Courtesy of UR Athletics
The Rochester football team lost to the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Engineers 31-21 on Saturday Nov. 9, a cold and cloudy day in Worcester, Mass. The loss was the third for the ‘Jackets this season dropping their record to 5-3.
The game started well for UR, with senior linebacker Zach Cicero intercepting WPI quarterback John Antonopoulos’ on only the third play of the game. However, Rochester failed to capitalize on the turnover, as senior quarterback Dean Kennedy threw three straight incompletions.
On WPI’s next possession, the Engineers also went three-and-out.
The following drive by the ‘Jackets lasted six and a half minutes and resulted in an eight-yard touchdown pass to senior running back Garrett Kesel for the first score of the game.
WPI tied the game on the very next drive, though, with a 13-yard pass to running back Gallagher Hogan. Soon after, running back Zach Grasis would then give his team the lead after breaking away for 70-yard touchdown run.
UR managed to tie the game up early into the third quarter when freshman running back Myles Allen ran for an 18-yard touchdown.
Despite the momentum the ‘Jackets had seemed to gain, WPI dominated the rest of the game, with Antonopoulos passing and Grasis running for two more touchdowns. The ‘Jackets managed to put seven more points on the board in the fourth quarter with a five-yard pass from Kennedy to sophomore wide receiver Derek Wager, but it was too little, too late.
For good measure, WPI would tack on another three points when kicker Blaine Bursey booted a 20-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter.
Grasis was the game’s rushing leader, picking up 155 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Kennedy led in passing, with 276 yards, completing 22 of his 41 pass attempts for a pair of touchdowns as well as two interceptions. UR senior wide receiver Thomas Hayes recorded the most receiving yards, racking up 122 on nine receptions.
The ‘Jackets will wrap up their regular season at noon on Saturday, Nov. 16 when they host Hobart College at Fauver Stadium. The rival Statesmen are ranked seventh in the country in Division III according to d3football.com, and come into the game with a perfect 8-0 record. UR will be looking to improve on last year’s result, when Hobart routed them 43-24 in Geneva, N.Y.
Ondo is a member of the class of 2014.
