THE BASICS:
- Score: MIT 30, Maine Maritime 12
- Records: MIT (3-2, 2-1 NEWMAC); Maine Maritime (0-6, 0-3 NEWMAC)
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Roberts Field at Steinbrenner Stadium)
- The Lead: Led by a career-high 263-yard rushing performance from senior John Robertson (Brentwood, Tenn.), the MIT football team defeated Maine Maritime Academy by a 30-12 final on Saturday afternoon in Cambridge. This was the first 200-yard rushing game for MIT since 2015 and is the third-highest single-game total in program history.
THE WAY IT HAPPENED:
- The Mariners jumped on the board just over four minutes into the first quarter as Reed Hopkins pulled in a touchdown pass from Nikolas Moquin for the 6-0 lead. Maxwell Horton's kick was blocked and the score remained at 6-0.
- Robertson tied the game up on a seven-yard touchdown late in the first, followed by the extra point from junior Mark Wright (Fort Worth, Texas) to put MIT in front.
- The Engineers stretched the lead out to 20-6 at the half with a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes from senior Chris Mauck (Wellington, Fla.). Junior Mason DuMez (Lake Geneva, Wisc.) went up the middle and pulled down a 25-yard touchdown from Mauck, followed by a 12-yard touchdown by junior Keithen Shepard (Vancouver, Wash.) as he snuck just inside the near pylon.
- MIT outgained MMA by a 268-98 margin in yards of total offense over the first 20 minutes, including 180 yards on the ground.
- Maine Maritime made it a one-score game with 9:09 left in the third as Dominic Casale was wide open up the middle as Moquin found him in the end zone. The Mariners took advantage of a 15-yard MIT penalty to set up first down and goal.
- MIT closed out the scoring with the last 10 points of the game though as Wright converted a 33-yard field goal and sophomore Ashton Robinson (Louisville, Ky.) found the end zone from one yard out for the 30-12 final. Robinson's touchdown capped off a 10-play, 86-yard drive that sealed the game.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- As a team, the Engineers held a 325-35 advantage on the ground and 440-213 in yards of total offense. MIT also owned the time of possession edge at 35:24-24:36 and had three interceptions.
- Mauck completed eight passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns, while DuMez was the top receiver with 48 yards. For the Mariners, Moquin completed 16-of-25 passes for 178 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Casale was the top MMA receiver with five catches for 95 yards and a touchdown.
- Defensively, senior Sean Kent (Bend, Ore.) led the team with a career-high 10 tackles as MIT as a team finished with eight tackles for loss for 28 yards. Senior Ben Bennington (Harrisonburg, Va.) had 2.5 tackles for loss of 10 yards, 1.5 sacks and a blocked kick.
- Maine Maritime was led on defense by Spencer Baron with 12 tackles to go along with an interception and a pass breakup. Tanton Mattson added 11 tackles, including a team-high seven assisted stops and Cole Eddins finished with 10 tackles.
- MIT is now 8-0 all-time vs. the Mariners in the series that dates back to the 2008 season.
UP NEXT:
- MIT is on a bye next week and returns to action on Saturday, October 26th as the Engineers head to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy for a 1:30 p.m. start.
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