UTICA, N.Y.—The Hobart football team saw its ill-fated comeback attempt fall just short, dropping a 36-29 decision at Utica this afternoon. The Statesmen, who were shut out in the first half, scored 22 points in the fourth quarter and twice got within a touchdown, but couldn't catch the Pioneers.
Utica produced 397 yards of offense, including 319 through the air. Hobart put up 376 yards of offense, rushing for 115 yards and passing for 261.
Hobart senior running back
E.J. Taylor produced 200 all purpose yards on the day. He rushed 16 times for 101 yards and a touchdown, caught five passes for 99 yards and a TD, and converted a two-point rush. Sophomore quarterback
Aidan Conrath completed 17-of-30 passes for a career-high 261 yards and a career-high three touchdowns without an interception. Senior tight end
Timothy McKeever caught a career-high five passes for a career-high 85 yards and his first two collegiate touchdowns. Senior cornerback
Zeshan Dixon recorded 10 tackles, one sack and forced a fumble.
First quarter
- Utica moved into the red zone on its opening drive, but Dixon sacked Tyler Szalkowski for a 15-yard loss and the Pioneers ended up turning it over on downs at the Hobart 27.
- On Hobart's first drive, Conrath found McKeever for 24 yards to move Hobart across midfield, but the Pioneers stopped Taylor on fourth-and-1 at the Utica 40.
- The Pioneers put together an 11-play, 60-yard drive and scored on Matthew Pallouras' 2-yard run with 21 seconds left; the extra-point attempt was blocked to keep it 6-0.
Second quarter
- After Hobart's opening series of the quarter ended with a punt, Utica drove 70 yards and Tyler Szalkowski found Gabriel Zawolo for a 20-yard touchdown at 9:05; Nico Duarte's extra point made it 13-0.
- Hobart moved into Utica territory on Conrath completions to McKeever and Luke Hansen and a 19-yard Tristan Reynolds run, but Owen McNulty's 44-yard field goal attempt was no good at 4:40.
- The Pioneers answered with a 59-yard drive, and after Isa Abdus-Salaam broke up a third-down pass at the Hobart 14, Duarte made a 31-yard field goal to push the score to 16-0 with 1:08 left.
- On Hobart's next snap, the Statesmen fumbled and Jack Lamphere recovered and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown; the extra point sent the home team into halftime with a 23-0 lead.
Third quarter
- Reynolds returned the opening kickoff 37 yards, and Hobart struck three plays later when Taylor broke four tackles on his way to a 47-yard touchdown run. McNulty's PAT made it 23-7 at 12:52.
- Utica answered with a 13-play, 85-yard drive, converting fourth-and-7 before Tyler Szalkowski found Gabriel Zawolo for a 3-yard touchdown at 7:28. Junior Trey Dillabough blocked the extra-point attempt.
- Hobart held the ball for the rest of the quarter, converting fourth-and-1 on a Reynolds run and fourth-and-1 again on Conrath's 5-yard completion to senior wide receiver Marcus Peterson before the drive reached the Utica 27 at the end of the quarter.
Fourth quarter
- Hobart opened the quarter by converting fourth-and-10 on Conrath's 11-yard pass to junior wide receiver Jordan Nolan, then scored on Conrath's 10-yard touchdown pass to McKeever. Taylor's two-point rush made it a 14-point game, 29-15.
- Dillabough sacked Tyler Szalkowski and Hunter Vos recovered the fumble at the Utica 32, setting up a two-play drive that ended with Conrath's 27-yard touchdown pass to McKeever at 10:10 to cut the margin to 29-22.
- Utica answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive, finishing when Matthew Pallouras fumbled near the goal line and Logan Hewitt recovered in the end zone for a touchdown with 3:20 left.
- Conrath connected with Taylor for a 69-yard touchdown on fourth-and-8 to bring Hobart within 36-29 at 2:04, but the Pioneers forced a turnover on downs on Hobart's final possession and held on for the win.
Game Notes:
- Taylor produced his 16th career 100-yard rushing game.
- For the second game in a row, Dixon led Hobart in tackles, finishing with 10 against the Pioneers.
Hobart is 2-1 overall. Utica is 3-0 overall.
Up next, the Statesmen will open Liberty League play when they travel to Troy, New York, to face Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1-2) on Saturday, Sept. 26, at noon. The Engineers suffered a 45-10 loss at Brockport today.
