Hobart is 3-0 in the all-time series, and will look to extend that this Saturday. Last season, the Statesmen needed three long TD passes to finally pull away late and beat the Gulls, 42-20. SO WR Isaiah Hill got things going with a 59 yard TD catch and run to give the Statesmen a 21-12 lead with 51 seconds left in the third quarter. TDs by SR WR Brandon Shed and Sean Cunningham '17 helped take the sting off an 80-yard pick six by Endicott.
Scouting the Gulls:
Endicott is still a young program and they've been a little inconsistent in their first three games. Their defense allowed 502 yards to Framingham State (3-0) in a 41-10 Week 1 loss. They came back with two Sports Center quality catches to go 92 yards in the final 1:51 to knock off defending MASCAC Champions, Bridgewater State (0-3), 29-28. They outgained MIT (2-1) 446 yards to 422, and even held a nearly 40 to 20 minute advantage in TOP, but the Engineers (who are coached by former Hobart QB Chad Martinovich '94) capitalized on four long TD plays of 77, 65, 71 and 58 yards to win, 31-26.
The Gulls are led by SO QB Joe Kalosky, who has passed for 695 yards with five TDs compared to two INTs. SR RB Lavonte Wiggins is Endicott's leading rusher with 213 yards and two scores.
The Statesmen secondary will be tested by a young, but talented group of receivers in FY TE Riley Shanley (14 catches for 178 yards and two TDs), SO WR Zach DeNike (11 catches for 66 yards and one TD), SO WR Brendan Johnson (nine catches for 137 yards) and FY WR Sheilan Velazquez (six catches for 90 yards and two TDs).
Defensively, Endicott is led by JR LB William Rivera with 33 total tackles. The Gulls defense could be susceptible to the Hobart offense, as they have allowed 458.3 YPG and 33.3 PPG.
Endicott has a solid special teams unit with SO PK John Glaser and SR P Brett Fox. Glaser has tallied 11 points this season, going two-for-three on FGs and five-of-seven on PATs. Fox has a big boot, averaging 40.6 YPP, including a long of 63 yards and five punts dropped inside his opponent's 20 yard line. DeNike and JR RB Dante Correa should be handling the return duties, averaging 24 and 18.2 YPR, respectively.
Keys to the Game:
1. Start Fast - The Statesmen didn't score in the first quarter in their first two games of the season. They didn't get a first quarter score until after falling behind 6-0 to Shenandoah early last Saturday night. When the Statesmen played Endicott last season, they also fell behind 6-0 before getting on the board with 9:08 remaining in the first half. It would go a long way for Hobart to continue the second half momentum they had in the Homecoming game by getting on the scoreboard quickly and not letting the Gulls hang around as long as they did in 2016. A big catalyst there could be another big game by the Hobart OL, which earned a D3football.com TOTW award. You can read about that honor here.
2. DTR - The Statesmen "Air Show" offense is still potent, averaging 220.3 YPG, but last week we saw a flashback to the Hobart OLs of the 2012-14 era. Endicott's defense allows nearly 220 rushing YPG. Framingham State gained 269 yards rushing against the Gulls in Week 1 and the Statesmen should look to mirror that performance as much as possible. After the big output in the game against the Hornets, Hobart's rush average now sits at an impressive 202.3 YPG. The Endicott secondary's track record is one that shows they can get beat deep, so the Statesmen need to get them to stack the box, then go to play action to find SR WR Brandon Shed and others for longer passes.
3. Finish Strong - The Statesmen have a chance to end the "1st quarter" of their season with a 3-1 record. While I know Hobart would prefer to be undefeated, Brockport (3-0) continuing to win games in impressive fashion makes me feel less badly about that 14-point Week 1 loss. The Statesmen can't afford to look past the Gulls, however, and although it's tempting because the LL conference opener at Ithaca (1-2, 1-0) is a huge game, I expect Coach Cragg and the coaching staff to have the Statesmen locked in and focused on taking care of Endicott first.
Prediction:
I like Hobart to win big, 49-17. Framingham is a very strong program in the MASCAC, and now a very likely NCAA playoff team. The Rams set the bar (even though the laws of syllogism don't often, if ever apply to football) high for me in that respect.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
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