Defense Dominates Dutchmen in 30-6 Win

The eighth ranked Hobart College Statesmen hosted their second oldest active rival, the Union College Dutchmen Saturday at Boswell Field. After the Statesmen defense forced a Union three and out, SR QB Patrick Conlan led Hobart on a 12 play drive that was capped by a nine yard TD pass to SR WR Troy Robinson, his first TD catch of the season.

FY PK Will McCool's point after was good and the Statesmen took an early 7-0 lead with 7:24 to go in the first quarter. The Dutchmen offense would respond as FY QB Dante Cioffi led Union to the Hobart 14 yard line. After a SR RB Darnel Thomas run on third down was stopped for no gain, JR PK David Pope came on to attempt a 31 yard field goal. The kick was good and the Dutchmen trimmed the Statesmen’s lead to 7-3 with 3:52 to go in the first.

Hobart would get back to work on offense and drive to the Union nine yard line. On the first play of the second quarter, SR TE Mike Berkowitz scored his 15th career TD on a nine yard pass play. The McCool kick was good and the Statesmen led 14-3 with 14:56 to go in the first half. The next 13 minutes saw both teams defenses dig in. Hobart would finally reach the Union 13 yard line but couldn’t convert on third down. McCool would come into the game to attempt his first career field goal on this play which was good from 30 yards out to push the Hobart's lead to 17-3.

Although Union only had 1:39 left before half time an excellent kickoff return (or not so good coverage, which was an issue in today's game) gave the Dutchmen the ball at their 44 yard line. Cioffi would drive his team to the Hobart 22 yard line, when once again Pope was called on to attempt another field goal attempt, this time from 39 yards. The kick was good and the 17-6 score would stand at the half.

Both offenses struggled to start the second half but on Hobart’s third possession, the Statesmen running game started to gain traction. Behind the Hobart OL, SO RB Brad Burns, JR FB Christopher Holoman and JR RB Alex Furtado helped drive the team to the Dutchmen 14 yard line. The Statesmen called a timeout with 3:48 to go in the third quarter. On the ensuing play SR FB Dominique Ellis ran in for a TD. The McCool kick was good and Hobart extended its advantage to 24-6 with 3:41 to go in the quarter.

Both defenses kept the opposing offenses at bay into the fourth quarter. The Statesmen defense would make a statement when JR LB Jacob Stanley broke through the Union line, sack Cioffi, force a fumble, then scoop and score from 44 yards out. The McCool point after was no good but Hobart had a 30-6 lead with 11:34 to go in the game.

Hobart would try and add to this lead but committed two turnovers in the final drives of the fourth quarter. Although Hobart wouldn’t score again, they did enough to win the game 30-6. The Statesmen defense has not allowed a TD since the 2nd quarter of the Springfield game back on October 11th. Hobart held Union to a paltry 10 rushing yards while controlling TOP by an incredible 38:16 to 21:44 margin.

Leading the Dutchmen on offense was Cioffi with 206 passing yards. He was intercepted late in the game by JR LB Trayvon Toney. Conlan led Hobart with 148 passing yards and two TDs. Defensively Union was led by JR LB Thomas Hayes with a game high 10 tackles, including one for a loss and forcing a Statesmen fumble.

Hobart was led by SR DB Fajri Jackson with eight stops. Stanley and JR OLB Marcus Jemison recorded seven tackles a piece. SR DE Tyre Coleman Swas credited with a sack and one and half tackles for a loss. The sack moved Coleman in sole possession of fourth place in the all time career list for Division III. He’s eighth all time in tackles for a loss.

The win improves Hobart to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the league. The Statesmen will take on Saint Lawrence (7-1, 5-0) next Saturday in Canton, New York for the Liberty League Championship. The loss drops Union to 1-7 overall and 1-4 in the league. The Dutchmen will host the Merchant Marine Academy (2-6, 0-5) next Saturday in Schenectady.

With fifth ranked Linfield being upset 31-28 by Willamette today it's possible Hobart will move up one spot to seventh in the D3football.com and AFCA polls. Tune in to ITH tomorrow night at 7:30 PM where we'll have highlights from this game, plus an interview with Jacob Stanley.

Thanks for reading and go Bart!