MORRISVILLE, NY – Morrisville State football and visiting Hobart College battled back and forth throughout the opening half of play Saturday afternoon, but it was the Statesmen that escaped with the non-league win behind their second half play, topping the Mustangs by a final 38-24 on Drake Field in Morrisville.
 
THE BASICS:

• Final Score: Hobart 38, Morrisville 24 (Halftime: Morrisville 21-17)
• Location: Drake Field, Morrisville, N.Y.
• Records: Hobart 2-0, Morrisville 1-1

 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Hobart improved their early season record to 2-0 Saturday afternoon as they held host Morrisville State to three second half points while collecting three touchdown scores to claim the 38-24 victory on Drake Field in the Mustangs home opener.
• Morrisville, who had a 471-yard total offensive game in the non-league contest, held a 21-17 lead at the halftime break before the Hobart defense came alive in the second half.
• Junior quarterback Bill Flatow (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) led the Mustangs from under center, turning in a total 377 yards passing as he completed 25-of-43 passes for one throwing score.
• A pair of Mustangs collected 100+ yard receiving games, including Toure' Hall Jr. (Stratford, Conn.) who caught nine for 127 yards and a touchdown. Jermaine Cooper (New York, N.Y.) added 115 yards behind his eight receptions.
• Kinsey Williams (Rome, N.Y.) led the rushing unit with 50 net yards on 13 attempts, while Mike Cirasuolo (Marcy, N.Y.) added 48 yards and a touchdown behind his net gain of 46 yards.
• Defensively, the Mustangs were able to limit the Hobart offensive unit to 342yards total on the day, a majority coming in their running game that collected 202 yards. Ernesto Mitchell (Wheatley Heights, N.Y.) posted a team high 13 tackles for the Mustangs, with lineman Jermaine Rankine (Newburgh, N.Y.) adding another seven.
• Brian Haeffner led the Statesmen efforts with 71 yards on 15 carries, Rayshawn Boswell adding 51 on eight attempts.
• Hobart quarterback Ryan Hofmann converted 11-of-23 passes for 140 yards and three touchdown scores, two to AJ Perlino who caught a total two passes for 11 yards.
• Mike Giacobbe caught three for a team high 73 yards and a score.
• The duo of Josh Walker and Jared Leake collected a combined 21 tackles, including Leake with an interception late in the fourth quarter.
• On the Mustangs first possession of the game, Flatow connected with Cooper on the slant for a 17-yard gain, and Hall finished the 75-yard drive with a dive over the left pylon for the touchdown score, giving the hosts the 7-0 lead at the 10:21 mark of the first quarter after a Desmond Akpanoko (Roosevelt, N.Y.) kick.
• A 46-yard kick-off return set up the visitors on the Mustangs 39-yard line, and after a big 22-yard scramble by Haeffner, Hobart had to settle for a 30-yard field goal that went high over the uprights as the Morrisville State defense didn't allow the Statesmen past the 13.
• After exchanging possessions, Hobart took a 10-7 lead on a five-play, 42-yard scoring drive as Hofmann connected with Giacobbe for the 28-yard touchdown score, a one-handed snag on the far sideline.
• Morrisville started the second quarter with the ball in their possession, and following two big gains by Cooper on passes from Flatow, Cirasuolo went to work and powered the ball forward four straight plays for a total gain of 21 yards, before jamming it up center into the end zone for the three-yard rushing score, regaining the lead for the Mustangs 14-10.
• Hobart threatened to score on the ensuing possession, and although the Morrisville defense made some big stops and forced the Statesmen back, Hofmann connected with Perlino in the back of the end zone over center to regain the lead in the back-and-forth battle.
• That lead, though, was short-lived as Flatow hit Hall for his longest pass of the day, a 68-yard scoring strike in the slot over center over three defenders, to give the Mustangs the 21-17 lead.
• Hobart had a chance to send the game into the locker room tied at the break, but Kyle Hackett's 39-yard field goal attempt fell short as his plant foot slipped on the kick.
• In the third, a questionable pass completion call early on in the third set the tone for the remainder of the half, as Hobart converted the call into a six-yard scoring completion, regaining the lead, 24-21 moments into the second half.
• Morrisville attempted a comeback in the fourth with Flatow connecting with Rory Matz (Port Jervis, N.Y.) for a 39-yard gain into Hobart territory, and following with a 45-yard airstrike to Kyle Tuohy (Amaranth, Ont.) to the Statesmen one, but the defense held the Mustangs and the hosts had to settle for a 33-yard field goal from Akpanoko.
• Hobart added back-to-back scores on their following possessions, one that came on a 75-yard rushing reversal, and another after a blocked punt to claim the 38-24 lead.
• Morrisville made one last attempt late in the final frame, but Flatow's pass was intercepted in the end zone, returning possession to the visitors for the remainder of the game.

 
WHAT'S NEXT:

• Morrisville State will return to the field Friday, heading to St. Lawrence University for a 7 p.m. kick-off in Canton.