Hobart, which was ranked 22nd in the nation in the latest D3Football.com poll, falls to 4-2 on the year, and 2-1 in the league.
Springfield was fueled offensively by sophomore quarterback Jake Eglintine (Gansevoort, N.Y.), who posted 130 yards and one touchdown on 16 attempts, including a 51-yard run late in the game to seal the victory for the Pride. Additionally, senior fullback Keith Rodman (Nortvale, N.J.) posted 121 yards and a score on 20 carries, while junior halfback Billy DeLay (Congers, N.Y.) recorded 51 yards on the ground, including a 20-yard touchdown run for the Pride's first points of the game.
Defensively, senior Anthony West (Roxbury, Mass.) played shut down defense throughout the contest, as he finished with seven tackles and a game-changing interception to kick off the second half. Christian Zotti (Newington, Conn.) also posted 11 tackles, while senior linebacker Max Nacewicz (Sandy Hook, Conn.) finished with eight stops, and senior defensive end Brandon Alves (Stoughton, Mass.) posted one sack, a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Freshman kicker Blake Heller (North Bellmore, N.Y.) was 5-for-5 on extra point attempts and totaled 331 yards on six kickoffs.
For the Statesmen, Shane Sweeney (Phelps, N.Y.) finished the game with 13 completions on 24 attempts and 110 yards through the air, while Tynard Barfield (Baltimore, Md.) was held at bay by the stout Springfield defense, only accruing 17 yards on five carries on the afternoon. Defensively, Trayvon Toney (Huntington Station, N.Y.) notched 13 tackles on the afternoon, while Marcus Jemison (Nyack, N.Y.) chipped in with 12 tackles of his own.
Hobart took an early 7-0 advantage when Tommy D'Antonio (Greenwich, Conn.) scooped up a loose ball following a Springfield fumble and took it 72 yards back to paydirt, giving the Statesman an early one-score lead.
Hobart would extend its lead to 10 just 4:10 into the second quarter, when Sean Kirsche (Lexington, Ky.) converted a 21-yard field goal to cap off an 11-play 45 yard drive from the Statesmen. Kirsche would register his second field goal of the contest with five seconds remaining in the first half to give Hobart a 13-0 edge heading into the halftime.
Opening the second half, West intercepted a pass from Sweeney, kicking off a 5-play, 41 yard drive that was capped off by a run to the right from DeLay to cut the Pride's deficit to six, trailing Hobart 13-7 with 12:09 remaining in the third quarter.
On the next Springfield possession, Eglintine conjured up a 15-play 80 yard drive lasting 8:50, as DeLay got the right edge and was breaking towards the goal line, before the ball was knocked loose and into the end zone by Jemison. After a pile up on the football, Springfield's Steve Comee (Agawam, Mass.) was able to come away with the ball, giving Springfield a one-point, 14-13 lead over the Statesmen following an extra-point conversion from Heller.
On Hobart's next offensive possession, Alves came off the right edge and popped Sweeney in the back, forcing the ball out of his hand, while the senior defensive end jumped on the ball, giving the Pride possession on its own 42 yard line. Eglintine, with a one-point lead in the fourth quarter, executed another impressive drive for Springfield, which was finished off by a 24-yard strike to Joe Festo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) in the back of the end zone to give the Pride a 21-13 lead with 9:52 remaining in the game.
After the Pride's defense forced Hobart to turn the ball over on downs, Springfield took over from its own 38, and was immediately in Hobart territory after a 22-yard scamper from Cory DeSimone (West Yarmouth, Mass.), followed by an unsportsmanlike conduct foul on the Statesmen, giving the Pride the ball on the Hobart 25. Rodman was able to capitalize on the drive, as the senior punched in a six-yard touchdown run to extend Springfield's lead to 15.
Springfield's stingy defense then forced another turnover on downs from the Statesmen, giving the Pride the ball on its own 49 yard line, as Eglintine broke the first play of the drive for a 51-yard score to seal the victory, making it 35-13, Springfield.
Springfield will play its only road game in the month of October next Saturday when it travels to Merchant Marine for a 2 pm contest.
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