Last week, Coach Joe King felt that it would be a challenge, and felt that RPI might be entering the game as a slight underdog. He was right.

St. Lawrence started the scoring right away as running back Brett Hughes charged into the end zone on a 36 yard rush on their first possession.

RPI killed the momentum with a score of their own on the very next drive. Jay Bernardo answered the Saints with a 28-yard dash of his own, getting the Engineers on the board. Bernardo led the team with 68 rushing yards.

Chad Wysocki started at quarterback for the third straight weekend. After fumbling a snap late in the first, he got himself into rhythm with a 79-yard strike to senior Dan Stephens that gave RPI their first lead of the game. Stephens led all receivers with 112 yards.

In the second quarter, the offense hit a minor rut, but the defense held strong allowing only two field goals in the second quarter. One drive could have resulted in a touchdown but came to a hault due to an impressive red zone stop by the Saints’ defense.

Wysocki threw an interception on the first play of the second half that led to a quick Saints score. St. Lawrence went for two but came up just short, giving them a surmountable a five point lead. However, five points would be enough this Saturday.

Special teams’ woes were a problem for the Engineers again, and hurt RPI in the field position game. Collin Adalian had just a 23.1 yard average over seven punts allowing the Saints to work with a short field on many occasions.

Another thing that King has worried about has been the inability of the defense to force some quick three-and-outs. The Saints controlled the ball for almost twice as long as the Engineers, and just tired out the defense with a healthy dose of running plays, 64 in all.

The Engineers’ problem containing the ground game continued, and for the third time this season the opponents rushed for over 200 yards. St. Lawrence’s senior tailback Brett Hughes piled up 151 yards and two touchdowns on 27 runs, and their number two man touched the ball 24 times, tacking on 89 more yards.

Sophomore quarterback Frank Catellier came into the game in the fourth quarter, and added a little spark to the offense with a two yard touchdown sneak pulling the Engineers within five points. However, Catellier still looked a little rusty in his first action since week two.

Late in the fourth RPI had an opportunity to win the game, but fell short. With the ball on the Saints’ 12 yard line, a holding call backed RPI up, then Catellier threw an interception in the end zone.

King said that the quarterback situation is still up in the air even now that Catellier, who was the starter at the beginning of the season, is back from his injury.