On Saturday, Hopkins Academy alum and Worcester Polytechnic Institute defensive lineman Ryan Antes tallied five tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack and a blocked field goal.
Come Monday morning, he was back to work. And not just on the football field.
In addition to earning his master’s degree in his fifth season playing football at WPI, Antes works full-time as a test sustainment engineer at Pratt & Whitney, one of the world’s largest aircraft engine manufacturers, based in East Hartford, Conn. He works to test war fighters, and also services and develops new products for commercial airlines. He’s the only player on the team with a full-time job.
“Luckily my coaches here and my work have been pretty understanding of my schedule,” Antes said. “I’m very fortunate to be in a spot where I can balance both of these things.”
On Saturday, Antes helped lead WPI to a 2-0 start with a 31-13 win over the University of New England. He registered his first sack of the season and the second of his career while playing as the three-technique defensive tackle. On a fourth quarter second-and-goal at the WPI 5-yard line, an edge rusher teammate forced the quarterback to the middle of the pocket, Antes beat his man with a quick rip move, and made the sack. Two plays later, the Engineers finished the goal line stand with an interception.
Two quarters earlier, UNE set up for a field goal at the WPI 7-yard line. Antes said he knew most of the offensive linemen would go low, and with a lefty kicker kicking on the right hash, he was positioned at the block point. His teammates made a push, and the 6-foot-4, 250-pound Antes blocked the kick for the second time of his career.
“Watching film on them all week we knew we had an opportunity to take points away if this situation were to happen,” Antes said. “So luckily, did what I was coached, got tall and got my hand on the ball and blocked the kick.”
Antes has been interested in both military aircraft and football since he was a child. His father, Quentin, is a master chief in the Navy, and Antes distinctly remembers going to air shows at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, the largest Air Force Reserve base in the United States.
When Quentin was on deployment, Antes’ mother Elizabeth would watch football with him, and Antes said his siblings and cousins were also major driving forces in his interest in sports. His uncles worked on the chain gang for UMass football games and Antes spent lots of Saturday afternoons at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
Antes started playing football on Frontier’s PeeWee team, before transferring to Hopkins Academy after his sophomore year and playing his final two high school seasons with Northampton’s co-op team under Joe Kocot, alongside fellow Hadley kids Braeden Tudryn and Caleb Graves.
Antes and his Northampton team beat Amherst in the Battle of the Bridge his junior year and knocked off Minnechaug with a 2-point conversion stop on his senior night. The Blue Devils also notched a win over Wahconah in the Route 9 Rumble, a 21-point comeback win over Longmeadow and a shutout over Easthampton in Antes’ final Thanksgiving Day game.
When COVID-19 hit following Antes’ senior season at Northampton, he wasn’t sure if he’d play college football. But after he was accepted to WPI, Antes got a spot on the team, although the Engineers compete in the 2020 season.
Antes played mostly on the scout team his sophomore year before earning his first snaps his junior year, where he played eight games and recorded eight tackles. After a productive but injury-limited senior year, Antes decided to come back to WPI for a fifth season, alongside eight teammates who entered the program with him as freshmen.
Despite his commitments to his job at Pratt & Whitney and his coursework, Antes said he’s enjoyed being a “big brother” to WPI’s younger players.
“I’ve had the same defensive line coach – Coach (Galen) Holmes – for the whole time I’ve been here, and he’s sort of said ‘you’re the old guy now,’” Antes said. “I’ve been through it with him, and I just love helping the younger guys out. They make fun of me a little bit for being the older guy here and having been through everything, but I love it.”