RMU football opens home season Saturday against West Virginia State
Coming off a decisive season-opening victory over Wagner last week, the Robert Morris Colonial football team will make its home debut at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept 5, at Joe Walton Stadium against West Virginia State.
The Division II Yellow Jackets enter the game 1-0 after defeating Chowan University, 56-24, in their season opener last week. Quarterback Joe Dailey led the Yellow Jackets by throwing three touchdown passes and adding two more on the ground as WVS totaled 485 yards in offense.
West Virginia State was 4-4 in conference and 5-6 overall in 2025 as a member of the Mountain East Conference (MEC).
In the earliest Northeast Conference (NEC) game ever played, the Colonials traveled to New York City to take on Wagner Aug. 29 in what was the season and conference opener for both teams.
The visiting Colonials came out of the gate quickly when Galen Combs blocked a Wagner punt at with 9 minutes, 21 seconds left in the first quarter and returned the live ball 22 yards for a touchdown for a 7-0 RMU lead.
Later in the first quarter, Robert Morris quarterback Carson Haggard led the Colonials on a four-play, 26-yard drive that culminated in Haggard hitting wide receiver Jaquai Carter on a 6-yard corner route at 6:51 for a 14-0 RMU lead. The Colonial defense was stifling in the first half, and RMU took a 14-0 lead into the locker room.
As the second half began, Robert Morris’ drive ended quickly when a Haggard out pattern throw to Combs was read well by the Seahawks Julio Tatis, who intercepted the pass and took it the distance for a 40-yard Wagner touchdown at 13:18 of the third quarter.
With the score 14-7, the Colonials put together a three-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Haggard hitting Combs on a 64-yard touchdown pass, making the score 21-7 RMU at 2:03 of the third quarter. Combs made a great play, coming back to the ball and then outrunning the defense to the end zone.
The Colonials defense continued to dominate, holding Wagner to 97 total yards and allowing the home team to convert only one of 16 third-down attempts. Offensively, Robert Morris continued to move the ball and added to the lead at 5:35 of the fourth quarter when Haggard threw his third touchdown pass of the game, finding Combs with a 15-yard pass in the middle of the end zone for a 28-7 Colonial lead.
Haggard completed 19 of 32 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns. He was intercepted twice. Combs led the receiving corps with four receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns, while Carter added five receptions for 34 yards and a touchdown. The Colonials only managed 79 yards on the ground, led by J’Kharri Thomas, who had 28 yards on 14 attempts.
Defensively, Robert Morris was led by Khalil Hunter, who recorded eight tackles with 1.5 sacks, while Amanuel Dickson added seven tackles.
Leave a Reply