BEVERLY, Mass.—No. 12 Hobart College passed its first road test of the season, defeating Endicott College 28-18 at Endicott Stadium this afternoon. The Statesmen jumped out to an early lead and kept the Gulls at bay.
Hobart (2-0) used a balanced offensive effort, running for 194 yards and passing for 169 yards. The Statesmen had four different running backs gain more rushing yards than Endicott. Senior Dominique Ellis led the way with seven carries for 67 yards. Sophomore Bradley Burns added 40 yards and a touchdown. Junior Conner Hartigan gained 39 yards and junior Alex Furtado ran for 32 yards, including a TD. The Gulls managed just 29 yards on the ground.
Through the air, Hobart got 169 yards passing from senior quarterback Patrick Conlan. He completed five passes for 55 yards to senior Elvin Souffrant and threw a 9-yard TD to senior John Fasano. Conlan also scored on a 1-yard keeper.
For the second game in a row, the Statesmen offense converted more than 60 percent of its third downs (11-of-18, 61.1%). Hobart also went 3-for-3 on fourth down.
Endicott (0-2) got nearly all of its offense through the air. Drew Frenette was 26-of-46 for 221 yards and a touchdown. Nate Lewis pulled in a game-high eight passes for 74 yards. Jake Pelletier caught the 16-yard TD from Frenette late in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, Hobart got a team-high 10 tackles from sophomore cornerback Todd Collier. The Statesmen sacked Frenette three times, including two by senior defensive end Tyre Coleman. He raised his career total to 41 sacks, tied for sixth in NCAA Division III history. It also raised his career tackles for loss total to 70.5, moving him to 13th place all-time.
The Statesmen came out of the gate fast, scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions. After the defense forced a three-and-out to start the game, Hobart went 51 yards in 11 plays, scoring on Conlan's keeper less than six minutes into the game. The defense forced another punt, giving the offense the ball at its own 28. Eight plays later, Burns burst through the line for a 32-yard touchdown, the first of his career, and a 14-0 lead.
In the second quarter, a pair of special teams miscues proved costly. Midway through the frame, the Statesmen muffed a punt that the Gulls recovered at the Hobart 10. Three straight pass plays left Endicott 3 yards short of the end zone and the home team had to settle for a 17-yard Kyle Regan field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, the Statesmen fielded the ball at the 4, but the return man's momentum carried him out of bounds for no gain. Three plays later, Conlan was sacked in the end zone for a safety, making it a 14-5 game.
Hobart had the final scoring chance of the first half. The Statesmen lined up to attempt a 39-yard field goal with a stiff crosswind but missed wide left as time expired.
Hobart got the ball first to start the second half. Conlan was at his best on the scoring march, completing seven of nine passes, including a 9-yard toss to Fasano, who did a nice job of getting his feet down inbounds on the play. The key play of the drive was a 26-yard completion on fourth and 9 that moved the Statesmen into the red zone. The drive covered 77 yards in 15 plays and ran 7:06 off the clock.
That proved to be the only scoring drive of the third quarter, as Hobart carried a 21-5 lead into the fourth quarter.
Frenette capped off a 10-play, 75-yard drive to start the fourth quarter, with a 2-yard scoring run to make it 21-11. Endicott lined up to go for a 2-point conversion, but the formation prompted Hobart to call a timeout. The Gulls again lined up for a 2-point try, but this time took a 5-yard delay of game penalty. When Endicott finally got the play off, sophomore free safety Matt Cragg broke up the pass, preserving the Statesmen's 10-point lead.
Hobart answered with an 11-play, 70-yard march that ended with Furtado's 1-yard scoring dive. Sean Kirshe's fourth PAT of the day gave the Statesmen a 28-11 lead.
Endicott took to the air on 11 straight plays with its next drive, scoring on Frenette's pass to Pelletier with just 61 seconds remaining. The Gulls attempted an on-side kick, but the ball went out of bounds and Hobart ran out the clock.
The win was the Statesmen's 22nd consecutive regular season win.
Hobart will be back in New England next Saturday when they visit the Curry Colonels at 1 p.m. on Sept. 20.