The Hobart College Statesmen matched their best record since the 2016 season, finishing 9-2 after going 3-0 against the top 3 teams in the Empire 8. The Statesmen used offense, defense and special teams to take out the host Cortland State Dragons (8-3) Saturday.
The visiting Statesmen opened the scoring with a JR PK Kyle Hackett 29-yd FG. SR QB Ryan Hofmann would find JR WR Mike Giacobbe on a 5-yd receiving TD on an amazing one-handed catch in the right side of the end zone to extend their lead to 10-0.
Cortland would get on the board after a 22-yd TD pass, but the defense would stand, keeping the game 10-7 Hobart going into the half.
Hofmann would connect with SR WR Ray Conley to open the third quarter. While the Red Dragons would get a FG to make it 16-10 Statesmen, FY RB Rayshawn Boswell would break another long KOR for a TD - this time for 95 yards - to push the Hobart advantage to 23-10.
While Cortland threatened to make it a one-score game - they blocked a SR WR John DelliSanti punt, but quickly fumbled it back to Hobart - the Statesmen were able to shut down (and shut out) the Dragons in the second half.
Hofmann would find Conley a second time with 34 seconds left to ice the win, 30-10. Hofmann finished the day 23-35 for 244 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs. SO LB Bryan Aguilar once again led the Statesmen D with 12 tackles.
The win is Hobart's first post-season victory since the 2014 NCAA playoffs. Congratulations to the Class of 2020 and the entire Statesmen coaching staff and team on an excellent season!
I'll have a post-season review later next week.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Postseason - Cortland State / New York Bowl Game Preview
The Hobart College Statesmen will travel to Cortland State Saturday for the second New York Bowl game. Hobart (8-2) will look to match their 2016 overall record with a win. While I had the best intentions of doing a full game preview, life kind of got in the way. Also, when I saw the Cortland (8-2) game notes press release, I realized they already have done a more thorough job than I possibly could have, recapping the all-time series and key players from their side.
That said, I still have a few items to focus in on that I think will play a big role in the outcome of this game.
Keys to the Game:
1. Hobart's OL / RB vs. the Cortland DL/LB - Cortland has allowed an average of 3.8 YPR against Hartwick and Ithaca in the past two games. I think the Hobart OL can open up some running lanes for SR RB Brian Haeffner, FY RB Rayshawn Boswell and FY RB Tim Denham, Jr. This three-headed attack can be the best defense controlling the clock and keeping Red Dragons SR QB Brett Segala on the sideline (which is basically what Ithaca did running the ball 51 times from zone read formations and plays, leading to about a 45 minutes TOP advantage in the Cortaca game at MetLife Stadium last Saturday).
2. Fuel to the Fire - I probably wasn't the only one who noticed SR QB Ryan Hofmann was effectively snubbed in the LL all-conference awards. This was the first time since 2015 that a Hobart QB didn't get included on the LL awards list. While Hofmann has struggled with accuracy at times during the season, he has led to the Statesmen to many wins since his first career start in Week 11 back in 2017. He will end up in the Top 5, or very close to, in the all-time record books in a number of statistical categories. Saturday will be his and his 11 SR FB classmates final game as well. Hopefully he goes out with a showing similar to what we saw against Rochester. Cortland's secondary has allowed an average of 9 YPC through the air and 4 passing TDs in the last two games.
3. Turnovers - Both Hobart (3 INTs, 1 FBL) and Cortland (3 INTs, 2 FBL) had turnover issues in their respective losses this season, so it goes without saying the team that wins the turnover battle Saturday will likely be raising the silver cup after the game.
4. Special Teams - The Statesmen have one of the better KOR games in the East and Cortland has blocked several (like 10) FGs this season, running many of them back for TDs. Along with turnovers, Hobart needs to play heads up in the ST unit to not give Cortland any advantages there.
Prediction:
I think the Hobart run game will end up being the difference here, along with a couple of defensive plays that will keep the Dragons at bay. Given the cold, I think it'll be a slightly lower scoring affair, but I like the Statesmen to win the NY Bowl trophy by a score of 24-20.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
That said, I still have a few items to focus in on that I think will play a big role in the outcome of this game.
Keys to the Game:
1. Hobart's OL / RB vs. the Cortland DL/LB - Cortland has allowed an average of 3.8 YPR against Hartwick and Ithaca in the past two games. I think the Hobart OL can open up some running lanes for SR RB Brian Haeffner, FY RB Rayshawn Boswell and FY RB Tim Denham, Jr. This three-headed attack can be the best defense controlling the clock and keeping Red Dragons SR QB Brett Segala on the sideline (which is basically what Ithaca did running the ball 51 times from zone read formations and plays, leading to about a 45 minutes TOP advantage in the Cortaca game at MetLife Stadium last Saturday).
2. Fuel to the Fire - I probably wasn't the only one who noticed SR QB Ryan Hofmann was effectively snubbed in the LL all-conference awards. This was the first time since 2015 that a Hobart QB didn't get included on the LL awards list. While Hofmann has struggled with accuracy at times during the season, he has led to the Statesmen to many wins since his first career start in Week 11 back in 2017. He will end up in the Top 5, or very close to, in the all-time record books in a number of statistical categories. Saturday will be his and his 11 SR FB classmates final game as well. Hopefully he goes out with a showing similar to what we saw against Rochester. Cortland's secondary has allowed an average of 9 YPC through the air and 4 passing TDs in the last two games.
3. Turnovers - Both Hobart (3 INTs, 1 FBL) and Cortland (3 INTs, 2 FBL) had turnover issues in their respective losses this season, so it goes without saying the team that wins the turnover battle Saturday will likely be raising the silver cup after the game.
4. Special Teams - The Statesmen have one of the better KOR games in the East and Cortland has blocked several (like 10) FGs this season, running many of them back for TDs. Along with turnovers, Hobart needs to play heads up in the ST unit to not give Cortland any advantages there.
Prediction:
I think the Hobart run game will end up being the difference here, along with a couple of defensive plays that will keep the Dragons at bay. Given the cold, I think it'll be a slightly lower scoring affair, but I like the Statesmen to win the NY Bowl trophy by a score of 24-20.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Statesmen Rack Up Conference Awards
The Hobart College Statesmen (8-2, 4-2) had a strong showing when the Liberty League (LL) released their annual all-conference awards / teams.
A link to the official release can be viewed here.
Leading the way was JR OLB Emmett Forde who won the LL DPOTY, which I think was well deserved. FY RB Rayshawn Boswell earned ROTY honors for what I agree was a breakout first season, both as a RB and KOR/ST player.
The other Statesmen represented included:
1st Team Offense:
SR RB Brian Haeffner
JR OL Dillon Carey
1st Team Defense:
JR OLB Emmett Forde
JR DB Jared Leake
1st Team Specialists:
FY RB Tim Denham (RS)
FY RB Rayshawn Boswell (ATH)
2nd Team Offense:
SR WR Jake Catalioto
JR OL Alex Lanzana
SR TE A.J. Perlino
2nd Team Defense:
SO LB Bryan Aguilar
JR DL Isaiah Boone
JR OLB David McCarthy
2nd Team Specialists:
JR PK Kyle Hackett
SR P John DelliSanti
Honorable Mention:
SR WR Ray Conley
SR FS Andrew Koonz
SR DB Jayson Prince
JR DE Zach Rudolph
Congratulations to these Statesmen award winners!
Time to get back to work on my New York (MEGA ;) Bowl preview.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
A link to the official release can be viewed here.
Leading the way was JR OLB Emmett Forde who won the LL DPOTY, which I think was well deserved. FY RB Rayshawn Boswell earned ROTY honors for what I agree was a breakout first season, both as a RB and KOR/ST player.
The other Statesmen represented included:
1st Team Offense:
SR RB Brian Haeffner
JR OL Dillon Carey
1st Team Defense:
JR OLB Emmett Forde
JR DB Jared Leake
1st Team Specialists:
FY RB Tim Denham (RS)
FY RB Rayshawn Boswell (ATH)
2nd Team Offense:
SR WR Jake Catalioto
JR OL Alex Lanzana
SR TE A.J. Perlino
2nd Team Defense:
SO LB Bryan Aguilar
JR DL Isaiah Boone
JR OLB David McCarthy
2nd Team Specialists:
JR PK Kyle Hackett
SR P John DelliSanti
Honorable Mention:
SR WR Ray Conley
SR FS Andrew Koonz
SR DB Jayson Prince
JR DE Zach Rudolph
Congratulations to these Statesmen award winners!
Time to get back to work on my New York (MEGA ;) Bowl preview.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Game On - Statesmen Selected to Play in New York Bowl
Hobart College will travel to Cortland State this Saturday to participate in the second New York Bowl. Both teams enter with an 8-2 record. They also both come into this contest with a starter who will be sidelined for the first half given ejections in the second half of last weekend's games.
For Cortland, SR QB Brett Segala accidentally made contact with an official at the end of the Cortaca game at MetLife Stadium. For Hobart, JR FS Cal Sullivan was disqualified from the game against Rochester for a targeting penalty.
Both players can come in the second half of Saturday's game.
Cortland won the inaugural New York Bowl game, 35-28, at Union back in 2017. While the LL was supposed to host in odd years, the series has been determined to be at the Empire 8 host's site for this season given the 2017 contest was hosted by the LL.
Cortland State has an excellent football facility, and it's not far from Geneva (and it's technically closer to parties east and south of the NYS Thruway which should help travelling fans). Apparently the winner receives a silver bowl and wooden base trophy - I'll post a picture once in receipt of one.
That's it for now. Congratulations to the Statesmen on their first postseason berth since 2016 and the opportunity to match that season's win number against a strong Red Dragons team.
I'll preview this game a little later in the week. In the meantime, stay tuned to @D3FBHuddle and ITH's Facebook page for more and more content this week.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Hobart Routs Rochester, 51-20
The Hobart College Statesmen won their 9th consecutive Centennial Cup, beating Rochester (0-10, 0-6) on their Senior Day by a 51-20 margin. The Statesmen will await to hear on the status of the New York State Bowl game, which I hope to tweet out on our @D3FBHuddle show twitter feed Sunday night around 6:30 PM, if not sooner.
Regardless, an 8-2 overall finish is the best for Hobart since the 2016 season. While the Statesmen did end up in third place in the LL with a 4-2 mark, they should have an opportunity to win a 9th game, likely against Cortland, who also ended the year 8-2.
The Statesmen needed less than two minutes to score as FY RB Tim Denham took a 47-yard run to the house to give Hobart an early 6-0 lead. He'd score again a few plays later. JR PK Kyle Hackett would add the first of his three FGs on the day - tying the single game record for FGM and the season FGM record with his 11th - shortly after.
JR OLB Emmett Forde added a scoop and score TD to extend the Statesmen's advantage to 21-0 and FY RB Rayshawn Boswell took off on a 98-yd KOR for a TD that is probably a Hobart record also.
The Statesmen led 34-0 at the half. SR QB Ryan Hofmann would find SR WR Jake Catalioto for a TD and Boswell added a second rushing score. Hofmann had one of his best games of the season, going 20-29 for 243 yards and a TD. Catalioto had six catches for a game high 107 receiving yards. The Statesmen offense out-gained Rocester 504-227 on the day.
The only downside to today's game was some questionable officiating, which saw a couple of Hobart players removed from the game. They will be eligible for the second half of the NYS Bowl, assuming that comes to pass.
I'll have more on the season and a preview of the Bowl game - I'm pretty confident we'll have it - early next week.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
Regardless, an 8-2 overall finish is the best for Hobart since the 2016 season. While the Statesmen did end up in third place in the LL with a 4-2 mark, they should have an opportunity to win a 9th game, likely against Cortland, who also ended the year 8-2.
The Statesmen needed less than two minutes to score as FY RB Tim Denham took a 47-yard run to the house to give Hobart an early 6-0 lead. He'd score again a few plays later. JR PK Kyle Hackett would add the first of his three FGs on the day - tying the single game record for FGM and the season FGM record with his 11th - shortly after.
JR OLB Emmett Forde added a scoop and score TD to extend the Statesmen's advantage to 21-0 and FY RB Rayshawn Boswell took off on a 98-yd KOR for a TD that is probably a Hobart record also.
The Statesmen led 34-0 at the half. SR QB Ryan Hofmann would find SR WR Jake Catalioto for a TD and Boswell added a second rushing score. Hofmann had one of his best games of the season, going 20-29 for 243 yards and a TD. Catalioto had six catches for a game high 107 receiving yards. The Statesmen offense out-gained Rocester 504-227 on the day.
The only downside to today's game was some questionable officiating, which saw a couple of Hobart players removed from the game. They will be eligible for the second half of the NYS Bowl, assuming that comes to pass.
I'll have more on the season and a preview of the Bowl game - I'm pretty confident we'll have it - early next week.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Week 11 - Rochester / Centennial Cup Game Preview (and other stuff)
The 2019 season is coming to a close and the Hobart College Statesmen are looking to finish it with their best record since 2016. While the Statesmen will likely be ranked in today's East Region Playoff Rankings (at 8th), Hobart is hoping that:
1) Ithaca will play in an ECAC bowl game (they've filed and have a good shot at a bid based on the team's listed);
2) Cortland misses the playoffs regardless of Cortaca at MetLife Stadium (highly likely based on the current Pool C landscape and how low the RAC has them rated based on their SOS and lack of RROs); so
3) Based on the above, the Statesmen go to Cortland to play in a post-season New York State Bowl game on 11/23
Rochester (0-9, 0-5) poses little to no threat to affect the above, as the Yellow Jackets are still in rebuilding mode. Rochester has also lost their last two games by a 110-19 margin, and so I expect Hobart to drop and win by at least 35-45 points Saturday.
That's it. That's where we stand with a few days left before the final weekend of the 2019 season. I will be covering the Bowl bids and NCAAs with Frank on In the D3FB Huddle starting today through the weekend. We will interview the NCAA Committee Chair for like the 11th year in row Sunday night and have the ECAC and other bowl bids announced by Monday mid-day.
Hopefully by this time Monday we'll know that the Statesmen will have one more week of football left.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
1) Ithaca will play in an ECAC bowl game (they've filed and have a good shot at a bid based on the team's listed);
2) Cortland misses the playoffs regardless of Cortaca at MetLife Stadium (highly likely based on the current Pool C landscape and how low the RAC has them rated based on their SOS and lack of RROs); so
3) Based on the above, the Statesmen go to Cortland to play in a post-season New York State Bowl game on 11/23
Rochester (0-9, 0-5) poses little to no threat to affect the above, as the Yellow Jackets are still in rebuilding mode. Rochester has also lost their last two games by a 110-19 margin, and so I expect Hobart to drop and win by at least 35-45 points Saturday.
That's it. That's where we stand with a few days left before the final weekend of the 2019 season. I will be covering the Bowl bids and NCAAs with Frank on In the D3FB Huddle starting today through the weekend. We will interview the NCAA Committee Chair for like the 11th year in row Sunday night and have the ECAC and other bowl bids announced by Monday mid-day.
Hopefully by this time Monday we'll know that the Statesmen will have one more week of football left.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
Monday, November 11, 2019
Hobart Handles Bengals on Senior Night, 40-23
The Hobart College Statesmen maintained a perfect home record this season, going 6-0 against their 2019 opponents at the Boz. SR QB Ryan Hofmann passed for 279 yards and 3 TDs while SR RB Brian Haeffner added 132 on the ground to go with two scores.
FY RB Tim Denham broke an 80-yd KOR for a TD to open the second half and Hobart (7-2, 3-2) never looked back. Denham scored earlier in the game on a 17-yd pass from Hofmann. SR WR Ray Conley and JR WR Mike Giacobbe also had TD catches on the night. SR WR Jake Catalioto had 102 receiving yards in his final home game as well. The defense was led by SO ILB Bryan Aguilar with eight tackles, 1 TFL, a sack and a FF. SR CB Jayson Prince added six tackles, five solo, on the night.
The Statesmen just need to dispatch a win-less Rochester (0-9, 0-5) squad this Saturday for another Centennial Cup win and hope they earn some form of post-season bid. The NCAA playoffs are unfortunately not possible at all given the amount of likely 9-1 teams in the Pool C race and the Statesmen's head-to-head loss to Ithaca (7-2, 3-2) keeping them down in the eyes of the East Region RAC - even with the head-to-head win over now Empire 8 Champions and #22 Brockport (8-1).
The most likely scenario I can see is with Ithaca's surprise upset loss to RPI (6-3, 3-2) last Saturday and the Bombers declaration for a bid to the ECACs, the Statesmen are in the running for the second ever New York State Bowl game, on the road, against Cortland. Alfred (5-4), who also has declared for an ECAC game, may be a possibility also, but I believe the Red Dragons will lose to Ithaca after really struggling to stop Hartwick (1-8) last Saturday.
The Dragons (8-1) run defense looked terrible, giving up 133 yards to what's mostly a pass-first Hawks squad. Hobart's run game has really started to click in the past couple of weeks, the OL has improved and Statesmen fans should be optimistic for the future. 9 out of 11 starters will return on defense and the entire OL should be back with rising stars like Denham and FY RB Rayshawn Boswell in the backfield. The Statesmen lose some strong WR talent, but the roster is deep there and it'll be interesting to see who ultimately replaces Hofmann after he graduates.
Hofmann and his 11 SR Statesmen teammates still have at least one more game left, however, so I'll work on a Rochester preview a little later this week.
Thanks for reading as always and go 'Bart!
FY RB Tim Denham broke an 80-yd KOR for a TD to open the second half and Hobart (7-2, 3-2) never looked back. Denham scored earlier in the game on a 17-yd pass from Hofmann. SR WR Ray Conley and JR WR Mike Giacobbe also had TD catches on the night. SR WR Jake Catalioto had 102 receiving yards in his final home game as well. The defense was led by SO ILB Bryan Aguilar with eight tackles, 1 TFL, a sack and a FF. SR CB Jayson Prince added six tackles, five solo, on the night.
The Statesmen just need to dispatch a win-less Rochester (0-9, 0-5) squad this Saturday for another Centennial Cup win and hope they earn some form of post-season bid. The NCAA playoffs are unfortunately not possible at all given the amount of likely 9-1 teams in the Pool C race and the Statesmen's head-to-head loss to Ithaca (7-2, 3-2) keeping them down in the eyes of the East Region RAC - even with the head-to-head win over now Empire 8 Champions and #22 Brockport (8-1).
The most likely scenario I can see is with Ithaca's surprise upset loss to RPI (6-3, 3-2) last Saturday and the Bombers declaration for a bid to the ECACs, the Statesmen are in the running for the second ever New York State Bowl game, on the road, against Cortland. Alfred (5-4), who also has declared for an ECAC game, may be a possibility also, but I believe the Red Dragons will lose to Ithaca after really struggling to stop Hartwick (1-8) last Saturday.
The Dragons (8-1) run defense looked terrible, giving up 133 yards to what's mostly a pass-first Hawks squad. Hobart's run game has really started to click in the past couple of weeks, the OL has improved and Statesmen fans should be optimistic for the future. 9 out of 11 starters will return on defense and the entire OL should be back with rising stars like Denham and FY RB Rayshawn Boswell in the backfield. The Statesmen lose some strong WR talent, but the roster is deep there and it'll be interesting to see who ultimately replaces Hofmann after he graduates.
Hofmann and his 11 SR Statesmen teammates still have at least one more game left, however, so I'll work on a Rochester preview a little later this week.
Thanks for reading as always and go 'Bart!
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Week 10 - Buffalo State / Senior Night Game Preview
Welcome to November football, Statesmen fans!
It's been an interesting ride this season, but the Hobart College Football squad has a chance to finish 2019 with the best record the program has had since the 2016 season. They could even potentially match that 9-2 overall record, assuming they receive the LL bid the second ever New York State Bowl game.
In the past I've broken down the opposing team for games this season, but for this week, I am going to focus primarily on the Class of 2020.
These 12 SR Statesmen will be playing in their final home game Saturday night under the lights of the "Boz":
Each of these student athletes have had solid careers as Statesmen and are a big part in why Hobart is beginning to turn the corner to returning to the top of D3FB. While I'm sure most, if not all, of these young men would have liked to have had better than a 27-11 record over the past four seasons, they certainly should be proud of the accomplishments made to date and look forward to the post-season recognition many will receive in form of conference and other team and individual awards.
Scouting the Bengals
While it might be easy to assume Hobart should have no trouble with a 1-7 team, there are a few players on the Buffalo State Bengals squad that bear mentioning and should be taken seriously by the Statesmen.
SR RB Martin Bailey (pictured above) is currently 5th in the LL averaging 3.8 YPC and nearly 50 RYPG. He's thrown four times this season, completing three of those including 1 passing TD to go with 3 rushing scores.
Like most LL teams, the Bengals are mostly a passing team offensively. They are led by SR QB Zak Ciezki who's completed nearly 61% of his pass attempts, throwing for 1,744 yards, 11 TDs compared to 8 INTs. His primary target has been SR WR Jordan Evert, who's caught 66 passes this season for 841 receiving yards and 9 TDs.
The OL is a younger group, mostly made up of FY and SOs, but SR OL Tre Smith has both size (6' 1" 290 lbs) and experience at the tackle position.
Buffalo State runs a 4-3-4 style defensive scheme and the Bengals are led by SR S Gino Bonagura with 95 tackles, including 3.5 TFL and 3 INTs. JR LB Devin Delmont is second on the team with 70 tackles and 7 TFL.
JR PK Zachary Sajdak handles punting duties and a 31.34 YPP net average. SR PK Tommy Carr has gone 3-5 on FGs this season with a long of 33 yards. Carr has also averaged over 53 YPKO also, but has split time with JR PK Merrick Sproule.
Keys to the Game
1. Keep on Running - The Bengals defense has allowed nearly 200 RYPG this season, including 20 rushing TDs. Last weekend we saw the Statesmen running attack achieve a season high 315 rushing yards and 3 rush TDs.
2. 4-Down Territory - Don't expect the Buffalo State offense to always punt on 4th down. The Bengals have gone for it 24 times this season (basically three times a game on average), but have only converted 7 of those attempts. This high risk approach could benefit Hobart depending on field position.
3. Home Sweet Home - The Statesmen can finish the season 6-0 at home with a win on Saturday night. The Boswell home field advantage is a real thing. Of the 27 wins the Class of 2020 has earned, 18 have been at the Boz. In fact, they've only lost 3 games in the past four seasons when playing in Geneva.
Prediction:
I think the Hobart defense will flex it's collective muscles and cause a couple of turnovers and the offense will cash in several times in what I expect will be a 42-14 win.
Thanks again for reading and go 'Bart!
It's been an interesting ride this season, but the Hobart College Football squad has a chance to finish 2019 with the best record the program has had since the 2016 season. They could even potentially match that 9-2 overall record, assuming they receive the LL bid the second ever New York State Bowl game.
In the past I've broken down the opposing team for games this season, but for this week, I am going to focus primarily on the Class of 2020.
These 12 SR Statesmen will be playing in their final home game Saturday night under the lights of the "Boz":
NO
|
NAME
|
POS
|
CL
|
HT
|
WT
|
HOMETOWN
|
HIGH SCHOOL
| ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 |  | Ray Conley | WR | SR | 190 | Lyndhurst, N.J. | Don Bosco Prep | ||
| 9 |  | John DelliSanti | WR | SR | 200 | Wilton, Conn. | Fairfield Prep | ||
| 10 |  | Ryan Hofmann | QB | SR | 205 | Lindenhurst, N.Y. | Lindenhurst | ||
| 12 |  | David McCarthy | OLB | SR | 200 | Ronkonkoma, N.Y. | Sachem North | ||
| 15 |  | Jake Catalioto | WR | SR | 203 | Ringwood, N.J. | Lakeland | ||
| 16 |  | Andrew Koonz | FS | SR | 200 | High Falls, N.Y. | Rondout Valley | ||
| 20 |  | C | Jayson Prince | CB | SR | 200 | New Rochelle, N.Y. | New Rochelle | |
| 22 |  | C | Brian Haeffner | RB | SR | 210 | Garden City, N.Y. | Garden City | |
| 27 |  | Josh Walker | ILB | SR | 200 | Fort Washington, Md. | Blair Academy/The Potomac School | ||
| 79 |  | Reid Crobok | DT | SR | 315 | Hoosick Falls, N.Y. | Troy | ||
| 82 |  | AJ Perlino | TE | SR | 245 | Holland, N.Y. | East Aurora-Holland | ||
| 94 |  | Collin Hudgins | DE | SR | 240 | Boynton Beach, Fla. | Atlantic |
Each of these student athletes have had solid careers as Statesmen and are a big part in why Hobart is beginning to turn the corner to returning to the top of D3FB. While I'm sure most, if not all, of these young men would have liked to have had better than a 27-11 record over the past four seasons, they certainly should be proud of the accomplishments made to date and look forward to the post-season recognition many will receive in form of conference and other team and individual awards.
Scouting the Bengals
While it might be easy to assume Hobart should have no trouble with a 1-7 team, there are a few players on the Buffalo State Bengals squad that bear mentioning and should be taken seriously by the Statesmen.
SR RB Martin Bailey (pictured above) is currently 5th in the LL averaging 3.8 YPC and nearly 50 RYPG. He's thrown four times this season, completing three of those including 1 passing TD to go with 3 rushing scores.
Like most LL teams, the Bengals are mostly a passing team offensively. They are led by SR QB Zak Ciezki who's completed nearly 61% of his pass attempts, throwing for 1,744 yards, 11 TDs compared to 8 INTs. His primary target has been SR WR Jordan Evert, who's caught 66 passes this season for 841 receiving yards and 9 TDs.
The OL is a younger group, mostly made up of FY and SOs, but SR OL Tre Smith has both size (6' 1" 290 lbs) and experience at the tackle position.
Buffalo State runs a 4-3-4 style defensive scheme and the Bengals are led by SR S Gino Bonagura with 95 tackles, including 3.5 TFL and 3 INTs. JR LB Devin Delmont is second on the team with 70 tackles and 7 TFL.
JR PK Zachary Sajdak handles punting duties and a 31.34 YPP net average. SR PK Tommy Carr has gone 3-5 on FGs this season with a long of 33 yards. Carr has also averaged over 53 YPKO also, but has split time with JR PK Merrick Sproule.
Keys to the Game
1. Keep on Running - The Bengals defense has allowed nearly 200 RYPG this season, including 20 rushing TDs. Last weekend we saw the Statesmen running attack achieve a season high 315 rushing yards and 3 rush TDs.
2. 4-Down Territory - Don't expect the Buffalo State offense to always punt on 4th down. The Bengals have gone for it 24 times this season (basically three times a game on average), but have only converted 7 of those attempts. This high risk approach could benefit Hobart depending on field position.
3. Home Sweet Home - The Statesmen can finish the season 6-0 at home with a win on Saturday night. The Boswell home field advantage is a real thing. Of the 27 wins the Class of 2020 has earned, 18 have been at the Boz. In fact, they've only lost 3 games in the past four seasons when playing in Geneva.
Prediction:
I think the Hobart defense will flex it's collective muscles and cause a couple of turnovers and the offense will cash in several times in what I expect will be a 42-14 win.
Thanks again for reading and go 'Bart!
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Haeffner Powers Hobart to 35-3 Win Over SLU
Not to "toot my own horn" but it looks like my run the ball key to the game in the SLU game preview was spot on.
Hobart SR RB Brian Haeffner ran for a season high 146 yards and 2 TDs as the Statesmen improved to 6-2, 2-2 overall on the season. HWSAthletics.com beat me to the punch this weekend, and their recap can be seen here. The other star of the game was the Hobart defense who tallied 3 INTs to go with holding the Saints (3-5, 1-3) to only 3 points, including 1-5 in the red zone, 6-15 on 3rd and 0-2 on 4th downs.
JR PK Kyle Hackett elevated himself into first place in the all-time points scored category (as a PK) with his 181st point off a PAT. He finished the day 5-5 on PATs and 183 career points (and counting).
Based on the carnage of this past weekend, you can expect to see the Statesmen appear in the first NCAA East Region Rankings, due out on Wednesday, 11/6 around 3 PM. I expect Hobart to end up 7th based on the Week 1 win over Brockport, who upset #18 Cortland 32-26 in OT Saturday. #8 Ithaca (7-1, 4-1) is due to drop out of the Top 10 (and 15) after losing to #25 Union (8-0, 5-0). The Dutchmen won the LL title for the first time since 2006.
In my opinion, the SLU win pretty much guarantees the Statesmen will end up 8-2, 4-2 and put themselves in position to earn a bid to the New York State postseason bowl game, assuming it is played. With all due respect to Buff State and UofR, I don't think Hobart will have an issue getting past two teams who are a combined 1-15.
Assuming Ithaca wins Cortaca, it's possible Cortland could end up as Hobart's opponent, otherwise Alfred (5-3, 2-2) could be the Statesmen's draw. At the end of the day it'll depend on how much the respective leagues push the game - which in my estimation could be hosted by Hobart (LL is supposed to host odd years but could end up at an E8 host because of last year’s situation) and whether or not the schools themselves are up for playing it. More on that in the coming weeks.
Keep an eye on In the D3FB Huddle this week for more info as the 2019 regular season comes to a close.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
Hobart SR RB Brian Haeffner ran for a season high 146 yards and 2 TDs as the Statesmen improved to 6-2, 2-2 overall on the season. HWSAthletics.com beat me to the punch this weekend, and their recap can be seen here. The other star of the game was the Hobart defense who tallied 3 INTs to go with holding the Saints (3-5, 1-3) to only 3 points, including 1-5 in the red zone, 6-15 on 3rd and 0-2 on 4th downs.
JR PK Kyle Hackett elevated himself into first place in the all-time points scored category (as a PK) with his 181st point off a PAT. He finished the day 5-5 on PATs and 183 career points (and counting).
Based on the carnage of this past weekend, you can expect to see the Statesmen appear in the first NCAA East Region Rankings, due out on Wednesday, 11/6 around 3 PM. I expect Hobart to end up 7th based on the Week 1 win over Brockport, who upset #18 Cortland 32-26 in OT Saturday. #8 Ithaca (7-1, 4-1) is due to drop out of the Top 10 (and 15) after losing to #25 Union (8-0, 5-0). The Dutchmen won the LL title for the first time since 2006.
In my opinion, the SLU win pretty much guarantees the Statesmen will end up 8-2, 4-2 and put themselves in position to earn a bid to the New York State postseason bowl game, assuming it is played. With all due respect to Buff State and UofR, I don't think Hobart will have an issue getting past two teams who are a combined 1-15.
Assuming Ithaca wins Cortaca, it's possible Cortland could end up as Hobart's opponent, otherwise Alfred (5-3, 2-2) could be the Statesmen's draw. At the end of the day it'll depend on how much the respective leagues push the game - which in my estimation could be hosted by Hobart (LL is supposed to host odd years but could end up at an E8 host because of last year’s situation) and whether or not the schools themselves are up for playing it. More on that in the coming weeks.
Keep an eye on In the D3FB Huddle this week for more info as the 2019 regular season comes to a close.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)