ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Sparked by a record-setting performance from sophomore quarterback Shane Sweeney, Hobart College rolled to a 42-20 victory over the University of Rochester at Edwin Fauver Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Sweeney threw six touchdown passes, breaking the Hobart single-game record of five which was done four times before this season. Brandon Shed and Zach Withers caught two apiece. Christopher Holoman and Tynard Barfield had one each. Sweeney completed 22 of 28 passes for 256 yards. He was not intercepted and was sacked just once.
The victory gave the Statesmen possession of The Centennial Cup for the fifth straight year and the eighth time in the nine years the trophy has existed. It was created in 2007 to recognize the 100th game in the series. Hobart now leads the all-time series, 53-48-7.
Hobart finished the regular season at 7-3 overall, 5-2 in the Liberty League. The Statesmen are third in the standings behind co-leaders St. Lawrence and RPI (both 6-1). St. Lawrence won the Pool A (automatic qualifier) on the basis of a head-to-head victory over RPI earlier this year.
Rochester finished 3-4 in the league (fifth place) and 5-4 overall. The Yellowjackets got within one point on three different occasions, the last time at 21-20 early in the third quarter. Sweeney led Hobart on three straight TD drives to put the game out of reach.
For Rochester, Justin Redfern completed 16 of 27 passes for 194 yards and two TDs. He was intercepted once and sacked once. Rochester had 257 yards in offense – 194 through the air and 63 on the ground. Redfern carried eight times for a game-high 44 yards.
Hobart compiled 405 yards in offense. The Statesmen rushed for 145 yards – Bradley Burns had 41 yards and Conner Hartigan rushed for 40. Sweeney passed for 256 yards and Parker Thelander threw for four more.
Jack Pfohl and Sean Cunningham caught six passes apiece for Hobart. Shed had five receptions for 101 yards.
Rochester's top receiver was Farid Adenuga. He caught six passes for 69 yards and one TD. Kyle Allegrini caught three passes for 51 yards. His 27-yard TD catch from Redfern pulled Rochester within 21-20 on UR's first possession of the second half. Sweeney marched Hobart 58 yards in six plays, ending with a seven-yard TD pass to Withers to increase the lead to 28-20. His next two scoring drives came after the Hobart defense forced three-and-outs from Rochester.
Sweeney took Hobart 62 yards in 11 plays for a TD the first time the Statesmen had the ball (after a three-and-out stand by the defense). He completed a 13-yard pass to Pfohl on fourth-and-one to keep the drive going. Five plays later, he found Holoman for a 14-yard TD.
Rochester punted again, but its defense and special teams rose up for a big play to get the home team on the board. Rio Schmidt's punt from his own 22 was blocked by Max Berger. The ball was recovered by Adenuga at the two-yard line and he carried it in for a touchdown. Andrew Haber's PAT hit the right upright and bounced away.
Defensively for Hobart, Trayvon Toney had seven tackles (six primary) including an eight-yard tackle for loss. Marcus Jemison had six tackles that included a four-yard sack and two other TLs.
Thomas Marone and Matt Mender led Rochester with 11 tackles each (seven solo).