GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College football team rushed for 368 yards and seven touchdowns on the way to a 56-30 victory over Shenandoah University on Homecoming and Family Weekend. The Statesmen ground game dominated the second half, running for 310 yards.
 
Senior running back Joe Letizia ran for a career-high 162 yards and two touchdowns for Hobart (2-1). First-year Dakota Harvey added 131 yards on the ground, scoring three TDs. Sophomore Brian Haeffner chipped in 77 yards rushing and a TD. Senior quarterback Shane Sweeney passed for 149 yards and a touchdown and scored TD of his own on a 9-yard run.
 
Overall, the Statesmen produced a season-high 517 yards of offense.
 
The Hornets (2-1) led 23-21 at halftime behind the passing of junior Hayden Bauserman. He was 23-of-33 for 255 yards and a touchdown in the first half. However, Hobart's defensive adjustments limited the visitors to just 48 yards passing in the second half and a mere 70 yards total.
 
SU had the ball to start the game and needed just three plays to reach the end zone. Junior Jalen Hudson put the Hornets on the board with a 71-yard TD just 50 seconds into the game. Shenandoah's two-point try was no good.
 
Hobart answered with a nine-play, 90-yard drive that ended with Sweeney's scramble. First-year Kyle Hackett kicked the extra point for a 7-6 lead. Hackett was a perfect 8-for-8 on PATs tonight, tying the Hobart game record for makes.
 
The defense got the ball back for the Statesmen when a Bauserman pass was batted up in the air and junior defensive tackle Sean Moore made a diving catch for his first career interception. Harvey carried the ball on all three plays, scoring his first TD of the night on a 1-yard dive for a 14-6 lead.
 
After Shenandoah was forced to punt on its ensuing drive, Hobart threatened to make the game a first half blowout. Letizia's 3-yard touchdown run capped a 10-play, 86-yard drive that put the home team in front 21-6 after 15 minutes of play.
 
The second quarter was all Shenandoah as senior Michael Ashwell and Hudson sandwiched TD receptions around a 26-yard field goal by senior Jacob Newton. For the night, Ashwell caught a game-high 14 passes for 125 yards and Hudson finished with six catches for 108 yards and two TDs.
 
Hobart got the ball to start the second half and handed it to Harvey on the first five plays. The 6-foot-1, 225-pounder gained 47 yards on those plays. Letizia gave the first-year a break by gaining a total of 10 yards on a pair of carries. Two plays later, Sweeney's play action pass found Jake Catalioto wide open in the end zone for a 20-yard score to reclaim the lead for good. Catalioto had two receptions for 44 yards on the night.
 
On its first possession of the second half, Shenandoah was forced to punt for just the second time in the game. The thunder and lightning duo of Harvey (22) and Letizia (18) again combined for big yardage on a TD drive, with Harvey scoring on a 1-yard plunge.
 
Shenandoah made things interesting as the game headed to the fourth quarter, answering with a nine-play, 50-yard drive that was set up by a 43-yard kickoff return by first-year Jake Wallace and ended with a 1-yard pass from Bauserman to senior Dershone Hayman. Hobart led 35-30 with 15 minutes remaining.
 
The Statesmen iced the game by scoring on all three of their fourth quarter possessions while forcing the visitors to punt twice and turn the ball over on downs once. Harvey made it a 42-30 game less than two minutes into the final frame, scoring his third TD from 14-yards out. It's the first time a Statesman has run for three touchdowns in a game since Dominique Ellis has three against Springfield in 2014.
 
Hobart's next drive was just three plays long. Letizia ran for 61 yards on the first play and after taking a break on second down, returned to the end zone with the final 20 yards and a 49-30 lead.
 
The Statesmen capped the day's scoring with a 13-play, 70-yard march that drained 7:11 off the game clock. Haeffner hit paydirt from 3-yards out.
 
Hobart senior wide receiver Brandon Shed had two receptions for 41 yards, extending his streak of games with at least one reception to 24, tied for the fourth longest streak in Hobart history.
 
On defense, sophomore linebacker Jedh Downey made a game-high 15 tackles, while senior linebacker Almamy Conde contributed nine stops.
 
Sophomore linebacker Tyler Williams led SU with 13 tackles. Sophomore defensive end Jordan Heisen had six stops, including 1.5 sacks.
 
Hobart will complete its season-opening, four-game homestand on Saturday, Sept. 23 when the Statesmen host Endicott. Kickoff at Boswell Field is scheduled for noon.