TROY, N.Y. - Hobart College broke off four long scoring plays, including two touchdown runs from junior Christopher Holoman, and the No. 8 Statesmen defeated the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) football team, 35-3, in a Liberty League contest at East Campus Stadium. Hobart, which is ranked eighth in both the AFCA Coaches Poll and D3football.com Poll, improves to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the league. The Engineers are 4-4 and 2-3.
The Statesmen got on the board first when Holoman (Ashburn, VA / Tascarora), a fullback lined up as a tailback, ran around the left end and down the sideline for a 33-yard touchdown with 5:13 to play in the opening quarter. The extra point was missed and the visitors held a 6-0 lead after the first frame. They doubled their lead at 9:59 of the second quarter when senior fullback Dominque Ellis (St. Petersburg, FL / Northeast) pushed his way into the end zone from three yards out for a 12-0 advantage. The extra point on the touchdown, the seventh of the season for Ellis, was wide right.
The Engineers attempted to capitalize on a pair of first half interceptions, including the fifth of the season by junior cornerback Philip Lanieir III (Miller Place, NY / Earl L. Vandermeulen), but were unable to score on either of those two possessions. RPI did get on the scoreboard as time expired in the half when senior kicker Andrew Franks (Carmel, CA / Carmel) made a school record 54 yard field goal to cut the deficit to 12-3.
Hobart finished the first half with a 197-72 advantage in total offense, including 127-50 on the ground. The Statesmen had four sacks in the first 30 minutes.
The visitors defense came up big to start the second half when sophomore cornerback Todd Collier (Lynn, MA / New Hampton School) intercepted a pass at the 31 yard line and returned it down the left sideline for a touchdown on the first series of the third quarter. Junior running back Conner Hartigan (Albany, NY / Albany Academy) scampered 21 yards for a touchdown seven minutes later and Holoman went 55 yards up the middle with 55 seconds left in the quarter for the third touchdown of the frame for the Statesmen. Will McCool (Glenside, PA / Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) added the extra point on each for a 33-3 lead.
Hobart made it a 35-3 advantage when senior Nolan Toran (Pittsburgh, PA / Gateway) blocked a punt that rolled 50 yards and out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
The Statesmen defense held the Engineers to 218 yards on 70 plays, including six sacks for 48 yards. Junior linebacker Jacob Stanley (Palm Beach Gardens, FL / Palm Beach Gardens) had a team-high nine tackles (5 solos), including a two yard sack. Toran had six stops, including five unassisted and a one yard sack, while Marcus Jemison (Nyack, NY / Saint Joseph) had three sacks for a loss of three yards among his six tackles (4 solos).
The Engineers managed 154 rushing yards and 64 passing yards, while Hobart had 379 yards of offense, including 295 on the ground.
Holoman finished with 91 rushing yards on only three carries, while Hartigan ran 15 times for 83 yards. Senior quarterback was Patrick Conlan (Sewickley, PA / Quaker Valley) completed 8 of 16 passes for 84 yards with two interceptions. Six of his completions went to senior Elvin Souffrant (Randolph, MA / Archbishop Williams), who had 61 receiving yards.
RPI junior running back Nick Schlatz (Bridgewater, MA / Bridgewater-Raynham) led all rushers with 93 yards on 18 carries, while freshman Matthew Gilman (St. Louis, MO / Principia Upper School) had 69 yards on eight carries. The backup quarterback also completed a pass for nine yards. Starting quarterback Tommy Morgan (Haverhill, MA / Haverhill) completed 6 of 18 passes for 55 yards and an interception.
The Engineers are idle next week, returning to action on November 8 at Springfield College. The Statemen are home against Union College for a Liberty League contest next Saturday.