CANTON, N.Y.—Facing the No. 1 pass defense in the nation, No. 25 Hobart College enjoyed a record-breaking day through the air to upset No. 13 St. Lawrence University and move into a tie for first place in the Liberty League. Junior wide receiver Brandon Shed's 12 receptions for 241 yards and two touchdowns led the Statesmen to a 34-18 victory at Leckonby Stadium.
 
Shed tied the Hobart record for receptions in a game and broke the record for receiving yards in a game. Both standards were previously held by Dan Suozzi, who had 12 receptions for 239 yards against Franklin & Marshall back in 2003. Shed also eclipsed the Hobart season records for receptions, yards, and receiving touchdowns. He has 65 catches for 1,109 yards and 15 touchdowns.
 
Junior quarterback Shane Sweeny finished the day 29-of-48 for 363 yards and five touchdowns. He's the first quarterback to throw for more than 200 yards against the Saints this season and tossed more touchdown passes that SLU's previous eight opponents combined. St. Lawrence came into the game allowing a Division III low 114.3 yards passing per game. Sweeney also tied a Statesmen season record today, throwing his 30th TD of the year, matching Shawn Mizro's 2004 mark.
 
Senior wide receiver Jack Pfohl also had a big game, pulling in eight passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore wideout Joseph Barrocas had three catches for 22 yards and a TD.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, junior linebacker Almamy Conde produced a game and career-high 14 tackles. First-year linebacker Jedh Down added nine tackles, including a sack. Senior defensive end James Hedger chipped in five tackles, including two sacks and three quarterback hurries. Senior linebacker Michael Harper was credited with a pair of tackles, a pass break up and an interception.
 
Hobart (8-1, 5-1) had the ball to start the game, but their opening drive stalled near midfield. St. Lawrence (8-1, 5-1) moved into the red zone with their opening drive, but had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Daly Hebert after Downey and junior Tom D'Antonio held Nick Frenger to a 4-yard gain on third-and-9.
 
The Statesmen got on the board early in the second quarter with a six-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a 58-yard touchdown pass from Sweeney to Shed. Shed's 14th TD of the year tied the season record set by Suozzi in 2004.
 
The Saints reclaimed the lead with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Sean Richardson (350 yds passing, 2 TDs) to Vincenzo Ferraro (7 rec, 83 yds, 2 TDs) on the ensuing drive. That play capped an eight-play, 70-yard drive. The extra point gave SLU a 10-7 lead.
 
Hobart answered right back, covering 66 yards in eight plays. Sweeney to Shed finished off the final 4 yards and gave the latter the season TD mark. The extra point was blocked, leaving the Statesmen a 13-10 advantage.
 
The Saints threw three straight incompletions on their ensuing drive, punting the ball back to Hobart. The Statesmen added to their lead with an 11-play, 64-yard march that benefited from a pass interference penalty against the Saints on a third-and-nine play and ended with a 10-yard TD pass from Sweeney to Pfohl with 30 seconds left in the half. The extra point sent Hobart into halftime with a 20-10 lead.
 
St. Lawrence tried to mount a third quarter comeback, getting a safety when Hobart was called for holding in the end zone and then using their next possession to go 47 yards in six plays. Richardson hit Ferraro for a 9-yard TD to make it a 20-18 game. The Saints went for the two-point conversion, but Richardson's pass was high and sailed out the back of the end zone.
 
Hobart made it a two-score advantage with a seven-play, 73-yard drive that saw Sweeney fire a 6-yard bullet into the arms of Barrocas for a touchdown with 5:15 to go for a 27-18 lead. The offense didn't get any time to rest as Harper intercepted Richardson on the next place from scrimmage.
 
Hobart wasn't able to expand its lead, but the Statesmen did run about a minute off the clock and forced the Saints to use two timeouts.
 
Hobart accounted for three of its four sacks on the day on SLU's ensuing possession, including Hedger's takedown of Richardson on fourth-and-6 from the SLU 27. Four plays later, Sweeney completed a 23-yard pass to Pfohl for the day's final TD with 74 seconds remaining.
 
The win was Hobart's sixth in a row over St. Lawrence. The Statesmen lead the all-time series 50-36-2. Hobart can capture a share of its 11th Liberty League Championship and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs with a win next week over Rochester (1-7, 0-6) in the annual Centennial Cup game. Kickoff at Boswell Field is scheduled for noon on Saturday, Nov. 12.