GENEVA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College football team dropped to 1-3 on the season after a 16-7 road loss at Hobart on October 5 to open Liberty League play at Boswell Field. Hobart improves to 4-1 on the year.

IC earned 23 first downs to just nine for Hobart, and outgained the Statesmen, 313-265, but it was the lack of production inside the red zone that did the Bombers in on Saturday. Ithaca turned the ball over on downs at the Hobart 1-yard line on two separate occasions, resulting in no points on either drive.

The first of those missed chances came on the opening drive of the game as the Bombers received the opening kick and marched all the way down to the 2-yard line after 16 plays and 74 yards gained, but Jake Williams was kept out of the end zone on a fourth down run.

Hobart took over and went 3-and-out without gaining a yard but flipped field position with an 86-yard punt from Vicente Lyon. Lyon was a major factor for Hobart all afternoon as he averaged 65 yards on four punts.

The Statesmen then forced IC into a 3-and-out and took a 7-0 lead six plays later on an E.J. Taylor run with 1:17 remaining in the first quarter. A.J.

Hobart's lead grew to 10-0 on 30-yard field goal from Tobias Wefering with 11:52 to go in the half. Wefering also had himself a day, going 3-for-3 on field goal tries.

The Bombers would finally get on the board in the final minute of the half as Matthew Parker scored on a 10-yard run to make it 10-7 heading into intermission.

Between the two scoring drives, IC and Hobart combined to turn the ball over on four different drives. Andrew Swierbut intercepted a pass with 9:54 remaining and Jake Connolly had a pick with 1:44 on the clock, while the Bombers gave the ball back on a fake punt and interception thrown with 2:02 left.

IC had 15 first downs in the first half, to just four for Hobart and outgained the Statesmen, 224-94, as Jalen Leonard-Osbourne paced the offense with 100 yards on 13 carries. Leonard-Osbourne finished the game with 144 yards on 25 carries.

In the second half, Hobart extended its lead to 13-7 on its initial drive of the half as Wefering booted a 22-yard field goal. The scoring drive was set up by a 48-yard run by Taylor.

Ithaca had a chance to take the lead with 4:39 to go in the quarter but were denied at the 1-yard line on fourth down for the second time. That drive covered 64 yards on 13 plays.

Hobart made it a two-score game with 5:11 left in the game as Wefering made a 31-yard try to make it 16-7. Ithaca's final two drives of the game ended with a turnover on downs and an interception.

Connolly notched 12 total tackles with a sack and interception, while Ryan Burns had eight tackles.

Darren Brunner averaged 41 yards on five punts with a long of 54 yards.

Ithaca is back home next weekend to take on Rochester, which is 5-0 on the year, at 1 p.m. on October 12.