WPI 31, Worcester State 10
Worcester, MA --- Aaron Champagne (Fairfield, ME) ran for a career-high 103 yards and Justin Wells (Jay, ME) tossed a pair of touchdown passes as WPI defeated cross-town rival Worcester State 31-10 in non-conference football action on Saturday afternoon. With the result, WPI improves to 2-0 while the Lancers slip to 0-2 on the season.
The first quarter was a defensive struggle with the entire stanza played in the Worcester State half of the field after Ernie Mello (Wilmington, MA) returning the opening kickoff 69 yards for the Engineers. The Crimson and Gray finally broke into the scoring column with 35 seconds remaining in the period when Scott Guzman (Acton, ME) powered in from a yard out on fourth and goal.
After the Engineers forced a Worcester State punt, they embarked on a 11-play 79-yard drive capped by a Champagne 9-yard touchdown jaunt. The Lancers got onto the board late in the first half, when with 26 second remaining, Patrick Skelton (Dedham, MA) booted a 31-yard field goal to slice the lead to 14-3. WPI came storming back and on the final play of the half, Wells connected with R.C. Grady (Shirley, MA) with a 22-yard touchdown strike in the back corner of the end zone to give the Engineers a 21-3 halftime edge.
Worcester State would draw within 11 when quarterback Pat Good (Hull, MA) scored on a one-yard keeper late in the third period. WPI put the game away with a Wells to Cody McGregor (Westfield, MA) 19-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth before Cody Beckel (Port Jefferson, NY) closed out the scoring with a 33-yard field goal with just over a minute remaining. Earlier, Beckel had connected on all four of his PAT attempts.
Michael Oliveri (Milford, MA) and Jonathan Shoemaker (East Norwich, NY) each registered interceptions for WPI, who received a team-high 10 tackles from Stefan Nicotra (Wyoming, RI). Justin Thomas (Stannard, VT) collected a sack for the Engineers while Michael Toto (Agawam, MA) was credited with a two tackles for loss.
Matt Leeds (Bellingham, MA) was all over the field for Worcester State. He notched eight solo tackles, including three for loss, forced a fumble and was in on a pair of pass breakups. Greg Benoit (Dorchester, MA), Tyler Russell (Princeton, MA) and Steve Melville (Merrimac, MA) all tallied first quarter sacks for the Lancers.
WPI controlled the ball throughout the contest, enjoying a 37:29 to 22:27 edge in time of possession. The Engineers outgained the Lancers 199 to 82 on the ground. The Crimson and Gray were outstanding on third and fourth downs, as they converted 9-of-17 third down attempts and both of the their fourth down tries.
The game was well-played as the two teams were only called for a combined seven penalties.
WPI will return to action on Saturday when they host Becker at 1pm. Both teams will enter the contest with identical 2-0 records. Worcester State entertains Nichols in a Friday evening match-up at 7pm.
Release Courtesy of WPI Sports Information