SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College defense limited the University of Rochester to six first downs and only 40 yards of total offense as the Garnet Chargers finished off the home schedule with a commanding 27-0 shutout victory on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
Union (5-4, 4-2 Liberty League) did not need a ton of offense to get the win on Saturday. Junior
Luke Sheehan went 16-for-24 for 186 yards and a touchdown, while also running for two scores. Senior
Michael Dinardo ran for a team-leading 66 yards on 14 carries and classmate
Gil Rivera had a team-best 52 receiving yards and a touchdown on two catches.
The Union defense was all over Rochester (3-6, 2-4 Liberty League) all game long, limiting the Yellow Jackets to 55 passing yards and a net of -15 rushing yards, helped by three sacks, eight tackles for loss, and two bad snaps. Senior
Dwayne Hinds led the charge with a sack and seven tackles, while junior
Dom Mazzuca and sophomore
Colt Wales both had seven tackles and one tackle for loss as well for the home team. Senior
Matt Mitchell added an interception on Senior Day for the Garnet Chargers.
Union moved the ball down the field on its opening drive, helped by a 22-yard catch by sophomore
Kaden Gore, to get inside the 10-yard line before an interception in the end zone halted the drive. The Garnet Chargers got the ball right back and promptly traversed 68 yards for a score, with a 20-yard catch by junior
Calvin Williams along with eight rushes by Dinardo and Brisson doing the job. Sheehan ended the drive with a five-yard touchdown run to put Union up 7-0 late in the first quarter.
Rochester had its best drive of the game later in the second quarter, getting all the way to the Union 36-yard line before a huge third-down strip sack by junior
Michael Barnes-Pace ended the drive and sent the teams to halftime.
The Garnet Chargers needed just two plays on their first drive of the second half to increase their lead, as Rivera caught a screen pass along the near sideline and ran the tightrope all the way to the endzone to make it 14-0 Union. A field goal by first-year
Owen Sanderson on the next drive made it a 17-0 game headed into the fourth.
An interception by Mitchell on the next drive set up Union with the ball at midfield, and the home team went 50 yards in 12 plays, with Sheehan eventually punching it in from a yard out. Sanderson topped off the scoring with his second field goal of the day from 21 yards out midway through the fourth.
Union will look to finish the season strong next Saturday, when the Garnet Chargers head to Troy for the 76th edition of the Dutchman Shoes game against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute beginning at noon.
