It was a Hollywood ending this past weekend for the Engineers as they not only retained the Dutchman Shoes Trophy, but also brought home the Liberty League Championship for the first time in the same game. The last time the team went to the playoffs was in 1993, when they eventually advanced to the National Semifinals.
The 20-14 win over Union College, along with much-needed luck, as University of Rochester lost to Hobart College, let RPI clinch the title. With the win, they snatched the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where they have been seeded fourth, and will host the sixth-seeded, The College of New Jersey, on the ’86 Field this Saturday at noon in the first round.
Heading into the game with Union, both teams had just one loss on the season and were riding high on momentum. The Engineers finished with an overall regular season record of 8-1, and went 6-1 in the league. “Our main goal at the beginning of the year was to win the Liberty League,” said junior quarterback Jimmy Robertson. “Accomplishing that goal this weekend was such an amazing feeling. When I saw [senior] John Tesiero intercept the pass to clinch the win a smile just came to my face. Bringing the Shoes back to Troy and winning the league title in the same day—what more can we ask for?”
“This game was definitely a big one for us,” said senior Chris Graef who caught the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. “Winning the Shoes back-to-back as seniors means a lot and is something that hasn’t been done in a while. I think throughout the season we’ve just had a great team effort in every game, so we know no matter the situation that if there is time on the clock we have a chance to win the game.”
“We talk about it as coaches and players, we want to play our best games at the end of the season,” said Joe King, who in his 19th year as RPI’s head coach.
“I’m most proud of the fact that these kids stuck together; they knew they had a lot of work to do and players to replace from last year,” said King of the pride he has in his team. He is also very grateful for his fellow coaching staff, which was named the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year, for the fifth time in his tenure. “No one outworks us, both our full and part timers. Our support staff has also been outstanding as well. They’ll do anything to help us win. I’m pleased and proud of that.”
Saturday’s victory was RPI’s first away win against Union since 1992 and couldn’t have come at a better time. While the Dutchmen first found the end zone just 10 seconds into the second quarter, the Engineers answered back quickly as freshman Nick Costa had a breakout game and ran for a 59-yard touchdown. Costa would finish with 160 yards on 15 carries, with all but four of his yards in the first half of the game. “[Costa] had a great game,” said Robertson. “The offensive line did a great job opening some holes for him and he did a phenomenal job running the ball all day. Once he gets to the open field there is no catching him. His speed really hurt Union.”
On Monday, the Liberty League named Costa Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. “We all knew he was a capable running back,” said junior receiver Eren Savasli. “He’s one of the fastest people I’ve seen at this level. He showed that speed on many of his runs during the game and especially on the 59 yard TD where he just outran the entire defense.”
After Costa’s run put RPI on the board, classmates Robertson and Savasli were next to connect as Savasli reeled in a pass in the back corner of the end zone with 2:25 remaining in the second quarter as the Engineers pulled ahead 13-7.
A quiet third quarter preceded the fourth in which Robertson again found a pair of hands in the end zone, this time it was Graef from 14 yards out. “Catching the game-winning touchdown in my final Shoes game is definitely something I’ll never forget,” said Graef of the memorable day. “As the play unfolded and I saw Jimmy scrambling, I just tried to find an open window for him to throw the ball. He managed to hold onto the ball for a while; he probably should have thrown it away, but somehow he stayed in bounds found me towards the back of the endzone.”
The score put RPI up 20-7 but Union mounted their offense and eventually hit home with 3:13 remaining in the game. With the clock winding down, Union was able to force a punt and took the ball on their own 40 with 1:36 remaining. On the first down of their possession, senior John Tesiero intercepted a pass to guarantee the victory, keep the Dutchmen Shoes in Troy, and win the league title for the first time. “Winning the Liberty League was one of our goals before the season began,” said Savasli of the importance to both the athletes and coaches of the title. “It’s something special to be part of the first RPI team to win the Liberty League; but now we need to focus on our next goal which is to win a National Championship.”
“One of our goals going into the season was to win the Liberty League and it is definitely a great feeling being the first team here to since the [Liberty League] was created to win the title,” said Graef. “A lot of people played well this weekend: Rayhill was a human hit stick, and Tes made a huge play at the end there to seal it. McCarthy also stepped up big for us in such an important game.”
Robertson finished the day with 17 of 25 completions for 220 yards and two touchdowns. “Jimmy did a great job as usual. He was very patient in the pocket and was able to scramble and make plays when he needed to,” said Savasli. “He was able to get the ball up in the air for jump balls and allow me to go up and make a play on it.” Robertson finished the regular season with 2,250 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Robertson was, however, intercepted twice on touchdown attempts. “A couple mistakes on my part in the first half kept Union in the game,” said the ever-humble Robertson. “Our defense really bailed me out by not letting Union’s offense get in a groove. They were making plays left and right and set the tone for the game.”
The defense he is referring to is the one that effectively shut down Union’s pass, giving up just 91 passing yards the entire game. Senior Anthony Casale led the team with 12 tackles, including nine unassisted, and two for lost yards. Classmate Tom Rayhill also had a strong showing with tackles, seven of which were unassisted, and three for lost yards of 14. In addition, he had two sacks, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup.
The game isn’t won by individuals as King noted, “Our O-line did an excellent job protecting the quarterback and opening up holes. Our defensive line was also great and sometimes thats how you win games and you don’t even know it.”
The Engineers hope to benefit from their home field advantage when the TCNJ Lions, a well-balanced team, visits this Saturday. It won the New Jersey Atlantic conference with a overall record of 8-2, and went 6-1 in its league while averaging 24.2 points and 334.7 yards per game. “It’s a whole new season now,” said Robertson. “The best 32 teams are left and it’s win or go home. That means we must have a sense of urgency. We have to bring our A-game vs New Jersey. They are a great team and come from the NJAC which is a real tough conference. Not knowing much about them means we are going to have to put in extra prepartion this week so we can keep our season going.”
“TCNJ is a good team but any team you face in the playoffs is a good team,” said Savasli. “From here on out we need to play our best football and cut down on making mistakes because it’s lose and go home now.”
“It’s a great feeling to know that as seniors, our season is still going,” said Graef, summing up the thoughts of many.
