October 18, 2006

Andy Purdie led Hobart with eight tackles, including 3.5 sacks, at Merchant Marine. (Photo by Kevin Colton)

Evan Hoffman registered seven solo tackles, including three sacks, against the Mariners. (Photo by Kevin Colton)

GENEVA, N.Y.—Two Hobart football players were named to the D3football.com Team of the Week for their efforts in the Statesmen’s 30-19 win at Merchant Marine. Senior defensive tackle Andy Purdie (Victor/Farmington, N.Y.) and senior linebacker Evan Hoffman (Fairfield Prep/Fairfield, Conn.) combined for 15 tackles and 6.5 sacks against the Mariners.

Purdie led a flood of Statesmen into the Merchant Marine backfield, registering a team-high eight tackles (four solo), including a career-high 3.5 sacks. His sack total is the most by a Hobart player in a game since Rob Gould ’01 also had 3.5 sacks at Franklin & Marshall on Oct. 17, 1998. For the season, Purdie leads Hobart in tackles for a loss with seven and sacks with 4.5, and is sixth in tackles with 23.

Hoffman finished the Merchant Marine game with seven solo tackles, including three sacks for a loss of 23 yards. He leads the nation in forced fumbles (0.8/g) and is second on the team in tackles (38), tackles for a loss (6), and sacks (4.0).

The Hobart defense kept the Mariners’ quarterback on the run all afternoon, sacking him 10 times, the most by the Statesmen since registering 10 against Bridgewater State in the first round of the NCAA playoffs on Nov. 18, 2000. Hobart limited Merchant Marine’s offense to just a single touchdown through the first three quarters. The Mariners managed just 48 yards rushing for the game, including minus-12 in the third quarter.

The Statesmen (5-0, 3-0) return to action on Oct. 21, when they travel to St. Lawrence (3-2, 1-1) for a Liberty League showdown. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Fans unable to make the trip to Canton can listen to all of the action on WEOS-FM (89.7/90.3 in Geneva, 88.1 in Ithaca) and online by clicking on the live coverage link on the Hobart football schedule page.