RPI stuns No. 3 Brockport
Engineers force five turnovers in rainy game to pull off NCAA upset
On paper, the second-round Division III NCAA football matchup between RPI and Brockport may have seemed one-sided, but that paper may have been blurred or blown away in the wind and rain.
RPI, a clear underdog against the nation’s third-ranked team, basked in the elements of Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium and pulled off what may be the biggest upset of this year’s playoffs.
The Engineers dented a previously impenetrable Brockport defense for 102 rushing yards and forced five turnovers Saturday in a 21-13 victory over the Golden Eagles.
“It’s always great to play in wet weather,” said RPI defensive back John Sadak, who had two interceptions. “The balls aren’t going to be thrown as great, but we just have a tough defense.”
The victory moved RPI (10-1) into the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in 15 years. The Engineers will play Johns Hopkins at noon Saturday. The site will be announced on Sunday.
“If you want to be good at our level in upstate New York,” a dejected Brockport coach Jason Mangone said after the game, “you’ve got to be able to play in the rain.”
A potential shootout between five-syllabled, Section Ii-bred
quarterbacks never materialized, thanks to the 30 mph gusts and intermittent precipitation.
RPI limited La Salle Institute graduate Joe Germinerio to 147 passing yards, 117 under his average. He completed just 11 of 33 attempts.
Guilderland graduate George Marinopoulos (13-for-35, 142 yards, one interception) was below his season norms, but he led two second-half touchdown drives that erased a 13-7 halftime deficit.
“It was tough with the rain, and it was cold outside, too,” Marinopoulos said. “You can’t let that affect you. You’ve just got to keep playing every play.”
Operating into the strong wind, Marinopoulos guided the Engineers on a nine-play drive to open the third quarter. He was 6-for-7 for 75 yards on the march, capped by an 18-yard pass to Keaton Ackermann to put RPI back on top, 14-13.
The Engineers opened the fourth quarter at midfield. It took 14 plays and a fourth-down pass interference penalty on Brockport, but RPI scored on Nick Cella’s second touchdown of the game.
“It was a ridiculous call,” Brockport defensive back Matt Arita said of the penalty, “but you’ve got to keep playing. There’s nothing you can do about it now.”
In the end, this was about RPI’S ability to run the ball and to neutralize Germinerio.
Brockport (11-1) came into the game leading the nation in rushing defense — a negative 2.3 yards per game. Cella carried 27 times for 69 yards, and Rob Law had key runs of 29 and 12 yards, the latter going for a game-clinching first down with 2:05 to play.
“We knew that in order to keep our defense off the field and to get them a little rest, we couldn’t keep throwing the football and maybe get an incomplete or going three-and-out and burning just 15 seconds off the clock,” RPI coach Ralph Isernia said. “We needed to be committed to the running game.”
The RPI defense was stellar throughout, creating five turnovers and blocking a punt (by Kyle Samuels) to set up Cella’s first touchdown.
Germinerio tried to lead the Golden Eagles back, but he was throwing into the teeth of the strong gusts for the fourth quarter.
“We wanted to make them onedimensional and earn everything that they were going to get,” Isernia said. “They made some plays, but it was trying to make them go a long field. If they were going to score a touchdown, make them execute a 12-, 14-, 15-play drive that they’re going to have to execute each and every play.”
“We were not very good offensively,” Mangone said.
The last time RPI made it this far into the NCAAS was 2003, when the Engineers advanced to the semifinals before losing to eventual national champion St. John’s (Minn.).
“We were one of the best 16 teams in the country,” Isernia said. “Now we’re one of the best eight teams in the country. You saw today — weather, drops, interceptions, fumbles, mistakes. You’ve got 18- to 22-year-olds, and you never know what you’re going to get out of that. I like our team. I like the character of our team. I like how hard we play from one snap to another, and I like how we pull for each other.”