Box Score CARLISLE, Pa.--The Hobart football team lost its 2007 season opener in heartbreaking fashion, falling to Dickinson 30-27 in overtime. The Statesmen were 4-0 all-time in overtime games before this afternoon.
Hobart dominated the game statistics, outgaining its host 444-278, recording 26 first downs to 13, and controlling the clock 37:57-22:03. The one statistic that came back to haunt the Statesmen was turnovers.
Hobart was minus two, losing a pair of crucial fumbles that led to Red Devil touchdowns.
The Statesmen grabbed the early lead when senior quarterback Andrew Strom (Novato/Novato, Calif.) drove his team down the field on the opening drive. Hobart covered 74 yards in 10 plays, capped by a 10-yard scoring run by Strom.
Making his first start for the Statesmen, Strom completed 22 of 26 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 34 yards and a TD. Junior quarterback Rich Doyle (Blair Academy/Staten Island, N.Y.) also played, completing 5 of 9 for 63 yards. Together, the connected with nine different receivers, led by junior wideout Ryan LiDrazzah's (Kent School/San Diego, Calif.) six catches for 44 yards and a touchdown.
After the defense forced a punt, the first lost fumble set the Red Devils up at the Hobart 13. Three plays later, the score was tied, 7-7.
Dickinson grabbed the lead with 2:38 remaining in the first quarter on a four-play, 87-yard drive. Quarterback Ian Mitchell's 74-yard run set up a 12-yard TD. The extra-point was blocked leaving the Red Devils a 13-7 edge.
The second quarter belonged to Hobart as first-year Andrew Marlier (Lake Forest/Lake Forest, Ill.) scored on a 1-yard touchdown run and Strom hit LiDrazzah for a 28-yard strike. All three of senior Dominick Ancona's (Chaminade/Garden City, N.Y.) PATs in the game found their mark sending the Statesmen into the locker room with a 21-13 lead.
Ancona accounted for the only points of the third quarter on a 41-yard field goal. It's the longest three-pointer by a Hobart player since Kevin Olson connected on a 47-yarder on Sept. 24, 2005.
Late in the fourth quarter, Dickinson ended its nearly 45-minute scoring drought on an 8-yard touchdown run by Tim Smith (85 yds, 2 TD). The two-point conversion was no good, leaving Hobart a 24-19 lead.
The Red Devils failed to recover the onside kick, leaving Hobart 3:36 to run off the game clock. The Statesmen appeared to have the victory in hand following a facemask penalty that gave Hobart a first down at the Dickinson 11 with under a minute remaining.
Unfortunately, defensive back Michael Dalton forced a fumble on the next play at the 15. Fellow defensive back Will Scott scooped up the loose ball and returned it 86 yards for the go ahead touchdown with 47 seconds remaining in regulation. The two-point conversion put the Devils up 27-24.
From their own 18 yard line, Strom and Doyle completed a pair of passes each, moving the Statesmen into scoring range with one second remaining. Doyle's 26-yard completion to sophomore Tyler Vincent (CW Baker/Baldwinsville, N.Y.) was the big play of the drive, getting Hobart to the Dickinson 19. Ancona's second career field goal attempt was true from 36 yards, forcing OT.
Hobart went first in overtime, but Ancona's 42-yard field goal attempt was wide. Dickinson also settled for a field goal try, but Matt Stark's offering from 37 yards out was good.
Defensively, Dickinson had five players record double digits in tackles, led by linebacker Eric Dube's 18 stops. Senior linebacker Jeff Sanders (Camden/Camden, N.Y.) paced the Statesmen with eight.
Hobart is back in action on Sept. 15, when the Statesmen host Carnegie Mellon at 1 p.m.
