COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Hobart welcomes in Union for annual Tackles & Touchdowns game
Times Sports Staff
Oct 25, 2024 Updated Oct 28, 2024
GENEVA — The first- place Hobart football team will welcome the Union Garnet Chargers to Boswell Field for a Liberty League showdown Saturday. The annual Tackles & Touchdowns for Ability Partners Foundation game is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m.
The 14th edition of the Tackles & Touchdowns game will raise funds for the Ability Partners Foundation, which supports Happiness House in Geneva, Rochester Rehabilitation and the services of CP Rochester. Happiness House is a school that gives opportunities to young students and adults with disabilities to learn and flourish in a safe environment.
Members of the Hobart football team are asking family, friends and fans to pledge $1 for every tackle and/or $7 for every touchdown the Statesmen have against the Garnet Chargers. Contributors can also make a flat rate donation.
As a part of Tackles and Touchdowns Week, members of the football team will visit Happiness House in Geneva. Each year, Statesmen go into the classrooms to read to the students and play games with them.
Tackles & Touchdowns was founded in 2010 by Hobart offensive lineman Jarrid Blades ‘12. In 2012, he was honored as the Happiness House Volunteer of the Year after raising more than $5,000 in the first two years of Tackles & Touchdowns. In 13 seasons, Hobart has raised more than $46,000 for Ability Partners Foundation.
FOR THE RECORD
Union brings a 2-4 overall record and a 1-1 mark in conference play to Urick Stadium.
Hobart has won five in a row to improve to 6-1 overall. Halfway through the conference schedule, the Statesmen are alone in first place with a 3-0 mark.
TEAM COMPARISONScoring Offense: Hobart 26.0, Union 22.3
Rushing Offense: Hobart 147.7, Union 162.8
Passing Offense: Hobart 189.1, Union 157.5
Scoring Defense: Hobart 7.9, Union 24.5
Rushing Defense: Hobart 98.3, Union 156.0
Passing Defense: Hobart 141.9, Union 189.3
Turnover Margin: Hobart +9, Union -2
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Hobart first-year wide receiver Johnny Harding: the three-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week has at least one reception in all seven games this season; he’s tied for the league lead in receiving touchdowns (6), third in receiving yards (406) and fourth in receptions (27).
Hobart junior linebacker Mike McGhee: the Statesmen linebackers will need to play big if they’re going to contain Union’s dual-threat quarterback; McGhee is eighth in the league in passes defended (5) and third on the team with 36 tackles.
Union junior quarterback Patch Flanagan: ranks third in the Liberty League in passing yards and fourth in rushing yards; threw for a season-high 262 yards vs. Springfield and rushed for a season-high 204 yards against St. Lawrence.
Union senior defensive lineman Ethan VanderBrink: leads the Liberty League with 6.5 sacks and is second with 10.5 tackles for loss; disruptive force at the point of attack who can impact both the passing and rushing games.
SERIES SNAPSHOT
Hobart and Union have squared off 106 times on the gridiron with the Garnet Chargers holding a 54-50-2 series lead.
Recently, home field advantage has weighed heavily on the outcome of the rivalry. The home team has won each of the past seven Hobart-Union showdowns.
The last time the visitor won in the series was Oct. 31, 2015, when the Statesmen scored a 52-14 win in Schenectady.
The rivalry began on Oct. 10, 1896, in Schenectady, with Hobart returning to Geneva with a 6-4 victory.
COMMON GROUND
Hobart and Union have played two common opponents to date, Buffalo State and St. Lawrence.
The Statesmen posted a 31-3 win at Buff State on Oct. 12 and followed that with a 39-3 win at SLU.
The Garnet Chargers lost in overtime 27-24 to the Saints on the road on Oct. 5, but rebounded with a 31-10 win over the Bengals last week.
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