BEVERLY, Mass. – The last two remaining unbeaten teams in the NEFC faced off in rainy and windy conditions at Endicott Stadium on Saturday night, looking to take sole possession of first place, and despite a furious second half comeback by Endicott, MIT defeated the Gulls 34-29 for the first time in program history and now sit alone atop the conference standings.
Endicott (5-3, 4-1 NEFC) trailed 21-2 at the half, earning their only points to that point on a safety as sophomore defensive lineman John Fortes (North Reading, Mass.) penetrated the Engineers backfield to cause a five-yard loss in the end zone, but the Gulls stormed back as senior quarterback Drew Frenette (New Bedford, Mass.) threw for 223 and two touchdowns in the second half. Frenette's 60-yard touchdown to senior receiver Nate Lewis (Acushnet, Mass.) gave Endicott a 29-28 lead with 11:39 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Gulls defense fueled Endicott's comeback bid by holding the Engineers to 60 rushing yards on the ground after the visitors put up 191 yards with three touchdowns in the first half. MIT (7-0, 5-0 NEFC), however, responded following Lewis' go-ahead score on their next drive with a game-winning, touchdown drive. MIT senior signal-caller Peter Williams (Portland, Ore.) came up big on the drive for the Engineers, converting a 3rd-and-16 on his own 26 with a 21-yard pass to junior Seve Esparrago (St. Louis, Mo.) before ultimately ending the 11-play, 68-yard drive with a 15-yard, corner-of-the-end zone toss to junior wide out Chris McPherson (Gaithersburg, Md.) to put MIT ahead 34-29.
MIT's first half offense was carried mostly by senior running back Justin Wallace (Palatine, Ill.) who rushed for three touchdowns. Wallace scored the game's opening touchdown on a 13-yard run with 9:38 to go in the first, broke tackles for a 63-yard score on MIT's next possession, and added an eight-yard run to the end zone midway through the second quarter. Wallace, the NEFC's top rusher, eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark with 174 yards on Saturday night.
After a slow first half, Endicott's Lewis was a major catalyst in his team's second half performance as the senior hauled in nine Frenette passes for a career-high 187 and now owns the single-season program records for receptions (63) and receiving yards (974). He passed former Gull Mike Murphy '13 who previously held the record with 61 catches and 880 yards in his senior season in 2012.
Frenette threw for 243 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions on 13-of-28 pass attempts. His counterpart, Williams, was efficient in the unfavorable conditions by going 19-of-27 for 246 yards and two touchdowns. Williams' favorite receiver in the game was Esparrago who caught six balls for 130 yards with a 61-yard score in the third quarter.
On the ground for Endicott, junior tailback Spencer Walsh (Malden, Mass.) fought hard for his yardage, carrying the ball 23 times for 80 yards. Gulls freshman fullback Lavante Wiggins (Dalton, Mass.) displayed power running in the second half as he was able to convert one-yard touchdown runs on two separate occasions to help Endicott cut into MIT's lead.
On the defensive side of the ball, Endicott sophomore linebacker John Elnagger (Rowley, Mass.) continued his standout season with an 18-tackle performance, one shy of tying the program record. Elnagger recorded three solos tops as well as 1.5 tackles for a loss, a half sack, and a fumble recovery in the first quarter. Sophomore defensive end Craig Anderson (Franklin, Mass.) set a personal-best with 14 tackles, added a half sack, and a field goal block. In his senior day game, defensive lineman Nick Almeida (Somerset, Mass.) set a career-high with 12 tackles. Both Almeida and graduate student Andrew Holfinger (Sterling, Mass.) both had solo sacks in the loss.
For the Engineers, senior linebacker Cameron Wagar (West Richland, Wash.) led his squad with 11 tackles and a sack, freshman linebacker Mitch Turley (Westfield, Ind.) recorded 10 takedowns, and sophomore linebacker Anthony Emberley (Longmont, Colo.) had eight tackles with a sack. Defensive back Tye Ellis (Shady Side, Md.) and defensive lineman Alex Noakes (Watkinsville, Ga.) both had interceptions on Frenette.
All-purpose threat, MIT senior Brad Goldsberry (Elizabeth, Colo.) amassed 162 total yards on 86 kick return yards, 15 rushes for 64 yards, and three catches for 12 yards. Gulls junior kickoff return man Anthony Carter (Manchester, Conn.) had a solid game with five returns for 86 yards (17.2 average).
Endicott continues their season in week 10 as the Gulls travel to NEFC rival Western New England (6-2, 3-2 NEFC) who will be coming off a 7-0 OT loss to Curry. MIT looks to remain unbeaten when they visit Maine Maritime (3-4, 2-3 NEFC) who lost to Salve Regina this week 21-19. Both games will be played on Saturday, November 8th.
