GENEVA, N.Y.—It wasn't the best performance of the year, but the No. 8 Hobart College football team wrapped up its third consecutive undefeated regular season with a 28-23 win over the University of Rochester in the annual Centennial Cup game at Boswell Field today.
 
The Statesmen (10-0, 7-0) played an efficient first half, building a 21-0 lead by the intermission. On Senior Day, Hobart senior quarterback Patrick Conlan connected with classmate Elvin Souffrant on a 9-yard scoring pass with 1:58 left in the opening quarter for a 7-0 lead. The Statesmen twice converted on fourth down plays during the nine-play, 42-yard drive.
 
Hobart returned to the end zone with 7:04 left in the second quarter, when senior fullback Dominique Ellis punched it in from 1 yard out for a 14-0 lead. His team-leading ninth touchdown of the year capped a 7-play, 55-yard march.
 
The Statesmen defense, aided by a sack by senior defensive end Tyre Coleman, forced a Rochester punt, giving the offense the ball back with 2:43 left in the half. On first and 10 from the UR 21, junior running back Conner Hartigan appeared to be stopped after a short gain, but bounced a swarm Yellowjackets and broke free for the touchdown.
 
Hobart outgained Rochester 185-101 in the first 30 minutes, while the Yellowjackets (5-4, 3-4) hurt themselves with seven penalties for 64 yards. UR, which came into the game as the least penalized team in the Liberty League, was flagged a season-high nine times for 98 yards on the day.
 
The teams traded punts to start the second half, but Rochester's pinned Hobart back at its own 7. The Statesmen fumbled into the end zone on first down when Conlan fell on the loose ball for a Rochester safety. On the ensuing possession, the Yellowjackets marched 51 yards in 13 plays, scoring on a 3-yard pass from first-year quarterback Daniel Bronson to junior wideout Farid Adenuga to make it a 21-9 game with 5:26 left in the third.
 
Hobart tried to answer, moving to the UR 23, but on second and 9, Conlan was sacked for the first time in five games for a loss of 8 yards. Back-to-back incompletions gave the Yellowjackets the ball back at their own 31. Rochester upped its scoring run to 16 straight with a nine-play, 69-yard drive that ended on a 10-yard throw from Bronson to junior wideout Derek Wager at the 13:20 mark of the fourth quarter, closing the gap to 21-16. Wager made a game-high seven catches for 75 yards.
 
Staggered by the blows, Hobart regained its footing and punched back with a quick scoring drive. Conlan hit Souffrant for 16 yards on the first play and then, out of the wildcat formation, Hartigan broke free for a 55-yard TD run and a 28-16 lead. He finished with a game-high 114 yards rushing on 13 carries (8.8 yds/rush).
 
Conlan was 13-of-25 passing for 157 yards. Souffrant finished the day with four catches for a game-high 79 yards.
 
Rochester made the Hobart fans hold their breath to very end. The Yellowjackets turned a late interception by senior free safety Kevin Brooks into the day's final scoring drive. A 52-yard run by first-year Matthew Eichorn set up Bronson's third TD pass, a 3-yard toss to Adenuga, who finished with five catches for 61 yards.
 
The Yellowjackets attempted an on-side kick with 90 seconds remaining, but senior Troy Robinson recovered the kick at the UR 49 and the Statesmen ran out the clock with three straight kneel downs.
 
Hobart ended the day with a 331-317 advantage in total offense. The Statesmen were minus one in turnovers, intercepting Bronson twice, but giving the ball away on a pair of fumble as well as the one interception.
 
Defensively, sophomore Michael Harper made his first start at linebacker, filling in for the injured Marcus Jemison, and produced a career-high 11 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, a sack and an interception. Junior linebackers Trayvon Toney and Jacob Stanley added nine tackles each.
 
Coleman finished with 2.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks, upping his career totals to 85.5 and 48, respectively. He moved passed Wesley's Bryan Robinson '08 into third place on the NCAA Division III career sacks list and moved within one tackle for loss of fifth place in NCAA history.
 
Rochester got a game-high 12 tackles and a sack from Isaiah Smith.
 
Hobart wrapped up its fourth consecutive Liberty League Championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs with last week's win at St. Lawrence. The NCAA Football Championship selection show will be webcast on NCAA.com at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 16.