TROY, N.Y. -- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) recorded four interceptions, including two from Philip Lanieri, III, while Andrew Franks broke his own school record with a 51-yard field goal, as the Engineers defeated Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 27-6, in Liberty League football action on Saturday evening at ECAV Stadium. With the win, Rensselaer reclaimed the Transit Trophy, created in 1979. RPI now stands at 3-1 overall with a 1-0 mark in league action, while WPI falls to 1-3, and 0-1 in conference play.
The game started with turnovers on both teams first possessions. Laneri (Miller Place, NY / Earl L. Vandermeulen) recorded his first interception of the day on Worcester's first drive, returning the pick 28 yards to put the hosts in position at the WPI 28 yard line. RPI pushed the ball down to the Worcester two, but Ryan Mathie (Smithtown, NY / Smithtown West) forced a fumble to hold off the score. The teams exchanged posessions, with the RPI defense holding the visitors at the 21 to for a turnover on downs.
Rensselaer scored on its ensuing drive, as Franks converted a 51-yard field goal with under a minute to play in the first quarter. The senior kicker set the previous record in 2012, hitting a 50-yarder, and tied that mark last season.
Franks was also responsible for RPI's next score, as he hit a 24-yard field goal with 6:16 left in the second quarter to put the hosts on top, 6-0, which came after the Cherry and White's second interception. Greg Abare(Lunenburg, MA / Lunenburg) picked off Dan Eckler (Stoughton, MA / Stoughton), to put RPI in position for the Franks kick.
Worcester started a drive at 3:50 of the second which resulted in Rensselaer's third interception of the day, this time coming from Nick Borkowski (Fort Salonga, NY / Kings Park). Borkowski returned the ball 38 yards to put RPI on the Worcester 23 yard line. With six seconds to play in the half, quarterback Jeff Avery (White Plains, NY / Salve Regina) threw a 7-yard pass to Reggie Colas (Miami, FL / Belen Jesuit) for a touchdown. Franks converted the extra point to push the Rensselaer lead to 13-0.
RPI extended its lead further to start the third quarter, as Diego Cuitino (Plainsboro, NJ / West Windsor-Plainsboro) recovered a WPI fumble at the Worcester 30. Avery threw for one first down before Mike Tivinis(Middleton, MA / Masconomet Regional) ran for 12 yards and then another five for a touchdown. Another Franks point after put Rensselaer on top, 20-3.
Worcester would finally get on the board early in the fourth quarter. On its first possession, WPI drove down the field, covering 56 yards on nine plays, culminating in a 4-yard touchdown pass by Jacob Grills (East Lyme, CT / East Lyme) to Joe Igoe (Framingham, MA / Framingham). The Cherry & White were not done, however, as Tivinis added one more touchdown for Rensselaer with just over three minutes to play. Franks' extra point was good to set the final score. Laneri picked off Grills on the first play of WPI's next possession, and Rensselaer ran out the clock from there.
RPI finished with 235 rushing, led by Tivinis with 61 yards. Avery added 55 yards on the ground, while Nick Schlatz (Bridgewater, MA / Bridgewater-Raritan) carried the ball 11 times for 45 yards. Meanwhile, Worcester took the game to the air, throwing for 209 yards between Grillis (137 yards) and Dan Eckler (72). Igoe caught five passes in the game for WPI, totalling 96 yards.
Defensively, four players finished with five tackles for Rensselaer, led by Brad Gahagan (Tewksbury, MA / Tewksbury) who had one sack and 1.5 tackles for a loss. Thomas Bennett (St. Petersburg, FL / St. Petersburg) also had a sack for RPI. Brian Murtagh (Wayland, MA / Wayland) led three players for Worcester with double-digit tackles, totaling 16, including seven solo. Jason Lamb (Plymouth, MA / Plymouth South) finished with 15, while Robert Harasimowicz (Gardner, MA / Cushing Academy) finished with 12.
Rensselaer will return to action on Oct. 4, visiting the Merchant Marine Academy in Liberty League action at 1 p.m.
Rensselaer Reclaims Transit Trophy with 27-6 Win Over WPI
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20140927_njqj.xml
2014
WPI
6
RPI
27
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WPI (1-3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| RPI (3-1) | 3 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
Sep 27, 2014