Football 11/5/2005 12:00:00 AM

Union now 9-0 after 28-18 home win over Hobart

Box Score

SCHENECTADY, NYJunior quarterback Anthony Marotti (River Edge, NJ/River Dell) passed for 319 yards and three touchdowns to lead #22 Union to a 28-18 victory over #12 Hobart at Frank Bailey Field Saturday afternoon.

The Dutchmen improved to 9-0 for the first time since they finished the 1993 regular season with a 9-0 record. Union improved to 6-0 in the Liberty League, while the Statesmen fell to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the league. Hobart entered the contest ranked #12 in the AFCA (coaches) poll, as well as #23 in the Football Gazette poll and #24 in the D3football.com poll. Union, ranked #17 in the Gazette poll, was #22 in the AFCA poll. Marotti was 19 for 34 with one interception for the game. Junior wide receiver Steve Angiletta (Plantsville, CT/Southington) had nine catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns, including an 82-yard score. Junior running back Tom Arcidiacono (Castleton, NY/Columbia) led the Dutchmen on the ground with 85 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.

Hobart junior quarterback Shawn Mizro (Newark, NY/Newark) was 31 for 46 for 428 yards for the Statesmen. Sophomore wide receiver James Wright (Olean, NY/Olean) had six catches for 133 yards and senior WR Colby Feane Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) had 101 yards on eight catches. Junior running back Doug Blakowski (Elma, NY/Iroquois Central) had 51 yards on 15 rushes for Hobart. The Statesmen had 498 yards on 79 plays for the day, while Union had 420 yards on 61 plays. Defensively, senior lineback Kevin Flike (Stillwater, NY/LaSalle) and sophomore linebacker Vito Pellerito (Pompano Beach, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas) led Union with 10 tackles each, while senior linebacker Jimmy Gradis (Greenlawn, NY/John Glenn) had eight tackles for the Statesmen.

Union provided the lone scoring in the first quarter, when Arcidiacono scored on a five-yard run 4:05 into the stanza. The touchdown capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive that took 2:17. The Dutchmen made it 14-0 when Marotti found Angiletta for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 8:40 left in the first half. The eight-play, 65-yard drive featured 42 yards passing from Marotti and consumed 3:40. On the next drive, Hobart got on the board as freshman kicker Kevin Olson (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) booted a 33-yard field goal with 2:51 remaining in the half to wrap up a 14-play, 51-yard drive in 5:42. Hobart pulled to within three points with 7:39 left in the third quarter. Blakowski ran in from three yards out to make it 14-10, and then Blakowski rushed for the two-point conversion. The Hobart drive was six plays, 54-yards nd took 1:59.

On Union's first drive of the fourth quarter, Marotti found Ryan Twitchell (Fayettesville, NY/Manlius) for a four yard touchdown catch 3:21 into the period. The score wrapped up a six-play, 80-yard drive in 2:11. But Hobart got right back to within three after the ensuing kickoff, as Mizro passed for 39 yards on an eight-play, 65-yard drive in 3:04. He found sophomore wide receiver Steve Sorhaindo (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown) with a 15-yard score and it was 21-18 Union. With 6:42 left in the fourth period, Hobart started a drive that reached a third-and-15 from the Union-47. But Mizro was sacked for a seven yard loss by junior DL Pat Mulrooney (Porspect, CT/Waterbury), and the Statesmen punted on the next play. Union took over from the Dutchmen 20 on the touchback. Two plays later (after a two-yard loss on a rush on first down), Marotti hit Angiletta on the right sideline for an 82-yard touchdown, the longest pass play of the year for the Dutchmen. The score came with just 2:35 left to play in the fourth quarter. This was Union's first win in the series since 2001, snapping a three-game Hobart winning streak.. It was Union's first home win over Hobart since the 2000 season.

Union will host Rensselaer next Saturday at 1 p.m. in the annual "Shoes Trophy" Game. The contest will be the 103^rd meeting in New York State's oldest college football rivalry, and Union can clinch the Liberty League Championship and the league's automatic NCAA Division III playoff berth with a victory. Rensselaer, 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the league, can tie for the league title with a win at Bailey Field and, with a variety of scenarios, could win the NCAA bid.automatic bid.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Tom Arcidiacono: RB; 6' 0"; Junior

#94 Pat Mulrooney: DL; 6' 2"; Junior

#5 Anthony Marotti: QB; 6' 1"; Junior

#23 Steve Angiletta: WR; 6' 0"; Junior

#43 Vito Pellerito: LB; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#52 Kevin Flike: LB; 6' 0"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#1 Tom Arcidiacono
: 6' 0"; Junior
: RB

#94 Pat Mulrooney
: 6' 2"; Junior
: DL

#5 Anthony Marotti
: 6' 1"; Junior
: QB

#23 Steve Angiletta
: 6' 0"; Junior
: WR

#43 Vito Pellerito
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: LB

#52 Kevin Flike
: 6' 0"; Senior
: LB