Sophomore running back E.J. Taylor rushed for a Hobart NCAA playoff record 194 yards and three touchdowns, but sixth-ranked Susquehanna outlasted the Statesmen 42-35 in the second round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship this afternoon. Taylor scored on runs of 74, 1 and 82 yards for his second consecutive three touchdown game.
Hobart outgained Susquehanna 438-379, but the River Hawks dominated time of possession, 40:01-29:59, and ran 29 more plays than the Statesmen.
SU jumped out to a 21-0 lead with touchdowns on its first three drives. On the game's opening possession, the River Hawks marched 69 yards in 10 plays, using 6:05 off the clock before Josh Ehrlich threw a 4-yard TD for the early lead. Hobart attempted a 50-yard field goal on its first possession, but on a day with a blustery, swirling wind, the kick sailed wide right. Susquehanna answered with an 11-play, 67-yard drive that used 6:01 and ended with a 18-yard TD run by Rahshan La Mons. The home team's third score was set up by the only turnover of the game. On a pass into the wind, senior quarter Johnny Colombi was intercepted at his own 16 by Dominic Winn. Two plays later, Ehrlich threw his second touchdown, this one from 20 yards out.
Taylor got the Statesmen offense in gear on their ensuing possession. His linemen gave him a hole through the left side and he burst into the secondary, outrunning the defense. The 77-yard touchdown run was the longest rush by a Statesman since 2019 and the longest in Hobart's NCAA playoff history. Taylor, who had just 12 carries in the game, averaged a Hobart game record 16.2 yards per rush (min. 10 carries). He finished the season with 1,196 yards, ninth on Hobart's single season list.
After Ehrlich engineered another 10-play touchdown drive that ended with him scoring on a 1-yard plunge, Susquehanna took a 28-7 lead into halftime.
NOT WITHOUT A FIGHT
Sandwiched around another SU scoring drive, Hobart reached the end zone on its first two possessions of the second half to pull within 14 points with a quarter remaining. Taylor capped off a five-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard dive into the end zone. Colombi connected with junior Ahmad Crowell (29 yds) and sophomore Marcus Peterson (34 yds) for the big plays on the drive. The Statesmen's next scoring drive used eight plays to go 61 yards with Colombi covering the final 12 with his feet. Taylor started the drive with a 14-yard run and Crowell contributed a crucial 21-yard reception on fourth down and 6. Senior Tobias Wefering's extra point made the score 35-21. It was Wefering's 209th career point, breaking the Hobart record for a kicker formerly held by Kyle Hackett '21 (208).
Ehrlich tossed his third TD pass of the game midway through the final frame to give the home team what proved to be an important cushion. Less than a minute later, Taylor broke free for an 82-yard touchdown, the ninth longest run from scrimmage in Hobart history and the longest run by a Statesman since 2013 (Conner Hartigan, 86 yards vs. Utica).
The defense got a stop, forcing a turnover on downs at the Hobart 28, giving the Statesmen offense another shot with 4:47 remaining. After an incompletion on first down, Colombi (14-27-1, 239, TD) strung together three straight completions to Crowell (30 yds), Peterson (17 yds) and senior tight end Luke Hescock (25 yds, TD). Crowell caught four passes for a game-high 90 yards.
The Statesmen attempted an onside kick with 3:16 remaining, but SU recovered and converted a pair of first downs to run out the clock.
FOR THE RECORD
- Hobart finishes the season with a 9-2 overall record.
- Susquehanna improves to 10-1 and will travel to No. 4 St. John's for a third round contest on Dec. 7.
TOP TACKLERS
- Hobart had four players finish with double digit tackles in the game.
- Senior linebacker Jaimen Bliss posted a game-high 14 stops.
- Senior linebacker Cashon Young made 13 tackles.
- Senior linebacker Anthony Romano logged 12 tackles.
- Junior linebacker Mike McGhee recorded 10 stops.
GAME NOTES
- Romano and Bliss finished their careers in Hobart's top 10 in career tackles. Romano raised his total to 277 to finish fourth, just two stops behind No. 3 Aaron Backhaus, while Bliss logged 266 career stops, eighth on the list.
- Wefering finished his career with 211 points (109 PATs, 34 FG) to rank sixth all-time.
- Colombi finished his career with 294 completions (6th), 3,991 passing yards (6th), and 28 touchdowns (8th).
- Crowell finished the year with 702 receiving yards, 13th on Hobart's single season list. He went over 1,000 career receiving yards during the game (1,017), becoming the 21st Statesman to reach that milestone.
- First-year wide receiver Johnny Harding made two catches for 28 yards, finishing the season with 43 receptions (21st on Hobart's season list) for 584 yards.
- 35: It's the second most points scored in an NCAA playoff game by the Statesmen. (38 vs. Washington & Lee in 2012 first round)
- 42: It's the third most points allowed by Hobart in a NCAA playoff game. (47 at St. Thomas in 2014 quarterfinals; 45 at Rowan in 2004 second round)
- 77: It's the most combined points in a Hobart NCAA playoff game.