WPI 21, St. Lawrence 20
Box
Score
Canton, MA --- Quarterback Justin Wells (Jay,
ME) threw for a touchdown and ran for another score to help lift
WPI to a 21-20 road win over St. Lawrence in Liberty League
football action on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Engineers finish the season 7-3 overall and
4-3 in conference play while St. Lawrence concludes its season at
1-9 and 1-6 in Liberty League action. The seven wins are the
most for WPI since the Crimson and Gray ended the 1992 campaign
with nine victories.
The WPI defense was the difference in the first half.
After the Engineers went three-and-out on the opening possession,
St. Lawrence embarked upon a 16-play, 66-yard drive that chewed up
7:36 of the clock but was thwarted when Eric
Pichette (Chelmsford, MA) made a tackle on a quarterback
sneak on a fourth-and-1 from the 1-yard line. The Crimson and
Gray limited the Saints to just one more first down the rest of the
half, while scoring the only touchdown of the opening 30 minutes
early in the second quarter when Justin Wells
(Jay, ME) connected with Cody McGregor (Westfield,
MA) on a 11-yard touchdown pass.
Both teams saw their offenses get into gear in the second half,
generating scores on the first five drives of the second
half. The Saints dented the scoreboard on the opening drive
after intermission when Eric Jones (Watertown, NY)
capped a 84-yard drive with a 5-yard rushing touchdown. WPI
answered on the ensuing drive when Wells scored a 22-yard
keeper. St. Lawrence capped the third quarter scoring frenzy
when JP Kearney (Laflin, PA) found Rick
Stepien (Youngstown, NY) with a 29-yard touchdown strike
with 45 seconds remaining in the quarter to even the game at
14-14.
Sophomore Aaron Champagne (Fairfield, ME) gave
WPI a 21-14 advantage early in the fourth quarter when he found the
end zone from 1-yard out. St. Lawrence responded on the
following drive with a 5-yard touchdown jaunt by Ramon
Mignott (Bridgeport, CT) but a missed extra point made the
score 21-20. The WPI defense stiffened in the final minutes,
limiting St. Lawrence to a total of nine yards over its last two
drives.
Wells amassed 294 yards of total offense on the day, capping an
outstanding senior year by reaching double digits in both passing
(10) and rushing (10) touchdowns. He finished the season with
2,030 passing yards, good enough for 4th all-time on the WPI
single-season list. McGregor (55 catches - 750 yards) and
Grady (54 catches - 811 yards) also wrapped up great seasons by
each placing in the top 10 in both single-season receptions and
receiving yards.
Michael Oliveri (Milford, MA) led the WPI
defensive effort with a game-high 11 tackles. Hal
Reader (Bel Air, MD) anchored the effort on the defensive
interior with four tackles, an interception and a half a sack while
Justin Thomas (Stannard, VT) chipped in with two
tackles for loss, including a sack.
Jones had a great game on the ground for St. Lawrence. The
junior totaled 145 yards on 19 carries. Kearny completed
23-of-35 passes for 188 yards while Mike Wayne
(Fairport, NY) led all players with 11 catches for 69 yards.
Gerald Bryant (White Plains, NY) led the Saints
defensive charge with 11 tackles on the day including a sack and
2.5 stops for loss.
Statistically the game was as close as the one-point difference
on the scoreboard. WPI held slight advantages in both total
yards (351-345) and in time of possession (30:15-29:45).
