Springfield, Mass. – October 5, 2024 – The Springfield College football team delivered three first-half interceptions and eclipsed the 500-yard rushing mark for the third time this season to roll past WPI, 51-7, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play at Stagg Field on Saturday.
The Pride pushed its record to 5-0, 2-0 against conference opponents and was receiving votes this week in both the AFCA and D3football.com National Polls. The loss drops WPI to 3-2, 1-1 in NEWMAC play.
Springfield finished the day with 591 yards of offense, including 525 yards on the ground as Springfield averaged just over nine yards per carry. Blane Hart (East Lyme, Conn.) carried the ball 10 times for 165 yards and scored three touchdowns, Sean Brown (Westford, Mass.) added 117 rushing yards, and Dante Vasquez (Rockland, Mass.) needed just three carries to reach the 100-yard rushing mark. Arsen Shtefan (West Hartford, Conn.) found the end zone twice and Jacob Silvester (Lancster, Mass.) added a rushing score of his own as he directed an offense that was 8-of-11 on third down and had the ball for just over 32 minutes in the contest.
Billy Carr (Southington, Conn.) posted a team-best eight tackles, Aaziah Scott (Savannah, Ga.) had five stops and an interception, and Tyler Paladino (Cross River, N.Y.) added two interceptions of his own. The Pride's defense held WPI to just 238 yards of offense as the visitors did not score until just over nine minutes left in regulation. Mike Ingraffia threw for 143 yards and a score and Gavin Chieff was all over the field with 13 tackles.
After Springfield forced WPI off the field on on a three-and-out to start the game, Shtefan punched in a three-yard score to give the hosts a 6-0 lead as the extra point was blocked. Palladino came up with his first interception of the game at the 8:35 mark, and two plays later Hart got free on the end for a 44-yard score at with just over seven minutes left in the quarter
The Engineers were able to manufacture an eight-play drive on its next possession, but Scott dropped back in coverage and snagged an interception following heavy pressure from Will McKay (Tewksbury, Mass.) to give the Pride the ball back with 2:53 on the clock as Springfield owned a 13-0 lead after 15 minutes of play.
Ian Wernik (Plymouth, Mass.) drilled a 19-yard field goal at the 13:47 mark of the second quarter before Paladino allowed Springfield to register its third interception as the hosts took over from their own 42 yard line. Four plays later, Hart delivered a highlight-reel 58 yard scamper down the sideline as he hurdled a defender to make it a 23-0 game with 10:04 remaining in the half. WPI turned the ball over on downs on their next drive and Silvester found Noah Wagnblas (Ansonia, Conn.) across the middle, who muscled past his defender for what would result in a 53-yard catch and run to the house at the 5:10 mark as Springfield owned a 30-0 lead at the break.
Joe Maurer (Wilbraham, Mass.) started the second half with a 54-yard kickoff return to set up another scoring drive for Springfield which ended on Hart's third score of the day, this time from 11 yards out, with 11:20 on the clock. Shtefan tacked on a punishing seven-yard score up the middle at 8:17 on a drive that was once again set up on another Maurer return, this time a 20-yard gain off a WPI punt.
Silvester scored with 14:15 left in the game to to cap off an eight-play, 84-yard drive as the lead ballooned to 51-0. WPI got on the scoreboard when Ingraffia found Josh Castro cutting across the back of the end zone for a three-yard score on fourth down to make it 51-7, and the Pride chewed up nine minutes off the clock on a 15-play drive to put the game away.
Springfield enters its bye week and begins preparation to take on MIT when it hits the field again on October 19.
Springfield College Rolls Past WPI, 51-7
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20241005_czgx.xml
2024
WPI
7
Springfield
51
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WPI (3-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| No. 23 Springfield (5-0) | 13 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 51 |
Oct 05, 2024