Rensselaer’s defense stymied the Hobart Statesman offense, picking off the visitors twice, handing the Engineers a decisive 33-7 victory to break a two-game losing streak.
After two difficult losses to Utica and Brockport, Rensselaer needed to right the ship as they returned to the East Campus Athletic Village. Hobart meanwhile entered the game on the heels of a close loss against Utica. The game marked the opening match for Liberty League play for both teams.
The first quarter remained scoreless and tense throughout. Rensselaer quarterback Justin McCormack, who made his first start as an Engineer, led the Engineers to amass 96 yards in the first quarter but his first two drives as a signal caller ended in turnovers - one to a turnover-on-downs on Hobart’s 32-yard line and the second by an interception after a ten-play drive.
But the Engineers found their footing in the second quarter. Receivers Josh Young and Chris Ahle made their presence felt to the Statesmen, with the former opening the scoring with a 46-yard touchdown. From there, Engineers took momentum of the game; running back Kayden White smashed through the Statesmen defense with an outstanding 192 yards on the ground and two touchdowns to his name. With Hobart occupied by White, McCormack picked apart the visitors through the air, completing fourteen passes for 175 yards plus one rushing and passing touchdown apiece.
The Engineers’ defense played phenomenally, holding the Statesmen to just 93 rushing yards and picking up interceptions twice. Interceptions, picked up by Joe Dechiaro and PJ Poknis, each provided key opportunities for the Engineers to march forward and take control of the game. Poknis broke up a dangerous play at the Rensselaer 13 yard line, running the ball 77 yards down the field, setting up the offense for a touchdown on the very next drive. Hobart picked up a meaningless touchdown in the fourth with four minutes left to play, only for White to break free for a 47-yard rushing touchdown, setting the score to 33-7 Rensselaer.
The win puts the Engineers at a 2-2 record for the season, and 1-0 in the Liberty League conference. Their next home game will be this Saturday, October 3 against Hilbert College. The box score for this game can be found here.
