Worcester, MA – Cainaan Webb and Braezen Subick scored fourth quarter touchdowns as the University of Rochester rallied for a 16-15 football victory at WPI on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.
Webb scored on a 20-yard interception return and Subick ran in from three yards out with less than five minutes to play. The Subick TD tied the score at 15-15 and Zachary White-Stellato booted the all-important PAT.
The win was not secured until the Yellowjacket defense held firm on a 4th-and-1 from the UR 18 with barely a minute to go. Brok Kloeber stopped Mitch McClune at the 18. Rochester took over and ran out the clock, helped by a 20-yard gain by Chris Lebano. From there, Subick knelt twice with the snap to end it.
Subick made his first start of the season. He completed 14 of 23 passes for 146 yards. He was intercepted once and sacked twice. Rochester rushed for 129 yards (Lebano gained 88 on 14 carries) and passed for 162 more. R.J. Napodano caught five balls for 46 yards. Thomas Norman ahd three catches for 44 yards.
Rochester finished with 291 yards in total offense and gave up 214. WPI rushed for 190 – Ernie Mello ran for 106 and one TD on 23 carries. The Engineers passed for 24 yards, hitting four of 17 tries with two INTs.
The Engineers capitalized on Rochester's punting struggles early in the game. On the first Yellowjacket series, the ball was snapped over the head of Mike Carson, into the end zone, and kicked out for a safety. Rochester answered with a 16-play, 73-yard drive, leading to a 22-yard field goal by White-Stellato and a 3-2 lead.
Two series later, Carson's punt was blocked by McClune at the 1 and recovered by Mello who carried it into the end zone for a TD. Webb blocked the ensuing PAT and WPI led, 8-3. Mello's 39-yard TD run put the Engineers up, 15-3, with 3:47 left in the third.
Rochester got a TD back on the third play of the fourth quarter. Webb intercepted Pat McAuley's pass and returned it 20 yards for a TD. Subick's two-point pass was intercepted, leaving the hosts in front, 15-9, with 14:48 to play.
Subick took Rochester 71 yards in seven plays for the winning score. He carried the ball three times – including the TD sprint – and hit four different receivers. The last one was a 36-yard completion to Richard Brunet that put the ball on the three. Subick scored on the next play and White-Stellato kicked the extra point.
Rochester is 1-3 in the Liberty League and 1-5 overall. WPI is 1-3 in the league and 3-4 overall.
