ROCHESTER, N.Y.—It was a record-setting afternoon for the Hobart College football team as the Statesmen closed out the regular season with a 51-20 Liberty League win at the University of Rochester. The victory allowed Hobart to win the Centennial Cup, the annual prize for the winner of the Hobart-Rochester game, for the ninth straight season.
 
Junior kicker Kyle Hackett led the record-breaking charge. He finished the day with 15 points on three field goals and 6 extra points. It's the most points by kicking by a Statesman in a game, breaking the record of 13 he set last season against Morrisville State. Hackett also tied a pair of record, field goals in a game and field goals in a season. It's the 12th time a Hobart player has made three field goals in a game, the fifth time Hackett has done so. Hackett joins Shawn Fazio (in 1979) as the only Statesmen to make 11 field goals in a season.
 
First-year Rayshawn Boswell came into the game as the Liberty League leader in kickoff return average and continued his electrifying ways, breaking free for a 98-yard return for a touchdown in the third quarter. It's the longest kick return in Hobart history and just the second kick return for a touchdown by a Liberty League player this season—classmate Tim Denham Jr. had one last week. The previous Hobart standard was a 97-yard return by Dyshaun Washington against St. Lawrence in 2000.
 
Senior wide receiver Jake Catalioto caught six passes for a game-high 107 yards and a touchdown. He leads the Statesmen with 52 receptions this season. Catalioto led Hobart last season with 53 receptions. He's just the second receiver in Hobart history with two season with 50 or more catches, joining Dan Suozzi '05 (63 in 2003, 57 in 2004).
 
The game itself didn't produce much drama. Denham's 47-yard touchdown run less than two minutes into the game was the only scoring in the first quarter. Nine seconds into the second quarter, he reached the end zone for the second time, this time from 4 yards out for a 14-0 lead. He finished the day with a game-high 89 yards rushing on 11 carries.
 
Fourteen seconds later, junior linebacker Emmett Forde's 19-yard scoop and score on a Rochester fumble made it 21-0. It was one of three lost fumbles on the day for the Yellowjackets. Forde led the Hobart defense with seven tackles, all solo, including two for loss. He now has a league-leading 20 tackles for loss this year, fifth on Hobart's single season list.
 
Hackett kicked a pair of 19-yard field goals and Boswell scored on a 10-yard run to send Hobart (8-2, 4-2) into halftime with a 34-0 lead. Boswell rushed 12 times for 75 yards. As a team, Hobart gained 250 yards on the ground, averaging 6.9 yards per carry.
 
Just over two minutes into the second half, Catalioto reached the end zone on a 42-yard pass play from quarterback Ryan Hofmann for a 41-0 lead. The senior signal caller was 20-of-29 passes for 234 yards against Rochester.
 
The Yellowjackets (0-10, 0-6) broke up the shutout just over five minutes into the third quarter on a 24-yard pass from Derek Bufano to Aaron Whitley.  UR got its second TD just 20 seconds later. The defense intercepted Hobart backup quarterback David Krewson's first pass giving the home team possession at the Hobart 25. Bufano connected with Tyler Tanen for a TD on first down.
 
On the ensuing kickoff, Boswell fielded the ball deep in the right corner after an angled kick. He angled his return to the left sideline. Boswell's speed coupled with perfect blocking from his teammates sprung him for the longest return in Hobart's 126-season history.
 
Hackett capped Hobart's scoring with a 23-yard field goal just five seconds into the fourth quarter.
 
Bufano and Tanen hooked up for a second TD pass play with under five minutes left. The extra point was no good.
 
The 32-team NCAA Division III Football Championship field will be unveiled at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17. Twenty-seven teams are automatic qualifiers as conference champions. The remaining five spots go to at-large selections. It's rare that a two-loss team receives an at-large bid to the NCAA playoffs, but the Statesmen could receive an invitation to play in the New York Bowl, which features a team from the Liberty League against a team from the Empire 8.