Mike Butler (Athol, MA/Athol) caught a long pass from Rob Pantalone (Camp Hill, PA/Cedar Cliff) and ran in for a 61-yard touchdown with 33 seconds to play to give visiting Worcester Polytechnic Institute a 19-17 victory over the Yellowjackets at Edwin Fauver Stadium on Meliora weekend.
With WPI trailing, 17-13, Pantalone faced third-and-one from his own 39 in the last minute. He stepped up to avoid a rush, then threw the ball to Butler in between a pair of Rochester defenders at the UR 25. He ran untouched into the end zone. Jeremy Griffin (Waterford, CT/Waterford) missed the extra point, giving the Yellowjackets one final chance.
Rochester's final chance was undone on the kickoff return. Griffin kicked the ball to Nate Gibbons (Batavia, NY/Batavia) at the 2. He ran ahead to the 13, then tried to reverse the ball to Michael Dermody (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport). The ball popped free and WPI's Virgin Vaillancourt (Newington, NH/Portsmouth) fell on it at the Rochester 15. Pantalone knelt with the snap to end it.
The Yellowjackets (3-4 overall, 2-2 Liberty League) built a 14-0 lead on a pair of touchdown runs by Matt Bielecki (Albany, NY/Burnt Hills). He ran for a one-yard TD with 8:11 left in the first half and a four-yard TD with 13:09 left in the second. Bielecki rushed for a career high 228 yards on 37 carries.
WPI cut the deficit to 14-6 on a one-yard TD run by Billy Orfalea (Shrewsbury, MA/Shrewsbury). That came three plays after WPI's Matt Boudreau (Renssealer, NY/LaSalle) recovered a muffed punt return by Rochester's Mike Sondericker (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) at the UR 24. Griffin missed the PAT.
The Engineers (4-2, 2-2) drove 42 yards in nine plays to make it 14-13 on their first possession of the third quarter. Brian Farragher (Clinton, MA/Clinton) scored from two yards out and Griffin's PAT made it 14-13 with 7:46 left in the third.
Rochester drove 58 yards in nine plays, ending with a 32-yard field goal by Rob Corey (Pittston, PA/Pittston Area) for a 17-13 lead with 3:34 left in the third.
The Yellowjackets had a chance to add to the lead midway through the fourth period. Rochester drove from midfield to the 14 before the WPI defense stiffened. The Yellowjackets set up for what would have been a 31-yard field goal attempt by Corey. The ball was snapped over Corey's head. It was eventually recovered in a scramble near midfield by WPI's Bryan Douglass (Auburn, NH/Memorial).
WPI couldn't move and turned the ball over to Rochester on downs at the UR43 with 4:29 left. Rochester drove to the 30 before WPI stopped Aaron Molisani (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) at the line for no gain at the WPI 30.
Pantalone passed nine yards to Richard Gentile (Fort Lee, NJ/Fort Lee), then threw incomplete for Gentile on second down. He hit Butler with the winning TD pass on the next play.
Butler caught nine passes for 186 yards. Pantalone was 14 of 24 for 212 yards. He was not intercepted. WPI passed for 240 yards and rushed for 143 more. Garrett Vandette (No. Attleboron, MA/Nort.) led the Engineer ground game with 88 yards on 16 carries. Farraghger rushed for 54 yards. Rochester had 373 in total offense – 218 on the ground and 155 in the air. Molisani was 7 of 15 for 155 yards.
