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KICKOFF: The Engineers return to ECAV Stadium, hosting Merchant Marine in a Liberty League matchup ... Rensselaer is 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference, while the Mariners are 1-2 and 0-1.

HOT START: The Engineers are looking to go 4-1 to begin the season for the second straight year and third time in the last four.

THE SERIES: Merchant Marine leads the all-time series with Rensselaer, 12-11 ... The two schools first played on September 29, 1945 with the Mariners winning, 26-19 ... USMMA won the first six games (1945-54) before RPI captured three in a row (1955-57) ... The Mariners then went on a three-game winning streak (1958-60) ... Following a 44-year hiatus, Rensselaer won four straight contests (2004-07) after USMMA joined the Liberty League ... The teams have split the last four meetings.

CLOSE CONTESTS: The five meetings prior to RPI's 28-13 win in 2013 were decided by one score, including four games with a three-point difference or less ... In the six meetings between 2008 and 2013, the Engineers outscored the Marines by a total of eight points, 146-138. 

ENGINEERS LAST WEEK: Jeff Avery threw three first half touchdown passes to stake RPI to a 28-0 lead at halftime and the Engineers held off WPI 28-21 in a battle for the Transit Trophy ... Rensselaer won its second-straight Transit Trophy with the help of Avery, who had 3- and a 5-yard TD passes to Logan Gaddar on quick slants and a 27-yard pass to Austin Amery ... Avery finished 14 of 22 for 155 yards and the three TDs, Gaddar had a team-high 49 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions, and Nick Schlatz ran for 110 yards on 21 carries ... Bryan Hayes made a team-high nine tackles for RPI, while Teague Florio collected five stops and a INT for a touchdown (61 yards). 

HONORED: Senior quarterback Jeff Avery was named the Offensive Performer of the Week following his performance against WPI, the Liberty League has announced ... Classmate Teague Florio, a cornerback, was selected to the Weekly Honor Roll.

RPI OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Senior quarterback Jeff Avery has thrown for 726 yards, completing 61 of 105 passes with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions ... Sophomore Mike Tivinis is first on the team in rushing with 319 yards on 63 attempts, while RPI's leading receiver is senior Logan Gaddar, who has 16 receptions for 190 yards with four touchdowns ... Johnny Ramsdell has five catches, three touchdowns.

BALANCED OFFENSE: The Engineers have had 13 different student-athletes carry the ball out of the backfield with Mike Tivinis (319 yards), Nick Schlatz (194) and Jeff Avery (117) totaling more than 100 yards ... RPI has had 13 different players catch a pass ... Logan Gaddar (16 receptions) and Matt Lane (10) have reached double digits, while Gaddar (190) and Joey Giacone (118) have surpassed the century mark in receiving yards.

PAYDIRT: Ten different players have scored touchdowns for Rensselaer, including senior Teague Florio, who returned an interception for 61 yards and a score in last week's Transit Trophy Game victory.

DEFENSIVE STAT LEADERS: Junior defensive lineman Malik Joseph has a team-high 22 tackles with 14 unassisted ... He has 2.5 tackles for lost yards (15) with 2.0 sacks (14 lost yards) ... Sophomore safety Bryan Hayes has 20 stops (13 solo) with a tackle for lost yards (1), a fumble recovery and a pass breakup ... Junior Alexander Greenidge, a linebacker, has 19 stops (11 solo) ... Senior Anthony Pilla leads the Engineers with 4.5 tackles for lost yards (21), while classmate Teague Florio has a team-best seven PBUs.

BALANCED DEFENSE: Rensselaer has 11 players who have at least 10 tackles ... Three of them are linemen, four are linebackers and four are defensive backs.

PATs GOOD: Sophomore Christian Kapp is 17 for 17 on point after touchdown kicks.

USMMA TO DATE: The Mariners began the season with a 14-3 win over Coast Guard before losing to Maritime College (24-14) and Hobart (30-15) - all at home ... Merchant Marine is led by its running game, which features the top two runners in the league in quarterback Matt McDaniels (97.7 yards per game) and sophomore fullback Luke Tiefenthaler (83.0).

UPCOMING: The Engineers travel to St. Lawrence for a 1pm game next Saturday before hosting the Rochester on October 17 at 12:05pm ... The Saints enter this weekend at 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the league, while the Yellowjackets are undefeated, 3-0 and 1-0.