CANTON, NY – A Saint Lawrence (2-2, 1-1) comeback late in the fourth quarter against the Yellowjackets (2-3, 1-1) fell short, as Rochester prevailed, 27-22, at Leckonby Stadium Saturday afternoon in Canton, N.Y. in Liberty League action.
The Saints got on the board quickly in the first quarter with a seven-play, 66-yard drive. St. Lawrence hit paydirt when senior quarterback Tom Anderson connected with sophomore Mike O'Donnell on a 25-yard pass. Senior Nick Little connected on the PAT and the Saints had a 7-0 lead at 12:51 in the first. Fifteen minutes later, Rochester cut the lead to 7-6 with an extended drive, taking 11 plays and 78 yards. The drive was capped by an 11-yard pass from Aaron Molisani to David Ferris. On the PAT, senior Terrell Foster blocked Rob Corey's kick and returned it over 90 yards for two points, giving St. Lawrence a 9-6 lead with 12:11 to play in the second quarter. Little added a 46-yard field goal with 8:07 to play in the half to push the Saints lead up to 12-6.
The tables turned in the second half, as Rochester came out and took the lead with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Rivers from Molisani at 10:36 in the third. The scoring strike finished a 10-play, 80-yard drive. Corey's PAT was good and the Yellowjackets took a 13-12 lead.
Nate Gibbons added to the Yellowjackets lead with a 30-yard run on the reverse with 8:42 to play in the fourth quarter. Forty-six seconds later, Anderson was picked off by Ted Hardenstine, who returned it 20 yards to give Rochester a 27-12 lead with the PAT. The Saints defense held Rochester on fourth down, giving St. Lawrence the ball back with 2:51 to play on the Saints 31-yard line. Anderson marched the Saints down the field, capping a 13-play drive with a three-yard touchdown strike to senior Carl Althans. Anderson then connected with sophomore Brett Young for the two-point conversion, cutting the lead to 27-20.
St. Lawrence went for the onsides kick, but Rochester's Mike MacKenzie fell on it at the St. Lawrence 45-yard line. With 1:50 to play in the game, Rochester went to the run game to run down the clock. On fourth-and-22, in punt formation and just 4.5 seconds on the clock, punter David Ferris ran back and out of the end zone taking the safety as time expired.
Anderson finished with 173 yards passing on 19 completions with two touchdowns. Althans finished as the Saints leading receiver (47 yards) and rusher (45), with one touchdown. Anderson also rushed for 33 yards. Sophomore Judin Pierre Louis and Foster led St. Lawrence with 10 tackles each. Foster had 3.0 tackles for loss (18 yards), one QBH, and the blocked PAT. Jon Gorom paced Rochester with 12 tackles, including 1.0 for loss. Bielecki led the Yellowjackets with 129 yards on 32 carries. Molisani passed for 130 yard and two touchdowns on 13 completions, and ran for 50 yards.
