Robert Morris Falls to Wagner After Losing Starting QB

MOON TWP, Pa. — The story of the year for the Robert Morris football team has been quarterback injuries as Zach Tanner missed multiple games earlier in the season and then left Saturday’s 24-20 loss to Wagner with another injury.

Who knows what the Colonials record would be if Tanner managed to stay healthy all season long, as the offense even struggled at times with him on the field, but he had the offense rolling in the second half against Wagner before exiting due to injury.

Robert Morris is 3-3 in games in which Tanner played the entire game and is 0-4 in games in which he either left early or did not play.

Robert Morris quarterback Zach Tanner attempts a pass against West Virginia on Aug. 30, 2025 — William Wotring / West Virginia Sports Now

Following Tanner’s injury, head coach Bernard Clark Jr. initially put Jake Wolfe into the game for a couple of plays then he turned to Ameer Dudley for two plays before he eventually settled on Cooper Panteck for the potential game-winning drive.

While Panteck, with the help of tight end Richard Ransom, managed to take the Colonials from their own one all the way to the Seahawks’ 19-yard line, the comeback fell short when the fourth-down pass was broken up in the end zone by multiple defenders.

The first half of the game was controlled by Wagner despite only leading 14-10 as the teams entered the locker rooms at halftime, mainly because of its success running the ball.

The Seahawks totaled 183 rushing yards in the first half was running back Andre Hines Jr. rushed 12 times for 87 yards and quarterback Jack Stevens ran 12 times for 86 yards.

Even after Stevens was knocked out of the game in the second half with his own injury, back up quarterback/wide receiver Damien Mazil, along with Hines, continued the Seahawks dominate rushing day as Wagner rushed 52 times in the game for a total of 320 yards.

“We gave up too many rushing yards,” Clark said after the game. “Defensively, this was the first time that we have given up 24 points in a long time. They just ran the ball too well on us.”

“It brings a huge dynamic,” Clark continued about the Seahawks’ ability to run with their quarterbacks and running backs. “That’s the whole point. You have to make sure that you are getting there, and you can’t just reach for tackles, you have to make sure you are bringing your feet especially against a 6-foot-2, 240-pound running back.”

Final from Joe Walton Stadium.#BobbyMo pic.twitter.com/1Xgr2z2iqX

— RMU Football (@RMU_Football) November 8, 2025

Following a three-and-out by Robert Morris to start the game, Wagner immediately went to work in the trenches as it took just plays before the Seahawks scored the game’s first points on a 9-yard scramble by Stevens.

The Seahawks rushed six times on their opening drive touchdown.

The Colonials managed to tie the game up a few possessions later after Tanner extended the drive with a 34-yard touch pass to wide receiver Jaqai Carter, which turned into a 5-yard touchdown catch by wide receiver/tight end Chaz Middleton a few plays later.

We tied it up! @ZachTanner863 ➡️ @ChazAlexander89 #NECFB #BobbyMo pic.twitter.com/9PUsU2Yz8h

— RMU Football (@RMU_Football) November 8, 2025

The Seahawks, after turning the ball over on downs on their last possession, went right back to work on the ground following the Colonials touchdown. The Seahawks jumped back ahead by a touchdown early in the second quarter after a 10-play drive, in which they ran it nine times, was capped off on a 10-yard rush by Hines.

After the two teams traded punt over the next couple minutes of game time, it looked as if the Seahawks were going to extend their lead to multiple possessions before Stevens’ fourth-down pass attempt from the Colonials 29-yard line fell incomplete.

The second fourth-down stop by the Colonials’ defense gave their offense the ball back with the chance to get points before halftime.

The Colonials made their way into Seahawks’ territory fairly quickly after Tanner found Carter for 11 yards and then hit Kai Holloway for another 19 yards on the very next play.

While the Colonials did not reach the end zone before the end of the half, they did add a 36-yard field goal by Jayson Jenkins.

Wagner opened the second half with the same mindset that it had in the first half which was to run the ball down the throats of Robert Morris. After another 10-plus play drive that featured 10 rushing plays, the Seahawks notched a 42-yard field goal that pushed their lead to 17-10.

The Colonials found even more success through the air on the ensuing drive as it too just four plays to tie the game up at 17-17.

After Ethan Shine opened the drive up with a rush, Tanner hit Carter for 39 yards, then found Shine out of the backfield for 24 yards and then ultimately hit Carter again for a 7-yard touchdown.

We're tied up! @ZachTanner863 ➡️ @Jaqai9 #NECFB #BobbyMo pic.twitter.com/2xT4zrXrnX

— RMU Football (@RMU_Football) November 8, 2025

Unfortunately for the Colonials, the Seahawks needed just 12 seconds to reclaim the lead as Mazil took the first play of the drive 75 yards on a scramble for a touchdown.

The Colonials looked to get back even with the Seahawks at the start of the fourth quarter as a nice mix of Shine and Carter got the, all the way down inside of the red zone.

After Tanner missed Middleton for a potential touchdown on second down, he scrambled for a gain of four on third down before a dropped pass on fourth down ended the drive.

Tanner was injured on his third-down rush but gutted it out on fourth down, but that ended up as his last set of plays in the game.

The Colonials added another field goal on their next drive which made the score 24-20 and trusted their defense to get the ball back for one more scoring chance.

The defense did just that as safety Xavier Styles intercepted Mazil’s third-down pass attempt, which gave the Colonials the ball back at their own 30-yard line. Unfortunately, the Colonials went four-and-out with the backup Wolfe in the game.

While the turnover-on-downs gave the Seahawks the ball back up four and on the Colonials’ 39-yard line, the defense forced a punt which was downed at the one.

Enter Panteck.

With his back in the end zone, Panteck found Ransom on the first play of the drive for 17 yards. After a near interception on the next play, Panteck found Ransom again for 21 yards and then again for 25 yards which took the Colonials into plus territory.

A few throws later, the Colonials were set up inside of the Seahawks 20 with under a minute to go. Despite having enough time to get to the end zone, the next four throws by Panteck were incompletions which ended the game.

One bright spot for the Colonials in the loss was the emergences of Carter and Ransom. Carter posted 7 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown while Ransom added 4 catches for 75 yards, most of which came on the game’s final possession.

“We know how good those guys are,” Clark said. “The problem is, it has taken a while to get them into their groove because that is what happens when you get new guys. Those guys are big components of what we can do. Richard did a great job on that final drive, Jaqai was playing well throughout the game so we got two guys that we feel really good about.”

While the loss likely ends any chances of the Colonials sneaking into the NEC championship race, they have an opportunity to play spoiler against their biggest rival in the coming weeks.

Robert Morris travels to Mercyhurst next weekend before returning home for one final game this season, which is when they host crosstown rival, Duquesne, on Nov. 22 at Joe Walton Stadium.