Statesmen Season Stalls in Schenectady in 23-7 Loss to Union

I had to give myself the 24-hour rule on this one.

I consider the coaching staff as friends and/or acquaintances at least and we certainly share wanting the best for Hobart Football in common. Unfortunately if I am supposed to be a "reporter", "journalist" or "football analyst" sometimes I will have to say / write things that just won't / can't come off as positive. I know this is viewed negatively at HWS - I've been told as such (by people within the administration, not athletics, btw). Apparently criticism, constructive or otherwise, isn't welcome there, ever. Unfortunately I feel it's justified in this case and not surprisingly a lot of alums, fans and families I know feel the same way based on messages I've received in the last 24 hours. If you want a measured, kinder spin on the game, you can read the HWS recap here.

With LL play opening and rivalry bragging rights on the line, the Statesmen came out flat and found themselves in a 14-0 hole they never dug themselves out from. While the team showed some resiliency, a combination of poor play-calling and execution continued to put Hobart at a disadvantage against a Union (4-0, 1-0) team that simply came in healthier and more prepared off a bye week.

After pounding our chests for national respect and rankings, we gave it away quickly in what's a hard to stomach loss. While the loss doesn't end the Hobart season, it pretty much killed any chance of the Statesmen earning an at large playoff bid. Hobart will have to win out, going 9-1 and hope Union loses also, or they are guaranteed to miss the playoffs for the third season in a row. That said this was a game they had to win, especially with defending LL champ RPI (4-1, 1-0) coming to Geneva this weekend and then having to play Ithaca  (4-0, 1-0) on the road (where Hobart has never won) the following week.

What made this game hard to watch is how much Union HC Jeff Behrman out-coached the Hobart side all game, using Hobart's defensive scheme against them and taking advantage of the now obvious holes in the Statesmen's 3-4 approach. With no pressure of any kind of up the middle, the Dutchmen OL had no problem taking the Hobart DL out of the game and the draw play was open all day. SO RB Ike Irabor took advantage of that, cashing in to the tune of 182 rushing yards and two TDs.

Hobart went three and out on their first possession and the defense, which played off in fear of getting beat deep by SO WR Andre Ross, Jr. gave up several underneath routes and draws as Union covered 82 yards in 13 plays to start the game.

The Hobart offense - with a SR QB, SR WR corps, TE and RB were unable to provide any leadership as the OL struggled badly against the Dutchmen, allowing four sacks and eight TFL. HC Kevin DeWall '00 runs a tight ship, but some of the player attrition because of that demanding style has cost Hobart a lot of size, experience and depth on the OL, and that was noticeably a problem Saturday.

The Statesmen offense finished the game 2-15 on third downs and in the last three games is only averaging 14.33 PPG. This isn't a new problem as Hobart is 18-65 (27.69%) on third down this season. While FY RB Rayshawn Boswell has shined at times (he scored Hobart's only TD Saturday), the use and effectiveness of the run game has been inconsistent at best.

The one bright spot remains the defense which only allowed 16 points, including a FR by SO LB Dante Kimbraugh which led to the Boswell TD, in the loss. Players like SO LB Brian Aguilar and SR OLB David McCarthy had solid games, tallying 13 and 11 tackles each. McCarthy appeared badly injured in the first half - a stretcher was brought out as a precaution - but he miraculously popped up off the turf and was back in the game not long afterward. That's toughness.

Unfortunately, the quick McCarthy recovery was really the only good thing that happened for Hobart in the game (FY TE Mike Zaccone was also hurt in the opening drive and was seen in crutches not long after, hoping for the best there). Sure, the Statesmen had a few chances, but a combination of bad luck and poor execution at QB and the OL doomed them. A pick six on a poor read and throw by SR QB Ryan Hofmann put them down 14-0 and then, with a chance to make it at least a 4 point game just before halftime, SO QB David Krewson saw a sure completion on 3rd and 6 slip through his WR's fingers, bounce off his chest and into the waiting hands of Union LB Evan Gilland once again (he scored on the pick six and will probably be your LL DPOTW).

Inexplicably the defense went into prevent mode with just over 100 seconds to go in the half and Irabor took another draw play to the house, giving Union a 20-7 halftime lead. That 14 or let's say 10-point swing (it's realistic to think JR PK Kyle Hackett would have been able to convert a FG from the Union 16, even though he missed a 44-yard attempt earlier) basically was the final nail in the coffin.

The second half saw Union only needing a FG to ice the game as the Statesmen offense simply couldn't get it together. Their possessions ended with a punt, punt, INT (the third of the game), downs, downs and end of game.

Ironically, after beating them 33-7 in Week 1, it's safe to say Brockport, who's won four in a row and controls it's destiny in the E8, is now having a better season so far than the Statesmen. Football can be a cruel and ironic sport.

All Hobart can do now is learn from the hard lessons from this game and hope their next one, which is at home, is better executed. RPI comes in with a lot of confidence, having posted back-to-back 38-0 shutouts, but the Statesmen did beat the Engineers at the Boz back in 2017. That game was when RPI gave now JR QB George Marinopoulos his first real playing time. He's gone 19-4 as a starter since.

That's about all I have on this game. I'll have a preview for the RPI game up later this week.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart.