OLIVET, MI – The University of Rochester football team scored a 28-21 victory in its 2024 season opener, defeating The University of Olivet on Saturday afternoon at the Cutler Athletic Complex.
Rochester's defense combined to force five turnovers on the day, including three interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries. UR (1-0) also stifled the Comets twice in the red zone, including a big goal-line stand at the end of the first half. Rochester meanwhile, connected for touchdowns on all four of its red zone trips.
Senior quarterback Ryan Rose passed for three touchdowns in the game, two going to senior Trey Johnson and a third landing in the hands of junior Jackson Kane. Graduate student Daniel Papantonis scored the other touchdown for Rochester, rushing up the middle for 17 yards to pay dirt in the second quarter.
On defense, defensive backs Judah Thomas, Jordy Tawa and Jack Yensel provided the interceptions. Yensel and Claudio Pinto scooped up fumbles that were forced by teammates Simon Weeren and Tawa. Linebacker Luke Herter led the 'Jackets with 11 total tackles.
Olivet (0-1) started the game with the ball and put together a six-minute drive but was unable to capitalize due in part to multiple penalties. The back-breaking flag came when running back Dontal Wright was whistled for an offensive face mask on a rush which saw him get down to the UR 1-yard line. After the ball was moved back to near midfield, Olivet was forced to punt three plays later.
Rochester's first drive did not amount to much movement down the field and it punted directly back to the Comets.
On the first play of their second drive, the Comets connected for a long touchdown, with Thomas Foust finding Kevin Lebron on a 72-yard bomb on a post over the middle of the field. Tristan McElhinney connected on the PAT and Olivet was up 7-0.
UR's next drive was another 3-and-out. With Olivet in possession late in the quarter, Foust was picked off by Thomas on a long heave up the field, giving Rochester the ball right back. The interception was the tenth of Thomas' career in just his 21st game. The junior becomes only the eighth player in team history with double-digit interceptions for a career.
The interception gave Rochester some momentum that it turned into the game-tying score early in the second quarter. Rose connected with Johnson and Kane for a couple decent gains before Papantonis ran 17 yards up the middle to make the score 7-7.
Later in the quarter, Olivet regained the lead after Foust took an option run up the right side to the house, going 47 yards for a 14-7 Comet advantage.
Rochester responded right away with an 8-play, 52-yard drive, capped by a Rose-to-Johnson connection for a 25-yard touchdown to pull even on the scoreboard.
On Olivet's next possession, Tawa forced a fumble that was recovered by Pinto, but a Rose interception gave the Comets the ball right back.
Following a defensive stand, Rochester's offense turned the ball over again on an interception. Austin Berkompas jumped an out route and returned the ball back down to the UR 2-yard line, where he was tackled by Rose in a touchdown-saving play.
The Rose tackle proved to be big, as the 'Jacket defense made a goal-line stand over the halves final 36 seconds to keep the game knotted at 14-14 heading into halftime. J.T. Monahan, A.J. Bicklser and Happy Chane all came up with big tackles on the drive.
UR received the ball after halftime but promptly went 3-and-out to give Olivet another chance to regain the lead. The Comets embarked on a 13-play, 53-yard drive to reach the UR 8-yard line, but a dropped pass on a fourth-down attempt turned the ball over on downs.
Rochester again punted the ball away, but regained possession quickly after Weeren stripped Wright of the ball near midfield with Yensel falling on the loose ball.
An Olivet sack from Amir Jones quickly stalled out that Rochester possession, but Olivet's next chance with the ball also ended in a 3-and-out, punting the ball back to the Yellowjackets late in the third. The kick was a short boot, giving Rochester the ball at the Olivet 37-yard line.
On that drive, junior Jake Adelmann broke off a pair of big runs on the first two plays, running for 13 and then 15 yards to quickly move Rochester inside the 10-yard line. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Rose found Kane for the go-ahead TD pass. Jordan Laudani connected on the PAT and Rochester sat up 21-14 on the scoreboard.
The teams traded punts on the next two drives before Yensel picked off Foust deep in Olivet territory setting up a key insurance touchdown for the Yellowjackets.
After a pair of Papantonis runs got the 'Jackets inside the 10-yard line, Rose found Johnson in the back corner of the endzone after a double-move to put the visitors up 28-14 with under seven minutes left on the clock.
Rochester's fifth takeaway came on the next drive, with Tawa intercepting Foust at the UR 26-yard line.
After the Yellowjackets punted to five Olivet possession with under four minutes remaining, the Comets looked to score quickly to possibly have a chance at a comeback.
Unfortunately, Olivet's next drive took a whopping 15 plays and ate up nearly three minutes of the remaining time. Foust scampered in from two yards to make the score 28-21, but the onside kick attempt was recovered by UR's Johnson to seal the victory.
Johnson ended the game with 8 receptions for 83 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Papantonis earned 117 yards rushing and a score on 18 attempts. Rose finished 13-for-26 passing for 3 touchdowns and 120 total yards.
For Olivet Foust struggled to an 8-for-31 day passing ending with 142 yards and a TD. He added 112 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.
Leading the Comet defense was Rickey Smith III who ended with 16 total tackles, 13 of which were solo stops.
Up next, Rochester remains on the road for a night matchup next Saturday at Alfred State College, with kickoff set for 7 pm.
Rochester Defense Gets Five Takeaways in Season-Opening Victory Over Olivet
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20240907_36ho.xml
2024
Rochester
28
Olivet
21
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester (1-0) | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| Olivet (0-1) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
Sep 07, 2024