PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – The University of Rochester football team defeated visiting SUNY Morrisville 21-10 on Saturday afternoon at Edwin Fauver Stadium, leveling its 2026 season record at 1-1 through two weeks.
URochester used a strong ground game in the victory, accumulating 180 total yards rushing on the day.
Cole Raux accounted for 168 yards of that total, rushing 25 times while plunging in for a 1-yard touchdown to open UR's scoring in the first quarter.
Quarterback
Shawn Bellenger connected twice for scores with teammate
T.J. Shifflet to account for the rest of the Yellowjacket touchdowns. Shifflet finished with 42 yards receiving on three receptions. Bellenger finished with 135 yards passing, completing 16 of 25 pass attempts, while also tossing a pair of interceptions.
Defensively, senior
Jack Diggins had a solid all-around game to lead the Yellowjackets, finishing with 8 tackles (4 solo), 4.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack and 1 interception.
Gavin Guidette led the team with 11 total tackles, while
Nathan Lehigh and
Claudio Pinto each had nine.
SUNY Morrisville could only muster 212 total yards of offense on the afternoon, compared to 315 for the Yellowjackets. Isaac Sylvain had 72 yards rushing for the Mustangs (1-1), while quarterback Logan Watson had 120 yards passing, one touchdown and one interception. Mason Ondreyko hauled in four passes for a team-high 36 yards receiving, while Dom Dorman recorded the lone Morrisville touchdown on the day.
The Mustang defense saw DeSean Bruce lead the way with eight tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. Kadofi Abbott chipped in six tackles and a sack, while Thomas Eison and Zavion Daniels each picked off a pass.
On Morrisville's opening offensive drive of the game, the Yellowjackets forced a 3-and-out which resulted in a punt attempt. The punt saw a bad snap sail over Bran'dale Lester's head towards the endzone, with Lester recovering at the 1-yard line to prevent points for URochester.
After the turnover on downs, Raux punched in the 1-yard score, with
Kyle Brainard connecting on the PAT for a 7-0 UR lead.
The Mustangs evened the score on their next possession, traversing 65 yards in seven plays, with Watson finding Dorman from 23 yards out for the touchdown. Jesus Cediel kicked the extra point and the teams were back level.
URochester got to the Morrisville red zone on its next possession, but Ja'Mar Harvey was able to block a Brainard field goal attempt from 37 yards to keep the score tied.
The Yellowjacket defense forced another 3-and-out on Morrisville's next drive to get the ball back. A Raux started the drive with two big runs, including a long 37-yarder up the right side to reach the Morrisville 25-yard line.
A Bellenger QB keeper was followed by a
Drew Strollo run that cracked the red zone. After a short completion to
James Floto, the Yellowjackets were faced with a 4th-and-1 at the Morrisville 16-yard line.
UR decide to go for it, with Bellenger ripping a perfect pass to the back of the endzone where Shifflet was waiting for the touchdown score.
Two empty possessions later, Morrisville got back in the scoring column on a 23-yard field goal by Jesus Cediel. That capped a 13-play, 52-yard drive to make the score 14-10 late in the second quarter.
Rochester's final possession of the half was promising with
Greg Morrison,
Corey Wang and
Adam Marvin catching chunk plays from Bellenger, but an interception in the endzone thwarted the Yellowjacket drive at the 10-yard line.
In the second half, the Mustangs first possession ate up over eight minutes of clock and reached inside the Rochester 30-yard line, but a Diggins sack drove Morrisville back nine yards and later were forced to punt.
That punt ended at the Yellowjackets 5-yard line, with UR's next offensive chance reaching midfield. Another interception, this one on a long heave deep into Mustang territory, turned the ball over back to Morrisville.
Morrisville's offense stalled out again though after the pick, going 3-and-out once again, giving the ball, and momentum back to the Yellowjackets.
UR turned that into more points, embarking on a 9-play, 58-yard scoring drive which ended in another Shifflet touchdown. This time, Bellenger rolled right, found Shifflet on the out route, with the senior receiver out-running the defender to the pylon for the score.
Rochester's defense stood tall the rest of the way, keeping the Morrisville offense in check, with Diggins' interception at the 2-minute mark sealing the deal.
Up next, UR concludes its non-conference season with a 2 p.m. matchup next Saturday at St. John Fisher University.
