TROY, N.Y. - Sophomore quarterback Tyler Johnson threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns and he ran for 166 yards while the Alfred University defense held on a first-and-goal in the waning minutes as the Saxons defeated Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 34-31, in a rainy non-league Division III football game at East Campus Stadium. The Saxons improve to 2-0, while the Engineers fall to 1-1.
The game was back-and-forth throughout and RPI had an outstanding chance to take the lead or tie the game late in the fourth quarter. Trailing 34-31 with 8:08 left in the fourth quarter, the Engineers drove from its own 47 yard line to the Alfred two. On first down, quarterback Jeff Avery (White Plains, NY / White Plains) rushed to the one-yard line. He attempted another rush on second down but was kept out of the end zone. A personal foul penalty by the Engineers after the play resulted in 3rd and goal from the 16 yard line and a pass into the end zone went incomplete. RPI tried a 33-yard field goal to tie the game with 3:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Andrew Franks (Carmel, CA / Carmel) saw his kick go wide left and Alfred took over.
Johnson (East Syracuse, NY / East Syracuse-Minoa) capped his impressive performance by driving Alfred t the RPI 28 yard line with only 10 seconds left. He rushed every play, totaling 60 yards on seven carries and Rensselaer's last ditch effort from its own 20 yard line was unsuccessful. For the game, Johnson ran 27 times for 166 yards and connected on 13 of 25 passes for 203 yards and two scores. He had scoring strikes of 17 and 82 yards, the latter of which giving the Saxons a 34-31 lead early in the final frame.
Both teams started off quickly as 38 points were scored in the first 15:36 of the contest. The visitors opened the scoring on the first drive of the game when they marched 75 yards on eight plays, culminating with a 17-yard pass from Johnson to classmate Brendan Buisch (Hornell, NY / Hornell). The Engineers answered on their first drive when Franks (Carmel, CA / Carmel) hit a 39-yard field goal with 9:28 left in the first quarter.
The Saxons went into their bag of tricks on their next possession as wide receiver Rodney Etienne (Spring Valley, NY / Ramapo), a converted quarterback, took a lateral to the right and found a wide open Bobby Broddus (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) down the right sidelines for a 14-3 lead at 9:28. Alfred immediately dug back into their bag with a successful onside kick, but the Saxons could not convert and was forced to punt. Thanks to a kick that went minus-1 yard, Rensselaer cut the deficit to 14-10 in just two plays and 38 seconds later when Avery found Reggie Colas (Miami, FL / Belen Jesuit) from 36 yards away. Avery's second touchdown pass of the quarter, this one to junior Logan Gaddar (South Portland, ME / South Portland) from eight yards away, put RPI ahead for the first time, 17-14, with 3:42 remaining in the first quarter.
The Saxons used only 36 seconds of the second quarter to regain the lead, 21-17, thanks to a three yard run by freshman running back Willie McFadden (Amityville, NY / Copiague). Avery and Gaddar hooked up for a second time midway through the second quarter, this time from 26 yards down the middle of the field, and the Engineers led 24-21 at the half.
RPI opened the second half with the ball and put together a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ended with an acrobatic, seven yard touchdown reception from Colas. The graduate student made a one-handed catch with his left hand while rotating his body from right-to-left while in the air. Johnson led the Saxons down the field, however, beginning with a 51-yard run on the first play of the ensuing drive for the visitors. Three plays later, McFadden pulled Alfred to within four points with a 17-yard run off a right-to-left sweep. The point after attempt failed.
It was early in the fourth quarter that Johnson found Buisch for the 82 yard touchdown down the right side as the signal caller avoided a blitz and aired the ball to his wideout, who ran underneath and away from the coverage.
Buisch finished with three receptions for 113 yards and two scores, while Isiah Young (Groton, CT / Groton) led the Saxons with four catches for 40 yards. Broddus had two receptions for 77 yards and TD. McFadden had 48 yards and two scores on five carries.
For the Engineers, Avery completed 11 of 24 passes for 185 yards and four touchdowns. He was intercepted once, late in the second quarter. Colas finished with five catches for 71 yards, two rushes for 18 yards and four kickoff returns for 84 yards. Gaddar had a team-high 85 receiving yards on three catches. Junior Nick Schlatz (Bridgewater, MA / Bridgewater-Raynham) led the ground game with 65 yards.
RPI was led defensively by senior Nick Borkowski (Fort Salonga, NY / Kings Park), who had nine tackles, including five unassisted and one for a three yard loss, with a pass breakup. Junior Anthony Pilla (Tamaqua, PA / Marian Catholic) added five tackles, incluidng a six yard sack, along with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Alfred got a game-high 12 tackles from sophomore Andy Miller (Hilton, NY / Hilton). Six of his stops were unassisted and 1.5 were for lost yards (10).
Rensselaer is on the road next Saturday when it faces Castleton in its final non-league game of the regular season (noon). Alfred travels to Buffalo State for an Empire 8 game that also begins at noon.
Alfred Holds Off Rensselaer, 34-31
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20140913_380l.xml
2014
Alfred
34
RPI
31
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred (1-0) | 14 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 34 |
| RPI (1-1) | 17 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
Sep 13, 2014