NORTHFIELD, Vt.—Senior running back Danny Triplett (Haverhill, Mass.) ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Norwich University Cadets to a 20-3 non-conference win against the Engineers of Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Saturday afternoon at Sabine Field. With the win, the Cadets improve to a flawless 3-0 on the season, while the Engineers fall to 1-2.
Triplett averaged 7.7 yards per carry and ran for a long of 40 yards. Senior quarterback Kris Sabourin (Georgia, Vt.) rushed for 106 yards and a long of 25 on the afternoon. Sabourin competed nine of 21 pass attempts for 60 yards and a long of 14 in the win for the Cadets.
For the Engineers, quarterback Jacob Grills completed 13 of 30 attempts with one interception for a total of 112 yards and a long of 15. Aaron Marshall totaled 53 receiving yards on four catches, while Ehab Hamdan recorded 26 yards on three catches. Running back Zach Grasis ran for a team-best 52 yards.
The Cadets opened scoring with 31 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Senior captain defensive lineman Matt Simonelli (Scituate, R.I.) recorded a WPI fumble and ran it 44 yards to put the Cadets on the board. A failed extra-point kick set the score at 6-0 to start round out the first quarter of play.
After a scoreless second quarter, the Cadets would extend the lead to 13-0 as the Cadets took seven plays to move the ball 75 yards, resulting in a three yard run by Triplett at the 12:07 mark. Freshman Mike Schreiner (St. Albans, Vt.) connected on the extra-point attempt.
Three drives later, WPI would record its only score of the game as the Engineers used six plays to set up Mitchell Lewis for a 25 yard field goal.
In the fourth quarter, the Engineers would find themselves on Norwich's 23 yard line with first-and-10. Qaurterback John Antonopoulos would misfire, setting up Norwich's Dan Gogan (Keansbury, N.J.) for the interception on the eight yard line.
The Cadets would then use 11 plays to travel 92 yards which was capitalized by a 40 yard touchdown run by Triplett. Schreiner connected on his second extra point attempt of the game to set the score at 20-3.
WPI would have two opportunities to score in the final minutes as Norwich would fumble on the kickoff at 3:07 to put the ball back in Engineers possession, but WPI was unable to advance past the Norwich 48 yard line as the clock wound down.
On the defensive end, Norwich was led by John Taranto (New Britain, Conn.) who recorded a team-high 10 tackles, including a 10-yard sack. Simonelli totaled eight tackles including one tackle-for-loss, while Luis Delgado (Accord, N.Y.) and Nick Pulaski (Stratford, Conn.) rounded out the defensive leaders with six tackles apiece. Pulaski and kicker Patrick Wilson (West Rupert, Vt.) were both credited with fumble recoveries on the afternoon.
WPI was led defensively by Shaine Grogan, who posted a game-high 13 tackles including a tackle-for-loss. Christopher O'Connor totaled eight tackles for the Engineers, while Hussein Yatim recorded seven tackles. Jake Brown was credited with a fumble recovery for WPI.
The Cadets, who have won 10 out of the last 11 outings, return to action on Saturday, Sept. 29 when they travel to Mount Ida College for a 1:00 p.m. start in the first Eastern Collegiate Football College (ECFC) matchup of the 2012 season.