Game Leaders
Team Stats
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Time of Poss.
WORCESTER -- A stout defensive effort, highlighted by a combined seven sacks from Hector Johnson (Worcester, MA) and Jackson DeAngelo (North Reading, MA) pushed the visiting Endicott football team past WPI, 24-0, on Friday night at Alumni Stadium. The Gulls improve to 2-0 on the season, while the Engineers' record evens at 1-1.
Endicott held WPI to just 152 yards of total offense, piling on eight sacks with three interceptions. The Gulls' offense was efficient with 403 total yards, led by quarterback Clayton Marengi (Lynnfield, MA) who was 8-for-16 with 197 yards and two touchdowns.
Marengi's favorite target was Shane Aylward (Tewksbury, MA) who led all players with 122 yards receiving, catching both TD passes. Anthony Caggianelli (Pelham, NH) led the Gulls' run game with 13 carries for 66 yards and a score.
WPI quarterback Dante Coccagnia (E. Syracuse, NY) was held to 39 yards passing, going 4-for-10 with a pair of interceptions. Hunter Carey (South Hadley, MA) led the Engineers' offense with 86 yards on the ground, carrying the ball 17 times.
Endicott had a big first quarter, putting up 10 unanswered points to set the tone for the game. After forcing a WPI punt, the Gulls put together a 10-play 55-yard drive, culminating in a Ryan Smith (Glastonbury, CT) field goal and a 3-0 advantage.
After another WPI punt, Endicott went 88-yards for a touchdown on its next drive. The drive was started by a 43-yard completion from Marengi to Aylward, while the pair hooked up again for the touchdown, a 15-yard pass to make it 10-0 Endicott.
WPI followed with its longest drive of the first quarter, but a Colin Meropoulos (Monroe, CT) sack on third and six forced another Engineers' punt.
Neither team drummed up much offense in the second quarter. WPI had a chance to get on the board but a 24-yard field goal attempt was blocked by the Gulls' Johnson to send the teams to the locker room with Endicott still up 10-0.
The Gulls scored quickly to open the third quarter, extending the lead to 17-0. A 46-yard Marengi pass to Ryan Freiberger (Marblehead, MA) started the drive, while an eight-yard run from Caggianelli capped it for the score.
Endicott padded its lead with another third-quarter score on a pass that was nearly intercepted by WPI. A pass from Marengi was batted in the air by the WPI defense before the Gulls' Aylward came up with it and scrambled to the end zone for the score to make it 24-0.
WPI's first two fourth-quarter drives ended in interceptions, the first from Tyler Davis (Bethel, CT) and the second from Zachariah Twardosky (Merrimack, NH), killing any hope of an Engineers' comeback.
Gavin Chieff (Bernardsville, NJ) paced the Crimson and Gray defensive effort with six tackles, including five solo stops and Zach Carney (North Easton, MA) chipped in with five unassisted tackles. Cam Smith (Abington, MA) recorded a seven-yard sack for hosts. Loren Diloreto (Valley Center, CA) punted well for the Engineers, averaging 44.3 yards on his seven boots, with a long of 56 yards.
Both teams return to action on Saturday, September 17. WPI will play at RPI at 5pm while Endicott hosts TCNJ in its home opener at noon.