GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart defense had three takeaways and pitched its first shutout since Sept. 1, 2012, as the Statesmen earned a 30-0 triumph over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Liberty League football action at Boswell Field this afternoon. Hobart only allowed the Engineers to reach the red zone twice and both times the visitors came away empty handed.
Senior defensive tackle Zackary Robak led the Statesmen with seven tackles, including one of the team's three sacks. Senior linebacker Almamy Conde added four stops, including a sack, and added a fumble recovery and an interception. Sophomore linebacker Jedh Downey chipped in five tackles and an interception.
Senior quarterback Shane Sweeney led the offense, completing 29-of-45 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 11 yards on three carries. Senior wide receiver Brandon Shed extended his games with a reception streak to 27, the third longest in Hobart history, with a game-high six catches for 55 yards and a TD. Senior tight end Zach Withers caught five passes for a game-high 66 yards. Senior running back Joe Letizia led the Statesmen ball carriers, rushing for a game-high 73 yards on 12 attempts (6.1 yds/rush).
Overall, Hobart (4-2, 1-1) produced 418 yards of offense and limited RPI to 227. The Statesmen dominated time of possession, 36:55 to 23:05. Hobart was 7-of-15 on third down and 2-of-3 on fourth down on the day. RPI (3-2, 0-1) was 5-of-13 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth.
The Statesmen drove into the red zone on the game's opening possession, but had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by first-year Kyle Hackett.
On its ensuing drive, RPI faced a 4-and-1 at the Hobart 48 and opted to keep the ball in the hands of junior quarterback Ed Trimpert. His sneak attempt to the left side of the line was met by junior defensive end Al Smith, who stopped him for no gain.
Hobart again marched into the red zone, but stalled out. This time Hackett was good from 30 yards away for a 6-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, RPI senior linebacker Oliver Kaija forced a Hobart fumble that junior defensive back Rory McCarthy recovered at the Hobart 18. The Engineers put themselves in a hole with a holding penalty on first down. With the next three plays, they managed just 2 yards and lined up for a 43-yard field goal attempt. Christian Kapp's kick had the distance, but was just outside the right upright.
Hobart's next possession also ended with a turnover as senior defensive back Sean Egan jumped in front of a Sweeney pass at the Hobart 34. The Statesmen defense again kept the visitors from cashing in. This time RPI managed to run for 1 yard on first down, but followed that play with three straight incompletions, turning the ball over on downs.
Hobart took a 6-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Engineers went three-and-out on the first possession of the second half and the Statesmen countered with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Sweeney to sophomore wide receiver Jake Catalioto. On RPI's next play from scrimmage, junior free safety Kai Brandford force a fumble that Conde picked up and returned to the RPI 36. Hobart wasn't able to return to the end zone, but got a 39-yard field goal from Hackett to stretch the lead to 16-0 with less than five minutes left in the third quarter. He tied the Hobart game record for most field goals made, a mark set by Eric Ampuja '05 on Nov. 10, 2001, against RPI.
The Statesmen took a 23-0 lead early in the fourth quarter when Sweeney connected with Shed on an 8-yard TD pass. The Hobart defense came up with both of its interceptions on the next two RPI possessions. Downey ended Trimpert's day with his first interception of the season. Trimpert was 10-of-20 passing for 90 yards.
First-year quarterback George Marinopoulos came on in relief and Conde caught his second pass attempt, setting up Hobart's final scoring drive. Eight plays and 29 yards later, first-year running back Dakota Harvey scored his league-leading eighth rushing touchdown on a 1-yard dive with three minutes remaining. Hackett's extra point was good, giving him 12 points on the day, tying the Hobart standard for points by a kicker in a game.
With many of Hobart's backups in the game, RPI made one last bid to break up the shutout, but the Statesmen forced four straight incompletions from their own 18 to seal the win.
Senior running back Mike Tivins had 10 carries for 50 yards for RPI. He was also the team's leading receiver with four catches for 33 yards. Senior defensive back Bryan Hayes made a game-high 15 tackles.
Hobart will be on the road for its next two games, beginning on Oct. 14 with a visit to Hartwick. Kickoff for the non-conference game in Oneonta is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Engineers will return home to face Ithaca (3-2, 3-0) on Oct. 14, at 1 p.m.
Statesmen shut out Engineers for 1st league win
/seasons/2017/boxscores/20171007_wfow.xml
2017
RPI
0
Hobart
30
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RPI (3-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hobart (4-2) | 6 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 30 |
Oct 07, 2017