CANTON, NY – The University of Rochester football team picked up its fourth road win in as many games this season, besting host St. Lawrence University 37-27 on Saturday afternoon in a Liberty League matchup at Leckonby Stadium.
Rochester's win moves the Yellowjackets to 5-2 overall on the season and 2-1 in the Liberty League, keeping UR within striking distance of league-leading Ithaca who the Yellowjackets host at Fauver Stadium next weekend.
Two brothers, Daniel Papantonis and Aidan Papantonis accounted for much of the damage offensively, scoring three total touchdowns and over 300 combined rushing and receiving yards. Kicker Jordan Laudani connected on 3-of-4 field goal tries and senior Will Varney provided the other touchdown run for the Yellowjackets.
Through the air, Ryan Rose finished 18-for-31 passing for 232 yards, throwing one touchdown and one interception. He found A. Papantonis six times for 109 yards and a TD, while teammate Trey Johnson matched him with six catches, adding 34 yards.
D. Papantonis finished with 15 rushing attempts for 157 yards and two touchdowns, including a 75-yard scamper in the second quarter. Varney capped a big day on the ground with 14 carries for 116 yards and another long TD run, going 44 yards to the house in the second half. Overall on the day, UR averaged 7.6 yards per carry, tallying 265 total rushing yards.
Overall, Rochester finished the game with 497 yards of offense, compared to 387 for the Saints. UR's 265 yards rushing was the second most in a game this season, while the total yardage output was the most in 2023 so far.
On defense, Rochester's Simon Weeren led the team with nine tackles, eight of which were solo stops. He added one tackle for loss and two break-ups. Joe DeBonis provided four tackles, including 1.5 sacks on the day, while Nyme Hussain made a big interception in the second quarter, adding a 40-yard return to set up a UR scoring opportunity.
St. Lawrence (2-4, 0-2 Liberty League), held a 7-0 lead after the opening quarter following a 50-yard touchdown pass from Will Lederman to Cole Salyards. The Saints also looked to score on their opening drive of the game, reaching the Yellowjacket goal line, but in an effort to break the plane, running back Cameron Giunta fumbled the ball out of the end zone, giving Rochester possession after the touchback.
Rochester had a big second quarter to surge into the lead, outscoring SLU 20-0.
After a strip-sack fumble by Keyden Snow set up UR deep in St. Lawrence territory, the Yellowjackets got on the board with a 35-yard field goal from Laudani early in the quarter.
Rochester's defense forced a 3-and-out for the Saints, giving its offense the ball back right away, leading to another Laudani field goal, this time from 32 yards, cutting the deficit to one.
St. Lawrence's next drive ended after just five plays, eventually giving the Yellowjackets the ball at their own 25-yard line on the next possession. D. Papantonis did not waste any time giving his team the lead, rushing up the middle for 75 yards for a touchdown, putting Rochester up 13-7 with five and a half minutes until halftime.
Rochester wasn't done scoring in the quarter, as a St. Lawrence short punt set the Yellowjackets up for a 2-minute drill starting at their own 35-yard line. UR used nine plays to traverse the 65 yards to the end zone, with Rose finding A. Papantonis in the corner for a 7-yard touchdown pass, making the score 20-7 UR.
Lederman and the Saints offense charged near midfield as time was ticking away in the half, but Hussain stepped in front of a pass and used his big return to set up the Yellowjackets with another field goal chance as time expired in the half. Laudani's third kick of the half from 27 yards hit the left upright, sending Rochester into the locker room up 13.
The Yellowjacket defense forced St. Lawrence to punt on its opening drive of the second half, and UR added more points on its first drive of the third quarter, ending with Laudani's third make of the game, a 22-yard field goal.
Laudani is now up to six made field goals in 2023 and ranks tied for third in Rochester football history with 14 career makes. The three field goals made also is a new career-high for the junior and is tied for second most in a single-game in team history.
St. Lawrence stopped its scoring drought on the next drive when Lederman rushed over the right end for a 12-yard touchdown run, cutting the lead to ten.
After the Saints attempted an onside kick but did not record, Rochester followed with an offensive drive deep into Saints territory. SLU's Daniel George made a big defensive play for the home team, intercepting Rose at the goal line, preventing UR from answering right away with another score.
The Saints were unable to capitalize on the big defensive stand though, punting the ball back to UR after just three plays once again. Two plays later, UR's lead ballooned to 17 as Varney rushed up the right side 44 yards for his third touchdown of the season.
As play shifted to the fourth quarter, St. Lawrence used a 12-play, 80-yard drive to cut the lead to ten, capped by a Giunta 1-yard plunge into the endzone.
Rochester's D. Papantonis answered though on the next Yellowjacket drive, taking a 32-yard rush up the left sideline for his second score of the game, providing an insurance touchdown for UR.
St. Lawrence's offense added another late score, ending at 27 points, tying the most scored by a UR opponent this season, but the 37 points put up by the Yellowjacket offense was more than enough to earn the victory, snapping Rochester's nine-game losing streak against St. Lawrence.
The running back tandem of D. Papantonis and Varney ended up churning the final four-plus minutes of clock away, completing the Rochester victory.