Statesmen offense, defense impress in 56-20 win at Fisher
PITTSFORD, N.Y.—The Hobart football team showed no signs of rust after a two-week layoff, cruising to a 56-20 victory at St. John Fisher today. The Statesmen offense scored on its first three possessions and eight of its 12 drives in the game. On the flip side, the defense forced punts on the Cardinals' first four drives.
Hobart (2-0) rushed for 213 yards and passed for 278, converting on 12-of-17 third downs and dominating time of possession (38:18-21:42). Quarterback Nick Strang was 20-of-29 for 266 yards and a single game record matching five touchdowns. He also rushed for a team-high 64 yards. Wide receiver Garth Muratori was his top target, pulling in eight passes for a career-high 145 yards and three touchdowns. Kicker Reyes Guevara also tied a Hobart game record, converting all eight of his PATs.
Defensively, linebackers Reggie Robinson and Andrew Klindera posted six tackles apiece, while tackle Tyre Coleman counted a pair of sacks among his four tackles.
For St. John Fisher (2-1), wideout Ryan Schmidt was the game's leading rusher, taking his only carry 65 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. Quarterback Ryan Kramer finished the day 7-of-19 for 73 yards and a TD. Schmidt was his primary receiver with five receptions for 37 yards.
Junior Bobby Dougherty scored on a 3-yard run to cap a 13-play, 79-yard drive that opened the day's scoring. After Fisher punted away its second possession, the Statesmen needed just three plays to return to the end zone, this time on a 54-yard pass from Strang to Muratori for a 14-0 lead.
The Statesmen went up 21-0 early in the second quarter, when wide receiver Junior Woodard got behind his defender on a 12-yard scoring pass from Strang.
After the team's traded punts, the Cardinals finally got on the board with a 35-yard pass from Kramer to Ryan Francis with 6:44 left in the first half.
Hobart countered with a 13-play, 59-yard march that Strang finished off with a 13-yard floater into the corner of the end zone for Muratori 39 seconds before the half.
The Statesmen kept their foot on the gas in the third quarter, stretching their lead to 42-7 on Strang TD passes to Steven Webb (14 yards) and Muratori (27 yards). Webb had 55 yards rushing on 16 carries in addition to his 14 yard reception.
Schmidt's run touchdown closed out the third quarter scoring, but Hobart squashed any hope of a comeback with rushing touchdowns by Juan O'Farrill and Alex Furtado to build a 56-14 lead with 8:40 left in the game.
The Statesmen now lead the all-time series with St. John Fisher 11-6, snapping a four-game losing streak with more points against the Cardinal defense than in the previous four meetings combined.
Hobart will make its 2011 debut at Boswell Field on Saturday, Oct. 1, when the Statesmen open Liberty League play against defending conference champion St. Lawrence.
