Following a second trip to the NCAA quarterfinals in three seasons, the
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) football team has been selected as the 2022 Liberty League preseason favorite in a vote by the league's head coaches.
The Engineers received four first-place votes (coaches are not permitted to vote for their own teams) for 33 points. Ithaca College, who earned a share of the 2021 Liberty League title, and Hobart College were picked second and third respectively with 30 and 26 points. The Bombers also earned one first-place vote while the Statesmen narrowly edged out Union for third. The Dutchmen were picked to finish fourth with 25 points and two first-place votes. St. Lawrence University (15), University of Rochester (11) and Buffalo State College (7) rounded out the poll.
It should be another competitive year in the Liberty League as the 2022 season begins with four conference teams featured in the 2022 D3Football.com preseason poll. Ithaca leads the way, checking in at No. 17 and the Bombers are followed by RPI at No. 20 and Hobart at No. 23 while Union is receiving votes.
RPI will look to continue its run of recent success on the field when the Engineers open the 2022 season. They finished the year at 11-2 with a 5-1 mark against conference opponents, tied the program record for wins and advanced to the postseason for the seventh consecutive season. A trio of D3Football.com Preseason All-America and All-Liberty League first team selections headline this year's squad—Josh Cohen, C.J. Lyons and Joe Deptula. They will anchor RPI's defensive unit after holding opponents to 17.38 points per game last season. Cohen totaled 52 tackles (24 solo, 28 assists) and recorded three sacks on the year. He forced two fumbles and had six tackles-for-loss for 23 yards. Lyons played in all 13 games and he also registered 52 tackles, including 36 unassisted, good for second on the team. He had a team-high six pass breakups and two forced fumbles. Depulta was second on the team in tackles (72; 31 solo, 41 assists) while pacing the team with 11.5 for loss. Offensively, RPI will be led by Pete Lombardi, also an All-Liberty League First Team honoree. Lombardi led the team in receptions (79), receiving yards (709) and touchdowns (9). Dylan Burnett and Sterling Walker-Sutton will also be key contributors. Burnett paced the team with 517 rushing yards (47 per game) and three touchdowns last season while Walker-Sutton had 32 receptions for 421 yards and three touchdowns. Offensive lineman Tommy Olausen is also back after playing in 11 games last year, he helped the Engineers' average 21.0 points and 288.5 yards per game.
Ithaca finished the 2022 campaign with a conference record of 5-1 (8-2 overall) and were crowned co-champions for the third time since joining the Liberty League in 2017. The Bombers welcome a familiar face back to central New York with new head coach Michael Toerper. Toerper was the defensive coordinator at Ithaca from 2017-2019 and worked as an assistant coach at Holy Cross for the last two seasons. Toerper will lead a core nucleus of players from 2021 to kick off the 2022 campaign. Jake Villaneueva and Nicholas Bahamonde, both named to the All-Liberty League first team, highlight the team's returnees. Villaneuva was a stalwart presence on the offensive line and helped guide the Bombers to 415.1 offensive yards per game and 30.6 points per game. Bahamonde, two-time Liberty League Special Teams Player of the Year, was the team's leading scorer with 86 points; thanks to making 32-of-34 PATs and converting 18-of-22 field goals. Quarterback AJ Wingfield (All-Liberty League First Team) is also back after a strong junior season. Wingfield was 216-for-307 (70.6%) and amassed 2,384 passing yards to go along with 16 touchdowns. He also had a hand in the team's running game with 158 yards and four touchdowns on 60 carries. Liberty League Rookie of the Year Jalen Hines returns to Ithaca after pacing the team in rushing yards (567) and rushing touchdowns (6). Miles Haynes and Michael Roumes will be key components to the defense as the pair led the team with 50 tackles apiece last year. Haynes also had a team-best 35 assisted tackles and Roumes was second on the team in solo tackles (28). The duo combined for 6.5 tackles-for-loss and seven pass breakups.
Hobart is poised to make some noise in the standings this season as the Statesmen eye a return atop the league standings for the first time since 2014 as they finished last season 9-2 overall (4-2 Liberty League). Hobart ended the season with three straight wins, including a victory in the 2021 ECAC Asa S. Bushnell Bowl and will look to build upon that momentum in 2022. The offense will be fully loaded with nine returning starters. Hobart welcomes back a pair of All-Liberty League first team honorees in Tim Denham Jr. and Rayshawn Boswell. Denham, the 2021 Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year was the only running back in the conference to register over 1,000 yards rushing. He totaled 1,168 yards on the year and 13 touchdowns. Boswell rushed for a league-best 14 touchdowns and amassed 934 total yards. On the defensive side, there will be big shoes to fill with the graduation of Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year and All-American, Emmett Forde, who helped the Statesmen lead the league in total defense (251.5 yards per game). However, five starters from 2021 brings a veteran presence to Geneva, which includes Blake Hansen (11 games, 47 tackles), James Mahoney (11 games, 25 tackles) and Jaimen Bliss (10 games, 43 tackles).
Union wrapped up 2022 with an overall mark of 8-2 and a 4-2 record against conference opponents and with 12 returning starters (6 offense/6 defense) the Dutchmen will also look to make a run for the 2022 title. Two of Union's top offensive weapons are back with the return of Ike Irabor and Andre Ross Jr. The duo were both named to the All-Liberty League first team for the third time in their careers. Expectations are high in Schenectady for both to once again make significant contributions. In 2021, Irabor compiled 832 yards and a team-best 11 touchdowns in nine games. He averaged 4.2 yards per rush and 92.44 yards per game. Ross Jr. averaged 16.37 yards per catch (41 catches) and 83.88 yards per game to go along with nine touchdowns in eight games. Tim Driscoll, a D3Football.com Preseason All-American (10 games), and Stan Koss (10 games) are also back to anchor the offensive line that allowed only six sacks last year. Thomas Cavallo (All-Liberty League Second Team) and Austin St. Pierre (All-Liberty League First Team) headline the defensive returnees. Cavallo paced the team in tackles-for-loss with 12 for 36 yards and seven pass breakups. He was also third on the team in tackles with 56 (19 solo, 37 assists) on the year. St. Pierre recorded 31 tackles (17 solo, 14 assists) and led the team with a pair of interceptions.
For the second straight season,
St. Lawrence put together a .500 campaign, finishing the year at 5-5 overall and they will look to improve upon that mark heading into 2022. The Saints welcome back quarterback Danny Lawther, who was thrust into a starting role as a rookie and played in six games last season. He completed 72 passes on 118 attempts for 893 yards and nine touchdowns. He also rushed for 168 yards and scored one touchdown. Peyton Schmitt is back as a dual offensive threat for St. Lawrence. He rushed for a team-best 624 yards, good for fifth among league leaders (69.4 per game) and scored four touchdowns. Schmitt also made 17 catches for 181 yards and one touchdown. Lawther will have plenty of targets to throw the ball to with Schmitt as well as wide receivers TJ Cornacchia, Daniel Greene and Cole Salyards back in Canton this season. Cornacchia made 25 catches and accounted for 319 yards en route to a team-high five touchdowns. Greene's 26 receptions was for 230 yards and a touchdown while Salyards had nine catches for 112 yards to go along with two touchdowns. Brian Casazza and Reece Gilette return to bolster the team's defensive corps. Casazza was second on the team with 56 tackles (25 solo, 31 assists) and Gilette was fifth with 45 (16 solo, 29 assists). Gilette was tops on the team in sacks with four and was second in tackles-for-loss with 8.5 for 15 yards.
Rochester will be a seasoned team this season with 29 seniors headlining the 2022 squad. The Yellowjackets will be led by a trio of All-Liberty League Second Team honorees—Caden Cole, Daniel Papantonis and Ryan Pasquali. Cole highlights Rochester's defensive returnees after pacing the team in tackles for the last three seasons with a career total of 239, including 80 (34 solo, 46 assists) in 2021. Among league leaders, he was fourth in total tackles and third in assisted tackles. He also recorded seven tackles-for-loss, 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Cole will be joined by Simon Weeren and Brad Beckwith. Weeren was second on the team in tackles (65) and had a team-high 35 solo stops while Beckwith was fifth, registering 60 tackles on the year. Papantonis was the team's leading rusher with 788 yards on 161 carries and two touchdowns. He also had seven receptions for 117 yards and two additional touchdowns. Pasquali will also be a key returning player with 18 receptions for 152 yards and a touchdown last season.
A year of experience should translate well for
Buffalo State as the team opened the 2021 campaign with 70 underclassmen. The Bengals have a new head coach this season with Lazarus Morgan at the helm. Morgan is familiar with the Division III New York football scene with stops as an assistant coach at SUNY Cortland, Alfred University, and his alma mater Utica University. Morgan will look to a core group of returning players, including 12 starters from last season, to help lead the team. Quarterback Cam Sionko is back after starting all 10 games in 2021. He recorded 1,291 passing yards and produced a completion percentage of 56.9 (140-for-246) and seven touchdowns. He also scored two rushing touchdowns for the Bengals. Tariq Nelson averaged 61.6 yards per game last year, good for third among league leaders. He totaled 616 yards on the year and three touchdowns. Other key returnees include defensive lineman Seth Penn (50 tackles, 3 TFL, 3 sacks), defensive back Brandon Barksdale (40 tackles, 9 pass break-ups) and offensive lineman Alex Westcott.
The 2022 season gets underway on Friday, September 3 with one non-conference game and Saturday, September 4 has six non-conference matchups.
2022 Liberty League Football Preseason Poll
Place. Team, Points (First Place Votes)
- RPI, 33 (4)
- Ithaca, 30 (1)
- Hobart, 26
- Union, 25 (2)
- St. Lawrence, 15
- Rochester, 11
- Buffalo State, 7