PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) turned the University of Rochester over seven times en route to a 41-7 win over the Yellowjackets on Saturday at Edwin Fauver Stadium. The win keeps the Engineers unbeaten in Liberty League play at 5-2 (4-0 LL), while Rochester drops to 3-4 (2-2 LL).
Despite the loss, the Yellowjacket defense allowed the Engineers to score just 20 points and forced two turnovers, with RPI's other 21 points coming from three interceptions returned for scores.
Neither team would get on the scoreboard in a scoreless first that saw a pair of punts, two turnovers, and two turnovers on downs. Rochester came up with a big stop on RPI's opening drive, stalling the Engineers in the red zone with incompletions on third and fourth-and-seven.
Two punts later, Rochester and RPI traded turnovers before the 'Jackets stalled right outside the red zone, giving the ball back to RPI.
Eight plays and 46 yards later, RPI turned it over on downs again, with
Gavin Guidette and
Rhys Lewis coming up with a big stop on 4th-and-14 from the Rochester 27-yard line, keeping Nate Ehui short of the line to gain on Micah Balzarini's seven-yard completion.
Then on RPI's ensuing drive, the Yellowjackets would force another turnover on downs, holding Josh Young to a 10-yard gain on 4th-and-12 from the UR 33. But after the Yellowjackets picked up a pair of first downs on completions to
T.J. Shifflet, Matt Krauza intercepted
Shawn Bellenger's pass and took it 49 yards the other way for a score, giving RPI a 6-0 lead after Kevin Lukash missed the extra point.
After another punt, the Engineers looked to add to their lead, as Justin McCormack hit Grayson Hunter in stride for a gain of 24 on second-and-four. However,
Braydon Felsinger forced a fumble, and
Rhys Lewis pounced on it just past midfield to give Rochester the ball back.
And the 'Jackets would take advantage, putting together their best drive of the day.
Justin Rizzo-Troxell took
Aniston Marsh's screen pass on second-and-eight for 33 yards down to the RPI 20-yard line. And despite a sack on first-and-10, Marsh found
Adam Marvin for a gain of six on second down, and then connected with Rizzo-Troxell in the right corner of the end zone on fourth-and-14 with a beautiful ball to give Rochester a 7-6 lead.
That lead would be short-lived, however, as just over 40 seconds later, Balzarini hit a wide-open Kayden White for a 41-yard touchdown to give RPI a 13-6 lead at the halftime break.
URochester got the ball to start the third, and moved up to midfield with 25 yards over its first six plays, but Nicholas Rossi intercepted Marsh's first-down pass, giving RPI the ball just outside UR territory.
Again, though, the Yellowjackets' defense would come up with a stop, as Felsinger and Lewis stuffed White for no gain on fourth-and-one. Two plays later, though, the Engineers doubled their lead as Luke Lavello intercepted Marsh's pass and took it 51 yards for a score, giving RPI a 20-6 advantage.
Despite another turnover on downs on RPI's ensuing drive, the Engineers would break through with another score on offense just before the end of the third. McCormack capped off a five-play, 58-yard drive with a five-yard rushing score, extending the Engineers' advantage to 27-7 after the extra point.
Another pick-six then made it 34-7 to start the fourth, while after Lance Hersh intercepted another pass on URochester's ensuing drive, McCormack connected with Hunter for a 23-yard touchdown to make it 41-7 in favor of the visitors.
Both teams went three-and-out on their ensuing drives, and after Hersh came up with one more interception to stop Rochester's final possession, the Engineers ran out the clock to finish off the 41-7 victory.
Offensively,
Ian Johnson led Rochester on the ground with 21 carries for 47 yards, while Rizzo-Troxell caught four receptions for 67 yards and a score, with
Corey Wang seeing a team-high five receptions for 48 yards.
Defensively, Rochester tallied nine tackles for a loss, led by
Jack Diggins, who accumulated eight total tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss and half a sack. Felsinger had a team-high 15 tackles to go along with a tackle for a loss, a pass breakup and a forced fumble, while Guidette also posted double-digit tackles with 10.
As a team, the Yellowjackets held RPI to just 2-for-11 on third downs and 2-for-6 on fourth downs.
Rochester will hit the road for its next two contests, beginning with a matchup at Hobart College on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1:00 p.m. in Geneva, NY.
