Moon Township, Pa. - Senior quarterback Erik Cwalinski (Jacobsburg, Ohio / Shadyside) threw touchdown passes to three different receivers and sophomore halfback Myles Russ (Boca Raton, Fla. / West Boca) added a 29-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to help boost the Robert Morris University football team to a 27-14 win over Central Connecticut State Saturday afternoon at Joe Walton Stadium. 

The victory, the second straight for RMU, improves the Colonials to 4-5 overall on the 2008 campaign, including 3-2 in Northeast Conference play, while the Blue Devils fell to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in league action. 

Robert Morris took a 7-0 lead with 7:31 to go in the first quarter when Cwalinski connected with freshman flanker James O'Quinn (Vandergrift, Pa. / Kiski Area) for a 58-yard touchdown pass. The score came after the Colonials posted their first of three takeaways on the afternoon when sophomore cornerback Rolf Bathold (Naples, Fla. / Lely) intercepted CCSU quarterback Hunter Wanket at the Robert Morris 30-yard line. 

The Blue Devils came back to tie it, 7-7, when Wanket capped a 16-play, 65-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run. The drive began with 7:24 to play in the first quarter and was capped off by Wanket's run at the 14:33 mark of the second quarter.

Robert Morris grabbed the lead back, 14-7, when Cwalinski completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to freshman tight end Shadrae King (McKeesport, Pa. / McKeesport) with just 2:42 to play before halftime. Cwalinski finished 6-for-8 passing during the drive for 86 yards, hitting four different receivers. He connected twice with senior split end Sherrod Evers (Philadelphia, Pa. / Mastbaum Area), including a 17-yard completion down to the CCSU 23-yard line.

After a scoreless third quarter, Cwalinski gave the Colonials a 21-7 advantage with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Evers that capped a five-play, 63-yard drive.

The Robert Morris defense, meanwhile, put together its second consecutive solid performance in the win, turning away Central Connecticut State twice in the red zone as well as recording a pair of interceptions and a fumble recovery.

The Blue Devils owned a 1st-and-goal from the RMU nine-yard line after a 15-yard completion from Wanket to Josue Paul with under 10 minutes to play, and on 2nd-and-goal James Mallory scampered down to the one-yard line after an eight-yard pickup. However, Wanket was stopped on third down by junior linebacker Adam Lawrence (Big Run, Pa. / Dubois Area), and on fourth down juniors Alex DiMichele (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Sto-Rox) and Michael Landers (Springdale, Pa. / Springdale) teamed up to hold Wanket out of the end zone. 

Robert Morris took over on downs and marched 99 yards for another score as Russ capped it with a 29-yard touchdown scamper with 2:11 remaining. Russ carried five times for 68 yards during the drive, helping him go over 1,000 yards on the season, and finished the afternoon with 163 yards on 20 carries, an average of 8.1 yards per rush.

Paul returned the ensuing kickoff 86 yards to pull the Blue Devils within 27-14, but a CCSU onside kick was recovered by Lawrence with 1:52 to play, and the Colonials ran out the clock to preserve the win.

Cwalinski finished 15-for-30 passing for 249 yards, three touchdowns and an interception as Robert Morris rolled up 428 yards of total offense. Evers posted five catches for 42 yards and a touchdown, while O'Quinn finished with three catches for 76 yards and a score. King contributed three receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown, while leading the way in receiving yards was sophomore wide receiver T.J. Green (Stamford, Conn. / Milford Academy), who compiled 90 yards on four catches.

DiMichele and junior linebacker Ian Milanak (North Apollo, Pa. / Apollo Ridge) each finished with 11 tackles to lead the Colonial defense, while Landers finished with eight tackles, his league-leading fifth interception of the year and three pass breakups. Junior linebacker Robert Williams (Randallstown, Md. / Baltimore Polytechnic) also added eight takedowns, including a sack.

Mallory led the ground game for the Blue Devils with 95 yards on 19 carries, while Wanket finished with 49 yards and a score on 17 attempts. Wanket also finished 10-for-20 passing for 84 yards and an interception.

Robert Morris will search for its third straight win when it hosts Albany Saturday, Nov. 8, for a 1:00 p.m. contest at Joe Walton Stadium in its final home game of the 2008 campaign.