The game itself was interesting for several reasons aside from the rivalry. Senior captain Ernie Ansah remains 10 yards rushing short of 2,000 - an accomplishment achieved by only three players in WPI's history. Ansah, who only needed 68 yards going into the game, left the game due to an injury.
Another interesting quirk was the family rivalry between Brian Learned, WPI defensive back, and his twin brother, RPI wide receiver Jim Learned. Both are juniors majoring in mechanical engineering, and both saw quite a bit of playing time in today's game. Brian helped the WPI scoring with a 79-yard interception return for a touchdown, while brother Jim helped behind the scenes for RPI.
The Rensselaer Engineers started the game off right with two touchdowns in the first quarter, leaving WPI to take charge in the second quarter, a call they answered with gusto. All three of WPI's touchdowns were scored in that fifteen-minute period, and Greg Amiro kicked three extra points to add to the cause. At half-time, the score stood at 21 - 14, WPI.
RPI answered back in the third quarter with another touchdown, but a failed field goal attempt kept them behind by one point. That was all she wrote, as WPI kept the visitors from scoring again and claimed the trophy.
The win brings the series to a tie at 42 - 42 with five ties in one of the countries oldest football rivalries, spanning 101 years. The close score was no surprise, since most of the games the two teams have played ended in close scores or ties. Last year, RPI defeated us 21 - 14, and the last time WPI won, in 1992, the score was 28 - 14.
Next week, the Engineers (WPI, that is) face Norwich here at Alumni Field at 1:30pm.
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