MIT Edges Endicott In Barn-Burner, 31-29

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott football team lost to MIT, 31-29, in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon at Hempstead Stadium.

Trailing 28-9 at the half, Endicott mounted a serious comeback bid in the second stanza outscoring the Engineers 20-3, but eventually saw their rally fall short with a three-and-out, starting on MIT's 49-yard line, with 1:25 left to play in the contest. MIT withstood the rally from the Gulls via two incomplete passes, a three-yard rush, and a pass breakup by Mitch Maisel (Newtown, Pa.) that, if caught, would have put the Gulls in field goal position at the 25-yard line.

Prior to the potential game-winning drive, Endicott's special teams unit put the Gulls in great field position as Christian Pizzotti (Melrose, Mass.) blocked Andrew Griese's (Fairfax Station, Va.) punt at the MIT 42-yard line. George Balian (Burlington, Mass.) then recovered the ball soon after at Endicott's 42-yard line and dashed to the MIT 49 before he was taken down to help set up the comeback chance.

Endicott's second half rally also featured an 18-yard touchdown run from John Kenney (Wilmington, Mass.) at 11:59 of the third (28-16) and a Riley Shanley (Simsbury, Conn.) 26-yard TD reception that he hauled in at the 14-yard line off a deflection and sprinted into the end zone with at 8:44 of the fourth (31-23). Meanwhile, Kenney capped the scoring for the Gulls in the second half with a 4-yard TD catch with 1:56 to play (failed two-point conversion).

FOR ENDICOTT

• Dylan Bonfilio (Burlington, Mass.) threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns on 18 completions (39 attempts).
• Kenney finished with 84 all-purpose yards (70 rushing, 14 receiving) and two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving).
• Shanley compiled 77 yards receiving on two catches, including one for a touchdown.
• Justin McEwen (Meriden, Conn.) grabbed four passes for 52 yards. The four catches by McEwen served as team-high in that category.
• Nick DiCairano (Trumbull, Conn.) went three-for-three on his field goal attempts (36, 34, 26).
• William Rivera (Orangeburg, N.Y.) collected a game-high 14 tackles (four solo, 10 assisted). Rivera also is second all-time in tackles in program history with 258 total (136 solo, 122 assisted).
• Kevin O'Brien (Braintree, Mass.) had a career-high nine tackles (two solo, seven assisted).
• Jesse Simoni (East Greenbush, N.Y.) registered eight tackles (four solo, four assisted), had one interception, and one pass breakup.
• Allen Gibson (Seymour, Conn.) picked off one pass, and also had two tackles and a pass breakup.

FOR MIT

• Udgam Goyal (Frisco, Texas) completed 13 passes for 168 and threw for two touchdowns 3-yard TD, 71-yard TD).
• Miguel Wagner (El Segundo, Calif.) rushed for 51 yards and a touchdown (7-yard TD, 9:35 of the second quarter).
• Keithen Shepard (Vancouver, Wash.) hauled in four catches for 91 yards (game-high) and two touchdowns (3-yard TD at 13:37 in the first quarter | 71-yard TD at 7:51 of the first quarter).
• Paul Calvetti (Ridgewood, N.J.) recovered a fumble for a touchdown at 2:38 of the second quarter to put MIT ahead 28-9.
• Mark Wright (Fort Worth, Texas) went 1-for-2 on his field goal attempts but his 34-yard make at 10:57 of the fourth proved to be the difference for the Engineers.
• Ben Boldt (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) led the charge defensively with 11 tackles (five solo, six assisted, one tackle for a loss) and a pass breakup.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Despite the loss, Endicott leads the all-time series 13-3.
• MIT has won the last two matchups, both with a winning score of 31 points (2017: 31-26 | 2018: 31-29).

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (1-2) will host Hobart on Saturday, September 22, as part of Homecoming Weekend, at 12 PM. MIT (3-0) welcomes Catholic to its campus next Saturday at 12 PM. 

For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

(Photo Credit - David Le '10)