Senior quarterback Aaron Molisani ran four yards for a touchdown with 41 seconds to play to give the University of Rochester a 19-18 victory over visiting St. Lawrence University at Edwin Fauver Stadium.
Molisani's run capped a 13-play, 73-yard drive over 3:38. The Yellowjackets tried a two-point conversion. Jay Jay Vanderstyne fumbled a lateral from Molisani and Andy Welkley recovered it for the Saints at the 8. He ran to the 15 before being tackled.
Mike O'Donnell returned the ensuing kickoff to the 30. Matt Bezio kept the final drive alive for the Saints, scrambling to the Rochester 48 for a first down with three seconds to play. Bezio's final pass down the left sideline for Brett Young fell well short – a combination of a strong wind in his face and a heavy rush by Rochester linebacker Jason Goeller (one sack, two hurries among seven tackles).
“We had to play for four quarters,” said head coach Scott Greene, “and we found a way to finish.”
Rochester evened its Liberty League record at 1-1. The Yellowjackets are 3-2 overall. St. Lawrence is 2-2 overall, 0-1 in the Liberty League. All four Saint games this year have been decided by four or less points.
On the gamewinning drive, Molisani threw a 14-yard pass to freshman Zach Ingoldsby on third-and-10 from the UR 27. Matt Bielecki carried for 9 and 15 yards on successive carries, moving the ball to the 35. The Yellowjackets were set back to the 45 after two penalties.
Molisani hit freshman tight end Pedro Sosa for an 11-yard gain on second down, then scrambled for five yards on third down. After a timeout, he found Vanderstyne for a first down at the Saint 24. Two plays later, he hit Vanderstyne again, this time down at the 10. On first and goal, Molisani was tripped at the four by JoeDeLaura. On second down, he rolled to his right and dove just inside the pylon.
“You give the ball to your clutch players,” said Greene. “Jay Jay made a great catch (to keep the drive going) and Aaron made the right decision to run with the ball (for the TD).”
Bezio threw a 10-yard scoring pass to Young with 17 seconds left in the first half, but Matt Popov's extra point bounced off the left upright. The Saints used some trickery on their second possession of the third quarter to take a 13-12 lead. Bezio lateralled to O'Donnell on the left side. He stopped, pivoted, and threw to a wide-open Connor Hackett down the right sideline for a 40-yard touchdown. Carl Festa was tackled on a double reverse try for two points.
Bielecki rushed one yard for a TD on Rochester's next possession, but Griffin Moar's PAT was blocked by Harold Anderson, putting the Yellowjackets up, 13-12, with 8:37 left in the third. Bielecki scored two TDs for Rochester. His six-yard run put Rochester ahead, 7-0, with 1:55 left in the first half. He finished with a game-high 104 yards on 23 attempts.
The Saints converted on three straight third downs in a 14-play, 86-yard march, capped by John Izzo's 12-yard TD run with 1:24 left in the quarter. Izzo carried 11 times for 56 yards in the drive.
SLU recovered an onside kick after the TD, then punted after three-and-out. Rochester's defense held the Saints on three straight possessions in the fourth quarter.
“Our defense stepped up when we needed to,” Greene said.
Bezio completed 10 of 19 passes for 116 yards with one TD and one interception. He was sacked three times, twice by Pat Gallagher. Young caught five passes for 55 yards. Hackett had the 40-yard TD reception and led the Saints on the ground with 64 yards on 23 tries. Izzo rushed for 61 yards on 13 attempts. SLU rushed for 155 yards and passed for 156. Molisani rushed five times for 38 yards. The Yellowjackets had 169 on the ground, 127 in the air. Kapps Killingstad was 7 of 12 for 80 yards. Molisani was 4 of 10 for 42 yards. Vanderstyne caught six passes for 64 yards.
Defensively, Gallagher had nine solos and four assists, one forced fumble, and the two sacks. Sean Simpson had seven tackles.
By completing four passes, Molisani became Rochester's career leader in completions, passing Jeff Piscitelli. He now has 418. Piscitelli had 415.
