2023 Season Retrospective

The 127th season of Hobart College Football has come and gone. No surprise here, but the coaching staff is already on the road and aggressively recruiting the next class of Statesmen. In some ways the 2023 season played out as expected - Hobart was picked to finish third in the Liberty League and that's exactly what they did. While many Statesmen fans and families hoped for something bigger and better, an 8-3 season is a very good one. The ECAC Bowl game result was disappointing, but at least Hobart qualified and was able to host one last game for the senior class.

The past fall had a lot of memorable moments and I'll chronicle a few below.

Looking Back

Hobart opened the season with three consecutive wins by an impressive 101-29 margin. The Ithaca game saw the Statesmen have a chance to knock off the Bombers, but a couple of mistakes led to 10 Ithaca points that ended up being the difference. 

Hobart would go on to win five of its next six games, giving themselves a strong resume which the ECAC rewarded with hosting the ECAC Clayton Chapman Bowl. We know the rest. For their efforts, the Statesmen would earn 14 spots on the All-Conference team.

Starting with the offense, JR QB Johnny Columbi had a good first year as the starter. He finished the season going 136-246 passing for 1,737 yards with 11 passing TDs compared to nine INTs. He added 75 rushes for 351 yards and 4 TDs on the ground, good for third best on the team. Once the stat sheets are refreshed in the off-season, it should show that Columbi had the 13th most passing yards and completion percentage (55.7%) in a season for a Statesmen QB. 

SR RBs Tim Denham, Jr and Rayshawn Boswell closed out their impressive careers with 516 and 643 rushing yards this season, scoring six and 12 rushing TDs, respectively. Boswell added 296 receiving yards and Denham, Jr. had 72 to go with one receiving TD. 

For their careers, Boswell appeared in 42 games, gaining 2,320 rushing and 925 receiving yards. He scored 37 rushing and four receiving TDs. He is the all-time leader in KOR yards and scores with 1,339 return yards and three TDs. 

Denham, Jr. appeared in 40 games, gaining 2,692 yards and scoring 40 rushing TDs. He added 50 receptions for 320 yards and four TDs. He also gained 613 return yards and scored two TDs. 

You can do the math, but that's over 8,200 yards of total offense and 90 TDs between these two amazing student athletes. 

JR WR Rane Daramola would once again lead the Hobart receiving corps this season, with 405 receiving yards and four TDs. I think it's safe to say the biggest play of the season was probably his TD catch, just before halftime in Week 10, against RPI. SO WR Ahmad Crowell developed into a strong receiver this season, catching 19 passes for 319 yards and three TDs. 

The defense was led once again by JR LB Anthony Romano with 80 tackles, seven TFL (tied with two other Statesmen defenders for best on the team), three sacks and one INT. SR DE Connor Gunn led the team with five sacks, seven TFL and eight QBHs. In the secondary, SR DB Joe McCoy led the team with three INTs. SO OLB Mike McGhee led the team with four FRs, scoring two TDs on the season.

On special teams, JR PK Tobias Wefering had a fantastic year, averaging nearly 41 yards per punt, 58.4 yards per KO and making 11-14 FG attempts with a long of 42 yards. He was perfect in every game this season on PATs except for Keystone, when he went 4-6, for an outstanding 39-41 run. 

Looking Ahead

The Statesmen are at a bit of an inflection point, now a full five seasons into the DeWall era. In many cases, the results have been very good with an overall 38-15 mark. The saying "your record is what you are" does have some merit here, as the Statesmen have basically averaged a 7.5-3 record over this time period. That's a lot of wins, but no conference titles and NCAA playoff appearances to go with two consecutive bowl losses have been a bit of a disappointment. 

There have been some big wins, however, namely the 2019 New York State and 2021 ECAC Bowl victories over Cortland and Westminster, respectively. The Statesmen have gone unbeaten against LL foes Saint Lawrence, Rochester, Buffalo State and have a winning mark (3-2) over RPI during that same time period. The Statesmen are also 16-4 in out-of-conference games and have only lost two OOC games since 2019. 

Unfortunately, Hobart has struggled to be a good road team, going 14-12 away from the "Boz" and is 0-5 vs. Ithaca and 2-3 vs. Union (both wins against the Dutchmen were in Geneva, DeWall and Hobart is 0-3 in Schenectady). 

The positives in 2024 will be both of those troublesome teams will have to come back to Geneva. Hobart should also benefit from a strong rising senior and junior class. Still, there is work to be done and I hope HWS will try and lend a stronger hand also. 

The COVID year was really tough for DeWall and the Statesmen. Their best senior class since the 2014 season (coming off the 9-2 NYS Bowl win and 2019 season) was mostly lost and the college forced the team to say goodbye to a couple of key coaches (who were also excellent recruiters). HWS tried but wasn't in the same position as some of their other competitors to take advantage of the extra year of NCAA eligibility like Ithaca, RPI and Union were able to leverage. There was and has been a noticeable roster disparity between Hobart and these other teams, but that should move back to normal with 2024 being the final year of extra eligibility. 

I would argue that the Statesmen need to have more full-time staff to help Coach DeWall continue to grow and build the program in the ever increasingly competitive and difficult market that is private, D3 college athletics. I saw the disparity in coaching resources the Statesmen have compared to other top D3 programs firsthand when I travelled to Berry College (GA) earlier this season to see the Vikings host Trinity University (TX). Given the football team accounts for nearly 12.5% of the male student population (based on 22 data I could find) at HWS, I really think the administration needs to step in an assist more than they may have already, but this is just my opinion. There very well could be things already underway that I am not aware of as I have very limited contact with the college anymore given my home base. 

The best way we as alums, fans and families can help is obviously through continued financial support via the SAA and other fund-raising initiatives. In the meantime, we can look forward to the 2024 schedule release and the next incoming class of Statesmen recruits. 

I appreciate everyone following the blog this season. Hard to believe it's been 14-15 seasons, almost 900 posts and 415K+ views.

Until next time, wishing you all a very happy and healthy holiday season. Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Turnovers Sink Statesmen for Second Consecutive ECAC Bowl Loss

The Hobart College Statesmen committed three turnovers in a surprising 10-6 loss to Utica in the ECAC Clayton Chapman Bowl yesterday in Geneva. It was Hobart's first home defeat to a team not named Ithaca in over five seasons and second ECAC bowl loss in two years. 

You can read the HWSAthletics.com recap here. 

The Statesmen (8-3, 4-2) got away from their strengths, which has been establishing and stopping the run. A relatively modest Utica (9-2, 4-2) rushing attack coming into this game managed to outgain Hobart by a 183-101-yard margin. The Statesmen attempted more passes (27) than rushing attempts (25) and threw two interceptions. 

The first half saw Hobart take 17 plays and nearly eight minutes to get to the Pioneers six-yard line. The Statesmen had to settle for a short JR PK Tobias Wefering FG and took an early 3-0 lead. Utica would follow suit, driving 14 plays in almost seven minutes to counter with their own FG to tie it, 3-3.

Hobart would fumble and throw an INT on their next two possessions, but a bad Pioneers punt would give the Statesmen a 6-3 halftime lead as a short field with 95 seconds was enough time to get Wefering's second FG, a 40-yarder, of the day.

The second half saw more of the same as both teams struggled to move the ball and punted twice in the third quarter. Utica ultimately won the field position battle however and forced a Hobart drive to stall at the Statesmen 15-yard line. While Wefering got off a nice 47-yard punt, the Pioneers would drive 62 yards for the go-ahead score, capping a 7-play drive with a one-yard SR QB/FB Sam Florio TD rush. 

Although Hobart would try to come back, the Statesmen threw a second INT on the ensuing drive. While the defense bent, they stuffed Utica at the Statesmen one-yard line. The offense had another chance, albeit pinned inside the shadow of their own goal line. 

Hobart could only manage to get to the 11 when they were forced to punt and Utica was able to hold on to the ball and burn out the clock, winning the game and the celebrating on the Statesmen's home field. Pioneer GR LB Anthony Fasano was named the bowl game's Most Outstanding Player, tallying seven tackles, 2 TFL and 1 FF. 

Utica QB Brett Fuller went 17-24 for 135 yards in an efficient game. Hobart only sacked him once. In his final game as a Statesmen, SR RB Rayshawn Boswell passed for 65 yards, rushed for 31 and caught seven passes for 74 yards. 

While I wasn't able to watch the game in its entirety, I have to say I'm a little surprised Boswell attempted four passes (one which was intercepted) in the game. Needless to say, this one will sting over the off-season and doesn't help Hobart on the recruiting front to lose in this fashion as a home favorite. Three other LL teams got wins on Saturday and two advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAAs.

I'll have a season recap after the Thanksgiving holiday. Wishing the best to all of you and your families this holiday week.

ECAC Clayton Chapman Bowl / Utica Game Preview

The Hobart College Statesmen will host their first ECAC Bowl game at the "Boz" in 20 years, with a big Liberty League vs. Empire 8 matchup against the Utica University Pioneers. The "Moose will be loose" in Geneva for the first time in a decade, as the last time Hobart played Utica was back in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Hobart won both games, 45-26 at Utica and 34-21 at home. 

Both teams enter the contest with identical 8-2, 4-2 marks and neither has a loss to an OOC opponent. I predicted this matchup last week and felt it made sense as both teams finished in third place in their respective conferences. 

This season the common opponents between the two squads were Rochester, Alfred and Morrisville. Utica played Rochester in Week 1 and came away with a hard-fought, 20-17 victory. Hobart's game against the Yellow Jackets was just last weekend, a 27-23 nailbiter, so it shows these teams are pretty close in some respects. The Statesmen beat Alfred 31-9 in Week 1 while the Pioneers shut them out 28-0 in Week 8. Hobart defeated Morrisville in Week 2, 27-10, while Utica defeated the Mustangs, 24-6, in Week 7.

Another ironic similarity is both teams are much better at home than on the road. This season Hobart went 6-0 in Geneva and Utica was 5-0 on their home field. The Statesmen went 2-2 on the road and the Pioneers were 3-2. In both cases, their most difficult conference games were on the road, so that factored into those records in a big way. 

Although Utica finished the season with a barely better SOS, I am guessing Hobart got selected to host given how much more competitive the Statesmen were in their LL conference losses (10-and-17-points) compared to the Pioneers E8 conference losses (53-and-35-points). The Statesmen are 2-1 all-time in ECAC Bowl games while Utica is 1-3. Their lone win was a thrilling 44-42 pick six, walk off against Ithaca back in the 2018 Scotty Whitelaw Bowl. 

Scouting the Pioneers

This season the Utica offense has averaged 24.4 PPG and defensively has allowed an average of 18.6 PPG.  Leading the Pioneers offense is SO QB Brett Fuller. He's gone 169-259 (65.25%) for 1,642 yards with 10 passing TDs compared to eight INTs. More of a pocket passer, Fuller only runs if he absolutely has to escape the pass rush. He has one rushing TD and only averages about four rushes a game. 

The run game is led by a trio of backs. SR SB Matt Brantley leads the team with 551 rushing yards and has scored two TDs. JR RB James Salles is a smaller, shifty guy who's added 315 yards and two scores. SR QB Sam Florio has only attempted three passes this season but leads the team with eight rushing TDs. This basically points to him being a goal-line specialist, which makes sense given his size (6'1" 230 lbs.), he's more of a FB than QB. 

Utica is a very opportunistic team in the passing game, as 10 different receivers have caught at least one TD pass. Seven of them have over 100 receiving yards this season. Leading the team is SR WR Peyton Ausfeld with 40 catches for 405 yards and two TDs. SO WR Antonio Cianfarani and GR WR Travis Decker (a big target at 6' 3" and 190 lbs.) are tied for the team lead with three TD receptions each. 

Leading the Utica defense is the outstanding GR LB Anthony Fasano. He is having a career best year with 74 total tackles, including 16.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks and two FF/FRs. The Hobart OL will need to account for the whereabouts of SR LB Doug Simmons who leads the Pioneers with eight sacks to go with 43 tackles, 12 TFL and an INT. GR DL John Straughn has added 56 tackles to go with 14 TFL and seven sacks. 

The Pioneers have two specialists, big JR PK Freddie Callo who's averaged over 38 yards as a punter. GR PK Cory Lichtman handles FGs and KOs. He has gone 9-17 on FGs with a long of 42 yards and averaged almost 60 YPKO. GR WR Joey Nare has averaged just over 8 yards on PRs while a number of Utica players have moonlighted on the KOR team. Ausfeld has returned eight KOs for an average of 26 yards and a season long return of 49. 

Keys to the Game:

1. Start Hot but Stay Cool - The Statesmen were a bit sluggish, whether due to injuries or something else, last weekend at Rochester. While they were the beneficiary of some great plays and lucky breaks, to have a 14-13 lead at the half, only 68-yards of offense was a red flag. Given the proximity of the two schools and lots of overlap between the player's hometowns, etc. this will have a feel of a rivalry game, especially with a trophy on the line for the postgame. I won't be surprised if it's chippy early on with a lot of trash talking. The Statesmen will need to keep their composure and just do what's gotten them to this point on the season. Let their play do the talking. 

2. Home Sweet Home - Under HC Kevin DeWall '00 Hobart has been a decent road team, winning 14 of 26 games, a lot of which were in pretty hostile territories, including Cortland for the 2019 NY State Bowl and the Bushnell Bowl at Westminster in 2021. What's really impressive however is the Statesmen's 24-2 home record over that same time period. I know out in Minnesota SJU calls it "Johnnie Magic" for their home field advantage. Hobart should lean into their "Statesmen Success" or whatever better nickname you can come up with for this Saturday's game. 

3. Execute and Win - I expect a strong running attack with a few JR QB Johnny Columbi scrambles to keep the defense honest. The Pioneers give up almost 170 YPG passing and have allowed at least one pass TD a game this season. I would love to see a few deep shots to JR WR Rane Daramola to test the back half of the Utica secondary, but know our bread and butter is winning the LOS and running the football. You can expect some man-to-man and 1:1 matchups between the Hobart WRs and Utica DBs as the Pioneers will stack the box with guys like Fasano and others looking to bottle up the run and force Hobart into third and longs. 

Prediction:

This one should be a close game, but a winnable one for Hobart. We beat Rochester by 4, they won by 3. They beat Alfred by 28, we won by 22. We beat Morrisville by 17, they won by 18. Logan Hansen's "ratings" site has the Statesmen as 77% favorites to win this bowl game by a 26-14 margin. 

I think this game could be closer, especially given how Hobart looked last weekend. I'll still take the home team to finish the season 7-0 on the Boz and win the Clayton Chapman Bowl trophy, by a 27-21 margin. 

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Statesmen Selected to Host ECAC Clayton Chapman Bowl Against Utica

The Hobart College Statesmen were selected to host the Clayton Chapman Bowl against nearby Utica University. Each team finished 8-2 overall and 4-2 for in third place in their respective conferences. 

This will be the first time Hobart hosts an ECAC Bowl game since the 2003 season, which was a 34-18 win over Norwich University. 

I'll have more on this matchup later in the week. You can check out our In the D3FB Huddle page for the live selection show replay.

Statesmen Overcome Sluggish Start to Sting Rochester, 27-23

The Hobart College Statesmen wrapped up their 2023 regular season with a dramatic, comeback 27-23 win at Rochester this Saturday afternoon. The win all but ensures Hobart will be selected to another ECAC Bowl bid. I'll announce that with Frank Rossi on Monday's "In the D3FB Huddle" show at 12 pm ET. 

The Statesmen (8-2, 4-2) took advantage of a couple of Yellow Jacket (5-5, 2-4) first half miscues - a fumble that was scooped up by SO LB Mike McGhee for a TD and a second fumble by the Rochester punter that gave Hobart a 1st and goal from the Yellow Jackets five-yard line. SR RB Rayshawn Boswell would run it in for his only score of the game. These mistakes were the main reason the Statesmen had a 14-13 halftime lead. 

The Statesmen offense couldn't get much going in the first half, being held to only 68 total yards on 22 plays. They'd have to overcome the disqualification (for the second half) of JR OLB and Co-Captain Jamien Bliss for targeting, a very ill-advised play on his part also. 

The second half saw Hobart use a rare and successful on-side kick that resulted in a FG, but Rochester would fight back, eventually taking a 20-17 lead halfway thru the third quarter. The Statesmen would trail from that point on.

The game was very much in doubt until JR QB Johnny Columbi connected with JR WR Rane Daramola for a 75-yard TD with 2:20 remaining. 

A fourth down stop and running out the clock would give Hobart the 27-23 win. Hobart was outgained 323 to 258 yards on the day, but a big reason for that was Rochester had 28 more offensive plays.

End of the day, the Statesmen got the win and will await word on who they will play next Saturday. More on that game soon.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Week 11 - Rochester and Centennial Cup Game Preview

The Hobart College Statesmen look to end their 2023 regular season on a three-game win streak and all but ensure themselves of another postseason bowl bid. Standing in their way is Hobart's oldest rival, the University of Rochester Yellow Jackets. The "Jackets", coached by Hobart alumni Chad Martinovich '94, are a resurgent program, enjoying their best season (5-4, 2-3) since 2015.

The Statesmen (7-2, 3-2) have won 11 in a row against the UofR, dating back to 2011. Hobart leads the all-time series by a 59-48-2 record, so this will be the 110th edition of this match up. The Statesmen won last season's game (I remember it well, because I was there), 27-7. Both Tim Denham, Jr. and Rayshawn Boswell had two TDs each - two rushing scores for Boswell, a rushing and receiving TD for Denham, Jr. 

Scouting the Yellow Jackets

Rochester is the fifth ranked Liberty League scoring offense (23.9 PPG) and defense (23 PPG allowed). They are also the fifth ranked total offense (348.1 YPG) and sixth ranked total defense (362.4 YPG allowed). They are the fifth ranked rushing offense (143.6 YPG) and sixth ranked rushing defense (178.8 YPG allowed). 

It looks like the Yellow Jackets strength this season has been in the passing game. They are ranked third in the LL averaging 204.6 YPG passing, notching 14 receiving TDs which is second best in the league. While they are ranked sixth in passing defense, their stats are actually pretty good, allowing 183.7 YPG and only 11 passing TDs over nine games. 

Rochester is led on offense by JR QB Ryan Rose. The GA native has gone 175-291, for 1,834 yards and 14 TDs. Rose is the top-rated passer (as far as YPG goes) in the LL, but he has been turnover prone, throwing 11 INTs. 

Leading the Yellow Jackets rushing attack is SR RB Daniel Papantonis, but he appears to have been sidelined with a season-ending injury after the Ithaca game. Classmate SR RB Will Varney has had to pick up the slack, and he's had a good season to date with 424 rushing yards and 3 TDs.

The receiving corps are led by SR WR Trey Johnson (67 catches for 670 yards and 4 TDs) and SO WR Aidan Papantonis (Dan's little brother who's caught 55 passes for 619 yards and 5 TDs). A potential matchup to keep an eye on is SO TE Jackson Kane against the Hobart LBs, especially near the goal line. He's hauled in 16 catches for 183 yards and 3 TDs. 

Defensively, Rochester is led by JR LB Happy Chane who has 76 total tackles, which is good for third best in the LL. SO DB Judah Thomas leads the LL with six INTs. SR LB Joe DeBonis leads the defense with six TFL, 2.5 sacks and 6 QB hits, so the Statesmen OL will need to account for him on Saturday. 

Rochester's return game isn't much to write home about, they rank sixth in both KOR and PRs, averaging only 18.8 and 5.9 YPR in each category. The Yellow Jackers are last with 36.1 YPKO (net) but have been perfect on PATs (25-25) and 8-12 on FGs this season. 

Handling punting duties is JR PK Alex Wing and JR PK Jordan Laudani is the Jackets KO and FGs/PAT specialist. 

Keys to the Game:

1. Stick to the Script: Last weekend's RPI game was the Hobart we've been hoping to see all season - a ferocious defense with a pounding rushing attack that leverages JR QB Johnny Columbi's athleticism. We saw moments of it in the Ithaca and Union games, but the Statesmen weren't able to pull it together for a full four quarters. They did that in Week 10 and should feel very confident if they play like they did last weekend in Rochester, the Statesmen will finish 8-2 overall.  

2. Force / Limit Turnovers: As stated above, Rose is a strong QB, but he has been and can be picked off pretty regularly this season. The Statesmen need to take advantage of this stat while also being very careful not to turnover the ball on offense. 

3. Finish Strong (for the Seniors): I mentioned it in the last preview, but Hobart has 17 SRs who are playing in their final regular season game. There was a nice article in the Finger Lakes Times about the win against RPI where HC Kevin DeWall '00 mentioned how much he "loves our seniors" and how he is "really proud of the fact that these guys, when they came in day one, they’ve been great men of character on and off the field, great students, obviously great players that are talented and they’re all uniquely different. That’s the toughest part, I’m going to be upset in a good way where you don’t want to say goodbye to these guys but we’re going to just try and keep these guys for as long as possible with keeping this season going. When the time is right afterwards, we’re going to look them in the eye and thank them for all they’ve done on and off the field as student athletes, as citizens on this campus and just represented the football family in a great way.”

These guys are:

#1 Rayshawn Boswell

#1 Abdoulaye Diallo

# 2 Tim Denham, Jr.

#5 Peyton Cayea

#7 Chris Bartosic 

#7 Joe McCoy

#16 Jordon Walker

#27 James Mahoney

#36 Drew Walsh

#39 Matt Brown

#52 Ruben Navarro

#62 Matt Siegel

#72 Patrick Healy

#79 Seamus Dean

#90 Joel Kraft

#93 Caleb Pulver

#94 Connor Gunn

Prediction: I have a feeling that this year's game against the Yellow Jackets will be somewhat similar to last season's. I like Hobart to pound the ball and create issues for the Rochester offense, coming away with a turnover or two. I'll take the Statesmen to close out the 2023 regular season with a 38-10 win.

Thanks as always for reading, congratulations to all the SR Statesmen student athletes and their families and go 'Bart!

Statesmen Sack RPI on Senior Day, 31-21

Home sweet home.

The Hobart College Football team won a big game over Liberty League rivals, RPI this Saturday at the Boz. The Statesmen (7-2, 3-2) defense racked up 7.5 TFL, six sacks, an INT and FR, holding RPI (7-2, 3-2) to only 230 total yards and 18 rushing yards.

The Statesmen offense would mount a comeback from down 14-0 in the second quarter and 21-10 early in the third, to win the game, 31-21. JR QB Johnny Columbi had a career game, rushing for two TDs and passing for 162 yards, connecting with nine different receivers. Columbi had a critical passing TD to JR WR Rane Daramola as time ran out in the first half - a gutsy call by HC Kevin DeWall '00. 

The defense was led by JR OLB and Co-Captain Jamien Bliss with seven tackles. SO DB Alex Smith notched his first career INT. Although RPI was without their starting QB, the Engineers had some success early on in the first half with a two-QB system, which finished the day 16-20 for 212 yards and two pass TDs.

The win improves Hobart's home record under Coach DeWall to 24-2 and puts the Statesmen in great position to earn an 8-2 regular season mark and earn a bid for a postseason bowl game. 

Hobart will close out the regular season at Rochester. I'll have more on the Senior Class and a Preview of the Centennial Cup game early next week.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!