No. 22 RPI blanks Endicott, 28-0
Game Stats
TROY, N.Y. – RPI freshman quarterback Mike Hermann threw for two touchdowns and ran for two scores while the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute defense posted a shutout as the Engineers defeated Endicott College, 28-0, on Saturday afternoon in Troy, N.Y. A crowd of 3,815 watched the game, the first in the East Campus Athletic Village.
Hermann (Hardeesville, S.C.) entered the game early in the second quarter and promptly led the Engineers on a 17-play, 98-yard drive for a 7-0 lead. Among the key plays of the series were four completions for 50 yards to junior Pat McCarthy (Strafford, N.H.), including a 4-yard scoring strike. The touchdown came on a fourth-and-four play in which McCarthy made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone. McCarthy finished with 12 receptions for 195 yards and two TDs.
The tandem hooked up again in the third quarter to push RPI’s lead to 14-0. On a third-and-goal play from the 7-yard line, Hermann scrambled to his right before finding McCarthy, who made a diving catch in the back of the end zone at the 2:22 mark.
Hermann sealed the victory with a pair of fourth quarter touchdown runs in a five-minute span. His first came from 14 yards out after faking a hand-off and outrunning the defense to the left side of the end zone.Then with 6:16 remaining, he scrambled around the pocket before running around an Endicott defender to the front right corner of the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown. Senior Peter Nilson (Appleton, Wis.) connected on the point-after for all four scores.
Hermann finished with 10 completions on 20 attempts for 189 yards. He was not intercepted or sacked and he also rushed for 29 yards. Starter Tanner Boucher (Keene, N.H.) completed 7 of 11 passes for 47 yards.
Defensively RPI held Endicott to 137 yards passing and 207 total yards, while tallying 4.0 sacks (28 lost yards) and 10.0 tackles for lost yards (50). Senior linebacker Stefan Schulz (Bradford, Mass.) had a game-high eight tackles (3 solos) and a pass breakup and classmate Joe Albano (Dalton, Mass.) had seven tackles (2 solos).
Endicott, which gave up just 109 yards rushing, was paced defensively by four players with six stops apiece, including \#Justin Gay\# (Ashby, Mass.) and \#Richard Giblin\# (Mansfield, Mass.), who both had five unassisted tackles.
Sophomore \#Phil Konopka\# (Shelton, Conn.) completed 16 of 30 passes for 100 yards with two interceptions. Senior Colby Hawkins (Scituate, Mass.) led the rushing attack with 45 yards on 18 carries.
Rensselaer is back in action at the East Campus Stadium on Saturday when it hosts Utica College for a 1:00 p.m. match-up. Endicott is also in action on Saturday, hosting Massachusetts Maritime at 12:00 p.m.
Release Courtesy of RPI Sports Information