The #9 Ithaca College Bombers couldn't do much in the first quarter, but would outscore Hobart 34-0 from the second quarter on keep the Statesmen (5-2, 1-2) win-less in Ithaca. The Statesmen offense was inconsistent for most of the game and while the defense held it's own at times, penalties and broken coverage eventually caught up to them in a lopsided loss.
Ithaca outgained Hobart 459-201 yards on the day. The Statesmen pass defense was beat several times by 2018 LL OPOTY SR WR Will Gladney (sometimes on questionable DPI calls) on eight catches for 111 yards and two TDs. JR WR Andrew Vito added eight catches for 106 yards and a TD as well.
JR OLB Emmett Forde was ejected on a questionable targeting call and I believe SR DL Reid Crobok was also after a second personal foul penalty in the fourth quarter. The latter made a critical mistake, dropping Bombers SR QB Joe Germiniero, Jr. out of bounds at the end of the first half which set up a first and goal for Ithaca (more on that in a moment). Hobart was penalized 12 times for -119 yards in the game.
While penalties played a role, the main reason Hobart lost was Germiniero did what he's done to the Statesmen the last three seasons - he threw for 337 yards and 3 TDs, including a 73% pass completion game. The Ithaca defense also made Hobart's offense ineffective for most of the afternoon, partially due to poor QB play, but also because of solid pass and run defense. Do I think Ithaca is a Top 10 team? No. They will be exposed in the playoffs, but I suppose time will tell on that one.
Back to the game, JR PK Kyle Hackett, who hadn’t missed a FG over 40 yards his FY or SO seasons, inexplicably missed a 32-yard attempt which would have made it a 7-3 at the half. After the miss, the Statesmen sat back in coverage, much like the end of the first half against Union, and it cost them. The Bombers drove down the field and ended up scoring a TD right before the half after the Crobok hit took them from a FG situation to a first and goal.
It went downhill from there. Hobart would give up a TD to open the second half and never got anything going offensively for the rest of the game. They had a chance to score on a fourth and goal at the end of the third quarter but SR TE AJ Perlino, who was wide open, was overthrown and the ball turned over on downs.
This will was the first time Hobart had been shutout since a 14-0 loss to Rochester all the way back to the 2000 season. The loss today also ensures the Statesmen will miss the playoffs for the third straight season and can only hope to win it's final three games to finish the season 8-2. Maybe a NYS Bowl game could be in the offering (the game is supposed to still be on, even after last season's cancellation), but even that would depend on a number of factors. In the Statesmen's favor is that two of their three final opponents are terrible. SLU (2-4, 0-2) however gave Union a good run and shouldn't be taken lightly. It's never easy to win up in Canton.
At this point it may make sense to hand the ball to SO QB David Krewson full time and start rotating in younger players to help set up the offense for next season. There will be a lot to digest after this tough loss over the bye week.
I'll have more on the season to date later in the week.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
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