The Engineer defense came up with key turnovers and the offense capitalized with a pair of late touchdowns to turn a one-point fourth quarter deficit into a 24-10 victory over Utica on Saturday afternoon. The win leaves the Engineers at 2-0, as the team now looks to its home opener this Saturday at 1 pm against WPI in the final season to be played on the ’86 Field.
“We found a way to win, which I think shows a lot about this team,” stated Head Coach Joe King of the victory over the Pioneers.
RPI’s offense had trouble getting started in the first quarter, as senior quarterback Jimmy Robertson was intercepted on the Engineers’ first drive and the team went three-and-out on its following two series. The interception set up Utica with a short field; the Pioneers were unable to get into the end zone, but Casey McNulty connected on an 18-yard field goal for an early 3-0 Utica lead.
The Engineers would finally break through and get on the board late in the second quarter. The RPI defense forced Utica to punt from their own two-yard line, setting up the Engineer’s offense on their own 45-yard line. After a 48-yard drive stalled, junior Peter Nilson’s 23-yard field goal knotted the game at three and closed out the first-half scoring.
RPI would break that tie midway through the third quarter. Robertson ran the ball into the end zone himself to cap off an eight-play, 63-yard drive. Nilson was unable to convert on the extra point, leaving the Engineers with a 9-3 lead.
Following turnovers by both teams, the Pioneers responded early in the fourth quarter, putting together an 81-yard drive ending in a touchdown pass from Jim Pincher. The extra point left the Engineers trailing by a single point. Utica threatened to increase its lead on its next series, but junior Justin Foglia came up with a huge forced fumble and recovery on RPI’s six-yard line.
King pointed out that on RPI’s two fumble recoveries, “it wasn’t like they handed the ball to us. We ripped the ball out and we got two big turnovers.”
Foglia’s fumble recovery was one of a series of big plays from the RPI defense, as it clamped down at the end of the game and forced Pioneer turnovers on five of Utica’s final six drives, including each of the last four. That defensive effort did more than just stave off the Pioneer offense: it also led directly to the game-winning points in the contest.
Sophomore Darryl Brown’s fumble recovery and a Foglia interception on consecutive Utica drives set the Engineer offense up in Pioneer territory, and RPI capitalized on both occasions. First, senior Eren Savasli reeled in a touchdown pass from Robertson to take a 15-10 lead. The two-point conversion attempt succeeded on a throw from Robertson to sophomore Patrick McCarthy, giving RPI a full touchdown advantage.
Then, sophomore Nick Costa found the end zone for his fourth time on the young season to give the Engineers a two-score advantage. Nilson tacked on the extra point for the final 14-point margin of victory.
“I thought they were well-prepared, and really played extremely hard,” said King of Utica. “Win the league and you go to the NCAA tournament, [and] you’re a marked team. So you’re always going to get everybody’s best. It’s certainly been the case the first two weeks.”
Costa finished the day with 107 yards on the ground, and Robertson threw for 231 as the Engineers outgained the Pioneers 366-252 yards offensively. In addition to forcing the five turnovers, the RPI defense was also able to get off the field on third downs, allowing just one such conversion to Utica on the day.
According to King, the Engineers will need to work more on both their pass rush and protecting the quarterback. “We have to rush the quarterback better. We lost containment at times. They dumped the ball off and made some big plays that way,” stated King.
“Jimmy was under a lot of pressure all day long. We need to make some improvements in that area also,” said King.
Next up for RPI will be WPI at home this Saturday in the Transit Trophy Game, the team’s first Liberty League matchup of the season.
Just as for their first two games, the Engineers are not looking past this weekend’s game. “Each week is the biggest game of the year. WPI is coming here 3-0,” stated King.
He described the WPI offense as “diverse,” noting that “they spread the field, they throw the ball, [and] they run it.”
“We’ve got our work cut out for us defensively,” stated King.
The Engineers defeated WPI 21-14 in double overtime on the road in last season’s Transit Trophy Game. “This is going to be a really, really good test for us,” said King of the matchup.
Admission is free to RPI students with their student ID cards at home games.
