By Laura Soukkavong –
WORCESTER, Mass. — For nearly an entire half Saturday, WPI did many of the things an offense is supposed to do. The Worcester Engineers possessed the football, extended drives and moved deep into RPI territory, but the scoreboard stubbornly refused to reward them.
That ultimately became the story of the annual Transit Trophy game. Sophomore quarterback Dylan Gallo threw for 268 yards in his first career start, and Dante Atwood caught nine passes for 89 yards and a touchdown, but RPI turned turnovers and explosive plays into points before pulling away for a 35-7 victory.
The loss dropped WPI to 0-1 and extended a frustrating run in a rivalry that has increasingly belonged to RPI. The Engineers of Troy have now won six consecutive Transit Trophy meetings, improving to 65-48-5 in the all-time series and 32-13-1 since the trophy was established in 1980.
The final score suggests a comfortable RPI afternoon, but the path to that 28-point margin was more complicated. WPI possessed the football for 43 minutes, 41 seconds, ran considerably more offensive plays and finished with 19 first downs, yet those advantages produced only seven points.
RPI needed only 40 offensive plays to accumulate 315 yards, averaging 7.9 yards every time it snapped the football. WPI finished with 294 yards, but three turnovers, only 26 rushing yards and several drives that ended without points prevented possession from becoming production.
Dylan Gallo spent much of his first start carrying the offensive workload. He completed 34 of 55 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown, although two interceptions became costly moments in a game where WPI had little margin for error.
Dante Atwood quickly established himself as Gallo’s most productive target, finishing with nine receptions for 89 yards and WPI’s only touchdown. Michael Krevosky caught six passes for 49 yards, while Ethan Frisch contributed four receptions for 41 yards and produced WPI’s longest catch of the afternoon at 28 yards.
Jeff Quigley led the rushing attack with 32 yards on 14 carries and added six receptions for 25 yards. His rushing total exceeding WPI’s final team rushing figure of 26 yards underscored just how difficult it was for the Worcester Engineers to establish consistent production on the ground.
RPI showed immediately that it would not need many opportunities to score. On its opening possession, the Engineers of Troy traveled 73 yards in seven plays before quarterback Micah Balzarini connected with Nate Ehui for a 40-yard touchdown with 11:22 remaining in the first quarter.
WPI’s response demonstrated both the promise and the problem that would follow the Worcester Engineers throughout the game. They could move the football, but finishing drives became considerably more difficult.
On their second possession, the Worcester Engineers advanced as far as the RPI 29-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. WPI later assembled a grinding 17-play possession that reached the RPI 20, only for Dylan Gallo to be intercepted with 4:14 remaining before halftime.
That interception hurt twice. WPI lost a scoring opportunity after another extended drive, and RPI immediately converted the turnover into a 96-yard touchdown march that changed the pressure of the game.
Micah Balzarini found Josh Young for an 18-yard touchdown with 1:48 remaining in the second quarter, giving RPI a 14-0 lead. A WPI offense that had spent significant time moving through RPI territory suddenly faced the possibility of going into halftime two touchdowns behind without having scored.
What followed was WPI’s best offensive sequence of the afternoon. Starting from its own 35-yard line, the Worcester Engineers covered 65 yards in 10 plays while using only 1 minute, 41 seconds.
Dylan Gallo connected with Michael Krevosky for 24 yards to move WPI into the red zone. He then found Dante Atwood for a 20-yard touchdown with seven seconds remaining, and Nathan Napier converted the extra point to send the Worcester Engineers into halftime trailing only 14-7.
That touchdown mattered because WPI had finally converted one of its sustained possessions into points. Despite everything that had gone wrong, the Worcester Engineers entered halftime one score away from tying the game.
The defense gave WPI another opportunity early in the third quarter. After RPI recovered a WPI fumble and took possession at the Worcester 28, Logan Kundred prevented the turnover from becoming immediate points by forcing Micah Balzarini to fumble at the 14-yard line.
Logan Kundred recovered the ball himself and returned it one yard to the WPI 15. It was exactly the kind of defensive response the Worcester Engineers needed after giving RPI possession in dangerous territory.
WPI then moved the football to its own 46, with Ethan Frisch producing a 28-yard reception on third down. Once again, the Worcester Engineers appeared capable of constructing the drive that could bring them closer.
Then the game changed.
Jonathan Walker intercepted Dylan Gallo and returned the ball 66 yards for a touchdown. Instead of WPI continuing a possession with an opportunity to threaten RPI’s seven-point advantage, the Engineers of Troy suddenly led 21-7 with 6:18 remaining in the third quarter.
It was the afternoon’s most punishing swing. WPI had already overcome its own fumble when Logan Kundred forced one in return, but the interception return gave RPI seven points without requiring its offense to take the field.
The Worcester Engineers had spent much of the game fighting to stay within one possession. Jonathan Walker’s interception return finally created the separation RPI had been unable to establish through most of the first half.
RPI then began producing the explosive offensive plays that WPI could not match. Micah Balzarini completed a 32-yard pass to Robbie Peterson and followed it with a 30-yard completion to Josh Young during a five-play, 70-yard scoring drive.
Kayden White finished that possession with a four-yard touchdown run with 42 seconds remaining in the third quarter. RPI’s advantage had grown to 28-7, and a game that had been separated by seven points at halftime had become a three-touchdown margin in one quarter.
The fourth quarter brought another explosive completion. Micah Balzarini connected with Nate Ehui for 52 yards, moving RPI all the way to the WPI one-yard line.
Two plays later, Kayden White scored on a one-yard run for his second touchdown of the game. That produced the final 35-7 margin and completed a second half in which RPI scored three touchdowns after carrying a 14-7 advantage into halftime.
Micah Balzarini finished 8 of 17 for 221 yards and two touchdowns. The number of completions was modest, but their impact was enormous, as he averaged more than 27 yards per completion.
Nate Ehui caught four passes for 127 yards and a touchdown, an average of nearly 32 yards per reception. Kayden White supplied the ground-game finish with 79 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.
WPI’s defense was led by Grant Engelhardt with five tackles. Michael Doherty and Pat Andrews each made four stops and recorded a pass breakup, while Logan Kundred supplied the forced fumble and recovery that briefly prevented RPI from capitalizing on a WPI turnover.
The statistical contrast between the teams provides the clearest explanation for how a game with such a lopsided possession figure could produce such a lopsided score. WPI controlled the football for more than 43 minutes but averaged far fewer yards per play and struggled to finish its extended possessions.
The Worcester Engineers converted 10 of 24 third downs, another indication that they were capable of keeping drives alive. Yet maintaining possession only becomes decisive when those drives eventually reach the end zone or produce points, and too many of WPI’s possessions ended before that happened.
RPI played an entirely different game. The Engineers of Troy didn’t need to dominate possession because their offense generated large chunks of yardage, and Jonathan Walker’s 66-yard interception return supplied a touchdown without the offense needing a single snap.
That efficiency separated the teams. WPI threw 55 passes and accumulated 268 yards through the air, while Micah Balzarini needed only eight completions to produce 221 passing yards for RPI.
For Dylan Gallo, there were nevertheless significant responsibilities handled in his first career start. Completing 34 passes and throwing for 268 yards showed WPI was willing to place the offense in the sophomore quarterback’s hands, and his late first-half touchdown drive demonstrated his ability to move the team quickly when necessary.
The two interceptions, particularly the one Jonathan Walker returned for a touchdown, were costly. They were also part of an afternoon in which Gallo was asked to attempt 55 passes while WPI finished with only 26 team rushing yards.
That imbalance will be difficult for any offense to overcome consistently. When the running game produces so little, the quarterback is forced to carry more of the burden, and the defense can increasingly focus on stopping the passing game.
WPI now has to separate what worked from what did not. The Worcester Engineers moved the chains, controlled the clock and received 268 passing yards from a quarterback making his first collegiate start, but those accomplishments were overwhelmed by three turnovers, limited rushing production and an inability to finish drives.
RPI demonstrated the opposite formula. The Engineers of Troy possessed the football for far less time, ran only 40 offensive plays and still produced 315 yards and five touchdowns because their biggest plays changed the scoreboard.
The Transit Trophy will remain with RPI for another year, extending a streak that has now reached six consecutive victories. For WPI, the challenge is making sure the lessons from Saturday become more important than the frustration of another rivalry loss.
Both teams return home next Saturday at noon. WPI will host the University of New England, while RPI welcomes Utica for its home opener.
For the Worcester Engineers, the first game showed that they can possess the football and sustain drives behind Dylan Gallo. The next step is considerably more important: turning all of that work into points before one mistake gives the other team the opportunity to do it instead.
NewsTalk Worcester 