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TROY, N.Y. - Junior quarterback Sean Richardson threw for 249 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 97 yards and another score to lead the St. Lawrence University (SLU) football team to a 20-14 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in a Liberty League contest at East Campus Stadium. The Saints, who had shut out their first three opponents, improve to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the conference. RPI, the defending co-champions of the league with SLU, falls to 2-2 and 0-1.

Richardson (East Syracuse, NY / East Syracuse-Minoa), a first-year starter, connected on 24 of 40 passes for 249 yards and an 11-yard touchdown throw. He was intercepted once and sacked twice. He earned his 97 rushing yards on 19 carries with his touchdown coming from three yards out. Many of Richardson's yards on the ground came on third or fourth down opportunities, of which the Saints were 11 of 21 and 3 of 5, respectively.

The homestanding Engineers jumped out in front on its first possession, which started with an interception by senior Ryan Buss (Clifton Park, NY / Shenendehowa) at the RPI 49 yard line that he returned 26 yards on the fourth play from scrimmage. Following a pair of carries that yielded no yards, sophomore quarterback Eddie Trimpert (Hillsborough, NJ / Hillsborough) scampered 12 yards to the St. Lawrence 13 yard line. Junior Johnny Ramsdell (Haverhill, MA / Haverhill) followed with an 11 yard run and Trimpert put the home team ahead with a two yard TD run. 

St. Lawrence answered with a touchdown of its its next possession. Richardson accounted for 55 of the 60 yards on the drive, including 25 yards on the ground. He had a pair of eight yard runs with the Saints facing fourth down situations. The 13-play, 60-yard drive culminated with an 11 yard completion to senior James Holley-Grisham (Rochester, NY / East). 

The score remained tied into the second quarter when St. Lawrence had another 13-play scoring drive, this time for 65 yards, that ended with Richardson running in with 6:39 to play in the first half. In addition to Richardson's 48 yards - 31 of which were through the air to senior tight end Mitch Gallagher (Malone, NY / Franklin Academy) - sophomore running back Rodrick Payne (Buffalo, NY / St. Joseph's) had 17 yards on five carries. 

It appeared the Engineers tied the game four minutes later when junior defensive back Sean Egan (Latham, NY / Shaker) picked up a fumble (forced by Buss) and ran 55 yards into the end zone, but the play was called back due to an illegal block on the return. RPI started with the ball on its own 20 yard line and was eventually forced to punt. 

The third quarter was scoreless, though Rensselaer made a strong bid to tie the game on a halfback option throw, but the pass sailed over the head of an open receiver and out of bounds near the SLU 10 yard line.

The Saints got a pair of short-range field goals from Daly Hebert (Darien, CT / Darien) - 23 and 27 yards - for a 20-7 lead with 5:18 to play in the fourth quarter, but the Engineers pulled back to within a single score when Trimpert connected with classmate Keaton Ackermann (Erieville, NY / Cazenovia) on a shallow cross that the wideout carried down the right sideline for 60 yards and a touchdown. That was the final possession for the Engineers, who saw Payne (22 rushing yards) and Richardson (15 rushing yards) run out the clock.

Payne finished with 92 rushing yards on 25 carries with 21 receiving yards (3 receptions) for the Saints, who held a 434-220 edge in total yards and 24-9 advantage in first downs. Gallagher had 11 catches for 85 yards and fellow tight end John Maye (Saranac, NY / Saranac) caught four balls for 79 yards. Holley-Grisham, also a defensive back, led the Saints in tackles with seven (4 unassisted) and he also intercepted two passes. Jayson Leigh (Poughquag, NY / Arlington) also had seven stops.

For RPI, linebackers Oliver Kaija (Reading, VT / Woodstock Union) and Alexander Greenidge (Miller Place, NY / Miller Place) had 12 tackles apiece, while defensive backs Bryan Hayes (Boylston, MA / Tahanto Regional) and Buss had 11 and 10, respectively. Hayes had a game-high eight unassisted stops with two pass breakups, while Buss had five solos, a tackle for a loss (9 yards), three pass breakups, a forced fumble and an interception. He nearly had a second interception but was ruled to have come down out of bounds on the play. Trimpert was RPI's top runner with 83 yards, including a 37 yard long, on 15 carries. Under center he was 5 for 17 for 101 yards. Ackermann had two receptions for 72 yards.

RPI travels to the University of Rochester next Saturday (noon), while the Saints host Springfield College at 1pm. Both games are league contests.