Box Score GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College football team upset 22nd-ranked Carnegie Mellon University, 27-26, on Boswell Field this afternoon. The Tartans had a chance to take the lead with 1:32 remaining, but opted for a two-point conversion that failed.
The Statesmen (1-1) compiled 381 yards of total offense, gaining 247 through the air and 151 on the ground. The Wing-T offense of CMU (2-1) gained 308 yards on the ground, but just 21 passing (2-of-9, 1 INT).
Hobart senior quarterback Andrew Strom (Novato/Novato, Calif.) threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for a team-high 35 yards. Senior wide receiver James Wright (Olean/Olean, N.Y.) was his top target, pulling in eight passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Junior wideout Ryan LiDrazzah (Kent School/San Diego, Calif.) caught six passes for 55 yards and a TD.
The one-dimensional Tartans got 170 yards rushing and a touchdown from senior running back Robert Gimson (The Benjamin School/Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and 105 yards and three touchdowns from senior fullback Travis Sivek (St. Francis/Traverse City, Mich.), but lost due to the lack of a passing game.
Hobart posted its first lead of the game with 4:47 remaining when Strom completed an 11-play 63-yard drive with a fade pass to the back corner of the end zone that LiDrazzah collected. Senior Dominick Ancona’s (Chaminade/Garden City, N.Y.) PAT put the Statesmen on top 27-20.
Ancona posted nine points for the second straight game, converting all three of his PATs and both field goal attempts.
Carnegie Mellon answered with an 11-play, 73-yard drive that ended with Sivek barreling in from 1 yard out. The Tartans called timeout to discuss a two-point conversion play and opted for a pass. Senior Colby Whitman (Cardinal Mooney/Sarasota, Fla.) bobbled the throw and didn’t gain possession until he was out of bounds. CMU attempted an onside kick, but Wright recovered for Hobart.
The Statesmen ran all but nine seconds off the game clock and iced the victory on sophomore free safety Dan Pembroke’s (Smithtown West/St. James, N.Y.) first career interception with no time remaining.
The defensive star of the game for Hobart was junior linebacker Justin Hager (Salamanca/Salamanca, N.Y.). He produced a team-high 19 tackles, the most by a Statesman since the start of the 1999 season. Senior cornerback James Alexander (St. John’s Prep/Beverly, Mass.) also reached double digits with 11 stops.
Senior cornerback Jon Scholl (Pittsburgh Central Catholic/Coraopolis, Pa.) paced the Tartans with a game-high 20 stops.
CMU got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 13-0 lead. At the 4:07 mark of the first quarter, Sivek ran in from 3 yards out and junior Colin Marks (Council Rock North/Washington Crossing, Pa.) booted the point after for a 7-0 lead.
The Tartans made it 13-0 with 5:35 left in the second quarter on a 1-yard dive by Sivek. Marks PAT was wide, a result that had big repercussions later in the afternoon.
The second score lit a fire under the Hobart offense. The Statesmen answered with a six-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a 7-yard pass from Strom to Wright. Strom accounted for a pair of 20-yard gains on the drive, one with his feet and one with his arm.
The Hobart defense forced CMU to punt with 56 seconds remaining in the first half and Strom completed five straight passes to set up Ancona’s 40-yard field goal as time expired.
Ancona tied the game 20-all with the only points of the third quarter, a 29-yard field goal with 1:45 left in the frame.
The team’s traded touchdowns to start the fourth quarter, CMU on a 14-yard run by Gimson and Hobart on a 13-yard twisting reception by Wright, to set up the drama of the final minutes.
The Statesmen open their Liberty League schedule on Sept. 22, when Rensselaer (2-0) visits Boswell Field. The game will be televised on a tape-delay basis by Time Warner Sports Network and will air live on the Internet at ECAC.tv. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
