Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
SCHENECTADY, NY -- Nick Schlatz ran for 92 yards and a touchdown to lead Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to a 23-10 Liberty League victory over Union College in the annual Dutchman Shoes Trophy Game Saturday at Frank Bailey Field. The Engineers improved to 8-2 overall and also end the regular season with a 6-1 league record.
Jeff Avery was 12 for 23 for 124 yards and a touchdown and Austin Amery had 45 yards receiving on two catches along with 24 yards rushing. Philip Lanieri III led the RPI defense with nine tackles while Brad Gahagan and Mark Grimes had eight stops each.
Senior receiver Kyle Reynolds had 95 yards on five catches and a TD reception, while fellow senior A.J. Baker had 78 yards on 11 catches. Reynolds finished his career ranked second in career touchdown receptions with 26, third in career catches with 153 and fourth in career receiving yards with 2,240 yards. Connor Kinzelmann had a team high 55 rushing yards on 13 carries.Tyler Valenti had nine tackles for the Dutchmen.
Schlatz opened the scoring with a one yard run with 6:42 remaining in the first quarter. It capped a nine play, 51 yard drive that consumed 4:55. The point after failed and it was 6-0 Engineers. David Pope made a 19 yard field goal with just 27 seconds remaining in the first quarter. That completed a long drive that took 15 plays and 74 yards with 6:11 off the clock and made it 6-3 RPI.
Christian Kapp's 33 yard field goal just 2:43 into the second quarter made it a six point lead again at 9-3. It was an eight play, 39 yard drive in 3:01. With 3:34 left in the half, Ryan Buss intercepted a Union pass at the Dutchman-48 yard line and returned it in for a pick-six and a 16-3 RPI lead. But Union got closer as Reynolds caught what would become the final touchdown of his illustrious career, coming with six seconds remaining in the half with a seven yard strike from Cioffi. That 3:22 drive went 12 plays in 68 yards.
The only scoring in the fourth quarter came on an RPI drive that started with 3:25 left in the third. Avery found Matt Lane for a 15 yard touchdown pass eight seconds into the fourth quarter for a 23-10 lead and the eventual final. It was the only turnover of the game.
A total of 19 seniors wrapped up their Union careers in thsi game. They are A.J. Baker, Josh Callahan, Chris Carbone, Chase Finkel, Mike Fitzsimmons, Joe Flannery, Richard Fonseca, Eric Franca, Russell Grotto, Thomas Hayes, Joe Jacobi, Jake LaRovera, Nick Littas, Bobby Lynch, Ricco Pierre, David Pope, Kyle Reynolds and Tyler Valenti. This was just the third time in the 66 meetings for the Dutchman Shoes Trophy that RPI won it for the third straight season. That last happened in 2006-08 and the only other time was 1957-59. Overall, Union leads the series for the Trophy, 47-19, and overall, 81-28-4 (according to Union records) in New York State's oldest collegiate football rivalry. The 2015 season was Union's first winless season since 1959.