ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Myles Allen ran for two touchdowns in the second half as the University of Rochester rallied to post a 24-17 victory over the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Edwin Fauver Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Allen scored on runs of 34 yards and one yards. He finished with 12 carries for 75 net yards. Rochester rushed for 119 yards and passed for 204 more. Starting QB Justin Redfern was 16 of 29 for 166 yards with one interception. Rochester is 4-1 overall, 2-1 in the Liberty League.
Merchant Marine had two men with more than 100 yards rushing. Fullback Wiley Martin rushed 33 times for 145 net yards. Quarterback Matt McDaniels rushed 25 times for 102 net yards. The Mariners rushed for 355 yards in their option-oriented attack. McDaniels threw only five passes, completing one for nine yards. Each man rushed for a TD. Merchant Marine lost its fourth straight game and fell to 1-4 overall, 0-3 in the Liberty League.
Each team pulled off some trickery to score a touchdown. The Mariners won the toss and deferred the choice. Eric Swayne's onside kick was recovered at the MM48 by Patrick Keyes. The Mariners drove 52 yards in five plays to score. McDaniels broke through the right side, broke free from two tacklers, and raced 27 yards to score the opening touchdown. Jake McDonough's PAT made it 7-0.
Rochester drove from its own 10 to the MM 6 straddling the first two quarters. Two Redfern passes fell incomplete and Andrew Haber missed a 23-yard field goal attempt. On the Academy's second play from scrimmage (drive started at the 20), DeVar Jones was hit by Thomas Marone and the ball fell free. David Wolff recovered the fumble and returned it to the MM 9.
Haber's TD Pass Tied the Score Allen gained three yards on first down. Redfern had to throw the ball away on 2nd-and-6 after Josh Woodburn's heavy rush. On third down, his pass for Farid Adenuga was broken up by Skyler Stone. Rochetser lined up for a 23-yard field goal again, but the ball was snapped directly to Andrew Haber. He passed to Daniel DiLoreto in the end zone for the TD, then kicked the tying PAT.
The Academy regained the lead on the final play of the first half. Helped by Martin rushing five straight times, the Academy drove from its own 28 to the Rochester 24 where McDonough kicked a 41-yard field goal.
Rochester opened the second half with a huge defensive stand deep in its own end. The Mariners from from their own 40 down to 1st-and-goal at the nine. On 3rd-and-goal at the 2, Joe Bellomo was stacked up at the one with Matt Mender leading the tacklers. On fourth down, McDaniels tried a sneak but he came up a foot short of the end zone with Mender again in the middle.
The Yellowjackets drove from inside their own one to the MM 19 where Haber kicked a 37-yard field goal to tie the score at 10-10. After a three-and-out by the Academy, Dan Bronson replaced Redfern at QB. He drove the Yellowjackets from their own 38 to the MM 34 where he faced fourth down. With defenders pinching the corners, the Yellowjackets sent Allen up the middle. He broke through the line and ran untouched into the end zone for a 34-yard TD that put UR ahead for the first time, 17-10.
It didn't hold up, McDaniels went back to work, converting two third downs on his own and finally sending Martin through the right side for a touchdown. McDonough's PAT tied it at 17-all with 10:02 left.
Matt Pisano returned the ensuing kickoff 52 yards to the MM 40. Kyle Allegrini's option pass to Adenuga put the ball on the MM 13 and three plays later, Allen went through the right side for the go-ahead TD with 8:55 left.
Merchant Marine drove from its own 24 to the Rochester 16 (helped by a face mask penalty against the Yellowjackets). On the next play, the Mariners were flagged for an illegal block and the ball was pushed back to the 31. The drive stalled with 1:50 to go and McDonough's 42-yard field goal attempt was wide.
The visitors did get one more chance. After Rochester went three-and-out with MM calling time on each down, Skyler Stone returned a punt 37 yards to the Yellowjacket 27. McDaniels was incomplete on two passes and two runs fell short. Rochester was able to kneel down on two straight plays to end it.
Defensively, Patrick Whalen had two sacks, three tackles for loss and one pass breakup. Stone had three breakups and three tackles for the Academy. Brooks Cannell made eight tackles and intercepted one pass.
Isaiah Smith had 19 tackles for Rochester (14 primary). Mender had 11 stops and Colin Woods had 10, two behind the line.
Allen's Two TDs and Some Trickery Lead Rochester Past USMMA
/seasons/2015/boxscores/20151010_xuib.xml
2015
Merchant Marine
17
Rochester
24
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merchant Marine (1-4) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Rochester (4-1) | 0 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 24 |
Oct 10, 2015