The Hobart College football team scored on its first seven possessions of the game, including 40 unanswered to close out a 43-10 non-conference win over Keystone College on Boswell Field tonight. The Statesmen improved to 3-0 heading into Liberty League play, while the Giants suffered their third straight loss to slip to 1-3.
KEY STATS
- The Hobart piled up 504 yards of total offense, the most by the Statesmen since gaining 508 yards against Keystone on Sept. 25, 2001.
- After giving up 10 points to the Giants on their first two possessions, Hobart’s defense went into lockdown mode, forcing the visitors to punt six times, turn the ball over on downs twice and seeing a ninth drive end on a sack by sophomore Dante Randle and first-year DonJuan McGee on the final play of the first half.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Junior quarterback Johnny Colombi completed 12-of-20 passes for a career-high 225 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 56 yards, including a 48-yard scramble for a touchdown on a 4th-and-seven play late in the third quarter.
- Junior wide receiver Rane Daramola pulled in five passes for a game-high 83 yards and a TD.
- First-year running back E.J. Taylor was the game’s leading rusher, turning 11 carries into 99 yards, including a 38-yard TD late in the first half.
- Junior linebacker Jaimen Bliss paced the defense with 12 tackles, including 1.5 for loss.
- Junior linebacker Anthony Romano added 10 tackles.
- Randle factored into both of Hobart’s sacks in the game, while logging four assisted tackles.
COACH’S CORNER
“We’re going to go back and watch the film tomorrow, but I think there’s going to be a ton to learn from. It feels good to be 3-0, but I know we’re not nearly as close as we need to be in terms of playing our best ball yet.” – Head Coach Kevin DeWall ’00
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Keystone looked impressive on the game’s opening possession, marching 78 yards in 12 plays. Running back Mujaheed Muhammad (42 yds, TD) dove into the end zone on a 1-yard plunge to stake the Giants to the early lead.
- Hobart had to settle for a 41-yard field goal by junior Tobias Wefering on its first drive.
- The Giants tacked on a 3-pointer of their own early in the second quarter for a 10-3 lead.
- The Statesmen tied the game with an 8-play, 66-yard drive that Colombi finished off with a 21-yard pass to senior wide receiver Peyton Cayea (2 rec, 63 yds, TD).
- The Hobart defense got it first stop when junior cornerback Chris Ntumba (5 tkls) broke up the Giants’ 4th-and-4 play near midfield.
- The Statesmen cashed in on the opportunity, handing the ball off twice to Taylor. He gained 8 yards on the first play and raced 38 yards to the end zone on the next. The extra point was wide right, leaving Hobart a 16-10 lead.
- The Statesmen used two big pass plays to set up senior Rayshawn Boswell’s 30th career TD, a 1-yard plunge. The first was a 42-yard pass to Cayea. That was followed by a 25-yard pass to Daramola that was marked down just inches out of the end zone.
- Hobart led 23-10 at halftime and never looked back.
GIVE ME LIBERTY
- The Statesmen will open Liberty League play, Saturday, Sept. 30 when they head to defending Liberty League champion Ithaca. The nationally-ranked Bombers are 2-1 following a three-game road trip to start the season.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].