RPI laid down ... maybe not a marker, but a warning this past weekend in a close loss to Marist.
The Engineers fell short 12-10 to the Red Foxes, leaving Marist undefeated, but with the conference playoffs looming, RPI could shake things up.
With Ray Santiago bringing back even more expertise after his tour with the Atlantic Coast All Stars, and Head Coach Andrew Denson having them play a fast and physical defense, RPI is building on something. With Jack Farrar playing smartly at flyhalf and forwards working well around Santiago. Senior flanker Bennard Amponsah is excellent defensively and freshman prop Daniel Walls has been an outstanding addition. In the backs sophomore fullback Quinten Pienaar can play pretty much anywhere in the backline. Overall, this is an RPI team that has a plan.
"When the mens team decided they wanted to jump ship to the Liberty Conference, I knew it would not only give us brand new competition, but also potentially open the doors for more exposure to some of our players," said Denson. "The team is very defensive heavy and has really bought into the team mentality of shutting down opponents on the defensive side of the ball and doing what we need to do on the attacking side to win the game. In our two losses this season against two very good teams, we were able to neutralize the attack for long periods of time and we are hoping with film sessions and adjustments we are able to adjust for when we inevitably run into either Marist or Cornell in the conference playoffs."