LEICESTER, MA – Emanuel Calmar produced the first 200+ yard rushing performance in 10 seasons to lead the University of Rochester to a 28-10 victory over Becker College on Saturday afternoon.
Rochester's victory evens its overall record at 2-2 and concludes its non-conference schedule. The Yellowjackets will open the Liberty League season on October 7 when they host Ithaca College. Becker College lost its fifth straight this year (0-5).
Calmar rushed 36 times for a net of 233 yards. He scored on a one-yard run midway through the third quarter to tie the score at 10-10. Then he scored on a 29-yard run with two minutes left in the game to provide the final margin.
Rochester's other touchdowns came from the arm of Matt Gallagher – both in the fourth quarter. He threw a nine-yard TD pass to David Angie to snap a 10-all tie and a 16-yard TD pass to Tyler Tanen to stretch Rochester's lead to 22-10 with 4:16 to go.
Gallagher completed 17 of 33 passes for 231 yards, two TDs, and one interception. He was sacked three times. Angie caught seven passes for 85 yards. Connor Byrne had five catches for 78 yards. Calmar caught four balls for 52 yards and Tanen had one catch – the 16-yard TD. Rochester totaled 455 yards in offense – 224 on the group, 231 through the air.
Becker produced 383 yards in offense. The Hawks ran for 163 yards and passed for 220 more. Quarterback Nas Sinkfield-Shelton rushed 20 times for 90 yards. David Collins added 74 yards on 18 totes. Sinkfield-Shelton completed 20 of 37 passes for 220 yards with one TD and two interceptions. He was sacked three times as well. Michael Caban caught eight passes for 111 yards. Five other men had receptions.
Calmar's total of 233 rushing yards is tied for the fourth-highest single-game total in school history. He is tied with John Cogar (November 15, 1969 vs. Allegheny) and Matt Bielecki (October 13, 2007 at Mount Ida College). Rochester's single-game record for rushing yardage is 264 yards by Jeremy Hurd on October 31, 1992 against RPI (52 carries). Theodore Zornow rushed for 250 yards vs. Clarkson on October 29, 1927, and Rick Harrison had 236 yards vs. St. John Fisher College on November 4, 1989.
The last Rochester man to rush for more than 200 yards in a game was Mike Sondericker on November 8, 2008 vs. St. Lawrence.
Calmar entered the Becker game with 254 net rushing yards this year on 67 carries and one TD.
The Yellowjackets fell behind, 7-0, early in the first quarter. Sinkfield-Shelton led a six-play, 77-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard TD pass to Caban and a PAT from Shane Padeni. He QB helped his own caught, rushing for 51-yard gain down to the UR 18 on third-and-two. The TD pass came on the third play after that.
Calmar carried four times in the next series, including a 42-yard gain, down to the Becker 7 where Paul Tricarico kicked a 25-yard field goal.
On Becker's next series, Devin Woodyard strip-sacked Sinkfield-Shelton. The fumble was recovered by UR's Ricky Sparks at the Becker 19. On third and five, Gallagher's pass was intercepted by Shaliem Wilson at the one-yard line.
Becker extended its lead to 10-3 on Padeni's 19-yard field goal midway through the second quarter. The 14-play, 71-yard drive was helped by three personal foul penalties, two of them inside the 13-yard line. Officials threw a total of 17 flags – seven vs. UR (47 yards), 10 vs. Becker (101 yards).
Rochester's defense clamped down after that. Becker's last eight possessions ended with two interceptions, five punts, and the end of the period. The Hawks reached the UR red zone once – on the final drive of the game.
The Yellowjackets tied the score at 10-10 with an 11-play, 66-yard drive that ate up 4:18. UR converted three third downs, the last a one-yard run by Calmar for the TD and Tricicarico's PAT. They got the ball right back, driving from their own 49 to the BC 7. The key play was a 22-yard penalty vs. Becker for targeting. It moved the ball to the seven. On fourth-and-goal from the one, Calmar was dropped for a three-yard loss. It was his only negative carry of the afternoon.
UR scored on two early drives in the fourth quarter to build a 22-10 lead. Gallagher completed passes of 25 yards to Connor Byrne and 27 yards to Calmar before hitting Angie for a nine-yard TD. The PAT failed. After a three-and-out, UR drove 58 yards in seven plays, leading to Gallagher's 16-yard TD pass to Tanen and a 22-10 lead.
Austin Carr intercepted Sinkfield-Shelton near midfield and that set up a five-play, 58-yard scoring march. Calmar ran it in from 29 yards out for what proved to be the 28-10 final.
Defensively, Justin Warner had 10 total tackles, including an eight-yard sack and 3.5 other tckles for loss. Ryan Bell and Josh Churchin each had nine tackles and Ricky Simcic had eight. Matt Woodarek had the other interception.