2017 WPI Engineers football team


The 2017 WPI Engineers football team represented Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the 2017 NCAA Division III football season. It marked the Engineers' 128th overall season. The team played its home games at Alumni Stadium in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were led by eighth-year head coach Chris Robertson. This was the first season that WPI competed in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference for football.
The Engineers finished the regular season with eight victories and two losses. The eight wins is the second most in school history, tying the 1983, 1989, and 1990 seasons. WPI was selected to host the New England Bowl, making it their third postseason appearance in school history. The Engineers defeated 17–3 to win their first bowl game in school history.

Schedule

The 2017 schedule was officially released on June 29, 2017. WPI faced all seven New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference opponents: Catholic, Coast Guard, Maine Maritime, MIT, Merchant Marine, Norwich, and Springfield. They also scheduled three non-conference games: Anna Maria of the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference, Becker of the Commonwealth Coast Conference, and RPI of the Liberty League.
On November 13, 2017, the Engineers were selected to host Maritime of the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference in the New England Bowl.

Awards and honors

Weekly awards

NEWMAC Football Offensive Athlete of the Week
  • Blake Rice, QB -
  • Sean McAllen, RB -
NEWMAC Football Defensive Athlete of the Week
  • Dereck Pacheco, DL –
  • Brian Mahan, DB -
  • Nick Ostrowski, LB -
  • Dereck Pacheco, DL –
NEWMAC Football Special Teams Athlete of the Week
  • Spencer Herrington, K/P –
  • Spencer Herrington, K/P –
  • Spencer Herrington, K/P -
  • Spencer Herrington, K/P -
D3football.com Team of the Week
  • Brian Mahan, DB -
D3football.com Play of the Week
  • Lou Garcia, DB -

Postseason awards

NEWMAC Special Teams Athlete of the Year
  • Spencer Herrington, K/P
NEWMAC All-Conference First Team
  • Luca Cerasani, DL
  • Corey Coogan, WR
  • Lou Garcia, DB
  • Brendan Harty, OL
  • Spencer Herrington, K/P
  • Sean McAllen, RB
  • Sam Malafronte, LB
  • Dereck Pacheco, DL
  • Austin Pesce, PR
NEWMAC All Conference Second Team
  • Sam Casey, DB
  • Nick Day, OL
  • Erik Fyrer, WR
  • Nick Ostrowski, LB
  • Blake Rice, QB
NEWMAC All-Sportsmanship Team
  • Aaron Hartford, DB
D3football.com All-East Region First Team
  • Spencer Herrington, K/P
Worcester Area Football Association Co-Offensive Player of the Year
  • Sean McAllen, RB
Worcester Area Football Association Steve "Merc" Morris All-Star Team
  • Sam Casey, DB
  • Luca Cerasani, DL
  • Corey Coogan, WR
  • Nick Day, OL
  • Lou Garcia, DB
  • Brendan Harty, OL
  • Spencer Herrington, K/P
  • Sean McAllen, RB
  • Sam Malafronte, LB
  • Dereck Pacheco, DL
  • Austin Pesce, PR
  • Lain Zembek, FB
New England Football Writers Division II/III All-New England Team
  • Sean McAllen, RB
CoSIDA Academic All-District Football Team
  • Nick Day, OL
  • Dereck Pacheco, DL