TROY, NY -- The Alfred University football team rallied from a 10-point third quarter deficit, then hung on to claim a 34-31 victory at Rensselaer on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
 
AU sophomore quarterback Tyler Johnson (East Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse-Minoa) threw for 203 yards and a pair of touchdowns, the second an 82-yard bomb to sophomore wideout Brendan Buisch (Hornell, NY/Hornell) that proved to be the winning points. Johnson also ran for a game-high 166 yards as the Saxons netted 493 yards of total offense.
 
AU survived a late RPI drive that neared the Saxons' endzone with less than four minutes left, but was stalled by a key penalty on the hosts. A potential game-tying field 33-yard field goal missed and the Saxons drove to the RPI 29-yard line before turning the ball over on downs with 10 seconds left. The Engineers completed a 51-yard desperation pass to the AU 20-yard line as time expired. With the win, Alfred improves to 2-0, while RPI falls to 1-1.
 
AU opened the scoring at 11:17 of the first quarter on a 17-yard Johnson-to-Buisch TD pass that capped an eight-play, 73-yard opening drive. After an RPI field goal made it 7-3, AU upped its advantage to 11 points when sophomore wideout Rodney Etienne (Spring Valley, NY/Ramapo) hit senior wide receiver Bobby Broddus (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) with a 71-yard scoring toss with 8:37 left in the opening frame.
 
RPI scored two straight TDs to take a 17-14 lead after one quarter, but AU reclaimed the lead (21-17) just 26 seconds into the second on a three-yard scoring run by freshman tailback Willie McFadden (Amityville, NY/Copiague) that capped a 10-play 75-yard drive. RPI again scored two straight touchdowns – one with 7:02 left in the second and one with 8:52 remaining in the third – to take a 31-21 advantage,  but AU answered with two TDs of its own to close out the scoring.
 
McFadden scored on a 17-yard run with 6:44 remaining in the third; the PAT failed and Alfred trailed 31-27. After AU took possession at its own 7-yard line following an RPI punt, the Saxons gained a first down to their own 16. On second down, Johnson rolled slightly to his left then heaved the ball downfield just as he was being hit. Buisch caught the ball in stride near the RPI 45-yard line and outran the Engineer defender into the endzone, giving Alfred the 34-21 lead with 13:15 left in regulation.
 
RPI drove toward a potential game-winning TD late, getting the ball to the Saxon 1-yard line. But on second down, RPI was flagged for a personal foul and the ball was moved to the Saxon 16. After an incomplete pass, RPI attempted a 33-yard field goal, which missed wide left.
 
Johnson completed 13 of 25 passes for 203 yards and ran 27 times for 166 yards. Buisch finished with three catches for 113 yards and two TDs and Broddus caught two passes for 77 yards and a score. McFadden finished with 48 yards and two TDs on five carries.
 
RPI running back Nick Schlatz ran for a team-high 47 yards and quarterback Jeff Avery rushed for 45. Avery completed 11 of 24 passes for 185 yards and four TDs. Logan Gaddar caught three for 85 yards And two TDs and Reggie Colas caught five for 71 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
 
Sophomore end Andrew Miller (Hilton, NY/Hilton) led the AU defense with a game-high 12 tackles (one for loss). Junior free safety Mike Berardi (Wellsville, NY/Wellsville) had nine tackles; sophomore strong safety Shyheim Wingate (Jamaica, NY/Holy Cross) had eight (one for loss); and senior cornerback Mike Perkins (Rochester, NY/East) had six stops and an interception, his second in as many games.
 
Nick Borkowski had nine tackles (one for loss) to pace the RPI defense. Anthony Pilla had five tackles, including a sack, and recovered a fumble.
 
AU is in action next at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, when the Saxons open their Empire 8 Conference schedule at Buff State.