Moon Township, Pa. – A strong defensive effort throughout and two touchdowns in the game's final four minutes led the
Robert Morris University football team to a come-from-behind, 21-9, victory over East Tennessee State in its non-conference finale on a seasonable Saturday afternoon at Joe Walton Stadium.
RMU took the lead for good with 3:18 to play on an 84-yard touchdown pass from true freshman
Mathew Barr to redshirt freshman
Kyle Buss. The Colonial defense did not allow the Bucs to cross midfield on their final two drives to seal the victory.
For the third time in five games, the Colonial defense kept the opposition under 300 yards of total offense as ETSU compiled only 236 on the day. RMU held the Bucs without a touchdown, and allowed one scoring drive over 30 yards, while racking up nine sacks and 13.0 tackles for loss. The nine sacks are the second-most in RMU history and the highest such figure against a Division I foe. Saturday's effort increased RMU's season sack total to 28, the sixth highest figure in single-season program history.
Redshirt senior linebacker
Jake Tkach led all players with 14 tackles, including 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack. He reached double figures in tackles for the fourth time in five games while surpassing his 2014 tackle total with two games remaining.
Redshirt senior captain
Forrest Mason tied his career highs in both tackles (9) and sacks (2.5), as he was one of many Colonials serving as a terror in the opposing backfield. Mason moved into a tie for fifth in all-time sacks (16) at RMU with Saturday's performance.
Barr was efficient in guiding the offense as he went 20-for-31 for a season-best 225 yards. He threw for two scores without tossing an interception. His 84-yard bomb for the go-ahead score stands as the fourth-longest pass in RMU history and the longest in over 11 years.
Buss caught a season-high tying nine passes for 138 yards, surpassing the 100-yard mark for the second straight game and the third time this season. In doing so, he broke the RMU rookie record for both single-season receptions and receiving yards. Buss' 43 catches and 661 receiving yards this season are both tied for fifth overall in single-season RMU history.
RMU drove to the ETSU 40-yard line on the game's opening drive before electing to punt on fourth down. The ensuing punt by junior
Connor Shennan was downed at the 2-yard line by redshirt junior cornerback
Marcelis Branch.
Neither team picked up a first down the next two drives.
The Colonial defense then appeared to have registered a three-and-out. RMU blocked the subsequent punt and returned it for a touchdown, but ETSU earned a first down due to a penalty.
Four plays later, the Bucs punted again. RMU returned the boot 61 yards for a touchdown, but the guests again kept the ball due to a controversial personal foul penalty called for leaping.
Robert Morris finally got the ball back when it forced a turnover on downs as Mason and redshirt sophomore defensive lineman
Zack Zamiska teamed up for a sack on fourth down.
The Colonials drove to the ETSU 36-yard line before a fourth down rush was stopped short.
The Buccaneers then drove to the brink of the end zone as they had first-and-goal at the 3-yard line. However, redshirt senior captain
Mike Stojkovic came up big as he stopped a rush short and also broke up a third down pass attempt. ETSU got on the board first with a 25-yard field goal.
After a short Colonial punt, the Bucs needed to drive just 26 yard to double their lead with a 35-yard field goal.
East Tennessee State would then take over after a Colonial fumble on the RMU 49-yard line. The Robert Morris defense forced a punt by holding the guests to -4 yards on that drive, refusing to let the Bucs take advantage of the takeaway.
A punt by each team followed, including a 62-yard boot by Shennan that helped flip the field.
RMU took over on its own 35-yard line with 1:19 remaining in the half. Barr caught fire as he led the team on a nine-play, 65-yard touchdown drive. The rookie was 7-for-8 on the sequence, completing passes to four different receivers. Barr found sophomore
Craig Thompson on a 5-yard slant pattern for a touchdown right before the half. The score was the first of Thompson's career.
RMU only let ETSU reach the Bucs' 31-yard line on the opening drive of the second half. The Colonials then moved the ball into Buccaneers territory before having their punt blocked.
The guests took advantage of the good field position as they needed to drive just 21 yards to connect on a 29-yard field goal that put them back in front.
Each of the game's next four drives ended in punts, practically bringing the game into the fourth quarter.
RMU reached midfield on its next drive before a receiver fumbled after making a reception. The Colonial defense again would not let the Bucs make good on the takeaway as it held the guests to -3 yards on the ensuing drive, forcing a punt.
Each of the game's next four drives ended in punts with each team picking up two first downs on its possessions.
Robert Morris took over on its own 16-yard line with under four minutes to play. Barr threw a bomb down the left sideline that Buss caught in stride. The receiver managed to stay in bounds while outracing the defender to the end zone to put RMU back on top.
RMU held the Bucs to three yards on the following drive as the Colonials notched three sacks on the sequence. A fourth down sack by junior defensive end
Ryan Lewis turned the ball over on downs with 1:26 to play.
Robert Morris wasted little time tacking on an insurance score as sophomore
Cole Blake found the end zone with a 12-yard rush, the first rushing touchdown of his career.
ETSU netted just nine yards on four plays on its final drive as sophomore defensive end
Grant Lanza ended the contest fittingly with his first career sack.
Stojkovic contributed 10 tackles, a tackle for loss, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. He reached double digits in tackles for the sixth time in nine games this season while tallying his third forced fumble of the campaign.
Numerous Colonial defenders set or tied career highs in tackles Saturday, as RMU recorded at least 13.0 tackles for loss in a game for the sixth time in program history. Lewis tied his previous best of eight while adding a career high 2.5 sacks. Junior
Zach Cooper also matched his prior high of seven while tallying 1.5 sacks.
Junior linebacker
Jimmy Masson and sophomore linebacker
Joseph Uhatafe reset career bests with nine and eight tackles, respectively, with the latter adding a pass breakup.
Buss becomes the fourth Colonial ever to have at least three 100-yard receiving efforts in a season. He is also just the second Colonial ever to catch at least nine passes in a game more than once in a career.
Blake finished with a game-high 83 rushing yards on 18 carries. Redshirt freshman
Zach Walker caught a season-high four passes. Barr becomes the third true freshmen quarterback to lead a RMU team on a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.
Redshirt senior center
Nick Faraci started his 42nd consecutive game at center Saturday. He now owns the most career starts of any non-specialist in RMU history.
RMU held in advantages in a variety of statistical categories including average gain per rush, completion percentage, passing yards, total yards, sacks and third down percentage.
In winning the inaugural meeting between the programs, RMU improved to 21-16-1 all-time when facing an opponent for the first time.
With its non-conference slate complete, RMU will resume Northeast Conference (NEC) play next Saturday, Nov. 14, as it plays its road finale at Saint Francis.
