CANTON, N.Y. – Rochester ran head-up into an offensive onslaught in the first half on Saturday afternoon as St. Lawrence posted a 36-14 football victory.
The Saints posted their first Liberty League win of the season (1-2, 2-5 overall). Rochester is 2-5 overall, 0-3 in the Liberty League.
Rochester's touchdowns came on UR's opening possessions of each half. Emanuel Calmar ran one yard for a TD with 4:36 left in the first quarter to tie it at 7-7. Dan Bronson, as an emergency fill-in for Josh Brown, sprinted 23 yards for a TD midway through the third quarter to get the Yellowjackets within 27-14.
Bronson was called into duty after an extremely hard hit on Josh Brown during that TD drive. With first and 10 at the Saint 19, Bronson was tackled behind the line for a four-yard loss. On second down, he took it straight up the middle for Rochester's second TD of the game. Brown ran for 25 yards on the 80-yard drive and completed three passes.
SLU quarterback Sean Richardson threw three first half touchdown passes, two of them in the closing minutes of the second quarter as the hosts seized a 27-7 lead at intermission. He connected with Cameron Edwards on a 31-yard strike with 2:30 left in the half to boost the lead to 21-7.
After a short punt by Rochester, he got the ball back and drove SLU 52 yards in less than a minute to complete the first half scoring. He found Travis Marnell on a 32-yard pass in the corner of the end zone with 23 seconds left in the period.
SLU drove 62 yards with the opening kickoff to take a 7-0 lead (Richardson and Marnell hooked up for the score). Rochester battled right back with a 12-play, 65-yard drive to tie the score.
Calmar did the bulk of the ballcarrying, lugging it eight times for 49 net yards. He had a pair of 14-yard runs to boost the attack. With the ball at the Saint 43, he raced 14 yards to put it on the 29. Three plays later, helped by a five-yard offside flag against the home team, Calmar ran 14 yards to set up first and goal at the six. Brown gained four yards on first down. The Saints added another yard, jumping into the neutral zone on second down. Calmar was met at the line on second and goal, then plunged in for the TD on third down. Paul Mokrzycki added the PAT to tie it with 4:36 left in the half.
David Angie had a couple of big first half catches. Right after SLU took a 14-7 lead (on a 75-yard scoring run), Angie broke free for a 32-yard catch-and-run from Brown. Early in the second quarter, Brown and Angie hooked up on another big play, this one a 48-yard gain which took it down to the SLU 26. The Saint defense helped its own cause, with one tackle for loss of a yard, then getting a sack.
UR pinned the Saints at the 3 on a punt. The hosts dug their way out. Richardson kept for a couple of runs, the biggest a 17-yarder on second and seven at the SLU 18. That was followed by a 10-yard run and an unsportsmanlike conduct flag against Rochester. It moved the ball to the UR 40 and three plays later, on third and one, Richardson found Edwards for the big TD.
Statistically, Brown finished 12 of 24 for 138 yards. He was not intercepted, but the Saints sacked him five times, 3.5 by Tyler Mirabile. Calmar rushed 23 times for 85 yards and Bronson had 19 net yards on his two carries. Angie caught three passes for 89 yards. Bronson and Calmar had four catches apiece. Defensively, Ricky Simcic had 11 tackles and Mike Woodarek had seven.
For the Saints, Richardson completed 15 of 22 throws for 205 yards and three scores. He was sacked twice – both times by Simcic. Jack Buis rushed for 113 yards on 12 carries. His crucial run was the 75-yard breakaway that put the home team ahead to stay. Mike Cognetta had 62 yards rushing. Marnell caught six passes for 105 yards and the two scores.
St. Lawrence's Big Start Downs Rochester
/seasons/2017/boxscores/20171021_muit.xml
2017
Rochester
14
St. Lawrence
36
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester (2-5) | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| St. Lawrence (2-5) | 14 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 36 |
Oct 21, 2017