Football Opens 2025 Campaign by Falling to RPI in the Annual Transit Trophy Matchup
WORCESTER -- RPI running back Kayden White (Pottstown, PA) scored three touchdowns and his defense held WPI to just 227 yards of offense, including only 54 in the first half, as the Engineers of Troy bested the Worcester Engineers 26-9 on Saturday night in the annual Transit Trophy game. RPI improves to 1-0, while WPI falls to 0-1 on the young season.
RPI has now captured its fifth straight in the annual event and nine of the last 11. Overall, they improved their record against WPI to 65-48-5 overall, and 31-13-1 since the trophy game between the schools was designated in 1980. According to cfbscorigami.com, this is the first time that both teams that have played over 100 years of football have had this score.
White totaled 161 yards on top of his three scores (two rushing, one receiving). Anthony DeMatteo (Carmel, NY) led RPI through the air, going 13-for-22 for 175 yards and 31 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Matt Krauza (Hopewell Junction, NY) and TJ Smith (Larchmont, NY) led the way with six tackles, with Smith a team-high five solo stops. T.J. Chadwick (Bethpage, NY) and Owen Boland (Stormville, NY) each logged 1.5 saves, while Luke Connolly (Salem, MA) took one interception 29 yards.
Aedan McDermott (Guilford, CT) led WPI in the passing game, going 22-for-45 for 180 yards and a score. Andrew Kanakor (Lowell, MA) was the leading rusher for the hosts, as he had three carries for 42 yards. Ty Csencsits (Hellertown, MA) was the top target for McDermott, as he had seven receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown, while Dante Atwood had three catches for 53 yards.
Patrick Andrews (Marlboro, MA) had a game-high 11 tackles with one sack for eight yards. Grant Engelhardt (Chelmsford, MA) recorded a pair of pass breakups to go along with an interception. Josh Castro (Pittsburgh, PA) rifled off six punts for an average of 42.8 yards, with two going 50+ and four landing inside the 20-yard line.
RPI scored on their first three drives of the first half, with Kayden White (Pottstown, PA) scoring three minutes in with a two-yard touchdown plunge. The visiting Engineers added a 30-yard field goal with 4:15 remaining in the first quarter.
Anthony DeMatteo (Carmel, NY) extended the lead for RPI, as he connected with White for a 69-yard pass for six, to go up 16-0 early in the second. WPI got on the board right before the half, as Nathan Napier (Natick, MA) drilled a 39-yard field goal.
The team from Troy, NY extended their lead ten minutes into the third quarter, as White scored on a speed option from two yards out to go up 23-3. RPI added a 38-yard field goal with 4:03 left in the fourth quarter to push its advantage to 26-3. The Worcester-based Engineers capped off the scoring as time expired, as McDermott found Csencsits in the end zone for the only touchdown for WPI.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday, September 13. WPI heads to Maine to take on the University of New England, while RPI takes on Utica at 6:00pm.
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