A Fellow Statesmen and His Family Need Our Help

One of our fellow Statesmen is in need of our help!

On Wednesday, March 22, Matt (Hobart '03) and Lauren Daley’s son, Owen, was flown from Burlington, VT via life flight to Massachusetts General Hospital for Children (MGH) in Boston. Owen has been diagnosed with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) along with bacterial pneumonia. While RSV typically manifests as a common cold, the combination of the virus and the bacteria quickly escalated into a very serious medical situation. Owen is currently on a ventilator and in a sedated state to keep him comfortable. He is recovering, but the length of his recovery will require Owen to remain in the hospital through April and possibly into May.

On top of all this, Lauren, who was pregnant during Owen's evacuation to Boston, drove with Matt from VT to MA to give birth to their second son, Griffin, and be near Owen.  Fortunately Griffin arrived safely yesterday morning at 6:20 AM.  However, given Owen's condition, those in contact with him cannot be in contact with the baby. 

While playing football and hockey at Hobart, Matt only knew how to play 100%.  While he is doing whatever he can to help his family, due to the length of the stay in Boston to care for Owen, Matt and Lauren will be missing significant amount of work.  Their stay could become very costly and, with our help, perhaps we can ease that burden?

Please show your support for the Daley's, especially Owen, by considering a donation of any amount to the fund has been set up on Owen’s behalf.

Please make checks payable to "Owen Daley" and mail to:

Cassandra Rodier
75 High St, #J4
Exeter, NH, 03833

Croton-Harmon DL Dennis O'Connell to Attend Hobart

Section1Recruiting.com reports that Dennis O'Connell of Croton-Harmon HS will attend Hobart this fall.  O'Connell helped lead the Tigers (11-1) to the Section 1 Class B 2011 State Championship game against Hornell.  The 6' 2" 250 lb SR OL/DL contributed 74 tackles (averaging 6.2 per game), two sacks and one interception (which he returned 19 yards for a TD) as a DT/DE according to MaxPreps.com.

For his efforts O'Connell was named to the NYSSWA All-State 2nd Defenive Team.  In 2011 Dennis had verbally committed to attend D1AA Bryant College in RI per Josh Thomson of The Journel News Varsity Insider Foobtall Blog but apparently changed his mind and will head to Geneva instead.

Although it's likely he'll specialize on defense in college, Section1Recruiting.com has rated O'Connell in the top 5 at OL in Class B (he played RT for the Tigers).

Dennis' recruiting videos are listed below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3sBiSVdPDw

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/442750/dennis-oconnell 

Photos from his SR YR can be accessed here (credit MaxPreps.com):

http://www.maxpreps.com/local/player/photo/full_size.aspx?athleteid=4dfa2272-4702-4515-bff8-8638e44a1951&ssid=f28cd02d-9746-48e9-a74b-fffef375b19a#photoid=c6645cf9-c434-47b0-9d9c-f44a6c8dc7a4

Welcome to Hobart Dennis!

Hobart Receives Commitment from Florida State Champion Tight / Defensive End

Matt Porter of the Palm Beach Post reports that Ryan Bennett, a 6'3" 220 lb TE/DE from the Class 3A State Champion American Heritage High School (Delray Beach, FL) will attend Hobart this fall.  A link to the article is listed below:

http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/highschoolbuzz/2012/02/01/american-heritages-blake-davis-ucf-cameron-posey-purdue-sign/

Bennett is yet another FL native to come up north to play for the Statesmen and will join the ranks of JR OL Michael Green and SO FB Dominque Ellis as Hobart's resident Floridians on the gridiron.

Based on Bennett's highlight reel (see below - he's #12 which is available per the current Hobart roster so perhaps he'll wear the same number this fall?), he's a powerful run blocker who drives opposing defenders down the field.  He is also a versatile DE who can line up in a two, three or four point stance anywhere along the line of scrimmage.  Bennett's height and wingspan makes him a threat to bat down passes and pressure opposing passers.

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/679094/ryan-bennett

That said Bennett is more than just a stud athlete.  He carried a 3.6 GPA at American Heritage and will look to continue his academic success at Hobart.

Bennett holding the Class 3A State Championship Trophy

Please join me in welcoming Ryan to the Hobart Class of 2016!  Go 'Bart!

Hobart Receives Verbal Commitment from Staten Island Linebacker

Kevin Flood of SILive.com reports that Tottenville High School Senior Kenny Coughlin has verbally committed to attend Hobart and suit up at linebacker for the Statesmen this fall.  This is good news given the graduation of SR LB Reggie Robinson, Hobart's top tackler from last season.  According to the Statesmen, Coughlin was their top LB recruit which bodes well for Hobart (but not for the rest of the Liberty League, especially opposing running and quarterbacks ;).

Coughlin, who is also a lacrosse standout, was quoted in the article stating, "I had several choices to make, but once I weighed all the benefits of academics and sports, Hobart was by far the best fit. The football coach told me that I was his number one choice at linebacker, and that meant an awful lot to me."

A link to the article is below.  Another article regarding Coughlin from the NY Post is also included.

http://highschoolsports.silive.com/news/article/-1322107993449474616/tottenvilles-kenny-coughlin-chooses-hobart-and-william-smith-colleges/

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/high_school/football/tottenville_star_to_play_football_ht8evIXULS6PpHzZtIfOoM

Please join me in welcoming Kenny to Hobart!  Go Statesmen!