September 26, 2006

ECAC Northwest Co-Defensive Player of the Week Evan Hoffman (Photo by Kevin Colton)

GENEVA, N.Y.—Hobart senior linebacker Evan Hoffman (Fairfield Prep/Fairfield, Conn.) was named the ECAC Northwest Co-Defensive Player of the Week today. He made nine tackles, forced two fumbles, and recovered a third in the Statesmen’s 24-17 win at Rensselaer.

In the first quarter, Hoffman’s first forced fumble led to the Statesmen’s first touchdown. In the third quarter, he recovered a fumbled punt to set up Hobart’s second touchdown and forced a fumble to set the stage for the Statesmen’s third TD. Hoffman finished the day second on the team in tackles.

Second in the nation in forced fumbles, Hoffman is one of several Hobart players among the nation’s statistical leaders. Junior wide receiver Steve Sorhaindo (Yorktown/Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) is seventh in kick returns (32.2 yds/ret), junior punter Dominick Ancona (Chaminade/Garden City, N.Y.) is 12th in punting (40.8 yds/p), and first-year kicker Denis Avdic (Utica-Proctor/Utica, N.Y.) is 14th in field goals (1.0 FGM/g).

Despite winning their third straight game, the Statesmen slipped two spots in the American Football Coaches Association Division III coaches poll to No. 23. Hobart is ranked 18th in the D3football.com poll.

The Statesmen return to the gridiron on Sept. 30, when they host WPI. Kickoff on Boswell Field is scheduled for 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast live by WEOS-FM (89.7/90.3 in Geneva, 88.1 in Ithaca). Fans outside the broadcast area can follow along online.