Football Shutout By WPI
Leicester, Mass- Quarterbacks Mike Swanton (Foxboro, Mass) and Pat McAuley (Hingham, Mass) combined for 174 yards rushing and three touchdowns, to spark visiting WPI to a 52-0 victory in nonconference college football action.
The victory was the Engineers second straight shutout and improves their record to 3-0. Becker dips to 0-3 on the young season.
The visitors scored their only touchdown of the first quarter, when sophomore Ernie Mellow (Willimington, Mass) rumbled in from one yard out with 2:57 remaining. WPI struck quickly in the second quarter with Swanton connecting run producing jaunts of 26 and one yards in the second stanza. Aaron Champagne's (Fairfield, ME) 17-yard gallop gave the crimson and gray a 28-0 halftime advantage.
The Engineers tacked on a trio of third quarter touchdowns with Mellow and McAuley each amassing a rushing score and combining on a nifty 52-yard touchdown strike. Cody Beckel (Jupiter, Fla) 30-yard field goal was the only score of the fourth quarter.
Bredan Gove (Rutland, Mass), Tom Thackeray (Braintree, Mass) and Michael Oliveri (Milford, Mass) all registered eight tackles, with gove collecting a pair of sacks, three tackles for a loss and a forced fumble. Seniors Craig Kennedy (Seekonk, Mass) and Todd LeClerc (Middleton, Mass) both notched interceptions, while classmate Justin Deveau (Lowell, Mass) was credited with two tackles for loss, including a sack.
On the day WPI enjoyed a 556-175 advantage in total yards and gained an impressive 391 yards on the ground on 44 carries, for an average of 8.9 yards per carry.
Combined with last week's 25-0 blanking of Worcester State, the Engineers have now registered consecutive shutouts for the first time in this decade.
Jimmy Chery (Malden, Mass) and Johnattan Rivera (Dracut, Mass ) combined for 113 rushing yards for the Hawks.
WPI returns to action next Saturday when they host RPI in the 103rd Annual Transit Trophy Game at 2pm.
Becker Returns to action on Saturday for a 4pm tilt with Hartwick College.
