WORCESTER -- In a battle of the Engineers to close out the 2024 season, WPI claimed a 34-12 victory over MIT in a NEWMAC football clash on Saturday. The Crimson and Gray finished the year at 6-4 overall, 4-3 in conference play, while the Cambridge Engineers wrapped up their season at 3-6, 1-6 in the NEWMAC.
WPI quarterback Mike Ingraffia (Kings Park, NY) led WPI's charge, throwing for 139 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for another score. John Chau (Suffern, NY) added 117 yards on the ground, including a 10-yard touchdown in the opening quarter. Josh Castro (Pittsburgh, PA) hauled in two touchdowns, while Jay Mezzo (Naugatuck, CT) added a third. Douglas Cain (Holden, MA) pulled in a team-high six passes, finishing with 44 yards.
Defensively, WPI was anchored by linebacker Frankie Polito (Shrewsbury, MA), who recorded four tackles and a pivotal pick-six in the fourth quarter. Michael Doherty (Woburn, MA) led the hosts with six tackles, while Ryan Antes (Conway, MA), John Donovan (Newburyport, MA), Vaughn Weston (Milford, CT), and Ryan Darby (Pembroke, MA) all registered sacks. Grant Englehardt (Chelmsford, MA) also recorded a huge interception, while Gavin Chieff (Bernardsville, NJ) had a pair of pass break-ups.
MIT's offense was led by Shaunak Joshi (Tampa, FL), who threw for 225 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. Wide receiver Daniel Monaghan (Northfield, MN) had five catches for 83 yards, while Armando Melendez (Parlin, NJ) had an eight-yard touchdown reception. For MIT's defense, Ryan Hourican (Staten Island, NY) notched a game-high 12 tackles, while Thomas Shoales (Georgetown, TX) added a sack.
The Crimson and Gray struck early, opening the scoring on their first possession. Following a 30-yard burst by Chau to put WPI in good position to score, he then capped the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run to give the hosts a 7-0 lead. MIT responded with an impressive 12-play drive that ended with Luke Pelletier's (Williamsburg, VA) 21-yard field goal, cutting the deficit to 7-3, where it stood after one.
After their first possession of the second quarter ended with a missed field goal, MIT cut into the WPI lead on defense. A goal-line fumble ended in a safety that saw the Cambridge side close the gap to 7-5. The hosts recovered on their next drive, needing just five plays to go 68 yards, and did it in dramatic fashion as Castro hauled in a 32-yard Hail Mary on an untimed down after an MIT penalty on the last play of the first half to make it 14-5.
In the third quarter, both team's first possessions ended in punts, before a big defensive play kept WPI in the driver's seat. The Cambridge Engineers had first and 10 on the WPI 37 before Englehardt came up big with an interception on the three-yard line that he returned for 46 yards. The Crimson and Gray made it hurt, as a six-yard Castro touchdown reception made it 20-5 WPI after three.
In the fourth, Joshi led a methodical 14-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in an eight-yard touchdown pass to Melendez, trimming WPI's lead to 20-12. However, WPI responded immediately, with Ingraffia finishing off a 13-play, 80-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Mezzo making it 27-12 hosts.
On MIT's next possession, Polito sealed the game, intercepting Joshi's pass at the 21 and returning it for a touchdown as WPI went up 34-12. The Worcester defense held strong on MIT's final drive, securing the victory in front of their final home crowd of the season.