Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University football team improved to 3-0 in the Northeast Conference for the first time since 2010 Saturday with another come-from-behind victory, posting a 24-20 win over Bryant at Joe Walton Stadium.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
For the second consecutive week, the special teams came up huge for the Colonials (4-4 / 3-0) in the third quarter. Trailing, 13-10, RMU held Bryant to three-and-out. Faced with a 4th-and-2 from their own 31-yard line, punter Gavin Rowley of the Bulldogs fumbled.
Jacob Thomas scrambled for the loose ball and jumped in from three years out to push Robert Morris in front, 17-13, for the first time in the contest.
COMEBACK KIDS STRIKE AGAIN
The Colonials were down, 13-0, and erased the deficit for the victory. It marked RMU's largest deficit to come back from for a victory since falling behind, 14-0, in the 2010 NEC opener @ Sacred Heart (9/11/10). Robert Morris eventually tied that game against the Pioneers, 14-14, before falling behind again by double digits, 24-14, through three quarters. The Colonials put up 21 points in the fourth quarter to earn the 35-31 victory, including an eight-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Sinclair to Shadrae King with 17 seconds to play for the win.
ANSWERING
Bryant (2-7 / 1-3 NEC) jumped back in front, 20-17, with 12 minutes to play by engineering a 12-play, 56-yard drive that was capped by a five-yard touchdown run from Harrison Easton. During the drive Easton carried six times for 26 yards.
HOUSE(R) IS A ROCKING
The Colonials grabbed the lead for good on their next possession, as on the third play of the drive quarterback
George Martin hit wide receiver
Garrett Houser in stride, who followed by racing 72 yards to the end zone and the touchdown. House caught a pair of passes on the afternoon against the Bulldogs and finished with an even 100 yards receiving, while Martin finished 9-for-20 passing for 163 yards and two touchdowns.
THE STREAK IS ALIVE
Robert Morris got its first score of the contest with 7:32 left in the third quarter, as Martin connected with senior tight end
Matthew Gonzalez for a 13-yard touchdown. It marked the eighth consecutive home game that Gonazalez has played and caught a touchdown pass dating back to the 2017 season. During that span he owns 11 touchdown receptions.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
The tide seemed to turn on Bryant's next possession after the touchdown from Martin to Gonzalez. On 3rd-and-4 from the RMU 46-yard line, Bryant quarterback Kory Curtis was intercepted by linebacker
Brady Ours, who found some daylight and rolled to the 31-yard line of the Bulldogs. Four plays later the Colonials capitalized with a 29-yard field goal from Bisceglia.
IN THE MIDDLE
A trio of student-athletes for finished with double-digit tackles for RMU in its win over Bryant, including linebacker
Aniello Buzzacco, who posted seven solo stops among his career-high 18 takedowns. Over the last five games, Buzzacco owns 67 tackles, an average of 13.4 per contest. Defensive back
Jacob White and defensive lineman
Supilani Mailei each finished with 10 takedowns.
ON THE GROUND
Running back
Terence Stephens, Jr., recorded his first 100-yard rushing effort of the 2019 season against the Bulldogs with 101 yards on 27 attempts, an average of 3.7 yards per carry. Rookie running back
Jordan Johnson added 10 yards on the ground on a pair of attempts.
UP NEXT
Robert Morris continues a three-game homestand Saturday, Nov. 2, with a Noon kickoff against Long Island at Joe Walton Stadium.
Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Snapchat | YouTube
