Moon Township, Pa. – Nick Bisceglia's 38-yard field goal with five seconds left helped the RMU football team run its winning streak at Joe Walton Stadium to seven Saturday with a 38-35 triumph over Hampton. The Colonials improve to 3-4 (.429) overall during the 2021 campaign, including 2-3 (.400) in the Big South.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
In a game that featured 10 scoring drives of 60 yards or longer, RMU trailed, 35-27, after Jett Duffey rushed for his fifth touchdown of the contest with 9:24 to go, a four-yard scamper. The Colonials responded on their next drive, marching 75 yards on 14 plays before running back
Alijah Jackson hauled in a three-yard touchdown pass from quarterback
George Martin. Trailing, 35-33, RMU went for two, with Martin hitting tight end
Mason Miller in the flat, who walked into the end zone untouched to tie the contest for just the second time.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Hampton got the ball back with 3:01 remaining, but the RMU defense held firm, sacking Duffey for a two-yard loss courtesy of defensive lineman
Supilani Mailei to set up third-and-nine from the 26-yard line of the Pirates. Duffey tried to hit Romon Copeland in the middle of the field on the next play, but defensive back
William Barber came up with a pass breakup to force Hampton to punt. The Colonials got the ball back with under two minutes remaining, setting up another come-from-behind victory at the Joe.
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
The Colonials set up shop at their own 33-yard line with 1:56 to play, and after a two-yard rush from Jackson, Martin connected with his running back on consecutive completions, the second of which went for 19 yards and moved the ball to the 40-yard line of the Pirates. Two plays later Martin hit tight end
Dylan Smith for 15 yards, setting up kicker
Nick Bisceglia for an opportunity to put the Colonials in front for the first time since they owned a 10-7 advantage in the second quarter. Bisceglia came through, connecting from 38 yards out for his third trifecta of the afternoon to push RMU in front. It marked the third career game-wining field goal from Bisceglia, who also gave RMU a 13-10 win over Dayton (9/2/17) at Joe Walton Stadium by connecting from 24 yards as well as a 20-17 overtime triumph @ Saint Francis (10/12/19) with a 38-yarder.
QUOTABLE
"The last drive was our most confident as an offense," Martin said. "When you play with guys for years now, it's been four years I've been with these guys, you get the feeling that they're all locked in. He's fighting an injury and he's fighting an injury, but it doesn't matter, because if you're that far locked in and know your assignment, you know we can push the ball all the way down the field. It was great to see our guys that confident."
VIRTUOSO
The win for the Colonials overshadowed the performance of Duffey, who established a Joe Walton Stadium record with five rushing touchdowns Saturday. He finished with 18 carries for 84 yards and rushed for scores of five, seven, one, 21 and four yards. Duffey was also 14-for-20 passing for 287 yards but was sacked three times, the last of which came on the final play of the game as defensive linemen
Garret Fairman and
Ricardo Watson combined to bring the elusive quarterback down.
A BALANCED ATTACK
RMU established a season high with 500 yards of total offense Saturday against Hampton, including 139 on the ground and 361 through the air. It marks the second time the Colonials have reached the 500-yard threshold in four seasons under head coach
Bernard Clark, Jr. Martin finished 28-for-39 passing for a career-high 315 yards and two touchdowns, while wide receiver
D'Andre Hicks, who caught six balls for 61 yards and the first score of the game, also completed a 46-yard pass to wide receiver
Jaylon Brown. Jackson, meanwhile, racked up 163 all-purpose yards against the Pirates, posting his second 100-yard rushing effort of the 2021 season with 127 yards on 25 attempts, an average of 5.1 yards per rush.
QUOTABLE
"Our O-line did a good job and held up well," Clark said. "The running attack, the passing attack, it all came together. The O-line gave George the time he needed to see guys. He's a fifth-year senior, and you know he's always going to get it going eventually. He's a second-half guy. That held true today."
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Rookie wide receiver
James Westry tied Hicks for game-high honors in receptions with six each, with Westry accumulating 101 yards for his second career 100-yard receiving effort. Those two helped the Colonials finish 8-for-12 on third down as RMU owned a 33:22 to 26:38 edge in time of possession. Defensively, Ali Shockley notched a game-high 16 tackles for Hampton, with linebacker
Aniello Buzzacco pacing the Colonials with 10 stops, including six solo.
UP NEXT
RMU returns to Joe Walton Stadium Saturday, Nov. 6, to host Kennesaw State for a Noon kickoff.
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