KINGS POINT, N.Y. - Graduate student Reggie Colas had two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown in the first half to help the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) football team to an early lead that they never surrended in defeating the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), 45-14, in a Liberty League game at Brooks Stadium. The Engineers, who led 31-7 at halftime, improve to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference. The Mariners fall to 2-3 and 0-2.
Colas (Miami, FL / Belen Jesuit), a running back, capped a 13-play, 86-yard drive at 5:21 of the first quarter when he scored from 12 yards out. The Engineers made it a 14-0 game when junior quarterback Jeff Avery (White Plains, NY / White Plains) threw the first of his three TD passes, this one to sophomore Joey Giacone (Delmar, NY / Bethlehem) from 48 yards out with just over a minute to go in the first quarter. The touchdown was the first of Giacone's career.
Colas accounted for the game's next two scores, first on a 65-yard run five minutes into the second quarter and then on a 38 yard completion from Avery seven minutes later. Senior Andrew Franks hit his fourth extra point following the scoring strike for a 28-0 lead. Merchant Marine got on the board at 1:03 of the half when offensive lineman Ian Stoner (Glen Allen, VA / Deep Run) recovered an offensive fumble in his own end zone. The play started with a 28-yard completion from Robert Moore (Pace, FL / Pace) to Robert Baker (Whitinsville, MA / Holy Name Central Catholic), but RPI's Nick Borkowski (Fort Salonga, NY / Kings Park) knocked the ball loose. Franks closed out the half with a 37 yard field goal as the horn sounded.
The Engineers increased their lead five minutes into the second half when Avery hooked up with junior Logan Gaddar(South Portland, ME / South Portland) from 36 yards out. Freshman Mike Tivinis (Middleton, MA / Masconomet) made it a 45-7 score when he ran in from 17 yards out with 8:15 remaining in the third quarter. USMMA got seven points back four minutes later when Matthew McDaniels (Malverne, NY/Kellenberg Memorial) completed an 11-play, 83-yard drive with a 5-yard run.
Colas finished with 86 yards rushing on only four carries, while compiling 82 receiving yards on four catches. He also returned two kickoffs for 54 yards, including a 30-yard long. Avery completed 8 of 11 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns. He was not intercepted. Tivinis led all rushers with 106 yards on the ground, needing only 10 carries to do so. RPI held a 551-350 edge in total offense, including 368-321 on the ground.
Defensively for the Engineers, junior Anthony Pilla (Lake Hauto, PA / Marian Catholic) had a game-high 11 tackles, including eight unassisted and two for lost yards (5). Thomas Bennett (St. Petersburg, FL / St. Petersburg) and Mark Grimes (Hackettstown, NJ / Hackettstown) had nine stops apiece. Bennett had six solos and two for lost yards (3), while Grimes had four unassisted and one for a loss (3 yards).
Merchant Marine saw junior Dillon Reaves (Omaha, NE/Milard West) make 10 tackles (8 solos). Senior running back Colin Hinchey (Denton, TX/Guyer) led the offense with 95 yards rushing on 15 carries. McDaniels ran for 77 yards on 27 attempts and was 0 for 2 on passing. Moore's completion to Baker was the only connection for the Mariners.
RPI returns to the field on Saturday at 1pm when it hosts St. Lawrence University in a Liberty League game on Reunion & Homecoming Weekend in Troy. The game will be the 1000th in the history of Rensselaer football. USMMA hosts the University of Rochester in its Homecoming Game on Saturday at 2pm.
Big First Half Propels Rensselaer Past USMMA, 45-14
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20141004_a27n.xml
2014
RPI
45
Merchant Marine
14
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RPI (4-1) | 14 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 45 |
| Merchant Marine (2-3) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
Oct 04, 2014