No. 15 Hobart Stymies Endicott, 28-17

GENEVA, N.Y. ­– No. 15 nationally ranked Hobart College scored one touchdown in every quarter to claim an eventual 28-17 victory over Endicott on Saturday afternoon at Boswell Field.

Both teams were held scoreless throughout the majority of the first quarter until Statesmen junior defensive end Zach Thornton (Scarsdale, N.Y) forced a fumble at Endicott's goal line and recovered the ball in the end zone with 14-seconds remaining to grab a 7-0 advantage.

The Gulls went on to outscore Hobart in the second quarter, 9-7, but went into the break trailing 14-9. Junior kicker Kyle Regan (Nashua, N.H.) put Endicott on the scoreboard with a 27-yard field goal at the 9:32 mark, while Jake Pelletier (Trumbull, Conn.) hauled in a 16-yard touchdown reception from sophomore quarterback Sam Ouellette (Rochester, N.H.) with less than four minutes to play.

Hobart junior running back Bradley Burns (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.) punched home a 36-yard rushing touchdown in between both of the Gulls' scoring plays in the second quarter to maintain the lead.

After Pelletier's TD catch at 3:49 in the second, Hobart held Endicott scoreless for the next 30:58 of action to close out the win. The Statesmen also used a 16-yard touchdown catch from sophomore wideout Brandon Shed (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and a 59-yard punt return TD by junior Sean Cunningham (Geneva, N.Y.) to widen the gap along the way.

Conversely, Endicott's defense held the Statesmen to just two scores, a season low 204 yards of total offense which included just 152 passing yards and only 52 rushing yards to keep the Gulls in the contest.

ENDICOTT OFFENSE

• Despite trailing 28-9 with 10:39 to play in the fourth, Endicott made a spirited comeback as sophomore fullback Lavante Wiggins (Dalton, Mass.) muscled in a one-yard TD run with 2:51 remaining.
• The Gulls then converted a two-point conversion as Ouellette connected with sophomore tight end Jacob Simons (Barrington, R.I.) on the play.
• Simons and Wiggins led the charge on the final scoring driving for the Gulls as Simons caught a 25-yard pass from Ouellette to get the offense going, while Wiggins rushed for a total of ten yards throughout the drive.
• Ouellette completed 13 of his 42 passing attempts in his first collegiate start, amassed 167 yards, threw for one score and three interceptions.
• Pelletier led the receiving corps with four catches, 78 yards and one touchdown.
• The Gulls outperformed Hobart in first downs (16-15), rushing yards (92-52), passing yards (167-152) and total offense (259-204).
• Endicott went 2-for-16 on third down conversions and 3-for-6 on fourth down conversions.
• The Gulls did convert an onside kick, which was recovered by graduate free safety Mike Romanelli (Lighthouse Point, Fla.), after Wiggins' touchdown scamper but failed to gain any momentum after Spencer Walsh (Melrose, Mass.) picked up a first down with a 12-yard rush on their last drive.

HOBART OFFENSE

• Sophomore quarterback Shane Sweeney (Phelps, N.Y.) went 15-for-27 passing with 152 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
• Sweeney completed passes to eight different receivers, one shy of tying his season high in 2015 (nine different receivers).
• Hobart led in time of possession by 3:08 (31:34-28:26).
• The Statesmen only went 1-for-3 in the red zone, but completed 5-of-14 third down chances.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Today's score fell one point shy of matching last year's result, a 28-18 win for Hobart on September 13, 2014 in Beverly, Mass.
• Endicott football head coach Kevin DeWall made his first trip back to Hobart today after spending 19 seasons on the sidelines with the Statesmen. To read a feature about coach DeWall's return click here: Familiar Face Comes Home.
• Endicott assistant coaches and Hobart alums Art Garvey '12 and Tom Elder '13 also returned to campus today on the other end of the sidelines.
• Hobart had five student-athletes compile five or more tackles in the contest with senior inside linebacker Trayvon Toney (Huntington Station, N.Y.) leading the way with eight (five solo, three assisted).
• Statesmen junior cornerback Todd Collier (Lynn, Mass.) had two interceptions, while sophomore cornerback Tommy D'Antonio (Greenwich, Conn.) grabbed the other one for the hosts.
• Collier's two interceptions in today's game establishes a new single-game high for the junior cornerback.

BE A POSITIVE INFLUENCE

• For the second straight game, freshman inside linebacker William Rivera (Orangeburg, N.Y.) led the Gulls in tackles, this time with a career-high 13 (nine solo, four assisted).
• Rivera also is the reigning New England Football Conference (NEFC) Defensive Rookie of the Week.
• Juniors Craig Anderson (Franklin, Mass.) and Matthew Dow (Nottingham, N.H.) both finished with seven tackles and one quarterback hurry, respectively.
• The Gulls compiled four QB hurries in the loss.
• Romanelli secured his third career interception in the third quarter and returned it for 26 yards.
• Freshman free safety Allen Gibson (Seymour, Conn.) registered his first career pass breakup.
• Junior outside linebacker Thomas Johnson (Pembroke, Mass.) collected his first career fumble recovery in the first quarter of the contest (forced by Lawrence Gonzalez).

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (0-2) travels to St. Lawrence next Saturday at 1 p.m. The Gulls will then visit Nichols on Saturday, September 26 at 12 p.m. before returning home for the first time in three weeks on Saturday, October 3 against MIT at 12 p.m. No. 15 Hobart (2-0) takes on Ithaca College on the road next Saturday at 1 p.m. 

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