SCHENECTADY, NY – Host Union College used a strong aerial attack in a 34-13 victory over the University of Rochester football team on Saturday afternoon at Frank Bailey Field in a Liberty League matchup.
 
The win pushes Union's record to 3-6 overall and 2-3 in the Liberty League, while Rochester drops its second straight game and falls to 6-3 on the season, also seeing its conference record move to 2-3.
 
Union quarterback Patch Flanagan tossed for 325 yards and three touchdowns in the victory, connecting with Gil Reivera for two long TD's late in the opening half to break the game open.
 
The Garnet Chargers would eventually build a 27-0 lead before Rochester won the fourth quarter, scoring two touchdowns to Union's one.
 
Creighton Wise tossed for 140 yards and two touchdowns through the air for the Yellowjackets while also gaining 92 yards on 19 attempts on the ground. Samuel Nuamah and Aidan Papantonis were the touchdown scorers for Rochester.
 
On defense, Joe DeBonis led UR with eight tackles, including a sack. Daniel Santos added eight stops while Sammy Randle III and J.T. Monahan each recorded seven.
 
The Yellowjackets had terrific field position after the opening kickoff was returned 35 yards by Trey Johnson to the Rochester 41-yard line, with an additional Union penalty pushing the drive start location inside Garnet Charger territory.
 
Rochester's offense ended up turning the ball over though, as Ryan Rose's pass was intercepted by Emmanuel Green at the Union 2-yard line. Union couldn't capitalize though and punted the ball away a few plays later.
 
After a Rochester punt, Flanagan and the Union offense began to click, going on a 12-play, 71 yard drive down to the Yellowjacket 5-yard line. But the drive was stopped on a 4th-and-one opportunity, with Flanagan attempting a QB sneak, only to be met by Santos at the line of scrimmage.
 
UR's next drive featured a different look with Wise in at quarterback and lasted 15 plays, taking nearly nine minutes off the clock. But the Yellowjackets came away empty after missing a fourth down conversion just outside the Union red zone.
 
The teams again traded punts, with Union getting the ball back with under two minutes to play in the scoreless opening half. This time, the Garnet Chargers connected through the air twice, finding paydirt on a 45-yard bomb to Rivera, making the score 7-0.
 
After the kickoff, UR reached near midfield before James Gillespie intercepted another Rose pass, giving Union another chance to score before the half expired. The Garnet Chargers struck in just one play, with Flanagan finding Rivera for 56 yards up the left sideline to boost the score to 13-0. A two-point attempt failed and the score remained that heading into intermission.
 
In the third, Union boosted its lead to following a Jonathan Anderson 2-yard rushing score and later found the endzone again with Flanagan finding Robbie Tolbert from eight yards out.
 
The Yellowjackets finally got their offense running in the early part of the fourth quarter. Wise found Nuamah for a big 29-yard gain to start the drive. After three Wise rushes moved Rochester inside the Union red zone, the Union defense stiffened with a pass break-up and a sack, forcing a third-and-long from the 21-yard line. Wise stepped up and fired a strike to Papantonis for the touchdown, breaking the shutout. The PAT was missed and the score moved to 27-6.
 
Union answered with a touchdown drive, ending with a Michael Fiore rush up the middle from the 1-yard line.
 
Rochester completed the scoring on its final drive of the day, with Nuamah being on the receiving end of another wise touchdown, this one coming from 13 yards out. Wise was also able to get some chunk gains on the drive with passes to Anthony Pucciarelli (12 yards), Micah Butler (13 yards) and Jackson Kane (19 yards).
 
The Yellowjackets wrap up the regular season next Saturday, playing at Hobart College at 1 pm.