Preview: Hobart Football Travels to Nationally-Ranked Randolph-Macon College

The Hobart football team will travel to Ashland, Virginia, to take on nationally-ranked Randolph-Macon College on Saturday. The Statesmen and Yellow Jackets will kick off at noon on Day Field.

The game will be broadcast live on WEOS-FM (89.5/90.3 in Geneva). The game will be webcast online via the ODAC Sports Network at odacsn.com.

• Hobart is 1-0 following a 10-7 win over Alfred on Sept. 6. The Statesmen scored all of their points in the fourth quarter.
• Sophomore running back E.J. Taylor rushed for a career-high 159 yards to earn the Liberty League Offensive Performer of the Week award. He’s 11th in the nation in rushing yards.
• First-year defensive tackle Billy Brosko secured the Liberty League Rookie of the Week award with seven tackles, including two for loss against the Saxons.
• Senior linebacker Jaimen Bliss led the Statesmen with eight tackles, including one for a loss.
• Junior Vicente Lyon punted five times against Alfred, averaging 38.6 yards. He had a long of 53 and another kick that pinned AU back at its own 15.

• Randolph-Macon is coming off a 47-21 win over Dickinson last week.
• The Yellow Jackets have won 27 consecutive regular season games, a streak that began on Oct. 2, 2021, with a 44-21 victory over Ferrum.
• The RMC offense put up 371 yards, including 209 on the ground. Seven different players took handoffs, led by Kwesi Clarke’s 15 rushes for 82 yards. Cameron Chatmon added 11 carries for 36 yards and two TDs. Jason Moore, who scored on a 50-yard run, also had four catches for a team-high 94 yards.
• Neftali Reyes led the RMC defense with a game-high 10 tackles.
• Coleton Payne made four stops and scored a touchdown on a 31-yard interception return.

• This will be the first gridiron meeting between Hobart and Randolph-Macon. In fact, in 130 seasons of Hobart football, the Statesmen have only played three games against the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Hobart is 2-0 against Shenandoah and 1-0 against Washington & Lee.
• The Yellow Jackets have only played one game against a Liberty League opponent. RMC defeated Ithaca 46-0 in the second round of the 2023 NCAA playoffs.

• Randolph-Macon, which advanced to the NCAA semifinals last season, is ranked No. 8 in this week’s AFCA poll and No. 9 in the D3football.com Top 25.
• This will be the first time Hobart has faced a team ranked in the top 10 since facing No. 8/9 Ithaca on Oct. 19, 2019. The Bombers won that game 34-0.
• The Statesmen are seeking their first win over a top-10 team since defeating No. 7/6 Johns Hopkins 24-21 in the second round of the 2014 NCAA playoffs.

Have all the Finger Lakes news from Finger Lakes News Radio delivered to your email every morning for FREE!  Sign up by clicking here