BEVERLY, Mass. – The No. 9/12 Endicott football team defeated Rensselaer (RPI), 28-20, in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon in front of a record Homecoming and Reunion Weekend crowd of 6,113 fans at Hempstead Stadium.
Trailing 20-14 in the fourth quarter and pinned on their 24-yard line, the Gulls struck for a 76-yard touchdown connection between quarterback Clayton Marengi (Lynnfield, Mass.) and wideout Adam Goodfellow (Wayland, Mass.) to jump ahead 21-20 (7:42 remaining).
Marengi threw a dart to Goodfellow at the Endicott 48-yard line and the junior receiver took care of the rest, juking two defenders to his right before turning on the jets for the momentum-changing score.
On RPI's next drive, it was the defense's turn to produce a game-altering touchdown – this time via a Zachariah Twardosky (Merrimack, N.H.) 47-yard pick-6 thanks to some great play up front.
Senior defensive lineman Michael Canney (Dracut, Mass.) helped generate the turnover when he broke through a double team and nearly sacked Engineers quarterback Jake Kazanowsky before he heaved an arrant pass into the air.
Twardosky converged on the sky-high lob from about 10 yards out, leaped over an RPI receiver, hauled in the pass, and used his athletic instincts to stay in bounds near Endicott's sideline.
From there, Twardosky cut back into the middle of the field, sped by an Engineers' offensive lineman, and went untouched into the end zone to make it 28-20 (6:15 to play).
The Gulls forced a quick three-and-out, highlighted by a Brian Daly (Franklin Square, N.Y.) nine-yard sack, and milked the clock down to one second to play before Hector Johnson (Worcester, Mass.) finished off the contest with a 15-yard sack.
Goodfellow also caught a 9-yard TD catch on a fade route in the right corner of the end zone (2Q, 12:10, 7-6 lead), while Markys Bridgewater (Lawrence, Mass.) punched home a 1-yard TD plunge to close out the first half (2Q, 00:56, 14-12 lead).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Twardosky registered his second career pick-6.
- He also compiled a game-high/season-high/career-high-tying 10 tackles (7 solo).
- Johnson finished with eight tackles (4 solo), two sacks (25 yards), 2.5 tackles for a loss, and one quarterback hurry.
- Matthew Whelan (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) notched six tackles (1 solo) and had one fumble recovery.
- Shane Aylward (Tewksbury, Mass.) caught three passes for 35 yards, becoming the program's all-time receptions leader (155 total; previous record: 153, Nate Lewis (2011-14).
- Goodfellow set career highs for receptions (7) and receiving yards (169).
- Prior to Goodfellow's 76-yard TD, the defense buckled down on 4th and 9 from their 24-yard line forcing an incomplete pass and a turnover on downs.
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 9/12 Endicott (4-0) visits No. 7/8 Hardin-Simmons on Saturday, October 5 at 2 PM. RPI (2-2) travels to Rochester on October 5 at 12 PM.
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(Photo Credit - Griffin Jones '27)
