THE BASICS:
 
- Score: MIT 41, Curry 7
 
- Records: MIT (1-0); Curry College (0-1)
 
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Roberts Field at Steinbrenner Stadium)
 
- The Lead: After a scoreless first quarter for both teams, the MIT football team took a 14-7 halftime lead over Curry College and followed that with a dominant second-half performance, en route to a 41-7 victory over the Colonels in the 2021 season opener for both teams.  
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
- Following a slow-moving opening quarter, the Engineers got on the board with 10:35 left in the second as graduate student quarterback Chris Mauck (Wellington, Fla.) found senior Ben Dwyer (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) on the left side of the end zone for the 7-0 edge. Just four minutes later, Mauck found graduate student Keithen Shepard (Vancouver, Wash.) for a 29-yard strike and the lead grew to 14-0 with 6:33 remaining before the half.
 
- The Colonels found the end zone themselves in the final seconds of the first half as Curry took the ball 80 yards in 10 plays, capped by a one-yard touchdown run by Chris Jenkins to make it 14-7 at the break.
 
- The second half belonged to the Engineers as Mauck got the hosts going early with a 59-yard strike up the middle to senior Dennis Gastel (Lincoln, R.I.) for the 21-7 edge. Sophomore Jonathan Berger (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) scored his first career touchdown with a 15-yard TD reception from Mauck, followed by rushing scores from junior Jay Theriault (Boxford, Mass.) and sophomore Brady Klein (Washington, Ill.) to close out the scoring. Theriault scored from two yards out, along with a five-yard run by Klein as both touchdowns marked their first career scores.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Mauck led MIT with 261 yards and four touchdowns as he was 17-for-29 passing for the day. For Curry, Justin Mullaney had 21 completions for 184 yards. MIT held a 191-96 advantage in rushing yards as Theriault was one of two Engineers with over 50 yards on the ground. Dwyer had a team-high five receptions, while Gastel posted a game-high 93 receiving yards.
 
- For the Colonels, Maxx Bell was the top receiver with six receptions and Gabe DeSouza added a team-leading 55 receiving yards.
 
- Defensively, MIT forced a pair of Curry fumbles, including one forced by senior Paul Calvetti (Ridgewood, N.J.) as he finished with a game-high 13 total tackles. For Curry, Jake MacNeil led the team with eight total tackles that included six solo stops.
 
- The game was the first for the Engineers in 651 days and the first home game for the back-to-back defending NEWMAC champions in 665 days.
 
UP NEXT:
 
- MIT hits the road on Saturday, September 11th as the Engineers travel to Salve Regina University for a non-conference game beginning at 1 p.m. in Newport, R.I.
 
STAY CONNECTED:
 
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