Coming off their first win of the season, the Yellowjackets had a frustrating loss to the Merchant Marine Academy, bringing the team’s record to 1–2. Merchant Marine beat down UR with its high-powered run offense, putting up over 400 rushing yards on its way to scoring 55 points. The Yellowjackets struggled to continue drives on offense, converting two out of 10 third-down opportunities.
The performance this past weekend does not reflect the season the Yellowjackets have had thus far. Earlier in the year, the ‘Jackets opened their season against Catholic University of America, losing a hard-fought battle after leading at half. After this game, UR rebounded to beat Alfred State College with an incredible second-half effort and 560 yards of total offense.
To improve, the Yellowjackets need to be a bit stronger on the defensive side of the ball. The team has allowed way too many points and rushing yards to expect to be a conference contender at the end of the season. The fewest points allowed occured against Catholic and Alfred State, where the team gave up 27.
It is expected that the team will come into their own as the season goes on, according to starting junior quarterback Dan Bronson.
“We have a lot of talent across the board on our team right now,” he said. “We have a lot of young players that are getting playing time, and many of them have stepped up in a big way. I’m proud of the way my teammates have shown up every day and worked hard. We just need to focus on getting better every week and continuing to focus and prepare.”
Moving forward, the team will host the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Engineers at home in the “Tackle Cancer” awareness game co-sponsored by Colleges Against Cancer, UR Football, and the University’s branch of Relay for Life.
This will be a good test for the young team, as well as a chance to see how it will bounce back from a challenging loss. RPI is also coming off a loss and will be looking to rebound on the road.
