Troy, NY – Rensselaer quarterback George Marinopoulos connected with Riley Conboy on a 20-yard touchdown with 18 seconds remaining as he Engineers slipped past Montclair State, 21-20 at ECAV Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Vinnie McDonald hauled in seven receptions for 139 yards and a score as RPI (1-0) put touchdowns on the board twice in the final seven minutes to capture the first meeting between the schools.
The loss overshadowed an impressive performance for the Red Hawk defense with accounted for all three Montclair State touchdowns and recorded seven sacks.

Scoreless through the first 27 minutes of the first half, the Engineers would break through late with a 74-yard scoring drive that ended with Marinopoulos finding McDonald on a four-yard touchdown toss with 15 seconds left. The score was set up by a 51-yard strike to McDonald down the near sideline that put RPI at the Montclair 25. Rensselaer faced a 4^th-and-9 at the 24, but Marinopoulos scampered 14 yards for to the MSU 10 keeping the drive alive. Three plays later McDonald pulled in the TD pass.

The Red Hawks would get even midway through the third quarter with the first of its three defensive scores. Linebacker MICHAEL STEFKOVICH stepped in front of a Marinopoulos pass and raced 50 yards, tying the game with 7:48 left. Three plays after, it was JALEN HARRIS giving MSU the lead when he jumped a route to the sideline returning the interception 46 yards for a 14-7 advantage.

A fumble by the Red Hawks deep in their own territory gave RPI the ball at the MSU 28 with two minutes to play in the third. Two plays later, linebacker SEAMUS NELSON pulled off the trifecta – a forced fumble, recovery and return for a score as he scampered 92 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest fumble return for a score by an MSU player since Derrick Simmons raced 97 yards against Iona on September 2, 2006.

The big play extended MSU's lead to 20-7 however it would miss the extra point, a play that would loom large in the end.

Rensselaer closed the gap inside seven minutes remaining in the fourth. Peter Lombardi rushed for 44 yards on a 4^th-and-2 down to the MSU 2. Lombardi fumbled at the end of the play but was able to regain possession setting up a Marinopoulos to Conboy 2-yard TD toss with 6:40 left making the score 20-14.

Montclair was able to chew up some clock on its next touch, but the Red Hawks were forced to punt, pinning RPI at its own 17 with 2:05 to go. A pair of penalties helped move the ball out to midfield and a 13-yard completion on fourth down to McDonald spotted the ball at the MSU 28. Two plays later, Marinopoulos hit Conboy for a 20-yard touchdown. Conor MacDougall's extra point was good vaulting the Engineers into the lead 21-20.

BRENNAN RAY finished with nine tackles for Montclair while DIMITRI PALI added eight along with 2.5 sacks and five tackles for loss. Omare Wilmore also had eight tackles. Running back ABELLANY MENDEZ rushed for 55 yards on 20 carries.

Montclair State stays out on the road for its next contest. MSU visits Delaware Valley in Doylestown, PA for a 1:00 pm matchup, the first between the schools since 2015.