GENEVA, N.Y.—The nationally ranked Hobart College football team produced a season-high 544 yards of offense in a 56-27 win over the University of Rochester that clinched a share of the Liberty League Championship and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.
The Statesmen, ranked No. 21 in the AFCA poll and No. 22 in the D3football.com poll, retained the Centennial Cup, topping the Yellowjackets for the sixth consecutive season. The 56 points are the second most scored by Hobart against Rochester in a series that dates back to 1892. In 2002, Hobart beat Rochester 59-21. The Statesmen now lead the all-time series 54-48-7.
Hobart (9-1, 6-1) rushed for a season-high 288 yards, the most rushing yards by the Statesmen since gaining 288 at RPI on Oct. 25, 2014. Sophomore Tynard Barfield led the ground game with a career-high 123 yards on 11 carries (11.2 yds/att). He scored a pair of touchdowns, including a 47-yarder late in the third quarter. Barfield is the first Statesman to rush for 100 yards in nearly two years (Conner Hartigan 114, vs. Rochester, Nov. 15, 2014).
Junior quarterback Shane Sweeney threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Brandon Shed pulled in five passes for a game-high 132 yards and two touchdowns.
Hobart's inside linebackers junior Almamy Conde and first-year Jedh Downeyshared team-high honors with six tackles apiece. Conde was also credited with two tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. Senior linebacker Marcus Jemison had three stops, an interception, and a 26-yard fumble return.
Rochester (1-8, 0-7) was held to a season-low 41 yards rushing, but the quarterback tandem of sophomores Josh Brown and Matt Gallagher threw for 289 yards. Brown was 15-of-22 for 136 yards and two TDs while Gallagher was 10-of-19 for 153 yards and a TD. Sophomore wide receiver Shawn Silleman caught a game-high six passes for 62 yards.
Hobart ran the ball on all seven plays of the game's opening drive, with senior Bradley Burns scoring on a 13-yard run three minutes into the game. The extra point was wide right, leaving the Statesmen a 6-0 lead.
After Hobart's defense forced a three-and-out, the offense went right back to work. The eight-play, 52-yard drive ended with a 10-yard pass from Sweeney to Shed. It was Sweeney's 31st touchdown pass of the season, breaking the Hobart record of 30 set by Shawn Mizro '07 in 2004. Hobart wasn't able to get the snap down on the point after try and had to settle for a 12-0 lead.
Jemison ended Rochester's next drive with his first career interception at the Hobart 41. Six plays later, Barfield reached the end zone on a 5-yard run. The big play of the drive was a 33-yard Sweeney to Shed completion. Senior Sean Kirshekicked the first of his six PATs on the day. He has made 120 career extra points, three behind Eric Ampuja's record.
Rochester got on the board early in the second quarter, when Brown completed a 14-yard pass to senior wide receiver Luke Szumski, capping an 11-play 55-yard drive.
Neither team did anything with its next two possessions. Rochester's second turnover of the game, a strip sack by junior defensive tackle Zackary Robak, was recovered by Jemison, at the Rochester 45 and advanced to the 19 before he stepped out of bounds. Three plays later, senior fullback Sean Bright scored on a 2-yard run.
The Hobart defense forced Rochester to punt twice more in the half and each time, the Statesmen answered with a touchdown. Sweeney completed a 5-yard TD pass to Pfohl with 1:38 left in the half to make it a 33-7 game and then threw a 41-yard strike to Shed for a 40-7 lead with 53 seconds remaining. It was Shed's 27th career touchdown reception, breaking Dan Suozzi's record of 26.
Rochester scored touchdowns on its first three possessions of the second half to narrow its deficit to 40-27. Senior wide receiver Kyle Allegrini scored on pass plays that covered 7 and 19 yards to start and end the run. Senior running back Nick Perpignan reached the end zone on an 8-yard run in between.
The Statesmen went back up by 20 when Barfield broke free for his 47-yard TD run late in the third quarter. Hobart slammed the door on any comeback hopes the Yellowjackets may have been harboring when junior running back Joe Letiziascored on a 1-yard run midway through the fourth quarter. His TD capped a 16-play, 70-yard drive that ran nine minutes off the game clock.
First-year defensive end Adrian Condell's safety with about four minutes remaining closed out the day's scoring.
Rochester senior linebacker Kevin LeBlanc produced a game-high 10 tackles.
The 32-team NCAA Division III Football Championship bracket will be revealed on Sunday, Nov. 13, during a webcast on NCAA.com. Hobart will be making its 10th NCAA playoff appearance.
#21/22 Hobart clinches NCAA playoff berth
/seasons/2016/boxscores/20161112_262l.xml
2016
Rochester
27
Hobart
56
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester (1-8) | 0 | 7 | 20 | 0 | 27 |
| No. 19 Hobart (9-1) | 19 | 21 | 7 | 9 | 56 |
Nov 12, 2016