/seasons/2019/contrib/20190928wkh5rm

Defense, Special Teams Lead MIT Past Catholic in NEWMAC Opener

More news about: MIT

THE BASICS:

- Score: MIT 32, Catholic University 13

- Records: MIT (2-1, 1-0 NEWMAC); Catholic University (0-4, 0-1 NEWMAC)

- Location: Washington, D.C. (Cardinal Stadium)

- The Lead: In the NEWMAC opener for both teams, the MIT football team defeated Catholic University by a 32-13 final on Saturday in Washington, D.C. The Engineers were led by an outstanding defensive and special teams effort, along with a pair of long touchdown passes from senior Chris Mauck (Wellington, Fla.).

THE WAY IT HAPPENED:

- MIT got on the board in the first with a pair of safeties in a span of just 2:45. After a fumbled punt was covered up by Catholic in the end zone for the first safety, MIT senior punter Andrew Griese (Fairfax Station, Va.) pinned the Cardinals at the two-yard line on the next possession. After a Catholic penalty on first down moved the ball to the one, the Engineer defense eventually picked up the second safety for the 4-0 lead. Griese then pinned Catholic at the seven-yard line on his next punt, finishing the first half with five punts for 174 yards.

- Junior Keithen Shepard (Vancouver, Wash.) got the offense on the board with a 45-yard touchdown catch from Mauck, followed by a 75-yard punt return touchdown by sophomore Evan Gwozdz (Middleboro, Mass.) for the 18-0 lead at the half.

- The Cardinals found the end zone first in the third quarter as Bryan Melara scored on a six-yard run off the left side, followed by a blocked PAT for the 18-6 margin. MIT put the game out of reach with a four-yard touchdown run up the middle by sophomore Ashton Robinson (Louisville, Ky.), followed by a 64-yard Mauck touchdown pass to sophomore William Woltmann (Secaucus, N.J.) early in the fourth.

- Catholic closed out the scoring with 11:56 remaining as Trey Carson pulled in a 74-yard pass from Evan O'Donnell up the near sideline to account for the 32-13. Final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

- Robertson registered his first 100-yard game of the season as he finished with 122 yards on 24 rushing attempts. Mauck completed nine passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns, with junior Mason DuMez (Lake Geneva, Wisc.) coming down with a team-high four receptions.

- O'Donnell completed five passes for 140 yards and one touchdown with Chance Le Grand leading the Cardinals with five receptions and 77 receiving yards.

- The Engineers held a 402-228 advantage in yards of total offense, including a 238 to -5 edge in rushing.

- Griese finished with an average of 37.7 yards per punt, with a long of 46 yards and 4-of-7 punts inside the 20-yard line.

- Defensively, junior Sam Gantman (Mendota Heights, Minn.) led the Engineers with eight tackles, while Jake Ballard paced the Cardinals with a 12-tackle effort.

UP NEXT:

- MIT wraps up a three-game road trip on Saturday, October 5th as the Engineers travel to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy for a Noon start.

STAY CONNECTED:

- For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Dec. 15: All times Eastern
Final
Cortland 38, at North Central (Ill.) 37
@ Salem, Virginia
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Dec. 9: All times Eastern
Final
North Central (Ill.) 34, at Wartburg 27
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Final
Cortland 49, at Randolph-Macon 14
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