TROY, N.Y. - Senior defensive back Joey Gutowski broke up the potential game-tying two-point conversion with 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) football team defeated Utica College 35-33 in a non-conference game at East Campus Stadium. RPI improves to 2-1, while the Pioneers fall to 2-1.
Trailing by eight points with 2:57 to play in regulation, Utica gained possession on its own 33-yard line. Sophomore quarterback Logan Wilcox followed with six completions with the last one being a 1-yard touchdown in the flat to senior Peyton Miller that pulled the Pioneers to within two. Wilcox's conversion pass was on target to Miller on the left side, but Gutowski came in with his left hand and knocked the ball to the ground. Utica's onside kick was recovered by the Engineers, who ran out the clock.
Gutowski finished with 10 tackles, including 0.5 for a loss of one yard, along with two pass breakups. Classmate John Sadak led the team with 11 stops, including one for a 2-yard loss. Austin Charles had nine tackles and Grant Tragni finished with seven, along with a fourth quarter interception. He also broke up a pass. Kwasi Addo had eight stops to lead the visitors, who got at least one tackle from 24 players.
Wilcox led the Utica offense, connecting on 32 of 51 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns. He was sacked once and intercepted once. Miller had 12 catches for 105 yards and two scores, while Keegan Wright had 102 yards on seven catches, including a 27-yard touchdown.
Rensselaer quarterback George Marinopoulos was 20 of 27 for 262 yards and three touchdowns. He was also sacked once and intercepted once. The junior connected with eight different receivers, three of whom had TD receptions.
Utica, which lost to RPI in triple overtime last year (23-20), jumped out to a 7-0 lead on its first possession when Wilcox and Miller finished a 13-play, 75-yard drive with a 5-yard score. A fumble recovery led to a 22-yard field goal from Maki Medici and the Pioneers led 10-0 with 13:28 to play in the second quarter.
The Engineers answered immediately with their first touchdown, a 24-yard pass down the middle of the field from Marinopoulos to Tommy Avery, just 1:32 later. Following a Utica three-and-out, RPI took the lead on a 1-yard run from Marc Meislahn, the first of two for the senior.
The Pioneers capitalized on another turnover, this one an interception at the RPI 43-yard line, late in the half. They drove the ball down the field in five plays, capped by a 7-yard run by Brad Dougherty with 48 seconds left for a 17-14 lead.
Coming out of halftime, Rensselaer marched down the field with Marinopoulos throwing to Nick Smith in the back of the end zone, where the senior out-jumped a defender to haul in an 8-yard touchdown for a 21-17 lead. Wilcox and Wright followed with their 27-yard connection, but Marinopoulos hit Sterling Walker-Sutton in stride on a 65-yard TD for a four-point (28-24) RPI bulge.
Utica's Medici, who was perfect kicking while also neutralizing RPI's punt return game with high kicks, made a 43-yard field goal with 11:03 left, but Meislahn made it an 8-point game with a 6-yard run five minutes later.
The Engineers are back home on Saturday when they host Anna Maria College at 1pm, while Utica next plays on October 5 at SUNY Cortland.
Rensselaer Outlasts Utica 35-33
/seasons/2019/boxscores/20190921_u6rs.xml
2019
Utica
33
RPI
35
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utica (2-1) | 7 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 33 |
| RPI (2-1) | 0 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
Sep 21, 2019