Week 5 - Ithaca Game Preview

Brace yourselves, Statesmen fans. 

Here come the #13 nationally ranked and undefeated Ithaca College Bombers. Ithaca (3-0) conveniently (for them) is coming off a bye week and heads into Hobart's homecoming game (which should be at night, under the lights, btw) a heavy favorite in this Liberty League conference opener. The Bombers were picked to win the LL this year (with Hobart in third, based on the preseason coaches' poll). After Union and RPI's surprising losses last weekend, this game is arguably a league championship and playoff elimination one. 

Hobart (3-1), which once again plays the role of the underdog, has lost four in a row against the Bombers, dating back to when Ithaca joined the LL (so yes, Hobart is 0-4 in LL play against IC). The Statesmen's last win dates back to 2016 (which also was a homecoming, ahem, night game), their biggest in the series, a 23-3 beatdown. Hobart is 5-29 all time against Ithaca, dating back to 1961, and all five of those wins have come at Boswell Field. The Bombers were the last visiting team to beat Hobart at home, 10-3, back in Week 10 of the 2018 season. The Statesmen have gone 13-0 at "the Boz" since then and hope to be 14-0 after this weekend.

Hobart led Ithaca 21-14 with 5:09 to go in the 3rd quarter of last season's game, but now SR QB A.J. Wingfield engineered two quick scoring drives to tie and then win it on a 30-yard TD pass with 8:54 to go in the 4th quarter. The Statesmen had a chance to force overtime and/or go for the win from the Ithaca 16-yard line, but literally dropped the ball on the final play and lost, 28-21.

Scouting the Bombers 

Ithaca comes into this matchup after crushing three team in Weeks 1-3, including Alfred University (1-3), being the one common opponent shared with Hobart. The Bombers won that game, 52-3, compared to Hobart's Week 1 win over the Saxons by a 36-6 margin. Ithaca averages over 42 PPG on offense and have held opponents to only 5.67 PPG on defense (less than a TD). To be fair, Hobart's numbers stack up pretty well after last Saturday's blowout of Keystone (0-4), moving our offensive and defensive PPG stats to 32.75 and 9, respectively. 

Regardless of the stats, the biggest advantage Ithaca has over Hobart is depth and experience. Starting with the Bombers OL - all five are fourth- or fifth-year seniors and returning starters from 2021. Actually, it looks like at LG JR OL Alexander Rice got the start over SR OL Andrew Testani against Alfred, but regardless; this unit is very big (everyone is listed at 6' 2"+ and close to 300 lbs.) and have worked together well over a season plus.

Wingfield is the best QB in the LL, and ranks first in efficiency (154.8), passing TDs (5 - which is interesting because Statesmen SR QB David Krewson technically has six) and completion percentage, going 46-68 for 509 yards (67.6%). Unlike all the other starting LL QBs, Wingfield has yet to throw an INT.

As the saying goes, a QBs best friend (other than a great OL) is a strong running game. The Bombers have two solid backs at their disposal - JR RBs Jake Williams and Ryan Brozovic. This duo has combined for 257 rushing yards and 5 TDs so far this season.

Wingfield's favorite targets has been a pair of SR WRs - Michael Anderson and Julien Deumaga. They've made 29 catches for a combined 381 yards and 3 receiving TDs. Wingfield likes to spread it around, however, as 3 other WRs have caught a TD each.

Defensively the Bombers are led by 5th-year SR LB Matt DeSimpliciis who's tallied 23 total tackles, 2 sacks and 3 TFL. He also has one FR. Overall the Bombers are +3 in turnover margin, collecting 3 INTs to go with the FR. They've only turned the ball over once so far this season. Much like the offensive side of the ball, Ithaca's defense is very experienced and deep with upperclassmen. 

On special teams, the Bombers have arguably the best PK in the nation as SR PK Nick Bahamonde was named 1st team preseason All-American by D3football.com. That said, Bahamonde's season has gotten off to a rough start, as he's missed more FG attempts than he's converted (2-5). He handles Ithaca's KO duties also, averaging close to 58 YPKO.

The punting unit is headed up by 5th year SR SS Michael Roumes who averages about 37 YPP and has forced 5 FC balls on 11 kicks, including 2 that have landed inside his opponent's 20-yard line and one 50+ yard kick. 

Keys to the Game:

1. Start Strong, Move the Chains: The Bombers have outscored their opponents 85-10 in the first half so far this season. Hobart needs to get on the board and do their best defensively to keep Ithaca out of the end zone, where they have scored 13 times on 15 trips (an 86.67% success rate). Running the ball will be a challenge as the Bombers have an outstanding run defense (albeit against average to mediocre opposition), allowing a paltry 2.1 YPR and only 66.3 rush YPG average. That said, Hobart should grind away in the running game to burn the clock and keep Wingfield on the sideline. I expect Ithaca to "stack the box" so play action is a good strategy in my opinion. Third down conversions will be at a premium as Ithaca has only allowed 10 first downs on 45 attempts (22.22%) this season. The Bombers have allowed just under 5 YPC passing, so short, precise patterns can work against this defense. I know HC Kevin DeWall '00 likes to go deep from time to time, but against a defense that's racked up 6 sacks and 19.5 TFL, spending too much time in the pocket to let a longer play develop could be troublesome.  

2. Bend, Don't Break: The Hobart defense will need to lock in a stop an offense that has looked superhuman so far this season. Ithaca will look to put the Statesmen in a hole early and try and make them play from behind. It's crucial that assignments are kept and more importantly, penalties are negated as you can't give up any easy yards to a team this talented and expect to win. If the Statesmen can hold this dynamic offense to FGs instead of TDs, that'll go a long way in keeping this game competitive. Pressuring Wingfield will be paramount as well, but the Bombers OL has only given up one sack this season.

3. Home Sweet Home: The Statesmen haven't lost at Boswell Field in over two seasons, and there should be a big crowd there Saturday cheering on the Statesmen. As much as Butterfield stadium has been a "house of (0-17) horrors" for Hobart, the Statesmen (and their fans) need to make the Boz environment similar Saturday. Ithaca will come into this game well rested and extremely confident, so Hobart will have to take their first couple of punches and hold firm, while delivering a few of their own. 

Prediction:

I have struggled with this one and would feel better about Hobart's chances if not for what happened in Week 2. The end of the day is the Statesmen are a younger, less experienced and to a certain extent, physically smaller version of what Ithaca is today. The Bombers should probably win this game by 14+ points based "on paper", but I have a feeling our defense - who is loaded with young and hungry talent, especially at LB - will keep it from getting out of hand.

My heart tells me otherwise, but my head is telling me I have to go with Ithaca getting the win, but in a lower scoring, 17-13, type of game. 

I've enjoyed it in the past when Hobart has proved me wrong. Let's hope this is one of those times.

I'll be hoping for the best and thinking go 'Bart!

Hobart Rolls Giants, 65-6

The Hobart College Statesmen scored the second most points, 65, in the 128-season history of their program, blowing out the Keystone College Giants, Saturday in La Plume, PA.

The game got off to an auspicious start, as the Giants drove deep into Statesmen (3-1) territory, and it took a fourth down hold by the defense to keep Keystone (0-4) from scoring first. After that, it was all Hobart.

The Statesmen racked up 377 total yards on offense, averaging nearly 8 yards per play, and saw seven different Hobart player's score a TD, including JR DB Blake Hansen who had a 60-yard pick six in the game. 

JR RB Tim Denham, Jr. had a day, rushing for only 42 yards but a team high 3 rushing TDs. SO TE Luke Hescock led the team with 48 receiving yards. The defense was led by FY LB Mike McGhee who had 14 total tackles, 3 TFL and a sack. SO PK Tobias Weffering was kept busy all day, accounting for 11 points if my math is correct. He kicked a 27-yard FG and converted 8 PATs on the day.

Next weekend Hobart will host #12 Ithaca (who was on a bye this weekend) for Homecoming in both teams Liberty League opener. I'll have more on that one early next week. 

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Week 4 - Keystone Game Preview

The Hobart College Statesmen will go on one of their longest road trips of the season when they head south to play the Keystone College Giants. The Giants are located in La Plume, PA, just a few miles northwest of Scranton in a very rural part of Lackawanna County. 

Hobart (2-1) will basically have this game as a final tune up before the game of the season / year, Week 5 at home against #12 Ithaca (3-0), for homecoming. The Bombers were the last team to defeat Hobart at Boswell field, dating back to Week 11 of 2018.

Back to the Giants (0-3) - the Statesmen won last season's matchup, 58-14, behind over 500 yards of total offense. As we have seen first-hand, last year's results don't necessarily match this year's, so Hobart can't take this steadily improving new program too lightly.

Scouting the Giants

Looking at the stat sheet, one thing is pretty clear - Keystone is consistent. They have scored 21 points in Week 1 and 20 points in Weeks 2 and 3. They are led on offense by SR QB Tom Roach. He's averaged about 150 pass YPG and has thrown more INTs (5) than TDs (2). Roach has added two rushing TDs so far on the season.

The other rushing TDs came from SO RB Mujaheed Muhammad (2) and SR RB Kevin Lewis (1). JR WR Jorden Cook led the Giants with 4 receptions for 50 yards and 1 TD last year at Hobart. This season he's had team high 8 receptions for 121 yards. 

On defense, JR DB Sean Pettway (pictured above) earned ECFC DPOTW honors, tying for the team lead in tackles (8 solo and 2.5 TFL). He had a 45-yard pick six to give the Giants a 20-7 lead before halftime. SR LB Carlos Perez leads the Keystone defense with 24 total tackles and 1.5 sacks. 

On special teams, SR TE Zac Cost is the Keystone punter, averaging nearly 36 YPP. FGs and KOs are handled by SO PK Josue Hernandez. He averages nearly 50 YPKO and has missed his only FG attempt, which was between 30-39 yards. He's gone 7-9 on PAT attempts.

Keys to the (Keystone) Game:

1. Stick to the Statesmen Script: A game plan similar to the Fisher one would do well Saturday. The Giants defense allows nearly 265 rushing YPG. A steady dose of JR RB Tim Denham, Jr. with a high percentage passing game like the one SR QB David Krewson had in Week 3 will go a long way to securing a win. Defensively Hobart can play smart, aggressive football and likely pick up a few more turnovers like they did last weekend.

2. Rotation, rotation, rotation: It would be great to keep rotating in some of these newer, younger Statesmen players to develop their confidence with game experience. The newly retooled OL should get some useful reps also, but it's a good opportunity to try out other guys, should things go well for Hobart.

3. Enjoy the Road Trip: October starts the grind of conference play, in which every game will be a dogfight, starting with Ithaca next weekend. This is one of the longer trips the Statesmen will have this season (and it's the only one out of NYS), so it's a good opportunity for the team to bond and become a stronger group, especially when the adversity kicks in during the conference race. 

Prediction:

I think Keystone will fare better than last season, but Hobart should be able to pull away in the second half. I'll take the Statesmen to win it, 42-21.

Will have more on last weekend's action in the next "CrunchTime" show on "In the (D3FB) Huddle tomorrow and cover off on Week 4 games this Friday on our Facebook and Twitter Live show.

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Hobart Bounces Back, Beating SJF, 17-0

The Hobart College Statesmen continued their home winning streak, taking their 13th straight in a dominating, 17-0, shutout of Saint John Fisher. The Cardinals (1-2) racked up over 300 yards of total offense, including 18 first downs, but could never crack the scoreboard.

Hobart (2-1) used a grinding running and efficient passing game to get the win. SR QB David Krewson went 11-15 for 194 yards and 1 TD. JR RB Tim Denham, Jr. carried the ball 25 times for 111yards and 1 TD. Although he missed on two attempts, SO PK Toby Wefering was good from 23 yards to cap the scoring. SO LB Peterson Monexant led the defense with 9 tackles and 1 INT.

You can check out the official HWS Athletics recap here.

The victory was a much needed one after a rough Week 2. Still, the Statesmen have some work to do as usually a three turnover game would result in more than 17 points. Hobart also only gained 16 yards on six plays in the entire fourth quarter. The Statesmen really need to cut down on the penalties, as they were flagged nine times for -87 yards. Hobart isn't the most penalized team in the LL at the moment, that honor goes to Union (30 penalties for -268 yards), but they're pretty close.

Next weekend, the Statesmen will travel to winless Keystone College in PA. The Giants are 0-13 all-time, but they led 20-7 at the half over William Paterson in Week 3. WPU eventually came back to win, 27-20, to improve to 2-1. 

I'll have more on that matchup early next week.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Week 3 - Saint John Fisher Game Preview

The Hobart Statesmen will need to put Week 2 behind them quickly as a stronger, more talented Saint John Fisher Cardinals team will make the short trip to Geneva for Saturday's OOC matchup. This will be Hobart's third straight against an Empire 8 team. The Statesmen (1-1) should have their hands full with a Cardinals (1-1) offense that's averaged 41 PPG.

To be fair those stats are bolstered by their Week 1 blowout of Buffalo State (0-2). Against a stronger, playoff caliber team in Framingham State (2-0), the Cardinals got off to a 14-0 lead, but ultimately lost, 31-20. 

Scouting the Cardinals

Based on a review of the statistics from Weeks 1 & 2, the SJF offense is really keyed off of 5th year SR RB Malachi Duval (pictured above - credit to sjfathletics.com). Duval averaged over 100 YPG on the ground, carrying the ball 36 times for 294 rushing yards and 5 TDs. He also pulled off a successful halfback passing play, for 27 yards and a TD last weekend against Framingham. 

JR QB Aaron Chase is a dual threat, passing for 254 yards and 4 TDs while also rushing for 86 yards and 1 TD. Chase was the receiver on the Duval trick pass play, so Chase has the proverbial trifecta of passing, rushing and receiving TDs already only two weeks into the season.

Defensively the Cardinals are led by JR LB Joe Miscia with a team high 19 total tackles. Up front, SO DL Zach Driesbach leads the defense with 3.5 TFL and 2 sacks. Generally, it appears as though the LB corps is the strength of this unit and so Hobart will need to prepare accordingly. 

On ST, SO PK Kyle Farewell handles all the majority of the kicking duties. He averages less than 30 YPP, so that could help the Statesmen in the field position battle. He's only attempted one FG (from 30-39 yards), but it was no good. He's otherwise pretty reliable on PATs, converting 9-10. SR PK Andrew Symans has handled KOs, averaging nearly 50 YPKO.

Keys to the Game:

1. Back to the Basics (Run the Ball, Win the Turnover Battle): Regardless of who was or is the starting QB, Hobart's success in 2021 was predicated on being an outstanding rushing offense. The winning formula for the Rams in their win over Fisher last weekend appears to have been a conscious decision to run the football. Framingham called 44 rushing plays in Week 2, getting 18 first downs via the run and scored 5 rushing TDs. The Rams pass defense also had a good game, limiting the Cardinals offense to only complete 14-34 (41.17%) for 187 yards. While they allowed two passing TDs, FSU picked off SJF twice. Coach Kelly is a great coach, so why not just copy his game plan?

2. Trial by Fire: We saw some new faces last Saturday, and if that's the case again this weekend, these younger Statesmen will just have to buckle up and learn on the job. There's a great deal of young talent on this team, but obviously with youth comes the occasional mistakes. Hobart will need to work on its resiliency, as they crumbled under pressure at Morrisville. These younger players will need to rise to the occasion and assume more of a leadership role, especially if that's not being provided by the upperclassmen to the extent it should. 

3. Home Sweet Home: In need of a bounce back win, you couldn't pick a better place to do so than at Boswell Field where Hobart is unbeaten in 12 straight, dating back to 2018. 

Prediction: 

I expect a dog fight Saturday as the Statesmen's confidence has to be shaken and SJF must believe they can beat Hobart if SUNY-Morrisville did. We won't know the status of certain players until later in the week (tune into the next Hobart podcast on Thursday), so I expect a lower scoring, defensive struggle, but (I hope) Hobart will hang in there to make their home record a lucky 13-0, edging the Cardinals late, 24-17.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Mustangs Stun #23 Statesmen in Strange, 24-13, Game

While it's only Week 2, you have to think about whether or not this is a bad omen for what many, myself included, thought was a potential breakthrough season for the Statesmen? Hobart (1-1) lost to Morrisville State for the first time Saturday, 26-13, giving up two fumbles that were returned for TDs.

Whether it was injury-related or disciplinary in nature, 5th year SR QB David Krewson did not start nor play Saturday. Hobart was without a few starters, actually, so the next Hobart Football podcast should be an interesting one to say the least. 

Third string SO QB Johnny Colombi did his best in relief, passing for 157 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. He also rushed for 55 yards. It's still hard to believe a team that Hobart defeated 41-0 last season and only won 2 games in 2021 would best them today. 

The Statesmen outgained the Mustangs (2-0) by over 150 yards, but turnovers, a missed FG and penalties (7 for -56 yards) killed Hobart today. It was definitely the worst loss in the DeWall era since the 56-7 shellacking by Brockport in Week 1 of 2018 (but remember that Golden Eagles team made it to the national semifinals, so this is actually worse, in my opinion). Even Ted Baker, who's called games for the Statesmen since 2005, said he "couldn't remember" seeing Hobart play so badly. 

I guess the only positive is that this wasn't a league game, but realistically losing to team like Morrisville does not bode well for the rest of the season. Hobart will have a lot of soul searching to do, as it seems like the weight of great expectations may have knocked them off kilter for the rest of 2022.

Will have more on this one soon. Still can't believe what happened. 

Week 2 - SUNY-Morrisville Game Preview

The #23 Hobart College Statesmen will hit the road for the first time in the 2022 to take on the SUNY-Morrisville Mustangs. "Mo' State" (1-0) won their season opener, 10-0, over Kean University last Saturday.

Hobart (1-0) has won all three of the matchups against the Mustangs by a combined score of 141-48, including last year's 41-0 blowout, where the Statesmen outgained Morrisville 407-112 total yards. This season I expect a more competitive showing from the Mustangs, who struggled to a 2-8 mark in 2021, but did surprisingly beat Brockport, 13-7, in Week 10.

Scouting the Mustangs

Thanks to Twitter, we know that these four Morrisville players were big factors in the win over Kean. SR WR Justin Adams hauled in 3 catches for 55 yards and 1 TD. On defense, SO DB Anai Brake had 5 tackles and 2 TFL and big SR DL Will Brown added two stops and a sack. On special teams, JR PK Hunter Regal averaged 43 YPP, with a long of 54, and only one TB on six kicks.

This is helpful, but really the Mustangs success will be based on their dual threat JR QB Steven Frerichs. He went 10-22 passing with a TD and rushed for 62 yards in Saturday's game. He also booted two punts himself, averaging nearly 50 YPP, so Hobart needs to be prepared the "quick-kick" in certain situations. 

Defensively Morrisville is led by SR LBs Joe Miller-Labar and Ernesto Mitchell. They tallied a combined 15 tackles in the win over Kean Saturday. 

Keys to the Game:

1. Start Fast - Last season it took the Statesmen until the second quarter to get on the scoreboard and they actually trailed, 17-21 at the half, in 2019. Realistically the Statesmen have more overall talent on both sides of the ball, so they should be able to set the tempo early in this one.

2. Break the Mustangs (Run Defense) - Even though they shut out Kean (0-1), the Cougars still averaged 4.5 YPR in Saturday's game. I think Morrisville's defense is tough, but undersized, and Hobart's big OL and TEs can take advantage of this matchup. 

3. Focus on Fundamentals - Not to beat a dead horse (pun intended), but the penalties have to stop. Hobart's too polished a program to get as many flags as they do. This (-95 yards on 9 penalties) was the only negative in Saturday's 36-6 win over Alfred (0-1).

Prediction:

No surprise here, but I like Hobart in this one. History suggests the Statesmen could crack 40 points, but I'll give the Mustangs defense a little more credit after their performance against a Kean team that finished second in the NJAC in 2021. Still, I'll take Hobart by a wide margin, say 38-10, in this Saturday's contest.

We will recap the Alfred game, among other things on the next episode of In the D3FB Huddle. Don't forget to catch the next Ted Baker and Coach DeWall podcast, which should be out a day or two before the next game.

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

#23 Statesmen Shine, Beat Saxons 36-6, in Season Opener

What's that old saying, "it's great to be a Statesman?"

That certainly rang true on Friday night under the lights at Boswell Field as the #23 ranked Hobart College Statesmen flipped the script on last season, passing for 258 yards and 4 TDs in a 36-6 rout of the Alfred University Saxons.

5th year SR QB David Krewson had a couple of throws he will watch in the film room and look to fix, but otherwise had the best game of his career, completing 20-36 (55.5%, and btw - there's that 36 again) passes and finding four different receivers on his passing TDs.

Speaking of TDs, there were several to go around with SR WR Alex LaBella, JR WR Chris Bartosic, SO WR Rane Daramola and JR RB Rayshawn Boswell each having a receiving TD. Boswell added a 2-point conversion run and JR RB Tim Denham, Jr. had a late rushing TD to cap the scoring. You can read the HWSAthletics recap here. 

A more objective read you can find below. 

First off, the defense was really fantastic, especially this young and explosive corps of LBs. SO LB Anthony Romano gets the game ball in my opinion, leading the Hobart defense with a team high 10 tackles, 4 TFL and 2 sacks. 

On special teams, FY PK Vicente Lyon is a bona fide weapon for the Statesmen and I'm excited to see how he'll effect games later in the season with his kicking skills. He averaged 42.6 YPP, had a long of 54 and dropped 2 kicks inside the Saxons 20-yard line. Although SO PK Tobias Weffering missed on a 42-yard FG attempt, he was otherwise perfect with a 4-4 PAT night and was fantastic averaging almost 62 YPKO last night. Hobart also had a punt block. It was a banner night for special teams. 

Just like last year unfortunately, the Statesmen are still not as buttoned up as they need to be to win a championship. Perhaps it's the youth of the team, but Hobart was flagged nine times for -95 yards in last night's game. The Statesmen were the most penalized team in the LL last season (about -80 YPG), an honor they need to work on and try to avoid this season.

That said it was a great opening win and sets the Statesmen up with an extra day to prep for Morrisville State next weekend.

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!