Gulls Fall to Nationally Ranked RPI 42-7 in Home Opener

Sept. 11, 2004

The Endicott Gulls fought a long, hard battle before succumbing to nationally ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 42-7 in their home opener. The Gulls managed only 9 first downs and 139 yards of total offense in the game but held RPI scoreless in the first quarter and ended the first half down 14-7.

The visiting Engineers of RPI struck first at 14:19 in the second quarter when senior captain Dan Stevens (Brewster, NY/Brewster) took a 20 yard pass from sophomore Frank Catellier (Voorheesville, NY/Voorheesville) to put RPI up 7-0 in their season opener.

Junior Jesse Blackwell (Concord, NH/Concord) led the Gulls defensively in the first quarter with a sack that forced a turnover and an interception as well. Sophomore Matt Thompson (Clinton, MA/Clinton) rushed for 49 yards to lead the Gulls in that category.

After overcoming an imbalance of more plays (17) than total yards (16) in the first quarter, the offense connected for 3 consecutive first downs. At 2:21 in the second quarter, Endicott got on the board after sophomore Jeff Trinque (Clinton, MA/Clinton) ran for 9 yards to make the score 14-7.

With 30 seconds remaining in the first half, RPI had a first down with the ball on the Endicott 1 yard line. However, the Gulls defense was able to fend off the Engineer's offense. As time expired in the first half, a field goal attempt by RPI's Brad Morgan (Drescher, PA/Germantown) went wide and the Engineers were held to just 14 points in the first half.

In the second half RPI tacked on an additional 28 points with their first touchdown coming from senior captain Otis Williams (Troy, NY/Lansingburgh) on a 2 yard run at 11:06 in the third quarter. Freshman quarterback Chad Wysocki (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls) found sophomore Jon Branche (Schenectady, NY/Colonie) for 2 touchdown passes, and sophomore Jay Bernardo (East Greenbush, NY/LaSalle Institute) finished off the scoring for the Engineers on a 3 yard run with 3:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Jameson Pelkey (Barre,VT/Spaulding) and freshman Alex Smith (Winthrop, MA/Winthrop) shared the quarterback responsibilities for the Gulls. Sophomore Scott Peters (Portsmouth, RI/Bridgton Academy) led EC with 4 receptions. Sophomore Orlando Johnson (Newport, RI/Rogers)and junior Mike Farrell (East Longmeadow, MA/East Longmeadow) each recorded 3 pass break ups on the defensive end. Johnson led the defense overall with 6 tackles and posted 77 yards on 4 kick returns.

RPI played more of a passing game finding freshman Brendan McGowan (Mesa, AZ/Mountain View) and Branche each for 11 passes and a combined total of 282 yards. The Engineers were led on defense by senior Sean Doran (Miami, FL/Valley Forge) who tallied 9 tackles.

The Engineers are 1-0 and will play Utica next Saturday again on the road. The Gulls are now 0-2 and will play their next game away versus Framingham State on September 18th.