For the first time this season, the RPI football team found itself trailing its opponent at halftime. Added to that, the Engineers were on the road facing the one team that had beaten them two seasons in a row, and also ended last year’s run at a perfect regular season after a 7-0 start.
None of that stopped the Engineers from scoring on their first two possessions after halftime and stalling three second-half University of Rochester drives in the red zone to earn a 27-17 victory over the Yellowjackets on Saturday afternoon.
Down 14-13 at the start of the second half, the Engineer defense forced a three-and-out to quickly get the ball to the offense. Senior quarterback Jimmy Robertson was a perfect 3-3 for 55 yards on the ensuing RPI drive, ending in a one-yard touchdown run from sophomore runningback Nick Costa to claim a 20-14 lead. The Yellowjackets responded instantly with a long drive, but the Engineer defense clamped down in the red zone—an occurrence that would become a theme in the second half—to hold Rochester to just three points.
“I thought it was outstanding,” said Head Coach Joe King of the team’s goal-line defense. “We talk about it all the time, as one of the things we have to do is play great goal-line offense and defense. And we did in that game. They had a couple of opportunities to score in the fourth quarter and we came up big.”
The Engineers came right back with a 61-yard touchdown drive, including a key fourth-down reception from sophomore Patrick McCarthy to earn a new set of downs. McCarthy caught a 19-yard pass from Robertson for his second touchdown of the day, increasing RPI’s lead to 27-17.
“In the first half we were driving from 20 to 20 but then twice we settled for field goals. I think in the second half, we were able [in] the first two drives to set the tone by getting touchdowns and not settling for field goals,” said Robertson.
“I think that was the difference in the game, coming out with a statement on those first two possessions.”
On its final two drives of the game, Rochester twice drove all the way into the red zone, but each time the Engineer defense held.
First, senior Khaly Merot blocked a 24-yard field goal attempt to keep it a two-possession game. On the Yellowjackets’ next and final drive, junior Justin Foglia intercepted a fourth-down pass from Rochester quarterback freshman Braezen Subick to end any chance of a late comeback.
“It definitely meant a lot,” said senior wide receiver Eren Savasli of the win. He noted, however, “My season isn’t complete just because we beat them; we still have a lot more to go.”
With the victory, the Engineers now stand at 2-0 in the Liberty League, and 4-0 overall. The Yellowjackets fall to 1-1 in the Liberty League, and 1-3 overall. “It’s nice to be 4-0; it’s nice to have won three out of four games on the road,” said King, noting that its not easy to win away from home.
Looking at the Liberty League standings after two weeks of league play, RPI and Hobart are the only two remaining unbeaten teams. The Engineers will host Hobart November 8 in the final regular season game to be played on the ’86 Field.
RPI opened the game’s scoring with a 22-yard field goal from junior Peter Nilson, following junior Bobby Stutz’s interception of Subick. Rochester found the end zone twice in the half with touchdown runs of five and 32 yards from sophomore Clarence Onyiriuka and senior Mike Sonderlicker, respectively. The Engineers responded to each of those immediately with scoring drives of their own, resulting in a 23-yard touchdown pass from Robertson to McCarthy and another Nilson field goal, this one from 26 yards with just seven seconds to play in the half.
Robertson finished with 252 passing yards and two touchdowns. He did not throw an interception in the game, and has now thrown just one through the Engineers’ first four contests of the season. McCarthy had 115 yards receiving to go along with his two touchdowns. As a team, RPI broke the 100-yard mark rushing, with 133 yards total. Pass protection excelled again for the Engineers as Rochester, just like WPI last week, was unable to sack Robertson.
“Last year they gave us a lot of pressure, a lot of blitz, and that’s something we’ve worked really hard on this week during practice. … They blitzed us the whole game like we expected, and we beat it every single time,” said Savasli.
“We were really up-tempo,” said Robertson. “They were out there huffin’ and puffin’; they couldn’t keep up with us we felt.”
On the other side of the ball, junior defensive back Tim Acker led the Engineers with 15 tackles (six solo), and was named Defensive Player of the Week in the Liberty League. Due to injury, this was the first game Acker played in the season.
Also key to the game was the turnover battle. The Engineers came up with two interceptions and did not turn the ball over in the game. King said that for “any football team—I don’t care on what level—I think that one of the deciding factors is the turnover margin. Something that offensively and on special teams we take a lot of pride in is not turning the ball over. Defensively, it’s one of our goals.”
The Engineers have this weekend off before hosting the Susquehanna University Crusaders on October 18 on the ’86 Field at 1 pm for Homecoming. King noted that the off week will “give players a chance to heal some. This time of year, everybody’s bumped and bruised.”
“As coaches, it gives us a chance to look at what we’re doing and who’s doing it and to evaluate schemes and the players and hope to make some good decisions here in the second half of the season,” said King.
