A pair of Hobart football players were honored by the Liberty League after leading the Statesmen to a 16-7 win over Ithaca on Saturday. Senior linebacker Anthony Romano (Methuen/Methuen, Mass.) was named the Defensive Performer of the Week and junior punter Vicente Lyon (Yorktown/Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) was tabbed the Co-Special Teams Performer of the Week.
Additionally, sophomore running back E.J. Taylor (Salon/Salon, Ohio) earned a spot on the league’s weekly honor roll.
Romano and the Statesmen limited visiting Ithaca to just a single touchdown, producing a pair of goal-line stands on Homecoming & Family Weekend. The win snapped a 13-game Liberty League winning streak for the Bombers. Romano led all players with 16 tackles, including half a sack, and added an interception. Ithaca’s first possession of each half ended 1-yard short of the end zone as Romano and Co. kept the visitors out of the end zone on four straight plays despite having first and goal on both drives.
Through five games, Romano is second on the team with 27 tackles. He also has three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and an interception. Romano began the day 21st on Hobart’s career tackles list. With his career-high matching 16 stops, he jumped up into a tie for 16th place with 229.
Lyon broke a pair of Hobart records and played a big role in the win. His first punt from 9 yards deep in his end zone traveled a Hobart record 86 yards before it was downed at the Ithaca 13. He eclipsed his own record set last year at Ithaca (73 yds). It’s the longest punt in NCAA football this season. Lyon followed that with punts of 57, 56 and 61 yards, averaging a Hobart record 65.0 yards per punt.
Lyon leads the Liberty League and is ninth in the nation, averaging 43.0 yards per punt this season. He has more punts that have covered 50 or more yards than any two players in the league combined.
Taylor rushed for 99 yards to lead the offense. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry and scored the game’s opening points on a 2-yard TD run in the first quarter. Taylor’s longest run of the day was a 48-yard rumble that set up a third-quarter field goal. It’s the longest rushing play against the Bomber defense this season.
In five games, Taylor has 88 carries for 430 yards and three touchdowns. He’s also caught seven passes for 46 yards. He’s second in the Liberty League in total rushing yards and rushing yards per game (86.0).
Hobart snapped a six-game losing streak against Ithaca and handed the Bombers their first league loss since Oct. 30, 2021.
The Statesmen (4-1, 1-0) begin a two-game road trip at Liberty League rival Buffalo State (2-2, 0-0) on Saturday, Oct. 12. The opening kickoff at Coyer Field is set for 3 p.m.
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