Season 3 of "In the HuddLLe" on BlogTalkRadio.com begins on Thursday, Sept 2!!

Along with my co-hosts Eric Ren and Frank Rossi, I will be returning to covering the Liberty League football action on "In the HuddLLe" starting with our Preseason Kickoff Show next Thursday, Sept 2 at 7:30 PM.

Please log into: www.inthehuddle.com to hear all the preseason news, player (including Hobart QB Doug Vella) and coach interviews, along with predictions and other LL and national DIII football talk.

We'll start going to our regular format (i.e., Sunday nights at 7:30 PM ET) starting on Sunday, Sept. 5th.

Hope you'll tune in, join our online chat and/or give us a call during the show!

Statesmen Open Camp, New Field

Check out the Finger Lakes Times article below on the opening of the new Boswell Field at the Caird Center for Sports and Recreation:

http://fltimes.com/articles/2010/08/20/sports/doc4c6eb708d4566332406563.txt

Also note the new Hobart uniforms (white jerseys with "Hobart" on front, blue pants) on the updated roster page on hwsathletics.com:

http://www.hwsathletics.com/roster.aspx?path=football

2010 Season Preview

The Hobart Statesmen (6-3, 5-2) are looking to rebound from a somewhat disappointing 2009 campaign that ended their five consecutive appearances in the NCAA play-offs / post-season. 2009 also was a season in which Hobart lost two Liberty League (LL) games for the first time since 2001. Financial difficulties also barred the Statesmen, who were eligible to play, from the post-season as Hobart declined to participate in one of several Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) “bowl games” due to cost cutting. On the bright side, the Statesmen ended the season with four straight victories, outscoring their opponents by a combined 113 to 40. Hobart will look to continue that positive momentum into 2010 by bringing back a talented roster of over 30 returning upperclassmen to Geneva.

The Statesmen return the majority of their offense (which averaged 337.4 yards and 22.7 points per game) from 2009, lead by JR QB Doug Vella. The JR QB started all nine games last season throwing for 1,369 yards and seven TDs. Vella initially struggled to start the season and occasionally seemed more inclined to make plays with his feet (he was second on the team in rushing with 275 yards on 98 attempts, including three rushing TDs) than his arm. Over time however, Vella settled into a solid, if not reliable, signal caller for Hobart.

To say Hobart’s success on offense hinges on Vella is a bit of an understatement. A lot of eyes will be on the JR field commander this fall given he is the returning starter. That scrutiny will be amplified by the fact that Vella’s understudies from last year - SO QB Chris Rose and Illinois State transfer Preston Earl- are no longer on the roster. While it’s not clear whether Rose transferred and Earl graduated/used up his eligibility; it would appear that the likely heir apparent would be SO QB Nick Strang who saw very limited action (appeared in the SLU and MMA games but did not attempt a pass) in 2009. SO Kelly Olney and JR Will Connery will also compete for the opportunity to back up Vella in 2010. Needless to say, keeping Vella healthy given the lack of proven QBs on the Statesmen’s roster will be a top priority for Hobart in 2010.

With the graduation of leading rusher Andrew Marlier you can probably expect another “platoon” of Hobart running backs lead by (speedster) JR Kyle Tritten and (between the tackles running of) JR Pat Julian. Julian actually started the Dickinson game last season but after fumbling early on in the game eventually became relegated to third string. These Statesmen rushed for 258 and 148 yards, respectively in 2009 and tallied a total of four rushing touchdowns.

Fortunately for these runners (and Vella) the Statesmen return the bulk, literally and figuratively, of their offensive line. Returning players/starters include SR RT and Captain Sean Kluber (taking over for graduated Captain OL Brian Monaco), JR RG Brendan Hatlee, SR C and Captain Kelvin Cruz and JR LG Kyle Sandy. Expect JR Anthony Coletta to be the lead candidate for the LT position vacated by the graduation of Angelo Catalano, but other talented players, such as SO Tyler Garvey, JR Jarrid Blades and JR Hunter LaCroix will compete and receive significant playing time in this line up. FY OL Max Janoff may also see time given his size (305 lbs) and skill (four year varsity letterman, two-time all-conference and area selection at Morristown-Beard).

Another benefit for Hobart’s offense is that SR FB Matt Howard will resume his role as the team’s lead blocker. Howard started seven games last season and tallied 24 yards rushing and caught two passes (a long of 34 in the Saint Lawrence game) for 48 yards.

There will be plenty of targets for Vella as JR TE Matt Marsh returns as does SR WRs Andy Schettine and Mike Lazore along with JR Garth Muratori. This trio of wide outs tallied 59, 190 and 441 yards last season, respectively. In fact, Muratori was second on the team in receiving and receiving TDs (two) and will replace Vincent as Vella’s go-to receiver. Lazore, who also plays on the Statesmen’s DI lacrosse team, will likely be the other starter, but don’t be surprised if Schettine (whose output declined from 2008) gets his fair share of looks down field.

The loss of LB Orlando Patterson, LB Ryan Robinson, and CB Chris Szymanski notwithstanding, the Hobart defense returns an experienced and deep linebacker and secondary corp. This unit, lead by SR Captain ILB Kyle O’Laughlin (lead team in tackles with 77 including one interception, two forced fumbles and one recovery) and Captain SR FS John Kelliher (29 tackles and two INTs), finished 2009 as the #1 scoring (15.9 PPG average) and total (303.1 YPG average) defense in the LL. Also returning for the Statesmen are JR ILB Reggie Robinson (37 tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble) and JR CB Drake Woodard (32 tackles, one forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, two blocked kicks). Also expected to compete at OLB is SR Fernando Jones who appeared in six games last season. Heralded recruit, LB Juan Breton, will also look to gain playing time in 2010.

One of the possible reasons for the Statesmen’s drop off in 2009 could be attributed to Hobart’s lack of production with respect to creating turnovers. For example, Woodard, who was in the top 10 in the nation in 2008 for interceptions saw a significant drop off last season (from seven to zero). Overall, the Statesmen were not as successful in the “ball hawking” department and it showed - the number of interceptions from 2008 to 2009 dropped by 11 (19 vs. 8).

That said the biggest question mark for this Hobart defense going into 2010 is the status of their defensive line. Last season’s entire starting front four (Guidetti, Faracca, Arduini and Lovell) were lost to graduation (as was key reserve DT Anthony Shaw who appeared in all nine games and contributed 14 tackles), but returning players such as SR DE Chris Luber, SO DT Nick Auriemma and SR DE James Rayhill saw a good deal of action for the Statesmen and recorded 20, 5 and 26 tackles, respectively. Luber lead the team in sacks with three and a half, while Rayhill also tallied three tackles for a loss (TFL). Hobart saw a sizable decline in TFLs from 2008 to 2009 (from 53 to 43) but sacks remained relatively constant (16 compared to 15). Expect JR DT Dane Wilcoxen (appeared in six games, tallying two stops) to compete for a starting job along with SO Jordan Sisti and JR Gianni Contro.

On special teams Hobart will need to find a replacement for the kicking and occasional trickery of punter Tyler Vincent. JR PK Conor Callahan is back after going six for nine in field goal attempts (66.66% with a long of 28 yards) and 17 of 19 (89%) in PATs. While his range is limited, Callahan was second (tied) in the LL in FG percentage and fourth in scoring. Backing up Callahan will be FY PK Reyes Guevara.

Hobart will open the 2010 season hosting Centennial Conference (CC) runner up Dickinson College (8-2, 6-2) at the newly renovated Boswell Field at the Caird Athletic Complex. The week following Hobart will travel to Pittsburgh to play the Tartans of Carnegie Mellon (5-5, 1-2) of the University Athletic Association (UAA). Given their defection to the CC, the Statesmen will replace Susquehanna by renewing its thruway rivalry with nearby (Rochester) Saint John Fisher College (7-3, 4-1) from the Empire 8 (E8). Adding additional intrigue to the SJF game is the game it will be the first night football game played at Boswell Field. This game also doubles as Homecoming for which I am excited to say I will be in attendance.

Going into October, Hobart travels to Canton, NY for its league opener against the Saint Lawrence Saints (3-7, 2-5), then returns to Geneva for the ever pivotal rivalry game against Union College (8-3, 6-1). From there, the Statesmen head down to Kings Point to take on the Mariners of the Merchant Marine (2-5, 4-6), then host the Engineers of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (0-7, 3-7). The 2010 wraps with a final road trip to RPI (3-4, 5-4) before the regular season finale at Boswell for the Centennial Cup against oldest rival Rochester (4-3, 4-6).

Overall the Statesmen have an ambitious out of conference slate prior to their league schedule. One advantage going into this season is the fact Hobart plays five home games. The reason this is such an advantage is that the Statesmen were undefeated at the “Boz" in 2009, outscoring the opposition by a margin of 95 to 26, and have only lost three games (including the play-offs) in the past five seasons at home.

I’ll post some additional preseason and Week 1 commentary and predictions in the coming weeks as well as keep you posted on the third season of my DIII football talk radio show, “In the Huddle”.

Thanks and go ‘Bart!

2010 Team Captains Named

Hobart Football Coach Cragg announced the 2010 Statesmen have elected the following student-athletes to lead the team this fall. The newly elected Captains are:

SR OL Kelvin Cruz (Geneva, NY)

SR FS John Kelliher (Hingham, MA)

SR OL Sean Kluber (Ridge, NY)

SR LB Kyle O'Laughlin (Syracuse, NY)

The announcement can be accessed via this link:

http://www.hwsathletics.com/news/2010/7/29/HFB_0729101811.aspx

Congratulations and good luck to these Statesmen leaders!

Less than 60 days until kickoff

The 2010 Statesmen roster is up and has some nice new features (i.e., sortable by POS, CL, etc.

http://www.hwsathletics.com/roster.aspx?path=football

There are 39 incoming FY in what amounts to mostly skill players vs. interior guys....

FY of note (thx to Sean McGlynn for the inside info) seems to be these 5 guys:

Juan Breton LB from NYC (did a PG year @KUA in NH - was on Sacred Heart's preseason roster but apparently jumped to the 'Bart)
Leo Cohen TE (6-4, 245 lbs) from Rutland, VT (also an All-State lax defenseman based on this and his size guessing he'll be a two-sport athlete for Hobart)
Max Janoff OL (305 lbs - effectively making him one of the biggest kids on this fall's team) from Morristown-Beard
Steven Webb RB from Dundee (had 300 yards vs. DeSales)
Devin Worthington OLB/SS from Aquinas/Rochester like Breton did a PGY at Worchester Academy (I wonder if WPI and/or UofR had this kid on their radar?)

Other things to note is Marlier graduated/is gone as is Chris Rose (was 3rd string QB). My best guess is that Strang and Olney will vie for back-up QB duties. Initial prognosis is that Hobart's season really hinges on Vella's health (and consistency which is equally important).

Otherwise team is pretty deep - especially at LB, DB, WR, FB, TE and OL. RB will probably still be by committee barring Tritten taking off (he certainly has the potential). Julian had the starting job to open 2009 but he literally fumbled it away in the Dickinson game and was never really a factor after that.

There are a number of DT and DEs (16) on the roster, but not many guys who saw significant action from last season save for Luber (DE) and Auriemma (DT).

That's all I've got at this point. 59 days and counting til kick-off.....

2009 Season Retrospective

Hobart came off their fifth consecutive NCAA berth (including a first round victory over the Middle Atlantic Conference Champion Lycoming) another league championship and a program record-tying 9 wins in 2008. That said expectations (and the accompanying #15 pre-season national ranking) were very high to say the least.

It was clear out of the gate; however, that this year would be a “rebuilding” one for the Statesmen. Hobart would drop the season opener to a strong Dickinson team. Although the Statesmen kept it close at the half, the powerful offense of the Red Devils wore down the Hobart defense as the game wore on. Dickinson would go on to compete for the Centennial Conference title falling just short losing to eventual champion and NCAA participant John Hopkins (first round winners over Hampton-Sydney). A season ending 35-32 loss to Ursinus effectively ended the Red Devil’s NCAA hopes as an 8-2 overall record would not be enough for an at-large bid based on the NCAA’s criteria.

The 26-3 loss would be the lowest offensive point total for the Statesmen since 1993. Fortunately Hobart bounced back the following weekend with a well played 24-16 victory over Carnegie Mellon University (5-5, 1-2).

The Statesmen’s season turned for the worse against eventual league champion Susquehanna in a frustrating 20-10 loss in Selinsgrove, PA. The offense once again struggled to score points and questions arose over SO QB Doug Vella’s ability to run the Statesmen’s offense. Although considered an upset at the time, Susquehanna would end up having an 8-2 season, winning the league’s “Pool A” bid (and share of the LL championship) with a victory over Union College in the season finale.

The cure for the Statesmen’s ills would come the following week back at home in Geneva. Hobart won in resounding fashion 33-10 over Saint Lawrence behind four rushing and one passing touchdowns.

The next week was the highly anticipated show-down between Union and Hobart. The Dutchmen were the only blemish on the Statesmen’s 2008 regular season record and both teams came into the game vying for the 2009 LL title. For the first time since probably 1997 I was actually in attendance for the first half for a live Statesmen game (and had a great view from the press box thanks to my friend and “In the HuddLLe” co-host Frank Rossi who has been calling Union games for WABY since 1994).

Although Hobart controlled the line of scrimmage for most of the game and scored 21 points in the first half, the Statesmen failed to stop the deep ball and Union torched the Hobart defense on plays that covered 41 yards, 42 yards, 70 yards and 76 yards en route to a 31-21 victory. This loss would effectively end the Statesmen’s bid for a sixth consecutive NCAA bid and put Union in the driver’s seat for the LL title leading up to their season ending show down with Susquehanna. Although Union would lose their head-to-head clash with the Crusaders, the Dutchmen improved to 8-3, 6-1 on the season; including an ECAC bowl bid and victory over Hartwick, and captured a share of the LL title just a year after finishing 5-4, 4-3. With Susquehanna departing the LL for the Centennial Conference, expect Union to be a pre-season favorite to win the LL in 2010.

At the season’s midpoint the Statesmen caught fire and won their final four games by a combined 113-40, including shutting out the Merchant Marine Academy (4-6, 2-5) and RPI (5-4, 3-4). The shut out of RPI was the first over the Engineers since 2000, but was a relatively ugly offensive game. Both teams were a combined 2 for 33 on third downs and it was really the Hobart special teams (fumbled punt recovery) and defense (three interceptions) that won the game for the Statesmen.

The Hobart offense came out of its funk in the season finale rattling off 24 first half points to retain the Centennial Cup against their oldest rival, Rochester (4-6, 5-2). Although the 2009 regular season ended on a good note, there would be no post-season football for Hobart for the first time since the 2001 season. The Statesmen would have qualified were denied the opportunity to compete in an ECAC bowl game due to financial considerations cited by the HWS administration. This was an unfortunate sign of the times, but one the team and specifically the graduating 19 seniors seemed to take well given the circumstances.

Although Hobart had not lost two league games since 2001 (back when the LL was the UCAA), the Statesmen finished strong and have a lot of momentum heading into 2010. Based on my count the Statesmen will return 16 offensive, 11 defensive and 1 special teams (place kicker Conor Callahan) letter men (based on the two-deep roster at the time of the Rochester game).

QB Doug Vella now has a full season under his belt and all three of the Statesmen RB’s (Andrew Marlier, Kyle Tritton and Pat Julian) return as does the starting FB Matt Howard. The OL loses stalwarts such as Co-Captain Brian Monaco and Angelo Catalano to graduation, but Coach DeWall has a solid core group of starters in Kelvin Cruz, Brendan Hatlee and Kyle Sandy as well as Sean Kluber who was a starter until he was injured in the Susquehanna game.

The biggest gap that Hobart needs to fill is on the defensive line given the graduations of Kwame Lovell, Tony Guidetti, Mike Ardiuni, Mike Faracca and Anthony Shaw. There is also the loss of linebackers Orlando Patterson (29 tackles, 3.5 sacks, one interception and two fumble recoveries) and Co-Captain Ryan Robinson who was second on the team with 57 total tackles. No small task, but I trust Coach Cragg is hitting the recruiting trail hard this winter and we will likely see some role players such as FY DT Nick Auriemma and SO DT Dane Wilcoxen be the likely starters. Other key defensive returning letterman are leading tackler Kyle O’Laughlin (77 tackles) and third leading tackler Reggie Robinson (37). The Statesmen return most of their defensive secondary including first team all-league DB Drake Woodard (32 tackles).

Still, Hobart has a tough start to the 2010 with three out of conference games against Dickinson (8-2), @ Carnegie Mellon (5-5) and St John Fisher (7-3). Fortunately both the Dickinson and SJFC games are at the Boz (which will be upgraded to field turf among other stadium improvements prior to the 2010 season) where the Statesmen were 4-0 in 2009. For the Statesmen to make another run at the play-offs in 2009, Hobart will need to improve upon their 2-3 road record from 2009.

The LL schedule commences with Hobart traveling to Saint Lawrence, home against rival Union College, traveling to Kings Point, home against WPI, away at RPI before hosting Rochester in the season finale.

I am certainly looking forward to another year of Statesmen football. Until then, thanks for reading these posts and go ‘Bart!

In the HuddLLe podcast at 7:30 PM ET Sunday

Tomorrow's show may be our season finale; pending the outcome of today's opening round NCAA game between the LL co-champ Susquehanna (8-2, 6-1) and MAC champ Delaware Valley (9-1, 9-0).

If Susquehanna advances, we'll preview the next week's game against the winner of the Albright-Alfred game.

We'll also review the ECAC bowls as well as have a few call in guests for the show. Hope you can tune in live (or download the 'cast after the fact).