AQs won't be easy for defending champs
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Hobart scored 54 unanswered points on 536 yards of total offense in the Statesmen’s 54-13 against RPI, in the Liberty League opener for both teams.
The Engineers (1-2, 0-1 LL) got off to a quick 13-0 lead, taking advantage of two Hobart fumbles on the Statesmen’s first two possessions. On the first, RPI senior linebacker Jimmy Motzkin picked up a loose ball and ran 43 yards to the end zone for a 6-0 lead. Brad Morgan’s point-after-kick was good and RPI led 7-0 with 13:50 left in the first quarter. The Engineers recovered another Hobart fumble on the visitor’s next possession, which led to a 43-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Chad Wysocki to senior wide receiver Danny Stephens. The scoring strike was the fourth play of a 60-yard drive.
Hobart (2-1, 1-0) came back with 54 unanswered points. The Statesmen’s first touchdown came on a 1-yard plunge by sophomore Shawn Mizro at 10:45 of the first quarter. Hobart, which failed on the conversion, started its drive on Rensselaer’s 13-yard line thanks to a 79-yard kickoff return by senior wide receiver Rick Piñero. Following a 28-yard Eric Ampuja field goal, the Statesmen took a 16-13 lead on an 11-yard run by senior running back Jack Holleran. The touchdown culminated an eight-play, 50-yard drive that took 3:27 off the clock and Hobart led 16-13 at the end of the first quarter.
The Statesmen added ten points in the second quarter to up their lead to 26-13 at halftime. Mizro hit Pinero from 21 yards out with 6:39 remaining to cap a nine-play, 55-yard drive. A 34-yard field goal by Ampuja with 2:02 remaining in the quarter ended the scoring. The highlight of that drive, which began at Hobart’s 7-yard line, was a 70-yard pass completion from Mizro to Pinero. Ty Godinho finished the half with 66 rushing yards on 15 carries while Holleran rushed for 59 yards on 11 carries to help the Statesmen to a 310-178 advantage in total offense.
Hobart capped off the scoring with a fumble recovery in the end zone by junior linebacker Andrew Sweet for the 54-13 margin with 9:47 left in the game.
"We were outplayed in every facet of the game, offensively, defensively and specials teams," said Engineers coach Joe King in The Record, who suffered his worst defeat since taking over the program in 1989. "It's one of the worst beatings I have ever been associated with. It was everything ... from missed tackles to getting beat on deep passes. We've got to return to fundamentals."
"RPI had a great senior class last year and they went to the national semifinals," Statesmen head coach Mike Cragg told the newspaper. "We got down early, but our senior leadership came through. We played well, but I'm still in disbelief looking at the final score."
Holleran finished with 112 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries while Godhino rushed for 69 yards on 16 carries. Mizro completed nine of 16 passes for 232 yards and two TDs, including six completions to Pinero, who had 152 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, sophomore linebacker Nolan Robinson had a game-high 13 tackles, including five unassisted. The Statesmen held Rensselaer to 291 yards of total offense.
For the Engineers, Wysocki completed 19 of 38 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted twice. Stephens had 88 receiving yards and a touchdown on five catches. Junior defensive back Tim Frame (six solo) and linebacker Mark Byrne (two solo) paced the defense with nine tackles.
Cardinals break through to share Empire 8 lead
St. John Fisher came through with the biggest win in the program’s Division III history, as the Cardinals defeated Ithaca 45-38 in double overtime at Fisher’s Growney Stadium.
With the win, Fisher improves to 4-0 for the first time since 1994 and 1-0 in the Empire 8 Conference. It is the highest-ranked team the Cardinals have ever defeated. Fisher knocked off No. 16 Montclair State 13-10 in overtime in 1998, the only other overtime game in Fisher history.
St. John Fisher was close in 2003, losing 20-19 at Ithaca after holding a 19-7 lead entering the fourth quarter. Ithaca entered the game ranked 11th in the D3football.com poll and No. 1 in the Upstate New York poll.
Freshman defensive back Steven Stepnick ended the game with his second interception of the game at the Fisher 3-yard line, though videotape from news crews covering the game showed the ball clearly bounced into has hands. Fisher had broken the 38-38 tie with an 11-yard run from junior running back Craig Fitzpatrick on the Cardinals’ second possession in overtime.
Missed call aside, Ithaca would still have had to score to force a third overtime and hold St. John Fisher in the additional frame, or score and hit a two-point conversion in the second overtime to change the outcome of the game.
"I just wanted to hold onto it," said Stepnick in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. "I wasn't here for the bad years, but now I know how special this is."
"This is so emotional," Fitzpatrick told the paper. "To beat Ithaca means everything. It means everything."
Ithaca (2-1) scored on its first possession in overtime. Senior tight end Vince Dargush caught a four-yard pass from Josh Felicetti to give the Bombers a 38-31 lead, but Fisher tied the game on an 8-yard pass from Curt Fitzpatrick to Mark Robinson, giving the sophomore tailback his third touchdown of the game and his 14th of the year.
Ithaca, who trailed 17-3 at intermission, took its first lead of the game at 31-24 on a 14-yard run from sophomore running back Alex Baez with 11:09 left in regulation. Fisher tied the game with 49 seconds left on a 9-yard pass from Curt Fitzpatrick to Craig Fitzpatrick, capping a five-play 79-yard drive. Wide receiver Noah Fehrenbach’s 64-yard reception highlighted the drive. Fehrenbach caught the ball at the Fisher 45 and broke three tackles before going down at the Ithaca 6.
Fehrenbach led the Cardinals with 12 receptions for 192 yards and one touchdown, while Robinson rushed for 198 yards on 41 carries. He also caught four passes for 43 yards.
Curt Fitzpatrick threw for a career-high 348 yards. He also completed a career-high 28 passes on 38 attempts with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
"I thought offensively, they had a nice day. Robinson is an excellent back," Ithaca coach Mike Welch said in the Ithaca Journal. "They executed well and scored when they got the opportunity.
"We had a slow start, but we regrouped after halftime and started playing like they are capable of doing it," Welch said. "It was a heck of a football game."
Felicetti completed 18 of 33 passes for 182 yards with two interceptions and one touchdown. Dargush led Ithaca with seven catches for 66 yards, while Baez rushed for 75 yards on 15 carries.
Fisher’s linebacker Mike Fox led the Fisher defense with 15 tackles, giving him 391 for his career and making the senior preseason All-American the program’s all-time leader.
Linebacker Dustin Ross led six Bombers in double figures in the tackles department with 15. Sophomore cornerback Joe Napoleone intercepted two passes, including one for a 44-yard touchdown.
Brockport defense shuts down Frostburg
Senior quarterback Bob Darnley completed 14 of 27 passes for 251 yards and a pair of touchdown passes and the Brockport State defense held Frostburg State to 56 total yards in the second half as the Golden Eagles handed the Bobcats a 24-10 loss in Atlantic Central Football Conference action Saturday afternoon at Bobcat Stadium.
Brockport improved to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the ACFC with the win, while Frostburg State had its nine-game league winning streak snapped and fell to 1-2 overall and 1-1 in the league.
The Golden Eagles looked to strike quickly when Darnley hooked up with freshman wide receiver Matt McCormick for a 42-yard gain to the Bobcat 33 on the third play of the game. However, back-to-back sacks by Frostburg senior James Clash and junior Chris Lentz helped turn back the threat.
FSU came out firing, moving from its own 20 to the Brockport eight behind a burst of short passes and strong running by senior Mike Kitchen. A holding penalty negated a Kitchen gain to the two, and the Bobcats settled for a 35-yard field goal by Chris Martin and a 3-0 lead.
Brockport had a chance to tie the game on its next possession but Marc Menchetti’s 37-yard field goal try was wide right. FSU continued to move the ball well, marching from its own 20 to the Golden Eagle 20, but Josh Keeney was stripped of the ball and Brockport recovered at its 16.
The Golden Eagles took the lead for good on their ensuing drive, needing just six plays to march 84 yards. Freshman running back Dan Lopez provided a spark with runs of 15 and 23 yards before Darnley hit sophomore wide receiver Mike Mahoney for a 25-yard gain to the Bobcat four. Junior Jon Brown running back found the end zone on the next play and Menchetti’s extra point gave the Golden Eagles a 7-3 lead with 10:33 left in the half.
Brockport opened a 14-3 cushion when Darnley hit junior wide receiver Kevin Beaumont in the back of the end zone with 2:46 remaining in the half. The Bobcats countered in the final moments of the second frame as sophomore quarterback Jimmy Ward found senior wide receiver Adam J. Synder for a 27-yard scoring strike to pull FSU within 14-10 with 37 seconds to play.
Brockport had an opportunity to add to its lead on the final play of the half but Menchetti’s 38-yard field goal sailed wide. The Golden Eagles had another chance to take control in the closing minutes of the third, moving to the Bobcat two, but the FSU defense turned in a pair of stops behind the line of scrimmage and forced Brockport to settle for a 27-yard field goal on the second play of the fourth.
Darnley then capped the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Mike Bond with 11:23 remaining in the game.
Junior linebacker John Walther led the Golden Eagles with 14 tackles and senior defensive end Nate Raggi had two sacks. Lopez had 65 yards on 13 carries and Mahoney had five catches for 79 yards.
For the Bobcats, Kitchen ran 25 times for 92 yards, while Ward finished 21-of-31 for 187 yards. Junior Chris Lentz paced the defense with nine tackles, including two sacks.
Plug and play?
Salisbury’s quarterback situation merits keeping an eye on. Dustin Johnson, the electrifying option quarterback who ran all over Brockport State in a Week 2 win, left the Week 3 game at Methodist with his injury and did not play this past Saturday against Greensboro. Backup Travis Peters ran for 158 yards and three scores, while completing seven of 13 passes for another 91 yards, but then again, Greensboro is 0-3 with losses to former USAC doormat Chowan and first-year program North Carolina Wesleyan.
Games of the Week
No. 16 Rowan (2-1) at New Jersey (3-0), 7 p.m. Friday, Ewing, N.J.: Last year, New Jersey derailed Rowan in the final minutes 22-20. The loss wound up costing the Profs any hope of an NCAA playoff bid. The last three contests have all been down-to-the-wire games that could have gone either way. Rowan (2-1) has been the heavy favorite each time, but has barely won 2 of the 3 games. The Lions (3-0) are a young team with a solid defense. Can they stifle the Rowan air attack?
Kings Point (1-3) at Union (1-2) 1 p.m., Schenectady, N.Y.: Both have losing records but are 1-0 in the Liberty League. Winner stays in the AQ hunt with Hobart, loser is out of the race.