Former UAlbany quarterbacks lift Utica over RPI football

TROY - With a pair of former University at Albany quarterbacks at the controls, the Utica offense shredded RPI again on Saturday.

Former Great Danes backup Tyler Szalkowski completed 29 of 38 passes for 402 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Pioneers to a 38-14 victory over the Engineers at East Campus Stadium.

"I enjoyed my time at Albany," said Szalkowski, who spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons with the Great Danes. "Everything they did for me just made me who I am today."

Utica improved to 2-0, while RPI fell to 1-1.

It was the second straight year Szalkowski picked apart RPI. He was 27-of-29 passing for 385 yards and six touchdowns when the Pioneers blew out the Engineers 41-14 in Utica last season.

Utica's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach is Braeden Zenelovic, another ex-UAlbany reserve quarterback from 2019 to 2021. He was promoted to coordinator this season.

Szalkowski, a Rochester native, said Utica's offense shares "some of the same principles" as those UAlbany teams under then-head coach Greg Gattuso.

"We're speaking a different language, obviously," Szalkowski said. "Me and (Zenelovic) see the game really alike. We see the game through each other's eyes, which is great to have with an OC and a quarterback, so I'm grateful for him."

Szalkowski also appreciates having wide receivers Tyshawn Taylor and Gabriel Zawolo. Taylor, a junior from Syracuse, had eight catches for 244 yards on Saturday, eight yards shy of the s single-game record. He caught a 69-yard touchdown pass from Szalkowski to put Utica ahead 10-7 in the first quarter.

Zawolo, a senior from Rochester, had 13 catches for 104 yards and one score, a 4-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He was one reception shy of the Utica record.

RPI senior linebacker P.J. Poknis, who watched last year's Utica game from the sideline because of injury, led the Engineers with 16 tackles on Saturday.

"They've got a great quarterback and they've got a great scheme," Poknis said. "He's able to make any throw on the field, so hats off to (Szalkowski). Today, we were trying to get after him, and there's a couple of plays here and there where he got the better of us and that's going to happen with a guy like him."

Szalkowski spent his first four college seasons at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level. He appeared in four games in two seasons at UAlbany and completed 2-of-4 passes for 28 yards.

He transferred to Robert Morris for the next two years. He appeared in seven games with two starts over the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He completed 30-of-47 passes for 239 yards, one touchdown and five interceptions.

Szalkowski dropped down to Division III Utica and has flourished the past two seasons. He threw for 3,638 yards and 33 touchdowns last year.

"It's been a roller coaster," Szalkowski said. "That's the best way to describe it. You now, starting playing D1 and then coming down and playing at Utica was one of the best decisions I ever made. I love Utica and I can't wait to keep going the rest of the season."

He said he wasn't quite certain how he got a sixth year of eligibility this season, though Szalkowski was confident he would play again when last season ended.

"I, honestly, am not sure," he said. "I think it was some sort of redshirt year that I had from when I was Albany or something like that. We figured that out and I was grateful to have another year."

RPI quarterback Micah Balzarini threw for 156 yards, a touchdown and an interception before taking a hit and coming out for Frankie Garbolino in the fourth quarter.

"We made our own mistakes," Engineers coach Ralph Isernia said. "Playing against a very good team, a very good quarterback like that, that's going to expose those mistakes."