RPI faces No. 13 Wesley in Round 1

DOVER, DEL. » Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s football team needed a road win against Union last week to get back in the DIII NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.

A big-time defensive performance and a gutsy onside kick call set up the Engineers’ George Marinopoulos to throw the goahead touchdown to Keaton Ackermann with 5:19 left in the fourth quarter of a thrilling 20-14 victory.

The win sets up RPI (82; 4-1 Liberty League) with another must-win, this time at No. 13 Wesley College (9-1; 9-0 NJAC) in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs.

Rensselaer has never faced Wesley on the gridiron, regular season or post-season.

Both teams are riding winning streaks heading into Saturday’s game. RPI has won its last five games, while the Wolverines have won nine consecutive contests.

The Engineers have played in the NCAA Playoffs four times with the most recent being in 2007. The other years were 1999, 2001 and 2003. Wesley is making its 13th straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 14th in the past 15 years.

Rensselaer’s postseason run was a trip to the National Semifinals in 2003. That Engineers team beat Curry, Springfield and Ithaca before losing at eventual national champion St. John’s in Minnesota.

Senior Mike Tivinis leads RPI with 606 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 103 carries. Classmate Ethan Wells has 399 yards and three TDs on 77 carries and junior Nick Cella has 355 yards and five scores on 75 attempts.

Ackermann, a junior, is first on the Engineers in catches (23), receiving yards (320) and touchdown receptions (6). Senior Johnny Ramsdell has 19 catches for 218 yards and two TDs. He has also run the ball 20 times for 90 yards.

Marinopoulos, a true freshman and Guilderland grad, has started for the Engineers the last five games. In six contests, he has completed 74 of 112 passes for 804 yards. He has nine touchdowns and three interceptions with a passing efficiency rating of 147.53.