Troy, NY – On Saturday, No. 25 Brockport lost on the road to RPI in week three, 30-24, in overtime. The Golden Eagles move to 2-1 overall following the loss, while the Engineers improved to 2-1 on the season.
Brockport's offense totaled 447 yards, including a career day for Ben Gocella passing the ball. Gocella set career highs across the board with 32 completions on 52 attempts, 322 yards, and three touchdowns. He linked up Daniel Manneh for a career-best 15 receptions, 196 yards, and one touchdown.
Luke Lockhart (6 rec, 58 yards) and Isaiah Simmons (1 rec, 16 yards) both caught a touchdown pass as well. Simmons also broke 100 yards for a third straight game, totaling 110 yards on 33 rushes.
Defensively, the Golden Eagles were successful shutting down the run despite allowing a season high 30 points. They held RPI to just 32 rushing yards on 17 carries, for an average of 1.9 yards per carry. However, the Engineers threw for 236 yards and two scores to match a pair of rushing touchdowns.
Jayson Thomas had a strong day at nose tackle with seven total stops, including 3.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. Liam Nealy also had seven tackles, with six solo tackles to go with a pair of breakups in the pass game. Jahmere Clark was credited with two forced fumbles and Brady Schnell came up with one of the lose balls for a recovery.
The first half of the game was tightly contested, despite a great start from the Golden Eagles. With the Engineers starting with the ball, Brockport's defense forced a 3-and-out right away to start the game.
Following the stop, the Golden Eagles methodically marched down the field to score. A 16-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Simmons on a screen pass gave Brockport a 7-0 lead in the first. Simmons six touchdown of the year capped off an 18-play, 81-yard drive that took 8:06 of time off the clock.
Once again, the Brockport defense would get a stop to give the ball back to the offense in the second quarter. This time, the Engineers' defense held up in the redzone to keep Brockport to just a field goal on the next drive. Sal Montaperto nailed his attempt from 23 yards out to put the Green and Gold up 10-0.
Midway through the second quarter, RPI's defense forced an interception looking to cut into the lead before halftime. The turnover turned into a quick score for the RPI offense, making it a 10-7 score with just over five minutes left before the break.
The Golden Eagles next drive would stall out after a 4th and 1 stop by RPI's defense in enemy territory. This gave the Engineers the ball back with 2:36 left until halftime. A 41-yard field goal from RPI in the final seconds of the half would tie the score up 10-10 going into the locker room.
In the opening half, Ben Gocella totaled 137 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception on 15-for-21 passing. Isaiah Simmons ran for 62 yards on 18 rushes and had a 16-yard touchdown reception. Daniel Manneh had five catches for 56 yards in the opening half.
Some madness occurred on both sides to start the second half of the contest, with Brockport losing possession on the opening kick of the half. RPI took over right away to start the third quarter. However, the Golden Eagle defense immediately took the ball back. RPI's back, Kayden White, coughed the ball up and Brady Schnell was there for the Golden Eagles to scoop up the fumble.
Despite the sequence of turnovers for both teams, neither offense was able to capitalize. The defenses for both programs stepped up to force multiple punts throughout most of the third quarter. The lone score of the period was a 77-yard bomb from RPI's Anthony DeMatteo to Josh Young to give the Engineers a 17-10 lead going into the fourth.
Early in the fourth, the Golden Eagles responded on offense with a big drive to tie the game. Ben Gocella connected with Daniel Manneh multiple times to lead the unit down the field. Gocella hit Manneh for a 9-yard touchdown pass to tie the game back up at 17-17.
The tie wouldn't last long, with RPI answering the call minutes later to light up the board again. DeMatteo connected with Paisley Nickelson for a 38-yard touchdown to give the Engineers a 24-17 lead in the fourth in their home opener with less than 10 to play.
Gocella and the offense was prepared to answer in a big moment in the fourth quarter. The junior QB led the march down the field to setup a 7-yard touchdown pass to Luke Lockhart to tie the score at 24-24 with 5:06 on the clock.
Both defenses were able to hold strong down the final stretch of regulation. After the Golden Eagles got a stop and forced a punt, RPI responded. In the final seconds of regulation, Gocella's pass in the endzone was intercepted by RPI's Luke Lavello. Regulation ended with a 24-24 score, pushing Brockport to its first overtime game in five years.
Brockport started overtime with the ball, looking to set the tone. However, the RPI defense was up to the challenge forcing a stop on fourth down. The Engineers were able to make it happen offensively for the win in OT. Kayden White took the ball across the goal line on a 15-yard rush for the 30-24 win.
Now at 2-1 on the season, Brockport turns around to come home next week for game four. Hartwick comes to Bob Boozer Field on Saturday, September 27th for a 1pm kickoff to celebrate Homecoming Weekend.