After a 650-day hiatus, Hobart College Football is back!
It's been a very, very long wait to see what Team 127 has in store for Statesmen fans, friends and family this upcoming season. The 11-week run to another potential Liberty League title and NCAA playoff berth starts on Friday night.
Speaking of the Liberty League, the LL released their preseason preview today. Here's what they had to say about Hobart:
"Hobart wrapped up the 2019 season in a tie for second place among the conference standings (4-2) and were 9-2 overall. The Statesmen will be seeking their first conference title since earning a share of one in 2016. The Hobart offense this season will be fueled by a pair of 2019 All-Liberty League First Team selections in Rayshawn Boswell and Tim Denham Jr. Boswell, the 2019 Liberty League Rookie of the Year, had a breakout season to start his career at Hobart as a kick returner and running back. He led the nation in kickoff return average (36.9 yards per return) and tied for the Division III lead in kickoff returns for touchdowns (2). In 11 games, he made 15 returns for 554 yards. In addition, he rushed for 315 yards and four touchdowns. Denham is also a dual threat for Hobart as a kick returner and running back. On kickoff returns, he was second on the team, averaging 23.2 yards per return. He also rushed for 298 yards on 62 carries and he accounted for two touchdowns. The Statesmen welcome back 2019 Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year Emmett Forde. Forde and the defense held opponents to 17.4 points per game in 2019, second among league leaders. Forde paced the team with 81 total tackles, 21 tackles-for-loss and seven sacks. Bryan Aguilar (77 tackles; 3 forced fumbles) and Jared Leake (55 tackles; 3 interceptions) are also back to anchor the defense."
What You Need to Know For Friday
The first up is an old, but not really familiar foe, in nearby Alfred University of the Empire 8. The Statesmen will travel to Yunevich Stadium for a 7 PM kickoff. Good news is we know the Saxons will be allowing fans into the stadium. You can read the game day regulations here.
You can access video of the game but make sure to tune into the "Voice of the Statesmen", Ted Baker, who is back once again to provide the WEOS play-by-play coverage along with his long-time sidekick Coach Terry Muffley. Ted's son Caleb Baker will once again be producing the broadcasts. The Alfred feed is apparently without audio so hopefully the WEOS and AU broadcasts won't have too much of a lag.
It's been 15 seasons since Hobart last faced the Saxons, so none of the players on the field have much context in this long-time rivalry like the coaches and alumni do. The Statesmen hold a slight 39-35-4 (which obviously adds up to 78, but that could be due to a dispute / error dating back to the early years) advantage in the 77 game series which dates back to 1902. Hobart has also had Alfred's number of late, winning 10 straight dating back to 1996.
Scouting the Saxons
Alfred was one of three NYS teams that were actually able to play in the 20-21 season, splitting a series with Utica College. The only other team in NY that got a game in was the USMMA back in November of 2020, in a Secretaries Cup game win over Coast Guard which we covered on In the D3FB Huddle.
The Empire 8 conference also released a preseason preview today which you can check out here. Here's what they had to say about the Saxons:
"The Saxons will look to make it back to the NCAA Tournament in 2021. In the Saxons’ 121st season, senior defensive lineman and co-captain Tim Dahl will wear No. 32 this year in honor of Trooper Nicholas F. Clark ’11 after Nick Milgate wore that jersey in 2019. Senior offensive lineman Ethan Stewart is back after earning 2019 All-Empire 8 second team accolades. Defensive lineman Rodney Bailey, running back Kevin Bragaglia, offensive lineman Bobby Felder and linebacker Jeremiah Young will be counted on to help lead the Saxons in 2021. Overall, Alfred returns 65 players and 13 starters. A host of newcomers, including Darviae Gray, Max Freeman, Zuke Smith and Sam Wakman will look to crack the lineup right away."
This past March, Alfred ran 140 offensive plays in their two spring games and leaned slightly towards the pass by a narrow 51:49 margin. On film they are really a run-first kind of team, however, with SR RB Kevin Bragaglia (a co-captain who is now #2 after wearing #21 in prior seasons) getting the bulk (43+%) of the carries. The Saxons' offensive stats are a bit misleading I think given the 46 pass attempts against Utica in the first spring game. That was mostly due to the Saxons falling behind early and having to play catch up the entire time.
They looked much better in the second game against Utica, using a relentless pass rush and clever option run game to keep the Pioneers off balance. You can see some highlights from that game back in March here.
JR QB Connor Englert led the Saxons offense and appears to be as much of a runner as a passer (which I jokingly refer to as a RpO type of QB). His OL needs some work (which is good news for Hobart fans) as they allowed 8 sacks in 77 drop backs (10.3%) in the two spring games Two Saxons OL are co-captains, including SR OL Robert Felder, Jr. and GR OL Ethan Stewart.
SO QB Blake Van Woert (now #5 after previously wearing #4) seems to have as good, if not better, arm of the two, so I wouldn't be surprised if he gets the start or at least sees some significant playing time Friday night.
Regardless of who's QB, you can count on Alfred to look for SR WR Zach Leinenbach. He had nearly 200 receiving yards in 2019 and is another Saxons co-captain on offense. He led Alfred with 2 receiving TDs in the spring. SR WRs Keandre Sanders and Nazir Landes, who both had 100+ yard spring seasons, also make the Saxons WR group a pretty dangerous one.
Defensively Alfred was led in the spring by SR LB Jason Gauthier. He paced the Saxons defense with 20 tackles and 7 TFL against the Pioneers. He doesn't appear to be back this fall, however, based on the updated Saxons roster. Based on the spring stats, you can assume guys like SO LB Joe Copp (finished 3rd on the team with 16 tackles and 1 INT) will play a bigger role. SR OLB/DB Jeremiah Young is also back (also with a new number as he used to wear #20, see above, and now is #6). Young was second on the team with 17 tackles and is one of several Saxons co-captains.
A guy the Hobart OL will need to keep in check is SR DL Tim Dahl. He'll be easy to spot at 6' 5" and he's yet another Saxon player who switched numbers from the spring (#91) to the fall (#32). Dahl is also a co-captain and one of the E8's "Players to Watch" this fall.
The Saxons defense was noticeably better in the second spring game allowing 281 yards and only 10 points (compared to 288 yards and 30 points in the first contest). To be fair, 2 TDs and a safety came off of Alfred turnovers, so the Saxons D otherwise acquitted themselves well in the first game.
On special teams SR PK Dustin McCaslin handled FG and KO duties. He was 0-2 on FG tries over 40 yards, but was relatively automatic under 30 yards. His KO's travelled over 50 yards, so the Statesmen can expect some returns, but will need to execute their blocks to get good field position. Interestingly enough, Bragaglia handled punting duties in the spring, averaging over 33 YPP net.
Keys to the Game
1. Double Down on #2 - Statistically (and game film wise), it's pretty obvious that SR RB Kevin Bragaglia is the Saxon's greatest offensive weapon. The more the Hobart defense can bottle him up, or at least do the "bend don't break" routine on his runs and receptions, the better.
2. Be Patient (But Wary) - The Statesmen offense could take a little while to warm up and Alfred's defense is no slouch. It may take the Hobart OL a while to figure out how to keep Dahl & Co at bay and so we can potentially see a punting / field position duel early on. That said I also suspect both squads will throw in a trick play or two to catch the other off guard.
3. Turnovers - It goes without saying Hobart will need to protect the football and look for opportunities to force Alfred into turning it over. Utica capitalized on a pick six and two other turnovers in their first spring game against the Saxons. If the Statesmen can get a lead and force the inexperienced AU QBs to have to throw more, it could be a big benefit to Hobart.
Prediction
Given all the unknowns going into the 2021 attempting to make score predictions is a bit of a fool's errand. That said I will go with the average score in the all-time series to help guide me. The Statesmen have won on average by a narrow 16-15 margin, and I think given the defensive strengths of these two squads, plus relatively new players at key roles on offense, we're going to see another defensive battle.
I do think the Statesmen have an edge in talent and should win the game. but it could be ugly. I'll take Hobart to eke out another narrow win over the Saxons by a score of 16-10 (expect some FGs in this one, folks).
We have a ton of coverage coming up this week on ITH so please tune into our Facebook channel. I'll obviously be paying close attention to this game as well as many others over the weekend.
We've made it to Week 1! Go 'Bart!
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