CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Thanks to a 528-yard offensive outburst and a defensive effort that kept their opponent scoreless for nearly 34 game minutes, the Endicott football team ran their win-streak to five games with a 52-21 victory over NEFC rival MIT. The Gulls improved to 6-2 (5-0 NEFC) and remain one of two unbeaten teams in the league along with their opponent in two weeks, Salve Regina.
Before their showdown with the Seahawks, Endicott will meet Western New England under the lights of Endicott Stadium on November 9th at 5:00 pm. The Gulls are 6-4 all-time against the Golden Bears with each of their last five games being decided by just one score. Endicott is 2-3 in their last five games with Western New England including last year's 50-45 win at home.
The Blue and Green improved to 11-0 all-time against MIT with Saturday's convincing road win. The team's offensive outburst was a balanced attack that featured 268 pass yards and three touchdowns from junior quarterback Drew Frenette (New Bedford, Mass.) as well as 173 rushing yards with three touchdowns from sophomore back Spencer Walsh (Malden, Mass.).
Another 98 rushing yards in the fourth quarter came from freshmen Andrew Cross (Lancaster, Mass.) and Christian Martinez (Tariffville, Conn.). Martinez recorded his first career touchdown on a 24-yard dash to the Engineer end zone with just 1:34 left in the game.
Defensively, senior linebacker Nick Kozlowski (Beverly, Mass.) led the Gulls with a team-high nine tackles while linemen Marcell Cooper (Dorchester, Mass.) and Craig Anderson (Franklin, Mass.) stuffed MIT's rushers with six takedowns apiece. On special teams, freshman Jake Pelletier (Trumbull, Conn.) had four tackles and recovered an Engineers fumble, caused by Jamison Craft (Phillipston, Mass.) on a kick return, which led to Walsh's third touchdown of the game to put Endicott on top 42-7.
The Gulls found themselves in a hole early in the game as MIT's second drive lasted 11 plays, 78 yards, and 4:50 leading to a Brad Goldsberry (Elizabeth, Colo.) touchdown reception from passer Peter Williams (Portland, Ore.).
Trailing 7-0 late in the first quarter, Endicott jumpstarted their offense with Walsh's first score of the game as the sophomore punched it in the end zone from two yards out with 1:52 left in the quarter.
The Endicott defense forced MIT to punt on their next two possessions. A short, 20-yard punt by the Engineers put the Gulls in prime field position on the MIT 46-yard line and Frenette wasted no time getting Endicott into the red zone with a 41-yard connection with sophomore receive Alec Matys (Woburn, Mass.) down to the five. Frenette found Nate Lewis (Acushnet, Mass.) on the very next play to put the Gulls ahead 14-7. It was Lewis' third touchdown grab of the season.
Gulls senior linebacker Andrew Holfinger (Sterling, Mass.) recovered an Engineer fumble behind the line of scrimmage to hand the ball back over to the offense and after a defensive pass interference penalty on Endicott receiver Chris Lipscomb (West Springfield, Mass.) that put the Gulls on the two, Walsh punched it in again to make the score 21-7.
Endicott turned to their two-minute offense late in the first half to build a 28-7 advantage heading into the break. Frenette used timely catches senior tight end Greg Dellorco (Franklin, Mass.) and Craft to set up a Matys 24-yard touchdown catch, his first of two end zone grabs. Matys' second touchdown came on the opening drive of the third quarter as his 29-yard reception made it a 35-7 game. Matys now has team-high nine touchdowns.
After Walsh scored for the third time from inside the five yard line, Endicott tacked on three more points on a 19-yard chip shot from senior Dylan Rushe (Palos Verdes, Calif.). The run capped off 45-straight unanswered points by the Gulls as MIT would get touchdowns from a quarterback run for Williams and a 50-yard route up the seam from Seve Esparrago (St. Louis, Mo.).
Frenette finished 21-of-26 with 268 passing yards and three touchdowns. He connected with Matys five times for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Lewis led the team with seven receptions for 75 yards and a score. On the ground, Walsh averaged 4.4 yards per carry as he took the ball 39 times for 173 yards and three touchdowns. It was his fifth straight game with at least two touchdowns.
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