the game 30-7.

Hobart enters this season's contest ranked 12th in the nation in the D3football.com Top 25 and picked to finish first in the Preseason Liberty League Coaches poll. By contrast, Dickinson was ranked 141st by D3football.com (out of 244 teams) and picked to finish 8th in the Centennial Conference Coaches poll.

While there is hope in Carlisle (PA) for this season given the return of several key players, this Dickinson squad does have an uphill battle once again in 2014. The challenge for the Devils is overcoming inexperience in key areas and a general lack of size, especially on the line of scrimmage. A good article covering the aforementioned is listed here written by a current Red Devil player and posted on the Dickinson Athletics website.

The Devils' in the Details:

Key players on the field for Dickinson this Saturday include:

#9 SR QB Cole Ahnell – what he lacks in size (5’7” 185 lbs), Ahnell compensates for with experience and leadership. The Rockville, MD native has started for the Red Devils going on four years so he certainly knows, and is statistically a big piece of, the Red Devil offense. Last season Ahnell only played in seven games due to an injury. In that time period he passed for 766 yards with five TDs compared to four interceptions. He was second on the team in rushing, carrying the ball 126 times for 516 yards (4.1 YPC), scoring five rushing TDs.

#2 JR RB Shawn Wilson – led the Devils with 769 rushing yards on 152 carries (5.1 AVG) and matched Ahnell with five rushing TDs.

#91 SR DL Walker Moriarty – missed 2013 due to injury but was solid in 2012 tallying 50 tackles, including 12.5 TFL and 7.5 sacks.

#37 JR S Jake Myers – was the second leading tackler in 2013 with 66 stops, 38 solo. Myers tied for team lead with two picks.

Keys to the Game:

1. Easy Does It – The Statesmen offense will feature several new players this season, so the first couple of possessions will be important. While it would be nice to score points out the gate, the Hobart offense just needs to make sure it’s clicking, blocking assignments are being made and not put too much pressure to have a big lead by the end of the 1st quarter or at the half. Last season Dickinson was outscored 99-28 in the first quarter and only averaged 15.5 PPG overall. The Red Devil offense is deliberate so a shoot out is highly unlikely. Also, with a high chance of rain on Saturday, the ball could get a little slippery and turnovers could happen. It's important pyschologically and field position wise to avoid the latter as much as possible.

2. Establish (and Stop) The Run – The Statesmen have a cadre of four SR receivers, but common sense dictates Hobart will look to run the ball a good deal Saturday. This is critical in building up the confidence and skill of the OL, not to mention giving the RB’s a chance to show the fans and the coaching staff what they can do as well. Conversely, the defense needs to establish itself early and force Ahnell to pass which isn’t his strong suit. I'll go out on a limb and predict at least one interception will be made by the defense Saturday (probably by either an I or OLB).

3. Protect The House - Hobart has enjoyed a regular season home winning streak dating back to September of 2012. There will be a large amount of alumni and others in town to see the 2014 opener, so capping the weekend with the 11th straight regular season home win would be a great start.

Prediction:

I am going to play it safe and stick with around the four year average, so I’ll take the Statesmen to win 31-10.

Thanks for reading and say hello if you're at the game Saturday. Otherwise tune in tomorrow night at 7:30 pm at www.inthehuddlle.com or catch the podcast on Thursday AM.

Go 'Bart!