THE BASICS:
- Score: MIT 34, Norwich 21
- Records: MIT (6-2, 5-1 NEWMAC); Norwich (5-4, 2-4 NEWMAC)
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Roberts Field at Steinbrenner Stadium)
- The Lead: On Senior Day, the MIT football team used four touchdowns by senior Chris Mauck (Wellington, Fla.) to pull away for a 34-21 home win over Norwich University. Prior to the game, MIT recognized 18 members of the senior class for their contributions to the program during their careers.
THE WAY IT HAPPENED:
- MIT had the only scoring of the first quarter as junior Mark Wright (Fort Worth, Texas) converted a 35-yard field goal with 8:14 left for the 3-0 lead.
- The score stayed the same until 6:54 left in the second when Ryan Reed and Matt Dunn connected on a trick play for the 7-3 Norwich lead. Dunn lateraled the ball across the field to Reed, who then threw back across the field to Dunn as he raced up the far sideline from 20 yards out for the touchdown.
- Wright added another field goal with 1:04 remaining before the half as he connected from 37 yards out to make it a 7-6 margin at halftime.
- The Engineers took their first lead of the game just 4:17 into the third quarter as Mauck found junior Mason DuMez (Lake Geneva, Wisc.) on a third down and goal play for the six-yard TD and the 13-7 advantage. Norwich answered immediately with the game's longest play as Manni Romero got in behind the MIT defense and pulled down a 62-yard touchdown in stride to put the Cadets up 14-13.
- MIT regained the lead for good with 5:12 left in the third as senior Eric Bradford (Dublin, Ohio) went across the middle and made a 13-yard TD catch for the 20-14 lead. The reception was the 100th of Bradford's MIT career.
- The Engineers eventually stretched the lead out to 34-14 early in fourth behind two touchdown receptions from junior Keithen Shepard (Vancouver, Wash.). Shepard's first TD was a 28-yard catch across the middle, followed by a seven-yard TD just inside the pylon.
- Norwich closed out the scoring with 2:46 remaining as Reed caught a six-yard touchdown from Dunn to cap a 12-play, 80-yard drive.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- The teams were nearly identical in yards of total offense, with Norwich holding a narrow 364-362 edge. The time of possession was tilted in MIT's favor at 36:10-23:50, while the Cadets outgained the Engineers in the air, 342-227.
- Mauck finished the game 16-of-32 passing for 227 yards and four touchdowns, while sophomore Ashton Robinson (Louisville, Ky.) led MIT on the ground with 70 yards on 19 rushing attempts.
- Romero paced the Norwich offense with seven catches for 140 yards and a touchdown, along with a 322-yard, two-touchdown performance in the air by Dunn.
- The MIT defense forced three Norwich turnovers and was led in tackles by Ben Delhees (Moreland Hills, Ohio) with 10.
- For Norwich, Martin Bailey registered a game-high 14 tackles, including three tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Cahan Quinn also finished in double figures in tackles with 11.
- With the win, MIT enters next weekend's game with Springfield College with an opportunity to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Engineers defeated the Pride by a 22-7 final on Senior Day in 2018 and earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
UP NEXT:
- MIT wraps up the 2019 regular-season schedule on Saturday, November 16th as the Engineers travel to Springfield College for a Noon start.
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