Game Notes - Robert Morris @ Albany (11/3/07)
? Robert Morris has now dropped three straight to Albany, with the Great Danes owning a 5-4 edge in the all-time series ... The 45 points allowed by the Colonials against Albany is the most an NEC program has scored against RMU in school history, eclipsing the 44 Sacred Heart posted in a 44-31 Pioneer victory Sept. 22, 2001 ... The 28-point victory is the largest margin of victory for either club in the all-time series.
? The Colonial ground game accumulated just 64 yards rushing on 28 attempts, an average of 2.3 yards per carry ... Sophomore halfback Raphael Johnson (Clinton, Md. / Charles H. Flowers) led all Colonial runners with five carries for 31 yards ... Freshman halfback Myles Russ (Boca Raton, Fla. / West Boca), coming off his first career 100-yard rushing game, was held to 15 yards on 12 carries.
? Senior flanker Julian Ellison (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Carrick) is the 18th different Colonial to post a 100-yard receiving game in school history ... Ellison owns 10 catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns over the last two games ... Senior flanker Mario Hines (Ecorse, Mich. / Ecorse), who missed RMU's last game @ Duquesne (10/20/07) due to a shoulder injury, returned to the starting lineup and finished with 120 all-purpose yards, including three receptions for 45 yards ... Hines bumped his season total in all-purpose yards to 1,039 ... Freshman tight end Sean McElhinny's (McDonald, Pa. / South Fayette) three-yard touchdown reception was the first catch of his career ... Senior split end Alvin Hill (New Kensington, Pa. / Plum) caught three balls for 17 yards, bumping his season total in receptions to 30 (for 432 yards) ... Hill is the 11th different Colonial in school history to post at least 30 receptions in a season.
? Senior linebacker Chad Wengert (Kempton, Pa. / Kutztown) upped his career total in tackles to 247 thanks to 11 stops against the Great Danes, good enough to rank seventh all-time at Robert Morris ... Wengert leads RMU with 99 tackles in 2007, a total that ranks sixth in the Colonial single-season records ... Wengert now owns eight career double-digit tackle games ... Senior linebacker Jordan Howard (Uniontown, Ohio / Lake) pushed his total on the 2007 campaign in tackles to 88, which ranks ninth in the single-season records.
? Joining sophomore linebacker Adam Lawrence (Big Run, Pa. / Dubois Area) with sacks on the afternoon were Wengert, Howard and sophomore defensive lineman Andy Walton (New Waterford, Ohio / Crestview) with half a sack each, senior defensive lineman Kelvern Grant (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. / Hallendale) with one and-a-half and sophomore defensive lineman Mark Szymanski (Cadogan, Pa. / Ford City) and junior defensive lineman Shannon Smoot (Columbus, Ohio / Bishop Hartley) with one each.
? Robert Morris finished with 287 yards of total offense but were just 4-of-14 on third-down conversions (28.5 percent) ... Albany converted 10 of its 18 opportunities (.557) on third down ... Each club finished 1-for-2 in fourth-down tries.
? Junior Michael Walser's (Thornville, Ohio / Sheridan) 41-yard field goal in the second quarter improved him to a perfect 3-for-3 in attempts 40 yards or longer ... Freshman Nick Schirtzinger (Hurricane, W.Va. / Hurricane) averaged 39.8 yards on four punts.
