THE BASICS:
- Score: MIT 48, Norwich 37
- Records: MIT (3-3, 1-2 NEWMAC); Norwich (2-6, 1-3 NEWMAC)
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Roberts Field at Steinbrenner Stadium)
- The Lead: Trailing by a 16-point margin in the fourth quarter, the MIT football team used a 27-0 run over the final 11:22 of the game to rally for a thrilling 48-37 home win over Norwich University in a NEWMAC game on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Engineers improve to 4-0 in the all-time series with the Cadets.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Engineers took the opening kickoff 69 yards and capped the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass from junior Oakley Dehning (Longmont, Colo.) to sophomore Ethan Ardolino (Fair Haven, N.J.) in the right side of the end zone for the 7-0 advantage. On the drive, MIT converted a pair of third downs and a fourth down and three.
- Norwich answered with a field goal with 2:21 left in the first quarter as Zach Buchy converted the 33-yard kick to cut the lead down to 7-3.
- After a 38-yard pass from Mitchell Theal to Trevor Chase got the Cadets down to the MIT 15, Norwich capitalized on the big play with a 15-yard TD pass to Andrew White to take the lead at 10-7. The score came at the 12:48 mark in the second quarter and capped a seven-play, 53-yard drive.
- The lead swung back in favor of MIT with just 4:45 left in the second as senior Ben Dwyer (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) pulled down a 26-yard TD pass from Dehning in the corner of the end zone on a third-and-14 play to put the Engineers back in front at 14-10. The lead changes weren't done though as Jehric Hackney found the end zone from 16 yards out up the middle and it was the Cadets in front 17-14 at the break.
- On the first drive of the second half, the Cadets took advantage of an MIT pass interference call to keep the drive moving and Theal found Haleola Thomas wide open in the far corner of the end zone for the 23-14 lead after a botched extra-point attempt.
- The next two scores were all Norwich as Chase closed the third quarter scoring with a sliding TD catch on the near side from six yards out, followed by a Thomas touchdown catch on a pass across the field by Theal to put the Cadets in front by a seemingly comfortable 37-21 margin.
- The rest of the quarter belonged to MIT though as the Engineers first found the end zone again on a three-yard run from junior Jay Theriault (Boxford, Mass.) and a two-point conversion rush from senior George Stultz (Frederick, Md.) to pull MIT within 37-29.
- After an MIT sack by sophomore Stan Lacksen (Watkinsville, Ga.) forced a Norwich punt, the Engineers fielded the ball at the Norwich 39-yard line and went to work. Dehning found Dwyer from 19 yards out as he spun to avoid the Norwich tacklers and lunged into the end zone to get MIT within two at 37-35.
- Following a Norwich fumble on the ensuing drive, the Engineers regained possession on the 18-yard line and eventually scored on the second Theriault TD run of the game to take the lead for good at 41-37 with 3:53 remaining. Dwyer capped off the scoring and an amazing performance for him as he pulled in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Dehning while laying on his back in the corner of the end zone to account for the 48-37 final.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- On the ground, Dehning led the Engineers with 64 yards on 16 attempts and Theriault posted two touchdowns and 51 yards. Dehning was also 11-for-18 passing for 175 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. His favorite target was Dwyer, who finished with four catches for 77 yards and three touchdowns to go along with his rushing score.
- Defensively, the leading tackler again was senior Paul Calvetti (Ridgewood, N.J.) with 10 stops as he was followed closely by nine tackles each from junior Christian Viteri (Huntington, N.Y.) and junior Adam Zimmermann (Houston, Texas).
- For the Cadets, Theal was 18-for-33 passing for 265 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Chase ended the game with eight catches for 102 yards and one touchdown, while Thomas had seven reception for 131 yards and two touchdown catches. Defensively, Zev Motew led the way with a game-high 11-tackle outing.
UP NEXT:
- The Engineers are back in action on Saturday, October 30th as the team travels to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy for a 1:30 pm start in New London, Conn.
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