Hobart makes a statement in win over Golden Eagles
By: Joey Campbell / Sports Writer A sunny Saturday afternoon in Geneva, NY would be the setting for the (1-0) SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles Football Team for their second game of the season as they visited the (1-0) Hobart Statesmen. Brockport would fall 27-14 which was led by defensive back Zesean Dixon, who had 3 interceptions, led the team in tackles (13), and had the game-sealing touchdown.
"It wasn't just me but it was all of us," Dixon said. "We communicated and we keep trusting each other, we do parts on all three front lines."
It was a rough afternoon for the Golden Eagles offense. Ben Gocella went 15-26 passing for 154 yards and 5 interceptions with Jackson tossing a touchdown. Running back Derrion Battle had 6 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown. Wide Receiver Nolan Slywka was the star yet again, hauling in ten receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown. As for the defense, the linebackers really led the way. Nazhier Wilson had 17 tackles, as did Brady Winter and Darius Cervi, combining for 31 tackles between the two. Ari Gefell and Jayden Ferrell each picked up a sack.
"We gave it our all," Quarterback Zymier Jackson said. "We have got to clean up a few things."
As for Hobart, Conrath led the way, going 15-27 for 142 yards and a touchdown pass. EJ Taylor led the run game with 28 carries for 113 yards and a touchdown. For receiving, Marcus Peterson hauled in 3 catches for 65 yards and Johnny Harding had 5 catches for 42 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game with injury. On the defense, Dixon led the way with 13 tackles and 3 interceptions, one being returned for the game-sealing touchdown. Isa Abdus-Salaam had an interception as well as a sack, and Nate Bush also had an interception of his own.
SUNY Brockport's first play of the game saw the first turnover of the game. Abdus-Salaam jumped the slant route intended for Anthony Diaz to set up great field position for Hobart. Brockport would force a field goal attempt from Owen McNulty, which gave the Statesmen an early 3-0 lead.
After a couple of three-and-outs for the Golden Eagles offense, they turned to Slywka. Gocella fired a slant route for Slywka, who took it 43 yards down the sideline to set up Brockport with prime field position. Jackson would find Slywka on a drag route a couple plays later for a walk-in touchdown to give Brockport the lead.
Hobart would not be denied long as an explosive play got them into the red zone. Conrath fired a seed to Peterson for a big 45 yard gain which was topped off by a one yard Taylor touchdown to give Hobart a 10-7 lead.
After the Bush interception, Brockport would force a big fourth down, resulting in McNulty's second field goal of the game to go up 13-7.
Hobart would cap off their first quarter with another score. Conrath found Harding one-on-one in the end zone who beat Colton Thorpe on the slant route to give Hobart a 20-7 lead heading into halftime.
Brockport looked to swing momentum with their first drive of the second half. A nine-play drive would be capped off by a 21-yard rush from Derrion Battle to make it a 20-14 game.
"I am growing into the role that Mangone wants me to," freshman running back Derrion Battle said. "Obviously we are going to feed the hot hand, but my role is when I get the ball to make plays."
Neither team would score going late into the fourth quarter. Brockport found themselves down six at the two minute warning mark with the ball. Gocella tried firing a go ball to Slywka, which was tipped into the arms of Dixon who took it back to the house for a pick-six to end the game at 27-14.
"We came out a little slow," Battle said. "We picked it up in the second half but we got to come out stronger."
(1-1) SUNY Brockport will move on to next week, when they will host (1-1) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with kickoff scheduled for 12 PM. As for (2-0) Hobart, they will travel to Utica to take on the (2-0) Pioneers.
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