UTICA, NY- Nationally ranked No. 21 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute intercepted a pass in the end zone to hold off the Utica College football team and hand the Pioneers their first loss of the season, 23-20 in triple overtime, Saturday afternoon at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.
UC drops to 2-1 overall, while RPI remains unbeaten at 3-0. The Pioneers will have a bye week next week, before returning to action on Saturday Sept. 29 against SUNY Cortland as part of Utica's Homecoming weekend. RPI, meanwhile, will return home to face Buffalo State next weekend. Game time is scheduled for 12 p.m.
The Pioneers had a chance to win the game with just four seconds left in regulation, but RPI's Magnus Wamble blocked a 32-yard field goal attempt to send the game to overtime.
Despite Utica shutting down the Engineer offense on its first possession in overtime, the Pioneers were not able to come away with any points, resulting in a second overtime period.
Utica's
Dan Tette (Rochester, NY/West Irondequoit) nailed a 37-yard field goal to give the Pioneers a 20-17 lead in the second overtime and put the pressure back on RPI. The Engineers picked up a big third down conversion to set up a first and goal from the nine yard line, however the Utica defense stood strong and forced RPI to settle for a field goal.
It appeared that Utica would once again hold RPI scoreless in the third overtime as Sanjay Krishnan's 40-yard field goal attempt was no good, but a late penalty on the Pioneers gave the Engineers new life. Krishnan did not miss on his second attempt from 35 yards out to regain the lead for RPI.
Facing a third down and six to go on the 21-yard line, freshman quarterback
Logan Wilcox (Utica, NY/Proctor) threw a ball towards the end zone, but RPI's DJ Stefonsky was able to jump in front of the Utica receiver to snag the ball and secure the RPI victory.
The teams combined for just ten points in the first half as RPI took a 3-0 lead at 11:13 of the first quarter thanks to a 24-yard field goal by Krishnan.
With just under five minutes remaining in the first half, the Pioneers marched down field and capped off an 80-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown reception by
Imani Vincent (Brooklyn, NY/Sheepshead Bay) to put the Pioneers on top 7-3 heading into halftime.
The Pioneers tacked on a field goal of their own in the third quarter to take a 10-3 lead into the final frame. RPI evened the score at 11:33 of the fourth when Sean Egan picked off a pass from Wilcox and returned it 22 yards for the score.
Utica regained the lead with 6:33 remaining as
Shane Walpole (Mechanicville, NY/Shenendehowa) sacked quarterback George Marinopoulos and forced a fumble that was recovered in the end zone by
Xyier Woodard (Albany, NY/LaSalle) to put the Pioneers up 17-10.
RPI would not back down as the Engineers capped off a nine-play 84-yard drive with a 21-yard run by Dylan Burnett to knot the score at 17-17. With one last shot to end it, Utica's upset hopes were spoiled with Wamble's field goal block as time expired, leading to the extra frame.
Wilcox was 24-for-55 for 213 yards and one touchdown, marking his second straight start with over 200 passing yards. Senior
Malcolm Stowe (Coram, NY/Longwood) exploded for 158 yards on 27 carries, including a season-high 53-yard rush to become just the sixth player in program history to rack up 1,000 yards rushing in his career. Stowe also had four catches for 17 yards to lead the offense.
Junior
Peyton Miller (Chemung, NY/Waverly) had nine catches for 89 yards, while Vincent totaled three catches for 34 yards and a touchdown.
Kwasi Addo (Menands, NY/Shaker) and
Antonio Scala (Coram, NY/Longwood) led the Utica defense with 12 tackles each, while
Anthony Beaubrun (West Hempstead, NY/West Hempstead) had 10 tackles and one interception.
Marinopoulos threw for 198 yards on 25-of-45 completions, while Burnett had a team-high 72 yards on 13 carries and one TD. Stefonsky finished the day with two-interceptions for PRI, while Jack Hoggard had a game-high 16 tackles, including one tackle for loss.
