Thank You Seniors!

For what will probably be the final post of 2014 I wanted to write a heartfelt THANK YOU to the graduating seniors (and their extended families and friends). As it has been well documented already, these young men have earned the best four year record, 41-5, in the 121 seasons of Hobart Statesmen Football history.

This run is a good reason why Hobart ended up ranked in the Top 10 in both major D3FB 2014 polls. The Statesmen finished the year eighth in the AFCA and ninth in the D3football.com Top 25, respectively.

Without further ado, please join me in looking back on and thanking these great student athletes for their contributions to Hobart College and the Statesmen Football team:

#1 WR Troy Robinson – finishes his career with 56 receptions for 705 yards and six TDs. The third of the Robinson brothers to attend Hobart and a great story on their family can be read here. I think Mr. and Mrs. Robinson deserve a special thank you for sending three outstanding Statesmen to Hobart (not mention handling all that tuition - that alone gets Mr. & Mrs. R a HOF nod in my opinion!).

#2 WR John Fasano – saved his best for last, making one of the biggest catches in Hobart history - a game winning TD in the second round of the NCAA playoffs to help the Statesmen beat #7 Johns Hopkins, 24-21. Fasano caught 60 passes for 797 yards and five TDs in his career.

#3 WR Elvin Souffrant – 46 catches for 1,147 yards and eight TDs. His 86 yard TD and run vs. Dickinson in Week 1 was the third longest scoring pass play in Hobart history.

#4 RB Alex Furtado – listed as a JR by the NCAA but Alex plans to graduate this spring. He played very well in his final season, rushing for 343 yards and six TDs while adding seven catches for 153 yards and one (HUGE vs. SLU) TD.

#12 QB Patrick Conlan – career record as a starter was 22-2. Passed for 3,603 yards and 33 TDs in his career. Also rushed for 264 yards and five TDs overall. A leader on and off the field.

#16 OLB Nolan Toran – played in 41 games racking up 130 tackles, three INTs and scoring on a safety vs. RPI this season.

#18 QB Kyle Bayly – played in 17 games, passed for 202 yards and three TDs in his career.

#21 DB Fajri Jackson – played in 45 games, tallying 149 tackles, 111 of those unassisted. A top cover corner for Hobart during his four year career and decorated LL player.

#24 OLB Matt McGriff – affectionately known as the “Crime Dog” and was a leader on and off the field for Hobart. Played in 30 games, totaling 40 tackles and one INT against Curry in 2014. His dad Jon's "H-O-B-A-R-T" cheers were awesome too.

#33 FB Dominique Ellis – nicknamed the “Horse”, Ellis rushed 235 times for 1,306 and 19 TDs in his 43 game career. Started all four seasons for Hobart and is arguably the best FB ever to suit up in a Statesmen uniform.

#41 DB Jordan Smith – played in 13 games where he made a total of 10 tackles.

#42 LB Jacob Price – played in 38 games making 81 tackles and blocked a kick in the second round of the NCAA playoffs vs. #13/24 Wittenburg.

#55 OL Ali Marpet – played in 41 games, starting at LT from 2012-2014. An all-time great OL for Hobart and is being seriously looked at by pro scouts.

#78 OL DeAndre Smith – played in 35 games and like Marpet, started at OG from 2012-14. Caps his career as a D3football.com All-East Region first team player and third team All-American.

#84 TE Mike Berkowitz – “Berk” played in 42 games, catching 45 passes for 17 TDs. The TD mark is best in Hobart history for a TE and tied for fifth all time on the career TD receptions list. Berkowitz ranks up there with Nico Karagosian '97 as one of the all time best TE's in Hobart history.

#90 DE Tyre Coleman – arguably the best defensive, if not overall player in Hobart history. Four year starter played in 46 games and was a multiple year All-American. 51 sacks ended up being good for second all time in DIII football history and 94.5 TFL was good for third all time. Overall tallied 224 tackles.

#93 DT Ben Dunham-Kapaldo – played in five games in his career.

#99 DT Troy Johnson – an under-appreciated (nationally speaking) DL, Johnson played in 44 games racking up 129 tackles including 10 sacks and 21.5 TFL. Had a career day 3.5 sack and TFL game in the LL Championship bout vs. SLU. A big reason Hobart’s defense was so dominant during the last 4 years was because of “TJ”.

Thanks again for the hard work, sacrifice and dedication of these Statesmen in the Class of 2015.

Happy holidays and New Year to all!

Coleman Earns D3football.com DPOTY Award, Marpet and Smith Named All-Americans

After an exciting Stagg Bowl 42 game which saw UW-Whitewater Head Coach Lance Leipold ride off into the sunset with his sixth national title, the D3football.com post game show recapped the 2014 season.

Around 12:06 AM ET this morning, Hobart College SR DE Tyre Coleman earned the site's Defensive Player of the Year Award. This came after Coleman was named a first team All-American at DE before last night's Stagg Bowl game. 

SR OL Ali Marpet also earned a first team All-American nod (adding to his second team AP "Little" All-American award from earlier this week).

SR OL DeAndre Smith earned a third team nod which was nice to see. Smith has started the last three seasons at guard and has been a huge reason for the Statesmen's success on the OL along with Marpet.

A link to the awards can be found here.

Congratulations to these great Statesmen. Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Statesmen Rack Up Awards

The Hobart College Statesmen’s 2014 campaign may be over, but there is still plenty of news to report, especially as the post season awards keep coming in for several Statesmen players.

SR DE Tyre Coleman headlined the D3football.com All East Region team as Defensive Player of the Year. He was joined on the All-East first teams by his classmates SR OL DeAndre Smith and SR OL Ali Marpet. Earning second team recognition was SR DB Fajri Jackson. JR LBs Marcus Jemison and Jacob Stanley earned third team nods. While I am a little surprised that players like JR LB Trayvon Toney, JR DT Tucker Gumkowski and SR DT Troy Johnson were left off the list, that’s postseason award politicking for you.

A link to the list / awards can be found here.

On the All-America front, SR OL Ali Marpet was recognized by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) as a first team selection. Marpet is garnering a lot of interest from the professional level and recently accepted an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL which is scheduled to be played on January 24 and will be televised on the NFL Network. He is also playing in the East West Shrine All Star Game in St. Petersburg, FL on January 17th.

A link with more information on Marpet and the bowl games he plans to attend can be found here.

Coleman, Smith and SR FB Dominique Ellis are also planning on attending Bowls in TX and VA. Funds to assist Coleman and others interested in attending these player showcases can be found on the site GoFundMe.com.

Will check back next week as D3football.com will release their All-American teams just prior to the Stagg Bowl National Championship game on December 19th. I expect Coleman, Marpet and one or two other Statesmen to be listed as part of those.

Thanks for reading and go ‘Bart!

Hobart Turnovers and Injuries Take Toll in 41-13 Elite 8 Loss

The 7th/9th ranked Hobart College Statesmen traveled to Dover, DE to face off against top seeded and 4th/5th ranked Wesley College in the third round of the NCAA play-offs.

The Wolverine's high powered offense struggled early on in the steady rain and against a stalwart Statesmen defense. Wesley's initial offensive possession would stall at the Hobart 15 yard line. Eric Speidel's 32 yard FG attempt was good and the Wolverines took an early 3-0 lead with 10:33 to go in the first quarter. 

The Wesley and Hobart defensive units would continue to control the game, with each side intercepting the opposing quarterback on successive possessions. The Statesmen had a good opportunity after All American and LL DPOTY SR DE Tyre Coleman sacked Wesley SR QB and Gagliardi trophy semi finalist Joe Callahan for a 10 yard loss to the Wolverine 30 yard line. A short punt then gave Hobart the ball at their 40. Unfortunately on the second play of the drive, Wesley's Andre Connally forced a fumble and Sean Hopkins took it to the house for a TD. The Speidel point after gave the Wolverines momentum and, more importantly, a 10-0 lead with 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Hobart's offense would pick itself up and take their next drive all the way to the Wesley five yard line. On 3rd and goal, FY TE Chris Cyr was wide open for a TD. The SO PK Sean Kirshe point after failed and the Statesmen trailed 10-6 with 8:55 to go in the first half.

The Wolverines would find the end zone once more before halftime after a questionable pass interference penalty gave Wesley a first and goal at the Hobart three yard line. SO RB Jamar Baynard would score on the next play and after the Speidel kick was good, extending the Wolverines lead to 17-6 with 1:37 remaining in the first half.

Hobart would go three and out on the ensuing drive and Wesley took a knee and a 17-6 halftime lead.

The Statesmen defense forced a three and out of their own to open the second half but another critical mistake hurt Hobart on a punt snap that wasn't able to be fielded by JR QB/P Parker Thelander. The Statesmen defense stood tall however; and Wesley had to settle for another Speidel FG, which was good from 24 yards out, to push the Wolverines lead to 20-6 with 10:26 to go in the third quarter.

Hobart would start their next offensive possession at their own 36 yard line. Although they appeared to stall, Coach Cragg called for the fake on a fourth and 8 and Thelander took off on a 41 yard run to the Wesley 21. A personal foul on the Wolverines helped the Statesmen to the seven yard line and on third and goal, SR QB Patrick Conlan found SR TE Mike Berkowitz (who gritted out a bad ankle sprain in heroic fashion) for a TD. The Kirshe point after was good and Hobart was back in the game down 20-13 with 5:42 remaining in the third quarter. 

Although Coleman would sack Callahan again, earning him second and third all time on Division 3 career sack and tackles for loss list, he had to leave the game with an injury. On the ensuing Wesley possession, Hobart's FY CB Tommy D'Antonio slipped in tight coverage and All American SR WR Steve Koudossou made an incredible 60 yard catch and run. The long pass play and Speidel extra point would put Wesley up 27-13 with 33 seconds left in the third quarter.

In spite of a two score lead and an ineffective Hobart offense, Wolverine HC Mike Drass kept his foot on the gas in the fourth quarter, padding the Wolverine stats by adding two TDs, including a final 19 yard passing score with 3:01 remaining, to win 41-13.

Leading the Wolverines was Callahan with 315 passing yards, two TDs and one INT. Koudossou was his favorite target and the SR WR made five catches for 125 yards and a score. Baynard had two rushing TDs and a game high 78 rush yards on 21 carries (3.7 AVG).

Hobart was led by Conlan who struggled (but tougher it out playing with a bad shoulder / injury) passing for only 74 yards, two TDs and three INTs. The Statesmen defense was led by JR LB Jacob Stanley, who missed the entire second half due to injury, but still made a team high nine tackles. Coleman also had nine stops and set a Hobart single game record with six TFL to go along with two sacks. Coleman's absence was noticeable given about half of Callahan's passing yards and a TD came AFTER Coleman left the game. It truly was an all time great performance by arguably the greatest player in Hobart College Football's 121 year history.

Wesley's defense was led by All-American SR LB Sosthene Kapepula with a game high 13 stops. The Wolverine defense held Hobart to 163 total yards and most importantly, only three of 17 third down conversions. 

The loss ends the Statesmen's 2014 campaign at 12-1, tying the 2012 team's record for most wins in a season. The win improves Wesley to 12-1 overall and the Wolverines will return to Alliance, OH for a rematch with the 13-0 Mount Union Purple Raiders for a berth into the Stagg Bowl National Championship game

Join us tonight on InTheHuddLLe.com for our season finale at 7:30 PM. We'll interview the voice of the Statesmen, Ted Baker, along with Mount Union's Lenny Reich.

Thanks for reading this season and go Bart!

NCAA ELITE 8 / WESLEY PLAYOFF GAME PREVIEW

The 7/9th ranked Hobart College Statesmen (12-0) will travel to Dover, DE to take on the 4/5th ranked Wesley College Wolverines in the Elite 8 of the NCAA D3 playoffs. Wesley (11-1) has steamrolled their competition and is undefeated (7-0) in D3 play this season. They lost a hard fought 38-33 contest to second year FCS UNC-Charlotte (a team with 85 scholarship players) back on November 15. Even in the loss the Wolverines piled up 530 yards of offense, including 356 passing yards.

In the NCAA playoffs Wesley has dominated their opponents, winning by a combined 111-7 while averaging close to 550 yards of offense per game. The Wolverines have averaged 51.9 PPG on the season while their ball hawk defense has only allowed 9.9 PPG. A good reason for the defense’s success has come from turnovers. Wesley has collected 26 interceptions (INT), 21 forced fumbles, four blocked kicks, 119 tackles for loss (TFL) for -535 yards and 37 sacks for -276 yards.

The last time Hobart faced Wesley was back in the first round of the NCAA playoffs in 2011 when the Class of 2015 were FY. That season backup QB Kelly Olney ‘13 led the Statesmen in a valiant effort fighting back from 14 point deficits four times during the game to pull within 35-28 at the end of the third quarter before falling to Wesley by the same score. 

FY (now SR) WR Steve Koudossou gashed the Hobart secondary for 72 and 66 yard TD catches. QB Shane McSweeny had a big day going 18 for 27 for 336 passing yards and five TDs compared to only one INT. What kept Hobart in the game was three fumbles forced by the Statesmen defense plus a punt block that was returned for a TD by Devin Worthington ’14. The Statesmen had a limited kicking game that season and opted to go for it three times on fourth and goal – two of which came in the fourth quarter - but came up short on the tries which ended up being the key difference in the game.

Scouting the Wolverines: 

#14 SR QB Joe Callahan – a Gagliardi trophy semi-finalist, Callahan is easily the best QB Hobart will have faced this and several prior seasons. He has thrown for 3,435 yards and 43 TDs compared to only five INTs. He’s very accurate, going 238 for 355 (67%) and will likely get an invite to Salem as a Gagliardi finalist as one of the four best college FB players in D3.

#88 SR WR Steve Koudossou – Although not large in stature (~5’9” 170 lbs), Koudossou is probably the best WR in D3. He has 58 receptions for 1,170 yards and 15 TDs this season. In his excellent career, Koudossou is best in the playoffs and his stats - 12 games with 59 catches for 1227 yards and 19 TDs – back that up.

#8 SO RB Jamar Baynard – leads the Wesley rushing attack with 762 yards on 176 carries (4.3 AVG) and nine TDs. Given the Wolverines are really a passing team, Baynard is also a receiving threat catching 35 passes for 568 yards and four TDs.

#85 SO WR Bryce Shade – a return specialist, Shade has returned 20 kickoffs for 482 yards (24.1 AVG) and one TD. He’s second on the team with 38 receptions which have gone for 369 yards and five scores.

#1 SR LB Sosthene Kapepula - leads the Wesley defense with 76 total tackles. Kapepula has also tallied 9.5 TFL, two sacks, three INTs and two forced fumbles.

#9 SR DE Aamir Petrose – A real pass rush threat, Petrose leads the Wolverines defense with nine sacks and 22 TFL.

#4 SR CB Leon Jones – leads the Wesley ball hawking secondary with five INT.

Keys to the Game: 

1. Protect the Football – The Statesmen will need to channel their 4+ turnover margin performance of 2011 to have a good shot at an upset Saturday. Wesley has made a good living capitalizing and scoring points off of opponent’s mistakes. Their quick strike offense can pile up the points so it’s imperative for Hobart to take care of the football on offense and control the TOP as much as they can. Saturday's forecast has an 80% chance for rain meaning the ball will be slick and fumbles could follow. While the rain may help Hobart in slowing down Wesley's passing game, it could spell trouble if the Statesmen struggle with possession.

2. Collapse The Pocket On Callahan & Cut Up Koudossou – The Statesmen DL and LBs will need to create pressure on the Wesley passing attack while taking the pressure off their injury depleted and inexperienced secondary. To the latter’s credit, they did step up against Hopkins last week but SR WR Quinn Donaldson did burn them a couple of times. Koudossou is about 10x better than Donaldson, so Hobart will need to avoid many 1:1 situations and “bring the lumber” when they wrap up this outstanding receiver.

3. Run Like Hell - while I'm dating myself with the Pink Floyd reference, UNC-Charlotte's key to success vs. Wesley was the fact they scored three rushing TDs against the Wolverines. Easier said than done given no D3 opponents save for Rowan were able to run in a TD on the Wolverines D (which otherwise only allows only two YPC on the season).

4. Never Surrender – not many road teams win at this stage in the playoffs and it’s been well chronicled what the Statesmen’s playoff road record looks like. The Statesmen need to stay loose and enjoy the opportunity to lock horns with an elite football program. In 2012 Hobart struggled with turnovers and fell behind early on their way to a lopsided 47-7 Elite 8 loss to eventual Stagg Bowl runner up St. Thomas. Compared to UST, Wesley is a much smaller school (enrollment figures range from 1339 to 1600+ given a few graduate programs), but there’s nothing D3 about their football program (the 11% four year graduation rate reported by US News & World Report and the fact Wesley's Head Coach also happens to be the "Executive Director Intercollegiate Sports" and is a direct report to the College President and a peer to the head of Admissions kind of speaks for itself).

Hobart really has nothing to lose from the perspective all the experts will pick the Wolverines to win this going away so it should motivate the Statesmen to prove them wrong or at least acquit themselves as best they can.

Prediction: 

Wesley has made it to the national quarterfinals nine of the last 10 seasons. Hobart has gone two of the last three. This game will be a good measuring stick both on how far the Statesmen have come and to what extent there is still a big divide between the top three or four elite D3 football teams and the rest of the Top 10.

Although the Wolverines look unstoppable, they did lose five D3 games in the past two seasons (to be fair three of the five were one to Mount Union and two to Mary-Hardin Baylor) so if Hobart plays their best, they have a shot.

On Sunday’s ITH I predicted a best case scenario of 34-31 for the Statesmen. My ITH co-host Frank Rossi (who, along with Gordon Mann, will provide a video broadcast of the game) may have been more pragmatic with a 47-24 Wesley pick, but I hope it’s a much more competitive contest.

We’ll find out Saturday.

No matter what happens, Frank and I will recap the game, including highlight clips and more, Sunday at 7:30 PM at www.inthehuddlle.com.

Thanks for reading and go ‘Bart!

Coach Grange Talks Hopkins and Wesley on ITH

We spoke with Hobart DC Nick Grange Sunday night about the thrilling 24-21 win over Johns Hopkins and previewed the upcoming Elite 8 matchup against Wesley.

A link to the podcast can be found here.

I should have my game preview up by tomorrow. Fans traveling to the game should keep an eye out for tailgating information from the Alumni House in the next 24-48 hours.

More to come. Go Bart!