The Hobart College football scored to reclaim the lead with 2:10 remaining and got two stops from its defense down the stretch to earn a 23-21 Liberty League win over Union College Saturday afternoon. Graduate student quarterback David Krewson connected with sophomore wide receiver Rane Daramola on a 58-yard pass play for the go-ahead touchdown.
Krewson was 15-of-26 passing for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Daramola caught four passes for a career-high 129 yards. Junior running back Tim Denham Jr. led the ground game, gaining 104 yards on 17 carries (6.1/att).
Union had the edge in total offense, outgaining Hobart 371-355, but the Dutchmen struggled to convert on third and fourth down. Union was just 1-for-9 on third down and 1-for-4 on fourth down.
The Dutchmen began the week seventh in the nation in sacks allowed (0.57/g), having given up just four through seven games, but the Statesmen defense registered three sacks in the game, including two in the final two minutes.
Sophomore linebacker Anthony Romano led Hobart with 10 tackles. Junior linebacker Jaimen Bliss added eight stops, including 1.5 sacks.
FIRST QUARTER
- Hobart opened the scoring on a 32-yard field goal by sophomore Tobias Wefering. The Statesmen took advantage of a short field set up by a fumble forced and recovered by junior cornerback James Mahoney.
- Undaunted by the turnover, Union took the lead just four plays later when senior quarterback Donavan Pacatte first-year wide receiver Nick Dunneman on a 53-yard touchdown pass.
SECOND QUARTER
- The Statesmen reclaimed the lead on the first play of the second quarter. Krewson threw a 4-yard strike to Denham in the front corner of the end zone. Wefering’s extra point gave Hobart a 10-7 lead.
- Following a stop by the Statesmen defense, the Hobart offense went right back to work. Junior running back Rayshawn Boswell capped a nine-play, 47-yard scoring drive with a 19-yard touchdown run.
- Union took advantage of a Hobart fumble to return to the end zone. Pacatte connected with Dunneman (7 rec, 145 yds) again, this time for a 40-yard TD, trimming the Statesmen lead to 17-14 with 3:13 left in the half.
- The Dutchmen forced a three-and-out by Hobart to give the offense one last scoring opportunity before the half. This time Pacatte (14-21-0, 252 yds, 3 TD) found junior wide receiver Avery Turton on a 29-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds left for a 21-17 lead.
THIRD QUARTER
- Each team had two possessions in the third quarter. Hobart was forced to punt twice. Union threw an incompletion on fourth-and-6 from the Hobart 21 to end its first drive and the missed a 34-yard field goal attempt on its second.
FOURTH QUARTER
- Hobart had the for over 10 minutes in the fourth quarter, but it was the Statesmen’s shortest drive (in terms of game clock) that proved most fruitful.
- With the ball on their own 31, facing a four-point deficit and less than 3 minutes remaining, Hobart took to the air. Krewson completed an 11-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Marcus Lenz on the first play of the drive. On second down, he went over the top to Daramola on a go route in front of the Statesmen sideline. As the ball approached, Daramola dipped his left shoulder to allow him to gain the inside position on his defender. The move put him in the perfect spot to make the catch and cruise into the end zone.
- On its ensuing drive, Pacatte was sacked twice, turning the ball over on downs.
- Hobart wasn’t able to punch the ball into the end zone or run all of the time off the clock, so the Dutchmen got one last possession.
- Union was barely able to move out of the shadow of its own goal posts in the 16 seconds remaining.
COACH’S CORNER
“It was a pretty evenly played game, back-and-forth. Sloppy on our end in terms of a couple of the turnovers and a couple of the penalties that I think were more on us than forced, but I was really pleased with our guys that they competed for the full 60 minutes.” – Head Coach Kevin DeWall ’00
UP NEXT
- Hobart will play its final regular season road game when the Statesmen visit Buffalo State on November 5.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].