Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU football team wrapped up its 2021 season Saturday in thrilling fashion, earning a 20-17 overtime victory over Campbell in front of 1,616 at Joe Walton Stadium. The Colonials conclude the year with an overall record of 4-6 (.400), including a 3-4 (.429) mark in their first full season as an associate member of the Big South.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Tied, 17-17, in the fourth quarter, the defense for the Camels came up big. In the right place at the right time, linebacker Keshawn Thompson came up with an interception off a batted ball, setting up the Campbell offense at the RMU 44-yard line with 1:21 to play in regulation. Dylan Easley hit Julian Hill for 18 yards on the second play of the drive that eventually saw the Camels move to the 17-yard line of the Colonials. Campbell ran the clock down and called timeout with two seconds left, setting up a 34-yard field goal attempt by Isaac Riffle for the win. After a timeout from the Colonials, RMU was whistled for offsides, moving the attempt for Riffle five yards closer and a 29-yard field goal attempt. Riffle connected, but on the play the Camels were called for a face mask, moving the ball back to the 27-yard line of the Colonials. This time, Riffle, who buried a 47-yard field goal at the end of the first half that tied the game at the break, 10-10, was wide right as time expired, sending a game to overtime at the Joe for the first time since 2006.
FREE FOOTBALL
RMU had first crack on offense in overtime, moving the ball to the eight-yard line of the Camels. It looked like the Colonials scored a touchdown on an acrobatic catch from wide receiver
D'Andre Hicks, but after review the touchdown was nullified. Kicker
Nick Bisceglia came out and hit a 25-yard field goal to push RMU back on top, 20-17. On the first offensive possession for the Camels in overtime, Earney hit Caleb Snead for 11 yards down to the RMU 14-yard line. Three consecutive rushes by CJ Freeman eventually moved Campbell to the eight-yard line, setting up Riffle with an opportunity to send the game to a second overtime with a 24-yard field goal attempt. The attempt, however, was again wide right, helping the Colonials earn a victory on Senior Day and conclude the season with a 4-1 (.800) record at home.
QUOTABLE
"We saw perseverance today," said RMU head coach
Bernard Clark, Jr. "We busted our behind to push ahead and finish the game. We always talk about playing 60 plus minutes, and today we finished. For our guys to do what they did is outstanding, especially for the senior class. The great thing about our seniors is they came back and worked hard, and the guy who led it all was George (Martin). George played hurt today, but he was right there leading our guys and helping them make sure we kept fighting until the end."
LEADING OFF
The Colonials were able to open with a strong start, grabbing an early 3-0 advantage after a 41-yard field goal from Bisceglia. RMU got a takeaway on the next possession by the Camels, as defensive back
Sydney Audiger intercepted Earney at the RMU three-yard line. The Colonials then went to work, marching 97 yards on nine plays and capping it when Martin hit wide receiver
James Westry for a seven-yard touchdown pass on a slant route to give RMU a 10-0 lead. Campbell responded, scoring 10 points in the second quarter, including a six-yard touchdown pass from Earney to Dontae Crowe that put the Camels (3-8 / 2-5 Big South) on the board.
CAN I KICK IT? YES, YOU CAN
One of 31 seniors honored before the game as part of Senior Day festivities, Bisceglia became just the third student-athlete in program history to eclipse 200 career points Saturday against the Camels. His second point after attempt of the contest, which gave the Colonials a 17-10 lead, gave Bisceglia exactly 200 points, and his trifecta in overtime, his third game-winning field goal of the 2021 campaign, settled his final tally at 203. Only kicker Jeff Carlo (250) and running back Tim Hall (208) have scored more points in program history for the Colonials. Bisceglia also concluded his career at RMU by converting each of his final 60 point after attempts.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Running back
Alijah Jackson was a key cog in RMU's offense Saturday, rushing for a season-high 132 yards on 23 attempts, an average of 5.7 yards per carry. He also caught four balls out of the backfield for 32 yards, helping him rack up 164 all-purpose yards. Jackson, who plans to return for the Colonials in 2022, owns 2,369 career yards rushing on 530 attempts, an average of 4.5 yards per carry. He also has posted 12 career rushing touchdowns and 14 overall thanks to his first two touchdown receptions this season.
THE ANATOMY OF OVERTIME
Saturday's victory marked just the seventh game in program history to go to overtime as well as just the second at home. RMU's last overtime game at Joe Walton Stadium came Oct. 14, 2006, when the Colonials earned a 23-17 win over No. 19 Central Connecticut in two overtimes. Coincidentally, the last overtime game for RMU was also a 20-17 victory, which came Oct. 12, 2019, at Saint Francis. In that triumph Bisceglia connected for a 38-yard field goal to help lift the Colonials to the win in the second overtime. All-time in program history RMU owns a record of 5-2 (.714) in overtime tilts.
SENIOR SALUTE
In his final game at RMU, Martin finished 19-for-30 passing for 173 yards and a touchdown. He pushed his season total in passing yards to 2,045 with his performance against the Camels, becoming the first quarterback to throw for over 2,000 yards since Erik Cwalinski (2005-08) in 2008. During the 2021 season, Martin completed 59.9 percent (188-for-314) of his attempts, the highest completion percentage in program history for quarterbacks with over 200 passing attempts. He broke the mark that was held by Cwalinski, who completed 58.1 percent (157-for-270) of his passes in 2006.
DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING
Safety
Miles Hayes paced the RMU defense in the with against the Camels with nine tackles, including seven solo stops. In addition to his interception, Audiger notched six tackles and a pair of pass breakups, while linebacker
Tyren Cloyd added six stops. Defensive lineman
Supilani Mailei added four tackles, including one and-a-half for a loss that totaled five yards and also returned after an injury scare in the second half.
QUOTABLE
"Even though I was injured I felt like I owed it to everybody who had a jersey on, to my coaches and to this whole program to finish this game," Mailei said. "I'm very proud of everybody's fight. Everybody wanted to send the seniors out with a win, and that talks about the fight of this team."
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