UTICA, N.Y. – The Utica College football team lost to visiting Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 34-10 Saturday afternoon in non-conference action at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.
The Pioneers got on the board first after Adam Keller recovered a Jimmy Robertson fumble and kicker Evan White connected on a 22-yard field goal for his first career conversion to give Utica a 3-0 lead.
The Engineers bounced right back on the ensuing kickoff as Adam LoGiudice returned the kick 80 yards for a touchdown. RPI could not convert on the point after and the Engineers led 6-3.
Keller fumbled on the following kick return and the Engineers started their next drive on the Pioneers 21 yard line. Runningback Jay Bernardo, who tallied 135 yards and four touchdowns on the day, punched it in from the one yard line to give the Engineers a 12-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Bernardo scored with 42 seconds remaining in the first half and RPI took a 17 point lead into halftime.
The Pioneers got the same treatment in the second half and received a steady dose of Jay Bernardo, especially down deep in Utica territory. Bernardo collected touchdown runs of 13 yards and nine yards to close out the scoring for RPI.
A late Marc Neff touchdown catch from senior quarterback Nick Martin capped a 12 play 99-yard scoring drive and the final score for the Pioneers. Neff finished the day with two catches for a game-high 88 yards receiving, while Martin completed 15-of-24 passes for 211 yards.
The Engineers quarterback Jimmy Robertson completed 11 passes for 137 yards, while wide receiver Chris Graef caught a team-high four passes for 57 yards. Jon Branche caught three passes for 33 yards and Eren Savasli grabbed two balls for 26 yards.
The Engineers defense bent but did not break as they allowed 305 total yards but held the Pioneers to 5 of 12 on third down conversions. Brent Perron tallied a team-high six tackles, while Mark Sangiorgi, Nick Foglia, and Pete Rankis each collected five tackles. John Tesiero picked off one of Martin's passes and also recorded four tackles.
Marcus Maroney guided the Pioneers defense with eight tackles, while Joe Ryan made seven stops. Kyle Vincent recorded six tackles as Andrew Thomas and Martin John each tallied five of their own.
The Pioneers (1-2) will return to action on September 30th against host Springfield College, while RPI (2-0) takes on Hobart College in their first Liberty League contest of the season.
(New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) #
