The Hobart College football team secured its fourth straight Liberty League title with a 29-27 victory at St. Lawrence this afternoon. With the win the Statesmen also earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. Hobart improves to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the Liberty League. The Statesmen used a 39-yard field goal by first-year Will McCool with 1:03 left in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. Hobart handed the Saints (7-2, 5-1) their first Liberty League loss.
Offensively, the Statesmen gained a season-high 488 yards of offense against a St. Lawrence team that was sixth in the nation in total defense. Hobart rushed for 215 yards, including 125 yards from junior running back Conner Hartigan, and got a career-high 273 yards passing from senior quarterback Patrick Conlan. The Saints were fourth in the nation in passing yards allowed (105.1/g) and 39th in rushing defense (114.3 yds/g), but gave up season-highs to the Statesmen.
SLU was able to stay in the game thanks to five takeaways on three fumbles and two interceptions. The Saints put up 251 yards of offense, throwing for 257, but finishing with minus 6 rushing. The St. Lawrence ground game was hurt by seven Statesmen sacks and a wild snap from center. Senior defensive tackle Troy Johnson led the charge into the backfield with a career-high 3.5 sacks among his team-high five tackles.
Hobart opened the day's scoring on an 8-yard reception by senior Mike Berkowitz from Conlan. The tight end made a spectacular one-handed grab while getting his foot down for his fifth touchdown of the season. The extra point was no good, leaving the Statesmen a 6-0 lead with six seconds left in the first quarter.
At the 9:21 mark of the second quarter, Mitch Gallagher scored on a 3-yard run out of the wildcat formation to tie the score. Andrew Carvalho's extra point gave the Saints a 7-6 lead, and marked the first time Hobart trailed all season. The five-play, 15-yard drive was set up by a Statesmen fumble.
Hobart went into halftime with a 13-7 lead thanks to a two-play scoring drive late in the second quarter. Conlan hit senior wideout John Fasano for 32 yards on first down to move to the Saints 25 and senior fullback Dominique Ellistook it the rest of the way on the ground.
The second half got off to a fantastic start for the Statesmen as Hartigan took the first hand off 73 yards to the house, giving the visitor's a 20-7 lead.
The SLU defense kept the game from getting out of reach Leondre Simmon scooped up a Hobart fumble and ran 59 yards for a touchdown to make it a 6-point game.
Hobart muffed a punt at the end of the third quarter that St. Lawrence recovered at the Statesmen 13. Four plays later, Gallagher again punched it in the end zone out of the wildcat to put the Saints up 21-20.
On the ensuing possession, the Statesmen scored on another big play. This time, Conlan rolled out to his right and threw back to his left to running back Alex Furtado. The junior got a key block from senior tackle Ali Marpet near midfield and used his speed to streak to the end zone. The 70-yard scoring play gave Hobart a 26-20 lead with 13:11 left in the game. The Statesmen went for two on the PAT, but the pass was incomplete.
SLU got a long scoring play of its own late in the contest when quarterback Mike Lefflbine connected with Simmon on a 60-yard scoring pass. The Saints tried for two to make it a 3-point game, but their pass was also incomplete, leaving Hobart a 27-26 deficit.
St. Lawrence squibed the kickoff and sophomore Bradley Burns returned it 13 yards to the Hobart 48. Hobart mixed passes and runs to move down to the Saints' 13, but Conlan's third down pass was incomplete. McCool, who missed a PAT earlier in the game, shook off the earlier miss and booted the longest field goal of his short collegiate career, right down the middle.
The SLU offense got the ball back 62 yards away from the end zone and with 59 seconds remaining. Lefflbine completed three passes on the drive, but his last, a 22-yarder to Sean Richardson, was 17 yards short of the end zone as time expired. Lefflbine was 16-of-29 for 220 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked three times and missed a large chuck of the first half due to injury. Backup Zane Fish was 1-of-5 passing and was sacked four times.
In addition to Johnson's big day for Hobart, senior defensive end Tyre Coleman added a pair of sacks, raising his career total to 46, one shy of third place on the NCAA all-time list. He was also credited with three quarterback hurries on the day.
The Statesmen will attempt to close out their third consecutive undefeated regular season on Saturday, Nov. 15, when they host the University of Rochester in the annual Centennial Cup game. Kickoff at Boswell Field is set for 12:05 p.m.
Late FG lifts #7 Hobart to 4th consecutive Liberty League Championship
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20141108_jihq.xml
2014
Hobart
29
St. Lawrence
27
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 9 Hobart (9-0) | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 29 |
| St. Lawrence (7-2) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
Nov 08, 2014