GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College football team rushed for a season-high 348 yards and forced four St. Lawrence University turnovers on the way to a 35-3 Liberty League win on Boswell Field at David J Urick Stadium this afternoon. The Statesmen improved to 6-2 overall, 2-2 in conference play, while the Saints slip to 3-5, 1-3.
 
The Statesmen averaged an impressive 8.1 yards per carry on the day. Senior running back Brian Haeffner led the ground game, picking up a season-high 146 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries (12.2 yds/rush). First-year Rayshawn Boswell added 93 yards on eight carries (11.3 yds/rush), including an 80-yard touchdown run late in the first half. Classmate Tim Denham Jr. chipped in 75 yards on nine carries (8.3 yds/rush).
 
The Statesmen, who had converted just 31 percent of their third down opportunities coming into the game, went 7-of-11 on third down against the Saints.
 
On the other side of the ball, the Hobart defense bedeviled the Saints in the opening 30 minutes. SLU lost a fumble inside the red zone on its first drive, was picked off on its next two, punted, missed a 27-yard field goal and was picked off again, before taking a knee to end the half, trailing 21-0.
 
The Saints had the ball to start the game and quickly moved into Hobart territory. On second-and-10 from the 39, sophomore quarterback Tyler Grochot completed a pass over the middle to junior wide receiver Anthony Ferraro, but junior corner back Jared Leake punched the ball out at the 5 and senior safety Andrew Koonz recovered it in the end zone for a touchback.
 
The Statesmen responded with an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that featured a mix of pass and run. Haeffner carried the ball into the end zone with a 6-yard carry off right tackle.
 
Koonz came up with his team-leading fourth interception of the year to end SLU's ensuing drive, but Hobart wasn't able to cash in, going three-and-out.
 
Grochot got the Saints moving again on their third drive of the day. St. Lawrence moved from its own 39 to the Hobart 20 before a pair of holding penalties backed them up to a third-and-30 situation. Senior corner back Jayson Prince picked off Grochot on the deep pass and returned it 39 yards to midfield.
 
The Saints' defense made sure the turnover wasn't costly, intercepting Hobart senior quarterback Ryan Hofmann two plays later. The next play from scrimmage was the last for Grochot, who was injured and did not return to the field. He was 8-of-15 passing for 128 yards and two interceptions. Junior quarterback Aaron Ruthman came on in relief, but the Saints had to punt after stalling out near midfield.
 
Hofmann was picked off again and Ruthman led the visitors back to the red zone. He was sacked by junior linebacker Emmett Forde on third down from the 9, so St. Lawrence had to settle for a 27-yard field goal try, which was wide right.
 
On the next play from scrimmage, Boswell took a handoff to the left side of the line and found nowhere to run. He reversed his field and broke free for an 80-yard touchdown. It is the longest run by a Statesman since Conner Hartigan broke off an 89-yard run against Utica on Sept. 21, 2013.
 
Koonz notched his league-leading fifth interception to kill SLU's next drive, giving the offense 87 seconds to go 89 yards. The Statesmen converted a pair of third downs and Hofmann hit junior wide receiver Mike Giacobbe for 43 yards to move into the red zone. Hofmann capped off the scoring drive with an 18-yard pass to senior wide receiver Jake Catalioto with 19.4 seconds to go. It was Catalioto's 12th career TD reception, moving him into a tie for 12th place on Hobart's all-time list.
 
In the third quarter, Haeffner kept the momentum moving in Hobart's favor by taking the first play from scrimmage 69-yards for a touchdown and a 28-0 lead. The defense forced another SLU punt and Hofmann engineered another scoring drive. This time Hobart marched 53-yards in 10 plays, scoring on a 5-yard pass from Hofmann to senior wide receiver Ray Conley. Conley had five catches for 52 yards and a TD. It was his 13th career TD reception, moving him into 11th place.
 
St. Lawrence responded with its only scoring drive of the game, getting a 33-yard field goal from senior William Manory. The big play of the drive was a 48-yard completion from Ruthman to junior wide receiver Andrew Murphy. Ruthman was 13-of-31 passing for 201 yards. He was sacked four times. Ferraro was the game's top receiver with six catches for 77 yards.
 
Hofmann threw for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Giacobbe had five catches for a game-high 88 yards. By converting all five of his PATs, junior kicker Kyle Hackett became the top scoring kicker in Hobart history. He now has 183 career points on 102 PATs and 27 field goals. The previous mark was 180 set by Eric Ampuja '05.
 
Junior linebacker Liam Murphy made a game-high 11 tackles for the Saints.
 
Senior linebacker David McCarthy made a team-high eight stops for Hobart. Koonz had two tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
 
The Statesmen will play their final regular season home game on Saturday, Nov. 9, when they welcome Buffalo State to Boswell Field for a 6 p.m. kickoff. St. Lawrence will return to Canton to host Rochester next Saturday, kicking off at 1 p.m.