The Hobart College Statesmen will host the Saint Lawrence University Saints in another key Liberty League contest Saturday at Boswell Field. SLU (3-3, 0-2) has had an up and down season so far, losing two straight in LL play, after enjoying a three game winning streak in OOC games.
Last weekend the Saints had a water logged, 17-0 loss to #16 Ithaca (6-0, 3-0) up in Canton, NY. Their usual high octane offense only managed to gain 148 total yards (168 pass, -28 rush) against the Bombers. Ithaca on the other hand was completely weatherproof, gaining 418 yards on 78 plays.
The Statesmen (5-1, 1-1) and Saint Lawrence have had a pretty one-sided series of late, with Hobart winning their last 27 of the last 28 games, including 9 in a row. The Statesmen are 53-36-2 all time against SLU and won the last contest between these two programs back in 2019, by a comfortable 35-3 margin.
Don't forget - you can contribute to the "Tackles & Touchdowns for Happiness House" fundraiser by making a donation / pledge through the Statesmen football team. Reach out to Coach Green for more information.
Scouting the Saints
SLU enters this contest as the 3rd ranked passing offense in the LL, gaining 202 YPG through the air and is the 4th ranked scoring offense, averaging 22.3 PPG. The Saints have edged Hobart in the scoring defensive rankings, allowing 2 less TDs and only 12 PPG (but I believe these stats are buoyed by games against Norwich, SUNY-Morrisville and Castleton who are a combined 6-13).
SLU is led on offense by JR/SR QB Tyler Grochot. The Canadian team captain has passed for 1,130 yards and 11 TDs, compared to 7 INTs. He has a decent OL and has been sacked 9 times in six games, but to be fair, Ithaca added a lot to that total, getting to Grochot 4 times last Saturday.
While the Saints don't come close to matching Hobart's rushing offensive numbers, SLU has a pair of dependable RBs. One is actually listed on the Saints roster as a WR, but SLU's leading rusher is SO/JR RB Peyton Schmitt. He has carried the ball 74 times for 437 rushing yards and 3 TDs. His battery-mate is JR/SR Jamie Battaglia who has rushed 49 times for 231 rushing yards and 3 TDs as well.
The Saints like to spread the ball around on offense and 7 different receivers have recorded at least one TD catch this season. The current favorite target is JR/SR WR Sean McCormack who leads the team with 24 receptions for 320 yards. He's a tall and big bodied WR (6' 2" and 215 lbs.) who's added 2 TD catches as more of a possession, "move the chains", type of player. The deep threat is SR/GR WR Andrew Murphy. He leads the team with 3 TD catches, including an 85-yard long. In some ways, this tandem reminds me of the Anderson & Vito combo we saw at Ithaca. I don't think that'll be the case this Saturday, but more on that in a bit.
Defensively the Saints are led by Canandaigua Academy grad and SO/JR LB Jacob Driesbach with 40 total tackles. He may be out due to an injury, however, as he did not play against the Bombers. SLU appears to be a pretty aggressive and attacking defensive unit, racking up 9 sacks and 39 TFL this season. JR/SR LB Kyle Frimel leads the team with 7 TFL (he was especially impressive vs. Union the week before), but he was held to just a single assisted tackle in the IC game.
The Saints have a couple of strong interior DL in SO/JR DL Bryan Placide and SO/JR DL Nathan Rosahac. Both have recorded a team high 2 sacks a piece to go with a combined 30 tackles and 7.5 TFL. FY/SO CB Grady Harrington leads the Saints with 2 INTs and SO/JR OLB Victor Gamberoni has 1 INT to go with a team high 5 PBUs.
On special teams SLU has a trio of kickers. JR/SR WR/PK Tyler Liddy handles punting, averaging 36.42 YPP. JR/SR PK Ian Doin has gone 3-3 on FGs (long of 36) and has handled about 65% of the Saints KOs, averaging 42.7 YPK. FY S/PK James Bocock has a slightly better average, 46.3 YPK, when given the opportunity.
Keys to the Game
1. 3rd Down - The Saints are not a good third down team this season, ranking dead last in the LL with a 21-75 or 28% conversion rate. The Statesmen on the other hand, are 1st in the LL converting at a 50% clip. Keeping Grochot on the sideline via the three-and-out is pretty much the key to beating SLU.
2. Clean It Up - While we can talk about Hobart's inexperience in a few key positions here and there, but at what point do you have to look at coaching staff for the very high penalty count the Statesmen have racked up this season? This comes down to basic fundamentals and the Statesmen are averaging over 8 flags and a league worse nearly -78 YPG due to these mental errors. On the flip side, the Saints are like their namesake, only averaging -37 YPG in penalties, best in the LL. Advantage Coach Puck and company. Needless to say, Hobart needs to nip this in the bud ASAP.
3. Unleash the Beast - SR/GR OLB Emmett Forde has been fantastic since returning from injury, racking up 17 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 2 sacks and 1 FF, in the past two weeks. His play, along with the rest of the Hobart defense, will be pivotal in keeping this potentially high powered Saints offense in check. The front 7 in particular will need to bring the heat to Grochot to avoid having our secondary get exposed because they were stuck in coverage for far too long like we saw against the Bombers back in Week 5.
4. Embrace the Suck - Normally this refers to the grind of the season, and since it's Week 8, that's appropriate. Neither team is going into this one 100% healthy and that is pretty much the case for every team out there. I will add, in a different context, that Hobart needs to embrace the suck that is their offensive identity. This is a rushing offense, and the Statesmen have some history being a dual-RB, ground and pound team. Back in 2012 the combo of Steve Webb and Bobby Dougherty averaged a combined 32 carries per game. Now, they were balanced out by QB Nick Strang who was a 2.000+ yard passer that season, but Hobart did run the ball 70% of the time. While the 2021 team runs it more out of necessity (68% of the time) than the 2012 version, they can and should continue to embrace that identity to carry them over the next couple of weeks.
Prediction:
Weather or not (pun intended), I like Hobart to grind away at the Saints on offense and pound them on defense to extend their home winning streak to 10-0. It should / will also be the 10th win in a row over SLU, who are certainly talented, but not quite at the Statesmen's level. The biggest issue for Hobart, to be honest, is to avoid the possibility of falling into a "trap game" because the team is overlooking the Saints in anticipation of next weekend's huge game vs. Union.
One game at a time, guys. Do your thing, and I think I will say that Saturday will be a 28-10 win for the Statesmen, as a result.
Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!
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