Box Score | RPI Athletics on Instagram

WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior quarterback Jeff Avery threw three first half touchdown passes to stake the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) football team to a 28-0 lead at halftime and the Engineers held off Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) 28-21 at Alumni Stadium in a battle for the Transit Trophy and the Liberty League opener for both teams. 

RPI (3-1) won its second-straight Transit Trophy with the help of Avery (White Plains, NY), who had 3- and a 5-yard passes to senior Logan Gaddar (South Portland, ME) on quick slants and a 27-yard pass to senior Austin Amery (Castleton, VT). Avery finished 14 of 22 for 155 yards and the three touchdowns, Gaddar had a team-high 49 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions, and senior running back Nick Schlatz (Bridgewater, MA) ran for 110 yards on 21 carries for RPI.

The visiting Engineers drove down the field on the game's first possession, using nine plays and 4:14, culminated with the first Avery to Gaddar scoring strike. The lead was doubled when senior cornerback Teague Florio (Southampton, NY / Southampton) intercepted a pass and returned it 61 yards for a score on WPI's first possession. RPI added two more scores, one with 2:12 left in the frame and the other with only 0:04 remaining in the second quarter for the commanding lead at the break. The Engineers defense held the home team to just 81 yards of offense and forced three turnovers, all interceptions, in the first 30 minutes.

On its first possession of the second half, WPI (3-1) scored on a quick, 70-yard, four-play drive which was highlighted by a 62-yard pass from junior quarterback Dan Eckler (Stoughton, MA) to junior Steven Thulin (Walpole, MA) to set up first-and-goal from the 3. Two plays later, in the Wild Goat formation, Zack Grasis (East Brookfield, MA) punched in his first touchdown. Trailing, 28-7, WPI churned out a 13-play, 87-yard drive culminating with Grasis' second touchdown of the game to cut the lead in half, 28-14, after the PAT.
 
With 2:47 left, Eckler connected with junior Brandon Eccher (Franklin, MA) for 70 yards on a double-move go route up the sideline, which led to a 21-yard touchdown pass to Ian McMullen (Londonderry, NH). Eccher led all receivers with 144 yards on five catches, and McMullen had two catches for 23 yards and the score. Senior safety Eric Lacroix (Wayland, MA), a captain, made 13 tackles, and graduate-student and captain Jake Brown (Fall River, MA) amassed eight tackles.
 
Sophomore Bryan Hayes (Boylston, MA) made a team-high nine tackles for RPI, while Florio collected five stops and the INT for a touchdown.

RPI hosts Merchant Marine on Saturday at 1pm and WPI travels to Hobart.