GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College football team outlasted visiting Johns Hopkins University 24-21 in a battle of unbeaten, nationally ranked teams in the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship at Boswell Field today. Junior linebacker Jacob Stanley sealed the win with an interception at his own 2 with less than 10 seconds remaining.
Hobart, ranked No. 9 in the D3football.com poll and No. 7 in the AFCA poll, tied the school record for wins in a season with its 12 consecutive victory, matching the 2012 squad's mark. But unlike the Statesmen team of two years ago, this year's team has had to sweat out tight finishes in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Hobart took its only lead of the game with 12.4 seconds left last week against Ithaca and trailed for most of the fourth quarter against Johns Hopkins today.
Hobart jumped out to a 10-0 lead after 15 minutes. With a stiff south wind at his back, sophomore Sean Kirshe kicked a career-long 42-yard field to cap his team's first possession of the game, a drive that was set up by sophomore cornerback Todd Collier's interception of JHU senior quarterback Braden Anderson on the first play from scrimmage.
Hopkins (11-1) moved across midfield on its next drive, but was forced to punt after a 5-yard loss on a bad snap on 3-and-6 from the 41. The Statesmen added to their lead with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard TD run by sophomore running back Bradley Burns. Senior quarterback Patrick Conlan had two long completions on the drive, picking up a first down deep in his own end with a 19-yard pass to senior wideout Troy Robinson and hitting senior tight end Mike Berkowitz for 38 yards up the middle to move to the JHU 21.
The second quarter began as the first did with a Blue Jay turnover. On the second play of the period, senior cornerback Fajri Jackson forced and recovered a fumble near midfield. However, the Statesmen were unable to take advantage of the turnover and went three-and-out.
Hopkins, ranked No. 7 in the D3football.com poll and No. 6 in the AFCA ranking, got on the board with its next possession, moving 63 yards in six plays. On first and 10 from his own 48, Anderson connected with sophomore wideout Bradley Munday for 48 yards to the Hobart 4. Three plays later, sophomore running back Stuart Walters scored on a 5-yard run to cut Hobart's lead to 10-7.
After trading punts, Hobart's offense got back in gear with 50-yard scoring drive that was set up by special teams play. Facing fourth-and-6 from its own 47, JHU tried a fake punt, snapping the ball to sophomore punter Matt Auran, who took off running. He was stopped 3 yards short of the first down by Collier and junior linebacker Trayvon Toney. Seven plays later, senior running back Alex Furtado scored on a 4-yard run. The extra point attempt was blocked, leaving the Statesmen a 16-7 lead with 2:31 left in the half.
Anderson executed the two-minute drill to perfection, get the Blue Jays a touchdown right before halftime. He was 4-for-7 passing and ran the ball four times for 21 yards on the drive. Anderson hit Quinn Donaldson in the back of the end zone with 3.1 seconds remaining in the half to make it a 16-14 game.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, a bad omen for the Statesmen, who had the wind at their back and saw two drives into Johns Hopkins territory end on failed fourth down attempts.
The Blue Jays took the lead 27 seconds into the fourth quarter when Anderson again connected with Donaldson, this time on a 28-yard scoring play. The extra point made it 21-16 Hopkins.
Hobart again turned the ball over on downs on its ensuing possession, finishing the day 2-of-5 on fourth down tries. JHU appeared poised to add to its lead, but Anderson made a bad option pitch on second and goal from the 8 and sophomore defensive tackle Jake Russell recovered the fumble to quell the threat. Conlan then directed a nine-play, 88-yard march to reclaim the lead. He was 6-for-6 passing on the drive, including a 14-yard TD pass to senior wideout John Fasano with 1:26 remaining. Conlan completed a pass to senior wideout Elvin Souffrant for the 2-point conversion to put the Statesmen in front 24-21.
Anderson moved Johns Hopkins back into the red zone in short order. With 24 seconds to go, Anderson hit Donaldson again for 8 yards and what appeared to be the go-ahead score, but the Blue Jays were flagged for pass interference and backed up to the Hobart 22. On the next play, Stanley intercepted Anderson to clinch the victory.
Hobart outgained Johns Hopkins 389-361. The Statesmen gained 152 yard on the ground, including a team-high 60 from junior running back Conner Hartigan. Conlan was 19-of-30 passing for 237 yards. Fasano was his top target, pulling in a career-high six passes for 79 yards. Robinson added four catches for 68 yards.
Defensively, Toney had a team-high 13 tackles, while Stanley and first-year cornerback Tommy D'Antonio each added eight stops.
For JHU, Anderson ran for a team-high 71 yards and completed 16-of-28 passes for 185 yards. With six catches for 79 yards, Munday shared game-high honors for both receptions and receiving yards with Fasano.
The Blue Jay defense got 12 tackles from senior defensive tackle Michael Rocca and 10 from sophomore strong safety Jack Toner.
Hobart advances to the quarterfinal round for the second time in three seasons, where it will face Wesley (11-1). The Wolverines defeated MIT 59-0 today. It will be just the second meeting between the two schools and first since the first round of the 2011 NCAA tournament, a 35-28 triumph for the Wolverines on their home field. The site of next Saturday's game will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 30.