In the first half, RPI managed only one score, which came in the final minute, falling behind 15-7. WPI dominated early, eating up the clock on long drives including a 21-play march, and keeping the explosive Engineer offense off the field.

Head Coach Joe King, who has maintained all year that his team only played one bad half—the first half against Hobart—quickly held up two fingers when asked how many bad halves the team has played after Saturday’s contest.

WPI got on the board on their first drive, but it was not exactly an early score. The Engineers took 9:19 off the clock to open the game, and Jeremy Griffin finally capped the drive with a 27-yard field goal.

Worcester scored on their next two possessions as well, a touchdown to start off the second on a 95-yard drive where they ran the ball down RPI’s throat and another field goal later in the quarter. RPI meanwhile couldn’t get any momentum on offense, managing only nine plays through almost a quarter and a half.

“They showed us something we haven’t seen from them,” Coach King explained. WPI went with four down linemen instead of three, and King admitted it took a while for the team to adjust.

Freshman quarterback Jimmy Robertson, who normally has a very high completion percentage, began the game 4-for-9 with an interception. He finally turned things around and got RPI on the board before the half was over. With 1:57 on the clock and the ball on the RPI 43-yard line, Robertson engineered a drive down the field, and hit Jon Branche in the end zone for an 8-yard score with 28 seconds left.

“I don’t think we were doing anything different,” King said. He commented that the teams’ strategy is basically the hurry up offense all the time, and he didn’t feel that the two-minute drill pumped any extra adrenaline into his team.

Coaching Branche, who is creeping up on Evan Cochran’s school receiving touchdown record, is a different experience for King, who has seen some outstanding receivers in his time in Troy.

“He’s different because he’s bigger and more physical. He’s a tough matchup for people.”

However, with less than a half a minute on the clock, WPI was not done yet. After a 34-yard kickoff return and a 36-yard completion from quarterback Rob Pantalone to Mike Butler, King’s squad found themselves backed up at the five-yard line. Luckily for RPI, time was in short supply, and WPI was forced to kick a field goal making the score 15-7.

During the half, King and company took the opportunity to change their gameplan, especially on defense. “We changed up the coverage, and that made a big difference,” he revealed.

“We’ve been down the last four times we’ve played them,” added King, “and we’ve been down more than that.”

Whatever King told his team, it worked. The offense came out and launched a quick scoring attack to get back in the game, and the defense didn’t allow another point.

“You need something to jump start you,” King said. Robertson provided that spark.

The rookie’s legs and arm led the Engineers down the field on the opening drive of the second half. A 29-yard scramble and a 36-yard connection with sophomore Drew Utschig put RPI in range for a 27-yard field goal by junior Drew Taranto.

Robertson dazzled the crowd later in the third with a 78-yard touchdown bomb. Sophomore Brendan McGowan slipped past the secondary, Robertson spotted him, and launched a pass. The score put RPI on top for the first time all afternoon, 17-15, and they never looked back.

The duo hooked up again later in the third quarter for another long touchdown, this time from 42 yards out. McGowan finished with five receptions for 144 yards and two touchdowns.

Robertson, after getting on track, finished 18-for-32 with three touchdowns and one pick. The freshman hurler earned the nod for Rookie of the Week of the Liberty League, his fifth such honor in his six varsity starts.

Even with all the fireworks through the air in the second half, junior Jay Bernardo was putting together a fine game on the ground. He added some insurance for the Engineers with a 3-yard touchdown run early in the fourth making the score the final of 31-15. Bernardo compiled 150 yards rushing and his only mistake was a fumble late in the game at the WPI 10-yard line.

“That was really uncharacteristic of Jay to fumble the ball,” King said. He pointed out that Jay is very good at protecting the ball, especially considering some of the conditions the team has played in this season.

Next weekend, the third place Engineers (6-1, 4-1 LL) will host fourth place Rochester in a must-win game for a team still holding on to league title hopes. Due to field conditions, King hinted that the game may be played on the turf at Harkness Field.

“[Rochester] has a lot of speed. They are a turf team,” King admitted. “It would be beneficial to Rochester.”