Yet again, the nationally-ranked Engineers finished in dramatic fashion with a strong fourth quarter to take the lead and the win over St. Lawrence University. RPI’s offense exploded for 21 points in the fourth quarter, breaking out of the 10-7 hole they had been stuck in. With a final score of 28-10, the defense also was able to breathe a sigh of relief as they once again controlled their opponents and helped the team improve to a perfect 5-0.
In a week of attention-grabbing games that had Stanford University upsetting USC with their backup QB and nearly saw Romo throw away a sure win in a game quoted by many as just ‘weird,’ RPI managed to keep the game entertaining and improved their national ranking to 18th.
Senior captain John Tesiero started the comeback when he intercepted a pass by Saints quarterback Brad Heil and returned it 48 yards down to the two-yard line where junior Isaac Williams busted it in on the next play.
RPI would score again on their next drive after traveling up the field 56 yards on ten plays, when junior quarterback Jimmy Robertson found classmate Nick Casale open in the end zone making it 21-10 with 5:42 to play.
Before time would expire, freshman running back Bob Munier made a 30-yard dash to put the final points on the board. The kick was good and the comeback was complete as the Engineers won 28-10.
The first half was noticeably quieter with only a single St. Lawrence score just after the two-minute warning. After halftime, RPI came out and tied the game on their first attempt with senior Brendan McGowan’s 14-yard reception.
The Engineers’ offense finished strongly with 319 total yards, 150 from rushing. Williams led the attack with 65 yards on 14 carries, while Robertson finished 13 for 29 for 169 yards including two touchdowns. McGowan was the favorite target of the game and had seven catches for 104 yards.
RPI’s defense proved itself yet again and held the saints to 275 yards on offense, 205 of which were in the air, but just 10 points. The defense against the run is rated as sixth-best in the nation, a testament to their work ethic and will to win. This year, the unit has held opponents to an average of just 43.6 yards of rushing per game. Working hard again to stop giving up big plays, the defense was led by senior linebacker Anthony Casale with 17 tackles, seven of which were unassisted. Casale was named Defensive Performer of the Week by the Liberty League for his feat. He leads the team this season with 52 stops, 25 of which were unassisted.
The team is off next week as the men regroup and prepare for the final four league games of the regular season with high hopes for an NCAA bid. They return home for a match-up against United States Merchant Marine Academy on October 20 at 1 pm. They finish out their season with a visit to Worcester Polytechnic Institute, then return home to take on University of Rochester before traveling to Union College for the Dutchmen Shoes Trophy game on November 11 for the final regular season game.
