Week 8 - Send in the Saints for Tackles & Touchdowns Saturday

Well, if there was ever a time Hobart could use a win, there couldn't be a better opponent than one where they have a 13-game winning streak and who the Statesmen (1-5, 0-3) have beaten by a combined score of 105-13 over the past three seasons, right?

To be fair, every season is a new one. Although this year's Saint Lawrence Saints (2-4, 1-2) team has also struggled, they do bring back some experienced players and have acquitted themselves well in games against strong teams like Saint John Fisher and Ithaca.

Hobart is 57-36-2 all time against the Saints, making this the 96th game in this series, dating back to 1901. Last season the Statesmen held Saint Lawrence to a single FG in a convincing, 39-3 win, up in Canton. 

This year's game will be at the Boz and coincides with the annual Tackles and Touchdowns fundraiser for the Ability Partners Foundation which supports Happiness House in Geneva, Rochester Rehabilitation and the services of CP Rochester. Happiness House is a school that gives opportunities to young students and adults with disabilities to learn and flourish in a safe environment.

Scouting the Saints

SLU is led by SR QB Will Lederman on offense. He's gone 71-112 (63.39%) for 1,076 yards, with nine passing TDs compared to only one INT. He's also the Saints' leading rusher with 235 rushing yards and has scored four of the team's five rushing TDs.

When he isn't tucking and running, Lederman has a pair of favorite targets in SR WRs Shea Goodwin and Nicolas Huhtala. Goodwin has a team high 24 receptions for 345 yards and has one receiving TD. Huhtala has caught 22 passes for 326 yards and a team leading four receiving TDs. SR WR Ciesielski (shown above) has four catches for 121 yards and a TD. He also handles the majority of KO and PRs, averaging just over 21 YPKOR.

The Saints offense is balanced as they've rushed to close to the same number of yards as they have passing (some losses in the running game have clipped the total however). If not Lederman calling his own number, SO RB James Geschiedle has run it 41 times for 109 yards.

Defensively SLU is led by SR LB Ryan Surhoff with a team high 45 tackles. He's added 2.5 TFL, two sacks, an INT, four FFs and one FR this season. SO DL Ethan Metro is on the small side, but he makes up for it in speed and production. He has 6.5 TFL and leads the team with three sacks. 

On special teams, SO PK Sam Arbaugh handles punts (37.96 average) and SR PK Clayton Fogler handles KOs (52 YPKO) and FGs (going 5-9 with a long of 49 yards).

Keys to the Game:

1. Back to Basics - the Saints have given up over 177 RYPG and 10 TDs on the ground this season, so I'd like to see Hobart line it up and commit to running the ball for the majority of the game. Certainly, mixing in some play action and other passes - we have some strong TEs, why not use them a little bit more here and there - along the way. To their credit, SLU barely turns the ball over, so the Statesmen will need to be opportunistic on defense, bottling up Lederman and look to force three and outs. Hopefully on offense, Hobart can start converting more 3rd downs, which has been a challenge all season.

2. Score (More): The Statesmen have yet to score more than 23 points in a game this season, and they've scored over 30 PPG against SLU for a few years now. I'm hoping the fact that the Saints have allowed 14 scoring opportunities (11 TDs, 3 FGs) in 16 redzone trips, means that Hobart can put up some points this Saturday, not just for the home crowd, but to raise more money for the Ability Foundation.

3. Fighting to .500: In order to climb back to a better season, the Statesmen need to go 1-0 this week. The Saints will view this as a rare opportunity to beat Hobart - they've only done it once in 2010 and that was after an 18-game losing streak they had to the Statesmen from 1992-2009. While Hobart has been down, they are not out. A win on Saturday is the first of four steps back to .500.

Final Thoughts:

Every game is a must win from here on out, and the Statesmen will need to be ready to take the Saints best shot. SLU will come into this game with more confidence than in prior seasons. Hobart will just have to execute its game plan and snuff out any hope the Saints have early on in this one.

Keep an eye (and ear) out for Ted Baker's Hobart Football podcast that'll be recorded Wednesday and released not too long after that. 

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Reflections on the Statesmen's Season to Date Going into the Bye Week

Last Saturday the Statesmen suffered yet another loss this season, and their fifth in a row on the road in Schenectady against Union College, 33-16. Hobart's record at the bye week is 1-5, 0-3, easily the worst mark in 30 (or more years) of Statesmen football. What's gone wrong and can Hobart turn the tide to avoid their first losing season in 30 years?

No offense, but it's the Offense

Back in the preseason, I was very bullish on the upcoming Hobart Football season given all the depth and experience the Statesmen had coming back on offense. The entire OL, a 1,000-yard RB, a deep WR and TE corps and a QB who had appeared in over 10 games. It didn't take long for that strength to develop some weaknesses as the three OL starters were lost by midway through the Alfred game in Week 1. The QB competition turned into a three-man rotation who just couldn't really run the offense the way I assume HC Kevin DeWall '00 hoped. These issues compounded with a terrible third down conversion rate (14-65 or 21.54%) and only 14.33 PPG scored. This left the defense hung out to dry (opponent's TOP has averaged almost 31 and a half minutes per game) and while they acquitted themselves well for the first five weeks of the season, they eventually began to break, allowing 36 and 33 points in the last two weeks.

Injuries

A rash of injuries unlike anything I've seen in almost 35 years of watching Hobart Football has taken its toll this season. For the Union game, 26 players sat out of practice the week of and only about a group of 45 travelled to the game. While I thought the lacrosse team was the only one to have this kind of issue (it's been a problem for about five years there), it appears that whatever strength and conditioning is doing isn't working now for football also. This is probably due to having Division I experienced people working at the DIII level. The feedback I've heard through the grapevine is not positive to say the least, and I really hope someone at the College looks into this problem for the sake of the student athletes.

Just bad luck

To be fair, the Statesmen were only a few plays away from winning the Alfred, Brockport, and Ithaca games. That DPI no call in the game against the Bombers was the difference between it being a 13-7 Ithaca win and a 14-13 Hobart one. While maybe Hobart would have still dropped the RPI and Union games, sitting at 4-2 would feel a lot better than this current predicament. 

 

Looking Ahead

The good news for Hobart fans is that the bye week will give this banged up squad a chance to recover and get some key players back into the lineup and continue to practice improving execution on offense and defense. The Statesmen should be favorites in three of the last four games, so they have a good chance to win them. The big question mark is whether or not they can shut down a resurgent Rochester (4-2, 1-2) team at home in Week 9.

So here we are, it's an unfamiliar place for Hobart fans who's seen this program average 7.55 wins a season dating back to 1995. The Statesmen have only finished the regular season with only five wins three times in the last 30 years. While it's been a rough year, there should be hope that Hobart can end this year on a strong note.

We're here for it. Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Week 6 - Statesmen Look to Save Face in Schenectady

The Hobart College Statesmen's 2025 season hasn't gone as planned, but with five games remaining, it's far from over. As stated in my preseason preview, the hard part was September and the Statesmen's schedule eases up from October on. That doesn't mean Hobart (1-4, 0-2) can just go on cruise control and end up 6-4, with a shot at an ECAC bowl bid.

No, the Statesmen need to start taking this opportunity to rebuild and go 1-0 each week, as there are really no "gimmes" anymore given all the bad breaks they've seen this season. Especially with long-time rival Union College (3-2, 2-0) looking to take the Statesmen down another notch.

Hobart is 51-54-2 all-time against the Dutchmen (I refuse to call them the "Chargers"), making this game the 108th time the two programs have faced off. The Statesmen have struggled to win at Frank Bailey Field, going 25-34-2 and losing four of the last five games there. Hobart's most recent victory in Union territory was ten years ago, an emphatic 52-14 stomping of the Dutchmen on Halloween in 2015. 

Last season the Statesmen shutout Union, 27-0, but with a year under his belt, HC Jon Drach has these Dutchmen playing bigger and better than they did in 2024.

Scouting the Dutchmen:

After losing their first two games to nationally ranked teams, the Dutchmen have rattled off three straight wins. They are outscoring their opposition 24.6-17.6 PPG and are, not surprisingly given Drach's pedigree, an explosive offensive team. Union averages nearly 400 YPG in total offense and are almost 50-50 when it comes to the pass (203.8 YPG and eight TDs) and the run (190.2 YPG and seven rushing scores). The Dutchmen average over five yards per rush and seven per reception so the Statesmen defense will have their hands full Saturday.

The Union offense is led by SR QB Patch Flanagan who's improved a great deal since I saw him play in person at Utica in Week 1 of 2024. He struggled with turnovers then and did to start this season, throwing eight INTs compared to eight passing TDs, but six of those INTs came in Weeks 1 and 2. He's gone 77-132 for 986 yards, which averages close to 200 YPG passing.

Flanagan's primary targets are SR WR Gil Rivera (22 catches for 295 yards and four TDs), SR WR Dan Quinn (11-237 and two TDs) and JR WR Owen Corrigan (9-131 and one TD). 

The Dutchmen rushing attack is also led by Flanagan, who calls his own number in the RPO a lot. He's rushed for a team high 452 yards and 4 rushing TDs. JR RB Michael Dinardo and SO RB Jah'Cire Jones have combined for nearly 100 carries and over 350 rushing yards.

The defense is led by SO LB John Droggitis and JR LB Dewayne Hinds who've tallied 34 and 33 total tackles each. The defensive front is led by JR DL Jordan Black who has a team high 6.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks (second best to SO DL Peter Nizolek with three sacks). In general, the Dutchmen defense is a physical and attacking unit. They've racked up 44 TFL and 22 sacks over five games, while their OL line, to their credit, has only allowed 22 TFL and two sacks over that same period. 

On special teams Union is another team with three PK specialists. FY PK/WR Evan Anderson has handled punts, averaging 41.26 YYP. SO PK Francesco Pileggi (from Brazil of all places), has gone 2-3 on short range FGs. SR PK Ryan Mulderig averages nearly 62 YPKO. Half of his KOs (10/20) have resulted in touchbacks. 

Keys to the Game:

1. Keep a Level Head: With no love lost on either sideline between these two rivals, you can expect the Dutchmen to come out very fired up like there's "blood in the water." They would love to continue to pile onto Hobart's struggles, so the Statesmen need to put everything in the rearview mirror and just focus on the current play. Getting drawn into penalties because of jawing and/or cheap shots, which Union has done in the past (I'm hoping Drach has eliminated that from their culture), is something the Statesmen simply cannot afford. This is an important business trip to save the season, so Hobart needs to act like it.

2. Flummox Flanagan: While he is an experienced QB, Flanagan has been turnover prone throughout his career. The Statesmen defense needs to play a game like they did vs. Utica and keep the pressure on the QB to force INTs.

3. The Best Defense is a Good Offense: Hobart needs to win the TOP battle in this one and keep this high-powered Union offense on the sideline. The Dutchmen defense allows close to 300 total YPG and almost five yards per play, so the Statesmen can grind away running and working short passing completions to chip away at the clock. Field position will also be important, if Hobart can't score, they need to flip the playing field and keep Union looking at 80+ yard drives.

Final Thoughts:

The character of this team will be revealed either way in this game. I hope we see a Statesmen squad that fights (fairly, without rash outbursts) all the way to the end of the whistle. I knew it wouldn't take Coach Drach long to turn the Dutchmen around, but I am not ready to see them turn the tide on Hobart just yet. 

You can expect a close game, I just hope the Statesmen can put the past behind them and start the second half of the season on a positive note. A rare win at Frank Bailey would go a LONG WAY in doing that.

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Engineers Wreck Homecoming, 36-10

That was rough. 

No way to sugar coat it, the 36-10 loss to RPI (4-1, 2-0) on Homecoming was Hobart's only fourth, but it is also the worst, home loss under HC Kevin DeWall '00. JR RB E.J. Taylor had over 100 rushing yards, but it wasn't enough, as the hapless Statesmen offense continues to sputter along.

You can read about the game from the HWSAthletics.com site here. 

This is also the worst start for a Hobart (1-4, 0-2) team in 30 years - even longer if you factor in one of the losses from that 1995 season was given back to the Statesmen as a forfeit given NCAA violations by Saint John Fisher at the time. For the record, the Cardinals won the game on 9/16/95, 35-20. That was also the last year Hobart had a losing season, which this version of the Statesmen is looking to avoid.

Hobart travels to long-time league rival, Union College (3-2, 2-0), who of course are coached by former Hobart OC and QB coach, Jon Drach. Coach Drach is 6-9 as the Dutchmen's HC, and so far, has a winning record in his second season at the helm.

The Statesmen shut out the Dutchmen, 27-0, last season. But this is a different year. Still, a win on Saturday at Union, which Hobart hasn't accomplished going back to the 2015 season, who be a nice consolation on what's already been a difficult season.

I'll have more on that matchup later this week. 

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Week 5 - RPI Comes to Hobart for Homecoming

After a September of bad bounces and calls, maybe what the Hobart College Statesmen need is some old-fashioned home cooking? Hobart (1-3, 0-1) returns to the Boz desperately needing a win after a difficult slate of games and adversity.  

Coming to town is long-time league rival, the RPI Engineers (3-1, 1-0), who are coming off a big 31-3 thrashing of previously unbeaten Rochester (3-1, 0-1). You can read about that game here. 

Hobart and RPI's rivalry dates back to 1910. The Statesmen and Engineers games have traditionally been close ones, and Hobart only has a narrow 34-32-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Statesmen have won four of the last five contests however and have not lost to the Engineers at home since the 2015 season, when they failed to convert a 2-point play at the end of regulation to lose, 21-20.

Last season Hobart jumped out to a 24-6 halftime lead but then saw RPI rally back to make it a 27-21 ballgame late in the fourth quarter. Fortunately, the Statesmen were able to run out the clock and get away with a hard-fought win.

Scouting the Engineers

RPI is a spread offensive team that employs slotbacks and other receivers. The Engineers have called it down the middle with respect to plays, running the ball 115 times for 531 yards, and have scored most of their TDs on the ground (eight). They've gained more first downs (31-21) via the air and have passed for 813 yards off of 106 attempts with five passing TDs compared to only three INTs. 

RPI is led by SR QB Anthony DeMatteo who's gone 54-97 for 753 yards. JR RB Kayden White leads the ground game with 61 rushes for 292 yards and the eight aforementioned TDs. White is also a threat in the passing game, having caught nine passes for 107 yards and two TDs. He is one of four RPI receivers with over 100 yards on the season. 

Defensively RPI is led by JR and SR DBs Matt Krauza and Miles Lafferty with 30 tackles each. RPI likes to "stack the box" to take up space on the LOS and allow their LBs and DBs to run in for the tackle. The Engineers secondary has three INTs on the season so far and the defense has racked up nine sacks and 24 TFL.

RPI always has a strong special team's unit and has three experienced kickers this season who handle FGs (SR PK Aleksandar Maric), KOs (SR PK Hayden Gray), and punting (SR Anderson Burke), respectively. 

Keys to the Game:

1. QB Consistency: One of Hobart's biggest issues has been the QB play four games into the season. While each has shown flashes, there has not been the level of consistency needed to win ball games. RPI has a proven leader in DeMatteo, once again another very experienced QB the Statesmen defense will need to solve for, but Hobart is still looking for theirs.

2. Run the Ball: I didn't think the Ithaca defense would have much success stopping the run last Saturday, but to their credit, they held Hobart to 79 yards and a paltry 2.9 YPR average. RPI's rush defense is strong also, holding teams to just under 95 YPG and they've yet to allow a rushing score on the season. With the QB troubles we've seen to date, the Statesmen will need to win the LOS and establish a strong running game to have a chance in this one. 

3. Home Sweet Home: I don't know what it is, but Hobart just wins at home (91% of the time). The Statesmen's record at the Boz under HC Kevin DeWall '00 is 30-3. They need some of that Boz magic to make it 31-3 and get a key LL win under their collective belts Saturday. 

Final Thoughts:

It's hard to gauge this game given RPI was steamrolled by a team Hobart beat (Utica) and beat a team the Statesmen lost to (Brockport), albeit barely. Either way, I expect a lower scoring game like last Saturday that could come down to field position and special teams plays. Points will be at a premium, but hopefully the larger Homecoming crowd will give Hobart the home field advantage they need to get back on track. 

Looking forward to tuning into this one. Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Third Down Struggles Sink Statesmen at Ithaca, 13-7

The Hobart College Statesmen dropped another strange and heartbreaking game at Ithaca today, 13-7. There were a mix of bad calls, breaks and just bad play on third down that ultimately sunk the Statesmen's (1-3, 0-1) chances at winning their first ever road game at Butterfield Stadium.

Hobart went 2-13 on third downs and was held to only 79 rushing yards in the loss. All three Hobart QBs played, but none of them were really able to rally the offense. SO QB Aidan Conrath getting the start was a surprise, and while he was in was very efficient, going 9-10 for 87 yards, but his injury from last week must have flared up because he gave way to SR QB Tru Styles. SO QB Jeremy Weiss threw the only Hobart TD of the game - a neat 12-yard sideline pass to SO WR Johnny Harding with 28 seconds before the end of the first half to tie the game at 7-7.

Ithaca (3-1, 1-0) would struggle to move the ball all day against an aggressive and stalwart Statesmen defense. SR OLB Mike McGhee was everywhere, tallying 15 tackles. The Bombers were held to 140 passing yards, well below their usual average. The Bombers opened the second half with a quick score but missed the extra point. They missed a FG in the game as well. 

Unfortunately a few bad calls, especially the DPI flag that was picked up when Hobart was driving to potentially win the game, became part of another chapter in the long curse of Butterfield, where strange things happen to help Ithaca win. 

The loss all but ends Hobart's NCAA playoff hopes, barring some kind of three or four car pile-up in the conference standings, which is theoretically possible with seven teams. 

It doesn't get any easier with a resurgent RPI (3-1, 1-0) coming to the Boz for Homecoming on Saturday. The Engineers beat Brockport, 30-24 in overtime in Week 3 and demolished previously unbeaten Rochester (3-1, 0-1), 31-3 today. 

Will have more on the RPI game early next week. This one hurt, but we have to move on. 

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart.

Week 4 - Statesmen Battle the Bombers to Open League Play

While both Hobart (1-2) and Ithaca (2-1) enter this game with different records, the only one that matters is this one: 0-0. The second quarter of the 2025 season begins this Saturday as the Statesmen look to start their LL Championship title defense and break old curses.

Yes, Hobart is 0-18 all-time at Butterfield Stadium and trails Ithaca 6-31 in the series that dates back to 1961. The fact that should give Statesmen fans hope is that they broke a six-game losing streak to the Bombers last season, after going 4-3 against them between 2000-2016. 

Ithaca has a 45-14 win over a team Hobart lost to, Alfred University (2-1, 0-0) in Week 1, so in theory the Bombers should be big favorites in this one. What we saw last weekend however gives me hope that this group of Statesmen have a chance to finally do what prior teams have failed to pull off - a win at Butterfield.

Scouting Ithaca:

While the Bombers stats have been inflated by a lopsided 65-3 win over Hilbert (0-3) and a bad 42-14 loss to #3 Johns Hopkins; a few things stand out. Ithaca has a fairly balanced offense, leaning towards the passing game as they've averaged 287 passing YPG compared to about 160 rushing YPG. The Bombers have scored 10 passing and seven rushing TDs. First downs (38 and 33) lean to the pass also. Defensively they've held their opponents to about 257 YPG in total offense and 19.67 PPG.

While they were no match for #3 Johns Hopkins (3-0) when I watched that game in Week 1, the Bombers have regrouped and are playing towards their strengths now.

They are led by the experienced JR QB Matthew Parker who a very accurate passer (70% completion percentage) and who's thrown for nearly 650 yards, five passing TDs and two INTs (both against JHU). 

Ithaca has a "RB by Committee" program in the run game, as there are five ball carriers (including Parker) who have double digit carries over the first three games. JR QB Michael Reed scored three rushing TDs against Hilbert in relief, but it seems like SO RB Chase Myers gets the bulk of the work, leading the team with 106 rushing yards and two scores. 

JR WR Nicolas Lang is the Bombers' QB's favorite target. Lang has caught 19 passes for 302 yards and three TDs. Not far behind him is SO WR Tian Murray with 13 catches for 219 yards and 1 TD.

Defensively Ithaca is led by a pair of DBs in GR DB Sam Tourangeau and SO DB Joe Spira with 22 and 20 total tackles, respectively (most of these came against JHU). The Bombers only have two sacks on the season but have given up eight to their opponents.

On special teams, JR PK Luke Savino averages just over 60 YPKO and the punting / FG duties belong to SO PK Caleb Wandell. He's averaged 41 YPP and converted 2-2 FGs with a long of 41 yards.

HC Michael Toerper has a 29-9 record since taking over the Bombers program in 2022. He's fiery on the sideline and an aggressive play-caller.

Keys to the Game:

1. Close off the Quick Strike: In the win over Alfred, Ithaca scored on 10-, five-, two-, eight-, six-, two- and nine-yard drives. The Saxons had no answer to the Bombers air attack, giving up 347 passing yards. Hobart's defense had success in limited a strong passing QB in Szalkowski from Utica last weekend by constant pressure and an array of blitzes. 

2. Park Parker: Given the fact the Ithaca OL has allowed eight sacks this season (to be fair, five of them were to JHU), the Hobart defense needs to make their presence felt early in this one. 

3. In Taylor We Trust: Seems pretty obvious, but if you can get JR RB E.J. Taylor to run for 100+ yards and score several TDs, you give yourself a great chance to win. Hobart's OL should have a size advantage over Ithaca's DL and LBs. They need to exploit that and if SO QB Jeremy Weiss gets the start, move him around in the pocket to give his receivers time. This is a defense Hobart can gain 300 yards against if they run it well and make a few key passes when they see the opportunities to do so. 

Final Thoughts:

History is not on Hobart's side, so the Bombers will be very confident and looking to exact revenge for last year's 16-7 loss in Geneva. That win by Hobart last season is even more impressive when you factor in the Statesmen QB's went a combined 6-19 for 117 yards and 2 INTs in that game. Ithaca struggled to pass the ball also, and it was big goal-line plays (and an 86-yard punt) that led to the win.

Here's hoping the Statesmen finally get over the hump here. If there's a will, there's a way.

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!