Coming off of their first win in over a year, RMU looks to bring momentum from last week’s matchup against Saint Francis and carry it into the rest of the season.
Staying healthy during the season is always hard, and injuries are inevitable. Because of this, RMU will have some players missing this week.
Head Coach Bernard Clark gave an update on the status of the team’s injuries.
“Tyler [Szalkowski] is still out, we expect him back in a couple more weeks. Hayden Baron is out, he had to get surgery. Parker Jacobs is out who also had to get surgery. After that, everybody is touch and go right now.”
Quarterback Anthony Chiccitt had a career day for the Colonials against SFU. He finished 21-for-27 passing for 281 yards and produced three passing touchdowns. He also caught a touchdown pass from wide receiver Connor Becker.
With the success of Chiccitt, 11 different Colonials could register at least one reception. Most notably, Noah Robinson shined, hauling eight receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown. The other two touchdown passes went to tight ends Landen Lucas and Chaz Middleton.
Coach Clark talked about the quarterback’s success and why everyone succeeded on the offensive side of the ball.
“The offense dictates where he looks for the ball, where he looks to go with it. It just so happens that Noah was the guy last week. But he also spread the ball around and also caught a touchdown. Anthony is definitely going to be the man this week, but when Tyler comes back, we will definitely have a controversy.”
Time of possession is key for any team, but more importantly, it is how you use the possession and the chances you create from that. RMU is averaging more possession time than their opponents in the season’s early stages.
Last week, RMU was able to do a lot more with the football, producing points in four of their first six drives.
One area that still needs to improve is the run game. The Colonials are averaging only 2.1 yards per attempt.
“I think it is the structure of what Coach Firm is doing, we’ve changed some things up as far as the running game, we just have to get used to it. The 2.1 yards is not enough. We have to run the guys more is what it comes down to”.
Going into this week, YSU will be a litmus test for the Colonials to see what they can do for the rest of the season.
“This is a tough opponent. Their persona is toughness and the way they play is toughness and the way they coach is toughness. Everything they do is about toughness.” Clark said. “It’s just a matter of our guys going up there and not playing mistake-free football, but bend don’t break football.”
RMU will be on the road this weekend to take on Youngstown State with kickoff set for 2 p.m.
