RPI FOOTBALL RETURNING
RPI Football returns September 1 with major keys returning, both expected and unexpected
TROY >> Last season, RPI Football finished their 2017campaign with an 8-3record, tied for first place in the Liberty League with a 4-1record, and qualified for the first round of the NCAA III tournament with the Liberty League automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
Last season ended with a 45-27 loss at the hands of Wesley College in that first round game.
But, the Engineers are hanging onto the 2017 season. That season is over, done, dead, buried, and isn’t coming back. The 2018 Engineers understand that, and are building off of that experience to make sure the 2018 season can live on longer than its predecessor.
“Last year is over, ‘17 is over. We don’t have that same group, we don’t have the same leadership, we don’t have the same captains, it’s a totally different dynamic,” said RPI Head Coach Ralph Isernia. “We don’t talk in terms of this team last year, it’s this team this year, and anything we did last year, that doesn’t help us, that doesn’t give us five more points on the scoreboard, that doesn’t give us 20 more yards, so it’s about this team and focusing
on this team.”
And this year’s team is not only just loaded with returners, but returning stars that helped pave the way to last season’s success. With that in mind, the Engineers are confident heading into the first game of the 2018 season on September 1.
“You do see the confidence from the guys, you also see it from a bunch of guys who for four consecutive years have been in postseason play, so they know what that’s like,” said Isernia. “That’s been invaluable for us. Getting guys to understand you want to play a long season, you want to get into bonus football.”
Last season’s stats point to a successful year all over. RPI averaged 29.18 points per game while just allowing an average of 19.09 points. The offense itself was balanced, with rushing yards accumulating 1,955 yards total on the season and passing accounting for 1,845 yards.
What is so impressive about the offensive side of the ball, was that for seven games last season, RPI utilized then-freshmanquarterback George Marinopolous.
Marinopolous returns still as an underclassmen, but one with some serious in game experience that will be invaluable to the Engineers this season.
“I was struggling with last year on when to pull the trigger and get him in game situation. We knew what we had in him,” said Isernia. “We knew he had some experience in a similar type of offense and it was just a matter of getting him in there. The difference this year — personality, blood pressure, with him, it doesn’t change. He gets into a game situation or he’s throwing in practice, I think we got to shake him and wake him up a little bit sometimes, but he’s even keel through the whole thing.”
Marinopolous is seeing the game really slow down now in year two, and with an experienced offensive line in front of him as well, the extra time in the pocket is going to prove to be deadly.
“Honestly I feel a lot better this year than I did last year. This year everything is slowing down,” said Marinopolous. “Last year I thought it was slowing down, but this year it really is slowing down. I feel confident in myself and making my reads having a great O-line in front of me really helps the game slow down a lot more.”
A big change in the backfield for the Engineers will be adjusting to the losses of both Ethan Wells and Mike Tivinis, who both graduated following last season.
Tivinis ran for a total 635 yards last season on 111 carries, averaging for 5.7 yards a carry, and scored six times.
Wells did similar numbers, totalling 409 yards on 79 carries, averaging 5.2 yards a carry, and scored three times.
But, the loss of those guys means next man up, and the next guys up look like seniors Nick Cella and Connor Davies.