The depth chart isn’t as forgiving as it was at Jay High School, where Justin Wells was the unopposed triggerman at quarterback through four complete football seasons.

Whenever he’s given an opportunity to shine at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, however, Wells continues to take advantage of it.

With senior starter Rob Pantalone intermittently out of the lineup this fall, Wells, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior, has established himself as the heir apparent for next season with a series of brilliant relief efforts for the Engineers.

Wells has completed 65 percent of his pass attempts (26-of-40) without throwing an interception for WPI, which is 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Liberty League. He completed his third and fourth touchdown tosses of the season in a 45-35 loss to Hobart on Sept. 29.

One week earlier, Wells riddled Merchant Marine for 236 yards and a TD in WPI’s 35-0 victory.

WPI used one passing touchdown from Wells and another on the ground to rout the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, 49-17, in the Engineers’ season-opener on Sept. 1.

Wells is one of two local standouts seeing significant time for WPI. Brandon Pare of Minot (Leavitt Area High School) is starting at right tackle for the Engineers. Pare, a 6-foot-4, 295-pound sophomore, anchors a front five that has opened the doors to an average of 448 yards of weekly total offense for WPI, compared to 306 yards for the opposition.

Two other Maine notables on the WPI roster are tight end Will Ziegenfus of Oakland, a Hebron Academy graduate, and Aaron Champagne of Fairfield and reigning Class A champion Lawrence High School. Champagne was a finalist for the 2006 Fitzpatrick Trophy, won by Lewiston High School star and current University of Maine freshman Jared Turcotte.

Family ties

Husson College’s sister act of Erica and Elisha Dorso aren’t twins, but the St. Dominic Regional High School products are still giving their field hockey opponents double vision.

The Farmingdale forwards have padded their team lead in every offensive category for the Eagles since the last time their accomplishments were documented in this space.

Erica, a junior, has racked up nine goals and eight assists for 26 points. Elisha, a sophomore, checks in with seven goals and six assists for 20 points.

The two hooked up for Husson’s lone goal in a 3-1, nonconference loss at Bates last week. Husson bounced back Sunday, though, with Erica scoring twice and Elisha registering one helper in a 9-0 North Atlantic Conference rout of|Wheelock.

Undefeated through six NAC games, Husson (8-3) hosts Lasell and Thomas and travels to Castleton State over the next 10 days to conclude its regular season.

Fall Flourish

With Central Maine Community College adding several sports to its growing curriculum over the summer, it’s shaping up to be a busy October for the Auburn school.

One of CMCC’s established autumn programs, fall baseball, has advanced to the Yankee Conference tournament this Saturday at Hadlock Field in Portland.

Seeded second in the four-team tournament, CMCC will face Vermont Tech in the semifinals at approximately 12:15 p.m. Both teams are 13-7.

No. 1 SMCC (14-6) and the University of New Hampshire club team (11-9) meet in the other first-round game at 10:30 a.m. The championship clash is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Women’s volleyball punctuates its inaugural season with an appearance in the Yankee Conference playoffs at New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord at 11 a.m. Saturday. Hesser and Unity collide in the opposite semifinal.

The CM golf team capped its introductory campaign by finishing third in last weekend’s conference tournament at Nonesuch River Golf Club in Scarborough.