SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Senior Patch Flanagan threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more while the defensive unit made a last-minute stand to preserve the lead as the Union College football team brought the Dutchman Shoes back to Schenectady and also clinched a Liberty League championship and NCAA Tournament berth with a 28-21 win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday afternoon at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
 
The victory gave Union (8-2, 7-0 Liberty League) the ninth conference title in program history and its fifth solo title, while also clinching the 14th NCAA Tournament appearance in program annals. Union will find out its next opponent via the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com.
 
Flanagan had a huge day for Union, accounting for 75 of the team's 79 offensive plays with 36 pass attempts and 39 rushing attempts. The senior went 20-for-36 for 239 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and also gained 196 yards and scored twice on 39 carries. Classmate Gil Rivera led the air attack with nine catches for 97 yards, while fellow senior Dan Quinn had four catches for 64 yards and a touchdown and junior Joe Curran also caught a touchdown pass.
 
Despite taking an early 21-0 lead, Union needed a last-minute defensive stand to seal the victory. Rensselaer (7-3, 5-2 Liberty League) took over at the Union 31-yard line with 1:04 on the clock trailing by seven, and got to the Garnet Charger five-yard line with under 20 seconds left. After a near miss on first down and an incomplete pass on second down left five seconds on the clock, a screen pass to Kayden White on third down saw first-year Trey Rezendes III make the game-saving tackle in the flat to run out the clock seal the victory.
 
Based on the way the game started, it did not look like there would be any drama at the finish, as the Garnet Chargers scored on their first three drives to grab a 21-0 lead. Union took the opening kickoff and drove eight plays in 85 yards to open the scoring, with Flanagan finishing off the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run.
 
Following an RPI punt, the home team marched 86 yards in 15 plays to double the lead. Senior Isaiah Russell had a huge 22-yard run to get Union into opposition territory, and a 13-yard connection between Flanagan and Quinn got the team into the red zone. After two short runs, Curran caught a pass in the corner of the end zone on third down to complete the drive.
 
Union turned defense to offense on the next drive, as senior Ryan Grenier picked off Anthony DeMatteo at the 48-yard line and the offense converted the short field into seven more points. Following a key fourth-down conversion by Flanagan, Flanagan hooked up with Rivera for a 19-yard catch and run before the senior ran it in himself from four yards out.
 
RPI got one touchdown back before halftime, and then scored again late in the third quarter to make it a one-score game. But Union responded by going 72 yards on just five plays to regain a 28-14 edge, including a bulldozing 37-yard run by Flanagan and a 28-yard touchdown strike to Quinn.
 
Union turned RPI over on downs on the next possession, thanks to sophomore John Droggitis making a fantastic defensive play to knock the ball away from RJ Encarnacion in the end zone on fourth down. The Engineers' next drive also ended in the red zone, when Grenier and sophomore Logan Miller stacked up White on fourth-and-two from the six-yard line. Grenier and Droggitis led the defensive unit with nine tackles each on the day.
 
The game looked to be locked up for the Garnet Chargers after that before disaster struck on the next drive, as a shotgun snap went over the head of Flanagan and was picked up by Owen Boland and returned 20 yards for a score. Union went three-and-out on the next drive to give the ball back to the visitors, but the defense stood tall in the waning seconds to secure the 51st victory in the 75 editions of the Dutchman Shoes game.