Gameday Week 09/24/2005 - Game #3 Robert Morris

2nd Half Adjustments Put Profs Over the Top, Win 35-28 in OT By Tom Wilson JT@rowanfootball.com I told you in the pregame story that I didn't have a feel for this game. Guess I was right. Last year, Robert Morris played St. Peter's D-1AA and beat them 23-12. This year Western Connecticut beat St. Peter's 37-13. That in essence was my pregame logic. So I don't know, was Robert Morris that good or was it Rowan giving up big plays early? Anyway, I'm sure I'll get opinions via email from those actually at the game this past Saturday. Either way come from behind victories are good test of team character. Hopefully, it will be something the Profs can draw upon later in year. Down 28-7 in early in the third quarter, the Profs began their comeback against D1-AA non-scholarship Robert Morris. The first of 21 unanswered points started with a nine-play, 99-yard drive late in the third quarter. Rob Richardson carried three times for 15 yards, and Ulysses Encarnacion added a 20-yard run. Sakeen Wright added a 24-yard reception and tight end Brian Jenkins grabbed a pass for 11 yards. Wide receiver Phil Silva capped the drive with a 9-yard touchdown reception. "That first drive made the difference," said Rowan quarterback Mike Orihel in the (Camden, N.J.) Courier Post. Orihel went 22-for-38 for 327 yards and a pair of touchdowns. "We went 99 yards to score and I think that just put in our minds that we could win this game." With about nine minutes left the Profs drove 78 yards culminating in a 1-yard touchdown run by Mike Orihel, making the score 28-21. On the game-tying drive Rowan 74 yards on 11 plays end with a nice over the shoulder grab by Silva for a 5-yard game tying score. In overtime, Robert Morris won the coin toss and elected to play defense first. After a 19-yard diving grab by wide receiver Brad Stys, Encarnacion scored on a 3-yard touchdown run, making the score 35-28. After one first down, the Prof was able to stop Robert Morris from tying the score, tackling wide out Tyjuan Massey on the 10 yard line to end the game. "I think our guys thought they had the game won and they didn't play as hard as they did in the first half," Colonials coach Joe Walton told the paper. Orihel threw for 327 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores. Encarnacion rushed for 93 yards on 21 carries. Sakeen Wright had seven catches for 117 yards. Silva had four receptions for 43 yards and two touchdowns. Wideouts Joe D'Imperio and Brad Stys had three catches each for 57 and 44 yards respectively. Linebackers Randy Tosh and Todd Trout led the Rowan defense with 10 tackles each. Tosh also had two sacks, a fumble recovery and a pass deflection. Defensive end Brian Bond added nine tackles, including two for a loss, and one sack. Linebacker Zach Garren garnered eight tackles, one interception and one pass deflection, while safety Eric Bailey had one pick.

Deja Colonials as D1-AA Robert Morris Tangles With Rowan By Tom Wilson JT@rowanfootball.com It is too bad that I’m going to miss the Robert Morris contest. My family has been season ticket holders to the NY Jets since 1981. Robert Morris’ head coach Joe Walton, was the head coach the Jets from 1983-1989. He led the Jets to playoffs in 1985 and 1986, but failed to have a winning record in his last three seasons. He finished with a 53-57-1 record as the Jets head coach. It would have been nice to sneak a few Jets questions into my post game interview. Walton also played TE with the Washington Redskins and NY Giants for eight seasons ending in 1963. He has 35 years of NFL experience as player, scout or coach in the NFL from 1964-1991. In 1994, he started the D1-AA non-scholarship football program at Robert Morris University, which is near Pittsburgh. He has been the Colonials only head coach and has compiled a 74-38-1 record, with two mid-major national titles. It’s a little hard to get a feel for this game. I don’t get to see game film and there aren’t any common opponents or history between the Profs and the Colonials. This is the very first meeting between the two teams, tough to compare apples-to-apples. Robert Morris plays in the NEC with Monmouth, NJ, Albany, and Central Connecticut State. They also have played teams like LaSalle and St. Peter’s from the MAAC in previous years. Monmouth is one of the top teams in the NEC and is predicted to win the conference in 2005. Monmouth looks to be about the caliber of Western Connecticut or slightly above. Robert Morris is predicted to finish second in the NEC. Both Monmouth and Robert Morris appear to match up evenly. So I’d say the Colonials of Pennsylvania are about on the same level as the Colonials of Danbury, CT, give or take a skill position here or there. The Colonials have some size on the offensive line and averages about 270 per man. Through the first two games, Robert Morris averages 140 yards rushing per game and 215 passing for 355 yards of total offense. Their defense gives up 101 yards on the ground and 287 through the air, for a total of 388 yards and 18 points per game. Rowan leads all of DIII by allowing only 9.5 yards rushing per game while ranking 14th in points allowed with 8.5 point per game. Offensively, the Profs are 5th in the nation for total offense at 575 yards per game. Early on, it seems like the Rowan football team is accomplishing some of their off-season goals of improving the overall play and consistency on defense and rushing effectively on offense. The Profs want to make teams pay for sitting on the passing game, and it appears to be working. Both Ulysses Encarnacion and Rob Richardson are averaging a combined 7.2 yards per carry, almost a first down every time they touch the ball. Credit the entire offensive line and the wideouts for ground production thus far. Maybe it’s just me, but I see a much better effort and execution in down field blocking by Prof receivers over last year. This has sprung both Encarnacion and Richardson for some nice gains this season. At the time of publication, it looks like there might be a little rain in the forecast for Saturday. That may slow the passing game some, but as long as the Rowan focused on winning each quarter of football you can put another big win in the books.