In a finish fit for Hollywood, an exciting game against troublesome league rival Hobart College was capped with an incredible march by the Engineers for 67 yards in just 35 seconds. In five dramatic plays, junior quarterback Jimmy Robertson and his offense were again confident and unstoppable as they put the ball into junior running back Isaac Williams’ hands in a gutsy play call. He found the end zone with just nine seconds on the clock, sealing the win for RPI.
With the clear option to kick a field goal and tie the game after throwing for enough yardage to be within range, the offense instead chose to go for the win, and punched it in.
RPI had pulled ahead with a healthy 21-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter and was even able to shut out Hobart in the second and third quarters. The Statesmen, however, posed themselves for a comeback win in the fourth quarter, nearly pulling off the victory as they took the lead 31-28 with under 50 seconds left in the final quarter. That’s when the Engineers regained a hold of the game with their final drive.
“Leading your team on the game-winning drive with under 50 seconds left in the game is a quarterback’s dream. The drive was surreal, like something you see in the movies,” said Robertson. “We knew we were going to score. We all stayed composed and confident, and just went out and did our job like any other drive.
“The feeling we all had when we scored the game-winning touchdown is something I will remember for the rest of my life,” he added. “It is a feeling we have to remember as the season goes on so we can build off the momentum we have.”
RPI has finally broken its streak of bad luck at Hobart; the team hadn’t won in Geneva, N.Y., since 1998.
“Beating Hobart for the first time in many years and the first time in my collegiate career will be a memorable moment and one that I will never forget,” said junior wide out Eren Savasli. “It was an amazing feeling and we enjoyed it but now we have to get back to business and focus on Susquehanna [University]. We still have six more games to win. Hobart was just one out of nine.”
“Saturday was a great win for us over Hobart. It was a great finish and the victory was an entire team effort,” said senior receiver Brendan McGowan. “We had a great week of practice and we have continued to improve each week. We are 3-0 and 1-0 in the Liberty League—which we haven’t been for a while—and we are looking to keep this momentum going. Each game will be a tough game in our league and I expect no different from Susquehanna this week.”
Both sides put up strong numbers for the third straight week, the offense was led by Williams who finished with a career high 114 yards on 21 carries, 15 receiving yards, and two touchdowns. McGowan made eight catches for 78 yards with one touchdown. Although Robertson had two interceptions, he still passed for 240 yards and had the touchdown to McGowan. “The offense showed that we can score in any situation by driving 67 yards in 35 seconds,” said Savasli who had 54 yards on 5 receptions himself. “We’re a force to be reckoned with and I’m sure we strike fear in opposing defenses when they prepare to play us.”
“The receivers once again showed our depth at the position with 5 of us having at least a catch in the game,” Savasli said referring to McGowan, himself, senior Chris Graef who had 56 yards, Patrick McCarth who had 29, and Mike Fil who had eight yards receiving. We made plays all game and especially on the game winning drive. We’ve showed in each of the first three games that we’re BALLIN!”
The Engineers’ defense was again strong including the two shut out quarters with just a hiccup in the fourth quarter’s unsuccessful comeback attempt by Hobart. Defense quote by coach king here. Senior Anthony Casale led with ten tackles, six of which were unassisted. Junior Alex Kelsen also added six solo tackles, two of which were sacks for a loss.
Of the three big throws in the final drive to the end zone, the last was an especially spectacular catch was brought down by Graef, the ball had first bounced off both a teammate and a Statesmen defender before Graef emerged with the ball. “This was definitely a big win for us, especially the senior class,” said Graef. “We knew it was going to be a tough game, but we played as a team for the full 60 minutes and made enough plays to win the game. The biggest thing after such an emotional win is to come out and have a good week of practice, then go down to Susquehanna this weekend and play our game. I think we also have great chemistry on this team, which is something we keep building on each week.”
The team will look to build on the momentum and confidence brought about by this win and head back from Pennsylvania perfect in the Liberty League. Susquehanna is new to the Liberty League and has replace Coast Guard. “Every game in the Liberty League is going to be tough. We have to use this game as a stepping stone and not have any letdowns this week vs. Susquehanna. They are the newbie in the league and would want nothing more then to beat us after the win we just had,” said Robertson. The teams meet next Saturday at 1:30 in Selinsgrove, PA.
