The Best 20 Games of the Last 20 Years - Part IV (1-5)

I hope you've enjoyed this recap of the best games from the last 20 seasons (and Happy 240th Birthday to the USA!)

The Top 5 best Hobart College Football games from the last 20 years are listed below:

#5
Hobart 23 Cortland 22 (11/19/05) - This first round NCAA playoff game between local rivals was one of the best matchups of the playoffs this year. There were five lead changes and the Statesmen needed a missed 44 yard FG and a last ditch defensive stand at the Hobart 35 yard line to hang on for what many consider the Statesmen's first major playoff win (i.e., one over a team outside of New England). Hobart called and completed four WR or PK trick pass plays in the fourth quarter of the game which certainly added to the excitement.

#4
Hobart 29 SLU 27 (11/8/14) - This game was for the LL Championship and it certainly lived up to it's billing. There were six lead changes in this exciting contest and ultimately it came down to then FY PK Will McCool converting a 39 FG with 1:03 remaining and the Saints simply running out of time at the Hobart 17 yard line to give the Statesmen their fourth consecutive LL title. While you could argue this game be rated higher, a couple of factors should be considered. Hobart was undefeated and ranked near the Top 10 going into the contest and thus the favorite. Also, if not for five Statesmen turnovers, it wouldn't have been close. Some of the credit has to go to the Saints for causing these, but a couple were just bad mistakes by Hobart that should have been avoided. Either way, this was only the first act in what ended up being a historic 2014 season.

#3
Hobart 33 Union 27 OT (11/6/04) - Hobart and Union have had some epic battles over the years but this one was probably the best. The Statesmen trailed by eight points early in the third quarter until QB Shawn Mizro gave Hobart its first lead of the game after connecting on consecutive third quarter TD passes to WR Dan Suozzi. Union regained the lead in the fourth and it would require a fourth and 10 fake punt and run by Suozzi from the Hobart one yard line to keep the Statesmen in the game!

PK Eric Ampuja would tie the game on a 29 yard FG to cap the 17 play, 84 yard drive. Defensive stands by both squads forced OT. The Hobart defense would stop Union RB Tom Arcidiacono on a fourth down from the Statesmen one yard line. Mizro would only need two pass plays to give Hobart the LL title when he found WR Rick Pinero from 14 yards out for the winning TD!

#2
Hobart 22 Ithaca 15 (11/22/14) - Hobart hosted the Empire 8 Champions in what will go down as an all time classic. The Bombers defense gave the Statesmen offense fits in the first half but the Hobart defense held Ithaca to a TD and two FGs to only be down 12-0 at the half. RB Alex Furtado finally got the Statesmen on the board with a one yard TD run with 5:27 to go in the third quarter. Another Bomber FG would follow but QB Patrick Conlan would tie the game on the ensuing drive with a two yard TD run.

The teams would battle back and forth until Conlan found the end zone from one yard out with only 13 seconds left in the game! Conlan went three of four on the drive with the big play being a 33 yard strike to TE Chris Cyr for a first down at the Bombers 12 yard line. QB Parker Thelander completed a big pass to WR Jack Phofl to keep the drive alive as Conlan battled a sore shoulder. Although not an OT game, this was one of the most exciting and competitive games of the playoffs this year.

#1
Hobart 24 Johns Hopkins 21 - Although they were the higher seed, not many gave Hobart their pick to beat the #7 ranked Blue Jays, who were Champions of the Centennial Conference. The Statesmen had early leads of 10 and nine points, but JHU always fought back and it was only a slim 16-14 Hobart edge at the half. Hopkins would take their first lead of the game when QB Braden Anderson found WR Quinn Donaldson from 28 yards out with 14:33 left in regulation. The ensuing Hobart drive stalled at the JHU 47 yard line and things didn't look good for the Statesmen. The Blue Jays drove down to the Hobart three yard line and went to go for the kill.

On first down DE Tyre Coleman stuffed Hopkins RB Stuart Walters for a five yard loss. On second down, Anderson was stripped of the ball and DL Jake Russell recovered the fumble to give Hobart one last chance! Conlan made the most of the opportunity going an amazing seven for seven on the drive, covering 10 plays and 88 yards. The drive culminated in what was the game winning 14 yard TD pass to WR John Fasano.

Still, it wasn't over just yet. Hopkins had 1:26 and ultimately drove to the Hobart eight yard line where they called timeout with 24 seconds left. A would be TD to Donaldson was called back due to a push off and on the next play LB Jacob Stanley intercepted Anderson resulting in the eruption of the Statesmen sideline onto the field. After regaining their composure, the Statesmen took to the victory formation and held on to win, 24-21. The defeat of Hopkins was the highest ranked in Hobart Football history and done so in as dramatic a fashion you'll ever see in a college, or any, football game.

Well, that's a wrap.

I'll probably take off the rest of the summer until we get close to preseason camp opening in mid-August.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!