Rose-Hulman, Hobbs hoping for repeat against Mount St. Joseph
Nov. 10—For the players who returned from last season's Rose-Hulman football team that captured the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship, they know this feeling all too well.
Battle through nine games — go undefeated against the first six HCAC foes — then face Mount St. Joseph in the regular-season finale for the conference championship.
In 2021, Rose was 6-0 and MSJ 5-1 when they squared off at Cook Stadium in Terre Haute. The Engineers built a 42-7 halftime cushion and won 58-21, triggering a wild postgame celebration and qualifying for the NCAA Division III playoffs for only the second time in program history.
The same prizes are at stake between the same squads when they meet at 1:30 p.m. this Saturday. But the location will be Mount St. Joseph's Sports Complex/Schueler Field and Track in Cincinnati instead of the friendly confines of Cook Stadium.
Also different from last year: MSJ is 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the HCAC. Although coach Jeff Sokol's Engineers are 6-0 in the conference as well, they lost their three non-conference contests — albeit against tough opponents — to start the season.
"I'm sure [Mount St. Joseph coaches and players] will be more than ready for the Fightin' Engineers this year," Sokol told the Tribune-Star.
Rose-Hulman's Jailen Hobbs, now a 5-foot-8, 160-pound junior wide receiver majoring in computer engineering, remembers the 2021 showdown with Mount St. Joseph vividly.
Although Hobbs was an important piece of the Engineers' points-producing puzzle last season — earning the HCAC Special Teams Player of the Year award — he's developed into one of the school's all-time gridiron greats this season.
Hobbs has scored 12 touchdowns — nine receiving, two on kickoff returns and one on a punt return — and he has caught 39 passes for 586 yards. During a recent three-game stretch against Bluffton, Franklin and Defiance, Hobbs totaled 10 TDs. In a 47-17 victory at Hanover last Saturday, he was "held" to one TD.
"I think the team has really helped me out a lot," Hobbs mentioned. "Everything starts with blocking . . . on the special-teams units and on offense. Also, the coaches have been creative in calling plays, getting the ball into my hands [and into the hands of the other talented receivers]."
Noah Thomas, who used up his football eligibility last season, is considered the best wide receiver in school history. But through the efforts of Hobbs, 5-8 junior Daniel Huery (70 catches for 817 yards and 10 TDs) and 6-3 senior Adam Tice-Saliu (36-581-8), wide receiver has remained a position of strength for the Engineers.
"That [balance at receiver] is one of the things that makes it challenging to defend us," Sokol said. "Those guys are all No. 1 receivers [on most Division III teams] and they're all elite Division III players."
Hobbs, a track standout in the winter and spring, has even broken two of Thomas' school records in sprint events. Hobbs owns three total and hopes to add records in the indoor 200-meter dash and in the outdoor 4x100 relay.
Also helping with the overall production at WR is the emergence of junior quarterback Miguel Robertson from back-up to starter. He's passed for 27 touchdowns, despite missing a portion of the early season with an injury.
"Miguel has really earned his opportunity," Sokol assessed. "He's been really special. He's probably been the most efficient quarterback we've had in my 12 years here."
"Miggy [Robertson] has gotten some experience," Hobbs pointed out. "Right now, we're rolling. Everybody's clicking. The offense is clicking. The line is clicking. . . . In our last game [at Hanover], our run game was also clicking [with junior Grant Ripperda gaining 204 yards and scoring three touchdowns on the ground].
"I'm feeling really confident. I'm feeling like we've definitely gotten better as the season has gone along. I feel like we're ready [for Mount St. Joseph]."
A triumph for Rose on Saturday would give the program its first back-to-back HCAC titles ever.
