TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) football team put up a three-score lead in the first six minutes of their 49-10 victory over the University of Rochester on Saturday afternoon, as the Engineers came out with the win on Senior Day. With the win, RPI moves to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in league play, while Rochester falls to 5-4 and 2-3 in the Liberty League.
 
On the opening drive of the game, the Engineers marched 65 yards in just over 1:39 of play to take a 7-0 lead. A big 47-yard pass play from Jake Kazanowsky to Anthony Meissner led to a Christian Buckley nine-yard rush for a touchdown.
 
In the ensuing Rochester possession, Anthony D'Agostino picked off Yellow Jackets quarterback Ryan Rose and brought the interception back the other way for a score to make it 14-0. RPI then forced a punt in Rochester's next possession, leading to another touchdown drive in their second offensive drive.
 
The Engineers started their second drive at the Rochester 32-yard line, and three plays in Kazanowsky found Sean Kelly over the middle in the end zone to make it 21-0 RPI with 8:49 to play in the opening quarter.
 
RPI didn't score again until the start of the second quarter, as Kayden White scored on a three-yard run before Kazanowsky scored a rushing touchdown of his own later in the second quarter to give RPI the 35-0 lead. Rochester got a field goal before the end of the first half, as the Engineers held onto a 35-3 lead at the midway point.
 
Sterling Walker-Sutton snagged a 16-yard touchdown pass from Kazanowsky in the third quarter, before he doubled up on touchdowns with a 14-yard rushing touchdown in the same frame to put the Engineers up 49-3.
 
That would be all the scoring for RPI on the day, as Rochester scored their one and only touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter on a two-yard touchdown pass from Rose to Aidan Papantonis for the 49-10 final score.
 
Kazanowsky finished the day 17-for-24 with 208 yards and two passing touchdowns, while accumulating 49 net yards on the ground with a rushing score to also lead the Engineers in rushing. Hayden Faraday grabbed eight receptions for 70 yards, leading RPI in that department. Defensively, Desmond Von Tobel had a team-high seven tackles, including one for a loss.
 
For Rochester, Rose finished 22-for-41 with 202 yards in the air for one touchdown and two interceptions. Jay Zheng led the Yellow Jackets on the ground, totaling 104 net yards on 17 attempts.
 
RPI returns to action next week on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. when the Engineers head to Geneva to take on Hobart.