SCHENECTADY, NY -- Senior running back Tom Arcidiacono (Castleton, NY/Columbia) rushed for 163 yards and a touchdown and senior quarterback Anthony Marotti (River Edge, NJ/River Dell) tossed for 205 yards and two touchdowns to lead Union to a 27-24 win over the University of Rochester in the Liberty League football opener for both schools Saturday at Frank Bailey Field.
The Dutchmen, ranked #23 in the latest D3football.com poll, improved to 2-1 overall (1-0) and the Yellow Jackets fell to 2-2 (0-1). Arcidiacono led all NCAA divisions in scoring (21.0 ppg) entering the game.
Defensive end Chuck Pinckney (Slingerlands, NY/Guilderland) had eight tackles, including six solo, with two for losses and a sack. Dylan Walton-Yedlin (Seattle, WA/Lakeside) also posted eight tackles while Doug Davis (Yonkers, NY/Fieldston) recorded seven tackles, a fumble recovery, an interception and two pass breakups.
Rochester was led by junior wide receiver J.J. Vanderstyne (Victor, NY/Victor), who had a game high 113 yards and a touchdown on a game best seven catches. Junior Matt Bielecki (Albany, NY/Burnt Hills), who rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown. Yellow Jacket quarterback Aaron Molisani (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) was 10 for 17 with 148 yadrs and two touchdowns, and fellow signal caller Kapps Killingstad (Dallas, TX/St. Mark's School) completed 13 of 20 passes for 102 yards.
Jim Milks (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora) made eight tackles with a fumble recovery and an interception for the Yellow Jackets, while Jason Goeller (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) and Pat Gallagher (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) had eight stops each.
Union had 375 yards in total offense while Rochester posted 329. The teams combined for 22 penalties (13 by Rochester) and 188 penalty yards (114 by the visitors). This was Union's eighth straight victory in the series, and the Dutchmen have not lost to the Yellow Jackets at home since 1987.
Trailing 27-16 with 2:59 left in the fourth, Rochester took over on its own 34, and Molisani hit Vanderstyne for 12 yards, then a 22-yard touchdown catch at 2:33. A two-yard conversion made it a three-point game when Mike Sondericker (Penfield, NY/Aquinas Institute) caught a pass from Molisani. After Rochester stopped Union's next drive on four downs after an on-side kick, Rochester took over on its own 12 and got to the 36 before a final hail mary pass came up short with three seconds left.
Union opened the scoring converting an opening drive that took 10 plays, 70 yards and 5:30. Marotti found Zach Tillo (Lancaster, MA/Exeter) with a 10-yard scoring strike. The quarterback had 38 yards passing on that drive, and it was the only score of the first quarter. Rochester started a drive with 30 seconds left in the stanza, and Bielecki's one-yard touchdown run at 13:50 of the second capped a five-play, 70-yard run in 1:40 to tie the contest. The Dutchmen regained the lead with 4:29 left in the first half, when Ben Rapple (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) kicked a 25-yard field goal for the 10-7 advantage. That completed a nine-play, 48 yard drive that consumed 4:35.
On the next Rochester drive, Davis intercepted a Killingstad pass at the Rochester-35, but four plays later, Marotti was intercepted by Milks at the Rochester-15 to end a Dutchmen threat.
With just three seconds left in the first half, Vito Pellerito (Pompano Beach, FL/St. Thomas) picked off a Molisani pass at the Union 16 to end a six-play, 39-yard Yellow Jacket drive.
Rochester scored on the first drive of the third quarter to tie it a 10-10. Griffin Moar (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Sutherland) kicked a 32-yard field goal with 9:37 remaining in the third, wrapping up an 11-play, 47-yard drive in 5:23. Two big plays for Union on the next drive made it 17-10 hosts, as Ryan Twichell (Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) caught a 20 yard pass and Arcidiacono ran in from 37 yards out for a 17-10 Union lead. The Dutchmen made it 24-10 with 4:45 left as Charles Kaliades (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Marotti to cap a five-play, 68-yard drive.
Rochester made it 24-16 (the kick failed) with 8:49 left in the fourth. Molisani found Mike Coolbaugh (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) with a 48-yard touchdown pass to complete a seven-play, 93-yard drive in 3:31. But the Dutchmen got a 29-yard Rapple field goal wtih 6:10 left on a six-play, 15-yard drive in 2:28, for a 27-16 lead with 6:10 left.
The Dutchmen play at home next week for the third straight game, as Union hosts the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (King's Point) at 6 p.m. on September 30. It will be "Union Athletics Hall of Fame Day" on the campus. Rochester hosts a Liberty League game as well, St. Lawrence at 1 p.m.
Box Score
