ALFRED, NY – The University of Rochester football team picked up its first win of the season, defeating host Alfred State 30-17 at Pioneer Stadium on Saturday evening.
Junior running back Daniel Papantonis had his second straight monster game to start the season, rushing for 278 yards on 30 carries, scoring three touchdowns in the process. He now has 587 yards and seven touchdowns through two weeks of the season.
The Yellowjackets (1-1) defense also shined, piling up five sacks, three interceptions and one fumble recovery. First-year defensive back Judah Thomas made two big interceptions which led to Rochester touchdown drives, also adding seven tackles. Meanwhile, senior Bradley Beckwith finished with 5 tackles, 2 sacks and 2 pass breakups.
After a scoreless first four drives of the contest, Rochester's offense got moving late in the opening quarter, breaking into the Alfred State red zone with a heavy dose of the run game. Will Varney and Papantonis piled up chunk yards on the ground while Ryan Rose completed a trio of passes to reach the end of the quarter.
Early in the second, Papantonis took three straight handoffs, the last on a 4th-and-one from the 1-yard line, into the endzone for the games opening touchdown. The PAT clanged off the upright and Rochester was up 6-0.
On the next Pioneer possession, Thomas intercepted Alfred State quarterback Jimmy Brush at midfield, leading to a short field for the Yellowjacket offense.
Rose opened the drive with a pass to Peyton Monaco for 12 yards, with Papantonis gobbling up 22 yards on two carries the next two plays to reach the red zone. After a false start penalty pushed Rochester back to the 20, Rose fired a strike to the back corner of the endzone where first-year wideout Ryan Van Diver made a toe-tapping catch for the score.
Alfred State went 3-and-out on its next drive, immediately giving the ball back to Rochester, but the Yellowjackets returned the favor with a turnover, fumbling the ball away to the Pioneers.
The home team couldn't do much with a short field though, as the Yellowjacket defense stood tall, getting a big stop from Thomas and Caden Cole, stuffing Jake Palmer's rush attempt on 4th-and-1 at the Rochester 31-yard line.
The Pioneers (1-1) added a late first half field goal from Dawson Fontaine to get on the board, as the teams headed to the locker room with Rochester up 13-3.
In the third, Rochester got the only points, boosting its lead to 16-3 following a 30-yard field goal from kicker Jordan Laudani.
After a Jordy Tawa interception, Rochester got a big 37-yard scamper from Papantonis late in the quarter to break into Alfred State territory.
Shortly after the scoreboard flipped to the fourth quarter, Rose was intercepted in the endzone by the Pioneers Max Gomes, keeping the score at 16-3 UR.
Alfred State got out to midfield, but the offense stalled, giving the ball back to the Yellowjackets. A UR 3-and-out returned the ball to the Pioneers and Alfred State quickly responded with a 3-play, 58-yard drive to pull within a touchdown, trailing 16-10. The big play of the Pioneer scoring drive was a 40-yard bomb down the right sideline from Brush to Ben Ba.
The Yellowjackets were forced to punt on their next possession and Alfred State regained the ball, looking to take the lead. The momentum was short lived though, as two plays later, Brush was intercepted for a third time, the second by Thomas after a deflected ball popped up in the air.
Rochester made quick work of the short field, needing only four plays and a Pioneer penalty to reach the endzone for a key insurance touchdown. Papantonis notched his second score of the day, scooting in from two yards up the middle.
A personal foul ahead of the kickoff forced Rochester back a bit, letting Alfred State start its next possession at the 38-yard line. The Pioneers went 62 yards in just four plays, with the score being a Josh Graham 9-yard plunge, to cut the lead back to six at 23-17, with 2:18 left in the game.
Alfred State's onside kick attempt went out-of-bounds and Rochester took advantage of the short field, getting three rushes before scoring its fourth touchdown of the game. Papantonis earned his third of the night with a 26-yard run up the middle.
The next Alfred State play, Brush was sacked by J.T. Monahan, forcing a fumble which Andy Kristan fell on, sealing the Rochester victory.
Offensively, Rose finished 10-for-20 passing for 95 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Varney added 44 yards on the ground while Van Diver caught three passes for 49 yards and a score.
On defense, Cole, Jack Yensel and Thomas led the way with seven tackles each. Keyden Snow finished with six and had a sack.
Rochester's next game is set for Saturday, Sept. 17 at home against Brockport.