Costa, Robertson lead Engineers past Gulls
Sept. 13, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - Sophomore running back Nick Costa (Yonkers, N.Y.) rushed for 101 yards with three touchdowns as the 21st-ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute breezed past Endicott College, 36-7, in non-conference football action at Endicott Stadium. The victory marks the eighth-straight season-opening win for RPI (1-0, 0-0 Liberty), while Endicott falls to 0-2 (0-0 NEFC Boyd).
Senior quarterback Jimmy Robertson (Yonkers, N.Y.) opened his season in impressive fashion as he was 15-of-26 for 225 yards and a touchdown. It took Robertson much of the first quarter to get his offense into a groove, as several of his opening passes sailed high of their mark. Senior Eren Savasli (Brooklyn, N.Y.) emerged as a favorite target, catching six balls for 135 yards in the win.
With the Engineers winning the toss and deferring to the second half, the Endicott offense looked to get on the board first. Despite an impressive nine-play, 59-yard opening possession, the Gulls were unable to convert on a Christopher Brennan (East Longmeadow, Mass.) 27-yard field goal attempt, surrendering the ball to the visitors.
After back-to-back punt possessions from each team, it looked as though the Gulls caught a break as Daniel Orlando (Bradford, Mass.) stripped the ball from Costa on a give up the middle, allowing Andrew Pochebit (Portland, Maine) to pounce for the recovery on Endicott's own 22-yard line.
Moment's later, Phil Konopka had a batted ball land in the awaiting arms of RPI defender Stefan Schulz (Bradford, Mass.) deep inside Gull territory, giving the visitors excellent field position late in the first quarter. The Endicott defense did its best to hold the Engineers, however RPI gambled on fourth down and Costa came through, busting up the middle for a 22-yard score. Peter Nilson (Appleton, Wis.) nailed the extra point putting the Engineers on top, 7-0.
Endicott drove down the ensuing possession into RPI territory but was unable to capitalize on the good field position, as Konopka was picked-off by Pete Rankis (Acton, Mass.) at the 16-yard line. After each team traded possessions, Costa struck again on a fourth down conversion, this time from six yards out to put the Engineers on top, 14-0, at the end of the first half.
The Engineers upped the pressure early in the third quarter as Robertson tossed a beautiful ball to Patrick McCarthy (Strafford, N.H.), hitting the sophomore receiver in stride for a 24-yard touchdown strike. Peter Nilson hit his third PAT in as many tries to put the Engineers in front by three scores.
Entering the fourth quarter, RPI added to its commanding lead when Costa scored his third touchdown of the game, this time from one yard out. After a botched snap on the PAT, McCarthy picked up the loose ball and rushed into the right side of the end zone to put his squad on top, 29-0.
The Gulls finally got on the board with 4:36 remaining in the game, as Tyler Felix (Foxboro, Mass.) punched into the end zone for a one yard touchdown. Drew Cusato, who carried the ball 13 times for 101 yards, narrowly missed the goal line on the previous play as he busted up the gut for a gain of 34-yards. Brennan added the PAT to cut the lead to 29-7.
Late in the game, Endicott was forced to punt from the back of its own end zone. A 45-yard boot from Brennan was fielded by RPI's Mike Fil (Wynantskill, N.Y), who made everyone miss as he scampered for the score. Nilson tacked on the afternoon's final point as he split the uprights for a 36-7 win.
Rensselaer posted 354 yards of total offense (129 rushing, 225 passing), while Endicott netted 292 (156 rushing, 136 passing). Endicott quarterback Phil Konopka was 14-of-28 for 136 yards and two interceptions. The freshman was also sacked three times on the afternoon.
Endicott looks to rebound as the Blue and Green travel to Buzzards Bay, Mass. to square-off with Massachusetts Maritime next Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Meanwhile, RPI looks to move to 2-0 as the Engineers head to Utica for a 1:00 p.m. kick-off with the Pioneers.