NEWPORT, RI – Ryan Rose hit Trey Johnson for a 22-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left to help the University of Rochester football win its second straight, defeating Salve Regina University, 17-10, in a non-conference clash on Saturday at Toppa Field.
 
With the win, Rochester moves to 2-1 on the year, their best start since 2015, while the Seahawks drop their first contest of the year, falling to 2-1.
 
With neither team able to get much going offensively and the score still knotted at 10-all, the Seahawks took over at their nine-yard line with 9:35 to play and put together the makings of a game-winning drive. Isaac Rivera converted a third-and-nine to keep the drive going before a 30-yard scamper from Justan Luzzi brought Salve Regina to within field goal range with less than five minutes to play.
 
The Seahawks would drive inside the Rochester 10-yard line with a 16-play, 83-yard drive, but facing a second-and-three and UR's six, the 'Jackets' defense held firm. J.T. Monahan recorded a tackle for a loss on second down, and Andy Kristian forced another loss on third down to set up a potential go-ahead field goal for Salve Regina.
 
Chris DiBella, having already missed another field goal on the day, missed this one wide left, keeping the two sides level, and giving UR one last chance before overtime.
 
The Yellowjackets would quickly take advantage, with Rose finding Aidan Papantonis for gains of 18 and 25 yards following a pass interference penalty on the Seahawks to bring UR within field goal range with 36 seconds to play.
 
However, Rochester wouldn't just settle for a field goal, and on first-and-10 from the Seahawks' 22-yard line following a UR timeout, Rose hit Johnson down the left sideline for a score to give UR a 17-10 lead with 21 seconds left.
 
The Seahawks would get the ball back following a touchback on the kickoff, but after an incomplete pass and a seven-yard gain, Jack Yensel intercepted Jack Stack's last-ditch attempt to finish off the 17-10 UR victory.
 
Salve Regina got the scoring started in the first quarter following a three-and-out by the Yellowjackets on their opening drive. Starting from their 44-yard line, the Seahawks drove 37 yards over eight plays, converting a third-and-long with a 25-yard completion from Stack to Marcelino La Bella before a seven-yard completion put the Seahawks inside the red zone.
 
However, Rochester would hold the Seahawks to just a field goal attempt, forcing an incompletion on third-and-three, and DiBella would connect from 36 yards out to give Salve a 3-0 lead.
 
The Seahawks' defense would then force a fumble on UR's ensuing drive, but again, the Yellowjacket defense would come up big, holding Salve Regina without a score on a drive that started at the Seahawk 49-yard line.
 
Stack led the Seahawks inside the UR 30, but on third-and-two for the Rochester 28-yard line, Bradley Beckwith stopped Ryan Janz for a gain of one, and on fourth-and-one, Monahan stopped Janz short of the line to gain to force a turnover on downs.
 
Rochester then started to get its offense going with an eight-play, 52-yard drive, but just like the Seahawks, UR turned it over on downs just outside the red zone, keeping Salve up 3-0.
 
The first quarter would come to a close with the Seahawks up 3-0, and after Salve Regina was forced to punt early on in the second, the Yellowjackets drove down for a score.
 
After a series of five-yard gains, Rose hit Papantonis for 10 yards to move just outside the Salve Regina red zone and then found Papantonis again for 13 yards on third-and-10 to set up first-and-goal for UR.
 
On first-and-goal, Will Varney rushed in from eight yards out to give UR the lead, and Jordan Laudani nailed the extra point to make it 7-3.
 
The Seahawks though, would come right back with a scoring drive of their own, re-taking the lead with an eight-play, 58-yard drive, capped off by Stack's 14-yard touchdown pass to La Bella on fourth down to make it 10-7 with 2:22 left in the first half.
 
On the ensuing drive, Rose found Jackson Kane for 10 yards to get UR moving, and after a 17-yard rush by Varney, the 'Jackets found themselves inside the Salve Regina red zone with just over a minute left.
 
Four straight rushes by Rose and Varney made it first-and-goal, but an offensive pass interference call pushed the 'Jackets outside the red zone and forced UR to settle for a field goal. Laudani connected from 37 yards, and Rochester would head into the locker room all tied up at 10-10.
 
Salve Regina looked to strike first in the second half and re-take the lead, but again, UR forced a turnover on downs inside the red zone, stopping Luzzi on fourth-and-two from the 16-yard line.
 
In total, the Seahawks converted just two of their five red-zone scoring opportunities, missing two field goals and turning the ball over on downs twice.
 
The Seahawks would miss another field goal following an 11-play, 39-yard drive near the end of the third, but the Yellowjackets would go three-and-out to give the ball right back.
 
UR's defense did the same, forcing a punt with a three-play, negative nine-yard drive, and Rochester would look to get things going offensively with the ball to start the fourth.
 
However, both teams traded punts until Salve Regina's 16-play, 83-play drive set up the potential go-ahead field goal that went wide left and then Rose found Johnson on the ensuing drive to put UR ahead and eventually finish off the victory.
 
Ryan completed 21-of-34 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown, while Varney led UR on the ground with 17 rushes for 59 yards and a touchdown. Johnson caught six passes for 95 yards and a TD, while Papantonis caught a team-high eight balls for 85 yards.
 
Defensively, Happy Chane tallied a team-high 10 tackles, while Monahan notched nine, a sack, a tackle for a loss and a pass breakup.
 
Yensel had UR's lone forced turnover of the day, while the 'Jackets had six tackles for a loss, six pass breakups and two sacks on defense.
 
And though the Seahawks outgained UR, 366-290, the Yellowjackets held Salve Regina to just 6-of-18 on third down, 3-of-5 on fourth down and 2-of-5 in the red zone.
 
Winners of two straight, Rochester will look to make it three-in-a-row when they return to New England to wrap up non-conference play at the University of New England on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 1:00 p.m. in Biddeford, ME.