Box Score Box Score

TROY, N.Y.—Hobart had to have two things happen today to keep its hope for a Liberty League Championship alive, Rochester had to beat conference front runner St. Lawrence and the Statesmen had to top Rensselaer on its home field.

The Yellowjackets obliged with a 34-14 victory over the Saints, but the Engineers weren't so accommodating.

Hobart's Steven Webb scored his League leading 13th touchdown of the season on a 2-yard run to tie the game 21-all with 1:20 remaining, only to have the Engineers boot a 34-yard field goal as time expired. Senior Peter Nilson's three-pointer lifted the RPI to a 24-21 victory at East Campus Stadium.

Engineers' quarterback Mike Hermann directed the game-winning drive from the RPI 41-yard line to the Hobart 16 to set up Nilson. The key plays of the drive included 23-yard and 11-yard completions to sophomore Austin Caswell. RPI then ran the ball to the middle of the field to set up the field goal.

Hermann, who was briefly knocked out of the game due to injury, finished the contest 20-of-30 for 181 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 18 yards and caught a 42-yard touchdown pass. Senior Pat McCarthy was the top receiver with six catches for 77 yards.

Defensively for the Engineers, junior linebacker Ray Pasco enjoyed a career day with nine tackles, including five solos and 3.0 key sacks. He also intercepted a pass. Senior Colin King had a game-high 10 tackles (5 solos) for RPI.

For the Statesmen, first-year strong safety Devin Worthington had eight tackles, including two for a loss (1.5 sacks). He also a blocked a second quarter field goal try. Junior Drake Woodard added seven tackles (4 solos) for Hobart, who limited the Engineers to just 79 yards rushing.

Offensively, junior quarterback Doug Vella completed 15 of 29 passes for 238 yards. He was intercepted twice and sacked four times. Vella also had two 1-yard rushing TDs. First-year running back Steven Webb led the ground attack with 83 yards, including 54 on the visitors' first drive of the game. Junior wide receiver Garth Muratori had a game-high 90 yards receiving on four catches.

Hobart jumped out to a 7-0 lead on its first drive, taking advantage of the running game to march 60 yards in eight plays in 3:42. Seven of the Statesmen's eight plays were on the ground, highlighted by runs of 19, 17 and 16 yards from Webb. Vella finished the series with a 1-yard plunge with 8:45 left in the first quarter.

The Engineers tied the game at 9:37 of the second quarter when senior wide receiver Ray Davis took a lateral and heaved a pass across the field to Hermann, who caught the ball running down the left side and scored. The drive was set up by Pasco's interception, his fourth of the season. RPI increased its advantage to 14-7 with just 22 seconds left in the half when Hermann found Bryan Carmody in the back of the end zone to culminate a 13-play, 71-yard drive that ate up 4:42.

Rensselaer increased its lead to two touchdowns at 12:33 of the third quarter when sophomore defensive back Dustin Schuld recovered a muffed punt in the end zone. Hobart attempted a fair catch at the 20-yard line but couldn't handle the ball, which bounded into the end zone after several players tried to pick it up. Schuld fell on it and the Engineers led, 21-7.

The Statesmen halved their deficit when Vella capped a 9-play, 50-yard drive with 4:30 left in the third quarter with a 1-yard run. He set up the score with the help of a 20-yard completion to Muratori on a third-and-20 play that brought the ball to the RPI 3.

After both teams traded punts on several occasions in the fourth quarter, Webb scored on a 2-yard run on a drive that started on the Hobart 49-yard line. Vella completed two passes (12 & 24 yards) to sophomore Junior Woodard and Webb rushed for 15 yards in the series. The extra point by first-year kicker Reyes Guevara.

Hobart will close out the regular season at home against Rochester on Saturday, Nov. 13. The battle for the Centennial Cup will kick off at noon on Boswell Field.

The RPI Sports Information Office contributed to this story.