GENEVA, N.Y.—Hobart College senior quarterback Shane Sweeney and a stout defense led the Statesmen to a 34-17 victory over Endicott College on Boswell Field this afternoon. Sweeney threw for 321 yards and four touchdowns, breaking a career record and matching another.
Sweeney was 22-of-32 passing, raising his career completions total to 472, eclipsing the old standard of 455 held by Shawn Mizro '07. Sweeney also pulled even with Mizro with career touchdown pass No. 61. Sweeney will head into next week's game with 5,965 career passing yards, 132 short of Mizro's record.
Sophomore wide receiver Ray Conley was Sweeney's top target today. He caught a game-high six passes for a game-high 82 yards and two touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Brandon Shed extended his games with a catch streak to 25, pulling in two passes, both touchdowns, for 24 yards.
Defensively, the Statesmen (3-1) only allowed one field goal through three quarters and came up with a pair of interceptions. Sophomore linebacker Jedh Downey led the charge with a game-high 12 tackles. Senior linebacker Almamy Conde added seven stops, half a sack and an interception. Senior defensive end Brandon Ball finished with six tackles, two pass breakups and a half sack. Senior defensive tackle Zackary Robak made six tackles and a sack and junior cornerback Sam Wheeler had four tackles and an interception.
Hobart scored the only touchdown of the first quarter on a 9-yard pass from Sweeney to Conley, capping a seven-play, 59-yard drive midway through the frame.
First-year Kyle Hackett extended the Statesmen lead with a 27-yard field goal early in the second quarter. On the fifth play of that drive, Sweeney completed a 13-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Jake Catalioto to break the completions record.
Endicott (1-3) broke up the shutout with its final possession of the first half. The Gulls moved into the red zone on a 19-yard scramble to the Hobart 9 by sophomore quarterback Joe Kalosky. Endicott got as close as the 5 before an offensive pass interference penalty moved them back to the 20. The drive ultimately stalled out and the visitors had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by sophomore John Glaser with 16 seconds remaining.
Hobart put points on the board with its first two possessions of the second half. Sweeney threw for 85 yards, including a 65-yard completion to sophomore wide receiver John DelliSanti. A 10-yard Sweeney-to-Shed pass finished off the drive for a 17-3 lead.
On its ensuing drive, Endicott opted to go for it on fourth down and three near midfield. Robak and Conde sacked Kalosky for a seven-yard loss to get the ball back for Hobart.
On their next possession, the Statesmen converted one short fourth down and appeared to get another later in the drive, but a holding penalty wiped out the conversion. Hobart settled for a 40-yard field goal by Hackett. It's the longest field goal by a Statesman since Sean Kirshe kicked a 42-yarder against Johns Hopkins in 2014.
The teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter with Endicott trimming its deficit to 10 twice, but each time Hobart countered restoring its 17-point advantage.
The Gulls put together a 14-play, 80-yard drive that spanned the third and fourth quarter and culminated in a 1-yard run into the end zone by sophomore fullback Hakim Fleming.
The Statesmen answered with a nine-play, 68-yard drive that ran 5:22 off the clock. Sweeney connected with Shed on a 14-yard fade route in the back of the end zone to make it 27-10.
Endicott used its longest play of the day to make it 27-17. Kalosky hit first-year wide receiver Will Genaway, who got behind the secondary for a 43-yard touchdown.
Hobart wrapped up the day's scoring with a four-play, 56-yard drive that ended with back-to-back touchdown passes by Sweeney. The first, a 36-yarder to Catalioto, was negated by an ineligible receiver down field. On the next play, Sweeney found Conley for a 41-yard touchdown with 2:22 remaining.
Kalosky was 22-of-39 for 269 yards and a touchdown. Genaway had five catches for 74 yards. First-year tight end Riley Shanley added five catches for 71 yards. The Endicott ground game was limited to just 55 yards on the day. Junior linebacker William Rivera had a team-high 11 tackles for the Gulls.
Hobart begins Liberty League play next week, making its first road trip of the season to Ithaca on Saturday, Sept. 30. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Statesmen double up Gulls
/seasons/2017/boxscores/20170923_ailz.xml
2017
Endicott
17
Hobart
34
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endicott (1-3) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
| Hobart (3-1) | 7 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 34 |
Sep 23, 2017