Football

NCAA DIVISION III PLAYOFFS - SECOND ROUND
Delaware Valley College 21, Hobart College 14

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - Senior quarterback Adam Knoblauch scored on a seven-yard run with 1:30 remaining and the Delaware Valley College defense held deep in its own territory in the final seconds as the Aggies notched a 21-14 victory over visiting Hobart College in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

With the win, Delaware Valley improved to 12-0 on the season and the top seed in the East Region will now host third-seeded Rowan University - a 28-24 victor at No. 2 Union College - next Saturday, December 3 (12:00 p.m.) in the quarterfinals. It will be a rematch of last year's quarterfinals where the Profs ended the Aggies' season with a 56-7 score at Rowan. Hobart ends its season with a 9-2 record.

Scoreless on a slippery field through the first three quarters, the contest turned into a shootout in the final frame. Delaware Valley scored twice in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, only to see the Statesmen rally for two scores of their own in a span of 1:43 and a 14-14 ballgame with 4:51 remaining.

The Aggies took over on their own 35 and faced a third-and-five situation when Knoblauch hit senior tight end Jason Rorer for a 33-yard gain down to the Hobart 27. Three players later, they faced a fourth-and-three from the 20, but Knoblauch hit junior wideout David Carmon over the middle for a 10-yard completion.

Knoblauch ran for three yards on first down, then got the call again out of the shotgun and found the left side of the end zone from seven yards out. Knoblauch played a part in all 65 yards on the drive with 48 yards passing and 17 rushing. Bill Miller added the extra-point for a 21-14 Aggie lead with just 90 seconds to go.

Hobart took over on its own 35-yard line with 1:26 remaining and no timeouts. On first down, Shawn Mizro hit Steve Sorhaindo on a slant for a 30-yard gain. A false start penalty moved the Statesmen backed five yards. Mizro hit James Wright on back-to-back pass plays to get to the 21 with 22 seconds remaining.

On first down, Mizro scrambled out of bounds for two yards to set up second-and-eight with 15 ticks remaining. On second down, Sorhaindo nearly made a diving grab in the corner of the end zone and on third down, Wright nearly made the same diving grab in the middle of the field. On fourth down, Mizro's pass sailed just out of the jumping grasp of Wright and the clock expired on the game.

In the scoreless first half, both teams drove inside the opponent's 10-yard line but failed to score. The Statesmen were at the Aggie eight-yard line on the first possession of the game, but defensive lineman Anthony Silver batted a Mizro pass at the line of scrimmage and linebacker Justin Porter caught it for the interception.

Delaware Valley reached the Hobart six-yard line in the second quarter but a pair of sacks moved them back and Miller missed a 29-yard field goal attempt. In the third, the Aggies had third-and-goal at the four-yard line, but a Knoblauch pass was intercepted by Dyshawn Washington.

Delaware Valley got the wild fourth quarter started with 14:06 remaining on an 80-yard touchdown strike from Knoblauch to junior wide receiver John Kiphorn. Knoblauch's pass traveled more than 40 yards through the air and Kiphorn outran the coverage to the end zone.

Hobart went three-and-out on its next possession and the Aggies responded with a six-play, 50-yard scoring drive that was capped by Knoblauch's 10-yard play action pass to Rorer. Miller added the point-after for a 14-0 Delaware Valley lead with 9:22 remaining.

The Statesmen had to punt with less than eight minutes to go, but they got the ball back at the Aggies 36 as Rick Eicheldinger forced a fumble and Zach Young recovered. On the very next play, Wright hit a wide-open Ryan LiDrazzah on a 36-yard fake reverse, wide receiver pass. Kevin Olson added the extra-point for a 14-7 ballgame with 6:54 remaining.

After forcing the Aggies to go three and out, Doug Blakowski caught a short pass out of the backfield and raced 67 yards for his first receiving touchdown of the season, completing a three-play, 79-yard scoring drive. Olson booted the extra point to tie the game at 14-14 with 4:51 remaining. That set the stage for Delaware Valley's late score and the victory.

Knoblauch finished the afternoon 22-for-40 for 281 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 36 yards and the game-winner. Carmon caught seven passes for 63 yards while Kiphorn made three grabs for 122 yards and one score. Rorer added three receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown. Senior Steve Cook rushed 16 times for 107 yards and also caught six passes for 32 yards. Defensively, John Pursell paced the Aggies with 10 tackles and one sacks while fellow linebacker Joe Whitesell added eight stops.

Mizro finished the contest 12-of-32 passing for 207 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Sorhaindo (51 yds), Wright (28 yds), and Colby Feane all finished with three catches each for the Statesmen. Blakowski went over the 100-yard rushing mark for the ninth time in 11 games as he carried the ball 24 times for 113 yards. His 67-yard touchdown catch was his lone reception of the game. Senior linebacker Jimmy Gradis led all players with 17 tackles (11 solo) and he also added a sack in the final game of his collegiate career.