By Massachusetts Maritime Academy Sports Information
BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. – In its weather-delayed
season opener, the MIT football team fell to host Massachusetts
Maritime Academy, 49-27, on Sunday afternoon. Senior DeRon Brown
led the Engineers' attack with a total of 216 yards,
including a 148-yard performance on the ground. Nathan Sherr rushed
for 325 yards on 26 carries and scored three touchdowns for the
Buccaneers.
Sherr got Massachusetts Maritime (1-1) on the board first with 5:53
to play in the opening quarter on a one-yard plunge, but the
visiting Engineers (0-1) evened matters in the first 39 seconds of
the second stanza when sophomore quarterback Kyle Johnson scored
from 22 yards out to tie the game at seven. Johnson's scamper
was the beginning of a combined 42-point quarter, as Sherr gave the
Buccaneers the lead back on the ensuing possession with a
three-yard run before Johnson hooked up Brown on a 50-yard
touchdown pass off a screen to even the score at 14 with 9:16
remaining before intermission.
Matt White gave the hosts the lead for good on a 20-yard touchdown
run on the next Massachusetts Maritime possession for a 21-14 edge.
Following an MIT punt, Sherr ripped off a 95-yard touchdown run to
extend the margin to 28-14. After an Engineer fumble on the first
play on the ensuing drive, White plunged in from nine yards out for
his second score of the quarter to give Massachusetts Maritime a
35-14 edge at the break.
Stephen Yablonski's three-yard run capped an eight play,
80-yard drive to open the second half as MIT sliced its deficit to
35-20, but the Buccaneers answered two possessions later when
quarterback Matthew Spinazzola connected with Joseph St. Pierre on
a seven-yard scoring strike off a fake field goal. Douglas Dyke
closed out the Massachusetts Maritime scoring on a four-yard run
early in the final stanza, and the Cardinal and Gray's
Cameron Brown provided the final touchdown of the day on a
three-yard scamper with 3:12 remaining.
White also went over the century mark in rushing with a career-high
111 yards to go with his two touchdowns for Massachusetts Maritime.
The Buccaneers outgained the Engineers by a 572-409 margin in total
offense for the afternoon, as the hosts amassed 26 rushing first
downs and gained 8.8 yards per play on just 65 attempts.
Peter Gilliland and Kristopher Weaver paced MIT defensively with
nine total tackles each, including eight solo stops, while Brian
Doyle added six solo tackles and seven total stops for the
Engineers on the afternoon.
Ryan Howley led Massachusetts Maritime with 11 total tackles (eight
solo), while Mike Bois amassed 10 total stops, including eight
solo. Michael Farnsworth registered 1.5 sacks for the Buccaneers,
who recorded nine tackles for losses of 32 yards on the day, while
Andy Hirko added eight solo stops.
