GAME 8
No. 8/12 Kennesaw State (7-1 / 4-0 Big South) vs. RMU (3-4 / 2-3 Big South)
Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021 • Noon
Joe Walton Stadium (3,000) • Moon Township, Pa.
 
TV: ESPN+
Audio: RMU Athletics Gameday App
Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jeff Waller (color)
Twitter: @RMU_Football • Instagram: RMU_Football
 
Slant Routes
 
- The RMU football team looks for its eighth consecutive home win Saturday when it welcomes No. 8/12 Kennesaw State to Joe Walton Stadium for a Noon kickoff.
 
- Kicker Nick Bisceglia connected for a 38-yard field goal with five seconds remaining to help lift the Colonials to a 38-35 win over Hampton (10/30) in their last contest. RMU finished with 500 yards of total offense in the win over the Pirates, the highest in four seasons against an NCAA Division I opponent under fourth-year head coach Bernard Clark, Jr.
 
- The Colonials engineered five scoring drives of 60 yards or longer in the win over Hampton, including the longest at the 8:10 mark of the third quarter, when senior running back Alijah Jackson scored from 11 yards out to cap a 10-play, 86-yard drive and trim RMU's deficit to 28-20.
 
- RMU erased a 15-point deficit in the win over the Pirates, the largest comeback under Clark and the second largest in program history. The Colonials trailed, 28-13, when Jett Duffey posted one of his five rushing touchdowns, a Joe Walton Stadium record, with a 21-yard scoring scamper on the first drive of the second half.
 
- Jackson recorded his second 100-yard rushing effort of the 2021 season in the triumph over Hampton with 25 carries for 127 yards and a touchdown. He also caught five balls out of the backfield for 36 yards and a score.
 
- Quarterback George Martin finished 28-for-39 passing for a career-high 315 yards and two touchdowns against the Pirates and on the 2021 campaign has completed 58.8 percent (134-for-228) of his passes for 1,455 yards and 10 touchdowns.
 
- Wide receivers James Westry and D'Andre Hicks combined for 12 receptions for 162 yards and a touchdown against the Pirates. Each finished with six catches, with Westry notching his second career 100-yard receiving effort with 101 yards and Hicks hauling in a three-yard touchdown pass that opened the scoring in the game.
 
- Defensively, linebacker Aniello Buzzacco finished with 10 tackles, including six solo takedowns, in the win over Hampton, his second double-digit tackle game of the 2021 season. Linebacker Jamar Shegog and safety Tim White each added six stops.
 
- RMU is led by Clark, who is in his first head coaching position. He was named the 2019 Northeast Conference (NEC) Co-Coach of the Year and owns an overall record of 12-21 (.364).
 
- According to a poll of Big South head coaches and a media panel, the Colonials were picked to finish eighth in the league for the 2021 fall season. Senior linebacker Aniello Buzzacco was named to the 2021 Big South Football Preseason All-Conference Team.
 
- RMU concludes the road portion of its 2021 schedule after taking on the Owls Saturday by traveling to West Long Branch, N.J., Saturday, Nov. 13, for a Noon kickoff against Monmouth.

KENNESAW STATE LINKS
- Two-Deep
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
- Weekly Availability (Kennesaw State Preview)
- RMU Athletics Gameday App
 
The All-Time Series (Kennesaw State) – Saturday's contest between RMU and KSU is the second in the all-time series as well as the second in the 2021 calendar year. In the spring, the Owls earned a 35-0 win over the Colonials at Third Bank Stadium. Kennesaw State scored three times in the first quarter to grab a 21-0 advantage en route to the win. Running back Alijah Jackson finished with 94 yards on 20 carries in the first meeting between the two programs.
 
Home Style – The Colonials have won seven consecutive home games dating back to the 2019 season entering Saturday's game against Kennesaw State, and during that stretch quarterback George Martin has engineered five game-winning drives in the fourth quarter, including each of RMU's three home games this season. At home, Martin has completed 66.3 percent (67-for-101) of his passes for 753 yards and six touchdowns, connecting with 12 different receivers. His favorite target has been wide receiver D'Andre Hicks, who owns 19 catches for 208 yards and four scores at the Joe.
 
Action Jackson – The Colonials put together arguably their most balanced attack offensively in a 38-35 win over Hampton (10/30), with running back Alijah Jackson racking up 163 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. Jackson posted a season-high 127 rushing yards on 25 carries, an average of 5.1 yards per rush. Thanks to the performance against the Pirates, Jackson pushed his career rushing total to 2,120 yards on 475 attempts, an average of 4.5 yards per carry. Jackson ranks fifth all-time in program history for career rushing yards and is 343 yards shy of moving into fourth place in the RMU record book, which is currently held by Archie Wannamaker (1996-98) with 2,462 yards.
 
The West Wing – Wide receiver James Westry has developed into a top target for the Colonials in 2021, as the redshirt freshman leads RMU in receiving yards (398) while ranking second in receptions (28) and touchdown catches (3). Over the last four games, Westry has compiled 25 catches for 375 yards and three touchdowns, including his first pair of 100-yard receiving efforts, one each on the road (@ North Alabama) and at home (Hampton).
 
Capitalizing – Kicker Nick Bisceglia enters Saturday's game against Kennesaw State leading the Colonials in scoring with 39 points. He produced his third career game-winning field goal in a 38-35 win over Hampton (10/30) with his 38-yarder with five seconds remaining, and it also marked the second consecutive home game Bisceglia hit a trio of field goals. In the second quarter of the win over the Pirates, Bisceglia nailed a 43-yard field goal, a new personal best. Thanks to the performance, Bisceglia earned the first weekly honor in program history from the Big South, as he was tabbed Special Teams Player of the Week. Bisceglia has compiled 191 career points, which ranks fourth all-time at RMU, including second among kickers. Former kicker Jeff Carlo (1998-2001) owns the RMU career mark for scoring with 250 points, while running backs Tim Hall (1994-95) and Sam Dorsett (1999-03) rank second and third with 208 and 192 points, respectively.
 
Did You Know? Kicker Nick Bisceglia has converted 54 consecutive point after attempts dating back to the 2018 season. He converted each of his final three opportunities of 2018, finished 33-for-33 in 2019 and was 3-for-3 in the abbreviated 2021 spring season. So far during the 2021 fall campaign, Bisceglia is 15-for-15 in point after attempts.
 
Joining The Club – Senior Aniello Buzzacco finished with seven tackles in RMU's Big South opener @ North Carolina A&T (10/2), helping him become the 23rd student-athlete in program history to eclipse 200 career stops. Thanks to 10 stops in a 38-35 win over Hampton (10/30), Buzzacco pushed his career total in the category to 222. The 14th linebacker to wear an RMU uniform to compiled at least 200 career tackles since the program began in 1994, Buzzacco ranks 15th in the career record book for takedowns. To crack the top 10 in school history, Buzzacco needs 34 tackles.
 
Swarm & Smash – The RMU defense recorded six sacks in a 22-16 triumph over Howard (9/25), the most sacks in a game in the Bernard Clark, Jr., era. In addition, the six sacks are the most for the Colonials since recording seven @ Albany (11/3/07). Leading the way for RMU in the department was redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Ricardo Watson, who posted a pair of sacks. Redshirt senior defensive end Matthew Holmes, meanwhile, notched a sack and two quarterback hurries in the win while also blocking an extra point attempt by Howard in the third quarter that kept the Colonials on top, 14-13. As a team in 2021 the Colonials own 19 sacks, with 12 different student-athletes registering at least half a sack. RMU is tied for second in the Big South in sacks with North Carolina A&T and Campbell, trailing only Monmouth (24).
 
Did You Know? RMU is 11-for-12 when reaching the opponent red zone in home games at Joe Walton Stadium in 2021, including a perfect 6-for-6 performance in a 38-35 win over Hampton (10/30). In the friendly confines this year when getting into the red zone, the Colonials have passed for five touchdowns, rushed for three more and converted three field goals.
 
Ranked Opponents At The Joe – Saturday's game marks just the third time RMU has hosted a ranked opponent at Joe Walton Stadium. The Colonials have won the two previous contests, including a 23-17 double overtime win over No. 19 Central Connecticut (10/14) in 2006 and a 30-23 triumph over No. 15 Liberty (9/18) during the 2010 season. RMU all-time leading rusher Myles Russ (2007-10) scored from 12 yards out with 22 seconds to play to help lift the Colonials to the win over the Flames the last time a ranked opponent visited the Joe. That season RMU finished with an overall record of 8-3 (.727) and claimed the first automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs for the Northeast Conference (NEC) with a 7-1 (.875) league mark.
 
Student-Athlete – Not only is the credentials for Aniello Buzzacco impressive on the field, he's no slouch off of it, either. Buzzacco was named to the 2020-21 Academic All-District 2 Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and was also one of 54 student-athletes named to the 23rd Annual Academic All-Star Team by the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA). A finance major, Buzzacco has compiled a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.46.
 
A Memorial – The RMU Department of Athletics was saddened to learn of the passing of the program's first coach, Joe Walton, who died Sunday, August 15, 2021, at the age of 85. Walton spent 20 years as head coach of the Colonials, claiming six Northeast Conference (NEC) titles during his tenure and helping RMU earn the first automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs from the NEC in 2010. RMU hosted a memorial service for Walton after its 22-16 win over Howard (9/25) against Howard in the stadium named in his honor. The event took place on the field, featured a number of guest speakers and can be viewed in its entirety by using the following link.
 
Still On Top – The program's first running back, Tim Hall (1994-95), spent two seasons with the Colonials and during his career rushed for 2,908 yards. He accomplished the feat on 393 carries, an average of 7.40 yards per attempt. That total remains No. 1 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) record book entering the 2021 season, a span that hits 26 years this fall.

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