SCHENECTADY, NY – Senior quarterback Andrew Strom (Novato, CA) threw for three touchdowns and 210 yards and the Hobart defense held Union to 89 yards rushing in a 30-20 Liberty League football victory at Frank Bailey Field Saturday. With the win, the Statesmen tied Union with 5-1 league records, and improved to 7-2 overall. The Dutchmen had a five game winning streak snapped and fell to 5-3 overall.
Junior running back Anthony Hobaica (Utica, NY) rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown for Hobart, while junior linebacker Justin Hager (Salamanca, NY) recorded 11 tackles and two for losses. Sophomore linebacker Ryan Robinson (Johnson City, NY) had eight tackles and two for losses. Junior tight end Matt Duliba (Forestville, NY) had six catches for 67 yards.
Union junior wide receiver
Charles Kaliades (Ridgewood, NJ) had six catches for 72 yards for the Dutchmen, while quarterback
Andrew Cattelier (Voorheesville, NY) was 12 for 21 with 111 yards and
Jared Gourrier (New Orleans, LA) was six for 11 with 46 yards. Defensively, Union linebacker
Mike Wess (Allendale, NJ) had 10 solo tackles, a pass deflection, a pass break up and a sack. The Statesmen had 326 total yards in offense while allowing 246 for the day.
Dominic Ancona (Garden City, NY) opened the scoring with a 33 yard field goal with 9:20 left in the first quarter, and it capped a 10 play, 35 yard drive that consumed 3:53. Union kicker
Zach Epley (Southampton, NY) tied it with a 25 yard field goal, his fourth of the year in four attempts, with 3:04 remaining in the first quarter. That ended a 12 play, 61 yard drive that took 6:10.
Ryan LiDrazzah (San Diego, CA) caught a 14 yard pass from Strom with 6:11 remaining in the second quarter to convert a 12 play, 80 yard drive in 5:13. The kick was blocked and it was 9-3 Hobart. Epley nailed a 20 yard field goal with 1:11 left in the second quarter to pull the Dutchmen within three at 9-6, wrapping up a six play, 15 yard drive in 2:07. But six plays and 65 yards later in just 44 seconds, Strom hit Tyler Vincent (Baldwinsville, NY) with a 25 yard touchdown with only 20 seconds remaining in the half for a 16-6 Hobart lead.
The Dutchmen kicked off to start the second half, and Hobart faced a fourth and six from its own 39 yard line. Ancona's punt was blocked by Union freshman
Mike Clarke (Glenridge, NJ) and
Pat Sheridan (Short Hill, NJ) recovered it and took it in 28 yards for the touchdown with 12:48 left, making it 16-13.
But Hobart scored on the next drive, a nine play, 61 yard drive, in 4:10. Strom hit James Wright (Olean, NY) for an eight yard touchdown pass and the lead was back to 10, at 23-13 Hobart. The Statesmen then recovered a Union fumble at the Hobart 39, and six plays and 61 yards later, Hobaica took off for 41 yards for a score with 5:35 left in the quarter for a 30-13 lead.
The Dutchmen pulled back to within 10 with 1:23 left in the third, but did not get any closer.
Zach Tillo (Lancaster, MA) rushed in from three yards out to conclude an eight play, 66 yard drive in 2:16. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter.
Union closes out the regular season next Saturday, November 10, when the Dutchmen host RPI in the annual "Shoes Trophy" game at 12 p.m. It will be the 105th meeting of the fifth oldest rivalry in NCAA Division III. Hobart travels to Rochester for the 100th meeting in that series next Saturday.
