TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) football team accumulated 605 yards of total offense on its way to defeating St. Lawrence University, 46-27 in a Liberty League contest at ECAV Stadium. Rensselaer improves to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the league, while the Saints fall to 0-6 and 0-3.
Senior quarterback Mike Hermann (Hardeeville, SC/Avon Old Farms) was the catalyst for the Engineers as he accounted for 415 yards and four touchdowns. He had 138 yards rushing, including an 88-yard touchdown, on nine carries and he threw for 277 yards and three scores. He completed 19 of 35 passes and was not intercepted. As a team, the Engineers had 302 yards rushing and 306 yards passing.
After the visiting Saints got on the board with a touchdown on their first drive, a 4-yard run by sophomore C.J. Stewart (Saranac Lake, NY/Saranac Lake), RPI scored the next 32 points, including 25 in the first half. Senior TJ Strunk (West Palm Beach, FL/Benjamin) capped the ensuing drive, RPI's first of the game, with a 9-yard run. Following an interception by Nick Borkowski (Fort Salonga, NY/Kings Park) on St. Lawrence's next possession, Hermann found classmate Austin Caswell (Round Rock, TX/Stony Point) from 23 yards out for a 14-7 lead. That touchdown came just 56 seconds after RPI tied the score.
A safety, which occurred when a St. Lawrence defender who was returning a fumble was tackled in the end zone, made it a 19-7 RPI lead after the first quarter. An Andrew Franks (Carmel, CA/Carmel) 31-yard field goal opened the second quarter before Hermann found Reggie Colas (Miami, FL/Belen Jesuit) in the front of the end zone from 14-yards out for a 25-7 advantage.
Rensselaer's first drive of the third quarter resulted in a punt and St. Lawrence drove the ball to the RPI nine yard line. However, Engineers senior Dustin Schuld (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) intercepted a pass and returned it seven yards to the 12-yard line. Hermann took the first down snap, kept the ball on an option, broke a tackle and ran down the middle of the field, eventually getting to the left sideline for a career-long 88-yard touchdown run and a 32-7 lead.
St. Lawrence fought back with three touchdowns, all on passes from backup quarterback Danny Metzgar (Natick, MA/Pomfret School), while RPI scored two more touchdowns. Metzgar, a sophomore, connected with Mike Tateosian (Keene, NH/Keene) from 10-yards out late in the third quarter and twice with Miles Crump (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh School) in the fourth quarter.
Rensselaer's final scores, both of which came in the fourth quarter, were an 18-yard run by Andrew Armato (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea) for a 39-14 lead and a 41-yard pass down the left sideline from Hermann to Steven Burpoe (Saranac Lake, NY/Saranac Lake) that gave RPI a 46-21 edge with 7:25 remaining.
Burpoe finished with 110 receiving yards on five catches, while Nick Weber (Winchester, MA/Winchester) had a team-best six receptions for 80 yards for the Engineers.
Tateosian had nine catches for 121 yards for St. Lawrence and Evan Shifley (Winthrop, MA/Dexter School) caught eight passes for a game-high 129 yards. Metzgar, who entered the game in the third quarter, was 13 of 22 for 189 yards and three touchdowns. Starter Zane Fish (Evans Mills, NY/Indian River) completed 14 of 26 passes for 171 yards and three interceptions. St. Lawrence finished with 424 yards of total offense.
Defensively, Rensselaer sophomore Wade Hansen (Troy, NY/Tamarac) had eight tackles, including five unassisted and 4.0 for lost yards (37), including 3.0 sacks (32 yards lost). Senior Matthew Day (Claremont, NH/Stevens) had a game-high 15 tackles (4 solo) with an interception.
Senior Derek Delzer (Alden, NY/Alden) had seven tackles and a pass breakup for St. Lawrence, which saw four others record six stops apiece.
RPI returns to the field next Saturday at the University of Rochester (1pm) in a Liberty League game. The Saints are idle next week.
Rensselaer Posts 605 Yards of Offense in Win
/seasons/2012/boxscores/20121006_hopc.xml
2012
St. Lawrence
27
RPI
46
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Lawrence (0-6) | 7 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
| RPI (4-1) | 16 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 46 |
Oct 06, 2012