PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – The University of Rochester football team remained unbeaten on the season, moving to 5-0 for the first time since 1992, after posting a 14-7 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday afternoon at Edwin Fauver Stadium.
Rochester's defense was dominant in this one, combining for five sacks while forcing three turnovers, including a game-sealing interception by junior Jordy Tawa who snagged a pick for the fifth game in a row.
Overall, RPI (2-3, 0-1 Liberty League), was held to just 22 net rushing yards, aided by the five sacks, which proved to be the most by a Yellowjacket squad since week two of the 2022 season. Eight different players registered at least half a sack, with Luke Herter and Keyden Snow leading the way.
In addition to the Tawa interception, fellow cornerback Judah Thomas picked off his third interception of the season, while safeties Jack Yensel and Simon Weeren also had big games in the defensive backfield.
Yensel had a pass-breakup in the endzone during an RPI fourth quarter drive and finished with five tackles, while Weeren led the defense with 12 total tackles and a fumble recovery, also tipping the pass that ended up in Tawa's hands for the game-clinching pick.
Offensively, Rochester (5-0, 1-0 Liberty League) piled up 23 first downs, 11 on the ground and six each via passing and penalties on the Engineers. Quarterback Ryan Rose completed 13-of-27 passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns, also throwing one interception.
Wide receivers Trey Johnson and Nick Wamp scored the touchdowns, combining for nine catches for 64 yards. Aidan Papantonis added four catches for 26 yards and also contributed 33 yards rushing on four attempts. Daniel Papantonis led the ground game with 23 attempts for 86 yards.
After winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half, Rochester's defense forced RPI into a 3-and-out on the opening drive of the game.
UR received possession and quickly got near midfield after an Engineer face mask penalty on a D. Papantonis run. Rose connected with Wamp over the right side for a third-down conversion before D. Papantonis scampered 14 yards up the middle, reaching the RPI 35-yard line.
Later in the drive, Rochester converted another third down, with A. Papantonis taking a jet sweep over the left end for 14 yards, reaching the red zone. On the next play, Rose lofted a ball to Johnson in the right corner of the end zone, with the fifth-year senior making a spectacular play to haul in the touchdown. Jordan Laudani notched the extra point and UR was up 7-0.
RPI's next drive also ended after just three plays, with Braydon Felsinger forcing a fumble after a completion to RJ Encarnacion. The loose ball was recovered by Weeren at midfield and UR looked to build on its lead.
The turnover went by the wayside for Rochester though, as Rose was picked off on the right sideline by Mark Lapioli, giving RPI the ball right back.
RPI returned the favor on the very next play, with Jake Kazanowsky attempting a deep shot up the field for wideout Hayden Faraday. After pressure from Joe DeBonis, the ball was overthrown a bit, with Thomas earning the interception, the 12th of his UR career. That total moves the junior into a tie for third on the all-time interception list at Rochester.
Rochester couldn't take advantage of the turnover once again, stalling out the drive and giving the ball back to the Engineers at the 50-yard line following a 3-play drive.
As the opening quarter wound down, RPI charged deep into Yellowjacket territory with a big passing play from Kazanowsky to Sean Kelly, but came away empty handed after kicker Aleksandar Maric missing wide right on a 27-yard field goal attempt.
At the other end, a long Yellowjacket offensive possession also ended in a missed field goal, but Rochester was able to chew up over seven minutes of the second quarter with a 13-play drive.
With time winding down in the half, Rochester doubled its lead to 14-0 when Rose made a strong play in the pocket finding Wamp wide open over the middle of the field for a 14-yard score with just six seconds left on the clock. Rose's two passing touchdowns boosted his career total to 28 over four years, jumping him into seventh all-time in Rochester football history.
Decent field position was gained for UR following a Micah Butler 18-yard return to the Yellowjacket 39-yard line to start the second half. After reaching the RPI 30-yard line, the drive shorted out, with two incompletions on third and fourth down turning the ball over on downs.
RPI used the fourth down stop to its advantage, getting on the scoreboard with a 13-play, 70-yard drive that lasted nearly six minutes. Dameon Ming started the drive with three straight runs for a first down, with Kazsanowsky completing a pair of chunk plays to Kelly to reach the red zone.
After a completion to Ming and additional yards for roughing the passer, Kevin Hughes plowed up the left side for a 5-yard touchdown, cutting the Rochester lead to 14-7.
Rochester's next drive reached the RPI redzone, but the Engineer defense held strong, forcing another turnover on downs following an incomplete pass over the middle.
The teams traded 3-and-out drives on the next two possessions, with RPI gaining possession back with 11:15 remaining. A long drive ensued, with the Engineers chipping away, eventually reaching the Rochester 14-yard line. A stuffed run by DeBonis and Aiden Lovelace pushed the Engineers back, and a penalty set up a 3rd-and-long play.
RPI was in four-down territory and settled for a 6-yard gain, with Thomas making a big open-field tackle on Dalton Grant to set up a 4th-and-6 play from the 14-yard line. On that play, Kazanowsky nearly connected with Kelly in the endzone, but as the players went to the ground, Yensel was able to wrestle the ball away for an incomplete pass.
Rochester tried to run out the clock over the final five minutes, but was unsuccessful, giving the ball back to RPI after a punt with 2:23 left.
The Engineer hurry up offense quickly moved into Rochester territory, but a big sack from Claudio Pinto and Daniel Santos pushed RPI back 12 yards, forcing a 3rd-and-long play. Kazanowsky got just enough, getting 16 yards on the next play to Faraday, earning the first down while moving the ball into Yellowjacket territory.
Another sack, by UR's Herter set RPI back, but back-to-back completions earned another Engineer first down.
On first down with the clock ticking away under 40 seconds, Kazanowsky's pass left intended for Faraday was tipped by Weeren, allowing Tawa to be the benefactor for the game-sealing interception.
Tawa picked up his fifth interception of the season, ranking near the top of Division III in that category, and continues a run of six straight games overall, dating back to last season, with an interception. Overall for his career, Tawa has picked off ten passes, eighth all-time at UR. Just last week he became the pass break-up career record holder at Rochester.
Rochester looks to continue its unbeaten start next weekend with a trip to Ithaca College for its first road conference game of the season. Kickoff for that one ais set for 1 pm at Ithaca's Butterfield Stadium.